Records, CDs and Music:

Sometimes being a bit of a pack rat pays off.

You see about 45 years ago I was given a toy for my eighth birthday. This wasn’t just any toy mind you. It was a bus. A plastic bus.

So what’s the big deal about a plastic bus you say?

I’m glad you asked. Let me take you back a bit.

This would have been January 1974. At the time I was a huge fan of the television show “The Partridge Family”.

Like millions of other teen and pre-teen kids I religiously watched the show every Friday night, along with “The Brady Bunch” and “Nanny and the Professor” (there’s a real blast from the past – you never hear about that show anymore), and bought all their records.

My first blast of Partridge came in 1970 when my older brother Tom and I were shopping with my mother at L.S. Ayres.

I believe we were in their little record section (they had one in those days, a very nice one too). Tom spotted the single for “I Think I Love You” and asked my mom if she would buy it and lo and behold he and I both got a copy.

(Note: Unlike other 4-year-old’s I had a thing for records even at that tender age and probably badgered my mother until she got me one too lol.)

The single came in a groovy picture sleeve and of course I still have it though it’s a bit tattered these days but I do own a mint copy as well (see a previous blog post).

Anyway, from 1970 to 1974 I managed to get all of The Partridge Family’s albums (and played them to death) along with other Partridge paraphernalia like a lunch box, comic books and the like.

But back to the bus. I distinctly remember getting the plastic Partridge Family Bus on my eighth birthday. Seeing as how the bus is dated 1973 on the box my mother probably got it a few months earlier and held it for my birthday or it was still stores at the time.

I don’t remember asking for it so she must have spotted it in a toy shelf or ordered it from a catalog. I don’t ever remember seeing in a store myself so the catalog seems a more likely bet.

I’m sure most older Partridge fans never even seen the bus as it was obviously geared toward younger kids and it’s fairly rare these days.

And of course being the pack rat that I am I still own the bus and I think it’s still pretty fun to look at as the Partridge bus is a pretty iconic image to a lot of people my age (translation: older folks).

Take a gander above at my plastic Partridge Bus, I thought it might be fun to see all sides of the box as I still have it in nice shape and you rarely see photos of it anywhere.

(Note 2: The reason I have this in such good shape and in the box is that my mother was a depression era child and I remember her saying that she didn’t have many toys growing up so she wanted us to keep our toys in good shape and put them back in box so we appreciated being lucky enough to have them.)

So there you have it, a pretty fun blast from the past toy and for any Partridge fans out there a really fun oddity to enjoy.

Well, that’s all for now.

Until next time be well and of course … Come On, Get Happy!!!

Ahhh, the summer of 1969. I remember it well.

Okay, that’s a bit of a stretch.

I can honestly say I was alive in the summer of 1969 but as for remembering it well that’s where things get a little fuzzy.

I was three years old in the summer of 1969 and the only true memory I have from that summer is the fleeting vague memory of watching the moon landing late in the evening on an old black and white portable TV set with my family crowded together in a small bedroom.

But, memories not withstanding, this post today does indeed center on the summer of 1969 – well sort of.

You see Rhino Records has just released a series of vinyl reissues that they call the “Summer of ’69 – Peace, Love and Music” that centers on albums which feature music from that heady, long-ago summer.

I’m sure the “Summer of ’69 – Peace, Love and Music” reissues are really meant to tie into Rhino’s various Woodstock 50th Anniversary reissues on both vinyl and CD but they did decide to reissue some cool albums.

The one vinyl album of the dozen or so albums that Rhino Records is touting from the summer of 1969 that I decided to repurchase (again, my wallet groans) is one of my favorite albums by The Monkees, the soundtrack to their completely off-kilter movie “HEAD”.

(Note: this soundtrack was actually released in December 1968 but since I’m guessing most of its sales occurred in 1969 I guess Rhino’s pushing of this album as part of the summer of 1969 is somewhat valid and hey any excuse to reissue a Monkees album is fine by me!)

Now, I need another vinyl copy of the “HEAD” soundtrack like I need a hole in the head but since that’s never stopped me before here’s what I have to report on the newest vinyl reissue that hit indie record stores at the end of July.

First, the highlights this new vinyl reissue:

• It features the Colgems logo on the back cover (a small thing and odd to non-believers but for a Monkees freak like me it’s such a fun thing to see)
• The album is pressed on silver colored vinyl which looks just great and I do love me some colored vinyl!
• The album artwork is reproduced very clearly yet one point off for not using a mylar cover like the original but I get that the cost must have been prohibitive
• By far the coolest thing about this release is the reproduction of the original Colgems inner sleeve which is now a one sided insert with the word Colgems replaced by the word Rhino – again a small thing but oh so cool! I absolutely love that Rhino has done this, super nice touch!

