Tag: music

The Return of “The Beatles Anthology” – “Beatles Anthology 2025” is an Amazing Upgrade in Both Picture and Sound

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Let’s just say that for Beatles fans Christmas had indeed come early.

This past November, a mere couple of weeks ago in fact, The Beatles 1995 documentary “The Beatles Anthology” received a splendid upgrade in not only the picture and sound of the documentary itself but the accompanying CD sets of “Anthology 1, 2 and 3” (as well as a brand new “Anthology 4” 2 CD set) 
have also been upgraded and are truly gift to behold.

For anyone who remembers the then hotly anticipated Beatles Anthology documentary and CDs, the Beatles Anthology was not only a well-received project critically but it was also a blockbuster hit commercially.

The Beatles Anthology project spawned three Billboard Top 200 Number 1 albums (the Anthology 1, 2 and 3 2CD sets) that sold in the multi-millions which included the first two new Beatles songs in twenty five years (“Free As a Bird” from “Anthology 1” and “Real Love” from“Anthology 2”) as well as the hugely rated three part TV special of the documentary which was eventually expanded into a multi-hour DVD set that was also a best-seller.

Now, thirty years later, the whole Beatles Anthology project (both video and the accompanying audio CD sets) have been majorly upgraded on the video side by famed director Peter Jackson and on the audio side by original Beatles producer George Martin’s son Giles who is now the overseer of The Beatles audio catalog.

It’s apparent that the remaining Beatles and their company Apple, who release all things Beatles, are aiming to once again expand the audience for The Beatles with this sparking new Anthology project and I’m sure they hope to invite people into The Beatles story with the best looking and sounding Beatles Anthology that the technology of 2025 will allow.

As is the norm for the 2020’s there is a LOT of negativity about how this new The Beatles Anthology has turned out. There are of course a lot of older fans who are enraged at the things that have been changed in the video documentary and not impressed enough by the audio upgrade that they are simply trying to write the entire Anthology 2025 as a cash grab that serves no purpose other then making a buck.

I majorly disagree.

For starters I find both CD sets and the Anthology documentary a joy to listen to and watch and find the upgrades so well done that I personally will lean toward the 2025 versions as definitive.

Let me go case by case.

The Video Documentary:

Wow, what a massive upgrade. I find all nine hours of the new 2025 version of Anthology just glorious to watch. Yes, it’s not perfect. Things have been trimmed from the 2003 expanded addition but new things have been added as well and most of the video is simply stunning to look at – at least all the footage taken from a film source.

There was some funky AI enhancing done to some of the video footage that can smooth out the faces a bit much but overall 90 percent of the video is in my opinion a major upgrade – it’s mostly superb.

Now I don’t subscribe to Disney+ which is the only place you can stream the new 2025 Beatles Anthology so I thought it might be a while for me to judge the video upgrade of the new series myself.

Since this is the 21st century though there are other sources out there, and amazingly fast I must say, where one can find the new 2025 Anthology other than steaming.

I myself have come across a magnificent Blu-ray three-disc set of the entire series that has the same quality of picture as the Disney+ showing, I did see about an hour of it as a friend’s house, and in lovely 5.1 surround sound.

Unfortunately there’s no Atmos mix on this Blu-ray set but it’s a small price to pay to be able to enjoy the entire nine-hour series in this quality in a physical format. I doubt that the series will make it to a physical format as Apple chose Disney as the place to stream it and they don’t want physical formats anymore.

That’s not to say that after the Disney+ contract ends The Beatles couldn’t change their mind and issue it on DVD and Blu-ray I’m just not counting on it.

Don’t ask me where you can find the new 2025 Anthology but I will say that it is out there on the Internet in both DVD and Blu-ray – all you have to do is look.

The Audio CDs:

This is what I hear most fans complain about. A lot of fans don’t think the audio has been upgraded enough for them to buy this material again. Fair enough, to each his own, but the vitriol I hear aimed at both Giles Martin and Apple Records and The Beatles about how they are just cynically making a cash grab with this new Anthology project is just nuts.

Sure they want to make money, it’s a BUSINESS, but there was a lot of work put into the end product and I for one think the audio sounds great.

Take Anthology 1 for instance. Disc one of this set has the oldest and most dodgy sounding recordings from The Beatles pre-EMI years and even I have tended to skip most of disc one whenever I listen to this set.

I have to say though there has been a major upgrade to not only the acetate of “That’ll Be the Day” and “In Spite of All the Danger” (they both sound like new recordings to me) but the live stuff, especially the 1963 tracks live from Swedish radio which now explode from the speakers, is so much more listenable and fun that I want to play disc one again which is a major improvement to me.

And the cream on top of all the new Anthology CDs is the brand new Anthology 4 2CD set that has thirteen newly released outtakes that are a joy to listen to and enjoy. Are these early takes of “Tell Me Why”, “I Need You” and “If I Fell” for example revelations – no. Are they great to hear – yes!

I love how these early stripped down takes basically show how The Beatles would sound live in 1964/65 if they could be heard from the din of the screaming crowds that mare most of their live recordings. If new live songs were discovered fans would be losing their minds I’m not sure why the sound of The Beatles in an almost live fashion in great audio quality is a let down but it sure works for me.

Conclusion:

Anyway, I won’t go into what was cut and what was added to the new video of Anthology all I can say is that this presentation has the right pacing, the right sound and such a superb picture that it stands as the definitive version of The Beatles Anthology, and that goes for the CDs as well, that all I can say is … wow.

Above and below you can see photos of the new Beatles Anthology Collection 8 CD set as well as the Blu-ray of the 2025 Disney+ documentary that also includes screen shots of some of the video content.

As usual be safe and well and have a great Holiday Season if I don’t post before Christmas.

See you soon and have a Merry Crimble Beatle People!

Below is a comparison of the DVD from 2003 vs the new 2025 Blu-ray of the 2025 Beatles Anthology – the DVD is on the left and the Blu-Ray is on the right.

Take a Look: John Lennon “Power to the People” Deluxe 2 CD Plus Mojo Magazine and Free Sampler CD

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John Lennon 1972.

When I first became a Beatles fan and was getting into their solo catalogs, John Lennon’s music from 1972 was a scary thing. Of course I was raised a pop music fan and was an avid follower of all things Top Forty so discovering the height of Lennon’s political side really didn’t register with me very well – not a shock really.

I was just thirteen years old the first time I heard his 1972 double album “Sometime in New York City” (in 1979) and after one play I let it sit unloved in my collection for many years. Occasionally  I would try it again but after a couple of songs would take it off and back it went on the shelf.

Fast forward to 1986 and the release of the live album entitled appropriately enough “Live in New York City” and my views of this period in Lennon’s recorded output began to soften.

The “Live in New York City” album came from Lennon’s One to One concerts held at Madison Square Garden on August 30, 1972. These concerts featured a selection of songs from the “Sometime in New York City” as well as some of his solo hits at the time and one lone Beatles track “Come Together”.

