Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Beatles Bonanza: Listen to Three “New” Versions of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” from “White Album” 50th Anniversary

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We’re getting ready for the November 9th launch of the 50th anniversary of “The White Album.” I recently attended the press conference where Giles Martin, son of the late great 5th Beatle, George Martin, played samples from the tracks. The package includes his 2018 remix of the album, as well as rehearsal tapes, and a disc devoted to the famous “Esher” demos (pronounced Eesher).

In 1968 George Harrison had the three other lads over and they each played their songs– as Giles says, “unplugged.” The Esher demos sound amazing considered they’re 50 years old and were just…demos.

So here are the three versions of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” from the 50th anniversary box set, which you can tell I am excited about. The Take 2 version was included on one of the Beatles Anthology albums, but now it’s all cleaned up.

PS A month after “The White Album” package arrives comes two new packages from Paul McCartney devoted to “Wings Wild Life” and “Red Rose Speedway.” When the Beatles broke up it was so horrifying that any solo work they issued was received like a buoy in a dark and forbidding sea. With McCartney it was the “McCartney” album, then “Ram,” “Another Day” and then– what? “Wings Wild Life” emerged, without any single (why? who knows? “I Am Your Singer” could have been, so could “Tomorrow”). It was a weird time as Paul figured out what he was going to do. Then came “Red Rose Speedway” with “My Love”– commercial hits. I’m very anxious to see what the box sets are like. Of course, after “Red Rose Speedway” came “Band on the Run,” and the rest is history!

Giles Martin 2018 mix from the White Album 50th anniversary

Take 2 version from the “White Album” 50th anniversary:

Esher (pronounced Eesher) version from “The White Album” 50th:

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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