Tag Archives: Apple Records

Amazing New Beatles Book

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This looks to be something special.

Thanks to Wogblog for alerting us to this. He’s featured it twice. First in his interesting post on Beatles boxed sets here, and in a review of one section more recently here.

Very accurately subtitled “A Pictorial Journey Through Beatles Record Sleeves From Around the World”, this book is comprehensively just that. Written by Joachim Noske, a German fellow who must be one of the most avid Beatles record collectors of all time,  “The Beatles Covered” delves into his extensive personal collection. As Noske says: “On 800 LP sized pages printed in full colour throughout, it is a trip through more than sixty countries and territories on five continents and shows you an amazing array of original and reissue Beatles record covers the way they were released at the time in the respective markets across the world. It contains well over 14,000 pictures of singles, EPs, LPs, flexi-discs, 78 rpm shellac records, coloured vinyl records, picture discs, and boxed sets of legitimately available Beatles material, which, besides their EMI output, also includes their pre-fame recordings in Hamburg (with Tony Sheridan and at the Star Club), their Decca audition set, as well as interview and documentary discs. This world discography of Beatles vinyl records is arranged geographically by continents and countries, and contains an appendix that focuses on a number of thematic issues, such as The Beatles Collection blue boxed set, their Christmas recordings and the Magical Mystery Tour releases, amongst others.”

Visit the special site set up to feature the book – there is a lot to click through, including many page examples of what’s inside, press clippings and reviews, and details about how you can order it. The book is limited to 500 signed copies.

Author Joachim Noske, sitting in front of some of his impressive collection of records (photo: Sergej Lepke)

The Lennon Singles Bag – Whats Inside?

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Happy Record Store Day for last weekend (Saturday, 17 April)!

We managed (through our friendly local independent store, Red Eye Records) to get a copy of one of the special releases produced just for the weekend: The John Lennon Singles Bag.

See this post and this post for information on this very limited edition.

Apparently there are just 7000 of these packs made for the world…..mine is number 6644 of 7000. Not a low number, but it has a nice ring to it!

Here’s a picture from the web of how the pack looks:

A sealed copy of the John Lennon Singles Bag

Like this one, ours is still sealed – and we hope to be able to keep it that way – though it is very tempting to open it to see whats inside….

Fortunately, the Lennon Estate has given us a comprehensive look inside. Just click on this link: https://www.johnlennon.com/music/rarities/singles-bag/

Beatles Number 1 – Vinyl

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A couple of days ago I wrote about finally getting a CD copy of the 2000 Beatles compilation, The Beatles – Number One. It was a little unusual in that it was the Taiwan CD release and it has some different packaging associated with it.

In that post I mentioned that when this title originally came out in the year 2000 I got the vinyl edition, and that Apple Records had gone to a lot of extra trouble to make it something really special.

As a result it is really quite a collector’s item if you can get hold of a copy. Here are a couple of pics of my copy of the vinyl Beatles – Number One:

Beatles 1 - front cover

Beatles 1 - rear cover

Because this is a two-record set, the cover is a gate-fold. Here’s how it looks when opened up:

Beatles 1 - gate-fold open

This is the custom record label on each disc:

Beatles 1 - vinyl label

Beatles 1 - vinyl record label

The inserts inside are extensive.

Firstly, there are four individual photos. One of John Lennon, one of Paul McCartney, one of Ringo Starr and one of George Harrison. While these ones are psychedelic in style, the idea is clearly reminiscent of the four photographs that came with the original vinyl editions of the Beatles “White Album”:

Beatles 1 - the four individual photos

Each LP is protected by a cardboard inner sleeve. These are also highly produced with unique artwork, photographs and information:

Beatles 1 - inner sleeve one (front)

Beatles 1 - inner sleeve one (rear)

Each inner sleeve contains photo images of Beatles singles released around the world:

Beatles 1 - inner sleeve two (front)

Beatles 1 - inner sleeve two (rear)

Finally, the set contains a big, fold-out poster of Beatles picture covers from around the world showing different singles releases:

Beatles 1 - large poster

Nice work Apple.

The Beatles Number 1’s – Taiwan Variation

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When the compilation The Beatles Number 1 (27 No. 1 Singles) was first released back in the year 2000 I was a purist and was only interested in any Beatles re-issues that came out on vinyl. That was my focus as a collector.

As the years have gone by I’ve realised that, while I’ll still collect any vinyl re-issues that come out, CDs are after all much more convenient to play – and they often have some variations to the vinyl which are interesting.

While I’ve had the original vinyl of The Beatles Number 1 for years (the packaging of which is AWESOME -more on this soon), there were some CD editions of it that were always of interest. Among these was the Taiwan edition featured here. I recently spied one in excellent condition and going for a very good price on Ebay – and it arrived this week.

Beatles 1 - Taiwan outer slipcase

As you can see – it has a special outer cardboard slip case that clearly proclaims it is from an Asian country – in this case, Taiwan. The unique packaging doesn’t stop there. The pack also contains an additional 36 page booklet (in Chinese) with what looks like a long essay on the Beatles, a wealth of information on each individual track, photographs of the Beatles and the albums each track is associated with, release dates, etc.

