The Styrous® Viewfinder: Let It Be

Showing posts with label Let It Be. Show all posts

May 26, 2021

Harry Partch articles/mentions

mentions:

The Beatles ~ Let it Be á la Laibach

Gray Loft Gallery ~ Other Music & Crime

Pamela Z ~ A Secret Code

Harry Partch - 1944

photographer unknown

Music People

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May 24, 2021

Moondog articles/mentions

mentions:

The Beatles ~ Let it Be á la Laibach

Pamela Z ~ A Secret Code

Moondog

date & photographer unknown

Music People

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May 8, 2019

20,000 vinyl LPs 182: The Beatles ~ Let it Be á la Laibach

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On May 8, 1970, the Beatles album Let it Be was released. Eighteen years later, on October 24, 1988, the Slovenian avant-garde music group, Laibach did an album of covers of Beatles songs, entitled, Let It Be.

Laibach ~ Let It Be

vinyl LP album front cover

painting by IRWIN

photo by Styrous®

The music was in the Laibach style with military rhythms and choirs, however, a few tracks deviate from this formula, most notably Across the Universe. Maggie Mae is replaced by the German folk song Auf der Lüneburger Heide in combination with Was gleicht wohl auf Erden. One After 909 includes a small piece of Smoke on the Water, originally written and recorded by Deep Purple.

Ironically, the song Let It Be is actually not covered on the album; why this is is a mystery to me. I have researched for the reason but have found nothing about this.

Laibach ~ Let It Be

vinyl LP album front cover detail

painting by IRWIN

detail photo by Styrous®

Across the Universe is dreamy and quiet, totally unlike anything Laibach usually does. It is a beautiful interpretation with the Germania, Opus Dei Choir singing the lyrics with what sounds like a harmonium and harpsichord accompaniment. It is exquisite! Of course, Milan Fras has the "final word," so to speak, with the last note.

John first thought about the phrase in the song, "Words are flowing out like endless raining through a paper cup", while listening to his first wife Cynthia blabbering away "endlessly". However, he later on expanded on this phrase and added Hindu spirituality within the lyrics and completed the song.

Laibach ~ Let It Be

vinyl LP album front cover detail

painting by IRWIN

detail photo by Styrous®

Maggie May (or Maggie Mae) (Roud 1757) is a traditional Liverpool folk song about a prostitute who robbed a "homeward bounder": a sailor coming home from a round trip. At 39 seconds long, it is the second-shortest song released on an official Beatles album, but the cover by Laibach is almost four minutes long. It is a fast strident march with a heavy military flavor typical of the group.

Laibach ~ Let It Be

vinyl LP album back cover

photo by Styrous®

I Me Mine is an agonizingly slow and sinister waltz but it fits the original concept by its writer, George Harrison. it was the last new track recorded by the Beatles before their split in April 1970. The song originated from the Get Back/Let It Be sessions in January 1969, and its lyrics serve as a comment from Harrison on the fractious situation within the group at that time. The song's musical mood alternates between waltz-time verses, during which Harrison laments the ego problems afflicting the group, and choruses played in the hard rock style.

Laibach ~ Let It Be

vinyl LP album back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

For You Blue is a moderately fast aggressive instrumental sounding like a Hollywood version of a Roman march, trumpets and orchestra with an organ overlay. Based on Crescent Moon March by Moondog until four minutes into the work with a quiet but still fast tempo glockenspiel accompanied by tinkly bells.

Laibach ~ Let It Be

vinyl LP album back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

The front cover has a painting by IRWIN, a collective of Slovenian artists, primarily painters, and an original founding member of Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK).

Laibach ~ Let It Be
painting by IRWIN

vinyl LP album front cover detail

In 1983, the artists Dušan Mandič, Miran Mohar, Andrej Savski, Roman Uranjek, and Borut Vogelnik, coming from the punk and graffiti scene in Ljubljana, formed an artistic group and called it Rrose Irwin Sélavy. This name had a reference to Marcel Duchamp, who used “Rrose Sélavy” (like eros c’est la vie) as one of his feminine pseudonyms. The group shortened the name to R Irwin S. In 1984, the group co-founded a larger collective known as Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK). Acting as the fine arts wing of the group, they joined the musical group Laibach, and the Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre group. Soon after the formation of the larger collective, R Irwin S changed its name to simply Irwin.

In 1987, IRWIN, Novi Kolektivizem and Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre were involved in one of the greatest art scandals in the history of Yugoslavia when they proposed a poster, based on a Nazi kunst poster, for the celebration of the Youth Day, The anniversary of the birth of Tito. In the history of art, this scandal is known as the Poster Scandal. In 2012, D'Art Documentaries Production is to release a 1-hour documentary about the scandal, entitled The Fine Art of Mirroring.

