SteveK

Love the 2023 mix of Revolution. It seems to have more energy. The fuzzy guitars have more definition, and make you realise how good the guitar parts are.

I Am the Walrus 2023 I mostly like, but as was said earlier, not so keen on the radio in the fade. Even on the original I disliked when the radio takes over, it's even more obvious now 😐

First a disclaimer: I'm not an accountant. I assume you're on PAYE, so that may complicate things. I can only tell tell you how it works for me.

I've toured Europe on an almost weekly basis for the last 30 odd years.

You will/should have to pay tax on your tour earnings.

Is the US artist paying you? If so, then you should declare it to HMRC as foreign earnings. You may be able to deduct expenses.

If the promoter is paying you as part of a band, then he will want your details. Tax will most likely be deducted by the promoter before you receive payment. For that you should eventually receive a Foreign Tax Certificate. Your accountant/adviser will hopefully know what to do with it. It's unlikely that you'll be able to claim any expenses, but your PAYE status may make that possible (I know nothing of PAYE rules).

17 minutes ago, dand666 said:

As a massive Beatles fan, this to me is just a gimmick. I'm gonna go stick The White Album on...

Exactly what I'm listening to right now🤘

Now that I've calmed down from my initial excitement at hearing a new Beatles song I feel I can be more objective.

I don't mind admitting that I had tears in my eyes when listening to it. I don't know if it was purely nostalgia, or if it was hearing a man whose music changed my life and whose own life was so cruelly and pointlessly cut short.

Back to the record...

It's quite nice - certainly not anywhere near the quality of the fabs in the 60s. I don't know how much Paul and Ringo changed/edited what was on the demo cassette, but It would have benefitted from the honing that The Beatles and George Martin would have subjected it to in the day. It quite probably wouldn't have made it onto an album.

Another criticism I have, is the production/mix: to my (admittedly tired and abused) ears, it sounds very dull. The lovely, very George/Beatles, guitar lick leading to the "Now and then, I miss you" section really should have been brought forward. It all just sounds very awash with dull strings and voices.

All that aside, I think it was certainly worthy of release as a piece of musical history, and I absolutely don't think it tarnishes their unique legacy.

Patrick Cowley - Do you wanna fu*k? 😳

1 hour ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Stating that they use the original multi track recordings, rather than just calling it the original album tracks, has me thinking that there might at least be some live re-mixing involved at the shows.

 

In that case, shouldn't the FOH engineer have a spotlight on him/her, as he/she is the only one doing anything vaguely musical...

Or, maybe he/she should be on stage, throwing a few shapes and getting the audience going... er, hold on... wasn't that a thing 3 or 4 decades ago?🤔😉

Edit: I fell into the gender trap😞

25 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Do they just mime to the album versions of the songs though, or have these songs by any chance been pre-re-recorded live specifically for the tour, or at least are special more live like re-mixes of the album versions?

 

Apparently, they use the original multi-track.

A lot of absolute piffle from her MD. He should have been a politician.

https://www.nme.com/news/music/madonnas-tour-to-feature-over-40-songs-and-no-band-on-stage-for-first-time-3513780

Why on Earth is she holding a mic? Surely, she could dance better without it! It would also be more honest.

Sadly, It has very little to do with music... it looks like she has no band - she's not even singing ffs.

Basically, it's just a lavish public appearance. Lord knows how much the cost of a ticket just to watch her dancing.

It wasn't the best mix I've heard of a Genesis show... It wasn't even the best performance, but I certainly wouldn't describe it as "fu#&%ing awful".

There are many better examples of Genesis live on YT: "When in Rome" is a good example.

I don't know if you're familiar with Genesis material, but I can imagine the OGW show would sound a little messy to those unfamiliar with their music.

For my money the Dance on a Volcano/Los Endos muddly is one of the best finalès to a show Ive ever seen/heard.

I'm not sure "always follow the singer" is always the best policy. In my experience, following a singer who's screwed up can make a bad situation worse. Once he realises he's messed up he'll be all over the shop - trying to follow him might result in total, unimaginable carnage🤯 There's usually someone else in the band better who can step forward and attempt to "take the bull by the horns" (there is a slim chance that it could actually be the singer😉).

If the cockup occurs early enough in the song, there's no shame in stopping and starting again. The most important thing is... don't panic, smile and make light of it while on stage - Save the verbals and fisticuffs for the dressing room😎

The worst mistake I've ever been a part of was when the keyboard player had a different setlist: Count in, "1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - WHAT THE...🤯"

TH is clearly a wizard in the studio. We've all heard the expression " You can't polish a turd". IMO Two Tribes proves that you can indeed polish a turd: It's a thoroughly (below) average song, turned into a great record, thanks to TH's wonderful arrangement and production.

He sounds like a knob.

If he's a diva now, imagine if you achieved more success😳

I would look for a replacement.

Of course, during one of your singerless rehearsals, you could decide that a couple of songs sound better raised by a couple of whole tones, and forget to mention it before your next show.

