Cast your mind back to October of 1973, those of you who are old enough to do so.

I was only seven years old at the time but I do remember a few things from that fall of ’73 –  trick or treating (which was a big thing for me at the time), grade school and Scholastic book orders (remember those?) and of course new music from The Partridge Family.

Even at the tender age of seven I watched “The Partridge Family” television show religiously and collected their records.

It just so happens that the last Partridge platter came out in October 1973, “Bulletin Board”, and much to my surprise it featured a more mature sound for the group. This last Partridge album had more in common with David Cassidy’s recent solo work which had Cassidy singing in a more soulful style.

(Note: By this time David Cassidy wasn’t getting along with producer Wes Ferrell who had produced all the Partridge recordings up until now. Respected background singer John Bahler supposedly produced and arranged the “Bulletin Board” album so that may account for the more adult approach that Cassidy preferred at the time.)

Songs like “Money, Money”, “Roller Coaster”, “Looking for a Good Time” and “Where Do We Go From Here” sounded more adult and less poppy than previous Partridge discs. There was also a little bit of added funk to the mix which was something new from the famous TV family.

Of course there were enough poppy songs on the album like “Oh, No, Not My Baby” and “How Long is Too Long” that the new style wasn’t a total shock but one could definitely feel things were different with the songs on this album

Truth be told sales for Partridge Family albums were rapidly falling as the television show was switched to Saturday nights opposite “All in the Family” in the fall of 1973 which caused the Partridges ratings to plummet.

Of course I received a copy of “Bulletin Board” that fall and at first I wasn’t too sure I liked this new sound but gradually the album became one of all-time my favorites and I rank it in my personal top five by the group. I think a lot of fans of the group still find the album less Partridge sounding and tend to not like it but I love this album and play it still to this day.

So why all this reminiscing now about a nearly fifty-year-old album? Well this week I happened to stumble on a promotional copy of the “Bulletin Board” and I must say it’s a beauty.

I often look for promotional copies of Partridge Family albums because they tend to be better pressings than regular stock copies and they sound much better as well.

(Note 2: Promotional copies were sent out to radio stations to gain airplay for the songs on the album. Promo copies were pressed in very limited quantities and since they were marked not for sale they are harder to track down. Plus promo copies tend to be beat up or marked up by radio stations so finding pristine ones can be tough.)

It’s fairly rare to find promo Partridges these days so I was more than thrilled to not only locate a promo copy of “Bulletin Board”, which isn’t even that common to find as a regular stock copy, but the fact that this copy looks like it has never been played is a wonderful bonus!

The other interesting thing about this copy of the album is that it comes with a terrific inner sleeve promoting of Bell Records releases including two other Partridge Family albums (“At Home with Their Greatest Hits” , “Crossword Puzzle”) as well as a solo David Cassidy album (“Rock Me Baby”).

I have never seen an inner sleeve like this and I own original copies of all the Partridge Family and David Cassidy Bell Records albums. Maybe it was just available with promo copies? Or maybe they were only on pressings from certain regions of the country? Interesting.

Anyway, because I rarely see promotional Partridge Family albums I thought it might be fun to show this gem off here. I know I’ve posted about the “Bulletin Board” previously on this blog but this groovy promo copy is too nice not to do a repeat post about it.

As usual take a gander above at photos of the album and inner sleeve.

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

Well what have we here, a new vinyl/CD release? Even better a new Micky Dolenz vinyl/CD release you say?

Speaking only for me that’s an incredibly good way to brighten up a somewhat dull and rainy week full of otherwise generally grim news. Between the tragic happenings going on in Russia and the still lingering Covid pandemic any new music release is the perfect way to sooth the soul.

Just two days ago I happened to have received the new Micky Dolenz mini-album “Dolenz Sings Nesmith – The E.P.” on the 7a Records label in the mail and after giving it a good listen and I must say I’m impressed.

What’s a mini-album you may ask? Well technically it’s a four song e.p. and not an album. An e.p., for those who don’t know or remember, is an old-school reference to the extended play 45 releases of long ago that usually consisted of four songs vs the normal two songs that comprised a 45 r.p.m. single release.

An e.p. is basically a bonus release and that’s exactly the right word for “Dolenz Sings Nesmith – The E.P.”

So why would Micky Dolenz release only a four-song e.p.?

Well the four songs on “Dolenz Sings Nesmith – The E.P.” are actually left over from last year’s superb Dolenz album “Dolenz Sings Nesmith”. I guess Dolenz and 7a Records, who released both the e.p. and the album, decided to hold these four songs back as they would probably have made “Dolenz Sings Nesmith” a tad too long and they must have felt it worked best as it was released.

Luckily for us Dolenz/Nesmith/Monkees fans the four new songs on this new e.p. not only meet but in one case may exceed what was on the “Dolenz Sings Nesmith” album.

