Records, CDs and Music:

Fifty-six is such an odd number for an anniversary. Fifty and fifty-five I get but fifty-six is sort of awkward.

What am I babbling about? Well fifty-six years ago today The Monkees fifth consecutive (and last) Top Ten album was released on Colgems Records called “The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees”.

Since it’s such an odd anniversary I’m really going to call this blog a celebration of the album rather than just another anniversary post.

By early 1968 The Monkees were at the apex of their recording career. Their first four albums (“The Monkees”, “More of the Monkees”,”Headquarters” and “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.”) all hit the top of the Billboard 200 charts with each one selling well over a million copies.

In fact The Monkees were so hot that their first two albums sold over five million copies each while their third and fourth albums sold well over two million copies a piece. That’s A LOT of records to be sold and in such a short space of time between late 1966 through early 1968. It’s kind of mind boggling actually.

I won’t go into The Monkees complete history here, you can read several of my previous blog posts for more Monkees info, but needless to say their fifth album had some large shoes to fill.

By the time the group released “The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees” they had gone from doing mainly vocals only on the first two albums which were helmed by music supervisor Don Kirshner featuring the top studio musicians of the time to being a full-flegged recording and touring self-contained group.

(Note: To be fair, The Monkees were the cast of a TV show called “The Monkees” and were not actually a “group” at the outset of the project thus while they did indeed become a recording and performing group, at the beginning they were simply required to provide vocals for songs to be featured on their television show)

For their third record “Headquarters” things were switched up as the group were not only featured as vocalists but they managed to gain the right to provide their own instrumental work as well as and write a good portion of the songs on the album to boot.

Their fourth album “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.”, some say the group’s pinnacle as a recording act, was a mixed-mode album as group member Peter Tork liked to call it where they played some of the instruments while some were provided by the studio pros of the era though the group had more control of the material recorded.

Both of their third and fourth albums were produced by ex-Turtle member Chip Douglas and are now seen as two of the best albums the group ever created.

Their fifth album though saw the group sort of return to the Kirshner era in the sense that they used a lot of studio pros for the instrumental work but had more input in the material they recorded. The main thing that had changed since their last two albums is that while they had become a bona fide group on their last two albums they were basically solo acts within the structure of The Monkees by 1968.

(Note 2: Weirdly enough “The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees” is the only original studio album by The Monkees to feature two Top Ten hits – “Daydream Believer” from late 1967 and “Valleri”)

The main thing that hindered the success of the group’s fifth record is that their television show “The Monkees” was cancelled shortly after the album came out and most of the songs from the album were not featured on the show thus the exposure of the material was limited in comparison to their first four albums.

Though “The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees” did manage to eventually sell a million copies it only managed to climb to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and was seen as a step down from their previous work both commercially and artistically at the time of its release.

Another thing that may have hindered the albums success, relative to their previous albums, is that the group’s main audience liked the more pop oriented Monkees sound while by early 1968 the group wanted to record material more in line with the times.

Songs like “Writing Wrongs”, “Auntie’s Municipal Court” and “Magnolia Sims” for example, all Nesmith tunes, had a much more psychedelic sound and were far less accessible to a younger audience which may have alienated some of their fanbase at the time.

In hindsight it can be said that the album may have been too much of mixed bag for the younger crowd that bought Monkees records but over the years it has grown somewhat in esteem especially with the release of the Rhino box set a few years ago which featured some truly terrific outtakes recorded at the same time as the album material.

Personally I really love the quirkiness of the album and while not their best it’s still one heck of a good album and a fun time capsule of some classic mid-‘60s pop.

I remember first hearing my brother’s copy of the album from 1968 – at the tender age of two I might add – but I got my own copy of the album in 1971 when my mother bought me one that was in the discount bins at Kmart. Of course it was an original Colgems stereo copy which has now unfortunately seen better days.

Above and below I am sharing my current original copies – a first press stereo in the shrink, an original stereo UK pressing as well as a U.S. stereo promo copy.

Oddly enough though the Colgems copy in the shrink is near mint and never played until I opened it, it still has some distortion especially on “Daydream Believer” which is disappointing though it mainly sounds very good.

Surprisingly the UK stereo copy sounds very nice and maybe a tad better than the Colgems copy as it had no distortion at all throughout. My promo copy has the same issues that the other Colgems stereo copy has so to me the UK one is a winner sound wise.

Of course I’d love to have a Colgems mono copy but I have never seen one other than expensive copies on eBay. The mono mix has a lot more punch than the stereo and I consider it a must listen if you like this album.

Some of my favorites on the album include Davy Jone’s “Dream World”, “Daydream Believer” (a classic pop tune) and “The Poster” as well as the Dolenz sung “I’ll Be Back Upon My Feet” (pop perfection), “P. O. Box 9847”, “Zor and Zam” and “Auntie’s Municipal Court” (my favorite song on the album) plus Nesmith’s epic and utterly spooky “Writing Wrongs”.

“The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees” holds a strange place in the Monkees canon as it’s not quite the album that preceded it but I love it in its own right and after all this time it has become one of my favorite Monkees albums. 

If you really want a better handle of where The Monkees were at in 1968 the epic 3 CD box set of this album from Rhino Records from 2010 truly shows the great material the group were recoding at the time but was unfortunately passed over and remained unreleased for decades. If you can find one it’s well worth your time discovering the gems that lay hidden throughout that terrific set.

So today let’s celebrate the release of this quirky yet loveable album from fifty-six years ago. If you’ve never heard it then now’s the perfect time to discover it.

That’s all for now. Until next time be well and healthy and see you soon!

Let’s cast our minds back (those of us who can anyway) to the heady days of 1971. For me, my memories of 1971 are a bit hazy not only because 1971 was over fifty-three years ago but also because I was only five years old at the time.

Even as a five-year-old I was already a huge Monkees fan (you can read several of my previous blog posts on that subject) and oddly enough I remember a few vinyl albums that came out that year especially one called “Davy Jones” that was released on Bell Records.

Bell Records in 1971 was also the home of one of my other favorite music groups of the era, The Partridge Family, so I was well primed for an album sung by one of The Monkees that had a distinct Partridge Family feel.