Okay, now for the sound.

I played the entire record and can say that it sounds great and is an absolutely terrific pressing with hardly any pops or ticks and has a nice full and punchy sound.

This new vinyl reissue mimics the original pressing with the same mixes as the original pressing, as far as I can tell anyway, with the short version of the “Porpoise Song” without the extra minute or so coda of music like the 45 being the most glaring thing that stood out at me as Rhino has often used the longer stereo version on its reissues of this album.

Truth be told it sounds to me like this new pressing might have come from the transfer used for the 2010 “HEAD” CD box set. The sound is really quite good and with such a nice vinyl pressing this album really shines when listened to on a decent turntable as it isn’t overly loud yet nice and full and warm.

A nice addition to any Monkees collection for sure and if you’re a fan of vinyl and don’t have this album then it’s an especially nice way to add some great music to your turntable and/or collection.

Well, there you have it. Not a necessary purchase by any means but any Monkees fan or fanatic out there will, I’m sure, really enjoy this new vinyl reissue despite the fact that Rhino has reissued this particular album a couple of times previously in the past few years.

I’d have to listen to those other recent vinyl reissues to compare but from my memory this one stacks up well as I remember those sounding pretty good. I must say though that the reproduction of the Colgems inner sleeve really makes this new pressing a compulsory buy for any true Monkees fans (okay, I can’t really explain collectoritis but it’s real and if you’re affected by it then this make sense!)

Above I posted a few pictures of this groovy new pressing and as always feast your eyes (or hide them if you’re trying not to buy any more new vinyl) on this lovely new version.

Until  next time be well and … goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.

(Sorry,  I couldn’t resist. If you don’t get the reference then I’m sure this whole post must have seemed pretty tedious)

Welcome to August!

Even though it’s only the first week of August a lot of schools around where I live are either already in session or will be next week – probably the case for most of the U.S.

The “back-to-school” ads and displays in stores always take me back to my grade school years and no matter how many decades go by I still remember the early 1970’s and grade school and Saturday morning cartoons, etc.

Actually my grade school nostalgia got kicked into gear a couple of weeks ago while on vacation in Michigan with the purchase of, what else, a record that clearly reminds me of grade school and especially Saturday mornings.

As luck would have it I stumbled upon a fairly rare Monkees album from 1970/71 called “The Monkees’ Golden Hits” on Colgems Records.

“The Monkees’ Golden Hits” featured twelve Monkees tracks that were also made available as separate cardboard records that were attached to the outside back of various Post Cereal boxes (see one of my earlier blog posts which features several of the cardboard records I still own!).

After the cardboard records had been out a while Post Cereal decided to release a mail order regular vinyl album featuring all of the songs from the cardboard records which was only made available through mail order and not in retail stores.

Even though I was only 4 and 5 years old at the time I clearly remember cutting the records from the cereal boxes and walking through the store with my mother pointing out the cereal with The Monkees records so she was sure to buy those boxes. I even have vague memories of her filling out the form (also on the back of a cereal box) to order the full vinyl album.

I also have vague memories of playing that album to death and a much more vivid memory of my older sister being so irritated that I did that she took a pencil eraser and made several erase marks on the record so I wouldn’t be able to play it again! (Never mess with my sister when she’s mad – at least when she was a pre-teen).

Well fast forward a few decades and just a couple of weeks ago I found a really nice copy of “The Monkees’ Golden Hits” in a store in Michigan for the princely sum of $5!!!

Now the record is actually pretty rare and this is only the second time I’ve ever seen one for sale in a store. Funny enough the other time time was about 15 years ago in ANOTHER record store in Michigan lol. Michigan must love their Monkees.

Anyway the record is in great shape and I was flabbergasted when I played it that it sounded TERRIFIC! Colgems pressings are notoriously hit or miss for quality but this record just sounded superb. One of the best sounding original Monkees vinyl records I own.

The other mail order set I’m featuring tonight also comes from the 1970’s and was also only available through mail order.

Simply titled “The Monkees”, this set was released through RCA/Laurie House and featured 2 records filled with The Monkees hits and singles and album cuts.

I remember it must have been the summer of 1976 or 77, somewhere in the mid-’70’s, and we had a huge antenna on the roof of our house that sometimes barely picked up TV stations occasionally from either Chicago, Illinois or South Bend, Indiana which were both pretty far away.  (I believe I saw a Chicago station but it may have been South Bend, it’s too long ago to remember exactly).

Somehow I managed to track down a Monkees episode every now and again and even though I could barely see it at times, I clung to the TV for that half hour until the picture and sound came in good enough to enjoy.

