Category Archives: Beatles Music

Lennon ‘Mind Games – Meditation Mixes’ Available for Pre-Order

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True to his word that there would be more Mind Games-related product released before the end of the year, Sean Ono Lennon has announced a 3 LP set called Mind Games – The Meditation Mixes. The tracks (out on October 11) will also be available to stream, but there’s no mention of a CD at the present time.

Watch the “unboxing” promo video:

These Mind Games – The Meditation Mixes were produced by Sean Lennon and came out as part of a consciousness-expanding app called Lumenate in the lead-up to the release of the Mind Games Ultimate Mixes box sets.

Sean Lennon: “You might say meditation is the ultimate mind game. These very abstract interpretations will hopefully assist you in exploring your ‘Innerverse’. I was both thrilled and surprised when UMG said they wanted to make a vinyl edition. This part of the Mind Games project evolved spontaneously and feels like it is sprinkled with just the right amount of good vibes and fairy dust. (Effects may vary).”

The meditation mixes will be released on vinyl as a limited edition 3LP set, pressed on 180-gram crystal clear vinyl and packaged in a triple gatefold mirrorboard sleeve. Side B on LP3 will feature nine unique 1.8 second mantras that will play continually in the vinyl’s run out grooves to create infinite loops.

Interestingly, and perhaps very frustrating for those who forked out the big bucks for the Super Deluxe Box Set, these albums are not included in that box. The Meditations set will have to be purchased separately if you want to have absolutely everything associated with this campaign.

Also, people who only collect CDs (and are not interested in vinyl at all) are also upset and already expressing their pain and dismay on some of the Beatle forums that this is vinyl-only in physical form…..

More on the release from the Universal Music Store site:

“Newly, radically re-imagined remixes, created from John Lennon’s classic song, Mind Games, these nine Meditation Mixes create their own space while maintaining firm, authentic roots in John Lennon’s original recording of the song. Each of them have been radically altered, slowed down and extended, ranging from 5 to 10 minutes to over 33 minutes, allowing for the musical soundtrack to wash over the listener and provide a relaxing, immersive, deep listening and meditative experience. Four of these tracks are presented as Binaural versions that each focus on different types of brain waves: Beta, Delta, Gamma and Theta. Named ‘Mind’, ‘Space’, ‘Spirit’ and ‘Love’, these tracks utilise the effect created when the ears hear left and right frequencies which combine to be perceived as a new frequency that can activate different brain patterns for scientifically proven therapeutic effects.

Of the original song, Mind Games, Yoko Ono Lennon said:  “John was trying to convey the message that we all play mind games. But if we can play mind games, why not make a positive future with it – to be a positive mind game?”

Produced by Sean Ono Lennon, mixed and engineered by Sam Gannon with additional recording engineered by Scott Holingsworth, the song will now bring a new positive impact in the realm of meditation and mindfulness.”

Here’s a sample:

And the track listing:

LP1 Side A

  1. Mind Games Meditation Mix – MIND (Binaural Gamma Waves 100Hz) (10:02)
  2. Mind Games Meditation Mix – MAGIC (10:58)

LP1 Side B

  1. Mind Games Meditation Mix – SPACE (8Hz Theta Binaural) (5:42)
  2. Mind Games Meditation Mix – SEED (5:59)
  3. Mind Games Meditation Mix – YES (6:03)

LP2 Side A

  1. Mind Games Meditation Mix – SPIRIT (15Hz Beta Binaural) (5:36)
  2. Mind Games Meditation Mix – LOVE ().5Hz Delta Binaural) (12:32)

LP2 Side B

  1. Mind Games Meditation Mix – SURRENDER (23:41)

LP3 Side A

  1. Mind Games Meditation Mix – PEACE (23:55)

LP3 Side B (ALL TRACKS INFINITE LOOPS)

         MANTRA 1 (∞)
         MANTRA 2 (∞)
         MANTRA 3 (∞)
         MANTRA 4 (∞)
         MANTRA 5 (∞)
         MANTRA 6 (∞)
         MANTRA 7 (∞)
         MANTRA 8 (∞)
         MANTRA 9 (∞)

Sixty Years Since The Beatles Toured Australia and New Zealand

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Here in Australia over the last week or so there’s been a lot of fond reminiscences of the time, sixty years ago now, that The Beatles came to this country.

