GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD

Martin Scorsese's George Harrison documentary, Living In The Material World, has been in the making for a long time. It was worth the wait.  The first half seemed like watching The Beatles Anthology documentary from a George-centric view, but there were some great scenes.  I'd never seen the footage of an older, wiser George in the '70s, watching video of The Beatles performing.  Also, there was a great story of John Lennon and George Harrison visiting Stu Sutcliffe's girlfriend Astrid (who was interviewed for the special) after Stu died.  She took some photos of them in the area where Stu did his paintings. I'd never seen those photos before, they were incredible.  The second half covered the Beatles breakup and the years after.  There was a lot about All Things Must Pass, and from there it concentrated more on his relationships with Monty Python's troupe, his friendship with Ravi Shankar, and his life at home.  Which is fine, I didn't like many of his albums between All Things Must Pass and Cloud 9. I wish the doc  talked more about Cloud 9, which was the album that introduced him as a solo artist to a younger generation (myself included).  I would have loved to see Jeff Lynne talk more about the making of that album... and also George's final record, Brainwashed.

I wish there was more Traveling Wilburys footage - pretty much everything here is the same footage included on the DVD that comes with the recent Traveling Wilburys collection that compiled both of their albums. And speaking of them, it would have been great if they got Bob Dylan in this doc (especially since Scorsese did a wonderful Dylan doc, No Direction Home).

But I really loved watching it. The interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were great.  It was cool to see Tom Petty talking about him, and the interviews with Olivia Harrison, Dhani Harrison, Eric Clapton added a lot to the picture of George.

If you missed it, I think it comes out on DVD (with extra footage) in six months, and it is still airing on HBO - if you want to see it, check out HBO.com and search for George Harrison.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: WE DISCUSS THE BEATLES

2009 was a great year for Beatles fans: it saw the long-overdue remastering of the band's catalog. Also, their mono recordings were available on CD for the first time. Plus, there was their edition of the popular video game Rock Band.

2010 isn't going to top that. But there are some cool releases from The Beatles and their members that we'll be talking about tomorrow morning on SIRIUS XM OutQ's Morning Jolt with Larry Flick.

First off, the reissues of the "Red" and "Blue" albums. Released in 1973, "Red," or 1962-1966, is a double album which includes their biggest hits from the first half of their career. "Blue," or 1967-1970, is a double album that covers the rest of their career. My parents had "The Blue Album," and I still have that copy.  That's one of the first albums I remember listening to. There is nothing on "Red" or "Blue" that wasn't reissued last year, but for people looking to start getting into the band, these are great places to start (there's also the single CD best of 1, but that's a bit too short for my tastes). Both collections hit stores next week.

Out now is The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring The Beatles 2 DVD set which I just wrote about. Of course the highlights of these are The Beatles world-changing performances. But it is interesting to watch the rest of the shows, to see what passed for entertainment back then.  I don't mean that in a snobby way: it's just that, compared to the rest of the entertainers on Sullivan, The Beatles were totally wild and radical.  These days, The Beatles are part of the cultural language.  But watching these shows, you get a better sense for why they had the effect that they had.

This past weekend, the whole world seemed to be celebrating the life and music of John Lennon, as he would have turned 70 on Saturday. The official John Lennon page on YouTube featured video messages from Ringo Starr, Aerosmith, DMC, Jeff Bridges, David Gray and many others, plus lots of non-celebs, just fans. And of course, his catalog has just been reissued, including a box set.  But what interested me the most is the new version of 1980's Double Fantasy, which has the original album, and a "stripped down" version of the album, kind of un-re-mixed by Yoko Ono and Jack Douglas (who produced the original).

Meanwhile, Paul McCartney is reissuing what is arguably his finest post-Beatles work Wings' 1973 album Band On The Run. It comes out November 2, and will have extra discs with bonus tracks and a DVD with video footage from the era.