... I'm only kidding, of course😉

1 hour ago, Nail Soup said:

Someone suggested this as the worst ever cover in one of my FB feeds... what do you nominate as the worst cover?

(Sorry if it's been done before)

I'm really thinking of ones that deliberately sound the way they do.... not ones done by people who can't play/sing.

 

Going Underground (The Jam) covered by Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

 

 

It's not for me to comment on whether this is the "worst ever cover", but... the bass player is staggeringly good looking, don'tcha think?🤩

19 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

is it a bit arrogant to put such new material in an encore?

It's a little odd to include the word "arrogant" in a musicians forum?🤔

We could then be described as "arrogant", expecting punters to turn up just because we're playing😉

"Arrogance" is kind of our business.🤩

Re: new song as encore

There was a time, many years ago, when I was 14 or 15 years old, I would pop along to my local venue on a weekly basis to see the likes of The Who, Genesis, Ten Years After etc

I knew nothing of those bands when I saw them, every song was new to me, and yet I was blown away!

I'm sure we all want to finish our set with the punters walking out muttering, "Damn, they were good!"

I have no problem with a new song in the encore, providing it stands up against the rest of the set.

1 hour ago, Doctor J said:

You should look up the old bassist. If you like judging people based on a couple of paragraphs in a magazine article, it'll make your day.

I've judged people on far less🥴

I didn't mean to upset anyone!

In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have posted in a MD fan thread🤐

I know nothing of Dave Mustaine or Megadeath, so may have this wrong...

Is Mustaine a bit of a creep? I ask because an article just popped up on my news feed:

Mustaine was being interviewed and explained that the song Celebutante was about a "very attractive" girl in a Megadeath T-shirt who didn't know who he was, ignored him (even after telling her, "That's me") and refusing to let him take a photo of her.

Seems his ego was damaged to the point that he's written the song as a way of "Making fun of her" and similar girls he describes as "Over indulged little brats"... charming!

...actually, ignore my question... I already know the answer!

https://guitar.com/news/music-news/dave-mustaine-little-brats-megadeth-t-shirt/

Just listened to Superstition on Amazon Music. The quality is supposedly Ultra HD🤔 Guess that depends on the source.

I have to agree with the dclaassen! I know my ears are bad, but... the drum intro sound is pretty dire! That, and the bottom end generally sounds pretty poor.

We all know that Turd Polishing abounds in the music world!

I guess in the case of Superstition (which was hugely successful) it shows that it's very hard to tarnish a diamond🤩

The track Firth of Fifth has got to be Genesis at their most progtastic🤩. It has everything that made Genesis great: Wonderful classicalesque (did I just make up that word?) piano intro; Lyrics that sound profound but am still to this day clueless as to their meaning; movement from one contrasting section to another; synth solos, soaring guitar solo; uncommon time signatures, it's even got Mellotron in all it's prog glory for chrissakes! What's not to like? If you're a Sex Pistols fan on the other hand🤪

On 15/06/2022 at 16:38, bass_dinger said:

 

Carol Kaye allegedly used to bite Paul McCartney's nails too, but there is no evidence for that in EMI archives. 

 

Apparently, there are those that claim it was in actual fact James Jamerson. Again, there is no documentation to support the claim.

I'm amazed! Is this still really a thing?

I've been a professional musician  for more than 40 years. In my early years it was very difficult to get motor insurance. Most companies would flatly refuse on hearing the word "musician". Those that would accept me would charge through the nose. The only way I could get insurance was via the MU.

In more recent years I've not had a problem. I've used most of the major companies: AXA; Aviva; Direct Line etc, changing companies every year or two.

Comparison websites are a real saviour and time saver.

I'm sure we all know by now, but always worth remembering, when it comes to insurers - Loyalty DOES NOT pay, and DO NOT opt for automatic annual renewal!

6 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

That's one of my favourite parts of the design.

😲

5 hours ago, KevB said:

The scratch plates on the 4 stringers look OK but the ones on the fivers are a bit of an abomination.

It's funny, as I said in my previous post, the hideous scratch plate/control panel on the 4 stringer (imo) deterred me from making a purchase for many years... until I realised that (imo) the 5 string scratchplate was far more agreeable. I subsequently added a beautiful spangly candy red, black scratchplate, rosewood neck, piezo, 5er to my arsenal. Sadly, it quickly became apparent that I was not at all at home playing a 5 stringer 🥴! Hey ho, such is life!

I've always liked the sound of a Stingray, but I could never get over the hideous scratch plate/control panel! It's hard to imagine that there was more than 5 minutes of thought put into its design!

3 hours ago, MrSpace said:

Not sure Dave Grohl added much but I enjoyed Springsteen's bit.

It was charming to see Bruce and Dave, themselves huge mega stars, suddenly look like little school boys who couldn't quite believe that they were on stage with Macca, an ex Beatle. They were totally in awe!

I was going to make a comment... but, after that Prophet 5 solo I'm rendered speechless🫢😵‍💫