Laibach ~ Let It Be

vinyl LP album back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Laibach ~ Let It Be

vinyl LP record, side 1

detail photo by Styrous®

Laibach ~ Let It Be

vinyl LP record label, side 1

detail photo by Styrous®

Laibach ~ Let It Be

vinyl LP record, side 2

detail photo by Styrous®

Laibach ~ Let It Be

vinyl LP record label, side 2

detail photo by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A1 - Get Back
A2 - Two Of Us
A3 - Dig A Pony
A4 - I Me Mine, written by George Harrison
A5 - Across The Universe, Featuring – Germania, Opus Dei Choir

Side 2:

A6 - Dig It
B1 - I’ve Got A Feeling
B2 - The Long And Winding Road
B3 - One After 909
B4 - For You Blue, written by George Harrison
B5 - Maggie Mae (Auf Der Luneburger Heide & Was Gleicht Wohl Auf Erden), Arranged By – Laibach – Traditional


Companies, etc.

    Phonographic Copyright (p) – Mute Records Ltd.
    Copyright (c) – Mute Records Ltd.
    Recorded At – Studio Tivoli, Ljubljana
    Mixed At – Studio Tivoli, Ljubljana
    Published By – Northern Songs
    Published By – Harrisongs
    Mastered At – P.R. Records Limited
    Lacquer Cut At – The Exchange

Credits:

    Arranged By – Laibach
    Design – New Collectivism Studio
    Layout – Slim Smith (2)
    Painting – Irwin (2)
    Plated By – P (29)
    Recorded By, Mixed By – Iztok Turk, Janez Križaj
    Written-By – Lennon/McCartney* (tracks: A1 to A3, A5 to B3)

Notes:

All songs by Lennon/McCartney Northern Songs
except A4 + B4 George Harrisson pub. Harrisongs
and B5 Trad. arr. Laidback
(Auf Der Luneburger Heide & Was Gleicht Wohl Auf Erden)
Made in Great Brritain

℗ 1988 Mute Records Limited
© 1988 Mute Records Limited

The release was plated at P.R. Records Limited.
Some copies contain limited edition print.
Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Barcode: 5016025310586
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A): STUMM 58 AI The Exchange PR-P
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B): STUMM 58 BI PR-P

Laibach ‎– Let It Be
Label: Mute ‎– STUMM 58
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: UK
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Industrial



Viewfinder links:

Laibach
The Rolling Stones

Net links:

Laibach website
The Quietus ~ The Strange World Of Laibach
The Vinyl District ~ Laibach, Let It Be
The Fine Art of Mirroring

YouTube links:

Laibach -
       Get Back
   Two Of Us
   I Me Mine
   Across The Universe Official Video
         Maggie Mae

"The Future is not what it used to be."

~ Laibach

Styrous® ~ Wednesday, May 8, 2019

20,000 Vinyl LPs Archive
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Laibach articles/mentions

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The Beatles ~ Let it Be á la Laibach

mentions:
The Rolling Stones ~ Beggar's Banquet

Laibach - 2011

press photo

Music Notes Articles
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January 25, 2015

101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes 88: Aretha Franklin ‎~ Aretha's Greatest Hits

Aretha Franklin ‎~ Aretha's Greatest Hits

reel-to-reel tape cover detail
cover design by Loriing Eutemey
cover photo by Ken Cunningham
detail photo of tape box cover by Styrous®

In addition to my vinyl LP record collection I'm selling, I have reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes I'm selling on eBay (see link below). Interested? Contact me by email, please, not by a comment.

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Aretha's Greatest Hits is the third compilation album by American singer Aretha Franklin. Released on September 9, 1971 on Atlantic Records, The compilation features three new recordings: "Spanish Harlem", "You're All I Need to Get By" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water". The album reached Billboard's Top 20 and eventually sold over 500,000 copies. It was never released on compact disc and has been out of print since the 1980s.

Aretha Franklin ‎~ Aretha's Greatest Hits

reel-to-reel tape cover

cover design by Loriing Eutemey

cover photo by Ken Cunningham

photo of tape box cover by Styrous®

Aretha Franklin ‎~ Aretha's Greatest Hits

reel-to-reel tape box back
photo of tape box back by Styrous®

Franklin was in a relationship with road manager and photographer of this album, Ken Cunningham. Franklin and Cunningham had a son named Kecalf before they split in 1976, five years after this album was released.

Aretha Franklin ‎~ Aretha's Greatest Hits

reel-to-reel tape box back detail

detail photo of tape box back by Styrous®

Aretha Franklin ‎~ Aretha's Greatest Hits

reel-to-reel tape box spine

detail photo of tape box spine by Styrous®

Franklin eventually recorded a total of 112 charted singles on Billboard, including 77 Hot 100 entries, 17 top ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries and twenty number-one R&B singles, becoming the most charted female artist in the chart's history. Franklin also recorded acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Lady Soul, Young, Gifted & Black and Amazing Grace before experiencing problems with her record company by the mid-1970s.