A "Gab Four" show! Martin, Lonnie, Jon and I are together chatting on what Jon has named "The Murky Times". The period between the end of the "Get Back" sessions and McCartney's "Self Interview" in the "McCartney" promotional package!Ed Chen and Jon Stone, Lonnie Pena, Martin Quibell

News, updates and discussion on the last few weeks. Ringo Starr has a new country album. A very nice stream (both video AND audio) of Paul McCartney in Buenos Aires. Answers to some of our questions regarding John and Yoko on Mike Douglas, and a bit of "Lonnie's Scrapbook", mostly a couple of pieces from the seventies (and the Houston Post) coverin…

Marv, Lonnie and I finish our review of "Daytime Revolution" (and to a certain extent, more generally John and Yoko's week on Mike Douglas). Following that, we are joined by Erik Nelson, the man behind "Daytime Revolution", who gives his own thoughts on the the week of shows (filmed over five weeks), the process of editing 7+ hours of television do…

Marv and Lonnie join me for our discussion of the first few days of the Lennons on the Mike Douglas show in 1972, particularly as the days are represented in the new documentary "Daytime Revolution." John, Yoko, Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seale and Mike Douglas? How did millions of American housewives react to the counterculture entering their avocado-colo…

Lonnie joins as we review the theatrical presentation of "One Hand Clapping", combined with the first ever appearance of the full (?) "Backyard" film. Paul, Linda, Denny, Geoff and Jimmy. Also in the studio were two other musicians, an orchestra and a dog. One of the musicians was called Howie Casey and played a saxophone. The other was called Del …

Lonnie and I spend this week looking at the Ron Chapman film "Revival 69." How much did we really know about the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival Festival? This fil goes into the nitty gritty of September 13, 1969 - and exactly how John Lennon ended up in Canada premiering "Cold Turkey".Ed Chen and Jon Stone, Lonnie Pena, Martin Quibell

Marv and I finish our look at the Seventies US number ones of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Casey drops by, as do clips of John, Paul, Elton and Billy Preston. Look for a bit of a Billy Revival as Jon Batiste portrays him in the forthcoming "SNL 1975" film. With all these other films, the casting of Beatles incidentals is done for him!…

While the four solo artists formerly known as the Beatles did not equal their illustrious previous decade, they did all show chart success in the Seventies. Eleven total number ones. This week we start our next multi-part series (hey, two counts as "multi") covering those chart toppers. We partially go the Paul McCartney route ("we play the hits"),…

Marv and I are joined by Antony Rotunno (Glass Onion: On John Lennon), as we finish our look at the Mind Games Box Set with Disc Six - The Outtakes. While we discuss the tracks, we also take a step back and consider Lennon the man. The personal, political and psychological are all strongly represented in the lyrics found between the grooves.…

The return of friend of the show Darin Murphy (a man who portrayed John Lennon on Broadway, and played with Denny Laine, Todd Rundgren, Joey Molland, Micky Dolenz and more!) He pojoins us to discuss Disc Five of the Mind Games Box, the raw studio mixes. Sean gives us plenty of material to consider, and we discuss how this album would influence arti…

Recorded Live in Chicago (with additional audio from Houston, Cleveland and more), this week we present "When They Was Fab" in front of a live audience. Dr. Kenneth Womack ("Living the Beatles Legend", "Solid State", "John Lennon: 1980" and more) joins us as we look at the circumstances of 1960, 1961 and 1962 which would lead to a new drummer and a…

Marv, Lonnie and I sit with Nashville HOF songwriter, author and man who worked with a Beatle about his lifelong love of the Fabs, touring (and writing!) with Carole King, his Brian Epstein-themed song on the new Billy J. Kramer record, collaborating (and recording) with Ringo and the forthcoming Ringo country album. We also dig into his new novel …

