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The Beatles
Live At The Hollywood Bowl
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Capitol Records SMAS-11638
From the original 1977 vinyl LP
Side One:
1. Twist and Shout 1:20
(B. Russell/P. Medley)
Robert Mellin Music Publishing Corp./Belinda Music/BMI
Recorded August 30th, 1965
2. She’s A Woman 2:45
(J. Lennon/P. McCartney)
Maclen Music, Inc./BMI
Recorded August 30th, 1965
3. Dizzy Miss Lizzie 3:00
(Larry Williams)
Venice Music, Inc.,/BMI
Recorded August 30th, 1965
4. Ticket To Ride 2:18
(J. Lennon/P. McCartney)
Maclen Music, Inc./BMI
Recorded August 30th, 1965
5. Can’t Buy Me Love 2:08
(J. Lennon/P. McCartney)
Maclen Music, Inc./BMI
Recorded August 30th, 1965
6. Things We Said Today 2:07
(J. Lennon/P. McCartney)
Maclen Music, Inc./BMI
Recorded August 23rd, 1964
7. Roll Over Beethoven 2:10
(Chuck Berry)
Arc Music Corp./BMI
Recorded August 23rd, 1964
Side Two:
1. Boys 1:57
(L. Dixon/W. Farrell)
Ludix Publishing Co., Inc./BMI
Recorded August 23rd, 1964
2. A Hard Days Night 2:30
(J. Lennon/P. McCartney)
Maclen Music, Inc./BMI
Recorded August 30th, 1965
3. Help! 2:16
(J. Lennon/P. McCartney)
Maclen Music, Inc./BMI
Recorded August 30th, 1965
4. All My Loving 1:55
(J. Lennon/P. McCartney)
Maclen Music, Inc./BMI
Recorded August 23rd, 1964
5. She Loves You 2:10
(J. Lennon/P. McCartney)
Maclen Music, Inc./BMI
Recorded August 23rd, 1964
6. Long Tall Sally
(Johnson/Penniman/Blackwell)
Venice Music, Inc./BMI
Recorded August 23rd, 1964
Original Remote Recording at The Hollywood Bowl for Both the 1964 and 1965 Concerts:
Produced by Voyle Gilmore
Recording Engineer, 1964 Concert: Hugh Davies
Recording Engineer, 1965 Concert: Peter Abbot
Final Mixdown and Sequencing:
Produced by George Martin
Re-Mix Engineer: Geoff Emerick
Air London Studios, January 1977
Mastered by Wally Traugott and Geoff Emerick
Special thanks to Brian Murphy for his valuable assistance with the Beatles memorabilia, Otto Rothschild and to Ken Veeder for concert photos.
Art Direction: Roy Kohara
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Over twelve years ago the Beatles appeared for the first time at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. It was not long after they had made their first impact on the United States, but already two years after I had signed them to a recording contract for EMI. Frankly, I was not in favor of taping their performance. I knew the quality of recording could not equal what we could do in the studio, but we thought we would try anyhow. Technically, the results were disappointing; the conditions for the engineers were arduous in the extreme. The chaos, I might almost say panic, that reigned at these concerts was unbelievable unless you were there. Only three track recording was possible; the Beatles had no “fold back” speakers, so they could not hear what they were singing, and the eternal shriek from 17,000 healthy, young lungs made even a jet plane inaudible.
A year later, in 1965, John, Paul, George and Ringo appeared again at The Hollywood Bowl and again Capitol taped the show for posterity, and there the tapes remained for over a decade. Neither the boys nor I considered they should be used because they consisted of titles that had already been issued as studio recordings, we often spoke of making a live recording, and in fact the ill-fated “Let It Be” album began as an attempt to make a live record of new material.
It was with some misgivings therefore that I agreed to listen to those early tapes at the request of Bhaskar Menon, Capitol’s president. The fact that they were the only live recordings of the Beatles in existence (if you discount inferior bootlegs) did not impress me. What did impress me, however, was the electric atmosphere and raw energy that came over.
And so, together with my recording engineer, Geoff Emerick, I set to work to bring the performance back to life. It was a labor of love, for we did not know if we could make them good enough for the world to hear – let alone John, Paul, George and Ringo.
We transferred the vintage three track tapes to modern multi-track, remixed, filtered, equalized and generally polished the tapes. Then, by careful editing from the two performances, we produced the performance that you hear now, obviously there has been no overdubbing. All the voices and instruments are the original performance (some of the vocal balances, with three singers on one track are evidence enough). But it is a piece of history that will not occur again.
Those of us who were lucky enough to be present at a live Beatle concert – be it in Liverpool, London, New York, Washigton, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Sydney or wherever – will know how amazing, how unique those performances were. It was not just the voice of the Beatles: it was expression of the young people of the world.
And for the others who wondered what on Earth all the fuss was about, this album may give a little clue. It may be a poor substitute for the reality of those times, but it is now all there is.
In the multiplatinum, sophisticated world we live in today, it is difficult to appreciate the excitement of the Beatles breakthrough. My youngest daughter, Lucy, now nine years old, once asked me about them, “You used to record them, didn’t you, Daddy?” she asked, “Were they as great as the Bay City Rollers?” “Probably not,” I replied. Some day she will find out.
Those who clamour for a Beatle reunion cannot see that it can never be the same again. The boys in their own way gave a great deal of their lives to us by being Beatles. And now they have found their own individual selves. Good luck to them. I am very proud to have been part of their story.
Thank you John, Paul, George and Ringo.
George Martin