Australia’s national broadcaster the ABC (kind of like the BBC in the UK) has just played a terrific hour-long documentary on The Music Show that is really worth a listen:

Click on the image above to stream. Or you can listen here:

One of the key guests on the show is Greg Armstrong, co-author with Andy Neill of a comprehensive new book all about the tour called When We Was Fab – Inside The Beatles Australasian Tour 1964.

Greg is a Melbourne-born and based radio presenter, researcher and Beatle historian. He is a co-presenter on Australia’s Let It Be Beatles, the world’s longest-running radio show dedicated to the Beatles, on Melbourne’s WynFM. The show is now in its 31st continuous year, having broadcast over 1,400 episodes. Andy Neill is a UK-based music writer, researcher and historian, born in New Zealand. Alongside several other music biography books, he compiled and annotated Across The Universe: The Beatles on Tour and on Stage (2009) and Looking Through You: Rare and Unseen Photographs from the Beatles Book Monthly Archive (2015).

Their book is amazingly researched with a wealth of photos, memorabilia, stories and information. You can get a taste of what’s inside here.

When We Was Fab – Inside The Beatles Australasian Tour 1964 is published by Woodslane Press.

Latest Paul McCartney Release Now Available

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Want to get your hands on the latest Paul McCartney release? (And no, it is not One Hand Clapping which is due on Friday next week….)

It’s a track from the latest Destiny video game called The Final Shape, which was released earlier this week.

The original soundtrack from the game is also out – and it contains a song co-written by Paul. The track, ‘After All This Time’, is quite symphonic is style and there are no vocals.

‘After All This Time’ is co-written with (amongst others) Michael Salvatori, Skye Lewin, and Martin O’Donnell, and McCartney has collaborated with them before on the original Destiny soundtrack – most notably the closing credits song, ‘Hope For The Future‘.

Back then the creators of the Destiny franchise released the whole soundtrack as an impressive 6 LP set. No such luck this time. Looks like The Final Shape (including the track ‘After All This Time’) is only available as a digital download.

(See also McCartney’s Destiny Credits and Closing Theme Song.)

Mind Games Being Played? The ‘Mind Games’ Launch

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The lead up to the release of John Lennon’s Mind Games, the next of his back-catalogue LPs to get the deluxe and super deluxe box set treatment, is proving that this time around they are having some fun with the “mind games” of the title.

There have been quite a few firsts in the marketing, and in what we can expect in the content of the Super Deluxe, Deluxe, 2LP and 2CD sets, released on July 12.

Probably the best summary of the known fun and games to date comes from well-known YouTuber Andrew Dixon. Here’s Andrew with a summary of where we’re at so far:

Ringo Starr ‘February Sky’ – Amoeba 7″ Single Rarity

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In the lead up to Record Store Day 2024 Ringo Starr was on the publicity trail for his forthcoming 4-track EP called Crooked Boy. It was being released on Record Store Day as a Limited Edition black and white marble vinyl. Then, later this month, it will come out on normal black vinyl and on CD.

Ringo did a lot of social media in the lead-up, plus a number of interviews for print, radio and podcasts. But the big deal was a personal appearance at the Amoeba Music record store in Hollywood. This was on April 18 where he was joined on stage by Linda Perry, the driving force behind the latest EP. Perry wrote, produced and engineered the new record. She even chose the photo for the front cover of the EP.

On that day, and only in person at the store, Amoeba made available an extremely limited edition 7″ single of one of the songs from the EP called ‘February Sky’. It’s been reported (but not confirmed) that only 500 of these singles were pressed. They come in a picture sleeve and are pressed on a cool red vinyl:

Amoeba must have had a few left over and so the following week they made the remaining stock available online. These sold out in ten minutes. It was US customers only as the store doesn’t ship internationally.

As you can see, some copies on eBay have since sold for as high as US$360…..

Being based in Australia we thought we’d never get a copy for the collection, but thanks to one of our readers – our mate Guy – there will be one winging its way Downunder very soon!

McCartney & Wings – One Hand Clapping – It’s Official + Pack Shots

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Six days after the news mistakenly slipped out, Paul McCartney has officially announced the release of audio from the 1974 live studio performance called One Hand Clapping.

