New Beatles ‘Live at the BBC Volume 2’ set due Nov. 11

Beatles fans will soon have access to another batch of the recordings the Fab Four made for airing by the BBC from 1962 to 1965 with the Nov. 11 release of “The Beatles: On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2.”

The new set, a companion to the 1994 release of “Live at the BBC,” will consist of 63 tracks on 2 CDs, including 37 previously unreleased song performances and 23 unreleased tracks with conversation and in-studio banter by the Beatles.

“There’s a lot of energy and spirit,” Paul McCartney said in a statement. “We are going for it, not holding back at all, trying to put in the best performance of our lifetimes.”

Added Ringo Starr: “You tend to forget that we were a working band…. There were usually no overdubs.  We were in at the count-in and that was it. I get excited listening to them.”

In all, the BBC broadcast about 275 unique performances by the band from March 1962 to June 1965. In addition to the group’s steady schedule of recording and live performances, it made for a packed performance itinerary.

“Everything was done instantly,” George Harrison once recalled. “But before that, we used to drive 200 miles in an old van down the M1 [highway], come into London, try and find the BBC and then set up and do the program. Then we’d probably drive back to Newcastle for a gig in the evening!”

“On Air — Live at the BBC Volume 2” also will be issued on vinyl, and in conjunction with the release of the new set, the original “Live at the BBC” album is being reissued in remastered form, also on Nov. 11. Full details at www.thebeatles.com.

Source: The Los Angeles Times