Documentaries!

[Kirby101]

It wasn't stage fright, they were attacked by mobs when they toured, there was a particular incident in the Philipines when their car was surrounded and they were afraid for their lives. By the time of their last concert in San Francisco, they were driven to the stage in an armored car. They were unlike any other band. Touring became difficult to impossible. Maybe if they stayed together they would have performed again.

[Albert1981]

It wasn't stage fright, they were attacked by mobs when they toured, there was a particular incident in the Philipines when their car was surrounded and they were afraid for their lives. By the time of their last concert in San Francisco, they were driven to the stage in an armored car. They were unlike any other band. Touring became difficult to impossible. Maybe if they stayed together they would have performed again.

I didn't know that. No wonder they kept talking about "Manila". I guess Harrison recovered from his fear when he took part in that Concert for Bangladesh.

[inisideguy]

I didn't know that. No wonder they kept talking about "Manila". I guess Harrison recovered from his fear when he took part in that Concert for Bangladesh.

The band literally couldn't tour in an effective way. They were to popular. The PA systems couldn't deal with the screaming fans. They were beyond what anyone has ever seen before or since. It was to crazy. The PA systems did get better in the coming years, but they were still in a stratosphere that was beyond anyone else.


Roger Daltrey of The Who gave an interview recently online where he said they had opened for the Beatles in 64 in England. And it was insane. They could play a set, and they played loud in small venues. Then the Beatles came out and no one could hear a note they were playing. They were mobbed.

[Kirby101]

He didn't "take part" the Concert for Bangladesh was his doing. It was his idea and he was the driving force.
I would highly recommend the Martin Scorsese documentary on Harrison.

[Albert1981]

The band literally couldn't tour in an effective way. They were to popular. The PA systems couldn't deal with the screaming fans. They were beyond what anyone has ever seen before or since. It was to crazy. The PA systems did get better in the coming years, but they were still in a stratosphere that was beyond anyone else.


Roger Daltrey of The Who gave an interview recently online where he said they had opened for the Beatles in 64 in England. And it was insane. They could play a set, and they played loud in small venues. Then the Beatles came out and no one could hear a note they were playing. They were mobbed.

I didn't know Daltrey loved the Beatles so much. I personally thought the Who were great live back in the day. I always felt the Fab Four were somewhat "removed" from their fans. Maybe because a lot of them were psycho stans, but there was a distance there. They just got too big too fast in my view. I still liked their earlier rock and roll studio albums best because they were a little bit less "controlled" in their playing. Again, it's just my personal preference. I liked it when the Beatles covered Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and the Everly Brothers because their music was unquestionably rock and roll. It just boils down to me liking American music in general more than the stuff overseas. American music has this strange combination of blues, country, jazz, folk, gospel and even Latin elements that is very exciting to me. The British/Irish/Canadian/Australian stuff just doesn't have that. I'm not knocking them though. Again, my own tastes are weird!

[Albert1981]

He didn't "take part" the Concert for Bangladesh was his doing. It was his idea and he was the driving force.
I would highly recommend the Martin Scorsese documentary on Harrison.

I meant that he was part of that massive supergroup of musicians. Yeah, I think it's safe to say most people in the western world first heard about Bangladesh because of George Harrison. I gotta check out that documentary. I suppose since Scorsese directed/produced it, that it qualifies as "cinema".

[Kirby101]

I suppose since Scorsese directed/produced it, that it qualifies as "cinema".

Good one

[inisideguy]

I didn't know Daltrey loved the Beatles so much. I personally thought the Who were great live back in the day. I always felt the Fab Four were somewhat "removed" from their fans. Maybe because a lot of them were psycho stans, but there was a distance there. They just got too big too fast in my view. I still liked their earlier rock and roll studio albums best because they were a little bit less "controlled" in their playing. Again, it's just my personal preference. I liked it when the Beatles covered Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and the Everly Brothers because their music was unquestionably rock and roll. It just boils down to me liking American music in general more than the stuff overseas. American music has this strange combination of blues, country, jazz, folk, gospel and even Latin elements that is very exciting to me. The British/Irish/Canadian/Australian stuff just doesn't have that. I'm not knocking them though. Again, my own tastes are weird!

Oh he wasn't talking about whether he liked them or didn't. He just said they had a different level of fame than everyone else. I think they had 13 studio albums. 11 of them went to #1. Yellow Submarine which wasn't even a real album it had four songs on it went to #3. Thats how crazy it was.