(Note: The mid-’70’s was a barren desert for me as a Monkees fan as no channel locally played their TV show and there was no  place to track down Monkees records save for the lone release of “The Monkees Greatest Hits” on Arista in 1976. I didn’t drive obviously so I wasn’t aware of any used record stores.)

I remember seeing the commercial for the Laurie House 2 Lp set and after several attempts I got the mail order address for the set and low and behold 4-6 weeks later it magically appeared at my door.

I remember being floored as it had several Monkees songs I have never heard, at the time I didn’t own all of their original singles, so songs like “The Girl I Knew Somewhere”, “Someday Man” and “It’s Nice to Be With You” which came from their 45’s were revelations and I was thrilled to death to have some new (to  me anyway) Monkees music.

Luckily by 1976 I kept my records in good shape and this 2 Lp set is still in great condition and still sounds great.

As usual above you can take a glimpse at these two groovy Lp’s that are two of my favorite Monkees Lp’s I own.

And you can see above my original unplayable copy of “The Monkees’ Golden Hits” (with the eraser marks still visible) as well as my original cover which is still remarkably in quite good shape (the cover is in the last two photos). I don’t know how that happened but there you go.

I put the copy of “The Monkees’ Golden Hits” that I bought 15 years ago in my original cover as the cover for it was completely trashed but the record was near mint. Go figure.

The other fun tidbit – to me anyway – is that my original pressing of “The Monkees’ Golden Hits” and the one I found a couple of weeks ago are on thin but sturdy vinyl yet the one I bought 15 years ago, the near mint one, is a very, very thin Dynaflex type pressing.

Weirdly enough the near mint Dynaflex pressing doesn’t sound as good as the VG pressing I just bought a couple of weeks ago which has the occasional pop and click but sounds very full with nice bass and has remarkable sound which really surprised me. Interesting.

Well that’s all for memory lane today.

Until next time be well and look out Fall is coming!

Tonight I thought it might be fun to take a look at a great new Mike McGear CD reissue that came out recently in Europe on Cherry Red Records.

Who’s Mike McGear you may ask?  Well, have you heard of Paul McCartney? Mike McGear is Paul McCartney’s younger brother whose real name is Mike McCartney.

You didn’t know Paul McCartney even had a brother you say? Well now you do and he is also a performer (and photographer) and has released some really wonderful music.

Having chosen the stage name Mike McGear in the early 1960’s as a way of distinguishing himself from his massively famous older brother, Mike McCartney managed to release some very memorable music which is quite an achievement as Paul McCartney would be hard for anyone to live up to let alone try to compete with musically.

Mike McCartney is best known, musically speaking, for his Top Ten hits in the UK as a part of The Scaffold (“Thank U Very Much”, “Lily the Pink”, “Liverpool Lou”), a comedy group, as well as three terrific albums “McGough & McGear”, “Woman” and my personal favorite “McGear”.

In actual fact Paul McCartney has had quite a hand in his brother Mike’s music and the “McGear” album, originally released in 1974,  could really almost be considered a Wings album as Paul and Linda McCartney as well as Denny Laine and Jimmy McCulloch from Wings perform the music on the album with the main vocals by Mike McCartney.

“McGear” was also produced by Paul McCartney and he co-wrote most of the songs on the album as well.

I had long heard of this album but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I really looked it up and gave it a listen. Boy I’m glad I did as this is one EXCELLENT record.

Songs like “Leave It” (the sax on this really reminds me of John Lennon’s early solo work), “What Do We Really Know?”, “The Casket”, “Rainbow Lady” and the truly magnificent “The Man Who Found God on the Moon”  have such a wide range of musical textures that, like his older brother Paul’s best work, remain timeless and exquisitely melodic.

The album is also full of Mike McCartney’s Liverpudlian humor which adds the perfect, as he calls it in one of the DVD interviews, shading to the music that gives it the feel of his brother Paul yet with a quite distinctive lyrical approach that really makes the album a joy to listen to over and over again.

The 2 CD/DVD Cherry Red Records reissue comes in a lovely small box and contains the main “McGear” album remastered as well as a second CD of outtakes, singles and alternate versions plus a quite fun DVD that contains two humorous interviews with Mike McCartney.

The interviews on the DVD not only give the viewer a glimpse into the making of the record but they also give you a real sense of Liverpool in the ’50s and ’60s and a vivid sense of Liverpudlian humor, especially the off the wall humor of Mike McCartney which is a pleasure to watch and absorb.

The set also includes a great booklet and two insert posters filled with memorabilia of the era courtesy of Mike McCartney as well as three wonderful mini-lp covers to hold the CD/DVD discs.

