Beatleg review: The Alternate One

[Legs]

I just bougth this new release by the Pear bootleg label. Unlike their previous re-releases this double set is released on silver disc.

As the title sugest, they have taken the songs from the Beatles 1 album, and gathered together alternate versions of them, not just take 1's like our ill fated little project.However the order of songs is not completly the same as on the official 1, and they have added other songs to. Let's take a long at what we have:

The set begins with two stereo versions of early songs, “Love Me Do” and “Please Please Me”. They ofcourse have been released before, I have them on a set of rarities. The sound quality is very good, better then the official mono releases.
For “From Me To” they have choisen take 7, edit piece 2. There is a count in and the sound quality is good, but not much difference to the official version.

“She Loves You” is another stereo mix with a good sound quality but that’s all.Again not much difference, if any, to the official one. Same goes for the Australian stereo mix for “I Want To Hold Your Hand”.

“Can’t Buy Me Love” take 2 has been released on many bootlegs before, a created combo of take 1 and 2 is on Anthology.
“A Hard Day’s Night” take 4, altho also booted before, is finally an intersting outtake where you can actually hear the diference to the official one, the end especially is very different.

“I Feel Fine” Take 7 rough mix is another nice one, tho it is basicly the released version it’s interesting nonetheless cause it hasn’t got a fade out. On the official version you can just about hear someone barking in the fade out, you have to turn the volume 1 to hear it. Hear it is unedited, and you can clearly hear someone goofing around, making barking noises, sounds very much like Paul being silly.

“Eight Days A Week” is another stereo mix. Different to that on the official 1? I honestly can’t say. I get a bit pissed off at this point.
“Ticket To Ride” another official version, but with no fade out. Runs to slow tho.

“Help” This time the bootleger goes for take 12. It gets boring, there is a count in but not much difference, why not one of the early instrumental takes. Why bother they all are on Easternbirds site! At least this one is an real outtake, unlike…
“Yesterday” take 2, no strings. Sure no strings, turn the volume up ( I can see the horror on FPSHOT’s face now,turn the volume up for “Yesterday”?) and at one point you can hear strings! Best outfake ever created but not good enough.

“Day Tripper” another not very interesting, slightly different mix.
“We Can Work It Out” Not sure about this one. When something sounds like the official version, only some instruments are mixed up front more, in this case the harmonium, it sounds like fake! Could also be a real alternate mix, but at this point I am a bit disapointed by this release.

“Paperback Writer” is nice to have, since you hear the full version, that was edited for single release. But I have this one already. Next are two mono mixes of the Revolver songs, “Yellow Submarine” and “Eleanor Rigby”. They released them already on their Alternate Revolver bootleg.
Disc 1 ends with some live recordings, which I find a shame cause the quality is not as good as the studio tracks. I had prefer these on the second disc, or not at all. They are from different shows, Ed Sullivan, Hollywood Bowl, Tokyo, some I had already, some not.

[Legs]

Disc 2 starts out with a version of “Penny Laine” created by Capitol. They took a stereo version of the song and put on the extra trumpet ending from the promo version, that was in mono. I have this version already on Capitol’s rarities lp and on countles other bootlegs, what I wanted was the real promo version and… fortunatly the bootleger included that version to, it comes a bit later on the set.

“Strawberry Fields” is a take 1. With backing vocals that were mixed out on the Anthology version. Take 7 is also included.

“All You Need Is Love” is a mono mix with longer fade out. The live mix from the studio for the “Our World” special is also included, but that one isn’t complete.

“Hello Goodbey” is the very beatiful take 1, backing track of the song.
There are two versions of “Lady Madonna” on this cd, one with the laughter at the beginning has been released many times before, the other is an unkown take, after hearing this “unknown” take I came to the conclusion that it sounded very well known to me, just the official version in a slightly different mix.