The additional 36-page booklet exclusive to this realease alongside the CD

The pack also contains another special insert – a fold-out sheet with lyrics for every song in both Chinese and English:

The fold out lyric sheet

Interestingly the CD jewel case, booklet (32 pages) and CD seem to be exactly the same as the European release. It has “Printed in the EU” on the back and on the CD, so I guess EMI Taiwan just imported these and put together the rest of the pack themselves….

(clockwise from top left): The custom slipcase, lyric insert, CD and special additional booklet

So, there you have it – the slightly collectable Taiwan edition of The Beatles Number 1.

As mentioned above, the vinyl edition of this release is kind of special. Apple really went to some trouble with the packaging and inserts and I will post some photos and info on this edition soon.

Fab Fourum – a Beatles podcast I download occasionally – recently devoted a whole show to the Beatles Number 1, and you can download it here on iTunes (see Episode 021 called: #1 With “1”).

Beatles Stereo Remasters and USB Unboxing

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There seems to be a LOT of interest in the unboxing pictures I posted of me opening up the Beatles In Mono remasters.

There’s also been a steady stream of people looking at the pics of the packaging for the Beatles “Apple” USB posted a while back.

So that left the Beatles Stereo Remastered box set still to do as an “unboxing”.

Instead of me doing it in still photos, I thought I’d have a quick look around on YouTube to see if there was a decent video example of the Stereo Box set being opened so you can see what it contains, and also to see if there was anything on the little Beatles USB that contains all the CD remasters in both MP3 and FLAC 24-bit quality, plus all the mini documentaries and the artwork for each album.

Turns out there is one video that does both the Stereo Box and a really detailed look at the packaging for the USB and the little Apple USB itself. Two for the price of one:

In searching for these I also found a guy who shows the user interface for the USB once it is plugged into your computer. You get to see what he’s seeing as he moves around the menus:

Thanks to Ian C. Rogers and zenkenobi.

More Artwork for April Lennon Singles Release

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I wrote earlier this month about a special limited edition John Lennon release for Record Store Day which is on April 17.

At the time not much was known but since then some more detailed artwork for the project has come to light. The three singles will be housed in a paper “bag” with three postcards and a poster.

The poster will look like this:

And there’s a custom 45 rpm single hub:

I got these images from a New Jersey record store site called “Vintage Vinyl” – so thanks to them. Their site is interesting because it reveals the huge number of other special releases for the day. They’ve got a page full of limited release or specially produced product just for Record Store Day, including items from Bruce Springsteen, Bon Ivor and Peter Gabriel, Neil Young, the Sex Pistols, and the Rolling Stones.

(Incidentally, Vintage Vinyl have that special Beatles Remastered gift box I wrote about in January. On their front page they have have a link to a deal where you can buy any 2 Beatles Remastered CD’s and get the box thrown in free).

New John Lennon Limited Edition Singles

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Each year Independent Record Store Day in the US gets more interesting and influential, and it seems to be spreading to other countries.

This year to mark the day (April 17), EMI/Capitol in the US will release a limited edition pack of three John Lennon 45rpm vinyl singles.

Formally announced by EMI,  it is also in the “News” section of the official John Lennon site, at the Capitol Records vinyl re-issue site fromthecapitolvaults.com, and there are strong hints at the Record Store Day site itself as well.

The three singles, in original replica sleeves, will be:

John Lennon “Mother” / Yoko Ono “Why”
John Lennon “Imagine” / John Lennon “It’s So Hard”
John Lennon “Watching the Wheels” / Yoko Ono “Yes, I’m Your Angel”

All three will come in what is described as an individually numbered quality “Kraftpac” paper envelope with a poster, three postcards and a special custom adoptor hub for the 45’s.  There’s not a lot of artwork around yet but this looks like it could be the cover of the special bag:

So, here’s to Capitol for celebrating the survival of independent record shops and also the survival of the vinyl record with a special John Lennon release.

For readers in Australia, Record Store Day will also be celebrated on Saturday, April 17. For more info go to the local site.

Klaus Voormann – A Sidesman’s Journey

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One of the great artists and session men and part of the inner-circle of the Beatles for many years is Klaus Voormann.

He’s been a long-time friend and sometime collaborator and he has an album out looking back and celebrating that association with the group. I stumbled across this video which pretty much tells the back story to the making of the record, which is called “A Sidesman’s Journey”:

As you can see “A Sideman’s Journey” features guest appearances by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as Beatle-related songs like George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” – here sung by Yusef Islam (Cat Stevens).

Voormann has known the Beatles since the Hamburg days and is an artist and bass player. For example, he drew the legendary cover for “Revolver”:

The Beatles - Revolver (1966)

Later Voormann also played bass on numerous Beatles solo projects including, amongst many others,  Lennon’s “Walls and Bridges” and “Imagine”, Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” and “Concert for Bangladesh”, and on the Ringo solo outings “Ringo” and “Goodnight Vienna”.  He was a founding member of the Plastic Ono Band.  See his biog entry in Wikipedia here.