Pre-orders are now available for the LP and CD plus a range of associated merch and bundles.

And we get a look at pack shots of what’s included (but no video announcement of same….).

Here’s the 2LP plus 7″ vinyl, which is exclusive to Paul’s official stores at the moment. Note that the content of that 7″ (six songs in all) are not available on the 2 CD set:

There’ll also be a stand-alone 2LP set available:

And the aforementioned 2CD:

Pre-orders will be shipped on June 14.

And check out this teaser of never-before heard audio from One Hand Clapping. It’s a clip of ‘Junior’s Farm – One Hand Clapping’:

McCartney & Wings – One Hand Clapping Live Studio Sessions from 1974 Newly Mixed

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Seems someone at Universal Music Canada hit the “Publish” button a little early on a press release about a hitherto unknown June release from Paul McCartney. It reads:

The wait is over: With the June 14 release of One Hand Clapping, one of the most bootlegged live albums in musical history will finally receive a proper release. In August 1974, when Band on the Run was enjoying a seven-week consecutive #1 stint at the top of the UK album charts, Paul McCartney and Wings headed to Abbey Road Studios for the filming of a video documentary and possible live studio album – One Hand Clapping. Despite overwhelming demand for newly recorded material from the biggest band in the world at that time, One Hand Clapping was never officially released.

Filmed and recorded over four days and directed by David Litchfield, the release of One Hand Clapping is a historic moment for Paul McCartney fans. Over the years, various parts of One Hand Clapping have been bootlegged with varying degrees of success. Some of the material has also appeared on official McCartney releases. However, the June 14 release, which features the original artwork designed for the project, including a TV sales brochure for the unreleased film at the time, is the first time the audio for the film—plus several additional songs recorded off-camera–have been officially issued.

You can read the full release here.

One Hand Clapping will be released in multiple formats on June 14, including an online-only 2LP + 7” package that will include a vinyl single of previously unreleased solo performances recorded on the final day of the sessions in the backyard of Abbey Road studios. These include the unreleased track “Blackpool,” a cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” a Wings B-side “Country Dreamer,” and cover versions of Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock” (the first song Paul played to John Lennon when they met in 1957) and Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” and “I’m Gonna Love You Too.”

ONE HAND CLAPPING FORMATS

2LP + 7”

Disc 1

SIDE ONE

One Hand Clapping* 02:15

Jet* 03:59

Soily* 03:55

C Moon/Little Woman Love* 03:19

Maybe I’m Amazed* 04:52

My Love* 04:15

SIDE TWO

Bluebird* 03:27

Let’s Love* 01:09

All of You* 02:04

I’ll Give You a Ring* 02:03

Band on the Run* 05:20

Live and Let Die* 03:26

Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five* 05:50

Baby Face* 01:56

Disc 2

SIDE ONE

Let Me Roll It** 04:28

Blue Moon of Kentucky 03:05

Power Cut 01:33

Love My Baby 01:13

Let It Be 01:02

The Long and Winding Road/Lady Madonna 02:10

SIDE TWO

Junior’s Farm 04:17

Sally G 03:28

Tomorrow 02:12

Go Now 03:35

Wild Life 04:30

Hi, Hi, Hi 03:57

Disc 3 (7”)

SIDE ONE

Blackpool 01:43

Blackbird 02:27

Country Dreamer** 02:17

SIDE TWO

Twenty Flight Rock 02:08

Peggy Sue 01:24

I’m Gonna Love You Too 01:10

2CD

Disc 1

One Hand Clapping* 02:15

Jet* 03:59

Soily* 03:55

C Moon/Little Woman Love* 03:19

Maybe I’m Amazed* 04:52

My Love* 04:15

Bluebird* 03:27

Let’s Love* 01:09

All of You* 02:04

I’ll Give You a Ring* 02:03

Band on the Run* 05:20

Live and Let Die* 03:26

Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five* 05:50

Baby Face* 01:56

Disc 2

Let Me Roll It** 04:28

Blue Moon of Kentucky 03:05

Power Cut 01:33

Love My Baby 01:13

Let It Be 01:02

The Long and Winding Road/Lady Madonna 02:10

Junior’s Farm 04:17

Sally G 03:28

Tomorrow 02:12

Go Now 03:35

Wild Life 04:30

Hi, Hi, Hi 03:57

* Previously released 2010 Band on the Run Archive Collection DVD

** Previously released as bonus audio on Archive Collection releases

One Hand Clapping will also be available to stream in Dolby Atmos with a mix by Giles Martin and Steve Orchard.

