Profits from Beatles records allowed EMI to fund research which led to the invention of the CT scan.
http://www.cnet.com/news/how-the-beatles-funded-the-ct-scan/
> the story starts with Godfrey Hounsfield, a researcher at EMI back in the 1950s. Although it's a (somewhat struggling) major record label today, EMI--which stands for Electrical and Musical Industries--was once an industrial research company. Hounsfield did some pioneering work on computers, helping to build the first all-transistor computer, but the division wasn't profitable for EMI and the company sold its computer business in 1962...right when it signed The Beatles. His standing was good enough with the company that they let him conduct independent research with funding from the Beatles' string of massive successes in the 1960s. He went on to invent the CT scanner, which EMI first released in 1972, and shared the 1979 Nobel Prize for medicine for his invention.
This is one of my favourite lesser-known Beatles stories.
edit: wow that’s a long link sorry
checks superdeluxeedition.com
Wow, only $128 for the 7CD version? I'll pre-order right now!
*clicks link to Amazon listing.
... $180?
Welcome! I would recommend what are known as the Red and Blue albums, see here:
https://www.amazon.com/Beatles-1962-1966-Red-Album/dp/B000002UYZ
Apple office assistant Kevin Harrington held up the "I Dig a Pony" lyrics for John without wearing warm gloves or a hat. Thank you Kevin!
It's a neat bootleg I found called Lifting From the Material World. It's a double album with unreleased stuff from each of their solo careers.
>Lennon especially disappointed me. The mind that created Strawberry Fields, Mr Kite and Tomorrow Never Knows all of a sudden just sounds like he's singing in the shower.
I think that's because John knew what he wanted to do but he needed George Martin, the sound engineers and Paul to translate it for him. Like with Tomorrow Never Knows when he said he wanted to sound like a monk on a mountain or whatever, not many producers could take that and deliver exactly what he was looking for. Plus Paul used to play Stockhausen albums to him which must have influenced him during the Beatles years.
John had his unfinished music stuff in the late 60s, "two virgins", "life with lions" and "the wedding album". Not the most listenable stuff though.
Paul's solo stuff is probably the most experimental, on McCartney he has a soundscape of the Kreen-Akrore tribe and McCartney II he messes round with synths, plus his firemen project.
For something a bit less experimental but in the style of some of the Beatles weirder stuff there's Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
I saw a post on Reddit a while back saying that John critized Paul about writting silly love songs and Paul responded with "Silly Love Songs".
This is inaccurate. John liked a lot of Paul's songs, and they were love songs. For example, John not ony liked "Here, There and Everywhere", he helped Paul add "I love you" to 'Michelle"'s bridge. John also wrote some wonderful love songs - i.e. "Don't Let Me Down", "This Boy" and "In My Life".
It was because of the media that was critiquing Paul that Paul said "what is wrong with giving the world some silly love songs?"
Edit: The post I'm talking about which has no proof whatsoever
Is he just stirring up shit?
ask him who he thinks are good bass players and why?
Link him this: http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/the-genius-of-paul-mccartneys-bass-playing-in-7-isolated-tracks.html
Did he use the words 'You know nothing about music'.
When you say Professor, in Ireland that means a lecturer in University who is above a normal lecturer, is that the case with you?
Tell him Pink floyd had nowhere near as much variation in their career.
tell him to watch this by Howard Lindsay Goodall who is an English composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQS91wVdvYc
I presume he's messing with you, or he is mentally defective.
I'd recommend to download Clone Hero (free community-made guitar hero clone) at https://clonehero.net/ and the charts for all the DLC are available online.
Edit: If you need someone to send you charts, just pm me.
> Can anyone direct me to a legit place to watch the Yellow Submarine movie?
Step 1: https://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Submarine-Beatles/dp/B0079J28NC
Step 2: Your lounge room, your DVD player, your TV.
New:
$75 for Sgt Peppers, Revolver, Abbey Road & Please Please Me off on Ebay off of this Seller . I believe he was running a 25% off for $75+.
$20 Help! on Amazon
​
Used from local record shops:
With The Beatles, A Hard Days Night, Beatles for Sale (Russian Version), Rubber Soul, MMT, White Album, Let it Be were anywhere between $10-25 each. The White Album was $30.
