Episodes
Ep. 98 | "The White Album” as a Single LP
Tony’s favourite Beatles record is their beloved double album, “The Beatles Story”. Jokes! It’s the legendary, self-titled 2LP set better known as “The White Album”. T.J. loves it slightly less. Sir George Martin? He said on several occasions that he’d have preferred a more focused single album. Horses for courses, as they say. #MeatFreeMonday
Inspired by the official UBP Fifth Beatle’s controversial opinion (and a great suggestion from listener Mr. Sticker) Tony & T.J. each create their own 1LP “White Album”, changing the track listing, making odd edits, and utilizing the wealth of material surrounding this landmark record’s sessions. Plus, they each pick a 45 featuring an A & B side culled from their cut lists. Do your favorite songs stay? Do any classics get a #HeGone? Summertime Tony and Dr. T.J. Fever discuss this and more, like:
🛳 Which is a better Patti LuPone performance: the 1987 “Anything Goes” revival, or her cover of “Revolution 9”?
🚚 Was Ringo behind the wheel for the Baltimore Colts’ dead-of-night, winter escape to Indianapolis? Irsay it ain’t so!
🐓 Did Tony and his friend Dan get their glasses for WFLD Metromedia 32’s 3D airing of “Hondo” at 7-11 or White Hen Pantry?
Whether you’re #TeamJewel, #TeamDominicks, or #TeamGooGooDolls - all beloved Chicago-area grocery stores - come on down to 8-Track Avalanche and pick up this episode - or download it wherever podcasts and Jackson Browne 78tracks are sold.
EPISODE LINKS:
If you dig the show, help spread the word by leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.
Ep. 97 | The Beatles “At The Hollywood Bowl” (1977)
Fact: Since 2016, there’s no such thing as an authorized “live Beatles record” without Opie’s involvement.
Sure, “At The Hollywood Bowl” was originally released lo-fi style in 1977, back when Richie Cunningham was chillin’ with Potzie, Mrs. C, and the increasingly insane Chachi. But it wasn’t until Apple slapped Ron Howard’s name on a brand new cover (yuck) that this long-deleted title finally appeared on CD in dramatically improved sound, as a slightly forced tie-in with the “Eight Days A Week” film. So yeah, it was ol’ Winthrop (#TheMusicMan #GaryIndiana) who made a Splash with this Gung Ho re-release that’s Far and Away the only official live Beatles record.
In this episode, Tony and T.J. dive into Giles Martin’s stunning remix, on the 45th anniversary of George Martin’s original presentation of the legendary ’64 and ’65 Hollywood Bowl shows. Along the way, these Beautiful Minds Backdraft themselves into other pertinent topics, like:
☎️ Did the Nerk Twins inspire the Jerk Twins, later known as the Jerky Twins, and ultimately known as G.O.A.T. comedy act The Jerky Boys?
🕺 Are 8-track tapes the best way to (part 1) listen to your favorite music (concl.)?
😙 Does anyone know the omnipresent, looped, two-note whistler on The Ventures’ live album? And can they sue for royalties?
Replete with bonus tracks and new, incongruously stupid artwork, this reissue is not to be missed; and neither is this episode, which will ensure Sunday, Monday, Happy Days, Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Days, Thursday, Friday, Happy Days, The Weekend comes, and kinda rips off a-ha’s “Take On Me” with his hit “Blinding Lights”.
Subscribe here, come hang with us on Discord/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram, and heeeeeeyyyyyyyyyy if you like us, spread the word by leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.
"And now, here they are, the Untitled Beatles Podcast!" - Dick Biondi, probably
Ep. 94 | A Hard Day’s Night - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (U.S., 1964)
🎸 BOINNNNNNG
Arguably the most recognizable chord in the history of rock and roll, the opening G7add9sus4 lets you know INSTANTLY that it’s been a hard day’s night, and George Martin’s been working like a dog.
This week, T.J. and Tony dish deep on the United Artists LP of the Original Motion Picture Sound Track to The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night.” Our dynamic duo gets duophonic, breaking things down track-by-track, including all the classic George Martin instrumentals.
Between tracks, we make time for the important stuff, like:
🐈 A preview of the first known copy of the long-rumored Asia / Alf collab
🍗 Which was more commercially viable: Kenny Rogers’s records for United Artists, or his roasted chicken?