The Beatles have long been holdouts in the digital music marketplace: you still can't download thier music (legally) anywhere. But they are thawing a bit: they are going to reissue the non-Beatles Apple Records catalog on October 25, including music by Badfinger, James Taylor (his first album) and Billy Preston.

IT CHANGED EVERYTHING: THE BEATLES ON SULLIVAN

You can see what they saw, but you can't really feel what they felt. I can't imagine any cultural happening that could equal the excitement of that very first Beatles performance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. The world was a different place, most people had never seen a rock band. There were three or four channels (which signed off at the end of the night). It's been said before, but The Beatles weren't just a band, they were a cultural revolution. And by the way, I'm saying this as someone who was born five years after the fact. But ask anyone who was, say, seven years old or older when The Beatles played Sullivan, they'll probably not only remember it, but how it changed everything.

I was glad to find out that Universal (not Apple Corp) was putting out a 2 DVD set including all four episodes that The Beatles appeared on: February 4, 16 and 23 1964 and September 12, 1965. It doesn't just include The Beatles' performances, it includes the entire broadcasts for all four shows, commericals included.  In a way, I just want to see The Beatles. On the other hand, it is so interesting to see what else passed as entertainment back then: acrobats, magicians, puppets.  It's quaint, but you watch it and realize just how radical The Beatles were (which is easy to forget these days, when they are still so ubiquitous, 40 years after their breakup. Some of the other performances are of note: comedian Soupy Sales (whose sons, Hunt and Tony, would years later play in Iggy Pop's backing band, and then join David Bowie in Tin Machine), Frank Gorshin (who went on to play The Riddler on the Batman TV kitch-fest) and Cab Calloway.

But of course The Beatles' performances are what you want to watch for, and they aren't just intersting as a historical document, you can feel the joy and excitement, even now. A couple of weeks ago, after a blackout, we had power but not cable. Instead of watching whatever was on TV that night, I popped in disc 1 and watched the performance that I'd seen clips of umpteen times and was blown away.  Maybe not blown away like those lucky 73 million people who watched live in 1964, but blown away nonetheless.

GUEST POST: A REVIEW OF PAUL McCARTNEY'S GOOD EVENING NEW YORK CITY

I have been wanting to invite some other bloggers who don't normally write about music to do guest posts on No Expiration, and for my first one, I am honored and fortunate enough to have Melanie Nayer, who taught two blogging classes that I took via Media Bistro. She keeps reminding me that "I am NO music critic." But that's generally who I'd like to hear from the most. I was bummed when I missed Paul McCartney's CitiField shows this summer; Melanie saw one of Sir Paul's concerts in Boston around the same time. So thank you, Melanie, for contributing to No Expiration. And without further intro...

I grew up in a house where Simon & Garfunkel provided sermons and The Supremes sang life's lessons; where Jerry Garcia was ruler of an unknown (but totally far out) universe and Michael Jackson was a way of life. I had a pair of blue suede shoes and memorized the entire dance number for “Jailhouse Rock.” But above all I knew that in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. The Beatles - as far as this Midwestern girl was concerned - were simply the best. I was too young to remember the day John Lennon was shot, but I very vividly remember the first day I heard Paul McCartney sing "Yesterday" on the radio and I haven't been the same since.

Fast forward 25 years and I finally got my chance to see Sir Paul in concert at Fenway Park in Boston. It was a magical night full of inspiration, excitement and some of my favorite songs. To watch your musical idol come to life on stage is an awesome moment - it's a reminder of how powerful music is in our lives. So when McCartney released the CD of his latest tour, Good Evening, New York City, I snatched it up. I popped the two-disc set into my car's CD drive and set off for a three-hour drive to Vermont, just me and Paul.

The CD is a compilation of all his songs from the concert, but it's void of one thing: personality. While the songs were the same, the live concert CD cut out the best part of the live show: Paul talking to the audience between songs. I waited anxiously after track one, then track two, then track three, eager to hear him speak to the crowd. I was disappointed, but trudged on with disc one and sang along as if I were back at Fenway.