The "Mind Games" train rolls on. Disc four, the evolution mixes. Possibly the closest we will get to hearing the evolution of the "Mind Games" album. Each track, from the earliest known demo through the various changes in the studio through to the near-complete version. John, Yoko, Roy Cicala and all the musicians chime in at various times for a fu…

The Ultimate Box review continues! This week we move on to the third disc - the elements mixes. How many other (non-instrumental) albums have a disc not featuring lead vocals from the named artist? This one does. Marv and I talk about what we learned, and we extend the concept talking about Keltner, Gordon, Something Different, Sneaky Pete and the …

Lonnie and I roll on with part two of our "Mind Games" SDE review. This week, disc two - the Elemental mixes (not to be confused with the Elements mixes). Lonnie also unveils his initial thoughts on the Mind Games (Ultimate Collection) Super Deluxe Box Set! Roll the I-Ching and see if it advises you to drop the cash!…

Lonnie Pena, Jon Stone and I sit down to discuss the first disc of the "Mind Games: Ultimate Collection" Deluxe Box set. When asked about the release, Sean Lennon says: "People were having trouble adjusting to the 'new' John Lennon. So, I think Mind Games fell through the cracks for a number of reasons. The fact that the mixes were a bit thin didn’…

Marv and I talk the Birmingham, UK Soundcheck (2015, "Out There" tour). Soundcheck is 40-60 minutes of Paul doing (mostly) songs not part of the main show. This week we talk "Celebration", "Miss Ann", "It's so Squeazy", "I'll Follow the Sun", and a bit about how the show has changed since Out There (two encores compressed to one! No "Yesterday"). A…

The Last Houston storm resulted in Lonnie Pena uncovering his Seventies Beatles scrapbook. Festival Seating in the Houston Summit! Ringo, "I Dream of" Jeannie, Jim Backus and one of the hippest looking sexagenarians captured in a photograph. Also, more "Got Back 2024" dates, preparations for the "Mind Games" box, and the wonder of AI "Get Back Sess…

The annual "Peace and Love" bonus episode of Fab. Fire it up precisely at 11:45 local time on Sunday July 7, and join our shows in wishing Ringo "All the Best" and the world "Peace and Love" as we celebrate Richard, Richie, "Ringo-Starrtime" Starkey.Ed Chen and Jon Stone

Marv and I review the second disc of the "One Hand Clapping' set, and the contents of the vinyl EP. It is becoming popular for many internet types to claim that this collection is now amongst their favorite Wings albums. That might be a bit of hyperbole, and it might be recency bias, but even so, this new mix and official release of the 1974 Paul M…

Lonnie and I review the first disc of the "One Hand Clapping' set (available on Vinyl, Vinyl + single, CD and streaming), the new mix of the 1974 Paul McCartney and Wings Favorite. Just how good a drummer was Geoff Britton?Ed Chen and Jon Stone

Lonnie and I discuss the new Mind Games-related "You Are Here" video with new footage of John and Yoko from the Robert Fraser Gallery, talking about the WWF (not the wrestling one), balloons, charity boxes and tiny badges. We also discuss Ringo's summer 2024 tour (and Lonnie's visit to Hidalgo, TX), the McCartney 2024 tour, the Blue plaque at 12 Ar…

Marv and I finish up our review/overview of the McCartney "Life in Lyrics" podcast with episodes 11 and 12 ("Michelle" and "The End"). We then briefly overview the series to date, and talk about some of the things we noticed (both positive and negative) through the twenty-four episodes. No full episode on any song after "Here Today" and the Tug of …

This week I am joined by the host of Fans on the Run and our own Chas Newby (and the guy who made that really neat graphic of "Rocky"), Ethan Alexanian. He joins us to discuss the Mark Lewisohn kerfuffle. For those who don't know, here is the dictionary definition of Kerfuffle: a commotion or fuss, especially one caused by conflicting views."there …

