Paul McCartney On His Cloud Computing Archive

Posted on by
Reply

This is a video (posted earlier this month on June 2) on Paul McCartney’s MPL Music Publishing site detailing further the big project announced last year that he would be digitising his entire, extensive personal archive. Its a little bit commercial in its plugs for the HP computer group who are working with the McCartney team, but its interesting and sounds like they are making good progress on what must be an enormous task.

They’ve posted two different versions of the clip – this one is a shorter version but has some different speakers and information:

John Lennon – Vinyl Box Set from 1981

Posted on by
16

This week I managed to secure a still sealed copy of the 1981, 8-LP box set simply called “John Lennon”. Mine is the one in the silver box with the now famous Bob Gruen photo of John (taken in New York) on the front cover:

This is the Australian release of this set, put out by EMI.

The box contains:

1. “Live Peace In Toronto”;  2. “Plastic Ono Band”;  3. “Imagine”; 4. “Sometime In New York City”;  5 . “Mind Games”;  6. “Walls And Bridges”;  7. “Rock ‘N’ Roll”;  and  8. “Shaved Fish”:

The set came out just a year after John Lennon’s death and followed the success of other Beatles box sets. It was released in several countries using very similar packaging. The set was first released in Britain, and was later sold in Japan, Germany, and of course Australia – with the catalogue number JLB8:

Mitch McGeary and William McCoy write (on their Beatles Rarities and Box Sets website) that all the LPs were issued on the Apple label and packaged in their original covers: “Included in the UK and other sets was a twenty-page, black-and-white booklet, “The Liverpool Echo’s Tribute To John Lennon,” which was loaded with pictures and song lyrics. The albums were encased in a silver box that had a color photo of John on the front. The set’s title and facsimile of John’s autograph were also embossed on the front of the box while the LP and song titles were printed on the back”.

EMI in Italy also issued a Lennon compilation and it is unique. Its called the “John Lennon Anthology” and consisted of all the albums in the British/Australian edition, but omitted the “best of” album “Shaved Fish”. Instead the box had three singles made up of tracks not found on any of the other seven LPs. Unlike the silver box versions these discs came in a blue, pizza-style box reminiscent of the “Live Peace in Toronto” cover:

Apparently only 1,000 copies were made of this one, making it quite a collectable item.

Linda McCartney: Life in Photographs

Posted on by
1

I wrote in March about a new book about to be released which is dedicated to the photographic work of Linda McCartney. Last Saturday my local paper (The Sydney Morning Herald) published a four-page article about it and dedicated the front cover of its Good Weekend magazine to the book. Here’s the promotion of the paper’s weekend magazine article on the front page masthead of the newspaper:

They used a great shot of Paul, Mary and Heather on their farm in Scotland in 1970 for the front cover of the magazine itself:

Inside is an article by journalist Janice Turner detailing a flip through the book – with Paul McCartney at her side. Turner asks: “So how does McCartney feel, looking again at these private moments, captured by his soul mate of those years, now long gone? “It’s funny. I think when you have a bit of distance from someone you have lost, you can just look at it with pleasure. Because they were great times. It is tinged with sadness because you lost that person, but the main feeling for me looking at these is joy. Mostly, these pictures are uplifting.”

Here are a few more of Linda’s photos which appear in the book, published by Taschen:

Of course the Sydney Morning Herald’s weekend article has been syndicated around the world and comes from a London Times Magazine which was published last month – but it was a nice surprise last Saturday morning to find it in my local Sydney paper…

UPDATE:  “Linda McCartney: Life in Photographs,” a New York exhibition of photos by Linda McCartney, opened last Thursday and runs through to July 29 at the Bonni Benrubi Gallery, Level 13, 41 East 57th St., New York City. The gallery has posted lots more photographs here (check out the prices, too). This is the poster for the exhibit:

UPDATE 2:  Paul McCartney has posted a YouTube clip of he and daughters Mary and Stella talking about the project.

Beatles “Anthology” Sets Now on iTunes

Posted on by
6

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.

“Maybe I’m Amazed” McCartney Cover Competition

Posted on by
1

On the Paul McCartney site right now are the details of a competition for fans who can sing to upload their own versions of the classic solo McCartney tune “Maybe I’m Amazed”.

I know, it’s just a marketing thing to promote the forthcoming reissues of “McCartney” and “McCartney II“, but it’s quite a nice idea.

There are already  quite a few home-grown “Maybe I’m Amazed” covers starting to be uploaded, but one is a ripper version.  It was posted on the very first day of the comp by a singer named Katrice Gavino.  So simple – just a single camera shot of her singing in her kitchen – but a pretty good voice. I’ve voted her a “Like” on YouTube. Well done Katrice.