🕵🏻♂️ T.J.’s audition for Beatle Forensics, his spinoff podcast inspecting every version of I’ll Cry Instead ever recorded
🏴☠️ And Tony’s audition for Is Joe English Dead, his spinoff podcast about dubious Google results and internet polls
This one’s not streamable, kids, so you’ll have to hit the record store crates for your copy, or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:
T.J. Shanoff
Somewhere in Chicago.
And by Chicago, he probably means Deerfield.
EPISODE LINKS:
- Should next year’s Fifth Beatle Bracket include Dave Brubeck? YOU DECIDE. Come yell at us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or NOW ON DISCORD!
- Help us climb the charts! Please be sure to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!
Ep. 84 | The Beatles “Rarities” (1978 or 1980)
If your ideal “Penny Lane” ends with a trumpet riff, if you prefer “I Am The Walrus” with extra beats, if you struggle to enjoy “And I Love Her” without the longer outro: a) seek help, friend, and b) "Rarities" was a big part of your 80's Beatles experience!
Tony & T.J. deep dish on Capitol’s long-forgotten 1980 offering and the wholly different '78 U.K. version, and along the way, consider:
📻 Is “The Boombox In The Backseat Of Tony’s Car" the standout track on "Ram"?
🌈 Is mono “Don’t Pass Me By” a better song on the Capitol rainbow label?
🖖 Is Stuart Sutcliffe best remembered for his spoken contribution to the stereo “Helter Skelter”?
One audio note: this episode was sourced from an original Ron Furmanek 45. You can tell because Producer Casey's not on tambourine.
Read Nicholas Schaffner’s real-time Rarities thoughts here.
-----
EPISODE LINKS
Is British "Rarities" superior to the U.S. Capitol release? OK REDCOAT: save the hot takes for Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram
We like to think our show is more album track than rarity... help make sure gems like this episode see the light of day! Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
Ep. 79 | Something New (1964)
Sure, "A Day In The Life" is ok, and "Tomorrow Never Knows" is fine, but only one Beatles album closes with maybe their greatest song, "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand".
It was certainly Something New for Capitol to close their third Beatles album in German, not to mention generously including 5 songs fans in ’64 had already purchased a few weeks beforehand. (#NowOnCapitol!) And yet, because it’s The Freaking Beatles, it’s such a fun and uniquely Capitol album.
Tony and T.J. fawn over this million-seller and along the way ask the hard questions they don’t address in Liverpool, like:
🐸 Is the Muppet Show’s "Mahna Mahna" best heard in stereo or "Mahnaphonic"?
🍨 Why did Paul ask a witness to #coldstone murder to drum on Press To Play’s "Angry"?
🥪 Any of y’all ever spread Heinz Helmer on a sammich?
Leave us a review or Facebook comment!
And check is out on Twitch.tv/Chicago4Real most Tuesdays at 6p CT for "Twitch & Shout"!
Ep. 78 | Let It Be (1970) 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition Part 3
Move over thrice!!! As part three of our Let It Be 50th Anniversary gabfest, T.J. and Tony inspect the Glyn Johns mixes of 1969's Get Back LP, along with the 12" 4-song EP. Then they crack open the new Get Back book, providing Cliff Notes (and Norm Notes) for its 200 pages, give or take a two. Along the way:
📻 Tony reveals the identity of the villain who calls in all those pesky Beatles covers to 93 XRT
🎸 T.J. offers Garageband tutorials on editing out the new pre-song chatter to "Don't Let Me Down"
🚀 We can all agree that everything sounds better when it is "Super High Mastered"
All that and an order of cheese sauce! The sounds of laughter are inciting and inviting you ho-ho hee-hee ha-ha...
Do you like the Untitled Beatles Podcast? Well then picture the fingers pressing Subscribe wherever you enjoy podcasts. Then leave us a review - you can make it longer if you like the style, you can change it round cuz we want you to be an Untitled Beatles Podcast Subscriber.
Ep. 77 | Let It Be (1970) 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition Part 2
Move over twice! It's Part 2 of the runaway train that is The Untitled Beatles Podcast as it careens around the Let It Be 50th anniversary box set. This week T.J. and Tony wax ecstatic about Side Two's 2021 mixes then trade favorite studio outtakes. Also, they grumble about what was curiously left off, though they don't know why they're moaning.
