|
Post by Steve Marinucci on Aug 12, 2010 15:46:04 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by John S. Damm on Aug 12, 2010 18:07:59 GMT -5
I am not really interested in this boxset but I am signing up for the accompanying promotional contest to win a "dream date" with Anoushka Shankar.
|
|
|
Post by sayne on Aug 12, 2010 21:45:54 GMT -5
I remember a stupid interview that George and Ravi did with this John Fugelsang (sp?) guy on MTV or VH1 when "Chants" first came out. Clearly, George wanted to talk about the album, but the interviewer kept asking Beatles questions. Ravi was politely patient and George answered the questions, but kept trying to take it back to Ravi's album. The thing I want to ask everyone about this interview is that George downplayed his role as "producer" by saying he pretty much just brought in tea and kept asking "can I bring you anything, sir?" It made me wonder, though. I can't imagine George knowing enough about Indian music to REALLY serve as a producer for Ravi in the George Martin sense of the word. I know George loved Indian music and felt a connection with it, but he really didn't devote the time to really do the music justice. He knew that and Ravi knew that. Does anyone have any evidence of George really being expert enough to be of any real use to Ravi or anyone else who is a master in that music? I know he has "produced" Indian musicians and music - his and others, but in regards to REAL Indian music, was he really merely a tea getter or was he the real deal in all these efforts?
|
|
|
Post by Steve Marinucci on Aug 13, 2010 16:48:45 GMT -5
I remember a stupid interview that George and Ravi did with this John Fugelsang (sp?) guy on MTV or VH1 when "Chants" first came out. Clearly, George wanted to talk about the album, but the interviewer kept asking Beatles questions. Ravi was politely patient and George answered the questions, but kept trying to take it back to Ravi's album. The thing I want to ask everyone about this interview is that George downplayed his role as "producer" by saying he pretty much just brought in tea and kept asking "can I bring you anything, sir?" It made me wonder, though. I can't imagine George knowing enough about Indian music to REALLY serve as a producer for Ravi in the George Martin sense of the word. I know George loved Indian music and felt a connection with it, but he really didn't devote the time to really do the music justice. He knew that and Ravi knew that. Does anyone have any evidence of George really being expert enough to be of any real use to Ravi or anyone else who is a master in that music? I know he has "produced" Indian musicians and music - his and others, but in regards to REAL Indian music, was he really merely a tea getter or was he the real deal in all these efforts? sayne, I think George was being humble. I don't think Ravi would have continually praised him as he has if the truth was otherwise. However, given he was a Beatle, he probably could do pretty much what he wanted, including produce Indian music if he so desired.
|
|
|
Post by OldFred on Aug 13, 2010 18:26:20 GMT -5
I remember a stupid interview that George and Ravi did with this John Fugelsang (sp?) guy on MTV or VH1 when "Chants" first came out. Clearly, George wanted to talk about the album, but the interviewer kept asking Beatles questions. Ravi was politely patient and George answered the questions, but kept trying to take it back to Ravi's album. The thing I want to ask everyone about this interview is that George downplayed his role as "producer" by saying he pretty much just brought in tea and kept asking "can I bring you anything, sir?" It made me wonder, though. I can't imagine George knowing enough about Indian music to REALLY serve as a producer for Ravi in the George Martin sense of the word. I know George loved Indian music and felt a connection with it, but he really didn't devote the time to really do the music justice. He knew that and Ravi knew that. Does anyone have any evidence of George really being expert enough to be of any real use to Ravi or anyone else who is a master in that music? I know he has "produced" Indian musicians and music - his and others, but in regards to REAL Indian music, was he really merely a tea getter or was he the real deal in all these efforts? sayne, I think George was being humble. I don't think Ravi would have continually praised him as he has if the truth was otherwise. However, given he was a Beatle, he probably could do pretty much what he wanted, including produce Indian music if he so desired. The Fugelsang interview turned out to be George's last televised interview and his last television musical performance. After George's death, VH1 put together a special with the interview and outtakes for a very nice tribute to George. In the long run, Fugelsang did Beatles and George fans a favor by giving us a last, lovely moment with George.
