I'm speaking about bootlegged recordings. Unreleased music obtained by enthused fans spread throughout an in-the-know underground community thriving on the newest unheard gems.
The most avid bootleggers primarily delve into the rare obscurities of the Liverpudlian band, The Beatles.
Though other artists (Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, etc) have been heavily bootlegged, The Beatles are in a league of their own (they even subsequently spawned their own name for bootlegs retaining only to The Beatles: "Beatlegs").
I mean, who doesn't love The Beatles? In their official 7 year career they released 10 of the greatest records of all time, changed the way the world looked at pop culture, technically revolutionized the music industry and spread love throughout the world. They defined an era.
Many people find it safe to say that The Beatles are the best band of all time. Even if you disagree it is hard to claim they are anything less than amazing. And to some fans, the thought of an unheard Beatles track is nearly orgasmic. And for most of you, I'm sure, this knowledge of Beatle obscurities wets your auditory appetite at least a little.
So if you are intrigued, continue reading as we delve into the subculture of The Beatles, Bootlegged:
A bootleg recording, by definition is a recording released unofficially or illegally to the public. This usually takes place with neither the artist nor the label knowing. Due to the illegal nature of the process, the market for these releases is very slim (though the internet has helped widen the range by quite a bit).
The first recognized bootleg (of the "rock" era, at least) was a Dylan release, Great White Wonder in 1969. It's two LPs featured outtakes from Dylan and The Band.
Shortly after this, Kum Back, the first Beatles bootleg was released. It contained rough mixes of an early acetate of Let It Be (then known as Get Back). It aired on radio stations around England.
After this, an uproarious desire for new unreleased material was founded. Literally thousands of bootleg albums have been released. Check the listings at bootlegzone if you don't believe me.
As many know, EMI and Apple, in 1995, worked on The Beatles Anthology, compiling many of the already-leaked bootlegs (and many unheard) onto three two-disc sets. 1 year prior, Live at the BBC also compiled the best of The Beatles' performances for the BBC radio broadcast. These official releases rendered many of the bootlegged albums obsolete, as these recordings were in superior quality.
But, for reasons unknown, many songs were not included on the Anthology sets. Unheard gems like "Take Good Care of My Baby" from the Decca Audition Tape, John's demo of "Bad To Me", George's demo of "Sour Milk Sea", Paul's demo of "Goodbye" and the jam "Watching Rainbows" have still never seen the (official) light of day. Included at the end of this post is a link to a sampler of fully unreleased material so you can burn your own CD (and impress friends).
And songs aren't the only thing. Nearly every interview, home recording, chatter, live performance, etc, no matter how obscure or inaudible is sought after persistently. Basically, if The Beatles recorded or filmed it, it is a must have for avid collectors.
And with so much material, members of this subculture have a lot to sink their teeth into.
For example, the Get Back sessions. To those who don't know, a quick history: Abbey Road, though released before Let It Be, was the last album they recorded. It was recorded in April 1969. Let It Be was recorded during the entire month of January of the same year.
For this album, instead of being in a normal studio, The Beatles were recorded on camera for an upcoming movie/album dual release, Get Back. Cameras were literally filming everything The Beatles did for almost an entire month. Hours upon hours of recordings.
An independent label, Purple Chick (well respected by bootleggers), obtained these tapes and compiled a, get this, 83-Disc set with 2187 tracks and 97 hours of material. Think of that. 83 Discs. 97 Hours. Wow. And that is simply one single solitary month of material.
Purple Chick is known for its elaborately massive sets. Rolling Stone did a quick story on them a while back. Regardless, if you obtain a Purple Chick "Deluxe" set, you are getting the best and most expansive version of that album available. For example, The White Album is a whopping 12 discs. Sgt. Pepper is 6 discs. None are less than 3 discs. Included are the full albums pressed from a converted vinyl copy (the original pressings of the Beatles on CD were always seen as very poor, and therefore most fans prefer the sound of the vinyl pressings), all the available sessions, outtakes and demos and even some alternate mixes.
Another great thing about these sets is that they are always free. The creators are members of this community and compile them for their fellow collectors and friends.
With all this, one would assume that all of the Beatles' recordings would be exhausted, but 'tis not the case. Through interviews and books, Bootleggers have uncovered many coveted tracks still unbootlegged. "Holy Grails" of The Beatles, I suppose.
Among these are "Carnival of Light", a 15-minute experimental track Paul agreed to record for The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave; Helter Skelter (take 3), a bluesy version of this song that lasted for an epic 27 minutes; and many more.
Locked away in the Apple vaults, many would say the wait would not be worth it, but even this year many highly-desired tracks have emerged.
The newest release is John's quick demo "Hold On I'm Coming" released less than a month ago from the He Said He Said tapes in 1966. Probably the most notable release as of late was this February's release of "Revolution take 20 RM1" (better know as "Revolution Take... Your Nickers Off"). This is Lennon's personal edit of the White Album version of Revolution 1, extending it to a whopping 10:46 with the normal ending looping over and over with various overdubs and chatter tacked on.
It really is amazing, the wealth of material The Beatles created. Though average listeners would dub most of the unreleased songs as "too obscure to enjoy," it still is very interesting seeing the writing process from demo stage to final completion. For example, Strawberry Fields Forever had an amazing evolution. From early demos with a working title of "It's Not Too Bad," the song started almost as a simple ballad and climaxed into the transcendental psychedelic epic on Magical Mystery Tour. This evolution is documented via 15 different demos and 9 released takes (of 26 total). You literally hear John's thought process in the works. It really is quite an awesome way of looking at a half-decade old song in a new way.
If anything, this intense amount of documented works only supports the claim that The Beatles are the best band of all time. Again, it is a subjective opinion (I suppose all opinions are subjective), but still, you gotta hand it to John, Paul, George and Ringo. If this much attention is placed on four humans, they must have been pretty damn amazing. They really, as John infamously put it, might be bigger than Jesus.
Overall, The Beatles have tens of thousands of individual songs available on thousands of bootlegged albums. And thanks to the internet, these are more readily accessible than ever.
I will not link directly to any specific sites harboring Beatles tracks in fear that they may be removed, but a tip: search "Beatles bootleg blog" in google. See what you find.
Other ways to find unreleased Beatles' material is via bittorrent. The best tracker I know of for bootlegs is Demonoid (though you need an invite). Every single Purple Chick album is available on Demonoid, as well as hundreds of other bootlegs.
Also, you can ask around on the bootlegzone forums. They love helping new people get into their beautiful subculture.
For now, enjoy this sampler I have uploaded (includes "Take Good Care of My Baby" "Bad To Me" "Sour Milk Sea" "Christmas Time Is Here Again" "Goodbye" "Revolution t20 RM1" and "Watching Rainbows": BOOTLEG SAMPLER (.zip - .mp3)
Cheers, fellow friends!
