Leave My Kitten Alone: Here's Why It Wasn't Initially Released?
frschoonover
Here is the reason why The Beatles cover of the Little Willie John R&B
classic Leave My Kitten Alone wasn't officially released initially.
In 1964, The Beatles were working on their fourth UK album Beatles For
Sale. During the recording sessions, they recorded five takes of the
Little Willie John R&B classic Leave My Kitten Alone, with which they
added overdubs to the last take and called it the best take. Out of
the takes, Take 4 was a false start. The song was not mixed and as a
result, it was left off Beatles For Sale.
The song was remixed in 1982 by John Barrett in preparation for an
Abbey Road show later in the year. In 1984, Geoff Emerick remixed the
song again for inclusion on the Sessions album that was to be released
in 1985. Acetates were made of the Sessions album on both sides of the
Atlantic and sent to radio stations. The reason why the album was not
released was because the then three surviving Ex-Beatles; Paul, George
and Ringo and Lennon's widow Yoko Ono stopped the release of the
album. Acetates were also prepared for Leave My Kitten Alone as a
possible single to kick off the album, with an alternate take of Ob-
Bla-Di Ob-Bla-Da as the non-album flipside, but due to the orders of
the then three surviving Ex-Beatles and Ono, the acetates never made
it to any radio stations and the only thing that exists of this are
rare picture sleeves that survived the shredder at Capitol Records.
The Sessions album did see unofficial release as a bootleg. The
bootleg was released in two different versions. The first version had
the cover artwork of black and white pictures of the band's Fab Four
image and color images of their White Album era image. The record
itself had a plain white label and the Parlophone logo was on the
upper left of the cover. It also featured liner notes credited to
Brian Southall, although Southall didn't write them. The second
version, which was pressed in Germany, had a white background with a
photograph of The Beatles in the studio with Sessions written on the
top and The Beatles written on the lower left with a red line
underneath. The record itself looked like it was an official release
with an excellent copy of the German EMI Odeon label and even issued
the catalogue number of OC 064 2402701. The back cover photograph of
the German version was an outtake from the Revolver photo sessions.
Plus, the track line-ups on both were in different orders.
In 1994, George Martin again remixed Leave My Kitten Alone and
included that remix on the 1995 Beatles Anthology Volume 1 album.
I hope that this solves things and that everyone has a wonderful day/
evening.Sincerely Frank R.Schoonover
globular
> To the Group
>
> Here is the reason why The Beatles cover of the Little Willie John R&B
> classic Leave My Kitten Alone wasn't officially released initially.
>
I thought it was funny, or wonder what the reason was for the excerpt
from Mr. Moonlight on Liverpool Sound Collage, the renowned least liked
Beatles song amongst those people that have said so.
Free Assange!
> I thought it was funny, or wonder what the reason was for the excerpt
> from Mr. Moonlight on Liverpool Sound Collage, the renowned least liked
> Beatles song amongst those people that have said so.
I still can't find that Village Voice poll from the 70s, which asked
for the "Worst Beatles Song". I know that "Rev 9" was #1, "Mr.
Moonlight" was #4, and "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" was #5.
Anyone have a link?
globular
I'm only going by comments on this newsgroup mostly. The only other
source would be sporadic ones discussing what they don't like about
Beatles For Sale.
I've always thought You've Really Got A Hold On Me sounds as if it is
twice as long as its stated running time.
Free Assange!
> I've always thought You've Really Got A Hold On Me sounds as if it is
> twice as long as its stated running time.
I liked it better than the original -- I'm not much of a fan of
Smokey's voice.
brilton
I recall a 1908s Beatle Book "worst" poll. I'll try and dig it out tomorrow.
And yes, "Mr Moonlight" featured prominently.
Actually, maybe it was a "best" poll, which is really a "worst" poll
when viewed upside-down.
Nil
rec.music.beatles:
> I liked it better than the original -- I'm not much of a fan of
> Smokey's voice.
I love Smokey's voice and I still like the Beatles cover better. Lots
of great energy in it, and another killer lead vocal from John. It's
one of my favorite of all their their covers.
Nil
rec.music.beatles:
> I recall a 1908s Beatle Book "worst" poll. I'll try and dig it out
> tomorrow.
>
> And yes, "Mr Moonlight" featured prominently.
