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Unreleased Beatles EP out today
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Capitol Records
A bonus CD containing five songs recorded by the Beatles in 1979 in John Lennon's apartment will be part of the new remastered box set to be released today, ending a 30-year artistic and legal battle that kept the recording in limbo. The situation was complicated further because only five people knew of their existence, and were sworn to secrecy.
And of these, two are dead.
"I'm glad we have resolved this matter now," said Sir Paul McCartney, who is thought by some critics to be one of the more talented members of the band. "It's a special gift for the fans and it takes a big load off our minds."
There are a lot of reasons why "Dakota," as it is now known, was never released. It is sloppy and unrehearsed. The vocals are out of tune. The overdubs are limited by the experimental recording equipment used, which stymied the band because they were accustomed to fine tuning every little thing.
Fans will invariably be disappointed by the recording, that is both not very good and too short. Not only are there are no "new" Beatles songs, but no originals at all. Instead, the band tackled a list of cover songs, chosen only because all of them knew more or less how they went. They at least made it interesting, taking on several songs that originally imitated the Beatles' style and, as a result, fed the insatiable urge for new product.
The mini-album begins with a precise version "Lies," a rowdy knockoff by the Knickerbockers that was mistaken for the Beatles at its release. This is followed by Badfinger's "No Matter What," "Fresh as a Daisy" (Emmitt Rhodes) and "New York Mining Disaster 1941(BeeGees) ." The fifth song was a version of "Feelings," which the band had secretly recorded years before under the name "Morris Albert."
Aside from the four Beatles, the fifth person in the room was a young man named Steve Jobs who had invented a prototype computer that acted as a recording studio. While primitive by today's standards, the unit was able to produce remarkable sound quality and an easy overdubbing process.
Jobs recalls that the session ended acrimoniously, at which time all four implored him to "get this out of our sight where we will never see it again." Jobs, in his own meteoric rise, forgot about the recording until years later.
"By the time I thought about finishing the record the dream was really over," Jobs said. "Lennon was dead, and McCartney was collaborating with Michael Jackson."
