A Beatles Thread - The Beatles Live

[pcqgod]

I've come to the conclusion after years of listening to official and bootleg video and audio recordings that the Beatles were actually a great live band. I mean they're playing with no monitors, tiny speakers, apparently acting as their own roadies at times, with hordes of teenyboppers doing their damnedest to drown them out, and yet preserved performances document them nailing harmonies and playing tight performances that in some cases surpass the studio versions. Not in every case, of course, but I've only heard one bootleg tape (recorded in Vancouver in '65 I believe) where it was clear that they really didn't care and were just going through the motions. The recordings themselves are another matter. There's always some flaw...some instrument drops out of the mix, someone's mike isn't working, overall crappy sound quality, etc. Anyway, if I could go back in time to see any performance it would be the Budokan shows, which admittedly weren't as tight as could be, but pretty solid overall, with favorites like "Day Tripper" and "If I Needed Someone" in the set.

[Bent Fabric]

The 1964 Melbourne concert (Ringo's tour debut after the others had spent a week with Jimmy Nicol) is incredible (it was broadcast on television - and the blistering performance of "You Can't Do That" is preserved on the Anthology DVD). There was a period when I listened to these recordings constantly, and it was a bit of a revelation that...yeah, despite their own emerging fatigue and antipathy towards the act of touring, they kicked a hell of a lot of ass when they were moved to (consider that they were 23, 22 and 21 at the time - a great time in life to wield the combo of seasoned performer/energetic youth onstage).

[Muskrat]

' OK, but let's also be realistic and admit that they weren't going to attempt "Tomorrow Never Knows" either -

Not so fast, there!

[toomanyhatz]

The Tokyo performances - extensively video'd, of course - are pretty lackluster too, but yeah - when it mattered to them, they could still bring it. The German boot camp wasn't that long previous. And let's face it - it's not like any other UK performers were putting out great live albums. The Kinks and Stones, for example, were basically doing perfunctory copies of studio versions, largely drowned out by screaming kids. That they were able to cut through that at all is pretty impressive.

[bobzilla77]

Great performance AND sound.

[Tactful Cactus]

The Swedish TV performance is one of my favourites. The sound is heavy and deadened so the rhythm section is more prominent. The Budokan performance doesn't sound as good but its cool to see 1965 Beatles in that rich colour that only came to UK/US a few years later.

[sloopjohnc]

The Swedish TV performance is one of my favourites.

I just watched it this weekend and shared it on Facebook. It was great.

[Bent Fabric]

Great performance AND sound.

And to think...that's the exact moment when their fantasy of going to the big scary United States of America with a number one record became real. I can't watch the footage without considering the sort of "trip" they were on at that very second.

[sloopjohnc]

Great performance AND sound.

And to think...that's the exact moment when their fantasy of going to the big scary United States of America with a number one record became real. I can't watch the footage without considering the sort of "trip" they were on at that very second.

Every time I've heard them explain that first trip, everything was such a blur, they didn't have time to reflect and comprehend it.

Reminds me of Peter Guralnick's Elvis bio, volume 1. Everything happened in a flash - adding shows, bigger theaters, TV appearances - they didn't have time to breathe. They came, they saw, they conquered.