The Beatles - The Walk (2021)

Way back in 1970 I bought one of the many bootlegs of the soon-to-be-released final Beatles album, so I heard most of the songs from their joint movie and LP project before many people did.

It seemed like there were dozens of different, illegal versions of the soundtrack sold in record stores everywhere. I bought my copy at Jerry's Records located in a long out-of-business discount mall named Bazaar of All Nations in Horsham, PA. Like other stores selling this coveted piece of contraband, I remember that Jerry's very prominent counter display advertised the LP as Get Back. I also remember paying more for it than it was probably worth.

The packaging was odd even for a bootleg because it came in a plain, white, carboard jacket with no printing, photos, liner notes, cover art, or track listing - nothing! Inside, the white record label was also totally blank. As you can see here, I had to write on it myself. When I pulled the record out recently, I noticed that the label has a yellowish tint to it on side one that is most likely due to aging and exposure. The sound quality isn't bad - it's nothing less than listenable - but you can tell it's a bootleg.

Because the twelve inch, 33 1/3 rpm record provided no information I could only make an educated guess at the song titles. Compared to the official album that soon became Let It Be this mysterious set offered buyers "Don't Let Me Down" and an extended take of "Dig It." There's an overlong, full band, rehearsal performance of Paul McCartney's "Teddy Boy" that comes with some feedback and a little bit of backup vocal nonsense from John Lennon. A finished version eventually showed up on McCartney's first solo LP just a few months later. There is also a non-Phil Spectorized version of "The Long and Winding Road." None of these alternate tracks appeared on the "new phase" Beatles' album Apple released later that Spring. Also, there are two versions of "Get Back." Missing from my purchase are "I Me Mine," "Maggie Mae," and "Across the Universe."

Side one, track two is a spontaneous jam session that is just 55 seconds long. I've always called it "The Way He Walks." I only recently discovered its official title is "The Walk" when I did some investigating on the web specifically looking for information about the song. That search became my inspiration for this post. It's a cover of a 1958 hit by Jimmy McCracklin that peaked at #7 on the Hot 100 and #5 on the R&B chart. "The Walk" is led by McCartney on vocals and bass. Lennon and George Harrison played guitars. Ringo Starr was the drummer, and Billy Preston joined in on piano.

The Beatles' cover is slower than McCracklin's original and a bit ragged like much of the stuff they produced during their contentious, January 1969 sessions. McCartney put on his best R&B voice, sounding not at all like the sweet balladeer his detractors regularly complained he was. "The Walk" isn't classic Beatles, but it's worth a listen or two.

The Beatles' cover song never officially found a home until it appeared on the 50th anniversary edition of Let it Be that was released in 2021. If you don't own that super deluxe box set you may be listening to it here for the first time.