The ”Hey Jude” rehearsals, here in two versions, are always great to hear and a must have. I already had them however.
Why they choose to include the rooftop version of “Get Back” is not clear to me, a version with much better sound quality is on Anthology.

“The Ballad Of John and Yoko” is the very hard to find version with count in. Other then that this version is hard to find, it is nothing special, just the official version with count in.But there isn’t much around in terms of “Ballad of J&Y” outtakes and since the song is on the official 1 the makers of the bootleg had to include this version.

“Come Together” is a live version by John. Again since the only known outtake of “Come Together” is on the “Anthology set” they had to choise a solo John recording.

The well known take 37 of “Something “ is also on this set. Since I only had it on cd-r, I don’t mind owing it again on silver disc, and there just aren’t many “Abbey Road” outtakes around.
Vigotone released a cd called “No. 3 Abbey Road N.W. 8” and yellow dog released these tracks on their “Unsurpassed Masters 7” cd, and the same versions are re-apearing on thousands of bootlegs ever since.

“Let It Be” and “The Long And Winding Road” are versions from the Get Back sessions, and I can’t remember if I had them somewhere or not. One version I didn't have, or at least haven't heard is the "Let It Be" mix for Glyn John's first compilation of the Get Back album, which is a beatiful version.

[ Sep 21, 2003, 05:39 AM: Message Edited By: Legs ]

[Legs]

Conclusion. A lot of it I have already, but with compilation cd-s like this it will always be the case that you have tracks on other bootlegs.
There is nothing new on this set, and it is more for the die hard fans who wants to have every mix. I am a bit disapointed and rather had more real outtakes.

[ Sep 21, 2003, 05:37 AM: Message Edited By: Legs ]

[joelcrowservo]

Thanks for reviewing that. I'd heard about it but had the same misgivings I'm sure you had. Don't we KNOW all those alternates?
I have to say I hadnt heard of a 'count-in' version of "Ballad.." but I also wish that songs sessions were booted.
Theres a boot called "Beatles 2" that flat SUCKS. Its crappy live versions of random tracks!
My "Beatles Bootleg Review" will return one of these decades. I promise!

[Paolo Meccano]

Here's what's on the CD (track summaries taken from the CD, so don't shoot me if they're incorrect...):-

CD1 - Alternate Album:
01) 'Love Me Do' - Stereo mix
02) 'Please Please Me' - Stereo mix. At 1:27 'why no I never even try girl'. 1:45 to end, backing vocals out of sync
03) 'From Me to You' - Take 7, edit piece 2
04) 'She Loves You' - RS2 stereo mix, 11 Nov 1966
05) 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' - Australian stereo mix, vocals on one side instead of centered. The tape speeds up at the beginning
06) ' Can't Buy Me Love' - No echo. Paul makes a mistake with lyrics, for 'Anthology', reverb was added
07) 'A Hard Day's Night' - Take 4
08) 'I Feel Fine' - Take 7, rough version, no echo effects, no double-tracked vocals and no fade-out at the end
09) 'Eight Days a Week' - Stereo mix
10) 'Ticket to Ride' - John's vocal on single track only, no fade-out
11) 'Help!' - Take 12
12) 'Yesterday' - Take 2, no strings
13) 'Day Tripper' - Take 3, additional vocals by Paul, no fade-out
14) 'We Can Work It Out' - Take 2, more keyboard, voice on both channels
15) 'Paperback Writer' - Take 2, same take as single, no echo on vocals, no fade-out at the end, 13 Apr 1966
16) 'Yellow Submarine' - UK mono mix, guitar in the beginning, John is louder
17) 'Eleanor Rigby' - UK mono mix, stereo mix has 'Elea...' on two channels by mistake
Alternate Live Album
18) 'Love Me Do' - Live BBC, 20 Oct 1963
19) 'Please Please Me' - Washington, 11 Feb 1964. Only known live performance
20) 'From Me to You' - 'Royal Command Performance', 04 Nov 1963
21) 'She Loves You' - Melbourne 17 Jun 1964
22) 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' - 'The Morecambe and Wise Show', 02 Dec 1963
23) 'Can't Buy Me Love' - Adelaide 12 Jun 1964
24) 'A Hard Day's Night' - Hollywood Bowl 24 Aug 1964
25) 'I Feel Fine' - Paris 01 Aug 1965
26) 'Ticket to Ride' - Atlanta 18 Aug 1965
27) 'Help!' - Shea Stadium 15 Aug 1965
28) 'Yesterday' - 'The Ed Sullivan Show', 12 Sep 1965
29) 'Day Tripper' - Tokyo 30 Jun 1966
30) 'Paperback Writer' - Candlestick Park 29 Aug 1966, last live performance