I also love "Mr. Moonlight". I know I can't dissuade the many people
who have already convinced themselves that they hate it, but I think
they're missing the intentional ironic humor in the recording. The band
knows it's corn, but they're so gleeful about it.
frschoonover
>
> Well, you're not answering the question of why it wasn't mixed. And the
> rest of your text wasn't relevant to why it wasn't "initially" released.
Regarding this, I happen to have my copy of The Beatles Anthology
Volume 1 in front of me at the moment and I am looking up in the
booklet for Leave My Kitten Alone. There is really no official reason
given as to why the song was never mixed. It just says that the they
decided that the last take, being Take 5, was best and so added
overdubs and that is where they left it. I guess (and I am saying that
I guess) that the band and George Martin never got around to mixing it
for the Beatles For Sale album and even if they did, it probably (and
I am saying probably) wouldn't have been included because there
possibly (and I am saying possibly) wouldn't have been any room for it
on the album because this album, like Please Please Me, With The
Beatles, Rubber Soul and Revolver, would have only had fourteen songs
on it, due to vinyl limitations at the time. If anyone in the group
has an official reason for this, please share. I am always open to
learn anything new on the Fab Four.
>
> > The second
> > version, which was pressed in Germany, had a white background with a
> > photograph of The Beatles in the studio with Sessions written on the
> > top and The Beatles written on the lower left with a red line
> > underneath. The record itself looked like it was an official release
> > with an excellent copy of the German EMI Odeon label and even issued
> > the catalogue number of OC 064 2402701. The back cover photograph of
> > the German version was an outtake from the Revolver photo sessions.
>
> This is what I have. I have only a few bootleg albums (by *anyone*) but
> I have this.
I also forgot to mention that my copy of the German version is one
where you can hold the record up to the light and the light shines
through the vinyl.
Below is the track difference of both versions of the Sessions album:
White label version:
Side One
1)Come and Get It
2)Leave My Kitten Alone
3)Not Guilty
4)I'm Looking Through You
5)What's The New Mary Jane
Side Two
1)How Do You Do It
2)Besame Mucho
3)One After 909
4)If You've Got Trouble
5)That Means A Lot
6)While My Guitar Gently Weeps
7)Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues
8)Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
German Version:
Side One
1)Besame Mucho
2)How Do You Do It
3)One After 909
4)Leave My Kitten Alone
5)That Means A Lot
6)If You Got Trouble
7)I'm Looking Through You
8)Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
Side Two
1)What's The New Mary Jane
2)Not Guilty
3)Come and Get It
4)While My Guitar Gently Weeps
5)Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues
I hope that everyone in here has a lovely day.Sincerely Frank
R.Schoonover
troglodog
No link, but I do have a copy of Nicholas Schaffner's 'Beatles
Forever', which gives the list at the end of the section "Popularity
Contests":
1. Revolution 9
2. Mr Moonlight
3. You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)
4. Helter Skelter
5. Do You Want To Know A Secret
Free Assange!
Yeah, *that's* where I saw it. I wasn't sure if it was a top (bottom?)
5 or 10.
brilton
> On Dec 7, 8:41 pm, poisoned rose<pro...@poisonedrose.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Well, you're not answering the question of why it wasn't mixed. And the
>> rest of your text wasn't relevant to why it wasn't "initially" released.
>
> Regarding this, I happen to have my copy of The Beatles Anthology
> Volume 1 in front of me at the moment and I am looking up in the
> booklet for Leave My Kitten Alone. There is really no official reason
> given as to why the song was never mixed. It just says that the they
> decided that the last take, being Take 5, was best and so added
> overdubs and that is where they left it. I guess (and I am saying that
> I guess) that the band and George Martin never got around to mixing it
> for the Beatles For Sale album and even if they did, it probably (and
> I am saying probably) wouldn't have been included because there
> possibly (and I am saying possibly) wouldn't have been any room for it
> on the album because this album, like Please Please Me, With The
> Beatles, Rubber Soul and Revolver, would have only had fourteen songs
> on it, due to vinyl limitations at the time. If anyone in the group
> has an official reason for this, please share. I am always open to
> learn anything new on the Fab Four.
All very well 'n' good and all, but your thread title was "Here's Why It
Wasn't Initially Released?"
