Reuminations-Thoughts on Music, Books, and the American West

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Indigenous Artists: Maria Martinez--Potter of San Ildefonso by Peter Reum

In the American Southwest, the Pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona occupy a unique position. They are in some ways ageless. The Pueblos descend from the time before Europeans, possibly before many of the other tribes of New Mexico and Arizona. The most revealing of ancient pueblo sites have been set aside as Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado's rugged southwest corner, at the Chaco Canyon National Historical Park in the northwest desert of New Mexico, and the Pecos Pueblo National Historical Park in northeastern New Mexico at the edge of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Each of these amazing Parks has been a revelation for ethnologists and archaeologists since the late 19th Century. Today's Pueblos are situated along the Rio Grande River in New Mexico and the Hopi Tribe of Northeastern Arizona. are the descendants of the people who occupied the numerous archaeological sites so many centuries ago. Maize and beans were the plants raised for food, and probably came northward from Mexico long before the Spanish colonial conquest. There were no horses to draw plows. Plowing was done with whatever worked the best in each location. Pueblo religious practices were and are complex and due to hundreds of years of Roman Catholic suppression, any priest is denied the innermost beliefs of Pueblo Culture. Clothes were functional in nature, and women were the leaders in some locations, and men in others. Pueblo life was challenging, and at times the men of different Pueblos would hunt for venison, elk, and trade for bison hides and meat with the Southern Plains Tribes.

The pueblo people were agrarian, raising squash, corn, beans and other vegetables. Fruit was not as prevalent. Pueblo hunters brought home deer, wapiti, buffalo, and smaller game. Many of the pueblos had to eat insects when water was not readily available or there was a severe drought. The famous locations that have been preserved as National Parks and Monuments, such as Mesa Verde, Chaco Culture, Pecos Historical Park, and too many national monuments to name in this article, are available to help visitors to the Southwestern USA to comprehend the complex cultures that occupied the lands in the states of Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. Trade between regions was evident in archaeological digs revealing shells from the California coast, plants domesticated for agriculture by what is now tribes that were in Mexico, and clothing from the Mound Builders of the Midwest.

The remarkable buildings and physical locations of ancient pueblo cultures exemplify the resilience and doggedness that the indigenous people composing the various pueblo cultures in surviving during plentiful years and meager years of food availability. Pottery from the pueblos was present as early as 100 AD. The ingenuity of the pots and other pieces of Anazazi (pre-Columbian) pottery show the practical side of ancient pueblo culture. To cover the various styles of different eras of Anazazi pottery is beyond the scope of this article. The interested reader will find numerous books and articles covering the subject.

The idea of Pueblo pottery being art was a late 19th and early 20th Century shift in the manner in which scholars and pottery aficionados viewed art. The Rio Grande Pueblos and Hopi tribe in Arizona had moved from their mountain homes into the valleys that provided a constant flow of water for the crops they needed to grow. The primary location was in what is now the Rio Grande and Pecos Rivers in New Mexico, and the Little Colorado and Colorado Rivers in Arizona. The more reliable pueblo locations facilitated more time for artistic expression.

MAP OF PRE-COLUMBIAN CULTURES OF THE SOUTHWEST 1000 AD

PUEBLO AND SURROUNDING CULTURES 1500 AD

Today's pueblos. Map by Neal Morris; copyright Crow Canyon Archaeological Center.

PUEBLOS OF THE RIO GRANDE AND HOPI PUEBLOS 1750 AD

PUEBLO CULTURE WITH SURROUNDING TRIBES 2015

As may be viewed from following the progression of Pueblo Culture from Pre-Columbian times through the present day, Pueblo Culture location change inevitably moved the Anazazi from intermittent water sources into the Rio Grande Valley. The migration enabled Pueblos to maintain their locations through all of the various powers that have politically occupied the area. These include Spanish, Mexican, and American governments. The Pueblos face new challenges at this time, such as keeping their water rights, keeping their land from being usurped, and ongoing interference with their indigenous culture.

