George Martin 'Soundbreaking' series nominated for Emmy

Photo from Higher Ground

Soundbreaking: Stories From the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music, the last project of Sir George Martin, has been nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Music and Sound, Higher Ground, the presenter and creator of the series, announced July 26. 

The superb eight-episode series featured more than 150 exclusive and original interviews with a huge assortment of musical innovators, artists and producers, including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Roger Waters, Elton John, Joni Mitchell, B.B. King, Annie Lennox, Mark Knopfler, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Nile Rodgers, Brian Eno, Rosanne Cash, Don Was, Steven Van Zandt, Ben Harper and more, and included a wealth of rare footage. It debuted on PBS in November 2016. The series is available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

What do Beatles fans want? "Let It Be" on DVD

One of the many bootleg "Let It Be" DVDs. 

We conducted an unscientific poll last week on Twitter on what people want the Beatles to release in 2017. (See the actual poll below). We gave four choices to choose from: Shea Stadium on DVD, "Let It Be" on DVD, a Sgt. Pepper 50th anniversary package or the Beatles music on Blu-ray.

The results weren't too surprising. Of the 194 votes that registered, "Let It Be" won by a landslide with 60 percent. Shea Stadium came in second at 20 percent. The "Sgt. Pepper" set was third with 16 percent and the Blu-ray Beatles audio was last at four percent.

This was kind of a test of the Twitter poll and we probably should have run it longer. But "Let It Be" is always coming up as a strong choice whenever these discussions arise. ("Hollywood Bowl" on CD was also in demand before its release last year.) The only question is how much longer we'll have to wait for "Let It Be" -- and whether it'll come while all of us are around.

(Be sure to check out our "That's What I Want Beatles Store" for a huge selection of everything Fab.)

What would you like to see the Beatles release in 2017? #beatles music

— Steve Marinucci (@SteveMarinucci) January 3, 2017

First look at new Beatles 'Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years' DVD

Just arrived today. It'll be released Nov. 18. Here are views of the inside and outside of the Blu-ray Deluxe. Just popped it open and am still looking through it. Please order it here.

First details leaked for Beatles 'Eight Days a Week' DVD

Order the U.S. regular DVD version, the deluxe DVD version, the Blu-ray regular or the Blu-ray deluxe versions. These are all playable in the U.S. And check out our "That's What I Want Beatles" store on Amazon for all this and lots more. For those in the UK, those links are below. From Amazon.de (Germany), order here. From Japan (Amazon.co.jp), order here. There hasn't been an official announcement, but Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk are showing release dates of November 18 in the U.S. and  November 21 in the UK for the "Eight Days a Week" DVD, but keep in mind that the dates shown on online sites are placed there by them and not by anyone from the record company, so they are not always accurate, especially early on.  Amazon.com is listing four versions, the regular DVD version, the deluxe DVD version, the Blu-ray regular and the Blu-ray deluxe versions. Earlier today, Amazon.co.uk was showing four regular DVD and Blu-ray editions -- a regular edition with one disc, a deluxe regular edition with two discs, a Blu-ray with one disc and a Blu-ray deluxe with two discs. (Be aware that the Amazon.co.uk links for Region 2 DVDs. Those discs will not play in the U.S. unless you have a multi-region player.)

The unofficial descriptions are below. Sadly, the bonus Shea footage does not appear in the description for any edition. An official announcement will be coming very soon.

Deluxe edition description: 

"IN 1962 FOUR YOUNG MEN JOHN LENNON, PAUL McCARTNEY, GEORGE HARRISON AND RINGO STARR CAME TOGETHER TO FORM THE 20TH CENTURY MUSICAL PHENOMENON KNOWN AS, “THE BEATLES.”

The band stormed Europe in 1963, and, in 1964, they conquered America. Their groundbreaking world tours changed global youth culture forever and, arguably, invented mass entertainment as we know it today. All the while, the group were composing and recording a series of extraordinarily successful singles and albums. However the relentless pressure of such unprecedented fame, that in 1966 became uncontrollable turmoil, led to the decision to stop touring. In the ensuing years The Beatles were then free to focus on a series of albums that changed the face of recorded music. 

Master storyteller and Oscar winner, Ron Howard, explores this incredible journey in his own unique way: How did The Beatles do this? How did they cope with all the fame and pressure? How did they not only survive, but go on to revolutionise popular music? With original interviews, footage, staggering live performances, and the intimate study of character that Ron Howard is known for, he puts us right inside this extraordinary adventure, answering the question everyone always wants to know: What was it like to be there?!!

 Featuring a wealth of specially created supplementary material totaling 100 minutes of extras, the deluxe home entertainment editions contain exclusively created featurettes for fans to delve even deeper into the band’s world.  Accompanying these are stunning, fully restored full length performances of some of the band’s most iconic tracks including “Twist and Shout” and “She Loves You” recorded at the ABC Theatre, Manchester in 1963 and “Can’t Buy Me Love” at the NME Awards, 1964, in London, bringing the experience of seeing The Beatles in concert fully to life for all fans. A full breakdown is included below.

2-disc Deluxe Collector’s Edition (DVD/BD) includes:

• 1 x BD/DVD feature disc
• + 1 Bonus Disc (containing approx. 100 minutes of extras, highlighted below)
• 64 page booklet with an introduction from director Ron Howard, essay by music journalist and author
• Jon Savage and rare photos from The Beatles’ private archive
• Words & Music (24 mins): John, Paul, George & Ringo reflect on songwriting and the influence of music from their parents’ generation, Lennon/McCartney writing for other artists, The Beatles as individual musicians, and the band as innovators.  Also featuring Howard Goodall, Peter Asher, Simon Schama and Elvis Costello.  The interviews with Paul and Ringo are unseen.
• Early Clues To A New Direction (18 mins): A special feature touching on The Beatles as a collective, the importance of humour, the impact of women on their early lives and songwriting, and the band as a musical movement. Featuring John, Paul, George & Ringo, along with Paul Greengrass, Stephen Stark, Peter Asher, Malcolm Gladwell, Sigourney Weaver, Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Curtis, Elvis Costello and Simon Schama.  Again the interviews with Paul and Ringo are unseen.
• Liverpool (11 mins): The early days in Liverpool of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s are brought vividly to life by those who worked closely with them at that time including fan club secretary Freda Kelly, Allan Williams an early manager, and Leslie Woodhead multi-award winning documentary film director.
• The Beatles in Concert (12 mins): Five great but rarely seen full length performances of The Beatles live in concert - Twist and Shout, She Loves You, Can’t Buy Me Love, You Can’t Do That and Help!

Additional features are:  

•  Three Beatles' Fans
• Ronnie Spector and The Beatles
• Shooting A Hard Day’s Night
• The Beatles in Australia
• Recollections of Shea Stadium
• The Beatles in Japan
• An alternative opening for the film

 and the regular edition description: 

"IN 1962 FOUR YOUNG MEN JOHN LENNON, PAUL McCARTNEY, GEORGE HARRISON AND RINGO STARR CAME TOGETHER TO FORM THE 20TH CENTURY MUSICAL PHENOMENON KNOWN AS, “THE BEATLES.”

The band stormed Europe in 1963, and, in 1964, they conquered America. Their groundbreaking world tours changed global youth culture forever and, arguably, invented mass entertainment as we know it today. All the while, the group were composing and recording a series of extraordinarily successful singles and albums. However the relentless pressure of such unprecedented fame, that in 1966 became uncontrollable turmoil, led to the decision to stop touring.

In the ensuing years The Beatles were then free to focus on a series of albums that changed the face of recorded music. Master storyteller and Oscar winner, Ron Howard, explores this incredible journey in his own unique way: How did The Beatles do this? How did they cope with all the fame and pressure? How did they not only survive, but go on to revolutionise popular music? With original interviews, footage, staggering live performances, and the intimate study of character that Ron Howard is known for, he puts us right inside this extraordinary adventure, answering the question everyone always wants to know: What was it like to be there?!!"