Sgt. Pepper Label Anomaly

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The subtitle of this blog is “Adventures in Collecting Beatles Music” and so we often get people inquiring about rare (or not-so-rare) pressings that they’ve come across out in the wild.

Like this one earlier this week from a reader named D-Wizz who is based in Brisbane, Australia:

I refer to the attached photos which are both sides of the same record. I note that the font used for each label is different. Side 2 looks like a 1960s style while Side 1 has an early 70s font. I cannot find an example of this on any Beatles related site, so I wonder is it a rarity, a mis-pressing, or something else? Does it make this copy any more valuable?

Thanks for your attention and assistance.

Regards, etc.

We love a challenge like this and delved into doing a little research. This is right at the heart of the adventures in collecting Beatles music! Here’s what we wrote back with:

Thanks for your email, and for sending through actual photos of the labels. This makes identification so much easier!

We’ve consulted the book An Overview of Australian Beatles Records by Jaesen Jones, which is a fantastic resource, plus his comprehensive website I Am The Platypus – The Beatles Australian Records Labelography – also very helpful in identifying Aussie Beatle pressings and variations. For what you need to know you should look at this page for the Sgt. Pepper’s label variations, and this page for further info on Australian label variations generally (click on the “Orange 1-Box” tab at the top).

What you have here is obviously a pressing of Sgt. Pepper’s that came out around October 1978 when EMI Australia was right in the middle of transitioning from one label design to another.

You’ve correctly identified that your Side 2 label is older – and in fact it is. It was the orange Parlophone label in use on Australian pressings of Sgt. Pepper’s from 1969-1978. It is known as the Orange 1-Box Style A, and has the word STEREO written large at the top. 

Then, in October 1978, EMI changed that label to what is called the Orange 1-Box Style B. This still has the word STEREO, but now in a much smaller font and set to the right of the spindle hole above the catalogue number. This is your Side 1 label.

We’d guess that when they were pressing your copy it must have been right on the change-over date between the two variations in October 1978. They obviously had some of the older style Side 2 labels left over (Orange 1-Box Style A) and where just using them up. However, for Side 1 they’d obviously started using the new-look Orange 1-Box Style B labels. 

(FYI there was a further orange label variation that was introduced from early 1979 called Orange 1-Box Style C that was used up to 1981. This had no mention of the word “Stereo” on it at all).

So, is your copy rare and more valuable? Well, it is interesting! 

Jaeson Jones includes in his book a ‘Guide to Rarity’ and, on a scale of 1-10 (where 1 is very common, and 10 is very rare), he lists the Sgt. Pepper’s Orange 1-Box Style A as a 5, and the Orange 1-Box Style B as a 3. Both therefore are reasonably common I’m afraid – but at least yours is different and it has a bit of a story behind it! I dunno, maybe we’d rate it as a 6?

Hope this helps,

beatlesblogger.com

Paul McCartney’s Lost Höfner Bass

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock you are probably aware by now that Paul’s 1961 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been….

In September last year we reported on a concerted new effort to trace the missing instrument – and it seems that the case has well and truly been solved. In fact, the bass is already back in the hands of its original owner – Paul McCartney.

Check out this short statement on the official McCartney site, plus The Lost Bass Breaking News page for more.

The instrument is a little worse for wear but, according to an expert from Höfner called in to examine it, it shouldn’t be all that difficult to once again get it going again.

One of the most informative articles about what state it is in and the intriguing back story as to where the bass has been all this time is in the Dutch music magazine, De Bassist. They interviewed Höfner expert Nick Wass about finding The Lost Bass. Their article is well worth a read!

A Rainbow of McCartney III LPs!

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If you don’t believe there are collectors out there intent on having every single variation, then think again:

This is a photograph from the collection of one of our readers and contributors – Guy from the USA. Guy has managed to secure no less than 16 different McCartney III colour variants, and 10 different McCartney III Imagined double LPs.

You can check them off against our two guides to all the known variants below (they include CDs and cassettes – which Guy also has BTW!). Click on the images to enlarge: