August 16, 2015 · 6:31 am

Book Review: “I, Me, Mine” by George Harrison

Call me a glutton for punishment.  After reading Derek Taylor’s book about his non-stop LSD trips and then seeing Derek’s widow talk about their non-stop LSD trips in “Living in a Material World“, I decide to read George Harrison’s autobiography that he wrote in 1980 with the assistance of …Derek Taylor!  Oh goodie…more acid trips!

Several years ago, I asked a world renowned Beatles expert and radio show host what book he thought was the best book ever written about the Beatles.  His answer was I, Me, Mine by George Harrison, so in realty, this book has been on my list for years.

This book is three separate parts.  Part one is a conversation between Harrison and Taylor about George’s thoughts on everything and nothing at all.  For the Beatles fans that are looking for secrets into George’s past, you won’t find them here.  What you will find is his thoughts on Beatlemania and his religious beliefs.  And of course, you’re going to get the bonus of a lot of mumbo jumbo from Derek in between!

The second part of the book is page upon page of pictures of George throughout his life.  From childhood, adolescence, Beatlemania, Monty Python and beyond, including snapshots from the family album.  I can’t say there was anything that wow’d me.

Part three of the book is meant for the diehard Beatles and George Harrison fans.  Each of the songs that George wrote are presented in their raw handwritten form, typed form and another page with George’s explanation behind what inspired the song.

This book left me a little disappointed.  I guess I was looking for more about George from George instead of Derek’s edited version.  The book almost seems like it was published as a way to placate the ever hungry fans for more information.

Copies run on Amazon and Half.com from $0.75 up to $200.  I borrowed mine from the local library!

I rate this book: 3 out of 4 Beetles!

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August 11, 2015 · 7:00 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s Golden Slumbers Herbal Green Tea

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

Golden Slumbers Herbal Green Tea

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Tea(s) From: China
Region(s): Zhejiang Province
Antioxidant Level: Medium
Caffeine Content: Low

 

There are days when I look forward to sitting down in the evening and relaxing with a cup of tea while sitting on my screened in back porch, so I was really looking forward to Golden Slumbers Herbal Green Tea long before I had to sit down and write this review.  I chose to go the traditional American route and have this with a slice of apple pie.

As soon as I opened the bag to get out a tea bag, I was met with the sweet smell of oranges…my absolute favorite fruit!  But it’s kinda interesting that the ingredients make no mention of orange being in this tea.  Unfortunately, that’s going to be as good as this review gets.  This is the first tea that I can say I was truly disappointed in.  Despite my very best efforts to steep and stir the tea bag, this tea would just never get strong enough.  I don’t believe it’s just my taste for strong tea that was the problem.  There was barely a tint to the water after 7 minutes of steeping in the pot.  I think if I didn’t add to lumps of sugar, I would have never finished it.

I’m afraid to say, but this one needs to be kicked up a notch, Angie.  At least the pie was good….

 

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August 9, 2015 · 6:20 am

Movie Review: “George Harrison: Living In A Material World”

This is the movie I had attempted to watch several weeks ago while I was traveling.  I ended up in a battle to watch it on my iPad mini for weeks now, before finally giving up and having to watch it on my PC.  I really dislike watching any type of movie on my computer.  I’d much rather do it from the comfort of my couch, especially a 3.5 hour documentary like this.

George Harrison: Living In The Material World, directed by Martin Scorsese, came out in 2011.  Even I had tears in my eyes when I saw the trailer for the movie before it’s release.  Was I going to be able to sit through this film about a beloved Beatle who left us way too early?

The movie actually starts out quite poorly.  Several times during a scene, the music just drops off and  the scene goes to an interview.  There’s no fade out.  I kept thinking, “Is this going to happen through the entire film?  Is this really a Martin Scorsese film?  I guess I should be happy he didn’t cast Leonardo as George!”  Then I started thinking, “Thank god it’s not a Tim Burton film with Johnny Depp as George!”  But I digress…

For some unknown reason, the music stops dropping off and begins fading out between scenes, but still the first half off this film felt more like a Beatles documentary than a movie about George.  I paused it and got up several times to get a drink, let the dog out, etc.  I almost dreaded having to sit through Part Two after the intermission, but that’s actually where the movie picks up and becomes George’s story.  (Except the part where Derek Taylor’s wife shows up and, just like Derek, only wants to talk about doing LSD with the Beatles.  Do these people talk about anything else?!)

Part Two of this movie is a delight and kept me in my chair until the end as George’s friends, colleagues, wife and son telling us about the real George.  If you can make it through the Blah-Blah of the first 1.5 hours,  you’ll love the rest.  Though I wouldn’t call this Scorsese’s best cinematic production, the scenes with George and Friar Park are beautiful.