​
So around $250, give or take.
​
​
Not a group but Scott Walker made about the biggest change of style/experimentation of anyone I can think of off the top of my head.
It's dropped to $125 on Amazon.
Either way, I'm sure it will be available on certain websites shortly after release.
I agree that it is probably amongst the most innovative works of all time but unfortunately it isn't the first concept album. There are concept albums going back all the way to 1940 http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Dust_Bowl_Ballads and even in a rock context there were a few albums released ahead of Srgt peppers by a year or so like Frank Zappa's debut. http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Freak_Out! Paul even sighted this album as one of the primary influences when coming up with the Peppers concept. Certainly it is one of the best and the one that brought the idea of the concept to the mainstream.
what instrument(s) do you play? and what's your favorite so far?
I used to play guitar in my church (not for the God, but for the tunes) and the bass player and I would rip into Let It Be when the crowd was leaving. One day we got a bit ballsy and got about 30 seconds into Helter Skelter before the church music director turned us off.
Either way, I'm a huge fan and have learned about 90% of the songs.
A few years ago I made these recordings: http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/3412474 have a listen?
I missed out when these were first leaked onto the internet but have managed to find a new download link. Absolute goldmine for a Beatles fan!
You can use Audacity (free software) to open these files and listen to the individual tracks for each song (e.g. just the vocals from ‘Something’ or bass from ‘Hey Bulldog’) and make your own mixes.
Obviously please support the official releases (although I’m guessing you’ll already have bought all of their material if you’re interested in this kind of thing).
Okay the results poured in to the limit of the site's allowance so here are the results!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-7LZV75N/
A few surprises there!
Happiness is a Warm Gun and While My Guitar Gently Weeps garnered the most "Favorite" votes. Wild Honey Pie and Revolution 9 got the most "Yuck" votes!
Thanks everyone for participating :)
Yes, i guess so. In terms of popularity that can be measured by sales etc.
He's what you would call a cult favourite (Canuck eh?), but it could be argued that even now with bad singing, he's been on tour since the 80's all over world playing in arenas, somewhat more than 'cult status'. Though i've been pretty lucky seeing him live, i can't defend some of his 'efforts' at live shows.
You may want to check out what the Beatles themselves said about Bob. Especially George and Paul. They were and are great fans.
You didn't quote the whole thing. The very next sentence is: "There's others that make subtle hints about drugs, but, you know, it's easy to overestimate the influence of drugs on the Beatles' music." In the original, full interview in Uncut, it's more obvious that Paul is making the point that drugs were a general influence on the Beatles at the time, but there aren't always specific lyrics about drugs. In other words, drugs may have pushed John and Paul into the direction of writing a song with an Alice In Wonderland theme, but the actual lyrics are still inspired by Alice In Wonderland, and not directly by LSD.
Here is another interview with Paul where he talks about the song more directly. In it, he very specifically points out that Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds was not about LSD, that the song was inspired by the imagery in Alice Through the Looking-Glass, and that the initials of the song are only even tenuously "LSD" to begin with--they're actually "LITSWD".
Ringo was actually present when Julian brought the Lucy drawing home and came up with the title, so there's actually a witness. There's not much evidence to say the song is about anything other than what John and Paul said it was about, to be honest. And John was very up front about songs that actually were inspired by acid trips--notably, "She Said She Said" and "I Am The Walrus". It would be out of character for him to lie about the source of this one song, and not any others.
Whenever you need some info about pressings and what not, Discogs is probably one of the best places to check. This resembles what you have
https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the_beatles/please_please_me___ask_me_why_f5/
Not exactly what you asked for, but one of the reviews on this page is by a guy who heard the please please me single as a child in England. An absolutely fantastic piece of writing.
Hey Joe was a veeery well-covered song of the 60s. It was old hat, really, by the time Hendrix's version came out. The Leaves first had a hit with it in 1966. Supposedly, it was the Byrds who popularized it by playing it in concert in 1964-65, though their version was recorded after both the Leaves and the Surfaris had recorded theirs.
