Category Archives: EMI Records

The Beatles Collection – Australian Blue Box

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Not one, but two large Beatles box sets from the collection to feature in this post….

Why?

Well, both are Australian editions of “The Beatles Collection” – a box containing all twelve official Beatles studio album releases, plus one disc of “Rarities”. But the two examples of this box-set here differ in quite a few ways and are worth noting.

“The Beatles Collection” first came out in Australia back in 1978. At the time this was the catalogue-spanning Beatles box set to buy. For a very short time in 1978 it was released with all the Australian-pressed albums contained in the more familiar (and sturdier) British-made box with a flip-top lid. However, only 2000 of these sets were released here. The following year (1979) an Australian-made box was created to hold all the albums – but it was different to both the UK and the European box in that it had a detachable, lift-off lid. It was also a lot more flimsy in construction:

These original Australian blue boxes were textured on the outside and had the title “The Beatles Collection” in gold lettering and the signatures of each band member reproduced along the bottom, but the rear of the box was plain:

The LP’s inside, if they were originally released on the Parlophone label, were on the orange Parlophone label – which was a version unique to Australia:

And, if the LP was originally released in Australia on the Apple label it came out in the box-set also on the Apple label. For example “Yellow Submarine”:

The box also came with the two unique covers produced in Australia for “With the Beatles” and “The Beatles For Sale”:

“Sgt Pepper” came in a single sleeve:

“The Beatles” double LP (aka “The White Album”) came with all the inserts included (i.e. the poster with lyrics and the four individual photographs):

“Let It Be” had the red Apple logo on the rear:

And there was a unique 13th LP called “Rarities”, which gathered together for the first time on one record songs and versions of songs previously unavailable on any album:

This too came out on the orange Parlophone label:

The other box I have is different. In copies of “The Beatles Collection” released from the mid-1980’s there were quite a few changes. Firstly, the textured look to the box was replaced with a flat cardboard finish, and all the LP titles were listed on the back of the box:

Also, all the LPs inside have the black and silver Parlophone label, including those titles previously released on Apple:

“With the Beatles” came in the UK cover, which featured the famous black-and-white Robert Freeman portrait of the band – not its distinctive Australian cover:

But, a little surprisingly, “The Beatles For Sale” was still in its unique yellow Australian cover:

“Sgt Pepper” is in a single cardboard sleeve, “The White Album” came with all the inserts, “Let It Be” has the red Apple logo on the back cover, and you still get the “Rarities” LP, only this time it’s on the black and silver Parlophone label:

Also, in my copy at least, there’s a single sheet insert (printed on both sides) detailing all the Beatles records and cassettes currently available through EMI Australia at the time:

I’m not sure that this sheet was originally included in the mid 1980’s box set as it has the catalogue number PLAY 1005 on it and this was an insert usually included with Australian copies of “The Beatles Ballads” LP from 1981. Anyway, it’s nice to have.

So, two “Beatles Collection” box sets with quite a few interesting and collectable variations.

(Many thanks to Jaesen Jones and his invaluable book “An Overview of Australian Beatles Records” for the release date information contained in this post).

The Beatles Greatest Hits Volume 1

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A visit to a garage sale this past weekend (you might use the term “yard sale” where you come from) has added another nice LP record to the collection.

It’s the “Beatles VI”, which first came out in 1965 in the US on Capitol. However, the copy I got on Saturday is a New Zealand pressing on the Parlophone label:

 

As you can see, this New Zealand pressing has the same picture cover (front and rear), and the same running order as the US release seen here below:

In Australia the artwork of this album is a bit confusing because the cover photo for the “Beatles VI” LP is the exact same cover photo that EMI Australia chose for a completely different Beatles LP they released back in 1968 called “The Beatles Greatest Hits Volume 1”:

I’ve got this on the orange Parlophone label, which would make my pressing from the 1970’s:

But to make things even more confusing, I also have the same LP (with the same cover) on a black and silver Parlophone label – from New Zealand:

So, two different records with different songs on them, but very similar cover artwork.

In case you are wondering about the origins of the photograph, it is actually the Beatles cutting a cake:

The Beatles “1” – Remastered 2011

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It was released today (Friday, September 2) in Australia:

This is the re-issue, in newly remastered form, of “The Beatles 1” compilation which first came out in the year 2000. As the sticker on the front cover says: “27 Classic Number 1 Singles – Remastered”. Here’s the rear cover:

These are the remasters done at the same time as the big release of all the albums back in 2009. It comes in a cardboard gatefold sleeve that’s in the same format as all the 2009 re-issues.