I give this reissue a solid A+ as it’s how any important album should be reissued – great sound, great packaging and great content.

There is also a vinyl version of this reissue available as well and can be found on either Amazon or on Cherry Red Records Website (https://www.cherryred.co.uk/). The vinyl just contains the regular album with no bonus material or DVD.

As a somewhat newcomer to Mike McCartney’s work – and I’ll be honest it’s mainly because of Paul McCartney’s involvement that I even came to his work – I’ve become a fan of Mike McCartney’s pleasing voice but mostly I love his writing voice as I love his twist with words and his unique lyrical approach.

Of course the music and production are top notch on this album as well and Paul and Linda McCartney and Wings can be heard throughout the album which is full of Beatles and solo McCartney style touches throughout that lift the album to something very special indeed.

If you’ve never heard this material and are a fan of Paul McCartney’s music and want to hear something that totally sounds like him yet is unique because of Mike McCartney’s take on life then you owe it to yourself to track this album down.

It’s really a great listen and stands up well to Paul McCartney’s solo work of the same era and may be better than one of two of McCartney’s solo albums of the time.

As always take a gander at this lovely box set above and until next time be well and listen to some music … pronto!!!

Well, today has quite the Paul McCartney vibe doesn’t it? With the news that McCartney is writing the music for a new musical based on the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” and his recent CD/vinyl reissues and tour it seems if Paul McCartney is in the zeitgeist of the moment.

Well he is here in this blog as well as lately I’ve been on a Paul McCartney kick so I might as well keep the ball rolling. I thought I’d share some thoughts on some older Paul McCartney CD issues from the Land of the Rising  Sun – Japan.

These CD’s just happen to be SHM-CDs as well (to those readers of this blog – shocker I know). I’ve posted about SHM-CDs in the past – A LOT – but to quote the man himself “here I go again!”

Anyway, the three CD’s in question are Japanese SHM-CD issues on Hear Music of three McCartney albums from 1999 to 2005: “Run Devil Run”, “Driving Rain” and “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard”.

All of the above albums were originally released by Capitol Records but when McCartney signed with the Hear Music label in 2007 he also took his catalog of albums with him thus these CD reissues.

As a fan of the SHM-CD format, I have been seeking out as many of McCartney’s albums as I can find (and afford) and just recently came across these three CD reissues which are now out of print as McCartney has gone back to Capitol Records.

Of the three albums, one is what I consider one of McCartney’s best ever (“Chaos and Creation in the Backyard”) while the other two I’ve run (no pun intended) hot and cold on depending on my mood (“Run Devil Run” or “Driving Rain”). Actually these SHM-CD versions were a nice revelation as I hadn’t listened to the last two in a while and I  was pleasantly surprised.

There are quite a few really strong songs on both “Run Devil Run” and “Driving Rain”  that I had forgotten about including “She’s Given Up Talking”, “Driving Rain”, “Spinning on An Axis”, “Heather”, “Riding into Jaipur”, “Rinse the Raindrops”, “Run Devil Run”, “Try Not to Cry”, “What It Is”, “No Other Baby” and “I Got Stung”. All are excellent songs and performances and well worth revisiting.

I would still say that while both “Run Devil Run” and “Driving Rain” aren’t my most played McCartney albums they are better than I remembered them and both are very solid albums.

As usual these SHM-CD’s sound quite nice and have better sounding bass than their regular CD counterparts. The one drawback is that “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard” is mastered a bit too loud but this CD does sound nice and I prefer it to the regular edition.

I found these three SHM-CDs on sale, maybe they were clearing them out, so if you get the itch to investigate some of the Paul McCartney Hear Music SHM-CDs now may be the time.

As usual I’ve posted photos of the discs above. As physical media gets phased out it’s nice to have a record of what some of the variations of these discs looks like whether it be imported copies or various reissues.

Until next time be well and keep cool!!!

Now that the dust has settled a bit, I thought it might be a good time to take a closer look at three of the Paul McCartney albums that came out last Friday – CD reissues of “Amoeba Gig”, “Paul is Live” and “CHOBA B CCCP” specifically.

Last time I posted about two of the Paul McCartney colored vinyl reissues (“Wings Over America” and “Paul is Live”) released last week but now I’d like to take a look at some of their CD counterparts which were issued at the same time.

First off, I will say that all three are definitely improved sound wise. Done by the same team at Abbey Road Studios that handles all of McCartney’s Archive Collection releases, these CDs all have deeper bass, more clarity and better separation than previous issues.

My vote for most improved would have to go to the “Amoeba Gig” CD for sure. Not only does it now include all 21 songs McCartney and his band performed at the Amoeba record store in 2007 but all previous versions of this material were mastered extremely loud which, for me, made listening to this material fatiguing.

