There's more "fifth" Beatles than #2 Al-Qaedas.

Didn't he write a book? I think I remember reading a very long book by him about the Beatles that was just fab.

At least he got to walk on the moon.

/thats one giant step for.... ummm...

TFA pretty much covers what I was going to say... this dude saw and knew a lot, but to his credit was fiercely loyal. That would have been one blockbuster tell-all.

He gets a fair amount of interview time in the Anthology DVDs, definitely worth watching. RIP, Neil.

And because of him, I now pronounce WASTEpaperbasket as wastePAPERbasket. Wacky Brits.

So that's really only George Martin left of the 5th Beatles.

Brian Epstein
Mal Evans
Derek Taylor
Billy Preston
Neil Aspinall
....R.I.P.

galumph200: So that's really only George Martin left of the 5th Beatles.

Brian Epstein
Mal Evans
Derek Taylor
Billy Preston
Neil Aspinall
....R.I.P.



/would like a word with you

galumph200: So that's really only George Martin left of the 5th Beatles.

Thankfully you excluded Murray the K from the list. Worst. 5th Beatle. Ever.

galumph200: So that's really only George Martin left of the 5th Beatles.

Brian Epstein
Mal Evans
Derek Taylor
Billy Preston
Neil Aspinall
....R.I.P.

No Pete Best?

Passive Aggressive Larry: galumph200: So that's really only George Martin left of the 5th Beatles.

Brian Epstein
Mal Evans
Derek Taylor
Billy Preston
Neil Aspinall
....R.I.P.

No Pete Best?

How about Stuart Sutcliffe?

George Martin
Brian Epstein
Mal Evans
Derek Taylor
Billy Preston
Neil Aspinall
Pete Best
Stuart Sutcliffe
Yoko Ono
Eric Clapton
Tony Sheridan
Jimmy Nicol

In my opinion, only George Martin should get the title. He was the only one who had a significant sonic impact on the music the Beatles created. Let it Be is a good example of how they wouldn't be the same without him.

MikeXpop:
In my opinion, only George Martin should get the title. He was the only one who had a significant sonic impact on the music the Beatles created. Let it Be is a good example of how they wouldn't be the same without him.

I agree about George Martin being the true "fifth beatle," but lets not go dissing Let It Be. Do you know how many bands wish they had just one 'Across the Universe,' or 'Get Back,' or 'Let it Be'? Heck, even the non-hits are still of a superior quality to the work just about every other band was doing at the time. 'Dig a Pony,' 'I've Got a Feeling,' 'I Me Mine,' and 'Two of Us' are still classic songs in their own right.

While I'd agree they might not have been quite as popular or critically acclaimed, albums like Revolver, Rubber Soul, and The White Album would still be fantastic albums due to the superior songwriting of the Beatles, not the superior production. Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road on the other hand, well, those rightly place George Martin in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

When I'm 66.

Passive Aggressive Larry: I agree about George Martin being the true "fifth beatle," but lets not go dissing Let It Be. Do you know how many bands wish they had just one 'Across the Universe,' or 'Get Back,' or 'Let it Be'? Heck, even the non-hits are still of a superior quality to the work just about every other band was doing at the time. 'Dig a Pony,' 'I've Got a Feeling,' 'I Me Mine,' and 'Two of Us' are still classic songs in their own right.

Those are all fantastic songs, but take a look at the album as a whole. It was jumbled and erratic - there was a serious lack of flow. What the hell were skits doing on a Beatles album? Why did it open with one? The orchestral backing on The Long and Winding Road is really overzealous, especially when compared to the version on Naked and Anthology. Also, I don't know who made the decision to release Don't Let me Down as a B-Side, but that was the best song to come out of the Get Back sessions. I'll forgive the omission of All Things Must Pass because I assume George made that call.

Poor Neil. Philip Norman says Lennon often called him "Nell" and he also took a lot of abuse from Mal Evans over the years. But he was indeed loyal to his mates.

And if we are going to debate the merits of Let It Be, don't forget that Phil Spector had a hand in that particular mess.

George Martin was the only true Fifth Beatle.

galumph200: So that's really only George Martin left of the 5th Beatles.

Brian Epstein
Mal Evans
Derek Taylor
Billy Preston
Neil Aspinall
....R.I.P.

You forgot Murray the K from WINS radio back in the 60's He self proclamed he was a 5th Beatle.

I own some Murray The K albums that actually say "The 5th Beatle" right on the cover.

What the hell is a "K" anyway?

I'll never forget his amusing story about the shopkeeper and the green m&m's.

Must have been tough as hell, touring with people like John Lennon.

/good job

At least he died a natural death, unlike Mal Evans, who was shot dead by the LAPD in the '70s.

Seriously.

(...and then the British postal service lost his ashes.)

SuburbanCowboy: I own some Murray The K albums that actually say "The 5th Beatle" right on the cover.

What the hell is a "K" anyway?

Kaufman. I've really got no beef with the guy, but I've always thought he tried to steal some of the credit for the growth of rock-n-roll from guys like Alan Freed and Brucie Morris.

carmody: (...and then the British postal service lost his ashes.)

Heh. I remember reading about that in either Crawdaddy or Creem and thinking: "Somehow, that fits."

When Mal Evans' ashes ended up lost in the mail, it caused John Lennon to quip that Mal must have ended up in the dead letter office.

the nonhits are the only good songs on let it be. george martin is the only 5th beatle, etc.

Passive Aggressive Larry: MikeXpop:
In my opinion, only George Martin should get the title. He was the only one who had a significant sonic impact on the music the Beatles created. Let it Be is a good example of how they wouldn't be the same without him.

I agree about George Martin being the true "fifth beatle," but lets not go dissing Let It Be. Do you know how many bands wish they had just one 'Across the Universe,' or 'Get Back,' or 'Let it Be'? Heck, even the non-hits are still of a superior quality to the work just about every other band was doing at the time. 'Dig a Pony,' 'I've Got a Feeling,' 'I Me Mine,' and 'Two of Us' are still classic songs in their own right.

While I'd agree they might not have been quite as popular or critically acclaimed, albums like Revolver, Rubber Soul, and The White Album would still be fantastic albums due to the superior songwriting of the Beatles, not the superior production. Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road on the other hand, well, those rightly place George Martin in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

the point is to look at what that asshat phil spector did to the beatles music - he took the let it be tapes and basicly took a shiat on them production wise

now maybe we can get some remastered Beatles CD's that sound good