For me, bootlegs became what I thought they should be when shady members of the "bootlegging community" were finally releasing multiple takes of very early Beatles songs. These were outtakes that were interesting regardless of whether the take was broken down or flawed. I prefer things presented one take after another in order of time recorded. I honestly felt I had listened to these things more times than would motivate me into a another listening session. Well, that was true, up until I was on my way to work today.
Last night I acquired what I suppose will be known as "Bootlegs 1963." These are some officially released studio outtakes and other performances that needed to be released for copyright purposes. Normally, I would be interested in that legal aspect but I guess I'll learn that later because the few early articles in the news are just interested in making an event out of it.
For people who follow the Beatles, this is a big event whether it is publicized or not. The anniversary of 50 years on 2013 of the year "1963" which is attached to the name probably means we may be in for more good stuff every year for a while. There is no release of these songs on any physical form and are available only through iTunes. Having no physical cd or vinyl album is not really new to people who want every last recording and variation of every song. What is new, is the willingness to release recordings in great, and I do mean great, sound quality without regard to the lowest common denominator tastes of the mass audience they usually shoot for.
It was really heaven listening to these things which are basically takes and recordings that were too inferior to appeal to a mass audience. I found myself singing a highly (newly learned) nuanced version of "There's a Place" to myself the rest of the morning. When you love something like The Beatles as much as I have in my life, it finally comes down to nuance.
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