I guess it’s no news to anyone that my musical life (if not life?) revolves a lot around the Beatles. And it never stops. One climax was of course last year when I finally shook hands with Sir Paul McCartney! (Read the 4000 word long blog post about that defining moment and more about my Beatles background in general here).
Looking back on 2015 in a Beatles perspective, a fond memory is when McCartney came to Stockholm again. As usual, I felt I had to make something “extra”. So I put together a nice little “super group” (he said humbly), called Myhr, Kvint & Morén. In a “pre-McCartney-concert”-show at Clarion Hotel, Stockholm, we played a bunch of songs that McCartney wasn’t going to play himself and it was of course good fun. I mean, how often do you get to play (or hear!) songs like “Cafe On The Left Bank” live?
Before that day, I was interviewed by the Swedish news agency TT, in the role of “Beatles expert”, about the upcoming McCartney concert and my expectations, as almost a “spokesman” for the Swedish (hard core) fans. The interview was published in many leading Swedish newspapers (and included my list of favorite Macca songs and albums). See articles for instance in Dagens Nyheter, Göteborgs-Posten,
But the BIG Christmas gift this year was of course the news that The Beatles music now is available streaming. So, while digesting the Christmas food I thought it’d be fun to make a few playlists of Beatles songs on various themes.
It features all their greatest hits but also a carefully made selection of the greatest album tracks. All in chronological order. Basically it’s a top 100 list full of evergreens, and masterpieces. It might very well be the “ultimate” 4 hour and 42 minute introduction to their catalogue.
Then there’s three playlists where I have put focus on Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison individually where I have picked out 25 “cool” tracks. Which means they are not necessary their most famous songs (except in the case of Harrison where I had to include basically everything he ever sang and/or wrote within the Beatles).
There are of course many different themes that one could think of. One, close to my heart, is the “rock’n’roll”-theme. It’s sometimes forgotten what a marvelous little rock’n’roll combo they were. I mean the Rolling Stones were OK, but really…!? Just play The Beatles version of “Long Tall Sally” loud on your stereo, and you’ll get my point. 😉
A completely different theme is the one of “beautiful melodies”. What a beautiful melody is, is very difficult to define of course. And the Beatles very rarely recorded songs without beautiful, strong or memorable melodies. Anyway, I tried to use my gut-feeling to pick out twenty-five of my all-time favorites in this category.
The Beatles of course doesn’t need me to reach out to a new audience. But it’s that it’s hard to stop. It’s like I’ve been on a mission since I was ten. The Beatles is my religion and I thought this was a fun new way to “evangelize”. So, feel free to turn of your mind and float down streaming on Spotify with me…
Just like that. Out of the blue! While you’re all out there lazing on all the sunny afternoons I am delighted to bring you a little surprise from the David Myhr record label head quarters at Lojinx, England. Soundshine is available as of TODAY on vinyl. Yes indeed! A real 33 1⁄3rpm microgroove vinyl record. An LP (Long Play)! Get your copy now by clicking this link: http://ljx.cc/soundshine
Up until now I’ve been watching the whole vinyl revival thing from a distance. I’ve remained a digital guy, fascinated as I am with streaming services like Spotify. Having said that, there’s a particular magic about the old LP format that not even I can resist. It obviously has a lot to do with nostalgia. As a small kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s the LP was the medium on which I discovered music (alongside the cassette). I’ll never forget when my sister-in-law Agneta borrowed me her copies of The Beatles red and blue albums. Or how I went to the local record store and bought my own copy of Paul McCartney’s then brand new Tug of war. Not to mention browsing through my brother Niklas record collection discovering David Bowie, Neil Young, Cat Stevens, and other “hip and happening” artists (as you can see I was retro even as a twelve-year-old).
In a (very) old blog post I wrote about how I miss record stores and now the time has come to admit that I also miss the smell, the sound, and above all the look of the LP format. And finally, the longing after something “real” became so strong that I decided to put some hard-earned money into making a vinyl version of Soundshine in hope there’s at least a few people out there that just like me are looking forward to opening it up in the new format, to enjoy the artwork (now bigger than ever!), read the lyrics, the never-ending thank you list, the credits, and everything on the inner sleeve. (Stuff that seems to be completely forgotten these days but which for us music nerds is half the fun). And then to put down the needle and enjoy listening to something so old-fashioned as a “Side A”, flip it over, and then “Side B”.
The two last songs will differ from the digital version. The backwards mumbo jumbo at the end of “Icy Tracks” is gone and the never-ending outro of “Ride Along” is somewhat shortened. This is due to the physical limitations of the LP format. But funnily enough I think it (if possible?) actually may increase the listening experience.
Included with the album is a digital download in case you (just like me) don’t yet have your vinyl player set up. In other words you can still enjoy the packaging and hang it on the wall alongside your Nickelback, and Michael Bolton album covers (they’re the ones you’re supposed to mention when you’re being ironic, right?).
I know you’re in the middle of your summer cocktail right now, but hey – a copy of this very exclusive edition is just a click away at the Lojinx store for 15£ (including V.A.T.).
I remember Paul McCartney once said “I love being in a band. It’s a luxury. I’d rather have a band than a Rolls Royce.” And it’s true that being in a band is a true luxury. Especially a “real” band. It’s hard to beat the feeling of being in a tight group working creatively together towards the same goal with an “us against the world” mentality. I have very fond memories of the periods when the Merrymakers were a tight songwriting team and we inspired and bounced ideas off each other.
But it’s also true that being a solo artist now gives me a freedom that’s hard to beat. Now I am free to ask whoever I feel like at any given moment for a collaboration. I may not get a positive response all the time but sometimes I might get lucky. For instance on my coming album I’ve been fortunate enough to write with pop heroes like Andreas Mattsson (Popsicle) and Peter Morén (Peter Bjorn & John) and on one of the Japanese bonus tracks which was originally written for Puffy I’ve worked together with another Swedish master of pop; Peter Kvint.
When performing live I am now also able to experiment on a case-to-case basis. Many times I will have to accept that there’s only budget for one guy in the band – myself! Just like in Madrid in December and at Club Wonder in Osaka on this promotional tour of Japan. Other times I can try the “Chuck Berry method” – touring on your own and have local bands backing up in order to save travel costs.
I tried this in London last year and now on this promotional tour of Japan it was time again to try a “local” band put together specially for me for the gig at or the Powerpop Academy Party in Tokyo on Jan 10. They are Ryuji Gotoh from ONEPERCENTRES on drums, Osam Watanabe on bass, and Yasu Hashiguchi from hello! on guitar. It was only a week before the rehersal that I got their e-mail address and was able to start to share some sound files on Dropbox containing their respective parts for each song – so of course I was a little worried… Suddenly last weekend I was standing in a rehearsal room in Tokyo and there they were – nailing every drumfill, every lick, and they play with power, confidence, and they… rocked! Have a glimpse yourself into the rehearsals if you want by watching this video (sorry for the distorted sound):
What a relief and what a great feeling! I’m truly impressed with the dedication and professionalism with which these guys have approached my songs. I was (and still am) very humble and grateful. After all I’m not Chuck Berry who invented Rock’n’Roll. I’m just David Myhr with a bunch of new songs. So thanks Ryuji, Osam, and Yasu for a great job with the rehearsals!