At the time I had no idea of the connection between Davy Jones and The Partridge Family and Bell Records all I knew is that I loved this album and truly adored the first single from the album “Rainy Jane”.

In fact my mother bought me the 45 of “Rainy Jane” way before I received the album. I think because of the fact that I played the single so much that my older sister threatened to take it and break in into tiny pieces may have influenced my mother to buy the entire album for me a few months later for my sixth birthday in January of 1972.

(Note: Bell Records was owned by Columbia Pictures who had made both “The Monkees” and “The Partridge Family” TV shows. Bell Records owned their catalogs and released both The Monkees and The Partridge Family recordings thus the connection between the two.

The reason that the “Davy Jones” album sounded more like The Partridge Family then The Monkees was that in 1971 The Partridge Family and David Cassidy, the show’s main draw, were big business and selling records at a phenomenal pace.

The producer of the “Davy Jones” album (Jackie Mills) also produced records by Bobby Sherman who was also a teen idol and huge at that time – thus the Partridge/teen idol sound of the “Davy Jones” lp, much to Davy Jones displeasure.)

So what do I remember of the “Davy Jones” album?

Well I remember that I thought at the time that it was good, very good in fact. I loved side one of the record but even at that age I thought it was a slight step down from The Monkees albums; very good but not great.

For some reason to this day I remember every note from side one of the album but I must have played side two a lot less as those songs don’t stick in my memory as much. 

In fact the highlights of the album, for me, are all on side one with “Road to Love”, “Rainy Jane” and “Look at Me” being the standouts. “Look at Me” in particular is a haunting song that grows even more poignant with age. Written by Bread’s David Gates, who also wrote “Saturday’s Child” for The Monkees first album, this song is one of my all-time favorite songs from that era by anyone.

Also after hearing the opening track “Road to Love” I have an overwhelming feeling of hope; the remembrance of the hope of a child listening to this song for the first time. The sound of this track on this CD is worth the price of admission for sure.

Also, I do remember that the song “Say it Again” was featured in an episode of The Partridge Family but sung by then teens Andy and David Williams in a dreadful performance which makes Davy Jones version stand out even more.

Now, finally, here’s where 7a Records comes in.

This week I received their loving reissue of the “Davy Jones” album and I have to say as usual 7a Records has hit it out of the park. This CD sounds and looks great and contains some truly terrific liner notes.

The liner notes from this reissue give you a good feel of where Davy Jones was at in 1971 musically and his frustration with being saddled with what he considered weaker material and the teen idol type production of the times.

(Note 2: Two songs Davy Jones recorded as demos for Bell Records, “Man We Was Lonely” and “King Lonely the Blue”, were included on a previous 7a Records release called “Manchester Boy – Personal File”. These two songs which contained a much grittier, more adult pop/rock sound is the approach that Jones wanted to go with this Bell Records album before it was taken over by the Jackie Mills production. 

There’s also a demo version of “Rainy Jane” for Bell Records produced in the same adult vein that smokes the Bell version but I still really love the Bell version as well. It’s too bad Davy Jones wasn’t allowed to take his music to a wider audience but this album still has its charms.)

I’ve reviewed a previous CD reissue of the “Davy Jones” album on this blog, a Blu-Spec issue from Japan, which was itself preceded by a wonderful CD release of this album on the Friday Music label. That first CD issue happened to have been put out with the co-operation of Davy Jones himself before he passed and has the same bonus tracks that are featured on this new 7a release.

Seeing as how the master tapes of the “Davy Jones” album are supposedly missing I don’t think the true US masters have ever been used to reissue this album. It sounds like the Friday Music CD was mastered from a vinyl source, though I don’t know for sure, and possibly the Blu-Spec CD from Japan on Arista came from a Japanese master for the album from the ’70s from Sony in Japan.

I think I read that this new 7a Records version comes from the Japanese master of “Davy Jones” so that would account for its lovely sound. I’d say that of the three CD versions of this album released that this one sounds the best. A slight improvement over the Japanese Blu-Spec CD with a bit fuller sound and a lovely bass sound on most tracks.

(Note 3: in my review of the Blu-Spec CD I wrote of the superior sound of the Arista Japanese CD as compared to the Friday Music version. I don’t know if it’s a case of the same source with better mastering or if it indeed came from a submaster from Japan but the Blu-Spec was crisper and sharper and this new 7a Records sounds much like that Arista blu-spec CD.)

I don’t know the source of the bonus tracks but they too sound great on all issues of this material so they may come from master tapes sources from Sony but I’m not sure.

All I can say is that this new CD version by 7a Records gets my vote for sound and packaging and is a great way to discover or rediscover this album.

Here’s the track list below and note that this reissue includes the classic song “Girl” which most boomers or fans of The Brady Bunch will remember from that classic Brady Bunch episode where Marcia gets Davy to go the prom with her.

Here’s the track list of the new 7a Records release:

1. Road To Love
2. How About Me
3. Singin’ To The Music
4. Rainy Jane
5. Look At Me
6. Say It Again
7. I Really Love You
8. Love Me For A Day
9. Sitting In The Apple Tree
10. Take My Love
11. Pretty Little Girl
12. Welcome To My Love

Bonus Tracks:

13. Girl (Mono)
14. I’ll Believe In You (Mono)
15. Take My Love (Mono)
16. Road To Love (Mono)
17. How About Me (Mono)
18. I Really Love You (Mono)

I don’t have the groovy colored vinyl version of this album that 7a Records has issued (yet) but I’m sure it’s just as good as the CD version and well worth adding to your collection if your a Davy Jones/Monkees fan or a fan of early ’70s pop.

Well, that’s all for now.

As usual take a look above at photos of this new 7a Records reissue. I can’t say anything more positive than listening to this CD put a smile on my face and you can’t put a price on that especially in the times we are living in now.

Be well and healthy and until next time, see you soon.

Hello dear friends on this bright sunny afternoon, at least in my neck of the woods.

Today I thought I’d share with you some groovy new CDs that managed to find their way to my mailbox just this very week. These aren’t you’re standard CDs mind you, they contain DTS Dolby Atmos mixes of the recently released Beatles collections “1962-1966” and “1967-1970”.