The sound of Lennon’s last full concert appearances after The Beatles was rough and ragged and fitted the material he and Yoko Ono were doing in 1972 and was full of the political side of John Lennon which was equally rough and ready.

I enjoyed the concert but the sound of his backing band, Elephant’s Memory, just seemed too rough and sloppy and though it was great to hear Lennon live I still wasn’t a huge fan of this time period in his career.

Fast forward again to the present, this past couple of weeks in fact, and the release of the newly remixed and reimagined “Power to the People” 2 CD deluxe set which features both the afternoon and evening shows from Lennon’s One to One concerts from 1972 and this time the snow has finally melted from my view of this era.

First off I have to say that I do love the sound of this newly remixed show – a lot. Lennon’s sounds great, especially on the afternoon show, and this new remix takes the ragged edges off the his vocals and majorly beefs up the backing from Elephant’s Memory with superb thundering bass as well as a clarity and punch that was sorely missing form the 1986 version of this show.

I also really appreciate Lennon’s political views much more than any other time in my life. This year has such an overwhelmingly vile political climate that hearing Lennon singing so passionately about his political point of view brings me a bit of hope in equally troubled times.

Actually the timing of this reissue is the perfect antidote to the times we live in as if Lennon himself was sending a postcard from the great beyond saying don’t give up, keep up the fight, which is something I wouldn’t have felt so strongly all those years ago hearing this same material.

Here’s my couple of sticking points though about this release.

First off, which has been discussed ad nauseam other places, is the admission of the song “Woman is the Nigger of the World” which was the highlight of not only the “Sometime in New York City” album but the One to One concerts as well.

Sean Lennon, John Lennon’s son with Yoko Ono, has come out and said the omission was due to lawyers fearing it would endanger not only John Lennon’s commercial viability in this current media landscape but his reputation as well.

I mean I get where Sean Lennon is coming from but still taking off this song is such a direct assault on Lennon and Ono’s work at the time that removing it causes all sorts of red flags that conjure up censorship that it makes me uncomfortable.

I still think Sean Lennon did an admirable job of cleaning up the sound of not only the One to One concerts but the studio material form the “Sometime in New York City” material as well that even though this release is flawed it doesn’t take away the enjoyment of the material that is there.

The other thing that’s concerning to me is the slight tuning of Lennon’s voice through use of modern technology. It does work on the one hand as it makes the concert material sound more inviting but on the other hand it’s not the historic presentation of the material that I guess I was hoping to see.

Having thought about it for a bit this second concern doesn’t bother me as much knowing how doctored live albums from the 60’s and 70’s could be so using today’s technology to achieve the same goals as artists back then isn’t quite as off putting as I do think both the One to One concerts are such a pleasure to hear now that I can readily live with the choices made to clean the sound up.

I guess since John Lennon himself didn’t approve of this approach is what put me off initially but having heard Sean Lennon’s perspective on compiling his father’s work it’s obvious he cares deeply for his parents music and is Lennon’s blood so if he sees fit to make these changes in good conscience I can relax and enjoy the sound myself without feeling that it’s not done without thought and consideration.

Now I’ve only bought the 2 CD set of the One to One concerts. There is a massive 9 CD, 3 Blu-ray package with a lovely hardback book that was issued of this material as well which does include a modern remix of most of the songs from the infamous “Sometime in New York City” album as well as fine selection of demos and live material from the era that looks superb and I’m sure is a fine addition to any Lennon fans collection.

At the moment the price of the huge box is not within my budget but if I see it at a discounted price in the future I may jump on it as I’d love to add it to my collection.

Until that time however there is a terrific sampler CD from the huge box set available exclusively with the December issue of the British Mojo magazine.

Coming in at just over 46 minutes, the Mojo sampler not only gives you five songs from the One to One shows but you also get my favorite two songs from the “Sometime in New York City” album, “New York City” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, in superb remixed and improved sound but you also get the song “Attica State” as an evolution documentary (eight fascinating minutes from demo to studio workout) as well as a home jam of the song “Send Me Some Lovin'”.

I must say that these new remixes from the “Sometime in New York City” are so well done and make these songs breath new life that they are my favorite remixes Sean Lennon has done of his father’s work so far.

Even though the remix of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” is fairly radical by removing a lot of the sax from the original mix in my opinion it really works and makes this track so much more powerful and is a joy to hear.

So overall of the material that I’ve bought from this 1972 period in Lennon’s journey I must say this is probably the most successful remixing of Lennon’s solo material I’ve heard minus the two flaws I mentioned above and it really enhances my enjoyment of this time period in Lennon’s work.

Maybe in time I’ll get my hands on the larger set of this material but if you’re a Lennon fan and don’t have the budget or inclination to spring for the large box set the 2 CD version would be a good choice but even better the Mojo sampler would be the way to go to hear a nice sampling of this material.

I will say that since Mojo Magazine may not be easy to locate in your area, you can order it direct (https://www.mojo4music.com/magazine/latest-issues/) from them and don’t worry about any extra cost due to tariffs the cost online is what I paid and it came without any issues with added expense from tariffs.

As usual take a gander above and below at these two new wonderful Lennon CDs (and magazine) and until next time be well and happy and …

See you soon!

Monkeemania in Doll Form – Hasbro’s Show Biz Babies and Mattel’s Talking Hand Puppet

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Today I thought I’d do a different sort of blog post than my norm.

Instead of highlighting a record or some sort of great vinyl find, I thought it might be fun to take a look through the way back machine once again and showcase some groovy Monkees dolls that I own. Yes, you heard right dolls.

You see back in late 1966/1967 The Monkees were not only a hit on television with their ground-breaking show “The Monkees” they were also, and some say more importantly, an absolute sensation as a recording act.

In the short span of a year and a half from August 1966 to December 1967 the group not only managed to have five million selling Top Ten US hits (“Last Train to Clarksville”, “I’m a Believer”, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You”, “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and “Daydream Believer”) but they also managed to have four number one multi-million selling albums (“The Monkees”, “More of the Monkees”, “Headquarters” and “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.”) that also stayed an astonishing 37 weeks at the number one position between the four of them.

Even in the heady days of Beatlemania and the mid-sixties British invasion of the American airwaves sales like that were quite an impressive feat.

Of course with that level of fame and popularity naturally there followed a boatload of memorabilia featuring The Monkees image and likeness including bubble gum cards, plastic guitars, board games, comic books, Halloween costumes and yes my friends dolls.

There were two types of dolls featuring The Monkees released in 1966/67.

Probably the most famous and most memorable doll was the four-headed hand puppet made by Mattel that not only featured fairly accurate doll heads of each Monkee (see photos above) but this particular doll was a talking hand puppet.

This somewhat weird looking but fun doll featured the actual voices of the group saying short phrases that were supposed to conjure up some typical Monkee humor that would have been featured on their television show.