Another (Brief) Chance to See Paul in Rio Live

Posted on by
Reply

Paul McCartney’s concert in Rio last Sunday, 22nd May, was broadcast live over the internet by Terra in Latin America. They have kindly loaned his site the tapes so that anyone who was not lucky enough to watch it live will still get the chance to see the show – but only for a very limited time.

The videos are only up on Paul’s site until midnight on Friday, 26 May so make sure you have a look.

Its worth seeing just for “Hey Jude”, where the Brazilian fans came prepared for the song with their own home-made signs, as Paul himself points out:

“Whilst doing ‘Hey Jude’ when I handed over to the audience to sing the ‘na na na na’s’ suddenly the audience produced these signs. It was such a visual thing. It was very emotional because the fans had gone to all that trouble. They could have just come to the show and watched it but they all communicated before hand to make the special moment happen. They connected with each other, then connected with us and the entire crew. Everyone felt connected. It was very exciting and emotional to see that people care so much.”

An Overview of Australian Beatles Records

Posted on by
4

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)

Magical Mystery Tour – HMV Box Set

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve been able to get hold of another in the 1987 series of box sets released by the British HMV record store chain to celebrate the first editions of the Beatles on CD. I’ve previously posted on the “Sgt Pepper” box set, and also the “Beatles Red 1962-1966” box set.  Now they’re joined by the HMV “Magical Mystery Tour”:

When the Beatles catalogue came out on CD for the very first time back in 1987 it was a big deal and HMV (which has close ties back to the Beatles record company EMI) released a series of limited edition 12” x 12″ box sets containing CD’s to mark the occasion. There were 12 box sets released in all, plus a large (and expensive) HMV box which housed every CD then available.

Box set BEACD25/6 was “Magical Mystery Tour”, and it came with a 12-page booklet, a large fold out colour poster, and a badge. You can see the front cover image of the box above. It features the same artwork as that used on the CD. When you take the lid off this is what you first see:

This is a large format 12-page booklet with lots of photographs and the text is an article about the making of the film “Magical Mystery Tour”, plus the background to each song. Here are couple of pages from the booklet:

Underneath the booklet is a poster featuring the band in their tuxedos from a scene in the film, plus text on the left-hand side telling the Magical Mystery Tour story:

Then comes the CD itself, held in place by a special cardboard holder with a slot just right for the CD, which is in the standard plastic jewel case. There’s a small thumb-slot at the top to help you get the CD out:

Also in the box is a small metal Magical Mystery Tour/HMV pin or badge:

The CD that comes with the HMV box is the original 1987 UK release with its own booklet:

Like the other titles in the set, inside the lid of the HMV box there’s a limited edition stamped number. Mine as you can see is a nice round number, 004949:

There were apparently 10,000 copies of “Magical Mystery Tour” released worldwide, although one site I found disputes this saying there were only 8000.

Websites for “McCartney” and “McCartney II” Launched

Posted on by
Reply

Two separate websites have been launched in the lead-up to the official release of the new “McCartney” and “McCartney II” reissues, due on June 13.

Both feature photos and information about the new releases, which incidentally now include a single disc “Standard” edition of each title – something that until now has not been mentioned.

Both websites have a short video trailer (with Paul talking about the making of each album) to promote the discs:

These are the next two releases in the Concord Records/Hear Music Paul McCartney Archive series. See also my un-boxing of the first release in the series: “Band on the Run“.

“Come Together” TV Campaign for the City of Brisbane

Posted on by
3

Oh dear.

I’m getting onto this story a little late because it came to light last month, but the Australian state of Queensland is running an advertising campaign using a cover version of the Beatles “Come Together” to win tourist visitors back to their flood-ravaged capital city of Brisbane.

In January Brisbane, along with most of Queensland, suffered through devastating floods and has seen a real downturn in tourist visitors as a result. The state and the city need to get back on their feet. But really – why spoil “Come Together”? I don’t know about you, but I really hate to hear Beatles songs used in this way. In fact I hate hearing any song I really like bastardised by advertising agencies to sell any product.

Another Australian example from a couple of years ago that really grated (and I suspect this was used globally) was the use of the classic Beach Boys “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” to sell Cadbury chocolate. It just belittled this song for everyone for evermore:

Thanks for nothing, Cadbury. You spoiled a really great song.

The Brisbane version of “Come Together” was recorded by two local bands Hungry Kids of Hungary and Ball Park Music. Its not the first time Beatles music has been used in advertising. Probably the most celebrated example was from back in 1987 when Nike used the actual track (not a cover version) of “Revolution“. When it got to court Apple and the Beatles’ attorneys argued that “…the Beatles position is that they don’t sing jingles to peddle sneakers, beer, pantyhose or anything else. Their position is that they wrote and recorded these songs as artists and not as pitchmen for any product.”

I’d be interested to hear what you think. Does the use of Beatle tracks (or any great popular music for that matter) to sell or promote product get on your nerves?

Let me know.