WHO is talking? You might not know, as we get a quick flyby from "Toppermost of the Poppermost" hosts "Queen of All Beatles Media" Kit O'Toole and "Yeah, he is also among the co-hosts of the show" Martin Quibell. (In baseball terms, they are "openers"). The bulk of the show features BC the Beatles co-host Erika White, and "Writer, Occasional Troubl…

As with practically every other Beatles podcast in the multiverse, the topic of the week is the 2024 release of "Let It Be" on Disney+. Lonnie Pena and I sit down, discuss the VHS, Laserdisc, new streaming version and more.Ed Chen and Jon Stone

Marv, Lonnie and I talk the new Record Store Day Mind Games EP and two more episodes from the "Life In Lyrics" podcast. A nice preview of the box set coming later this summer, and we return to Paul McCartney's Life in Lyrics podcast for episodes covering "Here There and Everywhere" and "Give Ireland Back to the Irish."…

A review of the Geoff Emerick Lagos tape as auctioned off last September. Two high-profile "Dutch Imports" have hit the market recently (confusingly, each coming from a different dub of the Emerick masters). The variants were classified, artifacts removed and a single "good" copy of the tape exists, and we review it! How does it compare to the "und…

Kit O'Toole joins the show this week as we run through the voluminous Beatles news from the past week (Record Store Day, Ringo, Let It Be) and discuss the Beatles portion of "Around the Beatles." Costumes, Shakespeare, Trevor Peacock and some kicking rock and roll.Ed Chen and Jon Stone

Lonnie Pena and I discuss Wings at the Hammersmith Odeon - the Concert(s) for the People of Kampuchea. Through circumstance, December 29, 1979 would end up being the final Wings concert ever. Got to Get You Into My Life, Coming Up, Maybe I'm Amazed, Mull of Kintyre and Let It Be. One-Two-Three-Four!Ed Chen and Jon Stone

Marv and I sit down and chat about the Ringo selections on Rob Sheffield's "100 Best Solo Beatles Songs" list. As Dana Carvey might say, "isn't it conveeeeenient" that each claims one of the top four. More seriously, we discuss the nature of such lists, how, when and why - and we talk about the thirteen selections. Does Ringo deserve 25% of the tak…

More of our thoughts on the "Life in Lyrics" podcast. Martin Quibell and I discuss Episodes 6, 7, and 8. The episodes are entitled "Silly Love Songs", "A Day in the Life" and "Hey Jude". However, roughly fifteen different songs get covered within the three episodes...Ed Chen and Jon Stone

A Beatles special you might not know about. In 1977, NBC purchased "The Beatles Forever", a variety-entertainment special from ITC Entertainment (aka: The company led by Sir Lew Grade). The Toppermost gang "comes together" to discuss this Thanksgiving spectacular!Ed Chen and Jon Stone

Martin Quibell and Sam Whiles (Paul or Nothing) join to discuss the final Wings show of the summer 1973 tour. If your experience of Wings Live begins with Jimmy McCulloch, you are in for quite a different experience. Excerpts have been available for years (and are now on the official McCartney YouTube channel), but we are discussing and describing …

Martin Quibell joins this week as we discuss the recent "fan mixed" Underdubbed version of "Red Rose Speedway". Sorry Paul, the term still is not going to catch on among the general public. This mix is probably more accurately referred to as an "Elements" or (to borrow a term from the Lennon camp), a "stripped" mix - it is not something that ever e…

Welll...It's one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready now go cat go! George "Don't Call It a Comeback" Harrison joined his buddy Carl Perkins and his other buddies Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton to pay tribute to their friend and mentor Carl Perkins in a Cinemax special filmed in 1985 and aired in the UK (and later in the US) in 1986. …

A grand old painter died last night. I must've done something wrong. More life, more lyrics from McCartney and Muldoon. Lonnie Pena and I run through three more episodes of the "Life in Lyrics" podcast, talking about their talking, but also presenting some general chat about "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", "Yesterday" and "Picasso's Last Words."…