This new set has been remixed from scratch and it shows it. “Amoeba Gig”  now sounds so much better with nice, full deep bass and nice separation but not as loud. I did detect a few instances of slight autotune (“I’ll Follow the Sun”) which is unfortunate but not a deal breaker for me. I’d rather have that than a terribly loud disc which I won’t listen to at all.

“Amoeba Gig” is now one of my favorite later era McCartney live releases as it has a nice selection of songs and now sounds really nice – a very good gig that I didn’t take much notice of before but now will return to often.

The “Paul is Live”, like it’s vinyl cousin which I mentioned last week, sounds much less digital than the previous CD release with again has really nice bass and clarity but it also adds a warmth that was missing from previous versions of this album.

I particularly love the live versions of “Penny Lane” and “We Can Work it Out” on this disc which are two of my favorite live McCartney performances ever.

The “CHOBA B CCCP” disc also sounds really nice on and while an improvement it’s not quite as noticeable an improvement as the other two discs above. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really nice sounding disc and a welcome addition to any McCartney collection but the previous one sounded good too.

This time out all three come in somewhat bare bones packaging – fold out mini-lp style sleeves with two of them – “Paul is Live” and “CHOBA B CCCP”  – sporting poster pull-outs.

I was surprised that these three CDs were remastered and remixed but if this is the trend for further McCartney reissues than that’s fine by me. These all look and sound great and are easier on the wallet than super deluxe box set editions.

I will say that I hope the “London Town” and “Back to the Egg” albums get nice box set treatments as they are two of my favorite McCartney/Wings albums, but I would be fine with the rest of McCartney’s albums getting this style of reissue before the advent of the end of physical media.

Time will tell but these new CD reissues are a nice surprise and well worth taking the time to seek out if you’re a fan of Paul McCartney’s music.

As usual take a gander above at photos of these groovy new discs!

Until next time – be well and relax, it’s summertime!!!

What would be better on a hot July summer day? Sun tan lotion? Beach towels? New music? Music you say???

And what if that new music just happens to be new Paul McCartney music – even better! Though to be honest technically it’s not exactly new McCartney music, it’s a few older albums that have been spruced up, but I’ll take whatever I can get.

Now I know the days of folks being excited over physical media is rapidly declining (and truth be told I’m sure record companies are forcing that decline) but here in my corner of the Web I’m excited to see more McCartney discs of any kind!

Tomorrow four Paul McCartney albums are being reissued on both CD and vinyl by Capitol Records  – “Paul is Live”, “Amoeba Gig”, “CHOBA B CCCP“ and “Wings Over America”.

The good news for collectors is that these four new McCartney releases aren’t just straight reissues they are all remastered and one is even newly remixed!

“CHOBA B CCCP“  and “Paul is Live” (from 1988 and 1993 respectfully) are both being issued with new remastering from the team at Abbey Road studios that oversees Paul McCartney’s Archive Collection.

The “Amoeba Gig”  album which has been available in shorter versions before (“Amoeba’s Secret” which was a 4-song CD and vinyl EP from 2007 and later a 12-song version from 2010 entitled “Live in Los Angeles”) is being expanded to include all 21 songs from McCartney’s unorthodox but fun live show from the Amoeba record store in Los Angeles in 2007 and is being completely remixed for this new release as well.

And while the last of the four new album reissues (“Wings Over America” ) does indeed contain a lovely remastered version of this popular Wings’ Lp from their 1976 U.S. tour it actually came out a few years ago on a different record label (Hear Music) but is now being issued on Capitol Records where McCartney is currently signed.

(Okay, only three of these reissues are really new but “Wings Over America”  is getting a groovy new colored vinyl issue so that kind of counts as new in my book lol.)

There are, of course, several editions of the vinyl versions of these albums coming out. All four will be available on regular black vinyl as well as limited special colored vinyl editions available exclusively through McCartney’s Website or at indie record retailers.

I happened to get my hands on a couple of the colored vinyl reissues a day early – “Wings Over America” and “Paul is Live” – so I thought I’d share some thoughts (and photos) of them here.

The “Wings Over America” 3-Lp colored vinyl set comes in three colors (transparent red, transparent green and transparent blue) while “Paul is Live” comes in two – opaque baby blue and plush peach white opaque.

(Note: Yeah I know, the colors names are a bit precious but that’s the way they are listed on McCartney’s Website!)

I’ve listened to both of these new sets and am happy to report that both sound superb and both sets feature nice quite vinyl with few pops and ticks. At least my copies do anyway.