It was not available on my Fios OnDemand, but you can rent from Amazon.com, iTunes or Netflix.

Buy at Amazon.com or any major retailer where movies are sold.

I rate this movie: 3 out of 4 Beetles!

 

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August 6, 2015 · 7:26 pm

Help! fund “Confessions of a Beatlemaniac! short film

Some of you may remember me reviewing a short book called “Confessions of a Beatlemaniac!!” by Dee Elias.  It’s a wonderful little book taken straight from Dee’s diaries when she was just 14-16 years old and was crazy about the Beatles.  It tells of her adventures with her friends as the set out to meet the Fab Four.

Well, now Dee is having her book made into a short film and has started a Kickstarter campaign to finance it.  She’s only trying to raise $1550 to make this film with her Director – Joseph Souza.

If you can, please help make this dream a reality for Dee.

Here’s Dee talking about the film: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1977683486/confessions-of-a-beatlemaniac-short-film/widget/video.html

Show your support here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1977683486/confessions-of-a-beatlemaniac-short-film

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August 4, 2015 · 7:00 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s Maharishi Peach

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

Maharishi Peach

 

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Tea(s) From: Sri Lanka
Region(s): Nuwara Eliya + Dimbula + Uva
Antioxidant Level: High
Caffeine Content: Medium

 

This review is coming to  you from my four day silent retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, KY.  Having been on this same retreat in 2012, I knew the monks were known for their fudge and fruitcake, so that’s what I chose to pair with my tea for this week’s review.  And it only seemed obvious that  Maharishi Peach should be the tea of choice for a stay at a monastery!

As I write this (by hand since electronic devices are not allowed here), it’s 10:30 on Saturday morning.  I’ve attended 7:30 a.m. prayer, breakfast and the orientation/welcoming meeting.  With a lull in the day’s schedule and seeing they had put out some fudge in the dining room, I took this opportunity to sit down to tea.  I can report now that I  made a wise choice in my tea selection!

The monk’s fruitcake is not like the brick of dried pastry you get during the holidays.  Theirs is very moist and is more similar to a spice or carrot cake with dried currants.  And now I know that it tastes great with Mrs. McCartney’s Maharishi Peach tea.  The spice of the cake is a a great pairing with the peach and fruitiness of the tea.

As for the fudge, I let it melt on my tongue and then washed it down with the tea.  What an amazing treat that was!

I love this blend, Angie!

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August 2, 2015 · 7:00 am

Book Review: “As Time Goes By” by Derek Taylor

By the time this review is scheduled to post,  I’ll be on a 4 day silent retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, KY.  I considered taking another Beatles book with me to review, but decided to leave work at home while I contemplate world peace.  Enjoy the review.

Derek…Derek…Derek!  Every book I’ve read about the Beatles mentions Derek Taylor.  One author even went so far as to say Derek is the real fifth Beatle!  Derek was Brian Epstein’s personal assistant before becoming the press agent for the Beatles.  Then he quit…then he came back again.  In that time, he wrote two books.  This is a review of his first book, As Time Goes By.

As Time Goes By by Derek Taylor is a 181 page memoir of Derek’s life in the music business from 1968-1971, with a lot of stories before and after those years.  This was Derek’s first memoir, his second was titled – Fifty Years Adrift and a third book, It Was Twenty Years Ago Today, about the anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s album was published in 1987.  He also helped George Harrison write his autobiography, I, Me, Mine.

I don’t know that As Time Goes By is the right title for this book.  After several chapters, I started to think it should be called ‘Everybody Must Get Stoned’ or ‘I Get High With A Little Help From My Friends’ or ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.’  It would seem from what I read in these pages, that Mr. Taylor spent most of his working years in an altered state of consciousness.  He even goes so far as to refer to himself on several occasions as an acid-head or pot-head.  His stories are great, but they come in no real chronological order.  The book seems to just be random memories and anecdotes of him and famous people.

Is it a good book?  Meh.  Is it a fun book?  Yes.  Is it weird as hell?  Oh, hell yeah!  Will I read his other books?  Only time will tell since I’m still trying to figure out what I just read.  What a long strange trip it’s been…

You can find a used copy of As Time Goes By on Amazon for less than $3 if you choose to go down that rabbit hole.

I rate this book: 2 out of 4 Beetles!

You can read more about Derek Taylor on Wikipedia.