|
|
|
Post by mikev on Aug 13, 2010 18:54:45 GMT -5
sayne, I think George was being humble. I don't think Ravi would have continually praised him as he has if the truth was otherwise. However, given he was a Beatle, he probably could do pretty much what he wanted, including produce Indian music if he so desired. The Fugelsang interview turned out to be George's last televised interview and his last television musical performance. After George's death, VH1 put together a special with the interview and outtakes for a very nice tribute to George. In the long run, Fugelsang did Beatles and George fans a favor by giving us a last, lovely moment with George. I remember taping the original special desperate for new George material. I even used a clip of Prahbujee (sp) to create a George cut for my Free As a Bird CD. ATMP is great but I was floored that he actually did a few more songs. I suppose showing them all originally would have detracted from Ravi's promo spot. As far as production- you don't have to necessarily be able to play all instruments- you need an ear to mix things together. I'm sure George was no virtuoso at Indian music any more so than his guitar abilities. That's not a put down- you can only do so much.
|
|
|
Post by sayne on Aug 13, 2010 22:35:09 GMT -5
. . . As far as production- you don't have to necessarily be able to play all instruments- you need an ear to mix things together . . . BUT, I suspect George usually, if not always, rather approached Indian music from a Western perspective (Norwegian Wood, the Inner Light, Love You To, etc) which Ravi basically looked down upon. When George did the Hare Krishna Mantra and some of the Wonderwall Music, my sense is that they were not that traditional. I guess what I'm saying is like when we in the United States go to a Chinese Restaurant or a Mexican Restaurant, we really aren't eating "Chinese" or "Mexican." It's really Americanized versions of the cuisine. I'm feeling that George always Westernized Indian music, which is why I wonder how REALLY vital he was in the recordings of Ravi Shankar. Knowing about microphones, sound levels, mike placement, speakers, and mixing is really about being an engineer, not a producer, per se. For the Chants album, I'm not so convinced that George really was a producer in music sense. Maybe in the same sense as a movie producer, but not in recording sense.
|
|
|
Post by sayne on Aug 13, 2010 22:55:03 GMT -5
. . . In the long run, Fugelsang did Beatles and George fans a favor by giving us a last, lovely moment with George . . . . . . at the expense of George. I will always remember how disturbed George looked during the interview. Funerals are lovely, too, but I'd rather the subject be around to enjoy it. George was there to talk about Chants, not the Beatles. He looked like he was suckered, and Fugelsang looked like he would have rathered prefered that George sing Beatles songs instead of the songs George sang. I think George sang the songs he sang in order to have the interview give him some sort of satisfaction. If Fugelsang is going around with the self-satisfaction of having given the world the last interview with George, he should be ashamed of himself. George would have been much happier if all the questions had been about Ravi. As it was, even as a Beatle interview, there were no insights. It was the same standard tripe that George and the others ALWAYS had to answer.