The revival of the ancient art of making pottery was a necessary and important tool for surviving the years of drought, storing grains for freshness, and use when consuming food. In his beautiful book entitled Maria, published by Northland Press of Flagstaff, Arizona in 1979, author Richard Spivey carefully charts the development of the most renowned of Pueblo potters, Maria Montoya Poveka Martinez. From the turn of the 19th Century into the 20th Century, until her death in 1980, Maria Martinez and her husband Julian Martinez, son-Popovi Da, and grandson-Tony Da, pursued their pot painting craft in a manner that made Maria's pottery unique and innovative at a time in the late 19th Century and the first decade of the 20th Century when the artisanship of pottery was dying due to the convienence of cheap and mass produced pottery that even the Pueblos used instead of throwing pottery themselves in the ancient way.

By 1904, Maria and Julian had become famous enough to be asked to exhibit their work at the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904. The indigenous people attending that fair were supposed to dance. Maria used the opportunity to throw pottery, exhibiting her growing mastery of the ancient art. According to Richard Spivey, Maria also attended the 1914 San Diego World's Fair, the 1934 World's Fair in Chicago, and the 1939 World's Fair in San Francisco, the last one she attended. To give an idea of the prestige she held in the art world, Maria was awarded a gold medal by the University of Colorado in 1953. She was awarded The Craftsmanship Medal of the American Institute of Architects in 1954, the Palmes Academiques by the Nation of France, also in 1954, and the Jane Addams Award for Distinguished Service by Rockford College in 1959. The American Ceramic Society presented its Presidential Citation in 1967. She was presented the Symbol of Man Award by the Minnesota Museum of Fine Arts in 1969, the Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts by New Mexico State University was awarded to Maria Martinez. Awards were given by the State of New Mexico, including an award from Governor Bruce King for being an outstanding representative of New Mexico to the world.

Maria, Potter of San Ildefonso - 26 minutes

Hands of Maria Part 1-7 minutes

Hands of Maria Part 2 - 7 minutes

Colores: Pottery of Maria

and Julian Martinez - 8 minutes

Native American Pottery Making Circa
1920-1949 - 5 minutes

Maria Martinez Gathering Clay - 3 minutes

The Pottery of Maria Martinez - 7 minutes

Maria Martinez: Identifying Pottery by
Maria That is Black

or Red

4 minutes

Pueblo and Maria Martinez Pottery:

What to look for in What Condition

Marvin Martinez (Maria's Great Grandson) talks

about The Martinez Family - 7 minutes

KNME TV VIDEO PRESENTATION OF MARIA MARTINEZ MAKING POTTERY

Pot completed by Maria and Julian just prior to Julian Marinez's Death in 1940

Maria and Julian were the first innovators of Indigenous Pottery, and what followed was a major renaissance in the art throughout the various Pueblos. San Ildefonso's neighboring pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo has produced some exceptional indigenous potters who have received great acclaim.

1934

Maria and Julian Signature at bottom of pot they made

1940

Maria and Julian's Signature at the bottom of pot they made

Upon the passing of Julian Martinez in 1943 at the relatively young age of 46, Maria Martinez faced the challenge of finding another painter of her pottery. She did not have to look very far, as her son Popovi Da was able to fill the large function that Maria's husband previously provided. Popovi brought a new form of painting to Maria's pottery, and excelled in his chosen vocation as much as Julian had previously.

Examples of Black on Black Pottery by Maria and Julian

Martinez

Popovi Da brought a significant innovation to the art of painting Maria's pottery. While keeping Julian Martinez's symbols, many of which derived from Pre-Columbian Times. Popovi Da expanded the types of Pueblo symbols shown on Maria's pottery. He expanded the colors used for decoration as well. Maria also worked with Santana, a relative of hers who has become a highly respected potter and has continued the innovations begun with Maria and Julian. Popovi became the person who fired Maria's pottery, with her participation. Popovi Da died in

Puebloan: Maria Martinez, Black-on-black ceramic vessel by Dr. Suzanne Newman Fricke - UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO

"Born Maria Antonia Montoya, Maria Martinez became one of the best-known Native potters of the twentieth century due to her excellence as a ceramist and her connections with a larger, predominantly non-Native audience. Though she lived at the Pueblo of San Ildefonso, about 20 miles north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, from her birth in 1887 until her death in 1980, her work and her life had a wide reaching importance to the Native art world by reframing Native ceramics as a fine art. Before the arrival of the railroad to the area in the 1880s, pots were used in the Pueblos for food storage, cooking, and ceremonies. But with inexpensive pots appearing along the rail line, these practices were in decline. By the 1910s, Ms. Martinez found a way to continue the art by selling her pots to a non-Native audience where they were purchased as something beautiful to look at rather than as utilitarian objects."