Below is the front cover of the booklet, which despite some speculation that it would be different, has exactly the same 30 pages and layout as the 2000 issue:

Each page is dedicated to a particular song and gives the recording place and date, chart information and full colour photographs of various record sleeves of that single from around the world.  Even the CD printing is the same as the 2000 issue:

(click on images to see a large version)

A bit disappointing really….

It comes out on September 13 in the US, on September 5 in the UK, and is also expected on iTunes as a digital download on September 6th.

See also:  The Beatles Number 1 Vinyl  and  The Beatles Number 1 – Taiwan Variation  and  Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

The Beatles official site has this promotional video for “1” now on the front page:

Beatles Engineer Geoff Emerick Interview

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ABC Radio in Australia has done a lengthy interview with the man often referred to as “the sixth Beatle” –  studio engineer extraordinaire Geoff Emerick. As a 21 year-old he was George Martin’s right-hand man in the control room on albums such as “Revolver”, “Sgt Pepper”, “The Beatles (White Album)” and “Abbey Road”.

702 ABC Sydney Evening Show presenter Robbie Buck spoke to Geoff for over twenty minutes about his career recording the greatest band in the world. Visit the 702 ABC Sydney site to read about the interview. You can play it from that site – or you can listen here:

Geoff Emerick will be in Australia this week to attend “Integrate 2011“, a sound, music and light industry convention where he’ll give a special presentation that is being billed as a “world first”.  Geoff will be interviewed live on stage with another legend from the industry, Australian Richard Lush, who also worked extensively with the Beatles in the 1960’s. And they’ll play examples of how they came up with some of the unique and ground-breaking sounds we hear on the Beatles recordings.

Australian “Yesterday” Beatles EP

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A trip to the south coast of New South Wales in Australia has turned up quite a nice copy of the Beatles EP “Yesterday”.

It was discovered in an antiques, books and records store in a little country town called Kangaroo Valley,  proof that its always worth checking out these sorts of shops when you find them. (This is the same place I found my copy of “The Beatles Forever” book).

Good copies of the “Yesterday” EP are quite difficult to find in good condition as the cover is an image that is mostly black – except for the faces of the Fab Four. This means that it’s prone to the deadly “ring wear”, where the 45 rpm disc inside rubs against the outside when it is stacked or stored with other records creating a white “ring” in the centre of the image.

As you can see above this particular copy is in pretty good condition with very little, if any, ring wear on the front cover. This is the Australian release – and dates from between 1966-1968, although these EP’s where released right up to 1979 (thanks to Jaesen Jones and his very informative book “An Overview of Australian Beatles Records” – which has only just been released this year).

You can tell it’s age because the cover has the older-style fold over tabbed or “flipback” sleeve construction (you can see this in the image of the rear cover below). Later editions went to the concealed tabs:

The other indicator of this little record’s age is the style of the Parlophone/EMI logo (seen above on the rear sleeve) and of the record label (below), which indicates again it was released sometime between 1966 and 1968. The serial number for this disc is GEPO 70026.

All-in-all a nice copy of a quite old, four song Beatles Extended Play.

For more on Beatles EP’s see this Japanese box set.

Thinking About Abbey Road Studios at 80

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I stumbled today upon an article on (of all places) the computer/gadget specialist site CNet. It is about the famed EMI Abbey Road studios in St. John’s Wood, London – the site of so much fantastic recorded music including just about all the songs recorded, in one way or another, by the Beatles. The studios have just turned 80 years old and it got me thinking about what an important role this particular pile of bricks and mortar on a nondescript street has played in the history of popular and classical music – not the least of which is the music of the the Beatles.

If George Martin is often referred to as “the fifth Beatle” then surely Abbey Road could be regarded as one of the instruments they played – with as much importance to the Beatles sound as the Gibson acoustics, the Gretsch and Epiphone electrics, the Ludwig drums, and the famous Hofner bass.

The CNet article has some very interesting observations made during a recent tour of the famous building and it’s numerous rooms – so many of which are associated with Beatles tracks. You have got to scroll through the thirty photographs taken during CNet’s visit. Its a terrific tour with some great shots for both Beatles fans and technical nerds alike.

The studio itself has a website which is worth a visit every now and again to catch up on their news – one of the latest of which is the remastering of the Beatles “Anthology” series for digital download.

So much happened at this one address – including the Beatles themselves honoring their home-away-from-home with an album bearing the studio’s name.