I don't think they would've tried to fit 15 songs onto an album. Maybe
they just thought at the time that it didn't fit on the album, when
balancing the loud rockers and the softer material.
brilton
> No link, but I do have a copy of Nicholas Schaffner's 'Beatles
> Forever', which gives the list at the end of the section "Popularity
> Contests":
>
> 1. Revolution 9
> 2. Mr Moonlight
> 3. You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)
> 4. Helter Skelter
> 5. Do You Want To Know A Secret
Finally found the Beatles song poll from the June 1983 edition of The
Beatles Monthly. Bear in mind this was for most popular song (each
person could contribute their ten favourites), but the songs that polled
twenty or less votes were as follows:
188 Slow Down (20)
189 Revolution 9 (19)
190 Devil In Her Heart (18)
Sun King (18)
192 Misery (17)
193 I Want To Tell You (14)
When I Get Home (14)
195 Mean Mr Mustard (12)
196 I'll Cry Instead (11)
197 She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (10)
198 Dig It (9)
Mister Moonlight (9)
200 Tell Me What You See (8)
201 Act Naturally (7)
202 Honey Don't (6)
Little Child (6)
204 Her Majesty (3)
205 Kansas City (1)
Matchbox (1)
207 Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby (0)
Why Don't We Do It In The Road (0)
Maggie Mae (0)
Wild Honey Pie (0)
So, Mr Moonlight is in there. Surprising, in a way, to see that
Revolution 9 polled so many votes. A few other results, some of which
are topical:
79 Within You Without You (123)
136 Old Brown Shoe (64)
154 You Like Me Too Much (46)
JohnB
There are some titles in that list that I love - but I probably
wouldn't put in my top ten. That could be the problem. If you don't
get everyone to rank *everything*, you're always going to get a skewed
result. The list ends up showing not quite what it suggests it does
but it would take a real statistician to explain exactly what it does
show. It may suggest that Wild Honey Pie is the (joint) least popular
Beatles song but it doesn't show that at all.
crazytimes
Nice track, but always sounded like borderline filler to me... BBC
type of stuff... That's probably why it didn't make the first cut...
frschoonover
> All very well 'n' good and all, but your thread title was "Here's Why It
> Wasn't Initially Released?"
> I don't think they would've tried to fit 15 songs onto an album. Maybe
> they just thought at the time that it didn't fit on the album, when
> balancing the loud rockers and the softer material.- Hide quoted text -
That could be, I guess, because there was no official reason given as
to why the recording of that particular song wasn't properly mixed.
They still probably (and I am saying probably) could have released the
song on the compilation album A Collection of Beatle Oldies...But
Goodies alongside the Larry Williams song Bad Boy, which made it's UK
debut on that particular compilation album. Bad Boy actually was
released initially on Beatles VI. But again, alongside Bad Boy, I
think (and I am saying that I think) that Leave My Kitten Alone would
have been a nice addition to that particular UK collection.
I hope that everyone in here has a wonderful day.Sincerely Frank
R.Schoonover
iarwain
album?
Looks like it would have been a pretty good album.
The main reason I can think of is they wanted to save the tracks for
the Anthology project.
The only other reason would be if they thought the outtakes portrayed
the band in a unflattering light.
richforman
>
> Here is the reason why The Beatles cover of the Little Willie John R&B
> classic Leave My Kitten Alone wasn't officially released initially.
>
> In 1964, The Beatles were working on their fourth UK album Beatles For
> Sale. During the recording sessions, they recorded five takes of the
> Little Willie John R&B classic Leave My Kitten Alone, with which they
> added overdubs to the last take and called it the best take. Out of
> the takes, Take 4 was a false start. The song was not mixed and as a
> result, it was left off Beatles For Sale.
>
I don't get it. What/where is the reason you're proposing? (Because
it was not mixed? So why wasn't it mixed?)
richforman
richforman
> On Dec 7, 8:41 pm, poisoned rose <pro...@poisonedrose.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Well, you're not answering the question of why it wasn't mixed. And the
> > rest of your text wasn't relevant to why it wasn't "initially" released.
>
> Regarding this, I happen to have my copy of The Beatles Anthology
> Volume 1 in front of me at the moment and I am looking up in the
> booklet for Leave My Kitten Alone. There is really no official reason
> given as to why the song was never mixed. It just says that the they
> decided that the last take, being Take 5, was best and so added
> overdubs and that is where they left it.
