Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been to this corner of the Web, it’s been a busy month, but today I’m returning to share some information and photos of a recently published book that any true Beatles fan/vinyl nerd would want to add to their collection.
“Vinylology- The Beatles Solo – The Ultimate Guide to UK LP Pressings Variations 1968-2000” by Denis Shabes is a terrific book that takes a close look at The Beatles solo albums pressed in the UK up to the year 2000.
Published in October of 2020 by a small company called Apcor Publishing from Europe, “Vinylology- The Beatles Solo – The Ultimate Guide to UK LP Pressings Variations 1968-2000” is a treasure trove of information and photos of all the solo Beatles UK pressings.
Much like the books by Bruce Spizer that detail Beatles and solo Beatles pressings from the U.S., this 332-page glossy book is stuffed with pictures of covers, labels, inner sleeves and posters from all of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr’s solo albums released in the UK in the prime of their solo careers.
As any Beatles vinyl collector knows most of the UK pressings are considered the best sounding pressings out there so it’s nice to be able to have a guide that details first and later variations of the UK pressings.
I first discovered of this books existence a few weeks ago while watching a YouTube video by Andrew Milton of Parlogram Auctions. He was doing a video about George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” and held up the book while showing a couple of pages about the album. I had recently acquired a lovely UK vinyl pressing of “All Things Must Pass” and was curious to see if it was a first pressing or not so needless to say I was hooked.
(Note: my UK copy of “All Things Must Pass” is a later copy as it has the larger box made in the UK as first issues used U.S. pressed boxes which were smaller than later UK pressed ones. Lol, that’s the kind of detail I LOVE)
I looked the book up on the Web and even though you can only order it online and with shipping from Europe it was bit pricey (in the $90 range) I decided to take a chance and order it and I can honestly say I have no regrets.
Now I realize that this type of book only appeals to a small niche of collectors but if you’re a fan of The Beatles solo years I can’t imagine you’d be disappointed by the superb job Shabes has done detailing these UK pressings. It’s obvious from reading the book that he has done tremendous research on the UK solo Beatles pressings and the photos alone are worth the price of admission.
As you can see from my photos above the book is wonderfully laid out and easy to read. Plus the attention to every little nook and cranny from the curves of various inner sleeves to the smallest of label change between pressings is the stuff that collectors (some say obsessives) dream about and enjoy.
If you’re like me and had never heard of this book there’s a link below where you can see more about it and order a copy if you are so inclined. It seems that the pressing of “Vinylology- The Beatles Solo – The Ultimate Guide to UK LP Pressings Variations 1968-2000” is fairly limited but I’m sure if you have any interest you can still snag a copy. It’s a must buy if you collect UK pressings so if you do have at ordering this book!
Well that’s all for now. Just a quick update about this truly wonderful book. It’s all too rare to find a new Beatles book that has interesting information as everything about The Beatles has practically been said but this book is just terrific and of very high quality.
I hope you are safe and well and until next time listen to some music and see you soon!
Book – Vinylology
Records, CDs and Music: 