Abbey Road photo session - August 8, 1969

Then there was the heritage listing for that famous zebra crossing out the front….and the zebra crossing web cam, now complete with live street sounds. Its no longer in exactly the same spot as the photo on the front of the “Abbey Road” album having been moved down the road a bit from the studios – but countless fans still come each day, month, and year to be photographed striding across it.

Happy 80th birthday Abbey Road Studios. Here’s to 80 more years.

Beatles “Anthology” Sets Now on iTunes

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The Beatles and iTunes have today announced that the three, boxed set “Anthology” series will be available for electronic download exclusively on iTunes from June 14.

The “Anthology” Volumes 1 – 3 (each originally released in 1995 and 1996 as three double CD sets) will be available for download separately. There will be an iTunes-exclusive “Anthology Box Set” with all 155 tracks from the three volumes combined, and there will also be an exclusive new 23-track “Anthology Highlights” collection of standout tracks from all three albums.

“Anthology” songs will also be available for individual download.

All tracks have been digitally remastered by the team of engineers at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios who were responsible for the remastering of all the Beatles original UK studio albums in 2009. The result, says the publicity, is “…the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release”.  Sadly for collectors though there will be no physical CD’s or vinyl released. EMI Music has confirmed this with Steve Marinucci at Beatles Examiner.

A special “Anthology” video introduction and a “Meet The Beatles” radio show are available for free streaming at iTunes.com/TheBeatles starting today.

The “Meet The Beatles” radio show on the iTunes page has a 2 minute teaser, then three separate parts totaling just over 50 minutes. This is actually a cut-down version of a much longer three-part radio special called “Here, There and Everywhere” which was made for the launch of the Beatles Remastered catalogue in December 2009. It’s narrated by Paul Gambaccini and written and produced by Beatles historian Kevin Howlett.

An Overview of Australian Beatles Records

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Got home from work today to discover this book in the postbox. I’d ordered it online just last week. Its a fantastic new book on the Beatles output on vinyl in Australia. When you say the words “in depth” they don’t really convey the work that collector and author Jaesen Jones has put into researching every aspect of the Australian arm of the mammoth EMI company as it relates to the Beatles output here. EMI Australia was responsible for releasing all the Beatles Parlophone and Apple label records in Australia. (The book also has information of the very few Polydor Beatle discs released here).

An avid Beatles collector from Canberra (Australia’s national capital), Jaesen has really done a terrific job in pulling together a lot of relevant information about the Australian Beatles releases – some of them quite unique in the world.

This release information from Ebay sums up well the content of the book:

They toured Australia on a single occasion in 1964, but once was enough for The Beatles to claim the continent as an integral dominion in their global Empire and to forever assure record-breaking sales of their recordings.

“An Overview of Australian Beatles Records” details Beatles records manufactured in Australia, from the first in February 1963 until the last in 1990, with emphasis on those distributed by EMI (Australia). It begins with a brief history of EMI (Australia) and its introduction of The Beatles to the people of Australia. It continues by detailing both the similarities and differences between EMI (Australia) and its parent, EMI UK, before focussing on the unique Antipodean pressings.

The book describes local publishing arrangements, major record label styles, sleeve design, production outsourcing/contracting, mastering methods and official imports. Where possible, period EMI publications, newspaper clippings, press releases and people directly involved with EMI (Australia) and Festival have been consulted.

For collectors there’s a section listing recommended Australian Beatles pressings, based on the views of numerous local and international audiophiles, as well as thirty-five pages of full colour label, sleeve and sticker scans (covering singles, EPs and LPs). Included are over 180 images, representing the most comprehensive collection of Australian Beatles record labels, outer and inner sleeves, inserts, and ephemera ever gathered together in a reference document to date.

Also included is a record rarity guide that lists all known major Aussie Beatles record variations with their relative rarity.

An Overview of Australian Beatles Records is an essential aid to the collector of Australian Beatles vinyl and is a book which will surely elevate the esteem in which this interesting subset of Beatles records is held in the global Beatles community.

You can find out more at I Am The Platypus – The Beatles Australia Album Labelography – a huge online resource also covering Australian Beatles releases.

Here are some page views from “An Overview of Australian Beatles Records”:

“An Overview of Australian Beatles Records”
First Edition, 2011
Compiled by Jaesen Jones
Published in Canberra, Australia
88 A4-sized pages (210mm x 297mm)
Over 180 colour scans and photos
ISBN: 978-0-9871048-0-9 (paperback)