I sang my way through "Eleanor Rigby," "Blackbird" and swooned to "My Love." I flipped to disc two and grooved to "Back in the USSR" before holding my own moment of silence for George Harrison during "Something." Paul crooned into "Paperback Writer" and then gracefully lingered into Track 6, "A Day in the Life." I sang along as the riffs changed chords and went into "Give Peace a Chance." I was taken back to my night at Fenway when McCartney, the band and the thousands of fans held up peace signs and symbols and sang effortlessly, yet passionately, to the four words that could save any nation. I was reminded that once there were four young men from Liverpool who had a dream and, not without their battles, set out to rule the world. Despite the struggles and the tragedies, they had a mission not unlike any of us -- to just be at peace. While the concert was, of course, much better than any live CD could ever be, the words and music of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr still give me hope.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: MORE OVERLOOKED ALBUMS OF THE '00S

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning I go on the SIRIUS XM channel OutQ on the show The Morning Jolt With Larry Flick. Tomorrow I will continue a theme a discussed a few weeks ago: great, overlooked albums from the past decade.

First is actually not one of my picks, but one from OutQ listener and No Expiration reader (and he leaves nice comments, flattery will get you somewhere around here) Mel Beavers II, who does his own blog, Pop Goes The Culture. He suggested Cyndi Lauper's 2008 album Bring Ya To The Brink. I definitely enjoy Cyndi -- She's So Unusual is a classic, and I had a great time interviewing her when I wrote her record label bio for her 2003 covers album At Last. Bring Ya To The Brink is a dance music album, which I think makes sense for her, as lots of her songs have been remixed for the dance floor. I downloaded a few songs, but some of them (I felt) could have been anyone, it sort of lost her disctintive identity. I did enjoy "Into The Nightlife." My favorite song on the album is a ballad called "Rain On Me."

Everyone who reads No Expiration knows what a huge Ben Harper fan I am. I discussed his latest album, White Lies For Dark Times on the show a few months back, and Larry nearly knocked me out of my seat by saying that he mixes up Ben Harper with Counting Crows (of all things!). But the album I am bringing in tomorrow is his 2004 collaboraton with legendary gospel group The Blind Boys Of Alabama, There Will Be A Light. After hearing this, he won't mix up Ben with Counting Crows anymore. This is probably my second favorite album of the decade, after Aimee Mann's Bachelor No. 2. This album just makes me feel great. Ben says that he is a "god-fearing agnostic," a great term.

It may be odd to refer to anything that Bruce Springsteen does as "underrated" (particularly the day after The Kennedy Center Honors aired on TV), and Bruce certainly doesn't need any extra acclaim from me. But I think that his 2006 album, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, was unfairly ignored by many. I think they heard "Bruce Springsteen... Pete Seeger songs" and "tuned out" right there. I get that: he was coming off of a fairly dry album, Devils and Dust, and I guess people didn't like The Ghost Of Tom Joad either. But the fact is, We Shall Overcome is garage-rock, 1930s style. It's party music, if the party is in a barn with no electrity, and I mean that in the best possible way. I think it is one of the best things he's ever done.

Larry had a great time (and so did I) when he made fun of Fiona Apple when I bought her up a few weeks ago. I get it, she's a wreck. But I think her songwriting is redeemed when her songs are sung by other artists. Meet Bettye Lavette, who put out an incredible album in 2005, I've Got My Own Hell To Raise. Produced by the great Joe Henry, it's all covers of songs written by women, including Fiona's "Sleep To Dream."

I can't think of any artist who had such a huge career revival after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as Solomon Burke. After being inducted in 2001, he hooked up with Joe Henry (him again!) for an incredible comeback album, Don't Give Up On Me. Dylan, Waits and Costello were just some of the people who wrote songs for the album. It is really great. And he's done three great albums since then.