Maria Martinez shown with physicist Enrico Fermi, c. 1948 (public domain; photo by U.S. Government employee made for U.S. Government)

"Making ceramics in the Pueblo was considered a communal activity, where different steps in the process were often shared. The potters helped each other with the arduous tasks such as mixing the paints and polishing the slip. Ms. Martinez would form the perfectly symmetrical vessels by hand and leave the decorating to others. Throughout her career, she worked with different family members, including her husband Julian, her son Adam and his wife Santana, and her son Popovi Da. As the pots moved into a fine art market, Ms. Martinez was encouraged to sign her name on the bottom of her pots. Though this denied the communal nature of the art, she began to do so as it resulted in more money per pot. To help other potters in the Pueblo, Ms. Martinez was known to have signed the pots of others, lending her name to help the community. Helping her Pueblo was of paramount importance to Ms. Martinez. She lived as a normal Pueblo woman, avoiding self-promotion and insisting to scholars that she was just a wife and mother even as her reputation in the world burgeoned."

Maria Martinez, Black-on-black ceramic vessel, c. 1939, blackware ceramic, 11 1/8 x 13 inches, Tewa, Puebloan, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico (National Museum of Women in the Arts)

Maria Martinez made this jar by mixing clay with volcanic ash found on her pueblo and building up the basic form with coils of clay that she scraped and smoothed with a gourd tool. Once the jar had dried and hardened, she polished its surface with a small stone. Her husband Julian then painted on the design with liquid clay, producing a matte surface that contrasts with the high polished areas. During the firing process, the oxygen supply was cut off, producing carbon smoke that turned the jar black.

Martinez’s works exemplify a collaborative approach to art. She learned how to make pottery from female family members, worked alongside her sisters (who often painted designs on her earliest pieces of pottery), and subsequently trained three generations of her family in the art form. Martinez and her husband, painter Julian Martinez, developed their distinctive black-on-black designs around 1918. Julian rendered birds and serpents or stylized geometric forms that complement the robust forms of his wife’s pottery. Despite achieving great pro

"Maria Martinez eschewed the Western notion of the isolated artistic genius, stating: “I just thank God because [my work is] not only for me; it’s for all the people. I said to my God, the Great Spirit, Mother Earth gave me this luck. So I’m not going to keep it." (Commentary by Maria Martinez, Courtesy National Museum of Women in the Arts)

"Maria and Julian Martinez pioneered a style of applying a matte-black design over polished-black. Similar to the pot pictured here, the design was based on pottery sherds found on an Ancestral Pueblo dig site dating to the twelfth to seventeenth centuries at what is now known as Bandelier National Monument. The Martinezes worked at the site, with Julian helping the archaeologists at the dig and Maria helping at the campsite. Julian Martinez spent time drawing and painting the designs found on the walls and on the sherds of pottery into his notebooks, designs he later recreated on pots. In the 1910s, Maria and Julian worked together to recreate the black-on-black ware they found at the dig, experimenting with clay from different areas and using different firing techniques. Taking a cue from Santa Clara pots, they discovered that smothering the fire with powdered manure removed the oxygen while retaining the heat and resulted in a pot that was blackened. This resulted in a pot that was less hard and not entirely watertight, which worked for the new market that prized decorative use over utilitarian value. The areas that were burnished had a shiny black surface and the areas painted with guaco were matte designs based on natural phenomenon, such as rain clouds, bird feathers, rows of planted corn, and the flow of rivers."