So really not a lot of interesting information provided here, is
there?, in re why it wasn't released (and none at all about why it
wasn't mixed)
I guess (and I am saying that
> I guess) that the band and George Martin never got around to mixing it
> for the Beatles For Sale album
...so your guess (and you are saying that you guess) is that the
reason is that they "never got around to it." Really fascinating and
revelatory!
> and even if they did, it probably (and
> I am saying probably) wouldn't have been included
So now you're backing off from the only thing that was even a wisp of
information that you were saying you wanted to provide!
> because there
> possibly (and I am saying possibly) wouldn't have been any room for it
> on the album because this album
Wow....really fascinating and helpful! You must be kidding. The
thing people wonder about is, why wasn't this great rocker *chosen*
for inclusion on the album over tracks that might be seen by many as
weaker, like "Mr. Moonlight"?
, like Please Please Me, With The
> Beatles, Rubber Soul and Revolver, would have only had fourteen songs
> on it, due to vinyl limitations at the time. If anyone in the group
> has an official reason for this, please share.
But you said you were gonna tell us the reason!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm not angry but I'm disappointed!
richforman
iarwain
Yeah, for Abbey Road being so popular, it's pretty well represented
here in the dumpster.
Sun King, Mean Mr. Mustard, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window,
Her Majesty...
I imagine it's because people don't name bits of a melody when they
are talking about their favorite song.
I used to think She Came in Through the Bathroom Window was kind of
dull, actually.
I know a lot of people here don't like Why Don't We Do it in the Road,
but I'm surprised to see it dead last here.
frschoonover
The reason why the then three surviving Beatles and Yoko stopped the
release of the Sessions album was because there were a series of
lawsuits pending at the time that had been going on since the mid
1970's. The Beatles, Yoko (representing John's end in the band after
he was murdered in 1980) and the Beatles record label Apple Records,
had filed suit against EMI in their home country and against their
American EMI label Capitol Records for millions of dollars due to
alledged royalty problems and also, they sought to obtain the rights
to all the Beatles recordings, which was a massive recording catalog
of songs recorded and released and songs that were unreleased,
including outtakes and alternate versions of songs that were released
as well as all those Christmas recordings that they recorded for their
fan club members. They felt that with these lawsuits raging in the
courts, it wouldn't be a good idea to release anything of this sort
until all the lawsuits were resolved and everybody got what they
wanted or promised.
When Allen Klein took over as their business manager in late 1969/
early 1970, he negotiated contracted deals with EMI and with US label
Capitol for better royalty rates than they were getting at the time.
Unfortunately, both EMI and Capitol failed to pay what was promised
from the contracts that they had signed and that is why all the
lawsuits were filed against them because the Beatles actually felt
that they got the short end of the stick as a result. The lawsuits
would finally be resolved in November 1989 with The Beatles and their
label Apple Records finally getting their back due royalty money and
the rights to all the Beatles recordings.
Regarding Antholgy, there really wasn't any plans for this at the time
of the lawsuits. They actually started planning this after the release
of the mega-hit double LP/Cassette/CD Live At The BBC. After that,
they started planning the Anthology series and decided to release the
vast majority of what was unreleased onto three double CD sets with an
accompanying documentary film for TV alongside this. Plus, each of
these double CD's had a small booklet documenting the process of
recording the songs and the many attempts that they did to get them
right.
Regarding lawsuits filed by famous musicians, they sometimes are as
part of the music business as the music.
I hope that everyone has a lovely evening.Sincerely Frank R.Schoonover
brilton
> On Dec 8, 7:56 pm, brilton<notl...@yacht.net> wrote:
>
>
>> All very well 'n' good and all, but your thread title was "Here's Why It
>> Wasn't Initially Released?"
>
>> I don't think they would've tried to fit 15 songs onto an album. Maybe
>> they just thought at the time that it didn't fit on the album, when
>> balancing the loud rockers and the softer material.- Hide quoted text -
>
> That could be, I guess, because there was no official reason given as
> to why the recording of that particular song wasn't properly mixed.
> They still probably (and I am saying probably) could have released the
> song on the compilation album A Collection of Beatle Oldies...But
> Goodies alongside the Larry Williams song Bad Boy, which made it's UK
> debut on that particular compilation album.
