Andy Timmons records rare Lennon/McCartney song "I'm In Love" at Abbey Road's Studio Two.
Andy Timmons has released a new recording captured at Abbey Road Studio 2. His critically acclaimed 2011 instrumental power trio version of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band received rave reviews from everyone from Beatles engineer Ken Scott to being named Top 10 Record Of The Year by the writers of Guitar World magazine.
He shares, “I was familiar with ‘I’m In Love’ as recorded by the Brian Epstein managed group The Fourmost for years. When John’s original piano/vocal demo from 1963 surfaced in the early 2000’s, I was completely blown away by how great the song really is. I truly felt The Beatles should have recorded it! My version is a humble attempt at how the arrangement might have been fleshed out by the Fab Four.
Andy Timmons records rare Lennon/McCartney song "I'm In Love" at Abbey Road Studio 2
Andy Timmons reflects, “Entering Studio 2 is like walking into a movie you’ve been watching your whole life. So much of my favorite music was created in that room, and it looks the same as it did all those years ago. It has a palpable magic. That said, once the awe sunk in, I had one of the best working days of my recording career. Someone asked if it was intimidating to work there, and strangely, I felt completely at home. Very much like I was meant to be there.”
Timmons was born in 1963, and grew up with a brother twelve years his elder. Every Beatles record was inches away and truly a significant part of the soundscape of his youth. He shares, “I’ve literally experienced all their music from the cradle to today. My earliest musical memories, and essentially my musical foundation, were all formed in the Sixties with their music. I can’t imagine life without them.”
The recording features Timmons performing drums, bass, guitars, vocals and handclaps. Background vocals were contributed by Matt Bissonette. Additional handclaps and acoustic guitar was performed by Craig Hopkins and Dennis Poggenburg. Lastly, some additional handclaps and the 1961 Vox AC30 was provided by Daniel Steinhardt.
The recording was engineered by Chris Bolster at Abbey Road Studios in London. Additional engineering and mixing by Casey Diiorio at Valve Studios in Dallas, TX. Mastering by Alan Douches at West West Side Music. The video footage from the sessions was captured by Dennis Poggenburg, while the clip was then created by Rich Sumner at Surfware Media.
Earlier this year, Timmons released a tribute to his guitar hero Peter Frampton titled “The Boy From Beckenham,”. The recording and video feature a collaboration between the two artists. At the time of release, Timmons shared, “Inspired. Joyous. Driven. Inventive. Determined. Thankful. Funny. So many words and emotions come to mind when I see Peter Frampton do what he LOVES to do. Easily one of the greatest guitarists I've ever seen. Despite incredible adversity, he plays with more intent, love, joy and wonder than anybody. I hope everyone who sees and hears this song or video connects with the music and feels the impact of how special he is from the archival footage as well as his outstanding modern day playing shared within one of the most meaningful recordings to me personally I’ve ever created.”
For more information, please visit andytimmons.com.
The event will take place on what would have been Les Paul’s 109th birthday and marks the third anniversary of the Gibson Garage Nashville.
The Les Paul Foundation, whose mission is to honor and share the life, spirit and legacy of Les Paul through generations has announced the annual Les Paul Spirit Award in partnership with Gibson Gives, the philanthropic division of Gibson. The prestigious award will be presented to legendary musical artist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Peter Frampton on Sunday, June 9, 2024 at 6:30pm CT at a private event* held at the Gibson Garage Nashville located at 209 10th Avenue S in Nashville.
The annual award is presented to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of the late, great Les Paul through innovation, engineering, technology and/or music. In addition to the award, a grant from the Les Paul Foundation will be made in the honoree’s name to the charity of his choice.
Frampton has also experimented with new technologies and music trends, apparent in his early recordings on albums Frampton and Frampton Comes Alive! and particularly his hit singles “Do You Feel Like We Do” and “Show Me the Way,” synonymous with the use of the talk box.
“I cannot think of anyone more fitting to be honored with this year’s Les Paul Spirit Award than Peter Frampton. Not only is he an extraordinary talent who has given us an amazing array of extraordinary music, but he is an innovator who understands music, technologies, and the spirit of Les Paul,” said Michael Braunstein, Executive Director of The Les Paul Foundation. “If Les were still alive today, I have absolutely no doubt that he and Peter would be experimenting together at Les’ house. I am personally thrilled to be able to present Peter with this award because I know he exemplifies everything Les was about and wanted to accomplish. I want to also thank the Gibson Gives Foundation for partnering with us on this exciting annual award and for everything they do to keep Les’ name alive.”
“At Gibson Gives, we are thrilled to celebrate the incredible contributions of Les Paul and partner with the Les Paul Foundation to bring awareness to Les Paul’s legacy as he continues to inspire musicians across generations and genres.” --Beth Heidt, Chief Marketing Officer, Gibson.
“Peter Frampton personifies the spirit of excellence through his musicianship and industry recognition. Gibson Gives is proud to partner with the Les Paul Foundation to present the prestigious Les Paul Spirit Award to this legendary artist who embodies the innovative spirit of Les Paul himself and his landmark contributions to music.” --Erica Krusen, Global Executive Director, Gibson Gives.
The exclusive, physical Les Paul Spirit Award for Peter Frampton is made from actual hand-carved acoustic boards built by Les Paul that he used in his home studio. Les Paul designed and created this now historical memorabilia during his life. The acoustic wood piece is a unique presentation and supported by Les’ personal story. No two Les Paul Spirit Awards are exactly the same, given the unique nature of the studio pieces which are being used to create them and their intrinsic value as authentic Les Paul memorabilia.