The Standells, Love, the Shadows of Knight, Deep Purple, Spirit, the Litter, the Creation, and many, many others also recorded covers between 1966-68. A folk singer named Tim Rose recorded a rearranged version in 1967, and Hendrix's cover is essentially a cover of Rose's version.
The song has whole compilations dedicated to it. It was ubiquitous enough by 1968 (the year that Paul recorded "Hey Jude") that Frank Zappa parodied it on his album We're Only In It For The Money.
Paul was almost assuredly familiar with the song before the Hendrix version came out. They really have nothing in common, other than a similar title.
> They play the exact snippet I have stuck I my head on the Beatles Channel, between songs/shows
Sirius XM's web page for the Beatles Channel has an e-mail address you can write to; maybe you can ask them?
>reviewers have noted "Let It Be" on a lower level than the rest of the Beatles albums
<em>Cough*yellowsubmarine*Cough</em>
Let It Be is ranked relatively high.
>I'm a fan but no fanboy
what is the difference?
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fanboy
fanboy noun [ C ] uk /ˈfæn.bɔɪ/ /ˈfæn.bɔɪ/ * informal a boy or young man who is a fan of someone or something such as an actor, a type of music, a piece of technology, etc.:
>I'm not personally "hanging out".
of course you are, we have not just bumped into each other on the street, this is not a conversation taking place on r/movies or somewhere else, you personally have chosen to come to a beatle fan subreddit and engage with people.
Before anyone asking, Akinator is a website that tries to guess the character you picked using yes/no questions.
Now... Who wants to try Lovely Rita/Lucy/Billy Shears/Sexy Sadie/Helter Skelter/Bungalow Bill/Rocky Raccoon/Maxwell/Mean Mr. Mustard/Polytheme Pam/etc?
Ah from Alan Aldridge's book. Some great stuff in there. My friend took slides of some of the illustrations, turned them into slides for a multimedia Beatle show I did.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_Illustrated_Lyrics
I have no idea what the mods' position is on filesharing, but here are the Get Back sessions: http://www.filefactory.com/folder/0393329061afe403
OP, download this, press it onto CDs then send me $100. We'll both be winners.
Bob Spitz: The Biography is by far the BEST book on them I have ever read and I've read quite a few. It's over 1,000 pages... Ringo doesn't even come into the picture until like page 300... So it's quite extensive but incredible. I'm 30 and have been a beatlesfanatic all my life, I know how to play their music on guitar, bass, drums, keys and even a couple on the sitar. This book surprised me with things I'd never heard before and even corrects a very, very famous anecdote that everyone takes for factual history, even Macca doesn't bother correcting it, for reasons discussed in the book... I've read it 3 times.
Kind of. One needs to read the book.
https://www.amazon.com/John-Lennon-Life-Pete-Shotton/dp/081286185X
Shotton, P., and Schaffner, N. 1994. John Lennon: In My Life. NY: Thunder’s Mouth Press.
I think of them as DVD extras: not quite the main thing, but really nice to have. Great B-sides, too:
https://www.discogs.com/Beatles-Free-As-A-Bird/release/676005
https://www.discogs.com/The-Beatles-Real-Love/release/594458
Just to give you an idea of just how great the Beatles were, this bootleg which has been floating around for years will give you some idea.
my favorites are probably Band on the Run, Ram, & McCartney I. Flaming Pie and Chaos & Creation in the Backyard are pretty good later era stuff. I also really like his Fireman album Rushes; check that out if you like ambient music.
McCartney II & Electric Arguments (also under The Fireman name) are pretty neat too. Paul getting weird. And if you want to hear really weird / experimental check out Liverpool Sound Collage.
Memory Almost Full, Flowers in the Dirt, & New have their moments too. And Red Rose and Venus & Mars. Really I think most of his stuff is at least worth checking out, but there's a lot of it and yeah some is stronger than others. I guess I'm going on a bit long here.
A great place for checking out this kind of thing is RateYourMusic.com - it's like IMDB but for music. Doesn't seem to be as popular of a site as it should be? Here's Paul's page if you haven't seen the site before: https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/paul-mccartney ... the bolded albums for him are Ram, Band on the Run, and Chaos & Creation.
