Practically on the eve of what would have been the February 8th release of Peter Jackson’s fascinating and exquisite Beatles documentary “Get Back” on both DVD and Blu-ray, Beatles fans were disappointed to learn that the physical disc release of this epic documentary has been delayed.

Why you may ask? Apparently there was some kind of problem with the discs that were pressed or the sound of those discs so the delay was announced last week but currently the new release date is undetermined.

The over eight hour “Get Back” has been streaming on Disney+ since late November of 2021 but since many Beatles fans, including me, were looking forward to perusing the Blu-ray or DVD to isolate their favorite moments from the show this is a big disappointment.

Many people who watched the “Get Back” documentary only got Disney+ during a free trial period thus cramming in all eight plus hours left precious little time to savor the many cool hours of previously unreleased Beatles footage that could be easily isolated and better digested on a physical release.

(Note: For those who don’t know the “Get Back” documentary documents the thirty days that Beatles spent in January 1969 recording what would become their swansong album “Let it Be”. A small fraction of these sessions were previously seen in the 1970 “Let it Be” film but nearly sixty hours of unused footage was restored and compiled to make the new Peter Jackson “Get Back” documentary.

Peter Jackson’s “Get Back” sheds new light on what was once thought to be a totally dreary experience. In the new documentary The Beatles are seen as a still functioning unit that had more good times than bad thus the whole “Let it Be” saga was not quite the end of the road saga that it has been portrayed as since 1970.)

So what brings me to write a blog about a delayed documentary release? Well my fellow Beatle friends just a couple of weeks ago the audio from the famous rooftop concert, the last live performance The Beatles would ever give, was made available to streaming platforms in stunning new remixed sound.

Not only was the sound remixed but the entire forty minute performance was included which is something most Beatles fans have waited over fifty years to hear in this kind of quality.

Okay, so you may ask?

Well I don’t usually go over to the dark side of collecting on this blog (bootlegs) but since this concert is so fantastic I thought I’d share a CD of this very remixed concert that has just seen the light of day in a remarkably fast fashion (welcome to the 21st Century).

Entitled “Get Back – The Rooftop Performance” Expanded Edition” this newly minted CD-R bootleg not only features the entire remixed rooftop concert in stunning sound it also includes the true 1969 mix of Glyn Johns first “Get Back” album compilation that happened to sneak out in Japan this past November as part of their “Let it Be” SHM-CD Deluxe box set.

(Note 2: Glyn Johns helped supervise and produce the sound on these 1969 sessions. He compiled four versions of a unreleased Beatles album called “Get Back” that features more raw and unissued versions of songs from the January “Get Back/Let it Be” sessions that would eventually make their way to the Phil Spector produced 1970 “Let it Be” album. The 2021 release of the 1969 Glyn Johns mix of the “Get Back” album is the first official release of any of his unissued “Get Back” compilations.)

The 1969 Glyn Johns “Get Back” mix that was released for the rest of the world in their deluxe “Let it Be” vinyl and CD sets contained a mixture of the 1969 version with some1970 mixes that Glyn Johns made thus the very welcome release of this better sounding true 1969 mix on the much, much cheaper bootleg alternative.

I must say that the “Get Back – The Rooftop Performance” Expanded Edition” on VooDoo Records is excellent on every level. The cover is great, everything is well produced and looks very professional (even the fake Apple label on the disc is pretty stunning) and this CD just sounds wonderful!

The remixed rooftop concert is so good that The Beatles company Apple and Universal really should have included the concert in their recent “Let it Be” Deluxe vinyl and CD box sets which is where the remixed rooftop concert was originally intended to be placed.

I really like Giles Martin and respect most of his decisions but I read in a recent interview that he thought rooftop concert worked better with visuals thus the deletion from the 2021 deluxe “Let it Be” box set. To me that’s BS. This concert would have been the highlight of the box and belongs on this set.

But no use crying over split milk – what’s done is done.

I do hope that Apple reconsiders and does a physical release of the complete rooftop concert but quite frankly I doubt they would top this bootleg release as it’s fantastic. The addition of the true 1969 Glyn Johns mix makes this CD the perfect companion to the recent deluxe “Let it Be” box set and truly brightens up the news of the “Get Back” DVD/Blu-ray delay.

As usual you can find photos of this fantastic disc above. As for how one would go about getting the “Get Back – The Rooftop Performance” Expanded Edition” CD? Well the only comment I will say is that all you have to do is some basic Google searching and you should have no problem tracking it down.

Really, it’s an amazing CD of an amazing performance. Who would have thought we’d get any kind of remix of this concert like the one on this disc plus the infamous 1969 Glyn Johns “Get Back” album together on one CD. Truly mind blowing.

Anyway, that’s all for now.

I hope you get to stream either Peter Jackson’s “Get Back” documentary or the audio of the newly remixed rooftop concert. They really are fantastic and I can’t imagine any Beatles fan not being pleased with either of them.

For those of you who crave physical media this disc is out there in the wild so to speak. All you have to do is click your heals or make a wish upon a rooftop and you should find it.

Bye for now and I hope all is well in your part of the world.

Until next time be safe and healthy.

