Hold up ,,, Mal called Paul his love in his diaries?
Yes. In his autobiography. He also analyzed their relationship in his diaries.
For some context, here's a longer passage from Ken Womack's book, Living the Beatles Legend (Chapter 31).
As January 1970 came to close, Mal began drifting into an emotional slide that has been developing over the past several years. "Seem to be losing Paul," he wrote on January 27. "Really got a stick from him today. He let me down," and ominously added "Fixing a hole," "Pepper," and "directorship" to a growing list of disappointments. Apparently, the conversation had turned yet again to the issue of Mal's servile role in Paul's life, with the roadie believing that the association was bounded by friendship and love. "A servant serves," Mal wrote, "but he who serves is not always a servant," he added, echoing John's philosophy from December 1968. "Love is as sharp and piercing as a sword, "Mal reasoned, "but as the sword edge dulls — you sharpen it. So love's keenness needs honing — needs honesty." *
[...]
On February 11, Mal joined John and Yoko for a lip-synched performance of "Instant Karma!" on Top of the Pops, with the roadie, clad in beige suit and a light-green tie, playing the tambourine. By this juncture, Mal's long-standing relationship with Paul was in freefall. A few days earlier, he have been awakened by a 1 p.m. telephone call from the Beatle. It went "something like this," he wrote in his diary:
Mal: yeah?
Paul: I've got time at EMI over the weekend. Would like you to pick up some gear from the house.
Mal: Great, man. That's lovely. Session at EMI?!
Paul: Yes, but I don't want anyone there to make me tea. I have the family – wife and kids there.
Mal: [thinking to himself] Goes my poor head, "Why????" **
By the next week, Mal found himself behind the wheel of the Apple van, moving Paul's gear from EMI Studios to Morgan Studios, another Northwest London facility where Paul could work incognito. At one point, Neil cornered Mal about Paul surreptitious recording sessions, demanding to know more. "Where's Paul?" he asked, to which Mal tersely replied, "Not telling you."
In other instances, Mal ordered a Mellotron for Paul, while keeping him fully stocked with plectrums and other gear. In late February, Paul asked Mal to move everything back to EMI, where he was set to record "Maybe I'm Amazed" in Studio 2. For Mal, everything came to a head at 7 Cavendish Ave., when "my long love, Paul, to whom I have devoted so many years of loyalty, turned around to me and said, I don't need you anymore, Mal." ***
*, ** : Evans, "Diaries." [1963—1974.] 10 vols. Malcolm Frederick Evans Archives. Entries from Jan 27 & Feb 5, 1970.
***: Evans, Mal, 'Living the Beatles Legend: Or 200 Miles to Go.' Unpublished MS, 1976. Malcolm Frederick Evans Archives.
one of my friends reminded me of Mellotrons* and i wrote this with them in mind! i'm doing a few funky things with this progression: i'm not playing in a odd time signature but i have the chords repeat after 5 measures which makes it feel odd. i have my guitar tuned to CGAGGC in 432hz which is something i think i came up with (very Sonic Youth inspired tuning though). lastly i also have a Mellotron emulator pedal so i used the string section and flute settings in that order here!
let me know which setting serves the song better >.<
*Mellotrons are analog keyboards which means they aren't digital/computerized. to get different sounds they used tapes to record different instruments (ex. flutes, orchestras, choirs, brass instruments, etc.) playing notes and each key you pressed in whatever given setting would play the pre-recorded tapes for those notes!!
a famous use of a real mellotron (not my silly emulator pedal) would be The Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever where Paul McCartney used the Flute setting
released 4 years and a few days ago… a restless instrumental that evolved from an unusual chord progression i stumbled upon while noodling on the nylon guitar back in april 2019… still stands the test of time…
unforeseen collapsing
personal catastrophe
the dust settling
you've done more than enough
retreat to the margin
not a day for dashes
just rest and imagine
rising from the ashes
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CELEBRATING DAVID BOWIE WEEK + SONG OF THE WEEK: “Space Oddity.” The original Bowie track reached me deeply when I was a kid, amping my escapism into sci-fi books, Star Trek TV reruns, and “God questions.” Years passed and I became a singer on my own, and I added Bowie songs to my solo set. Here’s my cover of “Space Oddity,” Mellotron, Stylophone, and all:
This week marks an opportunity to look at David Bowie’s influence and innovations (born Jan. 8th; passed Jan. 10th) as a singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. Many have assumed that Bowie’s “Space Oddity” is a dystopian story of futility and failure. I beg to differ. The indicators in Bowie’s music point to his spiritual quest, a pursuit of God’s heart in the cosmos, inner and outer, and the Major Tom storyline has an open ending—there’s no conclusion that Tom died! Instead (later in Bowie’s catalogue) he reprised Tom (in “Ashes to Ashes” and “Hallo! Spaceboy”) as a conflicted man, “…Strung out on heaven’s high, making an all-time low,” with Tom seeking redemption from his own foibles while expressing awe at the vast potential of creation!