(Note: “Dolenz Sings Nesmith – The E.P.” is available to purchase on CD as well as a lovely looking 10-inch blue vinyl pressing. I of course got both. My vinyl sounds great and may even sound a bit better than the CD. Both are great though and well worth having in either format.)

Song-by-song here’s my quick first impressions of this groovy new release:

“Soul-Writer’s Birthday” – what a treat to get an unreleased 1967 composition of a Mike Nesmith song that was never used for the Monkees or in his solo career.

I like the tune but I’ll have to give it a couple more listens to gain a lasting impression. I read online someone said it sounded like 1966 Monkees. To me it does remind me of the sixties but not the early ’66 Monkees.

The song sounds more to me like a cross between the song “She’s About a Mover” and oddly enough “Star Collector” from The Monkees fourth album “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.” A bit more rock and roll than the other songs on this e.p. but fun.

“Some of Shelly’s Blues” – this is a lovely take on one of Nesmith’s best tunes that Nesmith first recorded for the Monkees and again later for a solo album.

I swear the ghost of Peter Tork must have visited this session as the song is filled with what sounds like banjo to me. Whatever instrument it is it really adds a lot to the song and reminds me of a slower version of the banjo Tork played on the Monkees Nesmith song “You Told Me” from the “Headquarters” album.

Plus the pedal steel guitar solo just sounds so good on this track.

Truly a superb take on a terrific song. Too bad this one wasn’t on the album proper as it’s one of my favorite songs from the whole project.

“The Crippled Lion” – a slower almost mournful approach to this song which works really well. Micky sounds great and the orchestration really lends itself to this arrangement making it a little bit more melancholy than Nesmith’s earlier Monkees or solo version but truly lovely.

Another song that would have fit perfectly on the “Dolenz Sings Nesmith” album so I’m really glad it was finally released here.

“Grand Ennui” – while not quite new, this song was featured as a bonus track on the CD of last year’s “Dolenz Sings Nesmith” album, it’s still a terrific take on a terrific Nesmith song and makes its vinyl and digital debut with its release on this new e.p.

This song has a more blues feel to it with a rock punch as well. Very well done and I consider it a part of the album proper as it was on the CD I have of the album from last year. Great to hear it again here though.

So there you have it. Another superb batch of terrific Mike Nesmith covers by his bandmate and musical brother Micky Dolenz. It’s great to have these four wonderful bonus tracks and now that all the songs from the “Dolenz Sings Nesmith” sessions are out it’s time to ask where’s volume two?

There’s more than enough excellent songs from Mike Nesmith’s esteemed catalog to make a sequel that could stand up to this superb collection of well-performed and produced Nesmith gems.

I sure hope that Nesmith’s son Christian who produced the “Dolenz Sings Nesmith” sessions can get together with Micky Dolenz and comb through Nesmith’s catalog one more time as they’re efforts are stellar and well worth the time and energy to produce another album’s worth of goodies.

If you’re looking to buy this new “Dolenz Sings Nesmith – The E.P.” or even the full “Dolenz Sings Nesmith” album, the best place to track them down in physical form is through either Dolenz’ own Website https://mickydolenz.com/ or through http://www.deepdiscount.com.

(Note 2: You can also buy them through Amazon as well but Deep Discount usually has a better price and more stock on hand as all of 7a Records releases are made in England and imported to the United States.)

Also, if you order through Dolenz’ Website you can get a signed photo with your order if you so choose (see photo above) which is a nice treat for any Dolenz fan.

So whatever medium you choose be it a physical CD or vinyl or even a digital download or stream it’s well worth your time giving this new collection of songs a listen.

As usual take a gander above at both my vinyl and CD versions of “Dolenz Sings Nesmith – The E.P.” and until next time be well and stay safe!

See you soon.

 

 

NOTE: Today I’ve decided to update one of my earliest posts for this blog.

Shortly after starting this blog I happened upon one of my “holy grail” records, a mono copy of Simon & Garfunkel’s 1968 album “Bookends”. Not only is the “Bookends” album my favorite album by Simon & Garfunkel but it’s one of my all-time favorite albums by anyone.

To say I have been searching for a mono pressing of this album would be a major understatement as I have never seen another copy of it in over forty-five years of record collecting until I spotted it in a Midwest record store a few years ago.

The “Bookends” album was released at a time when mono pressings were being phased out so locating a mono copy of this album is darn near impossible!

The copy I bought and featured on this blog is in VG/VG condition but sounds great and after all this time of searching for it it is a true pleasure to own.

Since I originally posted here about my mono “Bookends”, I managed to track down the original poster that was issued with the album – it was missing from my copy. And for some reason my earlier posts lacked a lot of photos so I took a new series of photos of the album so anyone out there looking for one can see what it looks like so they can spot a mono pressing if they happen upon one in the wild so to speak.