(Note: Below I have actually recorded five of the phrases from my puppet which is still working. It’s not he best quality and there seems to be a skip on the disc inside but if you’ve never heard these snippets they’re a lot of fun. I wonder where these were recorded and if the tapes for the puppet still exist? I’m guessing a hard no but you never know!)

The other dolls to come out were a part of a series of musical groups that were featured in doll form called Show Biz Babies by Hasbro. I believe The Mamas and The Papas, Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits, Bobbie Gentry and Spencer Davis were among some of the other dolls made available.

All the Show Biz Babies were sold on a backing card that contained a real life photo on the back and a plastic record tucked inside that I think featured information about the person that the doll represented.

I managed to track down all four Monkees Show Biz Babies (no easy feat) several years ago and all of them have their backing cards as well as their plastic floppy records though Mike’s record looks a bit sun warped unfortunately.

(Note 2: I’ve never actually played these records. I should try someday (floppy records are a pain, ahhhh)  and if I do I’ll record what they contain and post it here.)

I actually think these dolls are pretty cool looking and love the packaging as well as it just screams the 1960s and totally takes me back to my childhood.

I was too young at the time they were released (I had never heard of Show Biz Babies until about twenty-five years ago) so even though I never owned them as a child they are super fun and I would love to find some of the other Show Biz Babies that were made but they are really hard to find.

I did however get the talking hand puppet as a gift as a very young child and amazingly it has survived all these long years and still manages to talk which is really amazing to me as I remember beating this thing around a lot as a toddler.

Strike that, I was told by a family member the talking box in my Monkee puppet was repaired along with my sister’s Chatty Katy doll. Maybe the skip comes from when the box was broken. I have no memory of the repair but at least you can still here most of the phrases – I think lol.

Anyway, take a gander at the photos above, If you’ve never seen or heard of these dolls they are a lot of fun and if you locate one of the puppets that still talks then you’re in for a treat. Now that I think of it, these really are a part of The Monkees recording history – long stretch as it is. So it’s not that weird a post here after all LOL.

Take a listen below and you’ll hear what they sound like; these are the ones I could get to play at least:

Mike song
Micky drums
Mike and Micky building
Micky Barrel Full of People
Davy and Peter Monkee

Well, that’s all for now. 

I hope you are healthy and well and I’ll be back soon.

Until then see you soon and Happy Fall Y’all!

Here and Gone: “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.” Super Deluxe Edition – The Monkees Fourth Album Finally Gets the Deluxe Treatment It Deserves

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Well, this is a first for this blog.

Not only am I going to discuss a reissue that I only own (currently) in download form but the fact is I can’t actually give you a release date for the physical set as I’m not really sure.

It all started last Friday when I discovered, much to my delight, that the Super Deluxe Edition of The Monkees fourth album “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.” was showing up unannounced all over the Internet on various streaming and download sites.

Crazy as it sounds it looks like Rhino Records, who own The Monkees catalog, must have jumped the gun releasing the audio of their upcoming Super Deluxe set of the “Pisces” album as it was only available to stream or buy for a few hours then poof it was gone.

The online chatter was ecstatic but confused. Would this set be available in physical form like all the other Monkees Super Deluxe sets? Would this seriously be a download only set?

The set had been online for several hours when I heard about it so I thought I would investigate further.

I didn’t really want to stream the set as if this was only going to be a stream or download situation I would definitely download the whole thing then take my time to give it a good listen.

Funny enough, I saw that the download of the set (over five hours long in fact!) was available on Amazon so I decided to just look and see how expensive the download would be just in case. Of course my Internet connection was a bit lagging as I clicked the purchase options and I couldn’t see if it said buy now or if the price would just pop up so I could see how much they would charge for it.

After a minute or two I clicked away from Amazon thinking I’ll go back later when to my surprise an email popped into my Gmail on my phone saying I had purchased the set as a download!

Since I rarely buy downloads and I own it in this format I thought I may as well give it a good listen and then buy the physical set later if it became available. It’s perfect for the listening in the car so that’s what I’ve been doing.

Just a couple of hours later one by one the “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.” set disappeared from each and every online site it was posted to so in the end I was glad I accidentally bought it as I’ve had over a week of enjoying the music.

About a day or so after the leak Rhino Records posted the photo above which says 10-02-2025 which is either the pre-order or release date for the set I’m not sure.

I’m all in for the physical copy when I can buy it on Monkees.com where it will be available and I’m guessing that’s the only place you’ll be able to order the physical set like the previous Monkees Super Deluxe boxes.

So today I thought I’d share a few thoughts on the music contained in the set from the download I purchased last Friday. Below I have listed the contents of the entire set so you can see what songs will be on it when it does become available to buy or stream.

(Note: To my knowledge none of the other Monkees Super Deluxe sets have been released to streaming so this is an unusual situation for Rhino to make it more widely available – interesting)

I have to say that after listening to this set for the past week I am floored buy how good it sounds and by how much of the session material Andrew Sandoval, the man who compiled and produced the set for Rhino Records, included in the box.

Both the stereo and mono original mixes of the album from 1967 sound terrific and the new 2025 remixes of the material found on this set really show how good this album was recorded and how much these new remixes bring a fresh presentation to the songs revealing instruments and vocals that weren’t noticeable or were buried in the original mixes.

Of course the highlights of this set for me are the outtakes and session material.

My favorites so far:

The Door Into Summer (Alternate Version) –  The highlight of the set for me. I loved this stripped down early version found here and look forward to reading more about it when the liner notes of the physical set become available. You can hear Micky’s vocal contribution more prominently in this version and while not superior to the finished version it’s still great and fun listen.

Basically all of disc three and four are just a thrill for me. I LOVE all the backing tracks and demos and TV versions included in the set as they really give you a feel for how this record was made. Yes there is repetition in the material but I love all the alternate takes and mixes and to me this is the reason to do a Super Deluxe set like this as this set mainly appeals to hardcore fans of which I happily am.

(Note 2: Apple please take note, this is how I wish The Beatles album sets were put together!)

I particularly love the vocal sessions for “Words”, “Riu Chu” and “Don’t Call on Me”. For the most part of all the group members Micky sounds so young and unfiltered in these sessions which is a real peek inside to how he was around friends in unguarded moments and that’s a real treat to hear. 

Not everyone will enjoy these session glimpses but for me it’s pure gold. 

Overall the “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.” album is my favorite Monkees record and to hear all of this material in such good sound quality is just a joy to behold.

As of this writing the link to buy the physical set isn’t up yet but I’m counting the days to get the groovy box set full of photos and essays and mini Lp covers and a 45 – I can’t wait.

That’s all for now. Just a quick glimpse into the upcoming release of the Super Deluxe “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.” 4 CD set. 

