Just two more days before fans can get their hands on The Beatles 1 and The Beatles 1+.
CNN’s Paul Vercammen reports “in detail” on the new DVD and BluRay sets, due for release on November 6. In this segment he talks briefly to Michael Lindsay-Hogg, one of the film directors the Beatles worked with on a number of their promotional clips (and of course the Let It Be movie).
Notice that Paul Vercammen already has his copy of The Beatles 1+ on the desk.
Is Apple doing a limited reissue of The Beatles Stereo USB?
The UK online store Spin CDs has just listed it, with a release date of 30 October…… Details on their site are sketchy so if anyone else knows about this let us know.
Originally issued in December, 2009 as a limited edition of 30,000 units, the small metal Apple contains a USB drive with all 13 of the band’s studio albums, plus all the Past Masters songs. Also included are the 13 album mini-documentaries which came with the remastered CDs, and the complete digital booklet artwork. The USB has all songs in stereo in both FLAC format (24 bit 44.1 kbps) and MP3 (320 kbps).
Seems to be a steadily rising number of Beatlechildren’s books about. If you have young ones or you just appreciate the child-like qualities of kids books, they’re nice to have.
The latest is a picture book illustrating Ringo Starr’s song ‘Octopus’s Garden’:
Octopus’s Garden is published by Simon and Schuster and beautifully illustrated by British children’s book illustrator Ben Cort. It’s a large-format, hardback book with really nice pictures to accompany the printed lyrics to the song:
There’s also a CD included with four tracks. Track 1 is a short spoken endorsement from Ringo; Track 2 is a new recording of ‘Octopus’s Garden’ (with Ringo providing the vocal); Track 3 has Ringo reading the story (without music); and finally an instrumental version for you or your child to sing along with:Here’s a little promo video with more of a taste of what you get:
Inside this bright green building is crammed a veritable potpourri of clothing, jewellery, books and all sorts of knick knacks. You name it, they’ve got it.
While looking around we spied, in a glass case behind the main counter a lone Beatle recordthat looked interesting. It was a 1965, Australia-only pressing of a four-song EP called With The Beatles:
We asked the owner if she could open the cabinet so that we could check it out. The records was in very good condition. With its dark front cover image (unique to Australia) it’s rare to find these without a lot of ring wear showing, and the vinyl itself was very good too:
Rear cover:
So, another nice Aussie EP addition to the collection.
Earlier this week we reported finally receiving a replacement copy of John Lennon’sRock’n’Roll LP.
Well, the very next day we happened to be on the New South Wales central coast and popped in to one of the best second-hand vinyl stores around – The Sound Exchange Record Bar – at a place called Long Jetty.
And what should we find there but an almost mint copy of the hard-to-find, Australia-only, ultra-budget version of the very same record:
In 1988 EMI licensed the rights to Lennon’sRock’nRoll album to the Australian specialty budget label, J&B Records:
J&B had a large catalogue back in the day, and sold most of their records through supermarkets and department stores. Everything from Glen Campbell to Connie Francis compilations. From Roy Orbison to the Village People. They had lots of well-known Australian artists in the catalogue as well: John Farnham, Glenn Shorrock (ex Little River Band), Dragon and Billy Field. So it was a surprise to see an artist like John Lennon in there too.
J&B called their record Rip It Up – 15 Rock’n’Roll Greats. This is exactly the same songs and running order of the original 1975 Apple Records release. Just the cover was changed. Here’s the rear cover:
And the J&B label:
As you can see, no expense was spared on the artwork! Even so, this is a really good copy for its age – still glossy front cover, no ring wear, and the record itself looks almost unplayed.
While sitting at home this morning there was a knock on the door. It was a courier with a registered parcel that looked suspiciously like an LP mailer:
Could this finally be the replacement John LennonRock’n’Roll album from the John Lennon 8-LP box set? The postmarks were from Great Britain, and the sender address was Universal Music in London.
As you know, Universal are now the manufacturers and distributors of all Beatle releases, including the back-catalogues of John Lennon and George Harrison. They had a big problem with the Rock’n’Roll album shipped with the Lennon box. The set was temporarily withdrawn from sale while they sorted out a production error where the song “Sweet Little Sixteen” appeared twice, and the song “You Can’t Catch Me” was missing altogether.
The company set up a special website. Providing you had proof of purchase you could request a replacement copy of the faulty album. We did this at the start of August, but had nothing but stoney silence from Universal since, despite a couple of follow-up emails to them seeking an update on progress.
Now, over two months later, out of the blue our corrected replacement copy has arrived:
As part of the launch campaign for the Archive Collection editions of Pipes of Peace, Paul McCartney has today uploaded to Facebook a new ‘Say Say Say [2015 Remix]’ video:
The track (which is included as part of the Bonus Audio for Pipes of Peace) features previously unheard vocals by Paul and Michael Jackson, with the parts they sing on the original swapped in position in a remix by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent. The original (remastered) version is still included on the main album CD and vinyl.
