.......... .....

The Ultimate Collection Vol. 1

---

The 1st Recorded Hour of the Let It Be Sessions

Disc Four from "The Ultimate Collection Volume 1
Yellow Dog YDB104
Release Date: 1994

1	Roll 1A
	Footsteps (setting up stage floor) Don't Let Me Down Dig A Pony Don't Let Me Down	15:47
2	Roll 2A
	Let It Down Brown Eyed Handsomw Man I've Got A Feeling Child of Nature I Shall Be Released	16:07
3	Roll 3A
	Don't Let Me Down Dialogue I've Got A Feeling	14:51
4
	I've Got A Feeling	1:18
5	Roll 4A
	I've Got A Feeling	16:16

Liner Notes from Booklet

Tracks 1 to 5 The Beatles rehearsing, chatting and fiddling about at London's Twickenham Film Studios, taped on Thursday January 2, 1969.
Preserved here on disc four of this first volume of Yellow Dog's The Beatles Ultimate Collection is that long-forgotten first hour of this first day of recordings for what was initially to be a half-hour TV special: The Beatles At Work. Dennis O' Dell (head of Apple films) suggested this documentary film to accompany Paul's refreshing idea for the boys to stage just one more major public performance. In the end, these two weeks of tiring sessions at Twickenham Studios turned out to be rehearsals for their newly-planned motion picture Get Back, later to be re-named Let It Be: their final LP. The planned-for live show stint was eventually agreed upon to be staged on top of their own London Apple offices, on January 30, 1969.
Filming and recording on The Beatles' ill-fated, confusing and most frustrating Get Back sessions started at London's Twickenham Film Studios in the early hours of Thursday January 2, 1969. Direction was by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, with Glyn Johns as a sound-engineer and one Tony Richmond being contracted as director of photography. The Beatles themselves operated as executive producers. In his 1971 interview to Rolling Stone, John Lennon fondly referred to these sessions as: "...the most miserable on earth". Over a period of two weeks, up to Wednesday Januaray 15, the film crew registered something like ninety six hours of jamming, rehearsing, whistling, chatting, lunching, discussing, sometimes even playing and singing. All in all, an estimatcd total of some 200 to 250 songs; sometimes just a line or two, sometimes several complete run-throughs. They were dire performances lacking any clear musical direction, mostly out of tune and time, and rarely played with any conviction. The repertoire ranges from their own new writings (Don't Let Me Down, I Me Mine, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Octopus's Garden and Let It Be) on to a rich list of old Rock 'n' Roll standards (Blue Suede Shoes, Be Bop A Lula, Bad Boy and Not Fade Away), some Beatles-oldies (Help, Please Please Me and Strawberry Fields Forever) and a collection of yet to be released solo-titles (Every Night, All Things Must Pass, Teddy Boy, Jealous Guy and Let It Down).
After two weeks at Twickenham, The Beatles moved on to recording for Get Back at their own Apple Studios in Savile Row. It was here that they taped another thirty hours of repertoire and staged their famed 42-minute long rooftop concert, both guesting pianist Billy Preston. Following these long-running sessions were seemingly endless months of editing and mixing by three different producers: Glyn Johns, George Martin and Phil Spector. It wasn't before some sixteen months later, some nine months after the release of the new Abbey Road LP, that the finished Get Back product finally saw the light of day: Let It Be, an 88-minutc motion picture and twelve songs, a 35-minute long LP, with first pressings houscd in a deluxe cardboard box holding a 160-page colour photo-book.
The greater part of the sessions at Twickenham Studios still remains unreleased. Although parts have been made available on various underground records over the years, these have always been grabbed collections of little bits and pieces, mostly heavily edited and thus losing sight and sound of the overall unique atmosphere. With the release of this first volume of The Beatles Ultimate Collection, Yellow Dog records is pleased to present all of the Beatles Get Back sessions as they were originally recorded at the time. Starting here with the first hour of that first day, complete and unedited.

Track 1 (Roll 1A): Footsteps on the stage floor, roadie Mal Evans and his assistant setting up The Beatles' musical equipment. A long practice by John on the first chords of his Don't Let Me Down followed by a first, far from finished, run-through. George shouting: "Hello Hare Krishna". Going into Dig A Pony, again a very early version, partly improvising on the lyrics. Next is another new extensive impromptu take of Don't Let Me Down, including some different melody lines. All four share the lead vocals.

Track 2 (Roll 2A): A group rendition of George's new Let It Down, later to be included on his 3-LP set All Things Must Pass. He patiently explains to the others what his new tune should be sounding like. Next is a Beatles cover-version of Chuck Berry's classic Brown-Eyed Handsome Man. After lighting a cigarette, it's on to a short something of I've Got A Feeling. Following some minutes of unidentified instrumentals, is a Beatlcs version of John's favourite Jealous Guy, at this stage still called Child Of Nature: "on the road to Rishikesh I was dreaming more or less..". I Shall Be Released is another cover, this one originally written by friend Bob Dylan. George takes the lead here.

Track 3 (Roll 3A): More unheard rehearsals for Don't Let Me Down on this third roll of film. John mistaking and improvising with the lyrics every now and then, "Don't Let Him Down". Followed by a long piece of dialogue. The boys talking over the place's bad acoustics, the daft atmosphere, the wish for a PA system and a better communication between the four of them. George wisely comments: "Maybe we should learn a few songs first." Next, it's into a short bass-line instrumental version of Revolution No.1 from Paul and a longer run-through of his own I've Got A Feeling, by way of a first explanation to the others. "It's three chords there, starting with E, G and D."

Tracks 4 and 5 (Roll 4A): Sticking to teaching rehearsals for I've Got A Feeling. Another full sixteen minutes of McCartney taking the musical lead: "Try and hold on long to these chords, like Pete Townsend does. Just go through it, do it from the lead. Take it Johnny." Mostly endless repeats of the song's mid-section solo. "Can you play back on this tape, can I listen to some?" The tape ends with a discussion between Paul and producer George Martin, again about Twickenham's poor acoustics, the possibility of the lads being filmed playing on a soundboard stage elsewhere inside the complex, and the quality of The Beatles' recordings in the making. "Just do a couple of days and see what happens, get a bit of film." (Paul) "It's always when you've had a great lunch, you feel good having fresh ideas, it really works better like that. Oh, there's this great pub over here too." Footsteps again.