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

Disc 1:

1. Salesman (2:37)
2. She Hangs Out (2:58)
3. The Door Into Summer (2:50)
4. Love is Only Sleeping (2:31)
5. Cuddly Toy (2:39)
6. Words (2:52)
7. Hard to Believe (2:36)
8. What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round? (3:09)
9. Peter Percival Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky (0:27)
10. Pleasant Valley Sunday (3:16)
11. Daily Nightly (2:33)
12. Don’t Call On Me (2:52)
13. Star Collector (4:26)
14. Special Announcement (0:37)
15. Goin’ Down (4:23)
16. Salesman (2025 Remix) (3:04)
17. She Hangs Out (2025 Remix) (3:28)
18. The Door Into Summer (Alternate Version) (3:23)
19. Love is Only Sleeping (2025 Alternate Mix) (2:40)
20. Cuddly Toy (2025 Remix) (2:41)
21. Words (2025 Remix) (2:56)
22. Hard to Believe (2025 Remix) (2:40)
23. What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round? (2025 Alternate Mix) (3:21)
24. Pleasant Valley Sunday (2025 Remix) (3:15)
25. Daily Nightly (2025 Remix) (2:36)
26. Don’t Call On Me (Version 2) (2:57)
27. Star Collector (Alternate 1967 Mix) (4:51)
28. Riu Chiu (Alternate Version) (1:10)

Disc 2:

1. Salesman (Mono) (2:28)
2. She Hangs Out (Mono) (3:08)
3. The Door Into Summer (Mono) (2:52)
4. Love is Only Sleeping (Mono) (2:33)
5. Cuddly Toy (Mono) (2:39)
6. Words (Mono) (2:52)
7. Hard to Believe (Mono) (2:36)
8. What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round? (Mono) (3:09)
9. Peter Percival Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky (Mono) (0:27)
10. Pleasant Valley Sunday (Mono) (3:10)
11. Daily Nightly (Mono) (2:32)
12. Don’t Call On Me (Mono) (2:54)
13. Star Collector (Mono) (4:27)
14. Special Announcement (Mono) (0:37)
15. Salesman (Alternate Mono Mix) (2:35)
16. Cuddly Toy (Alternate Mono Mix) (3:02)
17. Don’t Call On Me (Alternate Mono Mix) (2:59)
18. Goin’ Down (Alternate Mono Mix) (4:23)
19. Star Collector (Alternate Mono Mix) (4:51)
20. The Door Into Summer (Alternate Vocal) (2:53)
21. Daily Nightly (Alternate Mono Mix) (2:29)
22. Goin’ Down (Full TV Mix) (4:50)
23. Love is Only Sleeping (Alternate Mono Mix) (2:35)
24. The Door Into Summer (Alternate Mono Mix) (2:54)
25. Goin’ Down (Mono Single Mix) (4:00)
26. Star Collector (Alternate Mono Mix 2) (5:09)

Disc 3:
1. The Story of Rock and Roll (Version Three Backing Track) (3:50)
2. I Don’t Know Yet (Backing Track) (2:38)
3. Cuddly Toy (Backing Track) (2:38)
4. Come On In (Version One Backing Track) (2:22)
5. Come On In (Version Two Backing Track) (2:25)
6. The Door Into Summer (Early Version Backing Track) (3:22)
7. Pleasant Valley Sunday (Backing Track) (3:28)
8. Words (Backing Track) (3:05)
9. Daydream Believer (Backing Track) (3:32)
10. Salesman (Backing Track with Backing Vocals) (3:14)
11. Jam #1 (Backing Track) (1:48)
12. Words (Vocal Session) (8:22)
13. Daily Nightly (Backing Track) (2:32)
14. Love is Only Sleeping (Backing Track with Percussion and Backing Vocals) (2:39)
15. What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round? (Backing Track) (3:19)
16. Don’t Call On Me (Backing Track) (2:27)
17. She Hangs Out (Backing Track) (3:28)
18. Goin’ Down (Backing Track) (4:52)
19. Yours Until Tomorrow (Backing Track) (3:39)
20. The Door Into Summer (Alternate Version Backing Track) (3:33)
21. Can You Dig It “Tentatively” (Instrumental Acoustic Demo) (3:00)
22. Tear the Top Right Off My Head (Instrumental Acoustic Demo) (2:08)
23. Untitled (Instrumental Acoustic Demo) (1:56)
24. A Man Without a Dream (Instrumental Acoustic Demo) (4:16)

Disc 4:
1. Pleasant Valley Sunday (2025 Alternate Vocal Remix) (3:09)
2. Words (Backing Track with Backing Vocals) (3:05)
3. Star Collector (Alternate Mix) (5:07)
4. Jam #2 (Backing Track) (2:12)
5. She Hangs Out (Alternate Mix) (3:28)
6. Daydream Believer (2025 Remix) (3:32)
7. A Man Without a Dream (Instrumental Piano Demo) (3:39)
8. Hard to Believe (Backing Track) (2:42)
9. Cuddly Toy (TV Mix) (2:36)
10. Love is Only Sleeping (TV Mix) (2:28)
11. Goin’ Down (TV Version) (3:58)
12. Star Collector (TV Mix) (2:44)
13. What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round? (TV Mix) (3:13)
14. Daydream Believer (TV Mix) (2:43)
15. She Hangs Out (TV Mix) (2:43)
16. Riu Chiu (TV Version) (1:33)
17. Salesman (2025 Remix with Sales Rap) (3:06)
18. Riu Chiu (Alternate Version 2) (1:36)
19. Daily Nightly (Alternate Mix) (2:30)
20. Riu Chu (Session) (4:53)
21. Riu Chiu (Alternate Take) (1:43)
22. Don’t Call On Me (Chatter Session) (9:33)
23. Special Announcement (Session) (2:26)
24. Star Collector (Alternate 1967 Stereo Mix) (4:56)

Haunted By the Past – The Beatles Anthology Returns

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Believe it or not this November will mark thirty years since The Beatles issued their critically acclaimed multi-media “Anthology” documentary series. Thirty years! It hardly seems possible.

Not only was “The Beatles Anthology” a multi-part video documentary, it also spawned three double CD sets, all of which hit the number one spot of the Billboard Hot 200, as well as a lovely coffee table book that expanded on the interviews in the documentary.

Originally conceived shortly after the group’s break-up in 1970, with the working title of The Long and Winding Road, The Beatles Anthology was the result of many years of searching for and compiling all the pertinent video and audio from the bands history as a group.

This huge mass of archival footage and music was pieced together with interview footage from the three surviving Beatles, as well as archival interview video and audio from John Lennon, to form The Beatles Anthology which is the band’s final and only official version of what happened to them in their journey as a group called The Beatles.

At the time the series was released in 1995 it was the beginning of The Beatles opening up their vaults in a major way as the group finally began to embrace its own legendary past.

Previously the “Live at the BBC” album, which was released 1994, was the only comprehensive set of unreleased music that had managed to come out as a fully-sanctioned new Beatles release since their break-up in 1970 so this new video and audio documentary was quite the revelation.

Of course the way “The Beatles Anthology” ultimately turned out was also due in large part to all of the high quality bootlegs of unreleased Beatles music that had been flooding the underground market since around 1988 which gave a much wanted glimpse into how The Beatles worked in the studio carefully crafting their recorded output.