Paul McCartney and Paul Muldoon return for the second season of the "Life in Lyrics" podcast. We sit down to consider the first two episodes of the new season ("Love Me Do" and "Band on the Run"), and talk about the slight stylistic change between the two seasons. We also talk a bit about the return of Paul McCartney's 1961 Hofner, and the Apple-ap…

It was Sixty Years Ago Today... Beatlemania finished its reach as the Fab Four use New York City, Miami Beach and the Ed Sullivan Show to broadcast across the United States. We not discuss the Fab Four, but Fred Kaps, Mitzi Gaynor, Rossi and Allen, Pillsbury, Aero Shave (Wet, Wet, Wet!) and Kent Cigarettes, and even manage a bit of Davy Jones and L…

Before he jetted off to New York, and then Vegas, Sir Paul and his team dropped the fiftieth anniversary release of "Band on the Run", highlighted by the "Underdubbed edition." This week we consider the new release and look at what is under the orchestra and horns.Ed Chen and Jon Stone

Lonnie Pena and I consider the recent production "The Beatles and the BBC". An interesting collection of BBC clips ranging the Beatles years and beyond with some effort putting the "Threetles" in the historic context of the band they once were.Ed Chen and Jon Stone

Marv and I finish our review of episodes nine to twelve of the McCartney "Life and Lyrics" podcast and look forward to what we might find in the second series which is expected in the coming weeks! Magical Mystery Tour (roll up), The Birds of McCartney (not Linda or Nancy), Too Many People and Helter Skelter…

Lonnie Pena and I sit down to consider the John Lennon episode of "A Life in Ten Pictures". One hour is barely enough time to give an overview of a "regular person's" life, much less a complex superstar. How well did the BBC accomplish that task, and are the photos chosen really representative of a chameleon-figure like John Lennon?…

More from the Muldoon and McCartney Life in Lyrics podcast. "Penny Lane", "Here Today", "Uncle Albert" and "Live and Let Die". A study in how Paul McCartney thinks about characters, both his own and those given to him for a song. Martin Quibell co-hosts, which only seems proper.Ed Chen and Jon Stone

Time continues to march on as Jon Stone, Martin Quibell and I (Naturally!) move through the latter half of 2023. Not just "Now and Then", but a number of tremendous books, a new Ringo EP, more touring from Sir Ringo and Sir Paul and collaborations with Dolly Parton and the Rolling Stones,.Ed Chen and Jon Stone

The "Gab Four" are together again for the first show of 2024. A lot of Ringo, some chat on Beatle books from the first half of the year and "in memoriam" to folks like Royston Ellis, Chas Newby and Caroline Buckman.Ed Chen and Jon Stone

This week: The "When They Was Fab" Christmas spectacular. Three of the "Gab Four" review the 1995 "Rubber Band" album from Dutch band the Beatmas (featuring Soren Dahlberg). The Fab Four were not the first to do Beatles-styled Christmas Carols. Tune in for XMAS! fun.Ed Chen and Jon Stone

Sam Whiles (Paul or Nothing) steps in as we discuss the life, loves and trousers of Denny Laine. Also joining is Darin Murphy (who gets a few more words in than Roger McGough, the man who actually knew the Rutles). Merry Happy Holidays to all.Ed Chen and Jon Stone

We continue with our look at the 2023 remixes of "The Beatles 1962-1966". As with disc one, the percussion blows us away. Join Martin Quibell and I as we consider the remixes and discuss some of the recent announcements as we look forward to 2024.Ed Chen and Jon Stone

Now we are channeling the SuperDeluxeEdition energy! Nineteen new mixes on the first CD of 1962-1966. Hear Ringo playing the bongos on "A Hard Day's Night". Claves, handclaps, and drums as far as you can hear. Martin Quibell (and a bit of Lonnie Pena) join as we talk the wonders of MAL and the ears of Giles Martin.…