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The 1982 Moondogs album In the first few years of Beatlemania, the Beatles put out records at a pace that seems unbelievable now, producing at least two albums of new material every year. As their recordings became more sophisticated in the later 1960s, the pace slowed to one major release per year. But after 1970's Let It Be, it was three years before the next album, the triple-record BRC or Black Album, appeared. Today an album every three or four years is the norm for bands, but back then this was unusual. There was tremendous pressure to produce another Beatles album as soon as possible. The Beatles individually or in various combinations began committing numbers to tape in anticipation of a Beatles Releasing Collective follow-up to the Black Album. By 1976 the record companies and the fans were clamouring for more Beatles, whatever the group called itself. But, even with the diplomacy of Arnold Zonn coaxing them, it seemed Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Ringo were reluctant. An attempt to get all four of them working in a studio for one last push to finish the expected album fizzled. Whatever was happening among them, it was clear the individual Beatles had individual interests at this time. Paul was busy with film scores, touring with various musicians and laying down tracks for LPs targeting children. John devoted his time to raising his son Sean and indulging in various literary projects which he never finished. George was producing a song cycle celebrating Krishna consciousness for an Indian label and was acting as executive producer for Handmade Films. Ringo to all intents and purposes went on sabbatical for a decade to test out his partying and boogalooing skills wherever jet-setting stars congregated. By 1980 however, the four seemed to have gotten over whatever had held them apart. Word leaked out BRC was reconstituting as the Beatles. Recording was resumed and a free concert, perhaps in New York's Central Park, was even discussed. We'll never know what wondrous events might have followed if a demented assassin hadn't gunned down John Lennon on December 8, 1980. Lennon's tragic death generated an explosion of interest in all things Beatles/BRC in the first half of the 1980s. For a while the remaining Beatles held off releasing any musical material, so as not to appear to be exploiting the tragedy. By 1982 though they had sufficiently grieved to be able to put together the album that might have been if their comrade had lived. Moondogs' title is a reference to Johnny and the Moondogs, a name of the band before it became the Beatles. The album resurrected the best of the music they had made for the aborted mid-1970s production, added the new music they had recorded before the assassination—including all that was completed of Lennon's 1980 output—plus offered three recently penned tributes to John. It was another triple album, though shorter than the Black Album. (The Wuttiff bootleg reformats it onto two CDs.) The music was perhaps less staggering than their greatest previous masterpieces which had harnessed sheer energy to artistic prowess, but Moondogs was praised as showcasing a maturing of that prowess. It turned out to be one of the Beatles' biggest-selling albums and a fan favourite. |
CD II *As on the Black Album, several numbers on Moondogs have circulated in other versions on bootlegs over the years. The Wuttiff release keeps the original EMI/Apple Moondogs versions. "Coming Up", for example, is the live version chosen for the original album, rather than the rejected studio cut that has appeared on some bootlegs. "Tug of War" is the track on Moondogs with the fade-in and fade-out rather than the oft-bootlegged unedited track. †† The Wuttiff bootleg includes one feature that was not included in the notes to the original Apple/EMI release, namely the lyrics to "Move Over Ms L" which are difficult to make out: Well now the underground and overjoyed they come on just
the same Chorus: Well now to
err is something human and forgiving so divine (Chorus) Well now
momma poppa told me son you better watch your head (Chorus) |