Saturday, July 18, 2009

Dream Baby by The Beatles – **

Unreleased.

The recording is rather rough, but this is the only time The Beatles recorded this song. It's live with Pete Best from 1962 and should have been included on the "Live at the BBC" album.

Dream Away by George Harrison – ***

First released: 1981

Strangely, there was never a "Time Bandits" soundtrack album. I searched in vain for one for almost a year when this closing credits track from the film was added to 1982’s "Gone Troppo" album by George Harrison. I still would like to see a "Time Bandits" soundtrack album because the version in the film is slightly different from the album track.

Dream by Ringo Starr – **

First released: 1970

Johnny Mercer wrote Dream for The Pied Pipers in 1945. George Martin arranged and produced Ringo’s version for his "Sentimental Journey" album. Ringo’s version is not bad, but not great.

Down Under by Colin Hay – ***

First released: 2003

A live version by Colin Hay also appears on 2004’s "Tour 2003", which was a big hit for his group Men at Work in 1983.

Down to the River by Paul McCartney – ***

First released: 1993

Another b-side from the "Off the Ground" single "C'mon People". A bit of this also appears on the long version of "Cosmically Conscious". Not too bad, but yet another song that if you know the title, you know the lyrics.

Down in Cuba by The Beatles – (NR)

Unreleased.

John and Ringo messing around with the Mellotron in 1967.

Down and Out by Ringo Starr – ***

First released: 1973

This self-penned b-side from Ringo’s "Photograph" just kind of plods along but isn’t too bad. It was kind of forgotten as it was left off of "Ringo" originally, but was included when "Ringo" was issued to CD in 1991.

"Double Fantasy" by John Lennon – ****

First released: 1980

When this album came out, I was very excited because it was the first John Lennon album released after I became a Beatle fan. No longer was Lennon considered a performer from the past like The Beatles, this was fresh, new material. I really enjoyed it too. If there was any sort of complaint is I thought that the material could have been a little meatier, but the tunes were so good, it was just petty quibbling. I also enjoyed Yoko’s material despite one review at the time stating “You have to skip over Yoko’s junk to get to Lennon’s gold”. This really isn’t true as Yoko’s material works quite well here unlike on "Some Time in New York City" and three of the tunes ("Kiss, Kiss, Kiss", "Give Me Something", "Yes, I’m Your Angel") rank as some of Yoko’s best.

When the tragic events of December 8, 1980 occurred, I could not listen to this album for about three years and whenever one of the tunes was played on the radio, I had to change the station. Lennon’s killer had a profound influence on the death of George Harrison in my opinion as Harrison basically lost the will to live for the next 21 years. Yes he did put out some fine solo albums and even had some hit singles, you could tell that his heart was no longer in it.

The album was released to CD various times. First, Geffen released it to CD. They Capitol took control over all of Lennon’s material and reissued it. The 2000 CD reissue added the following tracks "Help Me to Help Myself", "Walking on Thin Ice" and "Central Park Stroll (Dialogue)".

Dose of Rock and Roll, A by Ringo Starr – **

First released: 1976

After a strong opening, this song just plods along disappointingly for the remainder. I always thought it could have been a hit if the tempo for the remainder of the song was the same as the opening bars. In fact, in Ringo’s 1978 TV special, the opening leads into a new version of "Act Naturally", which goes to show you how the song could have sounded, tempo-wise. The beginning of the end of Ringo’s charting recording career. He would record a number of better singles and albums in later years to an indifferent public. The song was also included on "Starr Struck: Best of Ringo Starr, Vol. 2" in 1989. It was also included on 2007’s "Photograph" compilation.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Don’t You Wanna Dance by Paul McCartney – **

Unreleased.

This might be good if it was polished up a bit. As such, it seems very incomplete and obviously is why Paul didn’t finish it for "London Town" in 1978.

Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow) by Yoko Ono – **

First released: 1969

Originally Yoko’s b-side to John’s "Cold Turkey" and added to the Ryko CD reissue of "The Wedding Album" in 1997. However, this latter version was actually a previously unreleased version. Not that anyone could tell. It was also performed live on "The Plastic Ono Band – Live Peace in Toronto 1969" album released in 1970 and another live version appeared on the "Live Jam" LP of "Some Time in New York City". This one goes on for about 15 minutes and degenerates into noise.

Don’t Stop Running by Paul McCartney – ***

First Released: 2008

Ok track from Paul’s third Fireman release.

Don’t Pass Me By by The Beatles – ***

First released: 1968

Ringo’s first released composition onto a Beatles album, in this case the “White Album”. Though I love Ringo more than most people do, I find this song somewhat lacking in comparison to the much superior "Octopus’s Garden" from Abbey Road. I know that the song has its fans, but it just kind of plods along for me. The most remarkable thing is that Ringo finally performed it live for his Ringo and the Roundheads show for the 1998 "VH1 Storytellers" album and show, and then on the subsequent tour with the latest incarnation of his All-Starr Band. It still plods along to me. The mono version from the UK “White Album”, later released on the US "Rarities" compilation has different sound effects and stuff. Doesn’t really help. A demo version is included on "Anthology 3" in 1996. A demo snippet is featured on 2003's "Fly on the Wall".

Ringo performed it live again on 2004’s "Live 2003" and 2007's "Live at Soundstage".

Don’t Mean Nothin’ by Richard Marx – **

First released: 2008

Richard Marx song from Ringo’s "Live 2006" album from 2008.

Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying by Paul McCartney – ***

First released: 1990

A live version was performed by Paul on 1990’s "Tripping the Live Fantastic".

Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long by George Harrison – ***

First released: 1973

A nice pleasant tune from George Harrison’s "Living in the Material World" album. This one was also considered at one time to be a single, but it never came to pass.

Don’t Let Me Down by The Beatles – ****

First released: 1969

Good John Lennon song from the "Get Back" sessions that strangely was left off the resulting album of "Let it Be" and thrown onto the b-side of the "Get Back" single. Years later when the 2003 "Naked" album was released, this song was added in lieu of such “classic” tracks such as "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae". Truly for the better. It’s also on "Hey Jude", "1967-1970", the "Imagine: John Lennon" soundtrack from 1988 as well as on "Past Masters, Volume Two", also from 1988. A demo snippet is featured on 2003's "Fly on the Wall".

Don’t Let it Bring You Down by Paul McCartney – ***

First released: 1978

I like how the melody goes down the scale with the flutes. It's yet another McCartney collaboration with Denny Laine on "London Town" and very well done. Lots of good harmony singing tune. You have to have a bit of range to sing this well.

Don’t Know a Thing About Love by Ringo Starr – ***

First released: 1992

Lots of “oohs” and “ahhs” accompany this song from Ringo’s "Time Takes Time" album that it almost sounds like a Wings reject. I like the solid guitar playing on this track.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Don’t Hang Up by Ringo Starr - ****

First released: 2005

The best track off of the somewhat disappointing "Choose Love" album by Ringo Starr. Disappointing because Ringo had had quite a streak of non-charting but winning albums and songs for the past decade, but this song is the only standout track of an otherwise pedestrian album. Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders duets with Ringo. It’s also on 2008’s "5.1".

Don’t Go Where the Road Don’t Go by Ringo Starr - ***

First released: 1992

I wasn’t particularly fond of this track from Ringo’s "Time Takes Time" album, but due to the lyrical content, Ringo loved this one so much as to release it as the second single from the album and also perform it live on many of his future tours. Different live versions appear on "Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band Volume 2 Live From Montreux" in 1993 (this version reissued on 2000’s "The Anthology…So Far"), "Ringo Starr and His Third All-Starr Band Volume 1" from 1997, and 2002’s "Ringo & His New All-Starr Band". A CD single was issued in Germany of all places.