And if that wasn’t enough also included among all the archival material were two brand new Beatles songs, the first new Beatles songs since 1970 – “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love”. 

In January 1994, Paul McCartney was given unreleased demos of songs John Lennon made at home in the ’70s. Amongst those songs The Beatles picked three – “Free As a Bird” ,“Real Love” and “Now and Then” – to embellish by adding new vocals and backing tracks and dropping Lennon’s voice and piano into the mix thus creating the first new Beatles songs in over twenty-five years.

Of course both “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love” were big hits both reaching the upper regions of the charts worldwide while “Now and Then” had a much longer gestation finally being released in 2023 and hitting the top of the British charts and placing in the Top Ten in the US.

Now here we are in 2025 and The Beatles Anthology is coming out once again this time with a special anniversary edition in both video and audio.

The Disney Channel will exclusively stream the 2025 video series that has been upgraded in picture and sound by renowned director Peter Jackson starting this November on the 21st – thirty years to the week the original Anthology premiered on US television.

Now totally nine episodes, including an extra episode featuring new footage of the surviving Beatles working on the music during the making of the original Anthology series from the 1990s, this new 2025 version of The Beatles Anthology is something that I’m personally looking forward to seeing. 

The brief clip of some of the restored footage looks very enticing so I’m hoping that the much needed buffing up of all the magnificent footage that encompassed the original Anthology documentary is well worth the wait.

There will also be a new box set of the music from The Beatles Anthology that will comprise the original three double CDs (and triple vinyl packages) as well as a new Anthology 4 set that will include 13 previously unreleased studio outtakes and outtakes that previously appeared on the special deluxe sets of Beatles albums that have been released since the 2017 “Sgt. Pepper” box set.

This new version of the Anthology audio sets has been remastered by Giles Martin and both “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love” have both been remixed by original producer Jeff Lynne and feature much clearer vocals from John  Lennon. 

I’ve the new mix of “Free As a Bird” and I must say I really like it. Lennon’s voice is so much more prominent that it seems as if he’s singing with Paul McCartney and George Harrison as opposed to his voice sounding like it was floating in the mix below them as in the original 1995 mix.

I love that the original mixes of both “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love” will still be available as part of the Anthology 1 and Anthology 2 sets in the new box set as well as the new mixes which will appear on the new Anthology 4 set.

Now there has been a lot of bad buzz from fans online to this new set which is a little baffling to me. Most fans don’t seem to want the remastered Anthology 1, 2 and 3 sets as a group as they mainly want the new Anthology 4 which contains the 13 previously unissued outtakes which can only be purchased as part of the new Anthology collection.

I mean I get that for sure but I personally have wanted a remastered complete set of all the Anthology albums so I’m stoked to have the complete collection.

As for Disney+ I’m a little bit more concerned that they’re streaming the new series as they tend to not want to release their content in physical form. To me The Beatles Anthology is the one set by the group that I’d rather have in physical form than streaming as all of the older clips and interviews are a terrific watch and I do go back to them often.

I’d prefer a Blu-ray set of the new series but will be happy to at least see how Peter Jackson has transformed the look of the footage and hopefully I won’t be disappointed. I’m guessing it will look fabulous but time will tell.

I’ve included photos above of the terrific Beatles Anthology Director’s Cut bootleg DVD set that features a rough cut of the series with different interview footage and different edits that is really fun to compare to the finished version.

In an ideal world this would make a wonderful bonus addition to any physical release of The Beatles Anthology but I’m sure that that would never happen.

As it is I’m excited to see and hear this new revamped Beatles Anthology 2025 and will report what I think of the makeovers when they are released this Fall.

Until then enjoy the photos above and be well and see you soon.

List of songs on the new Anthology 4 set (from thebeatles.com):

Anthology 4

CD Disc One:

  1. I Saw Her Standing There (Take 2)
  2. Money (That’s What I Want) (RM7 undubbed)
  3. This Boy (Takes 12 and 13)
  4. Tell Me Why (Takes 4 and 5)
  5. If I Fell (Take 11)
  6. Matchbox (Take 1)
  7. Every Little Thing (Takes 6 and 7)
  8. I Need You (Take 1)
  9. I’ve Just Seen A Face (Take 3)
  10. In My Life (Take 1)
  11. Nowhere Man (First version – Take 2)
  12. Got To Get You Into My Life (Second version – unnumbered mix)
  13. Love You To (Take 7)
  14. Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 26)
  15. She’s Leaving Home (Take 1 – instrumental)
  16. Baby, You’re A Rich Man (Takes 11 and 12)
  17. All You Need Is Love (Rehearsal for BBC broadcast)
  18. The Fool On The Hill (Take 5 – Instrumental)
  19. I Am The Walrus (Take 19 – strings, brass, clarinet overdub)

CD Disc Two:

  1. Hey Bulldog (Take 4 – instrumental)
  2. Good Night (Take 10 with a guitar part from Take 5)
  3. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Third Version – Take 27)
  4. (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care (Studio jam)
  5. Helter Skelter (Second version – Take 17)
  6. I Will (Take 29)
  7. Can You Take Me Back? (Take 1)
  8. Julia (Two rehearsals)
  9. Get Back (Take 8)
  10. Octopus’s Garden (Rehearsal)
  11. Don’t Let Me Down (First rooftop performance)
  12. You Never Give Me Your Money (Take 36)
  13. Here Comes The Sun (Take 9)
  14. Something (Take 39 – instrumental – strings only)
  15. Free As A Bird (2025 mix)
  16. Real Love (2025 mix)
  17. Now And Then

Happy Birthday Sir Paul! – Paul McCartney’s Columbia Records Output Part 2: Reissue Vinyl

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Happy Birthday Sir Paul!

Eighty-three years ago today, Paul McCartney came into the world in Liverpool, England and to celebrate I thought it might be fun to take a look at my copies of his Columbia Records output on vinyl.

Several blogs ago I took a look at his CBS CD’s that I own but recently I’ve stumbled upon a few really cheap pressings of his CBS vinyl so I thought it was time to share what I found and what I own from McCartney’s short tenure on the Columbia label – specifically reissues of his Apple/Capitol albums and not new recordings.

For me, sharing McCartney’s recorded output is the best way to celebrate his life so what better way than on his birthday to delve into his Columbia Records pressings and post some photos here as you rarely see them online.

For those who don’t know, Paul McCartney was signed to Columbia Records exclusively for the North American market from 1979 to 1984.

Not only did he release new albums on Columbia (“Back to the Egg”, “McCartney II”, “The McCartney Interview” (not a studio album, it contained interviews), “Tug of War”, “Pipes of Peace” and “Give My Regards to Broad Street”) he also released his eight of his albums that originally came out on Apple/Capitol Records from 1970 to 1977.

The Apple/Capitol albums he reissued on Columbia include: “McCartney”, “Ram”, “Wild Life”, “Red Rose Speedway”, “Band on the Run”, “Venus and Mars”, “Wings at the Speed of Sound” and the triple Lp set “Wings Over America”.