Of course by this time these Atmos mixes are probably old hat to a big section of Beatles fandom but as usual I have one foot in the old world and one foot in the new and do not stream in Atmos but do have the ability to play Atmos mixes now that I recently bought a new sound bar for my TV that’s capable of playing them.

Since I don’t really stream much music I’ve never had the opportunity to partake of any of the Beatles Dolby Atmos mixes but am gleefully playing catch-up as the Dolby Atmos mixes from the Beatles Deluxe box sets from a few years ago sound terrific.

I was wondering if it might be time to break down and get a streaming subscription somewhere to hear the new “1962-1966” and “1967-1970” Atmos mixes but alas I struck physical gold. I stumbled upon these two new double CD sets on the Voo Doo Records label that contain the new Atmos mixes of these albums thus no need for a subscription (for now anyway) which makes it much less of a hassle to hear them.

I do wish Apple (The Beatles company) would change their mind and issue this material on a blu-ray disc but apparently that’s not going to happen as sales I’m guessing don’t warrant it. And that’s too bad as I have to say that after hearing these two sets this is the way to hear these new mixes.

(Note: I can’t say where I found these sets but if you look hard enough online you’ll find them)

For starters the dynamics of the music on both of these sets is much improved over their CD counterparts. The music breathes more and is less hard on the ears but does let the listener discover aspects of the songs that you can’t hear on the regular stereo mix.

Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the 2023 CD versions of the “1962-1966” and “1967-1970” sets but from now on I’ll probably reach for these two new DTS sets which are much more pleasant to listen to while also making the music sound more engaging and satisfying.

Even the strange new 2023 mix of “I Am the Walrus” is less jarring on the Atmos mix as you can hear the end dialogue more clearly than the regular stereo mix which makes this crazy new mix more enjoyable, at least for me anyway.

Of course listening to Dolby Atmos though my TV’s soundbar system may make these new mixes sound more quiet than through my stereo as this set-up isn’t quite as powerful as my receiver but these Atmos mixes nonetheless still sound really impressive and are much more fun to listen to than the regular CDs.

Of the two sets I’d have to say I prefer the Atmos mixes of the “1967-1970” set as the later material seems to be better suited to surround sound but the second disc of the “1962-1966” set isn’t far behind.

The first disc of “1962-1966” is fun but didn’t sound as engaging as the early material didn’t stray too far into an expansive surround feeling as much as the later material did. There were a few songs that sounded really different but for the most part the Atmos version of the earliest material didn’t sound too different from the stereo mix.

Overall though I truly enjoyed these Dolby Atmos mixes and am so happy to have them in disc form. Once Dolby Atmos is easier to access online I may bite the bullet and try some steaming but it seems that getting Atmos to work though my TV soundbar was more of chore online that on a disc format through my 4k blu-ray player.

Besides as this blog is all about physical media how fitting to have found a physical format for these sets. I own one other Voo-Doo Records release and I have to say that the cover and packaging are superb as well as the disc artwork – love that Apple label! Very well done and top notch sound makes these CD sets a true treasure for fans of physical media.

As usual you can see photos of these two sets above and judge the quality of the packaging for yourself. As far as the sound well if you get a hold of these discs I’m sure you won’t be disappointed as long as you have a disc player (more than likely a blu-ray player) that plays DTS and a system that can play Dolby Atmos.

That’s all for now. I hope you are healthy and well and until next time enjoy your day and listen to some music!!!

See you soon.

 

Today I’m going to introduce a new series of posts here called “From the Underground”. 

These “From the Underground” posts will consist of looking at CDs I’ve garnered over the years that are “gray market” or what’s more commonly known as bootleg CDs. Bootlegs have been around in the music industry for decades but it wasn’t until the late 1980s, and the advent of the compact disc, that bootlegs began to rival the sound of official discs/recordings.

Some bootlegs of course were decent but most of them left a lot to be desired at least sound wise. It was the rare content of these bootlegs that drew fans in even though the sound may have been really dodgy.

Starting in 1988 with the release of the epic and stunning sounding collections of Beatles outtakes known as “Ultra Rare Trax” (Volume 1 and  Volume 2)” the world of bootlegs took a major leap up as far as sound was concerned as these two CDs were fresh from the original Beatles sessions tapes and to this day are THE best sounding glimpses of The Beatles at work in the recording studio.

These collections of mostly stereo outtakes consisted of The Beatles playing live in the studio without any noise reduction or compression; just the raw studio tapes in pristine sound. These first two “Ultra Rare Trax” collections were soon followed by numerous follow-ups that flooded the collectors world with a treasure trove of unreleased Beatles material.

Following the release of the “Ultra Rare Trax” series the market was flooded with CDs of stunning quality of not only Beatles recording sessions but their BBC performances as well as a host of terrific sounding live recordings.

Suffice to say that The Beatles camp and their record company were none too pleased about the release of this material. The fact that these discs sounded better than some of the official Beatles releases really made The Beatles and EMI (their record label) stand up and take notice with an eye to combat the bootleggers.

Because of that flood of quality bootleg material from the 1988 to 1993 CD era The Beatles decided to release their own official releases from their archives. The three Beatles “Anthology” CD sets from 1995 and 1996 were meant to address the leakage of all the unissued Beatles material and improve on the sound quality from the bootleg releases.

While the “Anthology” series was indeed a goldmine for unreleased Beatles material there were still a lot of older bootlegs that had better sound and more material than could ever be issued officially.

This is where today’s post comes in. Today I’m sharing four CDs that contain some of my favorite Beatles live recordings, some of which have come out officially, that have stood the test of time and offer something special for those who want some of the better Beatles live recordings that are out there.

The four CDs I’ve chosen today include:

The Beatles – “Stars of ’63” (Swinging Pig label) – A complete Swedish radio show that features one of the best ever recorded early Beatles performances that also features truly inspired performances from the group with a somewhat unique setlist

The Beatles – “The Ultimate Live Collection” (Yellow Dog label) – A 2 CD set that features four different and excellent Beatles live performances: Indianapolis 1964, Philadelphia 1964 and two shows from 1965 in Houston, Texas

The Beatles – “Hollywood Bowl Complete” – (Yellow Dog label) – This CD features a complete 1964 Beatles show at the Hollywood Bowl in mono from an original Capitol Records acetate and a complete 1965 show from the same venue in stereo plus three bonus live tracks from 1964 from television appearances.

The Beatles – “Shea!/Candlestick Park” – (Spank Records) – Two of the more significant Beatles live performances, 1965’s first Shea Stadium appearance (though just the soundtrack to the 1966 TV special and not the raw audio) and The Beatles last ever live appearance before a paying audience at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park in 1966

These four CDs offer a lot of great Beatles live material that’s not available elsewhere or in better sound than the official release counterparts.

For example most of the “Stars of ’63” appearance made its way to an official release on 1995’s “Anthology 1” but here the performance is complete, with an interview, and in better sound. I love the way this unofficial release sparkles while the same songs featured on “Anthology 1” are a bit flatter sounding with less punch.

The “Ultimate Live Collection” features four of my favorite Beatles live recordings including one captured in my home state of Indiana from September of 1964. Each one of the shows on this set sound very good to excellent and while there’s not a great deal of variation of the setlists they are all really solid and enjoyable live shows that are a must for any true Beatles fan.

The “Hollywood Bowl Complete” CD is special because even though some of these performances were issued on the terrific sounding 2016 “Live at the Hollywood Bowl”, which was remixed by Giles Martin, the two shows on this CD feature the original mixes Capitol Records created for their aborted attempts at an issue of this live material.

It’s so nice to be able to hear what these shows would have sounded like on a Capitol vinyl album from the 1960s and this CD is the nearest you’re ever going to get. Plus these two shows are complete and the “Live at the Hollywood Bowl” CD is a mixture of different performances from different nights.

And last but not least, the “Shea!/Candlestick Park” CD contains my favorite sounding issue of The Beatles final show from 1966. Granted the recording is lower fidelity than the other shows I’ve mentioned as it was recorded with a handheld cassette recorder from in front of the stage by The Beatles press officer but it still sounds good and is a fun listen.

To me it’s the most exciting 1966 Beatles live recording (much more animated than the 1966 Japan shows) and probably the most historic Beatles show as it was their very last one. I must say I listen to this show more than the others as I really enjoy the energy The Beatles give in this performance and I love the feeling that they are having fun and putting their best into this performance.

So there you have it. Just a look at some of my favorite underground releases and the first in a series of these blog posts that will highlight some of the hidden gems that have made it to the compact disc medium oh so  long ago now in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

That’s all for now. 

Until next time be well and healthy and Happy Spring (almost!)

Sixty freakin’ years. That’s a long time but some things are definitely worth remembering.

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the day The Beatles first performed on the Ed Sullivan Show on the CBS network and as usual there’s a lot of media coverage both online as well as traditional TV coverage.

It seems like only yesterday I was celebrating the 50th anniversary of this event (where did those ten years go???) and now that sixty years have passed it’s kind of mind-blowing that The Beatles are still so much a part of the American psyche that this long ago appearance is still making headlines.

It goes without saying that The Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show was a sort of Big Bang moment for the current rock era at least in the U.S. After that appearance the modern age of Rock music was born and along with it fashion and social norms for a new generation.

I’ve spoken before about my feelings of seeing the Ed Sullivan appearances as a second generation fan who can only look back through video footage and print coverage but even through second-hand exposure I totally got the feeling of this being something special.

Now in today’s media landscape of anything goes the Ed Sullivan Show appearances probably seem quaint and tame but to me there’s still an energy and excitement to these Beatle performances that transcends time.

Oh well, I won’t blather on but it is a significant event and something well worth celebrating. If you’ve never seen The Beatles Sullivan performances that night do a search online as they can easily be found. Here’s to an anniversary well worth celebrating – Happy 60 Beatles Sullivan Show!

On the other Beatles topics – my recent Beatles finds.

A couple of weeks ago I found a few really nice things that I was surprised to see as they usually don’t pop up in my search through antique stores. The one that really made me smile was a still sealed CD copy of a U.S. first issue of “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” from 1987 in its original longbox with the added bonus of a sticker on the back saying the CD was made in West Germany!

(Note: West Germany Beatles CDs are early pressings sought out by some collectors as they say they sound a bit better than the standard US issues.)

I have a longbox version of this very CD but my original store bought copy was made in the U.S. In fact I don’t recall ever seeing one of the original Beatles 1987 CDs with this small info sticker so I was really elated to find it. I haven’t seen a sealed longbox Beatles CD in well over thirty years and because this CD was very cheap of course I had to buy it.

(Note 2: has it really been that long since CDs came out – ouch!)

The same week I bought that lovely “Sgt. Pepper” CD I also came across a pressing of The Beatles 1964 Capitol album called “Something New” (stereo) which was the last vinyl issue of this album before being deleted because of the CD issues of Beatles albums.

This purple label with the C1 prefix sounds way better than the original 1964 pressings and is dead quiet. It’s definitely the best sounding vinyl version of this album that I own and the fact it was near mint in the shrink, and again pretty inexpensive, was a great bonus.

These C1 pressings are the way to hear the Capitol Beatles albums as they just sound terrific.

The last thing I stumbled on was an oddball Vee Jay record again from 1964 called “Jolly What! The Beatles and Frank Ifield On Stage”. I found this slightly worn mono copy for $6 dollars in a stack of old records from the same time frame.

I have never actually owned a copy of this album and despite the cover having a slight water stain on the rear the record was in very good shape and plays great! It is a fairly odd record though and the Frank Ifield songs are certainly an acquired taste but it is an iconic record that I’ve seen in price guides for decades so finally finding one this inexpensive was a great way to start 2024!

As usual you can see photos above (some classic U.S. 1964 Capitol Beatles albums on vinyl as well as CD) and below (the newly acquired Beatles goodies).

That’s all for now.

Until next time I hope you are healthy and well and today is the perfect time to either slap on a copy of “Meet the Beatles” (in whatever format you own) or watch the 1964 Ed Sullivan Beatles performances and take a trip back in time away from the weird and stressful times of 2024.

To say that November 22, 1963 is a day that has been burned into history is putting it mildly.

Not only was November 22, 1963 the day that The Beatles issued their second long-player in the United Kingdom, an album that truly ignited Beatlemania, it was also the day that President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

Looking back it seems like such a weird juxtaposition of joy and terror. Kids in Britain were exploding with anticipation of the latest Beatles release while people in the States were greeted with a tidal wave of horror and disillusionment that sadly has permeated the political and social landscape to this very day in my opinion.

