Something About the Beatles

By Evergreen PodcastsMusic Music Interviews Music History

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17th
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Typical duration
83 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

Something About the Beatles episodes

October 03, 2021 222: On Pepper
SATB has touched on the Sgt. Pepper album in the past, but never like this. My guests, Pat Sansone (of Wilco and The Autumn Defense) and Luther Russell (Those Pretty Wrongs) are each accomplished singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalists/performers/producers/engineers AND hardcore Beatle geeks. This album became a touchstone for both of them during their formative years, and it is with decades of insight that we discussed the magic and mystique of the landmark release. Luther has been working on the third album by Those Pretty Wrongs with Jody Stephens this year, while Pat has a book of his photography coming out soon: https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelraso/galleries/72157624760590414/ Wilco has just began a string of live dates around the US but extending into Mexico, the UK and Spain next year. See https://wilcoworld.net/ for details.

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2 hr 9 min
August 29, 2021 221: Lennon in Montreal
In 1969, Bill Rotari was Regional Managing Director with Capitol Records in Quebec when he received word that John and Yoko were coming. As label rep, it was his job to see to it that John's needs were met; ultimately this included securing recording gear for tracking the first Plastic Ono Band record, "Give Peace A Chance." Bill has led an interesting life; as record company executive, recording artist...and minor league pitching prospect for the Atlanta Braves. His group, The Favorites, recorded for London during the 1950s, and later, as Managing Director of CBS/Sony Records in Montreal, he was directly responsible for signing Celine Dion and getting her first English language recordings produced. Bill tells all about the Montreal Bed-In, as well as his life and career in music (encompassing Paul and George, the Rolling Stones, Petula Clark, Pink Floyd, Leonard Cohen, Tony Bennett and others).

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1 hr 34 min
August 02, 2021 220: Get Back to Peter Jackson
In June and again in July, the director of the upcoming The Beatles: Get Back series gave interviews - in Vanity Fair and in GQ - holding forth on what to expect from his re-tooling of the Beatles Let It Be project. Though there was a certain amount of rehashing what had already been said, there were also things that provided much to discuss and analyze as we approach the countdown to broadcast. I therefore reconvened Dr Duncan Driver and Dan Rivkin (They May Be Parted blog) for a discussion on the latest and how what Peter Jackson had to say - and didn't say - suggests where the project is going and what to expect.

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1 hr 26 min
July 17, 2021 219: John - George - Eric & Layla
In late summer 2020, my guest Kyle Driscoll penned this wonderful analysis of the three 1970 releases by three artists whose paths had intertwined and who, as it happened, all found themselves at similar crossroads at the time. You can read it here (which I strongly urge you do) and then listen to the deeper discussion we had on these artists and their impact on each other's work.

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1 hr 23 min
July 03, 2021 218: Beatles on Guitar
You may recall my returning guest from his first appearance in late 2020: Mike Pachelli is an accomplished jazz guitarist and recording/performing artist, as well as a major Beatles fan. His series of popular Youtube videos deconstruct Beatle songs and show each guitar and vocal component. He's back now with a new release: 16 Beatles songs performed instrumentally, Beatles on Guitar. In this conversation, he details his insights into the challenges of selecting and presenting their music and doing it justice without vocals.

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1 hr 7 min
June 25, 2021 217: It's All In The Mind
Back in 2018, I had a conversation with Dr. Robert Hieronimus and Laura Cortner, authors of Inside the Yellow Submarine: The Making of the Beatles' Animated Classic - the definitive history of the 1968 film. But they are back with a sequel, delving deeper into the story: profiling others who made the vision a reality as well as exploring the greater context of the times and the deeper meanings to be gleaned from the film in It's All In The Mind: Inside The Beatles' Yellow Submarine. This newly-published follow-up is richly illustrated in full color and presents new stories from the creative minds who made the project a reality, despite considerable odds. It also illustrates how what shouldn't have worked did, and what meanings can be found, drawing upon classic myth.

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1 hr 26 min
June 05, 2021 216: Dear Friend
There's been loads of speculation as to the exact nature of the friendship between John Lennon and Paul McCartney; during and after The Beatles. And when I say "loads," it runs the gamut from former bandmates who recalled each other fondly from a distance to something encompassing a physical nature. What does seem clear is that between the two of them, while Paul's descriptions of their relationship stayed pretty constant, John's went from demonizing Paul in print and song to describing him as his best (male) friend. Somewhere in there lies a truth, and to help unearth it, my guest today is journalist and author Glenn Greenberg, who recently penned an 80th birthday magabook on John.

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1 hr 25 min
May 04, 2021 215: Four Sides of a Square
In this discussion, Dr. Duncan Driver (SATB 205, Fab4ConJam, One Sweet Dream podcast) springboard off of the title Paul McCartney quote, in which he asserted that each Beatle was as important as another to the group's success. We explore the shifting power dynamics within the group and the question of leadership; we also discuss Duncan's thesis of the four distinctive elements of the Beatles collective identity: live performers - singles makers - album makers - songwriters.

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1 hr 37 min
April 25, 2021 214: Beatle Production
In this episode, we examine the process of a song becoming a record, as heard through the ears of those in the producer's chair. Luther Russell, previous SATB guest and Fab4ConJam star, has operated as a composer, performer, collaborator, engineer and producer and is therefore more than qualified to offer his insights as a musical idea gets transformed into a production and how creative decisions are made along the way.

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1 hr 16 min
March 31, 2021 213: John Lennon's 1980 Playlist
My guest Tim English (Sounds Like Teen Spirit, Popology) discuss his newest book, examining the artists that John was listening to in the last few years of his life and how certain artists and records influenced the recordings he (and Yoko) made during the summer of 1980. Some of the acts we've known about for awhile (B-52s, Lene Lovich, etc) but many others were less obvious (The Selecter, Christopher Cross, The Doobie Brothers). John Lennon: 1980 Playlist is out now.

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56 min

About Something About the Beatles

From the publisher's feed

Hosted by award-winning author Robert Rodriguez, Something About The Beatles is an intelligent but entertaining examination of The Beatles' music and career. Smart, funny and surprising - just like…