The Beatles - Caught On Tape! (1963-1969) (Released)

For the last few months, I’ve been working with an audio engineer friend to create a six-disc collection of The Beatles’ home demos and other informal recordings. Each track has been carefully restored, correcting azimuth errors, pitch and speed variations, and unbalanced levels, without resorting to any noise reduction, EQ, limiting, or other processes that might damage the sonics in any way.

I know there are few Beatles fans here, so I thought I’d create a thread for the project and share it with all you good folks. Issue #1 is now available and I’ll be posting a tracklist in the next post. PM me if you would like a copy.

THE BEATLES
Caught On Tape! #1 (1963–1964)

c. May 1963
[?]
     01. Bad To Me [1:25]

c. July 1963
The McCartney House
     02. Tammy/Over the Rainbow (radio sing-along) [2:03]
     03. guitar instrumental #1 [0:34]
     04. guitar instrumental #2 [2:32]
     05. Michelle [1:01]
     06. guitar instrumental #3 [0:13]
     07. guitar instrumental #4 [1:21]
     08. guitar instrumental #5 [1:08]
     09. Three Coins In The Fountain [1:39]
     10. Rockin’ And Rollin' (backing track) [0:59]
     11. Rockin' And Rollin' (guitar overdub fragment) [0:14]
     12. Rockin' And Rollin' (false starts) [0:23]
     13. Rockin' And Rollin' (trumpet overdub) [1:25]
     14. Rockin' And Rollin' (vocal overdub) [1:16]

22–27 July 1963
Royal Pier Hotel
     15. reading 1 Kings 17–18 (w/Gerry Marsden) [7:22]
     16. singing Psalms 23–24 (w/Gerry Marsden) [2:29]
     17. asking directions (w/Gerry Marsden) [8:33]

30 July 1963
EMI Studio 2
     18. piano-drum instrumental [1:39]

19–24 August 1963
Palace Court Hotel
     19. Don't Bother Me/guitar instrumental [5:54]

c. July–October 1963
London [?]
     20. I'm In Love [1:35]

1–14 January 1964
Flat 3, 13 Emperor’s Gate, London [?]
     21. If I Fell (take 1) [0:15]
     22. If I Fell (take 2) [2:30]
     23. If I Fell (take 3) [0:28]
     24. If I Fell (take 4) [0:38]
     25. If I Fell (take 5) [0:15]

18 January–4 February 1964
Hotel George V
     26. One And One Is Two [1:52]

21 February 1964
Deauville Hotel, Miami Beach
     27. Talking Guitar Blues [3:31]

23 June 1964
Hotel St. George, Wellington
     28. Gavotte en Rondeau/Bourrée in E minor [0:30]

I'm so glad to read such a response, RedFive. It means a lot after what was easily more than 150 combined hours between the two of us of auditioning and comparing sources, planning the set's structure, reading and researching dates, locations, lineages, restoring the tracks, and then designing the artwork. We started Caught On Tape back in July 2010, so it's incredibly gratifying to see it taking its first steps into the world. This is my first fan project, so I'm new to this feeling. :-)

There are several "core" Beatles bootlegs a collector should have. My all-time favorite and most-listened-to is the near-complete collection of BBC performances currently circulating in a great set called "Unsurpassed Broadcasts". The Beatles performed live on the BBC 52 times between 1962 and 1965. At 11 discs, Unsurpassed Broadcasts offers all but a few of those performances in full. They are so much fun to listen to, great performances, a lot of cover songs they never released on an album, and in between a wealth of funny and fascinating interviews and comedy bits with The Beatles. Listening to them is like time traveling (if you time travel just to listen to the radio, that is!). For anyone who doubts that The Beatles could play live, they need look no further than their BBC performances. Most of the officially released tracks on Live at the BBC actually come from the same bootleg sources, but EMI used noise reduction, EQ, and hard limiting to make them sound "better" and ended up ruining them. Almost every track they used sounds better on Unsurpassed Broadcasts.

I also highly, highly recommend Release From Limitation, on the same label this set is on, Remasters Workshop. Once The Beatles had returned from their trip to visit the Maharishi in India, the got together and recorded demos of the many songs they'd written in Rishikesh. These demos are essentially the entire White Album, plus or minus a few tracks, and have become known among collectors as the "Esher" demos (many were recorded at Harrison's home in Esher). They would've been the fifth disc of this set, but RMW had issued Release From Limitation just a month before I came to him with the idea for this set. So consider that a supplement, or companion disc. I might eventually do some art for it for those that want to merge it with Caught On Tape.

Start with those, because they are the most listenable and most universally-beloved by Beatles fans. They make a good starting place in conjunction with Caught On Tape!

You're most welcome!

FunkyDays said:

asterisk8, did you have anything to do with the Glyn Johns "Get Back" remaster? It's very well done, I never play the Vigotone version anymore!

Nope, that was all RMW. He's a professional audio engineer, really knows his stuff.

FunkyDays said:

Hi RedFive! When you say you have the 'complete discography' does that include the 'mono' albums? If not, I would absolutely recommend the mono "pepper' and "white album". I would also recommend "The John Barrett tapes" as 'core', and I know you said you don't want anything 'repetitive' but "It's not too bad" is one of my all time favorites (it's pretty much the complete evolution of Strawberry Fields Forever from the Santa Isabel demos, to home demos to multiple takes at Abbey Road. It's arguably the most enlightening Beatles disc I have ever heard)

Great recommendations, but I would say you're better off collecting the new "Studio Sessions: Back To Basics" set: double-discs for each official UK album that collect all studio outtakes and alternate mixes, restored in a similar manner to this set. The Barrett tapes are hit-or-miss for quality depending on which boot label you go with, and It's Not Too Bad lacks phase and pitch correction, both which greatly improve listenability.