How odd to have the candle of youth and vitality and hope distinguished so brutally by the winds of change (and an assassin) whilst in another breath the youth of the 1960s was galvanized by four lads from Liverpool that took the mantle of hope that JFK represented and began breaking down barriers socially and politically which led a generation on a quest for meaning and a desire for personal freedom.

Heady stuff certainly. And certainly low these sixty years later that powder keg of excitement and vitality that was lit by the music on “With the Beatles” still reverberates with all the energy and power it possessed on that far away day in November.

As a second generation fan who was born in 1966, it was ironically the early Beatles and the “Meet the Beatles” album (the American version of “With the Beatles”) that drew me toward the group and made me a fan.

I distinctly remember walking around the record section of a local Sears store in 1975, yes Sears sold records back then, and spending about an hour gazing at the cover of “Meet the Beatles” and “The Beatles’ Second Album” while my mother was shopping and being transfixed by images on the covers.

By this time in 1975 long hair was the norm yet their was still something different about these guys. They had an aura of excitement and yet an oddness that reached out to me even twelve years after these songs were originally recorded.

I had never seen this unique mixture of cool and strangeness (the suits and long hair was weird to me in 1975) plus there was just a magnetism that leap off of these record covers that drew to discover what the music was inside.

Shortly thereafter a few weeks later I received both albums, courtesy of my grandmother, and thus began my life-long love, some would say obsession, with The Beatles’ music.

Sure I was already familiar with The Beatles hits like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You”, both on these records, but the pure power and force of Lennon’s vocals on songs like “It Won’t Be Long”, “You Really Got a Hold on Me” and especially “Money (That’s What I Want)” were even by 1975 standards so gutsy and vital that I had to hear more.

In the next few years I obtained most of The Beatles US albums followed a few years later by the British pressings. As they say it was the beginning of it all for me as far as my love of The Beatles music was concerned. Because I started listening to the early Beatles first I never felt like a second generation fan as I was discovering their music almost in order of release and marveling at each new twist and turn their music would make on the later albums.

So even after listening to “With the Beatles” and its US cousin “Meet the Beatles” for well over forty years myself I still find the music on them fresh and vital and something that stands outside of time for me.

So in celebration, above and below are some photos of the favorite issues I own of the “With the Beatles” album. The tattered and well-loved copy mono of this album pictured here is a first issue UK mono copy that I found in a flea market in the early 1980s and the first original UK pressing of any Beatles album I ever owned.

Despite the cover looking like it has been chewed up and spit out the vinyl itself sounds great and beyond a few pops and clicks retains all the energy and power as the day it was bought in the UK back in 1963.

There is a slight skip on “Roll Over Beethoven” but I have read that these first 1N copies (the number stamped in the matrix on the inner groove of the record) had this same skip on some or most copies so it was quickly withdrawn and redone. I see no visible scratch on any of the tracks on this album so I’m guessing it was one of the bad copies from this first issue.

I’ve also pictured my first CD pressing of “With the Beatles” that was made in West Germany plus my favorite stereo version of this album on CD the SHM-CD mini-lp version made in Japan.

And last but not least I have a photo of my favorite sounding US pressing of “Meet the Beatles” as this US version of the album was the start of Beatlemania in the States after its release in December of 1963 on Capitol Records.

Anyway, so happy 60th anniversary to one monumental record and to one of my all-time favorite records not only by The Beatles but by anyone.

Take some time and reflect on or maybe discover some of the truly wonderful music that’s contained in this album and maybe you can find a minute or tow of pleasure that will take you away ever so briefly from the troubled world of 2023.

As usual take a gander at the photos above and below and until next time I hope you are healthy and well and have a most Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow if you’re reading from this somewhere in the United States.

See you soon!

Well these past two weeks have certainly been a celebration for Beatles fans around the world!

Last week we had the premiere of The Beatles last new song “Now and Then” which has now ascended to the top of the UK charts becoming the Fabs 18th UK number one single (there are 20 US number one singles) and has become somewhat of an Internet sensation judging by the overwhelming proliferation of YouTube reviews.

To top off this monumental two week celebration we now have the 50th anniversary reissues of The Beatles classic hits collections “1962-1966” (The Red Album) and “1967-1970” (The Blue Album) which have both been expanded and filled with remixes of all the songs on each.

In the case of the “1962-1966” set most of the collection has been newly remixed in 2023 and there are several first-time stereo mixes of such Beatles gems as “Love Me Do” and “She Loves You”.

Both of these new sets officially come out tomorrow but as luck would have it I got ahold of them early and have done a quick overview of each set.

First off overall these two sets sound superb! I’m hit or miss with modern remixes of ’60s classics, especially The Beatles, but I have to say both of these sets are ninety percent wonderful with an occasional miss now and then (no pun intended) not spoiling the party (pun intended lol).

The first set, “1962-1966”, is an especially great sounding collection as for the most part these new stereo mixes are just wonderful. The highlights of this set for me are the early numbers from 1963 as well as the 1965 “Rubber Soul” mixes which are quite frankly the best stereo mixes of these tracks I’ve ever heard.

Songs like “She Loves You” (a convincing stereo mix), “Please Please Me”, “And I Love Her” and the highlight of the set “If I Needed Someone” are all worth the price of admission as they all sound so lively and crisp and an improvement on previous attempts to mix these tracks into stereo.

There are of course a few clickers, what in the heck happened to the first note of “A Hard Day’s Night”? (yikes), but overall this set is a winner.

(Note: having listened again this remix is not quite as weird sounding as I first thought it was. This is one of the tracks that makes the Beatles sound a little bit more punky, more aggressive than the original mix. Still not my favorite mix of this song but not bad.)

The newer MAL technology developed by director Peter Jackson, which also enabled the completion of the new “Now and Then” single, has permitted these early tracks to take on a new life and spark that is a true joy to listen to and enjoy.

The second set “1967-1970” is highlighted by the inclusion of the new Beatle single “Now and Then” (in my mind already a Beatles classic) but is also filled to the rim with recent remixes as well as six brand new remixes including 2023 remixes of songs like “I Am the Walrus”, “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Revolution”.

