The Beatles in 1967 (AP Photo)
Should a lost Beatles song resurface?
This one's for you, Beatlemaniacs, said Radar online. Paul McCartney is planning to release a 14-minute “experimental” song called “Carnival of Light,” which the Beatles recorded in 1967 but never played for the public. Apparently, “during the session McCartney suggested that the other band members ‘just wander round all of the stuff and bang it, shout, play it—it doesn't need to make sense.’”
“For one whose place in history is not so much secure as gloriously, unquestionably assured,” said John Aizlewood in the Guardian online, McCartney “behaves as though there is some doubt.” Releasing “Carnival of Light” certainly isn’t “going to enhance the Beatles' standing,” and it's likely “to make us think slightly less of them.”
Don’t be so sure, said CNN online. “Almost everything recorded by the Beatles from their early days in Liverpool and Hamburg to their break-up in 1970 has been released to meet insatiable public appetite for anything to do with the legendary Liverpool quartet.” Why would this song be any different?
Well, for one thing, said Stuart Heritage in Heckler Spray, “Carnival of Light” is “probably most famous” for not being included on The Beatles Anthology “because George Harrison and Ringo Starr thought it was rubbish.” Does McCartney just want to show the world that he had an “arty” side, too? Or did Heather Mills take so much of his money that he’s willing to release what’s likely a “pile of un-listenable, self-indulgent twaddle”?
Comment on this article
Recent comments | 5 total
Bring it on!!! Paul your True fans will love it !! we are the same age and i still listen to you and if you can make a buck off it more power to you. stan
Whoa! Let US be the judge of that. Something amusing or cool or worthy of delete wouldn't hurt anyone too awful much, would it? Hey, Paul, show us what you got!
Keep it under wraps, Paul - PLEASE.
I love Paul, and whatever you have left to share -- bring it on. It won't ruin the Magic of The Beatles. :)
It is about freaking time that this piece of history finally be released. I really can't understand why the likes of John Aizlewood would object to the release of "Carnival of Light", but then again, the one thing he liked about "Let it Be" was Phil Spector's horribly saccharine production, which completely ruined what otherwise would have been a great album. Not everything has to be sugary sweet, sappy and melodic, people! I for one happen to like "Revolution #9", and I've been eager pretty much all my life to hear "Carnival of Light"; even if the track turns out to have been less than stellar, my respect for the Beatles wouldn't be diminished in the least. It is WELL past time for "Carnival of Light" to be heard. My guess, though, is that this is just one of many false alarms, and that the John Aizlewoods of the world will get their way yet again. Thanks to the delicate sensibilities of such people, we'll probably never get to hear "Carnival of Light", and the source tape will end up destroyed before copies have been made. How disappointing!
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