CD2 - Alternate Album:
01) 'Penny Lane' - Promo, stereo version with trumpet ending
02) 'Strawberry Fields Forever' - Take 1, very basic version
03) 'All You Need Is Love' - mono mix with longer fade
04) 'Hello Goodbye ('Hello Hello')' - Take 1, instrumental
05) 'Lady Madonna' - Early take, starts with laughter, very basic track, no backing vocals, no horns
06) 'Hey Jude' - Rehearsal take, very different
07) 'Get Back' - Apple rooftop concert
08) 'The Ballad of John and Yoko' - With count-in
09) 'Something' - Take 37. Same version as released take before overdubbing took place. Two-minute instrumental jam at the end
10) 'Come Together' - Lennon solo version, 'One to One' rehearsal, Aug 1972
11) 'Let It Be' - Mixed by Glyn Johns for his first compilation of the 'Get Back' album
12) 'The Long and Winding Road' - Take 16C, Apple studio sessions. Different lyrics, very empty version
The Alternates
13) 'Penny Lane' - mono version, different mix
14) 'Strawberry Fields Forever' - Take 7
15) 'All You Need Is Love' - Take 58, recorded live in the studio for 'Our World', 25 Jun 1967
16) 'Lady Madonna' - Unknown take
17) 'Hey Jude' - Rehearsal take, extra guitar
18) 'Get Back' - With false start. Mixed by Glyn Johns for his first compilation of the 'Get Back' album
19) 'Let It Be' - Take 25B, Apple studio sessions. 'Brother Malcolm comes to me' instead of 'Mother Mary'
20) 'The Long and Winding Road' - From Glyn Johns' second compilation of the 'Get Back' album

...Well I like it and I can recommend it if, like me, you've just started buying Beatlegs. Oh, and the 'unknown take' version of 'Lady Madonna'? It sounds to me like the version that was butchered for 'Anthology 3'.

[ Sep 23, 2003, 03:55 PM: Message Edited By: Paolo Meccano ]

[Legs]

Originally Posted By Paolo Meccano:
of the 'Get Back' album

...Well I like it and I can recommend it if, like me, you've just started buying Beatlegs. Oh, and the 'unknown take' version of 'Lady Madonna'? It sounds to me like the version that was butchered for 'Anthology 3'.<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">Well you're probably more right with
your end conclusion then I was. Die hard fans will have these versions already, so it is more for the beginning fans. Especially if you're into these kind of different stereo/mono mixes, it's a good set to start out with.

I will compare the Anthology version of Lady Madonna to the one on this set. It sounds familier anyway.

What are your thoughs on these versions btw. And the two songs I've mentioned to be fake, "Yesterday" and "We can work it out".

[Paolo Meccano]

Hello Legs, graemlins/wave1.gif *

To me, 'We Can Work It Out' doesn't sound fake: the last organ note would go on for so long because it was going to be faded out on the record. If 'Yesterday' is a fake, then it's a very good one in my opinion: I personally couldn't hear the strings when I listened to it (mind you, I didn't listen at ear-splitting volume... graemlins/images/icons/grin.gif ), so if they've been removed, it's been done very well.
Incidentally, there's some nice separate-channel mixes of 'Revolution' available for download here - 'Revolution Multi-track Remixes' (http://www.geocities.com/revolutionchaos/)...