I often listen to an artist's discography like this. It can get a bit fiddly keeping track of the singles, and which albums they were released between, but it's always interesting to hear the artist's evolution over each release chronologically.
I made a similar list for My Bloody Valentine: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/PastaOfMuppets/my_bloody_valentine_boxset/
What does it sound like? Does it sound like it was recorded on a tape recorder in George's house? If so, it might be this one:
https://www.discogs.com/Beatles-White-Unplugged-Album/release/1901283
https://www.musicgateway.com/royalties-calculator $40042955.4
40 million divided between the record label, publisher and the band is pretty great. The big acts are doing great on Spotiy, it is the mid tier acts who are suffering
I like the UK mono mix of "I'm Only Sleeping". While that song may not be that obscure, and it sounds better in stereo, the mono mix includes more backwards guitar, and for that reason alone it's one of my favorites.
^("Yawn, Paul!")
I had forgotten about that, I remember reading that letter years ago (1974 apparently). An odd thing though, in an album called "Faithful" (1976) Rundgren covered Rain and Strawberry Fields. As the quote below says, they weren't covers so much as copies. Virtually identical.
> Faithful celebrates the past and the future by juxtaposing a side of original pop material with a side of covers. Actually, "covers" isn't accurate -- the six oldies that comprise the entirety of side one are re-creations, with Rundgren "faithfully" replicating the sound and feel...
Definitely Beatles. George on main vocals with Paul on harmony. Here's a link to one of the compilations of the Decca audition with the track: https://www.discogs.com/Beatles-The-Decca-Tapes/release/616838
This the Beatles eating. that's it. from the 1 plus blu ray. that's it. buy it here. that's it
This one has a bit more than just the portrait, but kinda what you're looking for. You can find much bigger sizes on amazon too.
I got it as a gift. Here is the amazon page.
Edit: it doesn't include the song list, I have one. I can send you a picture of it if you want, I can't find it anywhere. The artist is Tom Masse
John built an early lead through Hard Days Night, it was half-and-half with Paul through the White Album, and then Paul took over most of the songwriting. I have a book Beatles Songs that lists every song chronologically by recording date (which itself is quite cool), and the author attributes songwriting credit by percentage points, based upon interviews with the players and inner circle. Highly recommended, especially to settle arguments.
OP, buy this from Amazon Warehouse. This is a decent starter setup better than the LP60 turntable.
Turntable is made by the same people that make the LP60 and the well regarded LP120, (basically this turntable is a LP120 with a different design aesthetic). $102
Powered Speakers Edifier also on Amazon Warehouse. $80
My aunt shipped me one as an early birthday present and Ita on amazon trust me I just checked here’s the link: Crosley CR401-BE Record Carrier Case for 30+ Albums, The Beatles https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JFMK8BH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_fLvRCb47VXXMX
> Did George ever explicitly say All Those Years Ago is about John
Yes.
Buy this book: https://www.amazon.com/Me-Mine-Extended-George-Harrison/dp/1905662408/
​
I originally wrote 'All Those Years Ago' for Ringo. He was doing an album at the tme, and I wrote it with slightly different words. It had the same chorus, but it more of an uptight kind of lyric. You know, 'You did this, and you that ... blah, blah.' I don't know what happened or why, but I don't think Ringo did the recording sessions. Or maybe I never finished the song. Then, with what happened to John, straight away I changed it. I made it more of a song about John, specifically about him.
Page 420
Yeah! that’s the one . And yeah it’s not complicated but totally drives that song. ive seen people debate if paul played it or not.
As far as I know, the only digital version of them that's leaked online is the CD-ROM. Maybe someone's converted the CD-ROM to PDFs before, but I don't think you're going to find higher quality than what you already have. I'd love to be wrong, though.
One caveat is that there is this book that contains photos from the magazines, but it doesn't contain any of the original articles. It does give a description of where each of the photos was taken, though. So If you want the photos, you can get them in book or e-book form in higher quality, but for the articles themselves, you're probably stuck with the CD-ROM versions. It's too bad--I wish whoever put that CD-ROM together would rescan them and re-release it. That CD-ROM is about 20 years old at this point, and it would be nice to have higher quality versions of those magazines.