Along the way they ask:
📦 Who packaged it better: Universal Music Group or Dr. Ebbetts?
👄 How many ways can two people pronounce the word “warble”?
🎭 What is the name of Paul McCartney’s improv workshoppe and do current students get a discount?
Plus a "controversial" word has T.J. stumbling into blooper hell. You'd hate to miss this train, oh yeah!
Timpani drumroll courtesy of David Skidmore and Vic Firth Percussion.
Does this podcast attract you like a pomegranate? Subscribe to us here! And, perhaps leave us a review - even if it's just to see what your name looks like on the internet.
Ep. 76 | Let It Be (1970) 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition Part 1
It may have arrived (without traveling/and to prove it, it’s here) a year late, but the Let It Be 50th anniversary box set is finally in our hands. To date, we have 4 LPs! Multiple CDs! BluRay audio! One random EP! And a book! And another book! There’s so much to digest in this universally excellent deluxe set and Get Back book, that this is officially a THREE PART EPISODE. Buckle up, Untitled Beatle People... And, sure, you can say Part 1 of this deep dish is attractively built, even if you’ve never let us be naked. Uh, what? Exactly. And as if there wasn’t a ton of Let It Be material to cover, Tony & T.J. still find time to ask the hard questions, like:
🧇 Who released better 45s, The Beatles or The Waffle House?
Ü Is T.J.’s favorite Hansen song "Umlaut"?
🎙 Should Tony get a "Poddy" (a podcast Emmy, maybe?) for his dramatic reenactment of Paul McCartney’s letter to Allen Klein?
As Hulk Hogan once said, "You don’t need drugs to move your feet. So when the dealer tries to push on you, just tell him: leave me alone, I’m subscribing to the Untitled Beatles Podcast here!" And, maybe leave us a review wherever you listen, lest Rowdy Roddy Piper’s ghost come back to F you up.
Ep. 72 | Hey Jude (1970) U.S. Capitol LP
Before the red and blue albums, there was “Hey Jude”—a massively popular compilation album that included many stone cold Fabs classics, none of which had previously appeared in glorious Full Dimensional Stereo™ on a Capitol LP. In the early CD era, this million-selling title—like most all of the Capitol albums—was banished to obscurity, finally resurfacing in 2014.
Tony & T.J. break down this LP (and 8-track) that meant so much to fellow Beatlenerds like us for the two decades following the break up.
This week’s episode does not mess around (or make it bad) when it comes to Hot Fab Topics, including:
🎸 Are the three inarguably biggest songs of the early grunge era “Come As You Are”, “Even Flow”, and “Hope Of Deliverance”?
🎤 Is Tony’s rendition of “Hey Jude” definitive, rendering the original Paul vocal a big ol’ worthless waste of time?
🧀 What makes certain 1990’s intense cheese nuggets so crum-believable?
The Beatles Again? Yeah fine, but even better (that’s a stretch) it’s Tony & T.J. … Again.
EPISODE NOTES
You can download/like/subscribe to this and all 1882 of our episodes here
Leave us a sparkling review so we can collect the untold riches of podcasting!
Leave your thoughts on Facebook, a fun place where everybody’s gone nuts
Ep. 60 | Deep Dish: Let It Be… Naked (2003)
Take it off! Wait, leave some on! In anticipation of the continuing delay of Peter Jackson's Get Back film, T.J. and Tony react to the recent Vanity Fair teaser about said project, then delve into the first revisionist history attempt of The Beatles swan song, 2003's Let It Be... Naked.
They dissect the merits and flaws of these stripped down "newer phase" mixes, and reveal which bits they prefer clothed. Meanwhile, Tony impresses T.J. with his Star Wars knowledge, T.J. impresses non-listeners with his musical theatre knowledge, and the two explore Harry Caray backwards masking, Rappin' Rodney and the cola wars.
As always our producer Casey comes to the rescue with any trivia TJ and Tony deem too difficult to google. We hope you dig this episode as much as you dig a pony or a pygmy… Naked.
EPISODE LINKS
Can’t get enough of these rockin’ tunes? Find our weekly Untitled Beatles Playlist and the full Let It Be… Naked album on Pandora
Send us your fact cheques and disagreements, or just get in on the all the Good Times over on our Facebook page
We make this show for free, and we’d like to keep it that way as long as we can, and it’d help us a ton if you can rate and review the show on Apple or wherever you listen