ABOUT THE LES PAUL FOUNDATION
The Les Paul Foundation inspires innovative and creative thinking by sharing the legacy of Les Paul through the support of music education, recording, innovation, exhibits about Les Paul and medical research related to hearing. The Les Paul Foundation is an approved IRC 501(c)3 organization that awards grants to organizations that share Les Paul’s legacy. The Foundation supports public exhibits which display Les Paul’s life achievements and that engage fans and students and periodically produce events to celebrate his achievements. For more information go to the official Les Paul website at www.les-paul.com
Former bandmates of the late Steve Marriott unite to oppose plans by the Marriott Estate to release "new" recordings created with AI technology. A growing list of musicians in opposition include: Peter Frampton, David Gilmour, Robert Plant, and more.
The debate over AI-generated vocals continued this week with an exclusive Variety feature article by executive music editor Jem Aswad reporting on a still-growing list of celebrated musicians uniting with Mollie Marriott, daughter of the late Steve Marriott, in objection to plans by the Marriott Estate to release “new” recordings from the legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame singer created with AI-powered technology. A wide range of Marriott’s close friends and fellow artists have joined together in opposition to the project, including Marriott’s former bandmates Small Faces’ Kenney Jones and Humble Pie’s Peter Frampton and Jerry Shirley, along with Robert Plant, David Gilmour, Paul Weller, Paul Rodgers, Joe Brown, Bryan Adams, Matt Sorum, Glenn Hughes, Gary Kemp, Bob Harris, and others.
As reported by Variety, Los Angeles-based independent label Cleopatra Records has engaged in discussions with the Marriott estate about completing some of his unfinished demos with the aid of AI technology, though the label ultimately plans to release the recordings in their original form “for now” via three as-yet-unscheduled compilations. Chris France, who has been managing director of Marriott’s estate since 1997, admits that while “there are no confirmed plans to use Steve Marriott’s voice on AI recordings, that does not mean a deal will not be done with one of several suitors who have made offers…I am afraid that [Mollie Marriott’s] opinions are of no consequence to me or his estate.”
Humble Pie founding member, drummer Jerry Shirley, confirmed an attempt by Cleopatra to create a version of the “Georgia on My Mind” with AI-generated vocals “by” Marriott which he could then compare the result with his memories of Marriott’s own informal renditions of the song. The AI recording was “horrible,” Shirley told Variety. “It sounded like someone trying to sound like someone trying to sound like Steve Marriott.”
“The Marriott Estate is due to release an AI solo album of old and new songs of my father, Steve,” said Mollie Marriott in a previously released official statement. “Sadly, the surviving family which comprises just my siblings Lesley, Toby, Tonya, and I, have nothing to do with the Estate as there was no will. It is run by my stepmother who was only with my father for two years prior to his death and has since been re-married.
“We, along with his bandmates of Humble Pie and Small Faces are looking to stop this album from happening as it would be a stain on my father’s name. Someone who was known as one of the greatest vocalists of our generation, with such a live and raw vocal, it would absolutely break his heart if he were alive to know this. This is only for money, not art nor appreciation.
“It is the start of a campaign I wish to lead against this sort of thing, where deceased artists have no rights and that everything natural in this world is truly dying, including creativity and the arts, as AI comes into play. It’s a sad world to behold.”
Steve Marriott who passed away in 1991 at the age of 44, was among the most gifted and iconic artists in the long-storied history of British music. In a career that spanned two decades, the singer-songwriter-guitarist co-founded two of the most acclaimed and influential bands of the 1960s and 1970s, Small Faces (with whom he was posthumously inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) and Humble Pie. Small Faces proved as influential as any band of their extraordinary era, bridging R&B, pop, soul, psychedelia, and the primal power of what soon became known as punk rock. The band’s distinctly English sound and vision later provided a blueprint for the Britpop movement of the 1990s. Upon Small Faces’ dissolution, Marriott co-founded Humble Pie and once again left his mark on rock ‘n’ roll with a new kind of hard rock built upon riff-driven no-frills boogie and simple raw power.
Marriott was already a star by the time he co-founded Small Faces, first as a child actor performing on London’s West End as The Artful Dodger in Oliver! and then as 16-year-old leader of the popular R&B group, The Moments. Marriott came together with drummer Kenney Jones and the late bassist-songwriter Ronnie Lane as Small Faces in 1965, joined the following year by keyboardist Ian MacLagan. The band immediately ascended to the forefront of the Mod scene with their high-energy sound, fronted by Marriott’s unmistakable soul-influenced vocals. Over their short but blazing lifespan, Small Faces scored eight UK Top 10 singles, including “Whatcha Gonna Do About It” (later covered by the Sex Pistols), “Here Comes The Nice,” “Itchycoo Park,” “Lazy Sunday,” “Tin Soldier,” and the #1 hit, “All or Nothing.” Their final album, 1968’s classic Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake, spent six weeks atop the album chart and to this day stands tall as a British psychedelic rock landmark for its singular collage of rousing lysergic R&B, folk eccentricity, and pop-art imagination.
Marriott departed Small Faces in 1969 and teamed with guitarist Peter Frampton, bassist Greg Ridley, and drummer Jerry Shirley as Humble Pie. Considered one of the first supergroups for each member’s previous involvement in other popular bands, Humble Pie instantly proved a momentous outfit, their crushing blend of hard rock, boogie, and blues providing an early example of what came to be known as heavy metal. Marriott led Humble Pie through UK and US success in a range of incarnations, encompassing a further range of influences – from country to soul – but all were hailed for their charged live performances and of course, Marriott’s irrepressible vocals and songcraft at the forefront. A variety of reunions, collaborations, and solo efforts followed Humble Pie’s initial success. Marriott carried on through the 1980s, lighting up live stages in the UK and the US with over 200 gigs each year before his death in a fire at his Essex home on April 20, 1991.