The initial Columbia issues of McCartney’s Apple/Capitol albums that had goodies like booklets and posters and special labels (“Red Rose Speedway”, “Band on the Run”, “Venus and Mars” and “Wings at the Speed of Sound”) were issued exactly as the originals but were then replaced a couple of years later with copies with just the basic red Columbia label and no frills.

One exception is the “Wings Over America” triple album that was reissued in 1984 shortly before McCartney went back to Capitol in North America and it was issued just like the original issue but without the poster.

I own Columbia issues of the “Venus and Mars” album both with the posters and stickers and the issue with the same fold out cover but no extras (see photos below).

I believe the Columbia reissues of McCartney’s Apple/Capitol albums first started appearing around 1980/81 and continued until that last Columbia reissue of the “Wings Over America” album in 1984.

I have to say that while it’s not common to find the Columbia albums they aren’t too terribly hard to find out in the wild except for maybe the “Wings Over America” set which I’ve only seen once and bought.

Weirdly enough I’ve just recently come across two different Columbia pressings of the “Wild Life” album (one a promo copy and one a pressing from Canada) so the Columbia pressings do turn up unexpectedly from time to time. They must have sold relatively well especially “Band on the Run” and “Venus and Mars” which are the ones I see the most.

One thing I can say for sure is that these Columbia pressings of McCartney’s albums sound very good, and in some cases, excellent. I found the Columbia pressings of “Band on the Run” and “Ram” to sound the best of the Columbia issues but the others aren’t far behind.

All of the Columbia pressings I own are in excellent shape with quiet vinyl and are a joy to listen to compared to some of my Apple/Capitol pressings which are a bit more worn.

Well, that’s all for now. There are a ton of photos above and below of my Columbia pressings so feast your eyes if you’ve never seen them.

Again, Happy Birthday Sir Paul and may you have many more!

Until next time be happy, healthy and well and see you soon.

Tonight at 7:30 on NBC-TV: “Monkees in the Shrink” and “Mismatched Monkees” Brought to You By Kellogg’s

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I’m back and not as long a wait as last time!

Today I thought I’d take a look at some fun Monkee finds that I’ve happened to find in the last five months or so throughout my antique travels. It’s been a fruitful time for Monkees scores for me so I hope that the rest of 2025 keeps up the pace.

But before I go full tilt into today’s post I just have to give some background on my lifelong search for Monkees records.

As I’ve said before, back in the dark ages – from 1972 to say oh 1985 – it was a hard task finding used Monkees records at least in my neck of the woods. In that long ago era The Monkees were seen as so uncool and disposable that there just wasn’t much of a demand for their used records I guess.

At least I rarely found them and if I did it was at garage sales and you usually found the first three albums and they almost always looked as if they’d been used as frisbees – barely playable that’s for sure.

Fast forward a few decades or so and I have to say that I am so surprised to find plenty of used Monkees albums and many of them still in the shrink – and often fairly cheap!

Case in point – this blog post.

Of course I’ve also found some really offbeat mismatched records too and those have been fun as well.

So let’s get started.

I named this blog as if they were two lost Monkees episodes from the 1960s – “Monkees in the Shrink” and “Mismatched Monkees” – just for a bit of fun.

“Monkees in the Shrink”:

This first section is in honor of all the groovy Colgems Monkees albums I’ve found lately still with their shrink wrap intact. Some still have price tags (I love it when they still have the price!) and two of them looked as if they had never been played at all and if they were it was very light as there are no spindle marks on their labels at all.

So what did I find? Here’s the list:

“The Monkees” in both mono and stereo both RE pressings, “More of the Monkees” stereo RE pressing with the later Colgems label on the rear panel, “Headquarters” stereo first pressing, “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones, Ltd.” stereo first pressing and a first stereo pressing of The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees”.

The crazy thing is I paid under $10 for all of them except for “More of the Monkees” which was $20, a fair price considering it’s about as near mint as you can get.

The other thing that amazed me was just how good most of these records sound. Two of them – “More of the Monkees” and “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones, Ltd.” – are the two best sounding stereo pressings of these albums I own and I own quite a few.

Both of them are in pristine shape but neither of them had any sibilance issues that plague many Colgems pressings and the copy of “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones, Ltd.” in particular is what I would call a hot pressing as it just jumps out the speakers with a force and clarity that my other issues of this album lack.

If there are any Monkeefiles out there check the matrix numbers on any used copies of this album you find and if you see these (Side 1 – UZRS-9729 6S, Side 2 – UZRS-9730 6S) grab it because it’s one majorly dynamic pressing.

That’s not to say the other pressings don’t sound great, they do (well, okay this copy of The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees is a little worn and has some sibilance issues) it’s just those two I just mentioned sounded so outstanding it really surprised me.

“Mismatched Monkees”

Now here is the section of some odd finds. To top the list I found the cover for the 1969 album “Present” but inside it had both discs for the 1971 Colgems compilation Barrel Full of Monkees.

Luckily both discs were in VG shape and played amazingly well. This pressing is one of the early 70s flexi type thin vinyl issues but I was surprised at just how good they sounded. It was a little dirty but after a good cleaning it played just fine and with much more bass and detail then I was expecting.

And the best part it was in the dollar bin so that made it too hard to resist so I bought it.

In that same store I also found a somewhat dirty copy of the 1968 single “D. W. Washburn/It’s Nice to Be with You” with the “D. W. Washburn” label on both sides. Very cool oddity and again after a good cleaning this 45 sounds amazing. I am impressed that Colgems 45s in most cases play great even if they look terrible.

Another cheap find at that same store was a stereo copy of “The Monkees” stuck inside a really lovely mono cover. It was only $2 so I thought I’d get it just for the cover as the record looked a bit loved but again after cleaning the album it sounded so good that I decided to keep it.

(Btw, this stereo copy of “The Monkees” has a matrix that ends in 10S for Side 1 and 5S for Side 2 – for any Monkee nerds out there)

Of course I may need some therapy as I own several copies of this album but what the hey, right?

Well, that’s my latest Monkees finds for today. As usual you can see plenty of photos of these gems above and below and I also listed the matrix numbers below in case anyone was curious.

Until next time be healthy and well and happy spring and happy record hunting if you’re so inclined!

Matrix guide for the albums above:

Barrel Full of Monkees:
Side 1 – ZZRS-6425 3S
Side 4 – ZZRS-6426 3S
Side 2 – ZZRS-6427 4S
Side 3 – ZZRS-6428 3S

Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones, Ltd (Stereo):
Side 1 – UZRS-9729 6S
Side 2 – UZRS-9730 6S

The Monkees (Mono RE):
Side 1 – TZRM-4687 9S
Side 2 – TZRM-4688 15S

The Monkees (Stereo RE):
Side 1 – TZRS-4689 2S
Side 2 – TZRS-4690 5S

More of the Monkees (Stereo RE):
Side 1 – TZRS-8693 20S
Side 2 – TZRS-8694 12S

Headquarters (Stereo):
Side 1 – UZRS-8397 12S
Side 2 – UZRS-8398 12S

The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees (Stereo):
Side 1 – WZRS-3519 5S
Side 2 – WZRS-3520 5S

A Pile of Partridge 2025 – Come on, Get Happy!