Maria Martinez, Black-on-black ceramic vessel (detail), c. 1939, blackware ceramic, 11 1/8 x 13 inches, Tewa, Puebloan, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico (National Museum of Women in the Arts)

"The olla pictured above features two design bands, one across the widest part of the pot and the other around the neck. The elements inside are abstract but suggest a bird in flight with rain clouds above, perhaps a prayer for rain that could be flown up to the sky. These designs are exaggerated due to the low rounded shapes of the pot, which are bulbous around the shoulder then narrow at the top. The shape, color, and designs fit the contemporary Art Deco movement, which was popular between the two World Wars and emphasized bold, geometric forms and colors. With its dramatic shape and the high polish of surface, this pot exemplifies Maria Martinez’s skill in transforming a utilitarian object into a fine art.The work of Maria Martinez marks an important point in the long history of Pueblo pottery. Ceramics from the Southwest trace a connection from the Ancestral Pueblo to the modern Pueblo eras. Given the absence of written records, tracing the changes in the shapes, materials, and designs on the long-lasting sherds found across the area allow scholars to see connections and innovations. Maria Martinez brought the distinctive Pueblo style into a wider context, allowing Native and non-Native audiences to appreciate the art form."

Links:

The Art, Life and Legacy of Maria Martinez

Maria Martinez Pottery - San Ildefonso Pueblo

Maria Martinez (Through the Eyes of the Pot: A study of Southwest Pueblo Pottery and Culture)

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Senseless Destruction??? by Peter Reum

The thought has occurred to me the last 25 years that perhaps as a species, humankind has a closer resemblance to lemmings than we want to admit. Granted that the news as reported in this world seems to focus upon the most negative types of human behavior, such as war, environmental destruction and debasement, wanton violence in civilian life, allowing others to starve or be taken ill by water that is teeming with parasites and disease causing microbes, and so many more issues than can be listed here. Revolution in seed development has resulted in more food being harvested than at any time in human history. Holy books, like the Bible, Koran, and Vedic Scriptures are taken literally when such scriptures were written to serve a given population of believers who lived from 200 years ago-The Book of Mormon to nearly 5000 years ago-The Torah and some Hindu sacred texts.

Why do we attach such significance to these scriptures on a literal (sometimes called "fundamentalist") basis? I would submit that the uncertainty of agricultural yields brought a need for the attribution of powers that transcend day by day human existence being placed with beings of a powerful and unpredictable relationship to humans to give meaning to the various calamities that beset human beings and are unexpected.

That being said, it is evident that as a species, we also have the capacity for self-reflection that makes our ability to put aside our personal opinions and allow other human beings to have their own opinions, even if their insights are somewhat primitive. When things get out beyond a reasonable level, researchers have to consider that the conclusion, however the results as yielded appear to be against conventional wisdom.

The conflict between people who value tradition versus innovation often becomes the main block between conservatives and progressives. For people who are scared by the prospect of change, fear of change often becomes an unstated yet common emotion that brings uncertainty to the various change related decisions being considered. If fear of change is a commonality in most decisions by conservatives, it would be natural that they want only conservative positions to have a long term favorable outcome.

When we consider the more progressive aspects of a given decision, the rationale given for progressive changes are often attributed to people left without services for the given problem. This leads to the emotional campaign for services or opportunities that often defines the new population to be served. Life problems that this sort of campaign addresses are often brought to the attention of progressives. The problem being targeted may be clogging a given service system, or that the number of people being eligible for the new service is vastly underfunded despite the estimates that were made.

The simpler explanation is that cost-effectiveness is often confused with cost-effenciency. As an example, there might be a new medication approved that seems to help life-threatened patients to stay alive for a few more years beyond the common length of the illness. In this example, the expensive treatment modality may be cost-effective because of the extra few years such intervention offers to terminally ill patients. Conversely, certain medical condition payers may conclude that the proposed treatment modality for the terminal patient is not cost efficient due to the level of additional medical services needed that accompany the new treatment modality.