The press release says: “32 years after the original release, fans….have….a completely new mix of the track, prominently featuring alternative vocals from Paul and the late Michael which have never before seen the light of day.
This version came about as Paul worked on the next stage of his extensive reissue collection – the Grammy Award-winning Paul McCartney Archive Series – earlier this year. While working on the remasters for 1983’s Pipes Of Peace album and accompanying bonus material at Abbey Road Studios in January 2015, Paul was listening to an instrumental remix of ‘Say Say Say’ by DJ John ‘Jellybean’ Benitez when he recalled there were unused vocals.
The original multi-track masters were located and Paul’s Chief Engineer at his studio in Sussex, Steve Orchard, along with Paul fused the unheard recordings to the Jellybean mix.
Directed by the choreographer and performance artist Ryan Heffington – recently noted for his choreography work on Sia’s ‘Chandelier’ promo – and filmed in LA, the video follows a teenage boy on a journey through his neighbourhood. The boy’s sense of optimism is infectious as he brings joy and stunning dance sequences to those he encounters on his travels.”
For more on the story behind how the ‘Say Say Say [2015 Remix]’ came about visit paulmccartney.com
The Hollywood Vampires album, which contains a guest appearance from Paul McCartney, has been officially released:Here’s the press release:
In 1972, on the Sunset Strip at a club called the Rainbow Bar & Grill, the Hollywood Vampires were born in the upstairs bar. It was a gathering place for the rock stars living in or passing through L.A. “To join the club, one simply had to out drink all of the members,” says Alice Cooper, a founding member of the Vampires. “I would walk in on a typical night” Alice says, “and John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon—who would usually be in a costume like a maid or a chauffeur—Bernie Taupin, Jim Morrison and Mickey Dolenz would be there. The next week might be Bernie Taupin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Mickey Dolenz.”
Three years ago, Alice and good friend Johnny Depp got together and decided the spirit of the Hollywood Vampires should live again (minus the drinking). An environment for great artists to hang, laugh and play together. The Hollywood Vampires live again with the release of the Hollywood Vampires new album. Alice and Johnny were joined by Joe Perry, who is an old friend of both of them, and the recording began: a tribute to the original Hollywood Vampires.
For the next two years, Alice, Joe and Johnny, joined by producer Bob Ezrin and an amazing group of modern day vampires, including Perry Farrell, Dave Grohl, Sir Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Slash, Robbie Krieger, Zak Starkey, Brian Johnson and Kip Winger, recorded tracks by their dead friends and heroes. Also included are two original songs that tell the story of the Vampires, one of which, “Raise The Dead,” has an intro by Sir Christopher Lee, recorded just prior to his death.
The album package, an antique book, was created by noted men’s fashion designer (and rock fan) John Varvatos in his signature vintage style. Alice and Varvatos, both Detroit natives, have been partners in fashion for several years with Alice lending his classic rock style as a brand ambassador.
A sneak peek at the liner notes, penned by original Hollywood Vampire Bernie Taupin, “I’m not here to defend their vices. Over-indulgence of any sort does not ultimately constitute for a healthy mind and body. And while on the periphery of those involved, wives may have come and gone, career choices may have been deemed dubious, and heartbreak in some cases stalked a dark corridor, but in the lair of the Hollywood Vampires only joy and laughter reigned.”
“I’m not completely sure what constituted bad behavior back then, but in this lair it existed in a bubble, a hermetically sealed dome of fun. It may not have been the round table at the Algonquin, but these were witty, intelligent guys who often got raucous and loud, but rest assured there were no bystanders or animals hurt in the making of the Hollywood Vampires.”
All artist proceeds will be donated to MusiCares.
And here’s the track listing:
1. The Last Vampire (Hollywood Vampires)
2. Raise The Dead (Hollywood Vampires)
3. My Generation (The Who)
4. Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin)
5. I Got A Line (Spirit)
6. Five to One/Break On Through (The Doors)
7. One/Jump Into The Fire (Harry Nilsson)
8. Come And Get It (Badfinger)
9. Jeepster (T.Rex)
10. Cold Turkey (John Lennon)
11. Manic Depression (Jimi Hendrix)
12. Itchycoo Park (Small Faces)
13. School’s Out / Another Brick In The Wall pt.2 (Alice Cooper / Pink Floyd)
14. Dead Drunk Friends (Hollywood Vampires)
As you can see, the band tackle a version of John Lennon’s ‘Cold Turkey’. The main McCartney performance is Badfinger’s ‘Come And Get It‘, which of course he wrote and produced for that Apple band – way back in 1969!
With the release of the Paul McCartney Archive Series versions of Tug of War and Pipes of Peace just over one week away now there doesn’t appear to be much in the way of any “added extra” special releases associated with either re-issue.
McCartney has in the past stitched up deals with big retailers like Target or Best Buy (in the US) to include extra discs or bonus materials exclusive to those stores – for the Archive Series and also some of his more recent solo efforts. A quick look around the web today reveals that (so far) it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen this time around.
Only Best Buy is advertising a free “collectable” tote bag with the purchase of either title….
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