The “Wings Over America” set sounds identical to the recent Hear Music release that came out as part of McCartney’s Archive Collection so it’s no surprise that this Lp set sounds good. This is the first vinyl reissue of this album I’ve bought as I only purchased the CD versions of the Hear Music release and this new pressing sounds just great.

The bass is nice and tight and punchy and this new set has much more presence than my older Capitol pressing from the late 1970’s. A definite upgrade for this album in the vinyl format.

I also love the colors of the 3 Lp’s in this set and must say that the cover and poster reproductions are terrific as well.

I was also pleased to see the promotional blurb on the side of the poster with the drawing of Wings in this set. I’m not sure if it was part of the original UK issue but there was no writing like that on my original U.S. copy. It’s a nice change and looks really nice (to me at least).

As for the “Paul is Live” album this new mastering sounds terrific! While I’ve always enjoyed this live album I thought that the previous CD version sounded a bit clinical at times and my memory tells me that it was a bit too digital at times as well making the album sound a bit dull.

This new Lp sounds so much better than I remember the album sounding before. The bass especially is nice and tight and more pronounced but the vocals also show an improvement and listening to his set was much more engaging than I remember the album sounding before.

After playing the first album in the set I really wanted to hear more which is always a good sign. I love the song selection for “Paul is Live” and now this set sounds much more exciting.

Maybe it’s the vinyl format (I’ll get the CD soon and compare) but this new set hands wins hands down over the older CD from 1993. I can’t wait to hear how the new CD version sounds in comparison.

Also McCartney’s voice was still in pretty good shape in 1993 and his live vocals are really nice – a bit raw at times but not nearly as worn as they are now at times.

If you’re a vinyl fan then these new colored vinyl albums should be on your shopping list as they are really well done and a great listen. Okay that is if you still buy your music.

Plus, I know that a lot of fans feel these colored vinyl limited editions are strictly cash grabs and while I can see their point they are well done and if you like to collect vinyl then you’ll be happy I’m sure.

As usual take a gander above to see photos of these two new sets.

Until next time, be well and keep cool!

Ahhhh “The Beatles 1”.

It’s not only one of the biggest selling CD’s of all time – with over 31 million copies sold so far around the world – it’s also, as of 2015, a fantastic collection of Beatles promo videos and live performances.

The original “Beatles 1” CD which came out in 2000 contained 27 number one hits that the Fab Four achieved in Britain and the U.S. The collection has been reissued on CD in 2011 in remastered from (taken from the 2009 Beatles remasters) and most recently in this new 2015 collection.

As a major Beatles fan I enjoyed the “1” CD but just the hits is never enough “Fab” for me so I rarely played it. So when word came the Giles Martin, son of original Beatles producer George Martin, was remixing all the hits on “1” and that a video compilation was going to be bundled with it I was overjoyed.

(Note: I prefer the 2011 remastered CD version of this album which sounds much better to me as I like the mastering better so that’s the one I play if I want to hear the album with the original mixes.)

A lot of Beatles video archive material came out with the Beatles Anthology project in 1995 but there was never a compilation of full length Beatles videos or live performances so this collection was a very welcome addition to The Beatles canon as far as I was concerned.

And of course Apple, The Beatles company, didn’t disappoint as the new “Beatles 1” collection contained beautifully restored  video material including Beatles promos like “Strawberry Fields Forever”, “Penny Lane” both in glorious color as well as terrific black and white live performances like “From Me to You” (from their 1963 Royal Command Performance for the Queen), “She Loves You” (live from the Swedish TV Show “Drop-In”) and various promos they made in 1965 for broadcast around the world.

And as usual there were several versions of the new “Beatles 1” set with the mother load being called “The Beatles 1+” which contained a second DVD of Beatles performances including the reunion singles form 1995 “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love” which contain remixed versions of those songs by the songs producer Jeff Lynne which are truly great and need to be released on audio disc!

The Japanese DVD and Blu-Rays play in U.S. players and look fabulous.

Readers of this blog will know how much I enjoy SHM-CD’s so I thought it might be fun to take a look at two of the SHM-CD sets available in Japan as you don’t see their content much on the Web so here you are!

I really enjoy the remix Giles Martin did for the “1” audio disc and of course the SHM-CD version sounds best to me with a bit more clarity than the standard CD version.

The “1+” collection is a must-buy for any Beatles fan as it’s just a fun watch and listen and i doubt that you’d ever get these videos to look much better. The Blu-Ray is the best looking version but the DVD isn’t too far behind as it looks great as well.

If you’re not into import versions the standard U.S. versions of this collection have the same content and are well worth tracking down in these dying days of physical media.