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Well I’m back after a long absence of a couple months or so. Since it was winter and dreary I really wasn’t in the mood to do much so I took a bit of an extended break.

Luckily in the last three weeks or so I’ve had a chance to search antique and record stores far and wide and have found three particularly wonderful finds.

It just so happens that they all are fairly rare Partridge Family finds, two of which I never found in the wild, and all three in lovely minty condition!

Here’s what I found:

* “The World of The Partridge Family” – this is probably the rarest of The Partridge Family albums. It’s a two record set released in 1974 at the end of the television series. Not only did it look unplayed but was in the shrink wrap with a hype sticker!

* “The Partridge Family At Home with Their Greatest Hits” – this particular pressing I didn’t even know existed. I searched online after I found it and was surprised to learn that Arista records must have released this in the ’80s sometime. Another stone mint record that actually sounds better than the Bell Records pressing from 1972.

* “The Partridge Family Album” – this is a pressing of their first album from the UK. I have another copy of this UK pressing but it’s fairly beat up so I was glad to find that this one doesn’t look like it’s ever been played, truly near mint condition.

How do they sound you ask?

Well I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that all three of these albums sound superb. The biggest surprise of all of them was “The World of The Partridge Family” which is probably the best sounding Partridge Family vinyl I own.

Not only was the two-disc set mint but this pressing is truly wonderful with super quiet vinyl (a rarity for Bell Records from the 1970s I assure you) and very dynamic with a lot of bass and a clarity that isn’t present on most Partridge Family Bell Records pressings.

Original Partridge Family albums are notoriously hit or miss sound wise but this set just shines and may be my favorite sounding Partridge Family album – truly superb from start to finish and a nice song selection to boot.

The Arista pressing of “The Partridge Family At Home with Their Greatest Hits” was also surprising as it bests the original 1972 pressing though it’s not quite as dynamic sounding as “The World of The Partridge Family”. Lovely to have and another great listen. Odd to see the Arista label on a Partridge Family vinyl release but nice.

I guess the biggest surprise was how great the UK pressing of “The Partridge Family Album” sounds! UK pressings of Partridge Family albums were most likely made from a tape a generation away from the ones that made their first US pressings but this particular first UK pressing is dynamic sounding with a lot of nice bass and a truly wonderful quality pressing that was silent and very warm sounding. 

I have to say of all the pressings I own of this album this may be my favorite. I have other UK pressings of Partridge Family albums that don’t sound nearly this good.

The other wonderful thing about these albums is that all three of them were each under $5. Yes, you heard right, $15 for the three of them!!! I found them at an obscure antique mall that weirdly enough had a lot of foreign pressings and oddities.

I’m guessing that most people don’t think that Partridge Family albums have much value but “The World of The Partridge Family”  is especially tough to locate and on top of that near impossible to find still with the shrink wrap with a hype sticker and in near mint condition. This album didn’t particularly sell well at the time so they aren’t as plentiful as their regular albums which are fairly easy to locate.

And again I never even knew the Arista pressing of “The Partridge Family At Home with Their Greatest Hits” even existed so I was ecstatic to find it. I’m guessing this was reissued sometime in the 1980s but I don’t know the exact date or how long it was available. I have never seen one before but online I do see that it is out there but I’m guessing it’s fairly rare.

I can honestly say that all three of these albums are probably my favorite Partridge Family find ever while antiquing. Cheap, rare and wonderful – which is the best way to find them.

A great way to start 2025, collecting wise at least.

Well that’s all for now. I have a few other finds I’m going to be posting shortly so I just wanted to add this to the list of truly wonderful record discoveries found in some out of the way and obscure places.

Until next time I hope everything is well in your world and hopefully we’ll all be able to survive 2025 intact LOL.

See you soon!

 

At Last: A True Mono Pressing of “The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees” (From Venezuela) Has Landed!

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

As for me I have to say this year has turned out to be one of my best years so far for vinyl purchases and it’s only 16 days old!

Today I received a package containing a Venezuelan pressing of The Monkees fifth album “The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees” and to top it off this particular pressing is in MONO! True, glorious mono!!!

If you read this blog at all you’ll know that the true mono mix of “The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees” album on vinyl is supremely rare and very difficult to find. The true mono mix was of course first issued in the United States but there were several other countries that also released this particular mix.

(Note: Countries that issued the true mono mix of “The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees” include: Australia, El Salvador, India, Israel, Mexico, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Africa, USA and Venezuela – this list comes from the superb Monkees Website Monkee45s.net)

The several countries like the UK and Canada that did issue a mono mix of “The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees” album didn’t use the true mono mix but instead used a fold down of the stereo mix. While this version sounds fine it’s missing all of the unique mixes that make the true mono USA mix sound so special.

I’ve had a couple of those fold down versions and while they’re decent listens they’re nothing like listening to the actual mono mix which is my preferred way of hearing this album.

As far as the songs go the two most radically different sounding mixes are for “Auntie’s Municipal Court” and “Tapioca Tundra” as they both sound far superior to their stereo counterparts with a snap to the guitars and vocals that’s not present in stereo.

Many of the other songs have subtler differences like more echo or a better blend of the instruments and overall the sound of this mono version comes across as a bit grittier and a bit more psychedelic sounding than the regular stereo mix that most people have know for decades. 

And trust me, it’s nearly next to impossible to locate a mono Colgems pressing of “The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees” in the wild as I’ve searched for over forty years and never found one. I do see online people finding them at antique stores or yard sales but I’ve personally never found one.

Of course I could always have paid a fortune for a USA mono mix on ebay but the hunt for a decent copy at a decent price has always been one of my favorite pastimes and lo and behold the day after my last birthday, January 14th, this gem landed in my mailbox. Happy birthday to me.

There has been a reissue on Rhino Records in 2009 of the true mono mix that was taken from a vinyl copy of a foreign mono pressing of this album and while that version is decent there’s no comparison to a true mono pressing which has a sparkle and vibrancy that’s missing on any other version.

For some reason the the mono transfer from that 2009 3 CD box set of “The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees” just sounds lackluster compared to a 1968 mono vinyl copy. Don’t get me wrong it’s a decent transfer but this Venezuelan vinyl copy just blows away the sound of the version on the 3 CD set for sure.

Until the mono master tape of “The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees” is found the best way to hear this unique mono mix is a vinyl copy of the album from 1968.

(Note 2: the mono master for “The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees” has been missing in action for decades. There are mono mixes on tape of some of the songs from the album but the entire mono master has yet to be found.)

