Paul McCartney Hopes To Release 14-Minute Beatles Track

LONDON — Paul McCartney says it's time an experimental Beatles track saw the light of day.

McCartney says he wants to release "Carnival of Light," a 14-minute experimental track the Fab Four recorded in 1967 but never released.

The band played the recording for an audience just once, at an electronic music festival in London. It reportedly includes distorted guitar, organ sounds, gargling and shouts of "Barcelona!" and "Are you all right?" from McCartney and John Lennon.

McCartney said during a recording session at Abbey Road studios he asked the other members of the band to "just wander round all of the stuff and bang it, shout, play it. It doesn't need to make any sense."

"I like it because it's The Beatles free, going off piste," he told the BBC in a radio interview to be broadcast Thursday. Extracts of the interview were published Sunday in The Observer newspaper.

McCartney said he still had a master tape of the piece and "the time has come for it to get its moment."

McCartney, usually regarded as the most melodically minded Beatle, told the BBC he had a long-standing interest in avant-garde music. He said "Carnival of Light" was inspired by experimental composers John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen.

He said he had wanted to include the track on the Beatles' "Anthology" compilation, but was vetoed by his bandmates.

McCartney would need permission from Ringo Starr and the widows of Lennon and George Harrison to release the track.

Comments

[kyyletime]

Paul is awesome. "Carnival of Light" isn't much, but why not put it out. There will always be haters and people who live to *itch and whine...who cares...put on some Beatles/McCartney music and you feel better. Thanks Paul.

[tiger313]

my comment about the 60's was first made by Carlin but enjoyed and repeated by many.

[NeverADullMoment]

Many of us were there and DO remember every bit of brilliance offered by The Beatles since they landed on the US shore.

And to those who lambast McCartney's post-Beatles production --- well, that's very much a different output -- it simply was not The Beatles and is a much different animal. However, there are a handful of McCartney's solo pieces that are well-written and arranged, and produced in the mold of The Beatles' writing.

[gascelebrations]

I always thought Revolution #9 was the darkest thing ever. It kept me up nights listening to those screams and stuff.

[fuzzyhearts]

i wonder if he has to ask michael jackson if it's okay to release this? just kidding. is he scraping the bottom of the barrel with this 14-minute jam session that didn't make it off the cutting room floor in '67? i mean, i like the beatles for what they're worth, but i think their experimentalism is nowhere near as interesting as that of john cage, derek bailey, glenn branca, or even sonic youth. but i suppose listening to any lost beatles track would be a treat in some way.

[NickfromCali]

Three words Macca:

Beatles...­iTunes...N­OW!

[tiger313]

nickfromcali, I agree. Why won't they allow their stuff on iTunes? I'm trying to put a lot of the stuff from my youth on my iPod and it's just not the same w/o any of the Beatles stuff. I could buy the cds (I had the original albums starting in 64 or 65) but purchasing cds is so last century. AND fuzzyhearts, I agree, but I would include Eno in that list.

[jl4040]

Carnival of Light? Nam daed, no em nrut!

[CologneCitizen]

I was 13 when I heard "I Want To Hold Your Hand" for the first time. It is hard to describe today to younger people what happened in these days. They influenced and excited the whole world, no matter if you lived in Cologne, Germany as I did or maybe Brisbane, Australia. What kind of music sounds still so fresh after all these years? The only other group which put out 100% quality stuff were THE WHO.

[43P04T34]

That's a little over the top, I'd say.

Moody Blues, Joni Mitchell, CSNY, Doobie Brothers, Paul Simon are on my list.

[fuzzyhearts]

are you kidding?

[gascelebrations]

The Who stunk. They copied mod style from other bands, jumped on the virtuoso-rock bandwagon, then copied early Zeppelin. They had no identity.

[CologneCitizen]

In the years between 1968 and 1976, the Who was surely the best live rock act on the planet.( up until Keith Moon died ) Led Zeppelin was ok but could not hold a candle to the excitement the Who managed to bring across.

[larstein]

This is a completely ignorant statement by someone who knows nothing and was obviously not there. The Who, after the Beatles and the Stones, were one of the most original bands to come out of the British Invasion. Their song "My Generation" defined the mid-60s Mod culture better than anything that had come before it. Their 1967 "Who Sell Out" album is still a masterpiece, and "Tommy" was released before Led Zeppelin recorded their first album. Besides, Zep was mostly about blues, whereas the Who influenced the sound of ROCK music more than any other group.

[tiger313]

yeah, it definately felt like some kind of revolution heard round the world, but I always say if you can remember the 60's you weren't there.

[oncethere]

Lennon and McCartney were musical genuises, but my two favorite Beatle songs are Harrison songs, Something and Here Comes The Sun.

[jl4040]

Your post reminds me that Frank Sinatra, when asked for his favorite Lennon-McCartney composition, chose "Something."

[gascelebrations]

"You stick around, jack, it may show..."

[hillpill]

George Harrison was hugely underrated.
George Harrison RIP.

[AJHolly]

I've re-read Hunter Davies' biography of the Beatles recently (published before they broke up.0 "The quiet one" has since become my favorite. Sounds like he was a really nice guy.

[jb578261]

While My Guitar Gently Weeps was his best work in my opinion

[NeverADullMoment]

Credit to Eric Clapton for the prominent guitar work on WMGGW.

[gascelebrations]

I liked "Taxman". But what really made that track was McCartney's bass.

[NeverADullMoment]

As well as Paul's guitar solo on Taxman.