[ Sep 24, 2003, 05:23 AM: Message Edited By: Paolo Meccano ]

[Legs]

Hi again.

How about a compromise, you don't have to listen to the whole "Yesterday" with ear spliting volume, but the bit of leaking orchestra comes in at 1:44, on the word "Play" after Paul sings, "Such an easy game to play", you hear a crack also.

[onosideboards]

Legs, your inbox here is full!!

But to answer your question...no, slimline jewel cases are not cool. They may break and ruin the CDs, or they may unhitch from the circle thingy and get scratched inside the case. A homemade CD paper evelope should work fine images/icons/smile.gif .

[Legs]

See if I got those. I will clean up my box.

[Paolo Meccano]

Originally Posted By Legs:
Hi again.

How about a compromise, you don't have to listen to the whole "Yesterday" with ear spliting volume, but the bit of leaking orchestra comes in at 1:44, on the word "Play" after Paul sings, "Such an easy game to play", you hear a crack also.<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">I've had a listen Legs, and I see what you mean, but to me it sounds like the resonance of Paul's guitar: however, if you listen closely to the first 'why she had to go...' segment, you'll hear a brief double-tracked Paul vocal which proves that it isn't the original take 2 but the version of take 2 onto which the strings were overdubbed...

[Legs]

Wow, I'll listen to it again.So it's a fake. The "We Can Work It Out" version might apear to be a real one also. Just got Soul Sessions in, and the same version as on "The Alternate 1" apears there also.

I revised my review a bit, it's a nice compilation to listen to, and it makes colection all the different versions (how little the diference might be) a bit easier. But nothing new can be found on it.

[ Oct 05, 2003, 11:42 AM: Message Edited By: Legs ]

[Paolo Meccano]

I think 'fake' is a bit harsh Legs - it's not exactly 'Glass Onion' is it..? graemlins/wink3.gif *It's either the version of 'Yesterday' that the strings were dubbed onto, or they've managed to take the strings away from the original version, in which case, they've done a very nice job.

PS: Have you had a listen to 'Lady Madonna' yet? When I heard it, it sounded like the Anthology version, but it seems that Apple tried to edit out the backing vocals from underneath the saxophone and didn't do a very good job of it...

[ Oct 05, 2003, 11:50 AM: Message Edited By: Paolo Meccano ]

[Legs]

Oh god, that version of Glass Onion is horible, I got it on an otherwise good rarities bootleg.

Admitingly it's not such a fake creation as Onion is. I am willing to believe it's te version before they dubbed in the strings, but that part I mentioned sounds like an orchestra playing for a brief moment.

[Legs]

Just read your edit, no I haven't yet compared the versions of Lady Madonna. Which is a sure thing to do, once I get around to it.

[Paolo Meccano]

I was listening to this last night and the second version of 'Lady Madonna' is the full version of the track that's on 'Anthology 3'. The first version appears to be the song before the saxophones were overdubbed, though there are some daft vocals on the beginning and end of the track - special Beatle overdubs for a radio acetate, perhaps..?
The second version of 'All You Need Is Love' is interesting as well - I think it might be the version that the Beatles were playing along to for the 'Our World' TV broadcast...

[Legs]

Originally Posted By Paolo Meccano:
The second version of 'All You Need Is Love' is interesting as well - I think it might be the version that the Beatles were playing along to for the 'Our World' TV broadcast...<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">Yes that's the broadcast version. At the point where the released version has been completly faded out, this version cuts off.

[Paolo Meccano]

Hello Legs,

Reading your original review, I thought that you may be saying that the version of 'All you Need Is Love' was the one that went out as part of 'Our World', with Steve Race commentating, in which case I thought I'd better make clear that it seems to be the version that they were playing along to instead.