What would you put on your Beatles best-of if you couldn't use any of their hits? That's the challenge the panel does in this episode.

We each complied a "deep cut" Beatles best-of. These were our rules:

• Nothing that was on the "red" (1962-1966) or "blue" (1967-1970) albums, including the 2023 expanded versions.
• Nothing that was on the Beatles "1" compilation.
• Nothing that was on the "Past Masters" collections.

We limited ourselves to 78:30 -- the length of the "1" CD.

It was a fun challenge! Listen to what made the lists!

Panel: Will Hines, Brett Morris, Katie Plattner, Joel Spence

Will:

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/beatles-best-of-alts/pl.u-pMylDjYfWp7ek

Brett:

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/beatles-alt-best-of/pl.u-KVXBovPTN5mgj

Katie:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Bi56gbTBN1jeBzlozmvAj?si=97466c3e38f54c43

Joel:

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/beatles-alt-best-off/pl.u-B90jU1jWrgb

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Subscribe at screwitpocasts.com to support the podcast and to get monthly bonus episodes!  This month we are doing our HOT TAKES on the Beatles. Here's a taste: Will says Lennon/McCartney are overrated as songwriters? WHAT?! Insane, right? Subscribe to hear the discussion!

 

 

Our tribute episode to Brian Wilson, the leader of the Beach Boys, who died on June 11, 2025.

We talk briefly , in our usual "mostly informed" way, about the relationship and influence between the Beatles and the Beach Boys. We talk in general about the incredibly transformation the Beach Boys' music went through over time. We talk about Brian's mental health struggles. 

And then we take turns sharing a bunch of great Beach Boys songs!

The music sharing starts at around 25 minutes in.

CORRECTION: For some reason we (I?) keep saying the Brian Wilson biopic/ song is called "Love and Fear" but the correct title is "Love and Mercy."

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Our bonus episode this month (coming a few days after this one) for subscribers is a thought experiment in which we pitch what artists it would have been especially fun to see collaborate with either the Beatles or any of them in their solo careers.

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Let It Be came out in May 1970. In honor of its anniversary we look at Paul McCartney's version (basically) -- Let It Be... Naked. This is a version of the Let It Be album with much of producer Phil Spector's production removed. There's a different sequence of songs, different songs included and left off and very different production. 

It's a really fun listen!

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Our bonus episode this month for bonus subscribers is an hour look at some Phil Spector songs. He was the final producer of the original Let It Be album and made a ton of great music. He was also an abusive man who committed murder! Life is complicated, to say the least. 

But the music is great and was influential on the Beatles. We go around the panel, picking songs.

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Send us your thoughts at [email protected]

You can also join our free Discord channel at screwitpodcasts.com

NOTE: although Midas Man is not available on major streaming platofmrs, you can buy and watch it at this link:

https://bit.ly/4jQmYGa

This supports the creators of the movie better than watching it on streaming does!

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In this episode, we do a watchalong to the 2024 film Midas Man, which tells the story of Beatles manager Brian Epstein.

This movie currently not available for streaming in America, just Europe. But we believe it will be available for streaming soon!

The movie watch starts at about 21 minutes in.

We were inspired by director Sam Mendes planned FOUR Beatles biopics, one for each member. It's a very ambitious goal for a genre -- Beatles biopics -- in which there currently almost no success stories.

Portraying the Beatles is really hard! We're so familiar with the real thing! Getting the rights to the songs is tough!

Midas Man is a respectable film in many ways: the actors are really good, the production is professional. Epstein is a fascinating guy. In the end, the panel of this podcast that despite it's strengths, it doesn't pull off the job of giving us the feeling of the Beatles' world.

Also, Jay Leno plays Ed Sullivan, which is something we did not know going into this.

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Our bonus episode this month for bonus subscribers is a 40 minute look into session drummer/genius Bernard Purdie's claims that he did overdubs on 21 Beatles tracks. This claim has been debunked, but Purdie sure seems to think it happened. What's the story? It's interesting and we get into it.

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The panel takes a look at George Harrison's 1973 album Living In The Material World. Our reason is that a re-release came out last year (2024) and we've been meaning to examine it. But also we are sometimes big dummies who haven't given things a proper listen and it was just long overdue for us to give this a proper listen.

Hey, guess what? It's good.

It's listed on Wikipedia as his 4th solo album but that's because they are counting his experimental albums Wonderwall Music and Electronic Sound (done while the Beatles were still together). Most fans would consider this to be his second solo album, following the massively successul 1970's All Things Must Pass. 