Two new unauthorized Beatles documentaries

Here's some info on two new Beatles (or related) DVD documentaries coming Aug. 16.

Shami Media Group

"Scream and Shout," which will be out on DVD Aug. 16, is a look at their first American tour. Not all the footage, surprisingly, is the usual public domain footage, because we saw at least one interview that seemed unfamiliar. Most of the footage in the hour long film, though, is of fans and promoters. In it, Beatles collector Mark Naboshek and musicians Andy Timmons (who made a "Sgt. Pepper" cover album a couple of years ago), John Bryant and Paul Averitt discuss the group's music. If you have Amazon Prime, you can stream the movie at this link.

Wienerworld

The other is "I Killed John Lennon," which tells yet again the story of Mark David Chapman and includes audio of him in his interviews with journalist Jack Jones. It'll be on the street from the Wienerworld label also on Aug. 16.

Five new Beatles-Harrison thingies

The excellent Collector's Music Reviews reports on five new Beatles-related DVDs. The first four come ahead of the forthcoming Beatles Live Project, but the last is a CD-DVD set of the George Harrison Tokyo Dome show.  

Now out on Blu-ray: "How I Won the War"

This one came out on Blu-ray in mid-January. Haven't seen it yet, but you can order it here for the U.S. or at this link for the UK. For those without a Blu-ray player, the regular DVD has been out since 2011. You can order that here.

(For all the best Beatles news, please subscribe to our Beatles Examiner, Paul McCartney Examiner, George Harrison Examiner and Ringo Starr Examiner columns. And don't miss the weekly Beatles radio show "Things We Said Today" that we co-host with Allan Kozinn, Al Sussman and Ken Michaels.) We would very much appreciate you.) 

Another 'George Fest' video preview

Here's "Here Comes the Sun" by Perry Farrell and Wayne Coyne from the upcoming "George Fest: A Night to Celebrate the Music of George Harrison." It's out Feb. 26. Please order it from Amazon here or on iTunes.

New Beatles 'Let It Be' bootleg coming (but not with this cover)

Early in 2016, there will be a new bootleg DVD of "Let It Be," a reliable source has told us. There's been no exact description what the new DVD will have, but one thing that is certain is that this won't have this cover, which has been changed once already and will likely change again, we're told. It's hard to imagine, though, that the new DVD will be more loaded than the Blu-ray version already out there that has four different versions of the film.

Beatles "1" update: eBay vintage bundle, PopMarket 2015 version special

Want a Beatles "1" bundle without having to travel to Canada? An eBay seller is offering a 2011 version. (The pictures of it are on this page.) (Thanks to Mike Rapsis for the alert.)

Of a more recent vintage, Popmarket is offering 24-hour specials on four of the 2015 combos of CD and DVD (just the regular release, no special bundles with extras) at prices ranging from $23.99 to $47.99 all with free shipping. And, of course, there's still Amazon in the U.S. or in foreign countries.

Beatles "1" DVDs ready for sale in Japan

タワーレコード錦糸町店 @TOWER_Kinshicho
【#THEBEATLES1】いよいよ明日となりました。ザ・ビートルズ1 全世界同時発売！ご予約まだまだ受付中～ pic.twitter.com/ggtnQNrX1K (translation: Tower Records Kinshicho shop TOWER_Kinshicho [ # THEBEATLES1 ] it was finally becomes tomorrow . The Beatles 1 worldwide simultaneous release ! During still reservations accepted ~ pic.twitter.com/ggtnQNrX1K)

Related: See Tower's Japanese ads for the DVD. (You can order them here.)

Tower Records Japan Beatles '1' ads

Tower Records in Japan posted these two images today on Twitter, plus the post at the bottom.