TTFN

 

 

 

Hello out there in Webland!

Speaking from the snowy white tundra that has engulfed the state where I live I hope this weekend finds you either snowless and happy or snowy yet shoveled and content.  I know there are a lot of people out there who enjoy snow and February but I’m not one of them.

So, what better way to get through this drab and dull February and to celebrate being alive than taking a look at some newly released vinyl. And not just any new vinyl mind you but some new Paul McCartney vinyl!

Well not new exactly but rather a new reissue as yesterday, February 4th, was the release of another 50th anniversary Paul McCartney vinyl reissue – Wings’ first album release “Wings Wild Life”.

Released in late 1971 “Wild Life” was McCartney’s third album release since his split from The Beatles in 1970. To say that this album was greeted with a muted and lackluster reception is an understatement.

Not only were reviews pretty much terrible for this first fledgling Wings release but quite a few McCartney fans to this day still disdain this album and rank it fairly low in all of McCartney’s recorded catalog. McCartney was not in good critical standing after the break-up of The Beatles and this third album didn’t help matters one bit.

What most people didn’t like was that many of the songs on “Wild Life”, especially from side one, seemed rushed and half-finished. To ears accustomed to the fairly recent polished and melodic McCartney of the “White Album” and “Abbey Road” era the songs on “Wild Life” seemed weak and unfocused and down right dull.

McCartney purposely recorded the “Wild Life” album quite quickly and was going for a spontaneous and care-free feel that focused more on a vibe than on being a meticulously crafted and honed product that he was known for in his The Beatles songs.

McCartney’s first two solo releases – “McCartney” (1970) and “Ram” (1971 and credited with his wife Linda) – both sold quite well but were also greeted with scorn and apathy from music critics. Even McCartney’s three ex-band mates through shade at these albums saying he could do much better.

But as time has gone on both “McCartney” and “Ram” are now seen as two of the highlights of McCartney’s now long and winding solo career. In fact “Ram” is now viewed by many fans (me included) as McCartney’s high water mark since leaving The Beatles.

Lo and behold as “Wild Life” reaches its 50th birthday it too has also grown in stature and though not as fondly regarded as his first two solo albums it is now seen by many as a very good record. In fact its because of its looseness and carefree vibe that it stands out among McCartney’s many recordings as a rocking and low key burst of creativity that relies more on feel than structure.

There is quite a large group of younger folks who also love this album and see it as a quite lovely, lo-fi yet terrific album. In fact a lot of people in their twenties and thirties see “Wild Life” as a sort of birth of the indie style, low key album approach that has been very popular in the last twenty years or so.

As for me I’ve always quite enjoyed side two of “Wild Life” very much but as time has gone on since I first heard this album in the late seventies I too am really fond of the whole record. I’ll be damned if it’s not one of the better, though certainly quirkier, releases of McCartney’s solo career.

Long ago I stopped questioning the lyrical content of songs like “Bip Bop” and “Mumbo” and now really enjoy them as a burst of energy filled with that classic rock McCartney vocal style that was at its peak around this era.

Which finally brings me to this new 2022 vinyl reissue of the “Wild Life” album.

“Wild Life” was recently reissued in a lovely deluxe CD box set (see my previous review on this blog) a few years ago in 2018 as well as on a double vinyl set.

I bought the CD box set but skipped the vinyl reissue which is a good thing as this new 2022 remaster is based on that 2018 vinyl transfer but tweaked for this release without any sort of compression from a hi resolution transfer from a digital copy of the original master tape from 1971 (see photos above).

Much like the previous 50th anniversary vinyl reissues of both “McCartney” and “Ram” this new issue of “Wild Life” mimics all the elements of the original UK vinyl release from the cover down to the original labels that graced the first British pressing.

As for the sound you say? The sound of this new 2022 reissue of “Wild Life” is superb. The pressing I got was dead quiet and everything sounded full and alive and nearly perfect in every way.

Much like the original vinyl issue of “Wild Life” this new 2022 pressings isn’t a sonic masterpiece as the original is a bit dull in spots and not the best engineered recording of McCartney’s career yet this new pressing is probably as good as you’re going to get this album to sound and is quite enjoyable and definitely a pleasure to listen to and enjoy.

There is supposedly a digital glitch somewhere in the song “Love is Strange” though I didn’t hear it. I’ll have to pay more attention in the future but really overall I found this new reissue terrific sounding and it stacks up quite nicely to the original  UK pressing that I also own of this album.

My UK pressing is a bit worn so the quietness of this new 2022 issue may make it the better listen overall though pretty much in line with how an original UK vinyl copy sounds.

So there you have it. If you want to brighten up a dull February day and your a McCartney fan than you need to pick up a copy of this new issue of “Wild Life” and have some fun. 

And maybe if you’ve never heard the album you might be pleasantly surprised at how good it sounds and see another side to Paul McCartney that shows off his mastery of pop music even in its rough and ready form instead of the softer McCartney sound from his later seventies and more polished eighties hits.

That’s it for now. As usual take a gander at some photos above of this groovy new “Wild Life” vinyl reissue.

Be well, safe and warm and see you next time!