Again mostly this new set is a pleasure to listen to (thank goodness the 2017 remixes of the songs from “Sgt. Pepper” sound a bit less compressed) but the occasional clunker aside I’m very happy.

One mix in particular, the new 2023 mix of “I Am the Walrus”, is just downright odd sounding. It’s not terrible but it is very different from the original stereo mix as well as previous remixes from the recent past. I don’t hate it but I don’t quite love it either. 

It sounds like Giles Martin who remixed both sets has taken the mono fake stereo section of the later half of the song and applied the MAL technology with just bizarre results. Not great but still nice to have a different sounding version.

Oh and as for loudness, yes these sets are a tad louder than I would prefer but really they sound fine. Some of the new stereo mixes like “Twist and Shout” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” burst though with such energy that they have the punch of mono with nice stereo separation. As usual online I see a lot of negative reactions to these remixes already but I really enjoy the early maternal most as these stereo mixes really pop – in a good way.

I’ll have to give both sets a more through listen but on first blush I love what I’m hearing and these sets are nice sampler collections of not only The Beatles musical output but a nice sampling of remixes of this material for those who’ve never dipped their toes in the remix pool.

As usual take a look at these new sets above and I can’t say enough how good these two sets sound and whether you find them online to stream or you go out and buy them I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.

I’m hoping that these lovely new stereo mixes of the early Beatles material prompts future remixes of all the pre-1966 Beatles studio albums in their entirety. And of course in physical media please. You never know when Apple will decide to go online only so I’m just hoping they finish The Beatles catalog before they make that decision.

Just a quick note at the end of this two-week Beatles bonanza. 

Be well and until next time I hope you are healthy and happy and that you go out and play some Beatles!

See you here soon.

Today is the official release date for the physical media of the last Beatles single “Now and Then” – yay, I say.

Like I said in yesterday’s post, I already own two of the colored vinyl 45’s that I got a day early but there’s also a red colored vinyl issue (a Target exclusive) as well as black vinyl issue of a 12-inch version of the single plus a cassette version (available exclusively from http://www.thebeatles.com Website) and upcoming in a couple of weeks (in the States that is, already available in Europe) a CD single.

Whew, I think that’s all the versions out there so far but I may have missed one. In this day and age there is no end to the many variations of physical media being issued but as usual I was sucked in by the joyous celebration worldwide of this last Beatles single and I broke down and added the black vinyl 12-inch version of the “Now and Then” single to my stash of Beatles items.

(Note: I told you being a collector is a sickness lol)

As I said hearing this song on one of the vinyl versions is the way to go, so far for me anyway, as this new 12-inch version sounds even better than the 45 and makes the songs sound warmer and more engaging than the digital versions I’ve heard online.

Plus the jet black vinyl and the superb Apple and Red Parlophone labels look stunning on the larger format so it’s worth it to me to have it in my collection.

I was struck yesterday by the absolute outpouring of reaction videos to “Now and Then” that I saw on YouTube with generally positive feedback to the song as well as the production of the single. I’m glad to see that there’s a large swath of Beatledom that is indeed as happy about this release as I am so that warms my heart.

Again there are several really over the top haters out there but the feeling of event from the first viewing of the mini-documentary a couple of days ago as well as listening to the song for the first time yesterday on Sirius; all the negativity just vanishes. It’s just been a FABulous few days culminating today with the physical releases of the single AND the premiere of the video just this morning directed by famed filmmaker Peter Jackson.

As for the video I thought it was FANTASTIC! There was a lot of video footage of Paul, George and Ringo circa 1995 in the studio during their initial attempt at making a record out of Lennon’s home demo of “Now and Then”. Truly this stuff is superb and one day hopefully we’ll get more.

There is also some lovely footage of Paul and Giles Martin in the studio in 2022 adding strings to the new recording as well as lots of old Beatles footage from a range of sources from home movies to scenes from their films as well as their music clips – again terrific stuff.

Now truth be told right before I watched the video for the first time I read some absolutely scathing reviews of the new “Now and Then” video online and while I’m all for differences of opinion there’s no reason to rant and rave about what a travesty this video and song are and how low The Beatles have stooped, etc. Enough already, you hate it we know.

It’s a little dramatic to be so hyper negative but whatever I’ve enjoyed both the song and video tremendously. I think the fact that Peter Jackson added a bit of humor and wackiness to the video (see images above and below) has gotten some peoples knickers in a twist but that attitude of let’s not be too serious is a Beatles trademark so I can see both Paul and Ringo wholeheartedly approving of it. If they didn’t the video wouldn’t be here end of story.

Anyway, just a brief note from me on what I’m dubbing Beatles Day 2023.

I hope those of you out there who are enjoying the good vibes, yes they are out there, are having a great day and enjoying being a Beatles fan. Life is too short, enjoy or ignore but please spare me the “woe is me this shouldn’t have happened ever” tude – too late, it’s here and it’s top gear lol.

As usual enjoy photos of the 12-inch black vinyl and several screen shots from the new “Now and Then” that came out today.

Be well and happy and see you soon!

More to come …

Expectations – they’re a bear.

Today the so-called last Beatles song hits the airwaves for the first time with a few month’s worth of intense speculation and about a week’s worth of media hype.

I do love that the premiere of this song has been turned into an event but I also know that this level of media scrutiny has people sharpening their knifes if the song doesn’t hit them in 30 seconds as the next “Ticket to Ride” or “Hey Jude” or whatever.

I’ve seen a lot of good and a lot of fairly nasty reports on “Now and Then” so here’s my take on the song and the fun of the last two days.

Basically “Now and Then” strikes me as a sweet coda to a brilliant musical career and loving tribute to two fallen friends by tow other friends who speak the language of music. What better way then to say I love and miss you than through a song – and what an emotional and sweet journey this song has already taken me on – in the best way of course.

I’m going to do something a bit different today as I’ve posted below the last two days of my first impressions of the unfolding “Now and Then” saga as I saw it plus my thoughts on hearing the physical 45 for the first time as well.

November 1, 2023 – The Mini Documentary:

Now that the moment is almost here I have to say I’m excited. I feel that whether or not the song/performance is any good unfortunately we live in the culture of “nothing is what I thought it would be so let’s tear it down” which is the way it is.