The decisions made can be helpful for a given patient, but detrimental to a health services provider's budgetary bottom line. The most common method of resolving such dilemmas has been to establish a process by which a given patient's treatment plan is reviewed blindly by a board of professionals who decide how a patient will be treated. As an example, the organization that is fulfilling this function in Montana is called Mountain Pacific Quality Health. The fear of so called "death committees" is unreal with respect to them having the sole responsibility of deciding who lives and who dies. The use of extraordinary medical interventions to save lives is often the role of the primary physician who will decide what interventions are possible or realistic

Another role in society that creates problems is whether the person who murders one or many innocent community members is fit for trial by his or her peers. In a number of countries around the world, nations have decided by citizen feedback or referendums to eliminate the death penalty as a sentence for citizens convicted of murder. In other nations, or in the USA, some jurisdictions have the belief that the death penalty is a necessary option in the judicial process for what might be termed "aggravated circumstances." In the USA, some states routinely consider the death penalty as an option for punishment. Perhaps the most active state allowing capital punishment is Texas. Oklahoma is another state that routinely reviews whether the circumstances of aggravated murder would justify capital punishment.

The precedent for decisions about whether the death penalty is appropriate due to aggravated circumstances is based in the details of the murders committed and whether there were especially egregious methods that are present that make the killings especially heinous. A common example is the Nuremberg trial of people who implemented the orders of Nazis
responsible for the coordination of the mass murders of Jews, people with disabilities, gay and lesbian persons, and so forth.

The issues regarding decisions about life and death are particularly emotional in the medical treatment of newborns and children. Around the world, the innocence of young girls and boys is weighed against the probability of survival. Countries with elevated levels of childhood death in comparison to their state of the art of medical practices are especially reviled for their per capita rate of childhood deaths if they are otherwise technologically advanced. In some especially cruel nations, use of violence against dissenting citizens is considered to be a routine method for eliminating "those who threaten the state." Historically, this form of elimination of those who threaten the state has been employed in countries labeled Communist, dictatorships, and totalitarianism.

The use of extraordinary medical interventions has been especially controversial as the state of the art in keeping seriously injured patients alive has become more improved. Infants born to mothers who are arguably being kept alive without a probability of surviving solely for the purpose of saving the baby's life are ahe n example of heroic intervention that may result in the child being orphaned or raised by foster parents. The growing consensus of the foster care and/or child adoption agencies is that the death of the mother is not a sufficient reason in most developed nations for allowing a baby to die.

The use of methods of interviewing suspects in a murder case needs to be examined as a potential example of how a given member of a minority group could be victimized by authorities through mistaken identity and jailed unfairly for many years.
It is quite an unfair disposal of a murder suspect's constitutional rights to a jury of his or her peers, with an assumption of guilt regardless of mitigating factors. The attending consequences of such a mistake are profound. Once again, the possibility of a minority group member being prisoned wrongfully builds mistrust in the judicial system among minority groups.

As can be seen in the examples cited, the building of trust between conservatives and progressives is perhaps the most important challenge facing our country's democratic form of government. If the distrust between those who believe that solving our country's imperfections and those who believe in the retention of our country's democratic government in it's current form without change, our dilemma as a nation divided will remain, with both groups blaming each other for the persistent dysfunction of our nation. This cannot continue to happen. Consensus building is desperately needed, with support coming from the conservatives and progressives for meaningful change.

Copyright 2018 by Peter Reum--All Rights Reserved

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Favorite Compilations 1: The Beatles 1967-1970 by Peter Reum

There are young people these days whose knowledge of Rock Groups from the Sixties and Seventies rock is minimal. Some young people have heard variations of hip hop, but are unfamiliar with Sixties and Seventies soul and rock music. My youngest boy and girl are more acquainted than most families, but that is because I have played music to them periodically since they were two and three years old. The picture that I see with my kids is an attempt to show them as many forms of music as I can in a matter of a few years.

I am fully cognizant of the trends that have come and do my best to not judge the music played. There is a portion of those
music albums that for me are not listenable. I think with careful selection and closely held opinions of various artists that the kids of these days should be exposed to only a few genres or eras of popular music, jazz, roots, country, or critic's pet artists. The Beatles are nearly secular saints in the world of popular music. They grew as artists in a way they had to, because the road became an untenable choice for them. When asked why their touring ceased, their consistent answer was that the crowd noise was so loud that they could not hear themselves over the monitors onstage.

The group began 1967 as a studio entity, recording the Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever double 'A' sided single. The two tunes could have been released on the Sgt. Pepper album, but the two marvelous tunes were issued in February 1967, not appearing on Sgt. Pepper. The history from that point until the two singles were issued from the Let It Be album in 1970 reflects unhindered growing sophistication in the compositions the group released as singles or on albums. Those of us who were raised in the Fifties and Sixties were exposed to music that reflected the period's upheaval, but which often was innovative enough to be timeless. Of course, Beatle music is of that genre, beloved by at least three generations of listeners.