I believe most of these videos are up on YouTube as well (or somewhere on the Web) but above you can fest you eyes on the truly lovely sets from Japan that both also contain nice informative booklets as well.

I really hope that the  Beatles Anthology collection gets a nice upgrade as well but who knows now that record companies are starting to shy away from physical product. Time will tell.

Well that’s it for now. TGIF wherever you are in the world today.

Until next time be well and enjoy this first day of summer!

John Lennon would be 79 years old this coming October – ouch!

That means that it’s been almost forty years since the release of his final album with Yoko Ono entitled “Double Fantasy”. FORTY YEARS … incredible.

Anyway, as I’ve said before time has a way of sneaking up on you so today I thought I’d take a look back at the Lennon’s final album together and reminisce a bit about the era.

The reason I’ve decided to trip down memory lane back to 1980 and the “Double Fantasy” album in particular was because of an interesting (and sad) article that came out in the New York Times last week called “The Day the Music Burned”.

“The Day the Music Burned” details a fire in the backlot of Universal Studios in 2008 that burned quite a lot of priceless film and video archive material as well as supposedly over 500,000 master tapes of some of the biggest recording stars of the 20th Century including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, The Carpenters, Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana and Yoko Ono. Yoko Ono?

You see John Lennon and Yoko Ono were signed to Geffen Records in 1980 and apparently a lot of Geffen Records masters were destroyed. Did that include tapes from the “Double Fantasy” sessions?

No one is absolutely sure as a lot of the material stored at Universal was haphazardly cataloged and whether John Lennon masters or multi-tracks were there wasn’t mentioned. It may just be Ono’s solo work that was included in the fire but probably only Universal or Ono know for sure.

In any case I’m guessing Yoko Ono may have them stored safely herself somewhere but it got me thinking about the “Double Fantasy” album nonetheless and it started my mind wandering back in time.

I was 14 years in the Fall of 1980 when the “Double Fantasy” album was released. I remember it well. The first single from the album, “(Just Like) Starting Over”, had been released a few weeks prior the album’s November release so I was anxiously awaiting getting my hands on the full record.

I didn’t really get into The Beatles or the solo Beatles work until around 1975 so I had never experienced the release of a new Lennon album in real time until the release of “Double Fantasy”.

I vividly remember trying to scour the radio for my first listen of “(Just Like) Starting Over” in early October when it was released and finally stumbling upon it late at night in my parents bed as they had a radio on the nightstand that I listened to before I went to my own bed to sleep.

My first listen of “(Just Like) Starting Over” struck me as just okay but the song grew on me until I feel in love with it in the weeks leading up to “Double Fantasy’s” release.

I managed to get the “Double Fantasy” album on its release day as my neighbor’s mother worked at a local mall and bought it for me that day and I paid her for the album when she got home from work.

Playing the album I was pleasantly surprised that I really loved all of John Lennon’s songs especially “Watching the Wheels” and “I’m Losing You”. Ono’s songs not so much at least at first. I grew to like them but in the CD age I usually program around them I must admit though in all honestly they’re not that bad.

It’s an understatement to say the the events of December 8, 1980, when Lennon was gunned down by an obsessed fan, are burned into my memory forever tainting my feelings for “Double Fantasy” as a more melancholy experience than my initial joy at hearing new Lennon material.

Some things become a total time capsule of a period and “Double Fantasy” is now imprinted in my mind as a reminder of the Fall of 1980 as well as the death of John Lennon.

So this brings me to today’s post which highlights three CD versions of the “Double Fantasy” album that I happen to own: a 1994 MFSL gold CD, a Japanese CD of the 2000 remaster with bonus tracks and the most recent CD a SHM-CD also from Japan from 2014.

Really, none of these CDs sounds bad at all. If I had to choose I’d definitely say the best sounding version is the 1994 Gold MFSL CD. It’s smooth and clear with nice bass and has a pleasant analog sound that really is a joy from start to finish.

The 2000 remastered CD sounds fine but a tad bit loud. I do enjoy the bonus tracks though. The Ono song “Walking on Thin Ice” is especially chilling and poignant as it was the song John Lennon was working on the night he was killed.

I happened upon this 2000 Japanese version of the remastered CD and was drawn to the huge, beautiful box that it comes in so naturally I had to buy it. I love the look of this set, the artwork is done so well it really reminds me of the first vinyl issue of the album. It just takes me back.

The SHM-CD from 2014 is the most recent CD release of this album and it sounds quite good. Again a bit loud but good. I prefer the 1994 gold CD but this version is nice and the SHM-CD has really nice bass so this version is definitely a fun listen.

As usual you can take a gander above and see photos of these three CDs.