|
|
|
Post by mikev on Aug 14, 2010 9:32:01 GMT -5
. . . As far as production- you don't have to necessarily be able to play all instruments- you need an ear to mix things together . . . BUT, I suspect George usually, if not always, rather approached Indian music from a Western perspective (Norwegian Wood, the Inner Light, Love You To, etc) which Ravi basically looked down upon. When George did the Hare Krishna Mantra and some of the Wonderwall Music, my sense is that they were not that traditional. I guess what I'm saying is like when we in the United States go to a Chinese Restaurant or a Mexican Restaurant, we really aren't eating "Chinese" or "Mexican." It's really Americanized versions of the cuisine. I'm feeling that George always Westernized Indian music, which is why I wonder how REALLY vital he was in the recordings of Ravi Shankar. Knowing about microphones, sound levels, mike placement, speakers, and mixing is really about being an engineer, not a producer, per se. For the Chants album, I'm not so convinced that George really was a producer in music sense. Maybe in the same sense as a movie producer, but not in recording sense. producer and engineer sometimes bleed. I'm not saying George was setting up mics, etc., but probably listened to the "balance" in the sound room - maybe not. I also wonder (and don't necessarily disagree) on what you say about George's blend of Western music with Eastern. Kinda like someone calling elevator muzak "classical" because it has strings. But at the end of the day if it exposed Western music fans to Eastern music, I'm sure Ravi and company didn't mind. When it came to live shows: George brought out Ravi Paul brought out Linda John brought out Yoko Ringo had it right-he surrounded himself with all-starrs
|
|
|
Post by John S. Damm on Aug 14, 2010 17:07:28 GMT -5
George brought out Ravi Paul brought out Linda John brought out Yoko Ringo had it right-he surrounded himself with all-starrs And Pete Best brings out his brother Roag who was fathered by Neil Aspinall.
|
|
|
Post by brothermichael on Aug 14, 2010 22:01:36 GMT -5
When it came to live shows: George brought out Ravi Paul brought out Linda John brought out Yoko Ringo had it right-he surrounded himself with all-starrs And if those are four doors, I sprint through any of the other three before Ringo's.
|
|
|
Post by Steve Marinucci on Aug 15, 2010 0:22:57 GMT -5
When it came to live shows: George brought out Ravi Paul brought out Linda John brought out Yoko Ringo had it right-he surrounded himself with all-starrs And if those are four doors, I sprint through any of the other three before Ringo's. Ringo has had some great musicians in his various editions of the ASB. I can think of Sheila E, Levon Helm, Billy Preston, Gary Brooker and Jack Bruce, just to name a few. Of the last band, I think Edgar Winter was fantastic. People can grumble about the ASB format, but it's a bunch of musicians having a good time for themselves and playing music for the fun of it. That's not too bad in my mind.
|
|
|
Post by sayne on Jan 1, 2011 16:52:12 GMT -5
I've always loved this song:
|
|
|
Post by Jason I on Jan 11, 2011 19:01:04 GMT -5
. . . In the long run, Fugelsang did Beatles and George fans a favor by giving us a last, lovely moment with George . . . . . . at the expense of George. I will always remember how disturbed George looked during the interview. Funerals are lovely, too, but I'd rather the subject be around to enjoy it. George was there to talk about Chants, not the Beatles. He looked like he was suckered, and Fugelsang looked like he would have rathered prefered that George sing Beatles songs instead of the songs George sang. I think George sang the songs he sang in order to have the interview give him some sort of satisfaction. If Fugelsang is going around with the self-satisfaction of having given the world the last interview with George, he should be ashamed of himself. George would have been much happier if all the questions had been about Ravi. As it was, even as a Beatle interview, there were no insights. It was the same standard tripe that George and the others ALWAYS had to answer. I've just recently got hold of the complete interview George did for this. I'd never seen it before and I thought it was absolutely fantastic, the best interview he's done IMO. Like you I always felt they'd bamboozled old George into playing his hits as I'd only seen the grainy vids of him playing 'All Things Must Pass' and the rest on YouTube. But seeing the whole interview in context, I think George seemed quite happy and I'm not familiar with any of Fugelsangs other work but whatever questions he asked - George went along, and the topics were VERY left-field on the VH1 level. So the interviewer deserves some credit. Any interviewee that answers their first question saying (paraphrase) "this might be a bit heavy for VH1, but what are we all doing here?" makes it an interesting interview to me. If there's ever been a deeper interview on the meaning of life anywhere on VH1 airwaves before I'd like to see it, as I don't think it exists. I'll post the whole thing on my youtube channel later in the week for anyone interested.