I’m to a point in my life where I try to seek out the positivity in most things so whatever the situation may be I try to find the positive perspective especially in music.

For me the fact that there’s any last Beatles song is a major win. I like the melancholic nature of the song but “Now and Then” doesn’t set itself up as a radio kind of staple in this day and age which is fine. Personally I don’t think it’s meant to be hit I think it’s meant to be a coda to a long and illustrious career.

To me the song is a wink and a nod to a dear old friend who died over forty years ago whom you still love and respect and what better tribute to The Beatles than to create one last song.

Who cares if it hits number 1? I’m all in for a new Lennon/McCartney collaboration anyway I can get it as long as McCartney is in charge and it’s not an AI concoction.

I’m prepared for the backlash but again that’s not a biggie. If you don’t like it fine. I’m sure a lot of folks will.

As for the new Red and Blue sets it’s also probably the last big Beatles physical release so great. I for one LOVE physical releases. I do think that this set will appeal to the newer vinyl folks more as a set as it’s a great one stop Beatles dip in a physical media form.

This mini-documentary (approximately 12 minutes long) is filled with terrific footage of the three Beatles recording in 1994/95. Supposedly there is over 14 hours of this footage so here’s to a much larger dip into that particular video pool as this would be as interesting to watch as the recent Peter Jackson “Get Back” film.

This documentary was the perfect way to lead up to the full audio release of the song and by itself was worth the media hype.

Anyway, it’s all good IMHO. Haters hate if you want I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round and quite frankly even the negativity is nothing compared to a war or a broken democracy. Bring on some momentary glimpse of the past and a few words from Lennon reaching out from the beyond.

Maybe it’s Lennon’s spirit calling out to make love not war in protest to the times we live in. That works for me …

November 2, 2023 – The Sirius Debut:

I heard it this morning at 10 a.m. on Sirius. I loved it! After yesterday’s 12 minute documentary I was really excited to hear it and it doesn’t disappoint. To me though I find “Now and Then” to be an encore, a sort of bow to the audience and a nice way to tie up a majestic career.

I think some folks are getting the same reaction as when they bought the first Beatles Anthology and were miffed it was outtakes; I feel the hype is leading people to believe it’s a lost “Hey Jude” Part 2.

That’s not to say it’s not a good song, I think it is but it was created from an unfinished John Lennon demo that has been miraculously turned into a lovely song with a lot of emotional heft and punch.

I for one like the production. I like the strings and sure enough the song sticks in my head in a good way. I also like tune and the sadness fits. The song is about longing. Again, this song fits the times we live in now way better than if it had been completed in 1996 as The Beatles originally intended.

Everyone I know is longing for some comfort in an old friend or love these days. “Now and Then” seems made for 2023 and like I said previously it feels like Lennon is singing from beyond urging for people to hold onto love in hard times.

A Lovely nod and a wink from The Beatles to 2023. What more can you ask for?

Later That Day, the 45:

The physical release of “Now and Then” comes tomorrow, November 3rd, but I happened upon two different colored 45’s at my trusty local record shop so I snagged them and brought them home today.

I wasn’t going to buy both colors but as I am a rabid collector and Beatles fever took hold of me today I thought I’d go ahead and get both. It’s a good thing I did as the blue vinyl version was cup warped and had a warbly sounding “Love Me Do” on Side Two. while the marble version played and sounded great.

The slight warped misstep aside I love the labels on this 45 and the back cover. I honestly don’t love the front cover but am getting used to it. The back should be the front but oh well. It’s so nice to have a vinyl 45 of the last Beatles single as it would feel just plain weird as only a ghostly digital recording – The Beatles belong in a physical format.

As for the sound I think that “Now and Then” holds together a bit better on the 45 as it’s warmer sounding than what I heard on Sirius and YouTube and on a decent stereo system the vocals mesh together much better and the backing harmonies stand out more.

Don’t get me wrong I loved what I heard on the radio I just love the sound of the physical record better.

It actually reminded me of a Phil Spector record for some reason when I play the 45 tonight. The sound isn’t widely stereo as it sounds on the radio. I hear the bass more and it isn’t quite as loud as the digital version. I think the whole thing just hangs together much better on the vinyl version.

Damn, I know this is going to make me want the vinyl versions of the new Red and Blue sets alas but I’ll wait and see how the CD’s hold up when they come out next week.

As for the new stereo 2023 mix of “Love Me Do” on the B-Side of this 45 I really enjoyed that as well. It’s not a wide stereo mix mind you but it does sound nice. I’m curious to see how the digital version sounds as this 45 version isn’t as boldy stereo as I thought it would be but very good.

There’s also a groovy inner sleeve inside with the story of “Now and Then” on one side (the blue side) and the songs credits on the other side (see photos above).

Truly after listening to the song about six or seven times my reaction is that it’s the best, or most enjoyable, of the three reunion tracks for me anyway. I love the aching sound of Lennon’s voice and the production of this 45 screams both early and late Beatles to me.

Really this is the tonic I needed for the totally shit ridden 2023!

Well that’s all for now. I’ll update here on this blog my thoughts on the “Now and Then” music video that comes out tomorrow and the CD’s of the “1962-1966” and “1967-1970” sets that come out on November 10th.

Until next time be well and if you haven’t heard “Now and Then” what are you waiting for – it’s a must listen in my book.

See you soon.

In keeping with my last post on a rare unreleased Beatles concert, today I’m featuring not one but five complete and unreleased Beatles concerts (well, unreleased in their unaltered forms).

Today celebrates the 57th anniversary of The Beatles last paid public performance which took place at San Francisco’s famed Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966.  Since I was a mere seven months old my memories of that time are obviously a bit fuzzy.

So in celebration of this momentous event I thought I’d share a couple of underground CD sets that capture The Beatles in concert with the best live shows (in the U.S.) from their Beatlemania touring years of 1964-1966.

I have two superb sets by the His Masters Choice label that perfectly capture the frantic sounds of Beatlemania and the raw power and energy of The Beatles in concert as they took over the music world.

The first set features the three Beatles shows at the Hollywood Bowl (complete and unedited) from 1964 and 1965 which is probably the best recorded Beatles concert of the groups touring era. As an added bonus the famed Candlestick Park 1966 show is included as well and in the best possible sound quality.

