Vigotone 70

Back Cover Text

According to Beatle folklore, promotional copies of their unreleased 1969 Get Back LP were distributed to radio stations in the United States.

In fact, no promotional copies of the album were issued, although many radio stations aired tapes which were in circulation at the time. Some stations (such as WBKW in Buffalo, and WEBN in Cincinnati) aired an undocumented mix of Get Back (available only on an obscure bootleg entitled O.P.D.), which mirrors the "final" track listing of the LP, as documented in The Beatles: Recording Sessions.

A second source for the Get Back material was a reference acetate prepared by the Beatles producer Glyn Johns on March 10, 1969. This was also aired by a number of American stations, including WBAI in New York, KXOK AM in St. Louis, and WBCN in Boston (which is our source here).

This tape is significantly different than the "final" mix, which is widely available on various illicit records. It's noticeably less processed than the other both in terms of editing and the use of reverb. It also includes an extra performance of "Get Back", and a cover of Jimmy McCracklin's "The Walk".

What's noticeable here, though, is that this is far and away the best sounding tape of this material you're ever likely to hear. WBCN obtained a reel-to-reel tape of actual reference acetates. Their broadcast of this was preserved on another high-quality reel, and a digital copy of that tape was used to master this LP. We've also elected to leave in some of the actual commercials and announcements from the WBCN DJ. This provides a charming framework, and sadly reminds us how much radio has changed.

This is an artifact of an era that won't come again. Enjoy it!

Ed Nein X

The Insert

Posters, Incense and Strobe Candles
The legendary WBCN FM Get Back radio broadcast
September 22, 1969

WBCN in Boston.
We'll do The Beatles for you in just a moment.
Step out soon in something new from a Chess King Store in Waltham and Dedham, Mass. for the latest styles in bells, flaired bells, Edwardian suits, belted jackets for the Napoleon look; suede and leather jackets for the Western look. Also, posters, incense and strobe candles. You'll find a Chess King Store at 350 Moody Street in Waltham, Mass. open daily from 9:30 to 5:30; Wednesday and Friday until 9:30pm. Chess King in the Dedham Mall is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00am to 9:30pm, and the Chess King Store announce a free movie festival Wednesday and Friday, October 1st and 3rd from 5:30 to 8:30. So bring a friend on those dates for the free Chess King movie festival.
OK, we'll try it now - I think it should work -
This is "Get Back":
1-2-3-4-

Let It Be

Don't Let Me Down

For You Blue

Get Back (1)

The Walk

That's gotta be the end. I guess, of side two the The Beatles' "Get Back".
In the spirit of "Get Back", I gotta tell you - it is such a game to be working at a radio station....The Beatles become really fun - because somebody gets the Beatle album, right - some radio station, say WNEX gets the Beatle album and they play it and we hear it and we all jump around, stamp our feet, say gosh, they got the Beatle album - we gotta get it. So we call our Beatle promo man, our Capitol promo guy Brian Panella and we say "Hey Brian, they played it over there, and you didn't get it to us". And he says "Oh no, they got it again!" And he runs over and sends telegrams - says "Hey, you can't play it." And Dick Summers says "Oh, of course they can play it." And so in the meantime, we manage through our own devious nefarious means to get copies ourselves. By this time, Brian doesn't quite know what to do, cause we're the guys trying to get the tape. And we get it ourselves, and then he's got two radio stations playing the Beatle album before the release date. If you play an album before the release date in America, Apple is gonna get "P.O.ed" and they're gonna send you a letter or a telegram saying, you know, if you ever do this you won't get serviced with the next Beatle album in time. So everybody giggles and laughs and stomps around, but takes it extremely serious, cause they're The Beatles. But it's so much fun. In the meantime, everybody in the world has it. But if the trend continues...if Beatle albums are released every four days, it's really gonna drive poor Brian crazy. And in fact, if you're taping this - if you're taping this off the radio, someone's gonna come to your house and say "Listen, I'm sorry - you can't play that album in your house." In fact, if you've taped that, you might be the first on your block to get a telegram from Apple saying "Don't play the record in your house." - cause the release date...you can't even have it...in fact, flush it down your toilet.
Anyway, it sounds a great deal like the J. Geil's bathroom tape....it's side two of The Beatles' "Get Back". We'll do all of side one and so much more new stuff that it's not to be believed - between now and ten o'clock. This is gonna be fun. This is "Get Back" - I suppose in the spirit of The Beatles' "Get Back" album...(spit on the microphone). Okay, Arlo Guthrie wants to picnic with you on Sunday, if that weren't bad enough, September 28th at the Tufts University football field. Yellow Crayon presents the picnic at 1pm and Arlo's concert starts at 3pm. Bring your own blanket and chow. In case of the rain, the concert will be held in the Cousens gym. For further information call 876-2400. There will be plenty of tickets available at the gate. That number again - 876-2400.
If you think you're big cause you're living in Boston and you're hearing the Beatle album - they had it first in Buffalo. Which is fitting cause it's "Get Back" - and those are my roots.
When was the last time you heard anyone tap dance on radio?
"And now Ladies and Gentlemen, what you're ALL been waiting for - the farout, acid rock, underground feet of ...Harry Zonk!
          Hey Jude (tap dance)
...Thank you Larry Looper.
          Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight (fade)
And they leave a little bit of silence at the end of the record for you to just contemplate the entire works - "Abbey Road", The Beatles. Also, all of side two of "Get Back".
The "Get Back" album was recorded at the same time as the single and it was on a rooftop. The Beatles were getting a little tired of working around in the studio, so they decided to surface, and they went upstairs and set up the recording equipment and they just went and had a ball...and they went and had a jam and a session...and they're going to release that as part of a beautiful Christmas package that might cost you some bread, but you can scrape it up and buy it cause it will have a 125 page picture book of The Beatles. And there will be a film commemorating the thing - so that'll be their Christmas gift to you. And we'll listen to the rest of the album a little bit later this evening.
Harry Zonk did the tap dancing for you - and it's always a pleasure to have Harry on the program.
This is WBCN in Boston on perhaps the most beautiful of days.
          Get Back Honk
You can throw him, but you can't trust him!

Get Back

I've Got A Feeling (fragment)

Teddy Boy

Two Of Us

Dig A Pony

Okay, we'll end it here for now and we'll get back to The Beatles - so to speak - at 8:30. If you have a television set in your midst, on channel 7 you will find The Beatles and Crosby, Stills & Nash in this next hour. What I would like you to do is turn on the picture and leave the sound down cause we have some new nice things to play that won't be The Beatles until 8:30. Just so you can watch them. You can put it up on the side wand watch it turn brown - and that's life - and the Apple is there for you. And the Apple is there for the Apple. And The Beatles will be there with "Get Back" on the Apple at 8:30 there on the radio. Then and after then and they are on the television right now.

I've Got A Feeling

The Long And Winding Road