One of my favorite artists of all time is the late, great Chris Whitley. He is totally underrated, which is partially his own fault, because he seemed to sabotage his career more than once. But that's the way he was. However, if you're reading this, you only care about an artist's artistry, not their marketing acumen, so do yourself and get some Chris Whitley records. I'll do a post about him soon. The record I choose for tomorrow's show is Perfect Day, a covers album that is stunningly beautiful. I have it in my mind that he recorded the album in one day, but I may be remembering that wrong.

It may be tough to argue that George Harrison is underrated, but lots of people missed his final album, Brainwashed, released in 2002, a few months after his death. The song "Any Road" is one of my favorite George songs, I've talked about this one recently when I guested on The Catholic Channel 's Busted Halo Show. He has always had a unique way of looking at death and spirituality. I don't share his religious beliefs, but I'm moved by his songs about spirituality all the same.

I'm sure that we won't get to all of the albums that I've mentioned, and there's many more underrated albums that I didn't include. What are some that you think I missed?

*NEXT* WEEK ON OUTQ

Longtime No Expiration readers know that on Tuesday nights, I post the topic that I will be discussing the following morning on the SIRIUS XM show The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick on OutQ. Tomorrow, however I won't be on the show because Larry and co-host Keith Price are on vacation.  But next week, on December 30, we'll be back. I'll be continuing the same topic I discussed two weeks ago on December 9 - great overlooked albums of the '00s. I have a few albums in mind by Ray Davies, George Harrison and even Bruce Springsteen.  But one I will definitely cover will be Cyndi Lauper's Bring Ya To The Brink, as requested by OutQ listener and No Expiration reader Mel. I'm not that familiar with the record (I actually worked on the press campaign on her standards album, At Last, a few years earlier) so I'll have to check it out!

Then, in the first week of the new year, I'll return to the ever-popular divas topic, as there are new albums by Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys and Shakira to discuss. In the meantime, keep an eye out for more of my "Best Of The '00s" posts. There are several more on the way.  Who are your favorite artists of the decade?

BEST OF THE '00s: THE BEATLES

Yes, The Beatles. Yes, they broke up four decades ago. And yet, they had the best selling album of the decade, 1. It had no new songs on it, nothing new at all. What it did have was 27 of the greatest songs of all time, and gave a great jumping-on point for young fans (by the way, one thing that The Beatles - or their estate - didn't do, was to make their catalog available digitally.  The USB drive doesn't count, I'm talking a la carte).

The Beatles did Vegas, albeit in a much cooler way than some of their peers and idols. The Beatles Cirque du Soleil show, Love, was a huge hit. The Beatles-fuelled film Across The Universe, genuinely did introduce a whole new audience to the band.  I saw proof of that in my young barely teenage cousins who know lots of Beatles songs thanks to that film.

The Beatles Rock Band game will also turn on lots of younger kids (although I imagine that lots of copies of the game and its accessories have been purchased by adults). Oh yeah, the same day that was released, so was the remastered Beatles catalog, as well as two box sets - and the Fab Four sold 600,000 CDs in one week. All of this can be attributed to the power and timelessness of The Songs. Yes, they were well marketed back then, and are really well marketed now. But it's really The Songs.

Of course, not everything was great this decade: we lost The Quiet Beatle, George Harrison. All Things Must Pass. His final album, Brainwashed, produced by his fellow Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne and his son Dhani Harrison, is a great album and an awesome final statement. You should check it out. I didn't love Paul McCartney's music as much, but I love his mandolin-heavy song "Dance Tonight," and I also really enjoyed Ringo Starr's "R U Ready?"

Today I finally ordered The Beatles box set (in mono) from Newbury Comics, and I can't wait to hear it.  Few things can inspire such unabashed joy in so many as the music of The Beatlees. I don't care that it was created 40 years ago or more. It sounds just as fresh and just as relevant today.