> They had already released the White Album by then.
Nope. That photo is 10 October; the White Album wasn't released until 22 November.
> What do you think they were recording/rehearsing?
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Beatles-Recording-Sessions-1962-1970/dp/0600637123
Recording the strings for Piggies and Glass Onion. Various additions to Why Don't We Do It In The Road.
Stereo mixing of Long Long Long, Rocky Raccoon, Glass Onion.
Mono mixing of Glass Onion.
I know there is a Singles collection of all their 45s that I have considered getting. I’m not sure it is really “serious money” expensive like a butcher cover. It’s definitely on the cheaper end of your scale, but if you are a physical media collector it would be a good way to get some of those non-album singles without them being on compilations.
https://www.amazon.com/Singles-Collection-23-Vinyl/dp/B07VQ9YLHS
It was a gift from my dad's friend who got it in the 70s. It was like a special edition ig. I found it on Amazon if you want to check it out
When did he grope, allow himself to be groped, any child. I don’t want to analyze this filth any deeper, but he NEVER abused any minors.
He was having sleep overs Link Dennis Rodman once slept in the same bed as a kid, who accidentally killed his friend in a hunting accident. It’s also mentioned in Dennis’s 30 for 30, EXCEPT Byrne’s Father walked in the next morning in saw them in the same bed. It wasn’t child abuse dipshit (for calling me ignorant). It was weird, but there was no sexualization in Rodman or MJ’s case, it was two men who had traumatic childhood’s connecting with kids in a weird way. Study what sexualization is and stop being so quick to condemn HUMAN BEINGS. I know America is a hateful culture as evidenced in our homicides and I know cancel-culture overlaps with hateful scapegoating/condemnation, but you’re just being falsely self-righteous …
"Can't Buy Me Love" ... I know, terrible title ... but it's a great book.
Rather than (yet again) contemplate the Beatles massive affect on popular culture, Jonathan Gould examines the affect of British, and American, and later world culture on the band's evolution and creativity.
> does it include the directors cut
There is no official directors cut.
You get the bonus disc however.
https://www.amazon.com/Beatles-Anthology-DVD-John-Lennon/dp/B00006GEMA
Four days ago https://www.reddit.com/r/beatles/comments/woowsn/where_to_find_the_beatles_anthology/
I completed it. The opposite side is the vinyl which makes it much easier.
I'm working on this one right now and it is completely brutal. All of the white and everything else being b&w sucks so bad.
I started it when I was 35 during COVID, and now I'm 51...
Whoa, that's cool!
Well for me, I love this book. It's so fun just pulling it out and singing the songs to myself or learning them. A lot of their early stuff can be the easiest I think.
Here only thing to take with a grain of salt is that it’s written in the 1990s, so who knows how & where relationships were.
But from 1968 onwards George was closer to Lennon-McCartney than he was to being a 3rd wheel. … It overlaps with trimming down The White Album, because he thought there was a lot of fluff from Lennon-McCartney, and they partially got away with it because he wasn’t producing anymore. The only LP he truly oversaw from 68 - Breakup was Abbey Road.
Of course it was a joke. Nothing happened.
Told by Nettie herself in her book. You need publicity to sell your book.
https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Stars-Daughter-Nettie-Baker/dp/1912782022
You need to read Anthology, just for that section.
Saltzman released a book https://www.amazon.com/Beatles-India-Paul-Saltzman/dp/1683831454 It’s been a long time since I read this one; I can’t remember what I thought.
Ajoy Bose wrote one, which isn’t very well written - something I do remember. https://www.amazon.com/Across-Universe-Beatles-India-2018/dp/0670089575
To better understand their experience you need to explore TM.
I don't know if there is one with art from Peter Max, but there was a paperback by Max Wilk:
https://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Submarine-Max-Wilk-Beatles/dp/B000J0XMFG
I have it buried somewhere, but remember it was pretty cool.
Here Is The Chapter Screaming The Beatles The First Boy Band Breaks The Gender Mold There Are Many Very Good Reviews From Major Publications Including Rolling Stone,NPR The Boston Globe Etc And she draws her own ridiculous interpretations.