【#THEBEATLES1】『ザ・ビートルズ１』、いよいよ明日発売！！タワレコではクーポン配布や、渋谷店新宿店での世界最速販売も実施！詳しくはコチラ！https://t.co/4ddrmePJiC pic.twitter.com/9XPT0BuaI4

— タワーレコード セール＆キャンペーン (@TOWER_Sale) November 5, 2015

(Rough translation: [ # THEBEATLES1 " The Beatles 1" , finally released tomorrow ! ! And coupon distribution at Tower Records , also the world's fastest sale in Shibuya Shinjuku implementation ! Click here for details ! https://t.co/4ddrmePJiC pic.twitter.com/9XPT0BuaI4 
- Tower Records Sale & campaign (TOWER_Sale) November 5, 2015 )

Related: See the Japanese "1" DVDs on the shelf. (You can order them here.)

Walmart Canada bundle for Beatles "1" DVD

Walmart Canada bundle for "1" DVD has DVD (single disc) and T-shirt for $29.97 CDN. No word on Deluxe Edition version or Blu-ray. There will be no bundles in the U.S.

Apple Corps Ltd. 

Countdown to the Beatles "1" DVD/CD - What's in store, part 6 of 7: Navigating the discs

Copyright Apple Corps Ltd.

With the release date of the "Beatles 1" and "1+" DVDs coming this Friday, this is the sixth of seven advance looks of what you'll find. (You can catch up on the rest of this series and check out all of our coverage of the new release at this link.)

Remember how the videos in the bootleg collections went one video right into another? Well, that's not the case on the "1" video disc which uses animated menus to introduce each film. For "Yellow Submarine," for example, you have a periscope instead of the "i". The best one might be "Hey Jude," which actually reads "Hey Jules," which, of course, refers to Julian Lennon, who Paul McCartney wrote the song for. 

The one thing the menus do is cause a slight delay in getting to each film. This was annoying at first, though that has dissipated since. What made them easier to take is the humor built into them. Disc 2, by the way, doesn't have them. It uses title screens with countdown clocks, though not the actual screens since even the black-and-white films have color ones. 

Two bits of news: JB Hi-Fi in Australia is showing a delayed Nov. 13 (instead of Nov. 6) delivery date on their website. And reports on the Hoffman forum say several people who have ordered from Amazon.co.uk have gotten notices of possible delivery problems because of the demand. This is only affecting Amazon.co.uk at this point and nowhere else as far as we know. 

You can order the DVD,CD or both, which comes out Nov. 6 around the world, at this link. Versions for the U.S., the UK, Germany, Japan and Canada can be ordered there. 

To close, the fifth restoration video is now up. And our long review of the full set is now up on Examiner.com. 

Countdown to the Beatles "1" CD/DVD: What's in store, part 4 of 7: "Rain" and "Paperback Writer"

Copyright Capitol Records.

With the release date of the "Beatles 1" and "1+" DVDs coming this Friday, this is the fourth of seven advance looks of what you'll find. (See the rest of this series and all of our coverage of the new release at this link.)

Anyone who saw the broadcast of the videos for "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on June 5, 1966, as we did, will remember the message to Ed Sullivan and the humorous introduction done for the videos by Ringo Starr, who said the Beatles couldn't be on the show in person because "everybody's busy these days with the washing and the cooking." That intro is included on the "1+ disc (aka disc 2), just before the second version of "Paperback Writer" on the set (there's one on disc one). There are also two versions of "Rain," one in color and the other, a rarely seen black-and-white version, on disc 2. 

And another restored video should be out today (Monday) if it isn't already. 

Order the DVD or CD, which comes out Nov. 6 around the world at this link. You can order for the versions for the U.S., the UK, Germany, Japan and Canada. And catch up on the rest of our coverage of the Beatles "1" and "1+" DVD/CD set at the "Beatles 101" link at the right. 

Countdown to the Beatles "1" DVD/CD - What's in store, part 3 of 7: The jukebox feature

Apple Corps Ltd.

With the release date of the "Beatles 1" and "1+" DVDs coming this Friday, this is the third of seven advance looks of what you'll find. (See the rest of this series and all of our coverage of the new release at this link.)

