Paul McCartney Talks "New" Beatles Song
"Carnival of Light," a 14-Minute Experiment Has Yet to be Released
Nov 18, 2008
The Guardian is reporting that, in an interview with BBC Radio 4's John Wilson, Paul McCartney has stated that there is another unreleased Beatles song titled "Carnival of Light."
"Carnival of Light"
The unreleased track is a fourteen minute long experimental piece recorded while the band were working on their hit "Penny Lane." McCartney says he told his band mates, "All I want you to do is just wander round all of the stuff and bang it, shout, play it. It doesn't need to make any sense. Hit a drum, wander to the piano, hit a few notes," and that afterward (in true psychedelic fashion) they "put a bit of echo on it."
McCartney says that it was a "very free" experiment. The resulting song is a psychedelic hodge-podge of shouts and random notes that was far from commercially viable. Even more surprising however may be the fact that the song was preformed live once at the 1967 London Music Festival.
Legacy of the Carnival of Light
"Carnival of Light" has always been mythical to die-hard Beatles' fans. Rumors have always circulated of its recorded existence, but McCartney's interview confirms it. The song came about after McCartney was commissioned to create a song by friend Barry Miles for an electronic music festival in the UK and the result was apparently a bit too avant-garde for the Beatles, a group that has always been considered important for their experimentations in the realm of rock and pop.
Beatles Anthology
In 1996 "Carnival of Light" was considered for the three volume Beatles Anthology series. At the time the three remaining Beatles, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were listened to all of the unreleased Beatles material to determine what to put on the Anthology discs. Apparently McCartney was the only one in favor of using "Carnival of Light," saying that the other two Beatles thought it was "rubbish." This does seem a little surprising considering just how many other "songs" made it on to the Anthology.
Release of "Carnival of Light"
McCartney has once again brought up the possibility of releasing "Carnival of Light," perhaps because he will soon be releasing his third album of experimental material under the moniker of Fireman or because McCartney has often described himself as the most musically adventurous of the Beatles. Still, as is the case in all things Beatles, McCartney will have to get Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, and Harrison's widow Olivia to sign off on the deal before "Carnival of Light" can see the light of day.