[Albert1981]

Good one

All kidding aside, I think this thread proves that folks LOVE documentaries. They're similar to CBMs in the sense that they often adapt "source material", but documentaries usually use books. And they have the same writing, pacing and editing issues that CBMs have too. I know Scorsese has directed several documentaries and I actually have enjoyed those more than his movies. Lots of folks said the Irishman was really long and self-indulgent. I saw brief glimpses of Living in the Material World, and I thought immediately this should have been the title of a MADONNA documentary. But I CLEARLY remember Harrison singing "Let It Be Me" on a demo tape during that film. I also VAGUELY remember watching Tom Petty saying how much fun Harrison had working with Roy Orbison just before the Big O died. That was great. I know the Beatles went on to do different and new things later on their careers, but they still liked singing Sam Cooke, Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly songs in their spare time which is VERY cool to me.

[Albert1981]

Oh he wasn't talking about whether he liked them or didn't. He just said they had a different level of fame than everyone else. I think they had 13 studio albums. 11 of them went to #1. Yellow Submarine which wasn't even a real album it had four songs on it went to #3. Thats how crazy it was.

I don't think Mick should take offense at all. If you had talked to him in 1965, he would have said the Stones were NOT a rock and roll band. They were a BLUES band. It's only more recently the Stones have been labeled the "Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the World." The Beatles were more popular and more influential in my opinion, but the sheer longevity of the Stones is something to be admired! But man I'm still scared about going back to watch "Get Back". I'm still on January 9th, 1969. I felt exhausted after watching them talk and play for like THREE DAYS!

[inisideguy]

I don't think Mick should take offense at all. If you had talked to him in 1965, he would have said the Stones were NOT a rock and roll band. They were a BLUES band. It's only more recently the Stones have been labeled the "Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the World." The Beatles were more popular and more influential in my opinion, but the sheer longevity of the Stones is something to be admired! But man I'm still scared about going back to watch "Get Back". I'm still on January 9th, 1969. I felt exhausted after watching them talk and play for like THREE DAYS!

I don't know. How someone classifies one genre or another. The Beatles did everything from dance hall to hard rock. If the stones are just a blues band then so is Led Zeppelin. If you listen to Exile sure they sound like a blues band but if you listen to their next album Goats head soup a year later they don't sound like a Blues band. When people attempt to label rock bands into something it just annoys me.

[Albert1981]

I don't know. How someone classifies one genre or another. The Beatles did everything from dance hall to hard rock. If the stones are just a blues band then so is Led Zeppelin. If you listen to Exile sure they sound like a blues band but if you listen to their next album Goats head soup a year later they don't sound like a Blues band. When people attempt to label rock bands into something it just annoys me.

I think people just liked to make distinctions from one genre to another in those days. Didn't the late, great Charlie Watts consider himself primarily to be a "jazz drummer" as opposed to a rock and roll musician? I believe the Stones got a bit "country" during the 70s and even experimented with reggae by the end of that decade. But I think in the 60s, Mick and Keith were primarily interested in the blues. Same thing with Led Zeppelin. It's weird how British artists loved the blues so much. The blues are NOT part of the British musical tradition at ALL. I don't think the blues interested the Beatles all that much though.

[inisideguy]

I think people just liked to make distinctions from one genre to another in those days. Didn't the late, great Charlie Watts consider himself primarily to be a "jazz drummer" as opposed to a rock and roll musician? I believe the Stones got a bit "country" during the 70s and even experimented with reggae by the end of that decade. But I think in the 60s, Mick and Keith were primarily interested in the blues. Same thing with Led Zeppelin. It's weird how British artists loved the blues so much. The blues is NOT part of the British musical tradition at ALL. I don't think the blues interested the Beatles all that much though.

The blues sure as heck did. Listen to some of their stuff. They were interested in everything. Yer Blues, Don't let me down. They have a million songs based around rhythm and blues.

[Jim Kelly]

I dare you to watch Jean Luc Godard's ONE PLUS ONE/SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL all the way through, no fast-forwarding. I've sat through this in a movie theatre, twice. I believe the version I saw was the director's cut--there's a producer's cut but even that is a slog. There is some great stuff--good performances--but Godard has a lot of long takes and confusing scenes, so you have to suffer through that to get to the good stuff. I love Godard and all his movies are quite challenging, but I think this was the hardest movie I had to sit through. After it, I felt like I should get a medal or a certificate of honour--I survived ONE PLUS ONE.

[Albert1981]

The blues sure as heck did. Listen to some of their stuff. They were interested in everything. Yer Blues, Don't let me down. They have a million songs based around rhythm and blues.

Thanks for the recommendations! I appreciate them. I know many British bands loved dudes like Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. I just never heard the Beatles liking that stuff.