I also added a self-made CD of this mono pressing as I don’t want to wear this copy out as I’m sure I’ll probably never locate another copy. By the way the copy I found is a stock copy. I’m guessing it’s much rarer than promotional mono pressings which I think come up more often though are still incredibly hard to find.

Anyway, enjoy this updated post and below is the original text from that long ago post about finding a mono pressing of “Bookends”:

“And here’s to you Mrs. Robinson …”

Good things come to those who wait – or so they say.

Last week, I was on vacation and in my usual round of record store hunting (sorry Doug! lol) I found a vinyl album that I have been searching for for over twenty – yes twenty – years. Okay, you have to be a record fan or you might have a bit of a queasy stomach about now.

BUT, I happened upon a mono pressing of Simon and Garfunkel’s best (in my opinion) album called “Bookends”. To say this album in mono is rare is a major understatement. It was released in April 1968 at a time when mono records were being phased out. Thank goodness this copy was under $40 as it tends to go for well over $150 to upwards of $300 if you can even locate a copy. This is the first copy I’ve found out in the wild as they say and not on ebay.

Okay, lesson time: In the 1960’s, pop music was available in either mono or stereo versions or mixes. Mono (one channel) had the sound dead center (all instruments and vocals coming out of the center if you listen on a two speaker stereo system) and stereo had two channels with the instruments and vocals spread out across the two speakers.

Modern stereo includes surround sound with sound coming out of your ears, under your seat and every direction known to man but in the 60’s it was either one or two channels.

Now, readers who aren’t music geeks – gee I’m wondering if you’re still even reading – need to know that most pop/rock music before 1968 was produced to be heard on tiny AM radios or small record players with tiny speakers and was predominately mixed in mono.

Mono generally is more in your face, louder and more shall I say it ballsy then stereo especially pre-1965 as stereo was a newer format and producers weren’t used to mixing in stereo. The mono mixes tended to sound more alive and cleaner and were meant to cut over the din of the tiny speakers people were using.

Anyway, back to “Bookends”, the mono mix of this landmark Simon and Garfunkel album is really quite lovely sounding. In fact any young readers out there (or anyone interested in vinyl frankly) should check out the first five Simon and Garfunkel albums which are available in mono – “Wednesday Morning 3 a.m.”, “Sounds of Silence”, “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme”, “The Graduate” (another really rare mono pressing) and “Bookends”.

The only way to get these albums in mono is to track down the original 60’s vinyl pressings and it’s well worth it. For some reason it’s rumored that Paul Simon won’t allow the Simon and Garfunkel mono versions to be reissued which is a shame if true.

Simon and Garfunkel in mono sound superb. They are punchier, the instruments – especially Paul Simon’s guitar work – really pop out at you as if you are in the recording studio with them. The stereo vinyl isn’t bad at all mind you. In fact the stereo mixes are great too it’s just that I have a preference for the mono mixes of these albums.

Another note, Columbia Records who own and release Simon and Garfunkel recordings had a practice in the 60’s and 70’s I’ve read in which they used the original master tapes (used to make the vinyl pressings) over and over again instead of making a dub thus wearing out the original tapes.

So if you want to hear Simon and Garfunkel closest to how the masters sounded when they were released, track down original stereo or mono pressings if you can find them in decent shape.

As for this pressing I just found last week, the cover is kind of worn but the vinyl is in nice shape thank goodness. The album is here in all it’s analog glory.

For those downloaders or streamers out there, you hear in analog and I think the reason some people are attracted to vinyl again is that the analog mixes are much easier on the ears and nervous system.

Instead of the one version available to download, each pressing of an album is unique and can sound different depending on the part of the country it was pressed in, the plant, the engineer, etc. It’s like a treasure hunt finding the best sounding version (okay, okay a tad obsessive I know but that’s what makes collecting fun!).

The mono mix which I first heard on a bootleg CD, which can probably be tracked down somewhere on YouTube, is really the way to hear this album. The opening song “Save the Life of My Child” sounds much more urgent and exciting and the female voices cry out as if from some pit of agony.

“A Hazy Shade of Winter” has much more bite and “Fakin’ It” has a more three dimensional sound if you can believe it and the English interlude has a much different feel than the stereo version. Every song has noticeable differences to their stereo counterparts with vocals and instruments popping up in different levels and places throughout the songs.

If you’re lucky enough to come across a mono copy of this album grab it! I’ve read the promo copy of this album in mono may be a tad more common than the stock mono copy which I bought. Though either would be a treasure in any record collection.

Well, that’s it for now kids. If you’ve made it this far, tune in next time (same Bat Channel, same Bat Blog) for some Rice Crispy records? No really, pass the milk …

Until then, check out some photos of this copy of “Bookends” above.