[HumanitiesProf]

The Beatles are the alpha and the omega. Together, their music was--and still is--the antidote to fearmongering everywhere.
Their music is a blessing across the universe.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, lads.

[studioegg]

Yeah, that's great. "Carnival of Light", ok, releases it, but why not the "Let It Be" movie, mono versions of "Sgt Pepper", "The Beatles"(White Album). Certainly Paul is not motivated by demand. "Carnival of Light" has been on the bootleg scene for over 30 years, and it's interesting, but it won't crack your top 40 Beatles songs of all time. How about releasing 'Carnival' for $1.29 on iTunes?

[fuzzyhearts]

he's hoping people will pay $14.99 for it at amoeba.

[Goatsinger]

The Beatles -- as The Beatles -- continue to have an impact on modern popular music. No matter how you feel about them individually, no doubt based only on their public personae, the group is deserving of respect.

As far as making certain to release every few years? Don't current bands do the same thing?

And yeah, it'll probably be some goofy bit of crap a la "Revolution 9", not the master suite on Abbey Road, but still: 1967 Beatles? Come on!

[whatsthatsound]

Hey! I LIKE Revolution 9! I'm guessing it will be more like "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)". Goofy but utterly missable.

[spiderbucket]

The Beatles are the greatest artists of any medium and no one has been able to come anywhere NEAR their importance to culture and art. Even Elvis.

[jubo]

Elvis, eh? Your insult is a compliment.

[spiderbucket]

Name a song that Elvis WROTE ?

[Bub]

Shakespeare? I've often thought they will be looked upon in a similar way in the distant future - as will the whole Rock'n Roll era - especially the 1950s and 1960s all the way up to 1973 or there abouts. Disco was a dark age inside of rock, however, punk, new wave, Reagan rock were all great, grunge was okay, but it was the last spur that Rock created.

We are now living in a post-rock era. People are either creating stuff in a prior format, or they are producing stuff that really isn't rock.

Rock roughly parallels impressionism in painting - only about 100 years later. They are still making impressionist paintings but the age of impressionism is long gone. Both movements were driven by technology developments. Impressionism resulted from the invention of photography: paintings no longer were intended to be used to try to capture reality. Rock benefited from electronics in instrumentation, recording, playing, distributing etc...

There were many great artists. But the best and most prolific were the Beatles. Simply, lightening in a bottle.

[oncethere]

The dialectics of creativity. Much like Obama's talent for synthesizing various points of view; his "team of rivals."

[bostongreen]

ha ha ha!! wrong.

[jubo]

The guy's an embarrassment to music.

[spiderbucket]

Sincerely, F--- you.

[jubo]

Charmed...

[jubo]

Incidentally I love the Beatles. But Paul's narcissism is misplaced. Do relax.

[RedDogBear]

People like Jubo are either ignorant or adolescents who think its cool to piss people off saying things they know will provoke a reaction. Best to ignore them. Paul isn't my favorite Beatle and I don't care much for his work since the band broke up but there is no doubt he was essential to making them what they were. Also, I think he was quite a good bass player, something that is usually not noticed.

[whatsthatsound]

Wha-? The creator of "Eleanor Rigby" and "For No One" is an embarrassment to music? Does that mean Tchaikovsky is an embarrassment to music because of the bombast at the end of "The 1812 Overture" even though he created the "Pathetique" symphony and "Eugen Onegin"? You ARE kidding, right?

[Bub]

He also wrote "Someone's knocking at the door, someone's ringing a bell."

Worse then creating it, it was played on top 40 stations with incredible regularity.

I love the Beatles, but you have to give the devil his due. "Do me a favor, open the door and let him in."

Much of it was great. Some of it was so so, and some of it, well, just was.

[Citizen54]

It's pointless to respond to such a comment, but here goes:

It's easy to make fun of McCartney because of his schmaltzy side, but remember this is the man who wrote "Helter Skelter"!!! That song still rocks. Or the song he did with Steve Miller, "My Dark Hour." The guy can get down when he wants. Plus, he's one of the best electric bassists ever. Listen to the song "Rain," for just one.

[rr66]

The Beatles inspired contemporary artists as well as ones after their end, their influence on music and on peoples lives continues today. Any and all material from the time when they owned the worlds conciousness should be released not for money or charity but for history and the fans who loved and cared so much about the fab four deserve no less.

[NeverADullMoment]

Absolutely pathetic.

Half of the comments about this article are trivial, politicized statements written by people who weren't even yet born when the Beatles had finished their remarkable epoch of writing.

[moveover]

How were you able to get everyone's birthdates? Quick .... what color are my shoes?

[fuzzyhearts]

recently polished black, with tassels on the top.

[starkweather444]

I wasnt born when Beethoven wrote the 9th symphony, doesn't mean I dont enjoy it any less.

[DubiousAtBest]

Funny how they keep finding all this unreleased/"lost" Beatle stuff at sort of regular intervals.
I mean, after all these years...just funny is all I'm saying.

Well, Paul does have to give millions to Heather.....and nobody would pay ANYTHING for his "Ebony and Ivory" outtakes, that's for sure!

[RedDogBear]

Didn't you know? The CIA was covertly recording them and then manipulated the music industry so that their most provocative works were never released. Seriously, there isn't all that much unreleased material. Its normal in a recording studio to record lots and lots of stuff that never gets released. Especially when the group was together they were careful not to release things that they felt weren't good enough but they didn't destroy them. Actually when compare to people like Dylan or Hendrix the amount of unreleased stuff coming from the Beatles is unfortunately rather small.

[fuzzyhearts]

yeah, this summer there will be another "found" tupac movie, too.