So, what have you been listening to lately?

[patman]

I would like to hear an "All Things Must Pass"  naked...Like "Let it Be" naked

Lety it Be is a fine album with all the shit removed. I imagine All Things Must Pass is also.

[uwe]

I dunno, the much heralded Naked sounded like a bunch of demos to me, an unpolished turd (if only by the standards The Beatles had set themselves). It wasn't all Spector's fault, the Fab Four just weren't inspired on that one. They made good with Abbey Road though.

Widely derided as a Yoko Ono money making scheme, I did like the Stripped Down version of Double Fantasy though, it's like having John Lennon in your living room.





It's kind of weird to think that he was murdered only 10 years after The Beatles disbanded and that is now already 40 years ago! What a loss.  Something in me still hopes that the lefty-libby John wouldn't speak out against the - supervised - parole release of his assassin today (the man was seriously sick), something the still grief-struck Yoko cannot bring over herself. Chapman was sentenced "20 years to life" for killing a man, not for robbing the world of a Beatle, grievous as it may have been  for all of us and of course foremost for the Lennon family.

[westen44]

I agree Let It BE naked doesn't sound good, either.  But I also don't like "Starting Over" or "Watching the Wheels" in any version, especially not the latter.  One of Lennon's worst songs, IMO.  However, despite the fact that Spector was involved, I liked John Lennon's "Rock 'n Roll" album.  I listened to that many times on cassette while walking not far away from a Lake Pontchartrain levee (years before Katrina.)

[Dave W]

Let it Be naked didn't sound that good as is, but it could hardly be worse than the Phil Spector production. I hated just about everything he did.

[4stringer77]

Hey now Dave, nobody puts "be my baby" in the corner!
Phil went off the deep end and it's just a sad situation for all involved. He still made some good records either way. Who knows what horrible things other producers did that we just don't know about because they simply never got caught. If we knew everything shady that people in the music business did, I'm guessing there would be much less to listen to if the basis of quality was held against some kind of morality litmus test.

[westen44]

The quote by Hunter S. Thompson comes to mind.

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."

[Dave W]

Hey now Dave, nobody puts "be my baby" in the corner!
Phil went off the deep end and it's just a sad situation for all involved. He still made some good records either way. Who knows what horrible things other producers did that we just don't know about because they simply never got caught. If we knew everything shady that people in the music business did, I'm guessing there would be much less to listen to if the basis of quality was held against some kind of morality litmus test.

I do. Be My Baby is pure early 60s schlock. I guess you could say he excelled at that. For good pop from that era, Gerry Goffin and Carole King had him beat by miles. I detested his music long before his legal troubles.

The quote by Hunter S. Thompson comes to mind.

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."

That's such a great quote! But he actually said it about television.

See Understanding "Where Thieves and Pimps Run Free", in the section Source of the Quote.

[4stringer77]

His credits are massive. Over 450 production credits according to discogs. Schlock or not, he was successful.  In case you didn't catch it, that was a loosely based quote from the movie dirty dancing which also featured the Ronettes most famous tune.

[gearHed289]

You despicable PROG floozy!

How about some brand new Steven Wilson?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_H0NO-Cyew&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3XnUWEXKWVoQE8eaQkfzKwrcqtSdZMr-wWWq1v4m58kHN5yIzi0kz84Yc

[uwe]

Danke.

Now I'm depressed again.

[uwe]

"Be My Baby is pure early 60s schlock."

Ah, Dave, ever the word-mincer, relativist and suave diplomat. If you can't say something not nice, don't say anything at all!

[Pilgrim]

I do. Be My Baby is pure early 60s schlock. I guess you could say he excelled at that.

Reminds me of a friend who reads as much popular light fiction as I do. He calls it "dreck." I often ask him "are you reading any good dreck?"  That's the stuff that's entertaining and well-written, even if it's dreck.

You see, there's good dreck and bad dreck. Mickey Spillane is really good dreck. Lee Child's Jack Reacher stuff is pretty decent dreck.  OTOH, there's a lot of bad dreck out there that's not worth reading, even for sheer escapism.

I'd say that Be My Baby is good schlock. There's a place in the world for good schlock; it's fun to listen to and often creates ear worms. Much of Spector's stuff seems like good schlock to me.  Beats the hell out of Billie Eilish.

[uwe]

May I venture the thought that without Be My Baby there would have perhaps been no Born To Run? ("So much the better!" I can hear Dave barking in the background.  ) Or a few other classix ... It's a type of production that belongs to pop history, even if I agree that it can only be consumed in small doses.

[4stringer77]

Danke.

Now I'm depressed again.

I hear you. The world is in a tough spot at the moment. This captures the mood well.

[patman]

gotta admit...we still play "Be My Baby"...people pay money to hear it...