Beatles Forever

Spencer Patterson

Friday, April 11, 2003 | 4:29 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: April 13, 2003

Judging from the flurry of Beatles activity these days, you might think the '60s had returned.

Fresh off the wild success of 2000's "Beatles 1" hits collection, the band recently released its acclaimed 1996 "Anthology" television series in an expanded DVD set.

Next up on the recording front: reissued versions of the 1970 album, "Let it Be," on CD and the accompanying movie of the same name on DVD. Both are expected this year.

After Paul McCartney brought his live act to Las Vegas twice for a total of three shows in 2002, the other living Beatle, Ringo Starr, arrives in Las Vegas for an Aug. 30 show at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel with his All-Starr Band.

So we figured it was a good time to check in with Southern Nevada's resident Beatles buff, Dennis Mitchell, host of local -- and now syndicated -- radio show, "Breakfast With the Beatles," for the past 12 years. Mitchell's hour-long Beatles interludes air on KKLZ 96.3-FM at 7 a.m. every Sunday.

The show goes out to six other markets: suburban Detroit; Santa Rosa, Calif.; Amarillo, Texas; Battle Creek, Mich.; Lacrosse, Wis.; and California City, Calif. It can also be accessed on demand online at beatlesradioshow.com.

Las Vegas Sun: When did you first get interested in the Beatles?

Dennis Mitchell: It was in 1964, when I was 9. There was a lot of hype and a lot of stuff in the paper about them. Eventually kids on my block started talking to me about this.

I went to my mom and asked her about the Beatles, and she said, "They're a bunch of young kids with wild hair." It didn't have anything to do with the fact that they made music. I had to find that out down the road.

Sun: What keeps the Beatles' music fresh for you after so many listens?

DM: The music seems to connect to a time when you were really going through something important. That's still there.

And there's still such a universe of music there to be explored. I don't think I'll ever tire of how complex those songs are.

Sun: One of the five "Anthology" DVDs contains all previously unreleased footage. What types of nuggets are on that?

DM: It's the "Threatles,'" as fans have come to call them, jamming around at Paul's house as far back as 1994. It's just wonderful. They're sitting around out in the sun with ukuleles, trading stories and playing little songs.

The sentiment from all the e-mails I get from people who've watched it is a kind of closure. It's almost like they're with us for a very short time again. Especially George, because we had no idea at that time what was to come.

Sun: How tough was George's death for you personally?

DM: Very tough, very tough. We loved the guy, and it hits you hard. It's really like when a relative goes. It sends you into a lot of reflection about how old you are and what our time here means.

But even when they're all gone, the songs will still be very much alive.

Sun: Tell me about the "Let it Be" DVD.

DM: It was the project that Paul thought would save the band: "We're gonna get back to our roots." That's where that title ("Get Back") came from.

He brought cameras in to film this "comeback," and it turned very ugly. You see the evidence of it in "Let it Be." The Beatles bickering at each other, occasionally knocking out a song, occasionally breaking into a jam.

There's a segment of four or five complete songs in a row, played right there in the studio. And then the last 20 minutes of the film is the Rooftop Concert.

Sun: How about the "lost" recordings discovered in January in the Netherlands?

DM: My ears always perk up when I hear about these things. But I've been buying bootlegs since 1969, so when that story broke I was skeptical. I thought it would be stuff I have, stuff I've heard.

Then I saw the Rolling Stone piece and realized this really is stuff that we were missing, mostly reference recordings from the "Let it Be" filmings.

Sun: McCartney stirred up controversy recently by switching the songwriting credits for a few Beatles songs from the traditional "Lennon/McCartney" to "McCartney/Lennon" for a live solo disc. Where do you come down on that one?

DM: I'm not mad at Paul for doing it. I'm just sad that it played out that way, that he had to be so stubborn about it.

Sun: Let's finish with a few quick hitters. Favorite Beatles album?

DM: That's a hard one. It's a coin flip between "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver," the transition time between boy-girl and weird adult stuff.

Sun: Favorite Beatles song?

DM: The next one I hear (laughs). That's my standard answer. Of the early stuff, "I Saw Her Standing There" stands out as a perfect little rock record. And with the late stuff, I'm partial to John's stuff. "Across the Universe" is way up on the list.

Sun: Beatles songs you don't like?

DM: Just one, on "Anthology," called, "That Means a Lot." It's on a lot of bootlegs, and all through the years it had this horrible reverb on it. I think that's part of why I didn't like the track. Then "Anthology" comes out and the reverb is still there! And I thought, "This is what the band wanted? Eww."

Sun: And the tough one. Favorite Beatle?

DM: Whoa ... As a kid it was George. I wanted to learn to play guitar because of George. But I wanted to sing and write songs because of John. He was so damn cool. It didn't come until later that I realized Paul was just incredible, that he had so much going on in his head, he could do these things in his sleep.