That's a good point. It's as if they just completely forgot about
"Kitten" all together. Making the UK (and Australian) public buy a new
Beatles album for one new track was a bit cheap. Excepting the fact of
course that several tracks were on LP for the first time, many in stereo
- if people cared a lot about that at the time.
ermitano
Here's why:
"Leave My Kitten Alone" was not released because they didn't release
it.
TheWalrusWasDanny
Strabbo back in 2001 did an rmb thing about the worst beatles
song..and Mr moonlight won it IIRC..we all had to vote against random
songs picked..it was quite fun..Strabbo has now long gone I guess
he'll be back..at some point..bit like microknee finger who's shown up
recently..and nice to see him back..we played the help game a few
times!!
Danny
TheWalrusWasDanny
> iarwain <iarwai...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > I know a lot of people here don't like Why Don't We Do it in the Road,
> > but I'm surprised to see it dead last here.
>
> song, but because no one thought it was among the 10 *best*.
>
> When they're not exclaiming "Hey, you do have a sense of humor after
> all," people are fond of smearing me as being "humorless," but I'd like
> to turn that charge on anyone who has a fierce dislike for "Why Don't We
> Do It in the Road?" And hey, it's probably the Beatles' most "punk" song
> besides. And you know that can't be ba-aad.
Yes but WDWDIITR is just essentially Macca just wanking really. it's
not a true fabs track.
Danny
brilton
> brilton<not...@yacht.net> wrote:
>
>> 188 Slow Down (20)
>> 189 Revolution 9 (19)
>> 190 Devil In Her Heart (18)
>> Sun King (18)
>> 192 Misery (17)
>> 193 I Want To Tell You (14)
>> When I Get Home (14)
>> 195 Mean Mr Mustard (12)
>> 196 I'll Cry Instead (11)
>> 197 She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (10)
>> 198 Dig It (9)
>> Mister Moonlight (9)
>> 200 Tell Me What You See (8)
>> 201 Act Naturally (7)
>> 202 Honey Don't (6)
>> Little Child (6)
>> 204 Her Majesty (3)
>> 205 Kansas City (1)
>> Matchbox (1)
>> 207 Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby (0)
>> Why Don't We Do It In The Road (0)
>> Maggie Mae (0)
>> Wild Honey Pie (0)
>
> are my own bottom-dwellers, though. Maggie Mae, Dig It, the Carl Perkins
> tracks, Kansas City, When I Get Home, Devil in Her Heart....
>
> I do think it's dubious to use this poll to estimate most disliked
> Beatles songs, though. Because that's not what the poll was asking for.
> I mean, of course, no one's going to say something like Mean Mr. Mustard
> is among his favorite 10 Beatles songs. But how many people would say
> it's worse than all but 15 other tunes?
I know, I issued the caveat in the top part of my post that this was a
"favourite" Beatles songs list, not the other way round, so - yes - not
an accurate list of "most despised".
It doesn't say how many people sent in their lists, but it's over two
thousand, which is what the number one song got. Still surprised that
nineteen people listed "Revolution 9" in their top ten.
brilton
Had to Google that.
;) It would
> be amusing to see their full top 10s -- I suspect many of them had
> further perverse picks.
Donna
wrote:
>
> Strabbo back in 2001 did an rmb thing about the worst beatles
> song..and Mr moonlight won it IIRC..we all had to vote against random
> songs picked..it was quite fun..Strabbo has now long gone I guess
> he'll be back..at some point..bit like microknee finger who's shown up
> recently..and nice to see him back..we played the help game a few
> times!!
>
> Danny
I remember that, Danny. Marty worked hard at tallying the polls. If
I remember correctly, "A Day in the Life" won as the most popular
Beatles song among rmb members.
Nil
rec.music.beatles:
> I remember that, Danny. Marty worked hard at tallying the polls.
> If I remember correctly, "A Day in the Life" won as the most
> popular Beatles song among rmb members.
I wish I could hear ADITL with the same fresh ears I first heard it. As
much as I like to think I can clear my memory cache and hear things
anew, I don't think that song will ever make the same impact on me it
once did. I'm too jaded, I guess.
It is a great song of course, and a watershed for them (I think it
signaled that, once and for all, they were mature and grown up artists,
not just the pop idols of yore.)