Beatles at EMI 1969

Back Cover Track Listing

Customized Record Label Sides 1 and 3-Note Green Apple

Customized Record Label Sides 2 and 4-Note Sliced Apple

Example of Record Storage Liner-Customized Blue with Lyrics

The fact about most greatest hits or best of compilations is that there are usually several tracks that are "duds." An example would be the Best of the Beach Boys album's released in 1966 by Capitol Records. Instead of combing the vault for the REAL Best of the Beach Boys, Capitol haphazardly released an album that had several legitimately great tracks, with a selection of what can only be called "ringers." Perhaps underwhelming is a suitable classification for 40% of the Best of the Beach Boys series of three albums.

While the Beatles double cd sets 1962-1966 (the red set) and 1967-1970 (the blue set) are both uniformly excellent, my favorite has always been the blue set. The program begins with the 1967 double "A" sided single Strawberry Fields Forever b/w Penny Lane, both recorded during the sessions for the Sgt. Pepper album. Like many Beatle singles, the sides are written primarily by John Lennon (Strawberry Fields) and Paul McCartney. The sound is excellent, a treat for those who wear headphones when listening.

Some Beatles Looking for the Best Compilation of Their Work

The program continues with four selections from the Sgt. Pepper album. The title track leads the selections, followed by With a Little Help From My Friends, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, and Sgt. Pepper's epic closing track, A Day in the Life. Listeners can most likely argue about the songs that were pulled from Sgt. Pepper, but for my money, the four songs placed on the set are the ones that are most popular, and had the greatest radio exposure. All of them have been labeled as a peak in songwriting and production.

I'd like to digress just for a moment to offer my opinion on Magical Mystery Tour as released in the UK, and the longer album from the USA. I will categorically state that the USA Magical Mystery Tour album is the ONE altered album for the USA market that plays through from start to finish with no hiccups or sore thumbs. All You Need is Love is a single that was placed on the USA version of Magical Mystery Tour. The song is one of the great Beatle sing along tunes. It seemed to summarize the era of hippies, psychedelics, and free love in a manner that could serve as both a theme for that period, and as a tune that also seemed to signal it's death knell. The second song on side 2 of the original l.p. set is I Am the Walrus. This tune may include some of John Lennon's most innovative psychedelic lyrics. The overall feel of the record is that it is one of the definitive Beatle Summer of Love songs, and that it is the psychedelic peak in songs from that era. Hello Goodbye is simply one of the best Beatle tunes about confused communication from the psychedelic era. The Fool on the Hill brings a succinct overview of the average person's experiences with being overstimulated by the everyday experiences he or she is exposed to. The trip the Beatles took to India grew out of the group's need to learn to cope with their busy lives and emotional stress from consistently being expected to top their last album or single.

The last four tracks on the first cd highlight The Beatles as a great rock band. They play these songs loud, and use many of the tricks that later became staples of hard rocking Seventies bands. The title track of the British double ep set and the great album that followed the Sgt. Pepper album in the United States uses Ringo's drums in a manner that was later used by other bands who rocked their asses off. The three remaining tunes are either 'A' or 'B' sides of singles from late 1967 well into 1968. These songs are Lady Madonna, Hey Jude, and Revolution. Lady Madonna, although credited to Lennon and McCartney, is mostly a song of Paul's. The piano style here is barrelhouse, bringing somewhat of a Fats Domino style of playing forward. The piano is the main instrument, offering a more rhythmic style of play. Paul also is the main author of Hey Jude, which was inspired by a talk Paul had with Julian Lennon, John's son with Cynthia, his first wife. The tune, minimally masks Julian's name, changing it to Jude. The song's sympathetic yet upbeat theme made it a favorite on both sides of the Atlantic. The tune listed twice as long as singles up to that time, forever breaking the unwritten rule that no single 'A' side should exceed three to four minutes in length or it would not be played on radio station's play lists. Revolution, sometimes known as Revolution #1, brought back an exhilarating, loud and bold sound to the group's rocking reputation, ensuring that the Beatles were not stuck with an MOR
reputation after some singles that were more soulful or softer sounding, making listeners question if the Beatles had forgotten how to play loud and serious rock and roll. After Hey Jude and Revolution, the Beatles were never thought of as anything but a great rock band.