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July 28, 2015 · 7:00 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s Blueberry Meanie

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

Blueberry Meanie

 

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Tea(s) From: Sri Lanka
Region(s): Nuwara Eliya + Dimbula + Uva
Antioxidant Level: High
Caffeine Content: Medium

 

Since this week’s book review was for a book about Wings by John Taylor, who used to play in a Beatles tribute band called The Blue Meanies, it only seemed appropriate that this week’s tea review be for Blueberry Meanie tea!  I paired this tea with Biscoff cookies.

According to the Mrs. McCartney’s Tea website, Blueberry Meanie is made from: Black tea, Elderberry + Raisin pieces, Hibiscus petals and Natural flavors.  The black tea makes this a stronger tea like last week’s Good Morning! tea (just the way I like it), but it doesn’t have the berry flavor you would expect or find in the Liverpool Red tea.  I caught a better taste (or should I say aroma) of the blueberries in the after taste and when I exhaled through my nose from the linger tea on my palate after taking a sip.  And though this tea contains hibiscus petals, I didn’t get catch any floral flavors.  But your mileage may vary.

This was a very enjoyable tea and I look forward to having another cup in the future.

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July 26, 2015 · 7:00 am

Book Review: “Wings Over New Orleans” by John Taylor

It was a hot time down in New Orleans last weekend…and I mean that literally and figuratively!  My husband, blogger CigarCraig, and I were in New Orleans for the Cigar and Pipe Retailers convention, but that didn’t stop me from finding a way to fit a little Beatles into our trip!

On Sunday morning, Craig and I had the pleasure of meeting up with John and Janet Taylor of Slidell, LA at the Market Café in the French Market.  We had a great time chatting over coffee, bread pudding and grits with a great jazz band playing in the background.  It felt like we were meeting up with old friends as we looked at photos from when John met Paul and Linda McCartney in 1975.  (John is also a part time actor and has had uncredited roles in movies like Dallas Buyers Club and Django Unchained!)

Now, back to my review…

John Taylor is the author of the new book Wings Over New Orleans: Unseen Photos of Paul and Linda McCartney, 1975.  This book is his account and photos of when Paul and Linda McCartney, along with their band Wings, came to New Orleans in the winter of 1975 to record their album Venus and Mars.  Though only 88 pages long, this book was published by Pelican Publishing (ISBN 9781455620340) of New Orleans and contains countless photos and stories by John and several of the other groupies and fans that hung out outside of Sea-Saint Studios for 3 months talking and talking pictures of the McCartneys during their three month stay in the Big Easy.

After 35 years in storage, John finally brought his photos out of their box in hopes that other fans might like to read and see his story of meeting his idol (John used to play bass in a Beatles tribute band called the Blue Meanies!).

This book is definitely a must have for all McCartney and Wings fans for their collection.

I rate this book: 4 out of 4 Beetles!

You can order Wings Over New Orleans at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.  You can also find Wings Over New Orleans in bookstores.

You can find John Taylor on Facebook

Jennifer w/ author John Taylor in New Orleans (July 2015)

Jennifer w/ author John Taylor in New Orleans (July 2015)

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July 24, 2015 · 12:07 pm

Beatles Freak Review goes to Louisville, KY in search of John, Paul, George and Ringo! | PRLog

Jennifer Vanderslice, owner and editor of Beatles Freak Review blog, will be packing her bags again this month for a weekend in Louisville, KY, to find all things Beatle-y.

Beatles Freak Review goes to Louisville, KY in search of John, Paul, George and Ringo! | PRLog.

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July 21, 2015 · 6:20 am

Tea for Tuesday: Review of Mrs. McCartney’s Good Morning! British Breakfast Tea

Mrs. Angie McCartney’s Organic Teas

Good Morning! British Breakfast Tea

 

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Tea(s) From: Kenya / India
Region(s): Nandi Highlands / Assam
Antioxidant Level: High
Caffeine Content: Medium

 

 

Good morning from steamy and hot New Orleans!  My original plan was to enjoy this tea with a couple of warm beignets at the famous Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter.  Unfortunately, it was much too hot outside to sit at their outdoor cafe with anything hot.  Instead, I enjoyed this tea with a simple,yet healthy, granola and yogurt parfait at the lovely restaurant at our hotel.

Good Morning! British Breakfast Tea is a beautiful and fuller tea than all the previous ones I’ve reviewed so far.  Since I didn’t have my own tea pot, I was forced to make individual cups from the carafe of hot water I was brought, but I was able to enjoy two full cups from one tea bag.  My first impression was that this was a very floral blend, but when I offered a taste to my husband, his first impression was the taste of lemon.  This tea is named very appropriately as a breakfast tea. It’s a beautiful way to give you just the right kind of pick-me-up to start any day.

 

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