I do have some of the mono mixes of songs from “The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees” on two Mexican EPs (see a previous blog post in search) and those sound just as exciting as this mono LP that I just received. For anyone who’s never heard the true mono mix from a vinyl source it’s an unbelievably great sounding recording and well worth tracking down if you can find one at a decent price.

Weirdly enough just this past Friday I was looking online at the Discogs Website (a great Website to buy physical media – discogs.com) and stumbled upon a listing for a Venezuelan mono copy for $40.

Of course my eyes nearly popped out of my head and while there were photos of an actual Venezuelan pressing I had the sneaky suspicion that these weren’t photographs of the album that this person was selling. They were the same photos of the mono version from Monkee45s.net.

Because the price was so good I decided I’d go ahead and order it and if I got burned I got burned. The seller said the album cover and the vinyl itself were both in VG condition with ink marks on the back of the cover and a few tape marks on the front and back of the cover as well.

After receiving the album yesterday and playing it I am happy to state that the covers really in pretty decent shape except for the marker on the back (truly in VG condition) which doesn’t matter to me as the vinyl inside I would say is VG++. And it does indeed play the rare true mono mix!

In fact I can honestly say this is probably the best sounding vinyl copy of any Monkees foreign pressing  I’ve ever purchased! Not a hint of crack or pop and it looks like it’s been super well cared for and in great shape.

Needless to say I couldn’t be more pleased and after all these years having tried to hunt down the true mono mix on vinyl all I can say is it was well worth the wait.

So there you have it. Happy 2025 and may the rest of this year bring such good luck in physical media pursuits!

As usual you can see photos above of this groovy mono copy of “The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees”.

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

 

Weekend Antique Store Scores: Monkees “HEAD” RE, “The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees” UK Mono and Two CD Bin Displays (Lennon & McCartney)

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As 2024 comes to a close, I must say this past year may go down as one of the luckiest years in recent memory for me at least for antique store finds.

Just this past weekend in fact, I may end the year with some of my most surprising finds from a little dingy out of the way antique store that was open for the last day before it was being moved to another location next year.

Yesterday I was making my usual trek through some antique locations that I drop in on from time to time and happened upon a sign saying store closing -deals inside. Now this particular antique store was one I usually passed by as I never really find much there but with a fifty percent off sign staring me in the face I thought “sure, why not”.

I’m glad I did.

I actually hadn’t been inside this store for quite a while so I thought maybe they may have something worthwhile this time and to my surprise they sure did!

Most of the booths were in the process of being packed away and dismantled but toward the back there was one booth full of music posters with CDs as well as vinyl so I naturally took a look through the bins to see what they had.

The first lucky find was spotted by a friend who was with me. She said they have a couple of photos of John Lennon and Paul McCartney on a shelf and was I interested in looking at them.

I said that I really wasn’t interested in photos as I made my way through the vinyl but she handed me a small cardboard cutout with the art work from John Lennon’s “Shaved Fish” album and that got my attention.

“What the?” I thought to my self as I stared at what looked like a very thin longbox for the CD of “Shaved Fish”. In fact it indeed was the same artwork from the late eighties CD issue longbox of Lennon’s first solo greatest hits album but was flat as a pancake.

The sticker on the rear of the item said CD bin display and was marked $9.99. Just as I looked up I noticed a couple of shelves up a similar cardboard display but this one was for the Paul McCartney and Wings album “London Town”.

I own this particular longbox and it is indeed the exact same artwork but flat and not in box form.

Since they were fifty percent off I thought it was interesting enough for sure to buy them. For the life of me I don’t remember ever seeing many, if any, solo Beatles CD bin displays or holders so this was a cool find. At least it made the trip worthwhile.

Just as I was about to leave I noticed one more crate of records and this one had a Lovin’ Spoonful album in front so I was excited as it was the right era as I am all about the 1960s.

As I made it to the middle of the crate I could see the shiny reflection of what looked the like the cover of The Monkees 1968 album “The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees”. My heart stopped for a moment as I secretly hope it was a foreign pressing of this album and maybe just maybe a true mono copy from Australia or something.

(Note: copies of Monkees albums from overseas are sometimes laminated on the front especially copies manufactured in the UK and other countries)

Well I was almost correct, it was indeed a mono copy of this album but it was a mono copy from the UK. My heart sank a little. It was really cool to find a UK copy of any Monkees record in an obscure antique store but this particular album was not a true mono copy.

(Note 2: mono copies of the US pressing of “The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees” are super hard to find and very valuable. In fact I’ve never seen one in person. The mono mix of this album is very different from the common stereo pressing and is very desired by collectors.

Some other foreign countries released this true mono mix including Mexico and Puerto Rico but the UK copy is just the stereo mix folded down to mono thus does not include the groovy rare true mono mixes that make this mono album desirable)

Again since this too was marked $9.99 and fifty percent off of that I thought I’d buy it as I may never see another copy and certainly not this cheap. The matrix on this copy ended in 1K so it must be a first UK pressing though honestly I’m not sure how well it sold in the UK as it wasn’t a big hit there so it might not have had a second pressing.

I also have to say that while this isn’t a true mono mix of the album I thought it sounded pretty darn good and I swear that even though it’s a fold down the Mike Nesmith tracks especially have enough of a difference to make it interesting as the fold down process highlights different sounds making them sound like slightly different mixes.

The absolute true score of the day though was the album right behind it.

As I lifted out the UK mono “The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees” I saw another 1968 Monkees album; a dirt covered Colgems pressing of the soundtrack to their only film called “Head”.

I have a couple of copies of the original Colgems “Head” album so I wasn’t that intrigued until I flipped this particular copy over.

In the upper right corner of the back cover I saw the letters “RE”. For those of you who don’t know RE on Colgems albums means reissue and this dirty copy of “Head” is the very difficult to find second pressing of the album that corrected the spelling of Gerry Goffin on the lower right hand corner of the album (see photos above).

This is only the second copy of this RE pressing I’ve ever seen and I own the other copy. I did a previous blog post about that copy but after cleaning up the cover (the dirt wiped right off as the cover of this album is made of mylar which is a shiny material and wipes easily without any damage to the cover) of this copy it’s actually in better shape than my other copy which had been taped over with cellophane as the side cover had split.

(Note 3: why oh why is it that the two covers that I have found of this RE version are worn while I have seen several VG+ copies of the regular first issue Colgems pressing. Go figure.)

Since this one had a fairly dirty cover and record it was marked $5.99 so at half off this was a complete steal especially since it cleaned up so well.

Anyway this copy sounded fantastic after a good cleaning and had matrixes that ended with 6S on side one and 10S on side two – much higher than I thought they would be as this album wasn’t a big seller for The Monkees like the five albums that precede it.

Well there you have it. I end the year on a collecting high note.

As usual you can see the photos above and see how nice this copy of “Head” ended up as well as the others.

Until next time be well and if I don’t post before the new year have a great Christmas and a happy and prosperous 2025.

See you soon!