More Best Of The '00s: Bob Dylan
Willie Nelson
Aimee Mann
Jeff Tweedy
David Johansen
Levon Helm

PAUL McCARTNEY AND ERIC CLAPTON: "SOMETHING"

A new friend reminded me of how moving this performance was. It was from "The Concert For George," the George Harrison tribute concert from a few years ago. Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton did a duet on George's Beatles classic, "Something," backed by an allstar cast, including George's Wilbury brother Jeff Lynne and Ringo Starr. I never really get into the personal lives of rock stars, but I have to wonder what went through their minds here. There must have been... regret. It's no secret that Paul (and John Lennon) bullied George a bit, looking back, was he sorry about it? And Clapton, on one hand a close friend of George's was also George's rival for Patti Boyd. Most people wouldn't still be friends after that - these guys played on each other's albums and even toured together. That's a deep relationship!

Below the "Something" video is another performance from the same concert, Paul doing George's solo song "All Things Must Pass," the title track from George's first post-Beatles album. The Beatles actually turned that song down! I think George actually wrote it about The Beatles, but of course it can take lots of other meanings - including about life. Life being a "thing" that "can pass." To me, it is the most moving performance by Paul I've ever seen. Also moving: Beatles sideman Billy Preston on keyboards and Traffic's Jim Capaldi on percussion, both no longer with us.

LETTER TO THE BEATLES: PLEASE LEAVE THE YELLOW SUBMARINE AT THE DOCK

Lots of bad ideas going around lately! Bono and The Edge doing songs for a Spider-Man musical. Steven Tyler maybe quitting Aerosmith. The other four guys from Aerosmith thinking about working with another singer. Now, filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, and creepy sorta animated films like Polar Express and A Christmas Carol) wants to remake The Beatles' Yellow Submarine. Dear Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr: don't let him. The Beatles didn't want to really be involved in it the first time around - it is actually voice actors playing the roles of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Being involved in this one wouldn't make up for it. The Beatles have handled their legacy exceedingly well in the past decade or so: everything they've done has been cool (with the possible exception of Let It Be ... Naked) and well executed. The greatest hits album 1 sold millions, Love is a hit in Vegas, Across The Universe turned young kids on to their music, etc. But this would most likely come off as lame, so don't do it!

"THE INNER LIGHT"

Tomorrow night, between 7:00 and 7:30 pm ET, I'll be guesting again on SIRIUS XM's The Catholic Channel. This time, I'll be talking about George Harrison. Even if you're not a subscriber, you can get a free trial and listen online - find out how at www.sirius.com/freetrial.

The older I get, the more I appreciate George. Even though I don't share his religious views, I do think his songs expressed a spirituality that anyone can appreciate. In particular, his acceptance that all things come to an end - or as he put it, "must pass" - is a beautiful way of looking at things. His song "All Things Must Pass" is one of my favorites. Like last time, I'm only allowed to pick a few songs, and I'm actually not choosing any Beatles songs: two solo tracks and one from The Traveling Wilburys. I recently lost someone close to me (a pet who meant the world to me) and listening to George's music actually helped me to deal with it.

THANK YOU GEORGE

A few days ago, my wife and I lost one of our beloved cats. We took her to the vet, she had cancer. It was quick, but devastating, we loved her a lot. You can never be prepared for the quick death of a loved one, animal or human. One thing that I did find some comfort in was the music of George Harrison. Solo, with The Beatles, and with The Traveling Wilburys, he's written songs that somehow made me feel better. "Here Comes The Sun," "Beware Of Darkness," "End Of The Line," "Any Road" from Brainwashed, "Horse To Water" (one of very best songs which he wrote for a Jools Holland album) and especially "All Things Must Pass" made me feel a bit better. Thank you George.

Brainwashed is that rare album by an artist who knows that it will be his last statement. Not a bullshit retirement thing, but by someone who knows that their time is truly running out, like Warren Zevon's The Wind and Queen's Innuendo. I knew that there were a lot of extra songs from the album, because I interviewed the late Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi, and he talked about stuff that he played on for the then-years-away George Harrison album that was never released. So I was glad to hear that Jeff Lynne and Dhani Harrison, who finished up Brainwashed, will finish up the rest of George's songs for a future release. I ain't mad at that.