Don’t Get Around Much Anymore by Paul McCartney - ***

First released: 1988

Decent recording by Paul from "Choba B CCCP" of this old jazz standard by Duke Ellington in 1940. Lyrics were added in 1942 by Bob Russell.

Don’t Ever Change by The Beatles - ***

First released: 1994

A 1963 radio version by The Beatles of this Goffin/King composition for The Crickets appears on 1994's "Live at the BBC".

Don’t Break the Promise by Paul McCartney - (NC)

Unreleased.

Unreleased McCartney track dating from 1989. 10CC recorded a version of it in 1992 for their "Meanwhile" album.

Don’t Bother Me by The Beatles - ***

First released: 1963

Actually this is a much better composition from George Harrison than he's usually given credit for. I’m wondering how much input ol’ George received from John and Paul. Even if he didn’t, it’s still a marvelous piece of work for a first composition and the best thing he wrote for the next couple of years (see "You’ll Know What to Do" for comparison). It originally appeared on "With The Beatles" in the UK and also appeared briefly in "A Hard Day's Night".

Don’t Be Scared by Yoko Ono - **

First released: 1984

It’s strange that Yoko released kind of so-so stuff for the "Milk and Honey" album. Perhaps she was saving the better stuff for her upcoming "Star Peace" album. Besides, if her stuff sounded too polished, it would have totally blown away Lennon’s demo material.

Don’t Be Cruel by Ringo Starr - ***

First released: 1992

Ringo took a decent stab at the 1956 Elvis Presley classic that Cheap Trick had a bit hit with in 1988. It was the b-side of the "Weight of the World" single, but included on the Japanese edition of "Time Takes Time".

Don’t Be Careless Love by Paul McCartney - ***

First released: 1989

I like the harmonies on the chorus part of this song. It's from Paul's "Flowers in the Dirt". Otherwise, Paul kind of howls the rest of the song.

Domino by The Beatles - **

Unreleased.

The Beatles perform this track during the 1969 "Get Back" sessions, that was originally a hit for Van Morrison in 1968.

Doctor Robert by The Beatles - ***

First released: 1966

The third of three Lennon songs plucked off of the UK "Revolver" album in favor of the US "Yesterday and Today". They should have left the "Revolver" material alone in favor of songs like "I’m Down", "Misery", "From Me To You" and "There’s a Place" that hadn’t been compiled onto an American album as of yet.

Do You Want to Know a Secret? by The Beatles - ***

First released: 1963

Like Ringo at this time, George was not yet a songwriter, so songs were still being written for him to sing. The inspiration for this has always been cited to be "I’m Wishing" from Walt Disney’s "Snow White". I always laugh when I hear George sing “ear”, because he can’t sing/say it. Must be some Liverpudlian thing, or something. Until I got more familiar with George’s singing voice, I thought it was Paul singing for a time. It was a single in the US, but only an album track on "Please Please Me" in the UK.

Do You Wanna Dance by John Lennon - ***

First released: 1975

Bobby Freeman wrote and recorded this song in 1958 under the title of "Do You Want To Dance", but Lennon retitled it for his "Rock ‘n’ Roll" album. It was also on 1990’s "Lennon" and "Instant Karma" from 2001.

Do You Like Me (Just a Little Bit)? by Ringo Starr - (NC)

First released: 1968

Ringo and Cilla Black duet on this song on her show.

Do You Feel Like We Do? by Peter Frampton - ****

First Released: 1998

Peter Frampton performed this live on the fourth Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band tour, but due to time length, the song was left off of any CD compilations, although it was released on the VHS tape of the concert in 1998. It is an excellent performance of a classic Frampton tune originally from 1976.

Do They Know It’s Christmas? by Band Aid - ***

First released: 1984

Christmas single by Band Aid with Paul's minimal participation on the spoken word b-side "Feed the World". It's a cool song regardless.