Glitter Up the Dark
Why has music so often served as an accomplice to transcendent expressions of gender? Why did the query ;is he musical?; become code, in the twentieth century, for;is he gay?; Why is music so inherently queer? For Sasha Geffen, the answers lie, in part, in music’s intrinsic quality of subliminal expression, which, through paradox and contradiction, allows rigid gender roles to fall away in a sensual and ambiguous exchange between performer and listener. Glitter Up the Dark traces the history of this gender fluidity in pop music from the early twentieth century to the present day.
Starting with early blues and the Beatles and continuing with performers such as David Bowie, Prince, Missy Elliot, and Frank Ocean, Geffen explores how artists have used music, fashion, language, and technology to break out of the confines mandated by gender essentialism and establish the voice as the primary expression of gender transgression. From glam rock and punk to disco, techno, and hip-hop, music helped
Here is many very good reviews the author Sasha Geffen got from many major publications including NPR, Rolling Stone The Boston Globe etc
i found it in grey on their website and white on amazon
For a really fascinating take on Beatles books, I recommend Erin Torkelson Weber's "The Beatles and the Historians" - kind of an overview of how the Beatles have been written about and the big narratives that have formed around them. Helps quite a bit to understand the biases of authors, and how everyone jumps on the bandwagon.
The book I've enjoyed recently was "One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time" by Craig Brown. Certainly not the seminal biography by a long shot, but a really fun read.
GIOVANNI PLAYS BEATLES SONGS VOL I https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000002F59/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_RNWDDETGJ22SA4RT1WD1
GIOVANNI PLAYS BEATLES SONGS VOL II https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000002F5L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ESAQKPJQZRRJ0VF5EZQ1
Based on a small sample of r/Beatles subscribers...Revolver is our favorite album. (Also if you wish to be on here, just submit this form).
My personal favorite album is Please Please Me, though With the Beatles is very, very close.
Favorite single: Please Please Me/Ask Me Why :P
You’re welcome - I don’t know how easy it is to get a hold of a copy, but it might be possible to order it through voormann.com. <em>Hamburg Days</em> and <em>It Started in Hamburg</em>might also be of interest, if they’re still available somewhere.
You’re welcome - I don’t know how easy it is to get a hold of a copy, but it might be possible to order it through voormann.com. <em>Hamburg Days</em> and It Started in Hamburg might also be of interest.
​
This has been on my list for a while.. i'll get it someday.
The frame that it came in was actually quite cheaply made, so I wouldn’t recommend that one in all honesty. The frames that I use for my special records can be found here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UNSPUDQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_NB2XAK8BKSW0BZE4SMEX
Hope this helps!
Thanks for naming a brand. I bought a used copy from a trustworthy store I frequent. While I’m 100% certain it’s not counterfeit, the original owner didn’t keep the sleeves.
You just led me to what I think may solve my issue… These, I believe will do the trick — except for White Album and Past Masters.
OP, it’s $9.99 for 50… more than you need but it’s a starting point. I may order them this week. If so, I’ll post in this thread whether they fit.
Collection of several of r/Beatles favorite songs... If you want to be on here, information is in the side bar.
Here’s quite a good book on how modern auto tune use has revolutionised vocal expression in music.
Neon Screams: How Drill, Trap and Bashment Made Music New Again https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1913462242/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_SFTWAEH3HAKKYTC0Y9K6
That postcard is one of many included in Ringo's book, Postcards From the Boys. I have the book and saw it in there first. Since Get Back just aired and was so popular, I'm not surprised they picked that one to talk about on Kimmel.
To listen to the original mixes you'll have to track down and buy the vinyl. The U.S. albums CD box has the albums configured as they were released in the US, but you're getting the UK mixes.
I’ve studied The Beatles and have been an avid fan for over 45 years. I am also a damn stickler for facts. My main genre of collecting is (reputable) books about The Beatles.
The pinnacle of Lennon biographies IMO is Lennon by Ray Coleman.
Also, anything written by Mark Lewisohn is gospel. He is known to be the foremost authority on The Beatles.
