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So in this scene of the Beatles movie we cut back and forth between scenes of Paul frolicking with Jane Asher in Colorado (see yesterday’s post) and George Martin and Geoff Emerick hard at work in the dungeonlike environs of the recording studio, creating new mixes of Sgt. Pepper songs and perfecting the crossfades between them.
Now, Paul had done his job on the new album at this point, and Martin and Emerick were doing theirs. It’s hardly fair to imply that the poor, exploited technicians were slaving away to create the finished product while the artist was skipping through a meadow with a blond nymphette. But we’ll do it anyway, because it’s more cinematic that way.
So what shall we use as background music? For the Paul parts, I guess it has to be “When I’m Sixty-Four,” cutesy as that may be. Paul and Jane (who was now 21 and a day) made a cute couple, for sure. Today, says The Beatles Bible,
They parked away from the road among some trees where they walked down a rocky gorge to a river, where they paddled in the cold water. Afterwards they walked barefoot in snowdrifts…. In the evening [they] ate a large meal at the house they borrowed from Bert Rosenthal, and afterwards fell asleep in front of his colour television.
But, spoiler alert, that relationship didn’t work out. Asher went on to marry illustrator Gerald Scarfe, best known to music fans for his work with Pink Floyd, especially on the movie of The Wall. They’ve been together since 1971 and have three kids. But of course people continue to ask Jane about her time with Paul, much to her irritation.
For the studio parts we should probably go with “With a Little Help from My Friends.” We’ll crossfade between the two with shots of Geoff Emerick working the crossfader in the studio. It’s all coming together. Get Scorsese on the horn!
In 2017 news, Apple Corps just announced the release of the 50th anniversary reissue of Sgt. Pepper, including a 6-disc deluxe edition with rarities, rehearsals, and videos that will go for about $150. I don’t necessarily want to add to the hype, so now that I’ve mentioned it, let’s forget about it until it actually comes out — at which time I’ll face the difficult decision of whether the neato extras are worth that kind of cash.
And also, it kind of snuck up on me that today is the first anniversary of this blog. If TBB hadn’t mentioned that the first recording session for Revolver — which was the first thing I wrote about — was also April 6, I would have forgotten. Which would have been fine. I don’t expect a parade, but I’ll give myself a little pat on the back for sticking with an idea for a whole year, which doesn’t happen very often. Then I’ll head on out the door to see some music.