The second record in the original package is also excellently compiled. Side 3 on the vinyl original issue and the second cd's beginning commences with the tongue in cheek tribute to Chuck Berry and The Beach Boys, Back In the U.S.S.R. This is a favorite of mine being a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fan, and I love the way it combines the Chuck Berry type of rocking music, with the lyrics on the song's bridge sounding like Mike Love's original lyrics for California Girls. George Harrison steps into the limelight with While My Guitar Gently Weeps in track 2. For this tune, Harrison brings Eric Clapton in to play lead guitar, and the lyrics to the song are derived from Chinese and Tibetan philosophy. This particular song is, for me, the tune that foreshadowed the incredible All Things Must Pass George Harrison solo lp set. Ob-La-Di/Ob-La-Da follows All Things Must Pass, and for me is the clinker in this set of songs. It has that characteristic of being cute once or twice, and then just being irritating. The next Paul McCartney tune, Get Back, is somewhat of an iconic song, as it was recorded live on the Apple Building's roof, which is well documented as the last time the Beatles played before an audience. The concert nearly paralyzed the section of London next to the Apple Building. Billy Preston, organist on the session, is credited on the single's label. Don't Let Me Down, primarily a John Lennon song, foreshadows Lennon's solo work during the Plastic Ono Band period of Lennon's solo career. The track was solely a John and Paul recording, with Paul helping on drums. Lennon's guitar line is simple, but dignified. The reference to Jesus in the lyric caused some USA radio stations to boycott the single. Old Brown Shoe was the "B" side of Ballad of John and Yoko, composed by George Harrison. The song is a sophisticated song which Harrison believed was one of his best compositions with The Beatles. The tune shifts keys several times during the record, and has been well regarded critically by rock critics. It was cut during the preliminary Abbey Road Sessions.

Beginning Side Four of the vinyl 1967-1970 edition, and hitting the middle of the second cd's program of songs, Here Comes the Sun is regarded almost universally as a George Harrison masterpiece. The Beatles, minus John Lennon, cut the tune with Eric Clapton. The session is notable for being another collaboration between Harrison and Eric Clapton. This is most likely the second most covered Harrison tune by other artists. It is iconic. The program continues with Come Together, a second tune from John Lennon indicating his frustration with The Beatles as a group, and hating the gossip about Yoko Ono which often portrayed her in an unfavorable light. For the record, I believe we might not have had much if any music from John if Yoko Ono had not encouraged him to create. Something is George Harrison's signature composition, and is the single most covered song that the Beatles recorded. Artists worldwide found that Something was and is a classic love song unmatched in Beatle history. Octopus's Garden offers a Ringo Starr lead vocal which lends a zany and whimsical feeling to the tune. The song is the second song Ringo ever wrote and is called 'excellent' by George Harrison in interviews from that time.

Let It Be is a ballad that is almost universally loved and prized by Beatle listeners around the World. Brian Wilson has been quoted as saying he plays the song whenever he needs to "chill out and relax." The Let It Be album version has strings added by Phil Spector which were removed by Paul McCartney for the revised Let It Be Naked album. Across the Universe has a long history with the version for the World Wildlife Fund being less exposed than Lennon's version on the Let It Be Album. The version on the Let It Be album incorporates some revisions which perhaps make the song more accessible to listeners. The Long and Winding Road is also present on Let It Be with strings by Phil Spector. The Let It Be Naked version does away with Spector's strings. The listener may have to listen to both versions to decide.

There it is, my all purpose, all weather set of songs from 1967 through 1970 as compiled by Apple Records. It is the
most satisfying listen as a compilation. Of all of Beatle reissues this is a must listen compiled by several Beatles, which makes the 1967-1970 compilation soar as promised, which also foreshadows many future solo albums made by individual Beatles.

Text is copyright 2018 by Peter Reum - All rights reserved. Album artwork in this article is copyrighted by Apple Records.