To approach a subject as vibrant and varied as Beatles biographies with all its controversies and revelations over the years, it's really important to understand there are distinct categories into which each of these books can be placed. The authors all have different sources (some less reliable than others), different areas of focus, different motivations for writing their books, and very different versions of the story to tell. Learning about this and recognizing how to categorize them helps you understand the general intent of each work, the intended audience, and the biases being brought to the page.
IMO, the fastest way to untangle the intricate webs woven over the decades and help you understand which book is best for you at any given moment, is to read (or at least have handy) The Beatles and the Historians by Erin Weber. It's a wonderful reference for understanding the types of Beatles biographies out there before you dive into any of them.
FWIW: I agree wholeheartedly with those who have recommended Tune In by Mark Lewisohn, but be aware this just covers their career up to the end of 1962 just as they are beginning to become stratospherically popular. The Extended version of this text is over 1700 pages across two volumes. Part two won't likely be out until 2024. Part one is excellent, but shouldn't be your only biographical resource.
Both of your links are dead, but I found this on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1964-BEATLES-COLLECTIBLES-MURRAY-K-5TH-BEATLE-COLLAGE-ART-WOW-/280787754220
Something actually signed by The Beatles would fetch a pretty penny, like this. which sold for $14,500 USD.
>Paul McCartney's wistful song "When I'm Sixty-Four" was released on the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The next year, an artist named Michael Leonard tried to imagine what the young musicians might look like four decades later -- on their 64th birthdays. We never got a chance to figure out whether he sized up Lennon and Harrison correctly. But we know that Paul, even at 71 today, never got jowly. And Ringo never went the suit route. You can see for yourself when the two perform at the Grammys on January 26.
http://www.openculture.com/2014/01/what-john-paul-ringo-george-will-look-like-when-theyre-64.html
In The All Music Guide's great review of The Beatles Past Masters album,they say they proved that they could rock really,really hard with their songs I Feel Fine,She's a Woman,and the peerless I'm Down http://www.allmusic.com/album/past-masters-mw0000691313 all from late 1964 and early 1965.
In this All Music Guide review of The Beatles early 1963 album,With The Beatles Stephen Thomas Erlewine says at the end of the very good review that still the heart of With The Beatles lies not in the covers but the originals where it was clear that even at this early stage The Beatles were rapidly maturing and changing turning into expert craftsman and musical innovators.
On a somewhat related note, Willie Weeks is a great sessions bassist who worked with George. His bass lines are what drive Woman Don't You Cry For Me and Flying Hour.
Prior to Sgt Peppers, the Beatles' discography was completely different than the UK. All the albums released and the tracklistings are listed here. To get into specifics about pressings and variations, check out Discogs. It's where I personally keep track of my collection online and learns about different presses from different countries!
Oh you mean how the songs are sequenced? Neither was I, I made my own playlist and just listen to that haha. ‘I just put all the rockers in front and the acoustic and slower tracks on the 2nd half. Also ‘Let It Be…Naked’ is available on vinyl. https://www.amazon.ca/Let-Be-Naked-Gatefold-Vinyl/dp/B0000T6JGU
Definitely check out the "Preview" on Amazon to read a significant portion of the beginning of this book. Gives you a feel for what you get when you spend the money on it. In the end I decided not to, but I almost did. I might put it on my wishlist or something for a bday/holiday gift idea.
I hope that link works for interested people, but I'm not really sure it will. In any case, look up The Lyrics on Amazon and then click the picture on the left with the "Look Inside" banner.
Get Back: The Unauthorized Chronicle of the Beatles' " Let It Be" Disaster https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312199813/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_a_QSV5QBTNX81BQ1Y2H20N
Get this book and the complete sessions and read the passage about each "song" the listen, I found this method extremely rewarding !
the story was in this series can’t remember which one. but the astrology thing I don’t know the exact source but it’s pretty well known. He and yoko were both into it. I don’t know so much but for example they had a tarot card reader apparently and he wrote a book.
I actually looked for that album today and it’s nicely on Spotify!
As far as an actual album is concerned, here is the set of vinyls on amazon.
THE BEATLES: ALL TOO MUCH: The Untold Story of a Hollywood Actor's Two Months with the Beatles in India