Everything's all right (Billy Preston) (LP 542 - 543)

Billy Preston That's The Way God Planned It (Vinyl and CD, Apple Records, 1969) ***** 

Billy Preston Encouraging Words (Vinyl, Apple Records, 1970) ***** 

Genre: Apple Records

Places I remember: Marbecks Records, Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: That's The Way God Planned It (album version with George and Billy trading licks is the greatest!)

Gear costume: My Sweet Lord (on Encouraging Words). Billy recorded this before George and the strictly Christian approach works well.

Active compensatory factors: I have had these albums for about 45 years or so and they sound as fresh as they did back then.

For me TTWGPI shades Encouraging Words because of its pure joy but both are classics. It is incredibly hard to listen to these albums without breaking out in big grins continually. There are so many highlights.

Maybe Encouraging Words is less exuberant but it's also a joy to listen to and I think George deserves a lot of credit for this. Both albums are perfectly produced - clearly bringing out Billy's humility and sincerity. Bravo George! 

Where do they all belong? That's it for Billy on Apple Records. Next up is Ravi Shankar in the CD department.

Let all your suffering cease (Billy Preston) #314 - 318

Billy Preston That's The Way God Planned It/ What About You (Apple, APPLE 12, 1969)
Billy Preston Everything's Alright/ I Want To Thank You (Apple, APPLE 19, 1969)
Billy Preston All That I've Got (I'm Gonna Give It To You)/ As I Get Older (Apple, APPLE 21, 1970)
Billy Preston My Sweet Lord/ Little Girl (Apple, 1826, 1971)
Billy Preston Nothing From Nothing/ My Soul Is A Witness (A&M, K 5602, 1974)

From time to time we all need some Billy Preston style musical righteousness. There is a warm integrity to everything Billy touched - with Little Richard, with Sam Cooke, with Ray Charles, with The Beatles, with George Harrison, with The Rolling Stones, and on his own.

The man certainly had his personal problems with drugs, alcohol, insurance fraud and sexual indiscretions but his music was always righteous.

The A sides here all have individual charms. My highlights: 

That's The Way... is a rapturous song - best heard on the album of the same name with a fantabulous guitar/organ duel between George Harrison and Billy which they both manage to win - you'll know what I mean when you hear the song- it's down below for your listening pleasure. 

The single version focuses attention squarely on the organ and the tune itself, which is brilliant.

Everything's Alright is guaranteed to put a funky smile on your face. Some wonderful Macca-esque bass from Keith Richards on this track, with Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton, Harrison, Doris Troy on board as well. What a line up!

My Sweet Lord (from his second and final Apple album Encouraging Words) is different from George's and actually came out before All Thing's Must Pass (which Billy plays on as well). It's a gospel song in Billy's hands.

Nothing From Nothing came after his Apple career - when he went on to have hits with this, Space Race and Will It Go 'Round In Circles. 

Hidden gems: Gems abound on these B sides. What About You showcases his organ playing, As I Get Older is an Ray Charles style instrumental belter.

Hard to pick the videos for this one but I have to share the album version of ...God Planned it!

He got Ono sideboard, He one spinal cracker (The Beatles) #41 - 45 of 300ish singles

The Beatles Something/ Come Together   (Apple, 1969)

The Beatles Let It Be/ You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)   (Apple NZP 3357, 1970)

The Beatles Yesterday/ We Should Have Known Better (sic)   (Parlophone NZP 3535, 1965)

The Beatles 1 Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band 2 With A Little Help from My Friends/ A Day In the Life  (Parlophone R 6022, 1967)

The Beatles Back In The U.S.S.R./ Twist And Shout  (Parlophone R 6016, 1968)

Welcome to the batch which finds us at the end of the official UK releases in 1970 and a return to the alternate Beatle universe.

Something is of course the only George A side in the collection.

Let It Be is the version featuring Billy Preston's organ (as opposed to the George/ guitar LP version) and is not as gear.

The Yesterday, Sgt Pepper and Back In The USSR singles are ones done in hindsight. All emerged when the Beatle's singles were repacked/re-released as a box set in NZ. They sought to plug perceived gaps as neither the Sgt Pepper or The Beatles albums had songs lifted from them as singles.

Yesterday is a curious song, a Macca solo song, and not really one of my favourites. It's a weird one and great and everything but not really my cup o tea. More sloppy titling work in New Zealand to mention too, as they stuff up the B side.

Sgt Pepper as a single just feels wrong and so it and Back In The USSR feel like EMI are milking it. Make no mistake these are great songs but did we really need them as singles long after the albums had been released?

Hidden gems: Wow - Lennon's Come Together is riddled with good raunchy juju. I love the fact that Yoko tried to dampen down the sexual innuendo during the Love project with Cirque Du Soleil (as seen in the documentary All Together Now - check out the promo below at the minute mark for a sample).

She's bonkers, in denial, or both. What was she on about? This is the same woman who made a 15 minute film of Lennon's penis (Self-Portrait) and another, Film # 4, a.k.a. Bottoms. Suddenly she's all prudish on John's behalf! Come again??



You Know My Name is not quite the weirdest song the Beatles released (Revolution #9 is my vote) but it's a contender. Weird in a good way too.