Compared to the epic feel of All Things Must Pass, Living in the Material World is more contained. This feels more like a small rock combo delivering simple but effective arrangements. We've got a lot of the usual suspects for Beatles solo albums: Nicky Hopkins on keys, Jim Keltner on drums, Klaus Voorman on bass. We also have lots of George solo and rhythm guitar. A little bit of sitar. A little bit of string arrangements.  It sounds modern to our ears. His voice is really front and center, especially in this new 2024 mix. It feels vulnerable and bold.

The two most famous tracks are likely "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" and "Be Here Now" but every track is thoughtful and interesting. The Beatles seemed incapable of going through the motions. Every song has SOMETHING unique and unexpected. 

It's a great listen!

The panel goes over Look Up, the 21st studio album from Ringo Starr. Largely written and produced by T-Bone Burnett, this album features a bit more of a country flavor, though still unmistakably Ringo, maybe because he's one of the most famous people on the planet.

We like this album because we like Ringo, and it's a pleasure to spend time with his voice. We go over positive and negative reviews for the album. We talk about the phenomenon of Ringo in general, and what makes him so likable. We speculate on why he is so prolific, and how we're glad he still does so much.

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A new Bob Dylan biopic, "A Complete Unknown" starring Timothy Chalamet, directed by James Mangold has been in theaters. The panel took this chance to spend an episode talking about Bobby D.

We don't know his music nearly as well as we do the Beatles. But we are fans. So we just took turns picking songs and talking about them. 

Here's the songs we discuss in this episode:

Visions of Johanna Billy 1 Ring Them Bells I Want You Murder Most Foul Most Of The Time Most Of The Time - Tell Tale Signs version Threw It All Away Idiot Wind Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You 4th Time Around Nettie Moore Congratulations - Traveling Wilburys Ballad of a Thin Man The Time They Are A Changin' Girl From A North Country When I Paint My Masterpiece Hurricane

As you can see we jump all over the place! Hope you enjoy this!

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(This is an abridged version - subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for the full version)

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The panel discusses the new documentary Beatles '64, released November 2024 on Disney Plus. Using a lot of behind the scenes footage from the Beatles first U.S. visit, which includes their landmark appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. Although this is not the landmark event that Peter Jackson's Get Back doc was, it's still really fun for Beatles fan.

A lot of the behind the scenes footage is from the journalists Albert and David Maysles. As Will points out, a lot of it was featured in a VHS tape called The First U.S. Visit. But the doc add a lot of interviews with Paul and Ringo, as well as journalists, musicians (Smokey Robinson) and some of the original Beatles fans captured on film at that time. 

Will was a bit grouchy -- he'd seen a lot of this footage in an old VHS tape called The Beatles First U.S. Visit and wasn't into the talking heads interview. The other panelsts enjoyed it a lot! 

What do you think? Email us at [email protected] with your thoughts. 

 

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The panel guesses at what the next Beatles album might have been if they hadn't broken up. This is a common pasttime for Beatles fans, and is one of the most commonly suggested topics for an episode! Well, we try it!

We decided that the album could be 48 minutes maximum, and could include any song that was available for the Beatles to record by December 1970. 

Will, Joel, Katie and Brett each had very different approaches to their albums. Listen to hear our picks, and then join our Discord (info at screwitpodcasts.com) to discuss what you would have done.

NOTE: We forgot to consider "It Don't Come Easy" by Ringo Starr. We were thinking of it as a 1971 song but of course it was recorded in 1970 and should have been in consideration. I'm sure there's others but this is a big enough oversight that we wanted to flag it here.

Subscribe to screwitpodcasts.com for full access to back episodes. Email us as [email protected] with your Beatles thoughts.

 

Joel: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6rBVnGnl4XIPCjhjlItCd6?si=ef20f0fb4b0444d5   Brett: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5aUUsGDpqQyUCTBzEciJNQ?si=08dc61daea214c28   Katie: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6d0Pf9Mjf7y97rs8wt2BKL?si=cc7a557f509b4ef4   Will: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1v9OXDFHiH3NSIJpPrCbf5?si=d382dc3d7bb44c1d   Will (more conventional): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/52cNnJmRdmNo3Bj4oYNhpI?si=1fad739432134267

(This is an abridged version - subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for the full version)

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The panel had never seen this 1972 concert film of George Harrison's seminal fundraising concert. We watched and it and, of course, loved it.

The Concert for Bangladesh was the first celebrity concert fundraiser, at least in the rock and roll space, and it's a great one. You've got incredible musicians on stage: George, Ringo, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Badfinger and more. You've got George doing live versions of While My Guitar Gently Weeps (trading solos with Clapton), Something and Here Comes the Sun. You've got Ringo doing "It Don't Come Easy" to raucous applause. Even the disorganized moments (so many guitars? George forgetting lyrics to Something?) and the notable absecnes (no Paul, no John) do not take away from the overall joy of this terrific concert.

We get into it!

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