Want to set up your own playlist of Beatles videos? Each disc has a jukebox feature that allows you to program up to 27 videos at once. You can do individual videos and even repeat some if you wish. So want to watch all the early videos, all the later ones, all the ones with "Let It Be" clips, or just your favorite songs? You can do any of that. 

Order the DVD or CD, which comes out Nov. 6 around the world at this link. It has order links for the versions for the U.S., the UK, Germany, Japan and Canada. And catch up on the rest of our coverage of the Beatles "1" and "1+" DVD/CD set at the "Beatles 101" link at the right. 

New Beatles "1" DVD radio special with Beatles interviews

Copyright Apple Corps Ltd.

"In the Studio with Redbeard" has a two-part special on the new "1" DVD that includes interviews with Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

Part 1:

Paul McCartney retraces the Beatles with Redbeard from Liverpool to the stage of the Ed Sullivan Show fifty years ago, writing music history with every #1 song including “Love Me Do”,”She Loves You”,”I Want to Hold Your Hand”,”Can’t Buy Me Love”,”Hard Day’s Night”,”Eight Days a Week”,”Ticket to Ride”,Help!”,”Yesterday”,”Day Tripper”, and “Paperback Writer”. We include excerpts of Redbeard‘s conversations with the late George Harrison, as well. Part one of two.

Part 2:

Part two of the Beatles 1+ sellers including “Lady Madonna”,”Hey Jude”,”Get Back”,”Something”,”Come Together”,”Let It Be”, and “The Long and Winding Road”. Paul McCartney hosts part two, and additional comments from my interviews with the late George Harrison are here, too. –Redbeard

It's available to stream on the internet. Here is part one. And part two is here. And you can order the DVD from several countries here. (Thanks to Bill Harry for the alert.)

Unboxing the "Beatles 1" DVD

U.S. residents can order it here!!! (See the link on the side for ordering other countries.) (And don't forget our That's What I Want Beatles Store with everything Beatles! Link on the side.)

Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever video comparisons from "1" DVD - order now!

You can't help be excited about the "1" DVD watching the differences between the restored and unrestored versions. You can order it all over the world, including the U.S., UK, Canada, Germany and Japan. We'd appreciate it if you'd use our links.

Photo courtesy Apple Corps. Ltd. Videos courtesy Apple Corps. Ltd./YouTube.

Beatles '1+' ordering options for the U.S., UK, Canada, Japan, Germany

Here are some convenient links for you to order the new Beatles “1” DVD/remastered CD packages. Two things to remember: The 2015 CD is remixed and remastered and replaces the current CD that's remastered only. The SHM-CD version will only be released in Japan.

If you want to order from Amazon in the U.S.:

• CD/2 Blu-ray Limited Edition
• CD/2 DVD Limited Edition
• CD/DVD Combo
• CD/1 Blu-Ray
• Blu-ray only
• DVD only
• CD only

To order from Amazon.co.uk

• CD/2 Blu-ray Limited Edition
• CD/2 DVD Limited Edition
• CD/DVD Combo
• CD/Blu-ray
• Blu-Ray only
• DVD only
• CD only

Amazon.ca in Canada

• 2015 CD/DVD
• 2015 CD/Blu-ray
• 2015 CD/2 DVD Limited Edition
• 2015 CD/2 Blu-ray Limited Edition
• Blu-ray only
• 2015 CD only

Amazon.co.jp in Japan

• 2015 SHM-CD (Japan only)
• 2015 CD/1 DVD
• 2015 CD/2 DVD
• 2015 CD/1 Blu-ray
• 2015 CD/2 Blu-ray Limited Edition
• Blu-ray
• DVD
• 2015 CD

Amazon.de in Germany

• 2015 CD/2 Blu-Ray
• 2015 CD/1 Blu-Ray
• 2015 CD/2 DVD
• 2015 CD/1 DVD
• 2015 CD