These Lennon songs on“Double Fantasy” are some of my favorite of his solo catalog and while they may not be as cutting as the songs on his first solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, they hold more memories for me and that wins this album a special place in my heart.

I hope that the multi-tracks for these sessions still exist as I would love to hear a complete“Double Fantasy” sessions box like the recent “Imagine” box set because Lennon was in a more playful state of mind at these sessions and practically all the banter as well as songs from these sessions were recorded on tape.

Well, that’s it for 1980 for now.

Until next time, take care and be well!

The Monkees were a fake band and couldn’t play their instruments.

I’ve heard it time and time again from so-called “serious” rock fans. More so before The Monkees mid-’80’s revival but it’s still out there in the ether so to speak.

Okay, let’s take a look at these statements.

One, The Monkees weren’t a real band:

Technically the answer is yes and no. “The Monkees” was conceived as a television show about a struggling rock group that wanted fame and fortune in the mid-1960’s, the height  of The Beatles reign in the pop music world.

The four Monkees – Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith – were cast like any other TV show to play this fictitious group.

BUT – and here’s where it gets sticky- the four cast members DID play together as a self-contained group on record and on stage. They each played an instrument – Peter Tork in fact was proficient on several instruments – and each performed quite competently both in the studio and on the concert stage.

Does that make them a real group?

(Note: The Monkees performed musically on their third and fourth albums, that is they actually played as a self contained group, which is something most Motown acts and many of the popular groups of the day didn’t do as they relied totally on studio musicians. Hmmm, seems like a REAL group to me.)

The TV producers always planned on releasing recordings from the show but little did they know that the popularity of the recordings would dwarf the popularity of the TV show. The records sold like hot cakes creating a true phenomena for the “group” as they became one of the biggest recording acts of the 1960’s.

And The Monkees as a stage act have outlasted the TV show by 51 years so does that make them a group?

Yes, in my mind The Monkees was/is more a group than a TV show but they are indeed both which it what makes their story so intriguing.

Anyway, the gist of this post today is to highlight what I consider the pinnacle of The Monkees as both a recording and a live act – two box sets called “Headquarters Sessions” and “Summer 1967 – The Complete U.S. Concert Recordings“.

Both of these sets were released through Rhino Records Handmade imprint and only made available online.

“Headquarters Sessions” was released in 2000 and limited to 4500 copies and “Summer 1967 – The Complete U.S. Concert Recordings” was released in 2001 and limited to 3500 copies.

As a fan and collector of The Monkees music these two CD sets represent the holy grail as far as Monkees recordings go as a self-contained group. These seven CD’s contain all the energetic, garage band glory of The Monkees as a real group.

No studio musicians, no slick production, just real honest to goodness fun rock and roll music played with spirit and energy and sounding damn fine if you ask me.

The “Headquarters Sessions” set contains most of the sessions for the album that still exist on tape and contains several unreleased songs in embryonic form as well as mono and stereo mixes for both released and unreleased songs from the album as well as the single that was released right before the album came out.

Granted there are a lot of instrumentals as there are several backing tracks without vocals but as a fan this set is just glorious. It shows the group, yes at this moment they became a true group, as talented performers and songwriters and excellent singers.

The “Summer 1967 – The Complete U.S. Concert Recordings” is even more raw and consists of four complete concerts from the end of their 1967 U.S. tour. Three of the concerts are in stereo while the first show is a mono soundboard test to see how the group would sound recorded live.

Again, four shows may seem like overkill but it is so fun to hear the raw energetic real Monkees sound before a frenetic  audience screaming their heads off.

It’s amazing to me how good the group sounds live (with NO overdubs) as Dolenz had only been playing drums for about a year when these recordings were made which just shows how musically adapt he was and how well the group took to performing live.

It could have been a disaster having the group play live but instead it ended up being a raw and exciting garage band thrashing out an hour long set of terrific pop music. What is more counter-culture than that, taking a popular TV show and turning it into something authentic and raw and not just playing it safe.

Rhino Records also released a groovy red colored short Lp called “Selections from The Headquarters Sessions” in 2012 which was limited to 2500 copies. This is the only vinyl appearance so far of some of these sessions and is still easy to locate online.

Both of the CD sets are now tough to find in physical form but I believe you can hear them on various streaming platforms. If you’ve never heard these releases try and track them down online, you may be pleasantly surprised at how good The Monkees sound as a bonafide group!

As usual take a gander above at the physical sets and if you’ve never seen them you can see the love that went into making them as they are both terrific looking and sounding sets.

Until next time be well and remember …

“We were born to love one another
This is something we all need
We were born to love one another
We must be what we’re goin’ to be
And what we have to be is free” – Peter Tork/Joey Richards recorded by The Monkees 1967