00:20 There's No Business Like Show Business
- Ethel Merman
01:25 Oobu Joobu (Extended Version)
03:30 Intro
04:00 Twenty Flight Rock
06:56 The Beatles Audition
08:10 Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran
14:45 Dub instrumental ?????
16:30 Decon Blues - Steely Dan
22:57 Drive My Car
25:14 Turn Tape Over
00:20 The Making of ...
01:54 You Know My Name Look Up The Numbe
- The Beatles :)
06:10 Garlic Bread - Linda
07:55 Wide Prairie
12:27 Eat More Fruit
13:43 Oobu Joobu
15:15 The Courtly Dances - Julian Bream
17:45 Give Us A Chord Roy
18:50 Tell Me Why (Life's So Hard) ???
23:18 Goodbye
24:00 The Big Finish ???
I really hate to say this, but Paul seems to be getting lazy about "Oobu Joobu".
Perhaps the best indication of this is that this is the first show where some of the old, tired Beatle stories come out, like the warhorse about how Paul impressed John at their first meeting by knowing the words to "Twenty Flight Rock".
Then again, maybe the best indication is that, just like on the first show, Paul plays a sound effect of someone being shocked after mentioning the name of Rude Studios--except, this time, he does it TWICE.
Or, maybe we can really tell by the fact that, more often than not, he doesn't tell you the title of anything, even when he talks right after the track. I don't expect him to provide musician credits or precise recording dates, but I would like to have some idea of what I'm listening to!
But all of this is just a long winded way of saying that the last couple "Oobus" have not been nearly as enjoyable and creative as the first two.
As usual, soundchecks and rehearsals provide much of the music here. There was a very nice, reggae-influenced song at the end, but I didn't recognize it, and Paul can't be bothered to tell us whether it's an original or a cover, let alone what the title is. The main line of the chorus is "Oh mama, tell me why life is so hard." That doesn't sound like something Macca would write, so I'm guessing cover, but I have no information. Also included: a strong, playful version of "Twenty Flight Rock" (but lacking the fine background vocals from Hamish that often distinguish Paul's performances of the song; a workmanlike "Drive My Car" that can't compete with the "Paul Is Live" version; and a jam on "Summertime", which is joined in progress but is long enough to qualify as a full performance and features from fine guitar soloing from (I assume) Robbie. Finally, there's a bit of sillyness which pops up after Paul has said his goodbyes for the week.
Then we've got the aformentioned Rude Studios performances. One is an instrumental, which sounded vaguely familiar, but if Paul isn't interested enough to tell us what it is, I'm not going to go through all my boots to see if we alreadty have this. (Well, actually, I am interested--I'll look for it later, and if anyone knows what it is, e-mail or post and I'll include it in the 910 later.) The other is a very short bit of "Give Us a Chord, Roy", one of the better tracks on the "Tug of War Demos and More" bootleg (aka "Rude Studio Demos"). Linda's spot goes to another song familiar to bootleg buyers, "Wide Prairie". (Her recipe is garlic bread.)
The show begins with Ethel Merman's famous rendition of "There's No Business Like Show Business", presented with no introduction to the show at all. (Paul must be fond of this tune; he produced a version of it for Mary Hopkin's "Post Card" album.) There's a cute little tune about eating more fruit that sounds like it comes from a prewar cartoon, although again Paul is no help in identification. Also included is one of Paul's choices from his old "Desert Island Discs" appearance, Julian Bream's performance of Benjamin Britten's "Courtly Dances From Glorianna", and two quite commonly heard songs, "Deacon Blues" by Steely Dan and "Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochran. (Paul manages to talk over the first couple words of "Deacon Blues".)
For better or worse, The Beatles appear on the series for the first time, but not with an unreleased recording. Instead, Paul talks for a while about "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" and talks about it for a while, telling the stories about how Brian Jones showed up to play on it with a sax, how it was recorded in pieces and edited together, and how it's one of his favorite Beatle tracks; nothing that hasn't been documented elsewhere.
Paul has dressed up the theme song (which I think is wonderful) with some additional vocals and a longer running time, and also presents a second mix of the Oobu Joobu song from the premiere (the one where Paul calls it the song that's sweeping the land, from Dunkirk to John O' Groats.) It's not enough.
For the song of the week, I'll go with that "Oh mama, tell me..." thing, which was quite enjoyable even though I don'e know quite what it is. Overall, though, my enthusiasm for the show is fading, and I hope Paul will restore it soon.
... And my special guest is...Nobody!
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