|
|
|
Post by winstonoboogie on Jan 11, 2011 21:08:26 GMT -5
. . . at the expense of George. I will always remember how disturbed George looked during the interview. Funerals are lovely, too, but I'd rather the subject be around to enjoy it. George was there to talk about Chants, not the Beatles. He looked like he was suckered, and Fugelsang looked like he would have rathered prefered that George sing Beatles songs instead of the songs George sang. I think George sang the songs he sang in order to have the interview give him some sort of satisfaction. If Fugelsang is going around with the self-satisfaction of having given the world the last interview with George, he should be ashamed of himself. George would have been much happier if all the questions had been about Ravi. As it was, even as a Beatle interview, there were no insights. It was the same standard tripe that George and the others ALWAYS had to answer. I've just recently got hold of the complete interview George did for this. I'd never seen it before and I thought it was absolutely fantastic, the best interview he's done IMO. Like you I always felt they'd bamboozled old George into playing his hits as I'd only seen the grainy vids of him playing 'All Things Must Pass' and the rest on YouTube. But seeing the whole interview in context, I think George seemed quite happy and I'm not familiar with any of Fugelsangs other work but whatever questions he asked - George went along, and the topics were VERY left-field on the VH1 level. So the interviewer deserves some credit. Any interviewee that answers their first question saying (paraphrase) "this might be a bit heavy for VH1, but what are we all doing here?" makes it an interesting interview to me. If there's ever been a deeper interview on the meaning of life anywhere on VH1 airwaves before I'd like to see it, as I don't think it exists. I'll post the whole thing on my youtube channel later in the week for anyone interested. Is that a promise?
|
|
|
Post by Jason I on Jan 12, 2011 13:52:00 GMT -5
I've just recently got hold of the complete interview George did for this. I'd never seen it before and I thought it was absolutely fantastic, the best interview he's done IMO. Like you I always felt they'd bamboozled old George into playing his hits as I'd only seen the grainy vids of him playing 'All Things Must Pass' and the rest on YouTube. But seeing the whole interview in context, I think George seemed quite happy and I'm not familiar with any of Fugelsangs other work but whatever questions he asked - George went along, and the topics were VERY left-field on the VH1 level. So the interviewer deserves some credit. Any interviewee that answers their first question saying (paraphrase) "this might be a bit heavy for VH1, but what are we all doing here?" makes it an interesting interview to me. If there's ever been a deeper interview on the meaning of life anywhere on VH1 airwaves before I'd like to see it, as I don't think it exists. I'll post the whole thing on my youtube channel later in the week for anyone interested. Is that a promise? Yep, it's next in queue to be encoded and uploaded
|
|
|
Post by scousette on Jan 12, 2011 16:33:28 GMT -5
I thought I read that George and Ravi showed up at VH1 that day on a whim and that the interview with John Fugelsang was totally impromptu.
|
|
|
Post by Jason I on Jan 12, 2011 20:13:00 GMT -5
I thought I read that George and Ravi showed up at VH1 that day on a whim and that the interview with John Fugelsang was totally impromptu. Apparantly they had them booked for a short segment but they had no idea how long George wanted to stay around, what subjects he was happy talking about and if he wanted to play guitar. The guitar they coaxed him to play wasn't his either, it belonged to another female guest. Fortunately he was happy to stay around and chat (and play) for a while
|
|
|
Post by darkhorse67 on Jul 9, 2011 13:07:24 GMT -5
Did anyone purchase this box set? i already have Chants of India, the track i love is the one they played on VH1 "Prahbujhee" as for the other 2 CD's issued with this set, i have some old vinyl MP3's from way back. I wonder if this box is worth purchasing.
|
|
|
Post by Steve Marinucci on Jul 9, 2011 15:04:10 GMT -5
Did anyone purchase this box set? i already have Chants of India, the track i love is the one they played on VH1 "Prahbujhee" as for the other 2 CD's issued with this set, i have some old vinyl MP3's from way back. I wonder if this box is worth purchasing. I have it and wrote about it. It's good if you like Shankar.
|
|