(Note: the 1966 Candlestick concert was recorded on a cassette recorder in front of the stage by The Beatles press officer Tony Barrow at the suggestion of Paul McCartney. There is no multi-track quality recording. Even so the show is low-fi it’s certainly very listenable as the mic captured the concert at close range)

The other set is also a must hear as it features the true sound of The Beatles live at Shea Stadium in 1965 (this is the first time the unaltered live show has ever been issued) along with all the opening acts from the show as well. As an added bonus it also features the touched up re-recording of the Shea Stadium show that was featured on the 1967 TV special that was broadcast on television.

Many of you out there may say wait a minute, unreleased? Didn’t The Beatles Hollywood Bowl shows come out on CD a few years ago sounding really fantastic?

Well, yes they did but the “Live at the Hollywood Bowl” CD that came out in 2016 in lovely remixed sound courtesy of Giles Martin and Sam Okell featured only a selection of cuts from the three Hollywood Bowl concerts that were recorded and had the sound heavily worked on to make it sound more listenable.

The stupendous 2 CD set “Live at the Hollywood Bowl” features all three concerts in full with warts and all sound (there are a few songs on one of the 1965 shows that don’t feature vocals) and every stinking note as it happened.

That of course includes the din of over 18,000 screaming young fans which nearly drowns out The Beatles at times.

For historians these unaltered sets are a treat to hear as the complete shows, warts and all, are great to hear as it is a true document of the times and the full impact of The Beatles on a generation is evident and these shows really bring you front and center on what it was like to sit at a Beatles performance and experience it in the eye of the storm so to speak.

Plus the Candlestick Park show tucked on the end of this set is also a real treat as it documents the end of The Beatles live career and is the best example of how they sounded on the 1966 tour. The Beatles are putting in more of a performance at this show as compared to others on the tour as they know this may be the last time that they would play live in this Beatlemania type environment.

I’m fascinated by this show and despite it’s less than stellar sound it’s still a very enjoyable show and the best document of this last 1966 tour and fun to hear songs like “Day Tripper” and “Nowhere Man” played with real gusto as opposed to the much better recorded shows in Japan from earlier in 1966.

I must say though that the creme de la creme of these five shows is the actual audio from The Beatles most celebrated concert live at Shea Stadium in 1965.

I can see why the group felt the need to touch the sound up as the concert was not only recorded but it was filmed as well for a TV special and these early days of recording live shows could not have anticipated the chaos that over 55,000 Beatlemanics would have on the primitive recording equipment that captured this show.

When the show was broadcast in 1967 I’m sure the group preferred the much cleaner live presentation on display in front of millions but I have to say that I prefer the rawer sound of the real tapes as it’s just as exciting a show with the real sound and maybe even more fun to watch.

The slightly ragged sound of the real Shea audio fits the overwhelming feeling of chaos generated by the audience who are obviously taken by the whole spectacle of a Beatles show. And actually the sound of the show in this CD is really good and despite some flaws would make a great CD!

Complete contents of the two sets:

Live at the Hollywood Bowl

Disc 1:  Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA – August 23rd, 1964: 

Intro., Twist And Shout, You Can’t Do That, All My Loving, She Loves You, Things We Said Today, Roll Over Beethoven, Can’t Buy Me Love, If I Fell, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Boys, A Hard Day’s Night, Long Tall Sally. 

Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA – August 30th, 1965:

Intro., Twist & Shout, She’s A Woman, I Feel Fine, Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Ticket To Ride, Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby, Can’t Buy Me Love, Baby’s In Black, I Wanna Be Your Man, A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, I’m Down 

Disc 2:  Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA – August 29th, 1965: 

Intro., Twist & Shout, She’s A Woman, I Feel Fine, Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Ticket To Ride, Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby, Can’t Buy Me Love, Baby’s In Black, I Wanna Be Your Man, A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, I’m Down. 

Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA – August 29th, 1966: 

Rock And Roll Music, She’s A Woman, If I Needed Someone, Day Tripper, Baby’s In Black, I Feel Fine, Yesterday, I Wanna Be Your Man, Nowhere Man, Paperback Writer, Long Tall Sally

The Beatles And The Great Concert At Shea

Disc 1, line recording: 

Introduction, Twist And Shout, She’s A Woman, I Feel Fine, Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Ticket To Ride, Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby, Can’t Buy Me Love, Baby’s In Black, Act Naturally, A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, I’m Down. 

Plus: King Curtis:  National Anthem, Intermezzo, Discotheque Dancers:  medley. King Curtis:  What I’d Say, The Branch, Soul Twist, Intermezzo.  Cannibal & The Headhunters:  Out Of Sight, Nau Ninny Nau, The Way You Do The Things You Do, Land Of 1000 Dances.  Brenda Holloway:  Shake/Satisfaction, I Can’t Help Myself, You Can Cry On My Shoulder, When I’m Gone

Disc 2: 

Sounds Incorporated:  Intermezzo, America, William Tell Overture, instrumental, In The Hall Of The Mountain Kings. 

Original 1966 BBC soundtrack: 

Introduction, Twist And Shout, I Feel Fine, Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Ticket To Ride, Act Naturally, Can’t Buy Me Love,  Baby’s In Black, A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, I’m Down. 

The Beatles Live At Shea described by erupting fans, part 1 and part 2

Anyway, just a quick glimpse of some superb documents of five Beatles live shows as they sounded at the time. These shows are a fun time capsule to the pop/rock world of The Beatles as the group’s story and performances grow ever more intriguing as the years go by.

Also, each of these two sets are comprised of groovy small hardbound books with lots of cool photos and liner notes as well as two discs each. Really each set is the final word on the Hollywood Bowl and Shea Stadium concerts with the added bonus of the Candlestick show to round things out making these two sets the perfect way to experience Beatlemania in all its glory.

As usual there are pictures above and below of these fantastic two sets.

Enjoy the Candlestick show if you find these discs or you find it online. It’s a gem of a show and well worth hearing The Beatles final bow as one of the most beloved and enduring acts of the 1960s. Fifty seven years is a long ago but even that amount of time has not diminished The Beatles contribution to pop culture.

Until next time be well and safe and see you soon!