Free As a Bird and Real Love

[EddieV]

Do you see them as Beatles songs??

Are they as good as any other Beatles songs?

[chris]

no.

and no.

real love is miles better than free as a bird (which sounds as if it were recorded under water and from behind a closed closet door)

neither was deemed good enough to release when the band was still together. or recorded by the members of the band...in the same decade. or signed off by all four members of the band. that last one being by far the most important.

no. just...no.

[efghijiloveyou]

I have to respectfully disagree with chris on this one . I think they are both marvelous. They strangeness of John's vocals fits and John probably would have fiddled with sound of his voice anyway.

[eggman1979]

Well, I DO consider them Beatles songs. I love both songs, specially Free as a bird which I consider is a masterpiece. Yes, they both started as John's songs and years later Paul, George and Ringo added their contributios, so what? Do you consider Cry for a shadow a Beatle recording? Or Back in the USSR or Dear Prudence? Ringo wasn't presen't on any of them. What about songs like Yesterday, Blackbird, Julia, The ballad of John and Yoko, Within you without you, Love you to, The inner light, Goodnight? Or those concerts in that world tour in which Jimmy Nicol was the drummer? Do you think they should have changed their name until Ringo has returned?

[chris]

eggman, if you want to like those fake beatles songs, go ahead.

back in the ussr, dear prudence, yesterday, blackbird, ballad of john and yoko are beatles songs because all four beatles listened to these songs when they were completed, and said...yes...these are good...we can release these. yep...all four beatles. thats what makes them beatles songs. because they got the okay from the four members of the band.

did john ever say free as a bird was ready? in fact, was it ever even more than a demo? the beatles broke up in 1970. and they never got back together. did you not get the news?

and i am all for a difference of opinion. as i had nothing negative to say about efghijiloveyou comments. but free as a bird is a masterpiece? do you eat with a cork on your fork to prevent you from poking an eye out? you need to reevaluate what is a masterpiece. because i have a spice girls album that will knock your socks off.

[jgkojak]

Yes, I see them as Beatles songs. They are both great songs, and, compared to everything else out in late '95, among the best songs of the year. That said... they made a number of minor mistakes in recording/marketing that I think detracted a bit from how good these songs really are.

1) They should have been released as a "Double A" side - like We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper. Those two songs, plus "Christmas Time Is Here Again" on a CD Single, would have sold enough to push the song to #1.

2) They should have released the single the day after the songs aired at the end of Anthology and released Anthology 1 two weeks later. Again, anxious fans would have bought the single instead of waiting for the album.

3) With Real Love out ONLY as the "b-side" of Free As a Bird and NOT yet available except on the single, sales would have been further driven. Again, #1.

4) George Martin should have had some involvement, if only to do a little orchestration on part of FAAB. Do an experiment-- edit the end of Beautiful Night to the end of Free As a Bird (before it gets all psychadelic). Its a PERFECT fit - and Ringo even gets to sing (I'd assume he'd sing "free as a bird" instead of "beautiful night"). In fact, its such a dang perfect fit it makes me wonder... if this was somehow an intended instrumental coda vetoed by George H...???

[eggman1979]

eggman, if you want to like those fake beatles songs, go ahead.

back in the ussr, dear prudence, yesterday, blackbird, ballad of john and yoko are beatles songs because all four beatles listened to these songs when they were completed, and said...yes...these are good...we can release these. yep...all four beatles. thats what makes them beatles songs. because they got the okay from the four members of the band.

did john ever say free as a bird was ready? in fact, was it ever even more than a demo? the beatles broke up in 1970. and they never got back together. did you not get the news?

and i am all for a difference of opinion. as i had nothing negative to say about efghijiloveyou comments. but free as a bird is a masterpiece? do you eat with a cork on your fork to prevent you from poking an eye out? you need to reevaluate what is a masterpiece. because i have a spice girls album that will knock your socks off.

Dear Chris:

I was born in 1979, I`m 32 right now. I grew up listening to 80s music and some 50s rock and roll songs. Michael Jackson was the greatest for me at the time. I became a Beatles fan on (yes, I even remember the date) Saturday May 28 1994 when a friend of mine showed me two tapes he just bought. Those tapes were the Red and blue collection and those tapes made mad. Although I knew rock and roll, that was a kind of music I had never listened to until that day (specially songs like Strawberry fields forever or A day in the life). Since that day I became a huge Beatles' fan. I soon got all of Beatles' records. That year came out the Live at the BBC collection and a year later, the marvellous Anthology. I remember watching the transmition on mexican television in the early days of December 1995. Then I got the Anthology and heard, for the first time, Free as a bird. Sadly, my english is limited to explain what that song made feel but, bottom line, that's why I consider it a MASTERPIECE. I'm talking about feeligs, sensations, moments.

You can analize the song and it may not be the same for you. I don't know how old you are, maybe you lived the Beatles days and when you first heard Free as a bird it turned out to be disappointing to you, which is fine. To each his own, as you tried to say in your last post. Maybe I'm the only one who loves Free as a bird at the level I do. Just wanted to tell the reason why. For me is the closest we'll ever have as a Beatles' reunion. For me, that's what a masterpiece is. A song or an artwrok which makes me feel something. There are people who think Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga are the greatest, while I just can't stand them, but maybe these people feel the same way I do when hear their songs. If they do, is their oppinion, is their problem.

I've been blessed and lucky enough to see Paul McCartney two times and I already have my tickets for Ringo's concert next November 1st in Mexico City. Do you have any idea what that means to me? Those are artist who come here just two or three times in their lives. For me those concerts are the greatest ever, including the Shea stadium, The concert for George, etc. Why? Again, is a matter of feelings.

Sorry if you misunderstood my message, didn't mean to sound offensive or agressive. Got your point and I respect it. Regards!

[linclink]

For me it's a real interesting question with no clear answer on the "is this The Beatles" part. It has all four Beatles, but John didn't intend theses to be Beatles songs. I consider them a unique entity unto themselves...John Lennon & The Threetles, or... Kind Of The Beatles...or something like that.
As far as the songs go...I think "Free As A Bird" is a very good song, and an even better track- thanks to how it was fleshed out by The Threetles & Jeff Lynne...in this respect it's a bit more of a collaboration, albeit a virtual posthumous one... but the demo like lo-fi vocal gives it both a haunting quality to the positive, and a- this was quilted together & I can hear/see the seams, kind of quality as well, to the negative.
I think "Real Love" is both a better song, and a better track...not just very good, but actually quite great indeed!! It doesn't carry as much of a lo-fi demo vibe about it, and it shows what an incredible band The Threetles were (along with producer Jeff Lynne) because they worked a later era/1980 Lennon song demo into something that totally shines & glimmers. A great achievement on every level.
I think of them as a single with "Real Love" as the picture perfect a-side, and "Free As A Bird" as the more off-kilter very good b-side of the single by The Beatles Of Sorts...of maybe Long John & The Silver Beatles- how about that?

[james1985]

Much as I respect the big C's opinions round here, FAAB and RL are Beatle tunes to me.

RL especially carries real emotional weight for me, it's just gorgeous, especially with the video.

[eggman1979]

Much as I respect the big C's opinions round here, FAAB and RL are Beatle tunes to me.

RL especially carries real emotional weight for me, it's just gorgeous, especially with the video.

I'll second that. Totally agree. The same happens to me but with Free as a bird. The video is just great.