Voormann’s new CD is made up of newly-recorded covers of some of the songs he helped make famous with the former Beatles plus many other artists over the years.

Well worth a listen.

Label Variations – Part Two – Let It Be

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Late last year I posted a couple of label variations from my collection of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band vinyl LP’s.

That page has been getting a few hits, so here is another selection – this time for Let It Be. Again, a couple of vinyl label variations from around the world. I don’t have as many copies of Let It Be as I do Sgt. Pepper, but am still looking!

I guess the place to start is with the original UK Apple version:

The original UK green Apple

As you’ll probably know, in the UK the very earliest copies of Let It Be were released in a lavish box-set and came with a thick book of text, dialogue extracts and photographs from the film “Let It Be”. Those box-sets, which had the catalogue number PCS-1, now fetch very good prices and in good condition are very collectable. While the box-set’s number was PCS-1, the record inside and all subsequent releases actually had the catalogue number PCS 7096, which you can see in the image above. After stocks of the box-set sold out Let It Be was only ever available as a single sleeve album.

In Australia early copies also came in a similar box-set with the book, and it had the green Apple label. The only real variation was that the catalogue number for the box was PXS-1, and the record number was PCSO 7096.

The first Australian pressing – with green Apple label

Meanwhile, across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand Beatle fans also got a box-set and book for a short time (though I’ve never actually seen one of these from NZ) and then a single sleeve cover after that. Their pressing has New Zealand’s particular version of the green Apple:

An early example of the New Zealand pressing

As you can see, in New Zealand the catalogue number was PCSM 7096. You can click here for a comprehensive list of which countries around the world got the box-set and book, plus some further info on variations.

In the United States they did something different again. For some reason it was decided not to provide the book and box set, and only make the record available in a gate-fold cover. Inside the gate-fold were just a small selection of the photographs from the book that was released in other markets. The other big variation was that the record label itself was not green, but red:

The US pressing – with unique red Apple

I believe that this version of Let It Be was very widely bootlegged in a very accurately reproduced cover and so there are consequently a lot of very good fakes out there, complete with the red Apple label. There is some information here on how to tell if you have a fake. My copy has a fairly washed-out looking label and I suspect it may well not be an authentic original….I’m going to do some more digging.

Later US copies went from the Apple to Capitol labels:

The purple US Capitol label

Among my Let It Be copies I have a couple of Asian pressings. They can be hard to identify exactly because in some territories they imported the covers from the UK and just inserted locally pressed vinyl. That’s particularly true with pressings from Hong Kong because at the time it was a British protectorate with lots of ties back to the “mother” country. I think this Apple label below is a Hong Kong pressing, but I’m not sure…

What I think is a pressing from Hong Kong

This next one is a little easier to identify – it actually says on the back cover it is made and printed in Malaysia. Having said that, the record label is very similar (with a few variations) to the suspected Hong Kong pressing above:

A Malaysian pressing – with green Apple

This next one is probably the most different and unusual. I picked this up in 1992 – the year of it’s release. Its the Russian pressing on the AnTrop label. I think this particular record was produced in St Petersburg because around the AnTrop logo are the words “consummari in unum St.Petersburg” (Thank you to the fantastic Beatles On Vinyl, site which has an absolute wealth of information about every Russian/USSR Beatles release):

The AnTrop Records Russian pressing of Let It Be

Finally, up almost to the present day and the most recent US vinyl pressings of the album – the so called “Limited Edition” re-issues from Capitol/Apple in the United States a few years ago. For these they resurrected the green Apple but with the variation of a white background instead of the usual black. Notice the Parlophone logo also appears on the right-hand side:

The US Capitol/Apple re-issue

Finally, an very unusual one sent in by Andrey, who is a collector who lives in Russia. This one is a rare one – “Let It Be” from Guatemala:

Well, that’s a quick trawl through just some of the different label variations for Let It Be on vinyl. Of course vinyl copies of the album are still readily available in the UK, though I don’t have a copy. In fact the whole Beatles catalogue is still in print on vinyl there.

I wonder if Apple Records will come good on the rumours that were circulating last year when the new Remastered CD’s and box sets came out? There was talk that a vinyl box-set was in preparation – on audiophile-quality, 180 gram vinyl. Nice!

See also:  Label Variations – Part One – Sgt. Pepper

See also: Label Variations – Part Three – McCartney’s Choba B CCCP

Composing Outside the Beatles – DVD

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Despite the somewhat literal and unimaginative title, this recent release is a really a very interesting documentary study of John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s careers immediately following the break-up of the Beatles.

I’d read about this DVD by chance and had been looking around on Ebay for a copy. I dropped in to my favourite shop – Red Eye Records – and there it was on the shelf for a reasonable price. Well, reasonable compared to the prices I’d seen for British or US copies on Ebay, plus postage, plus the uncertainty of “will it ever arrive?”….a bird in the bush as they say.

So, I got it at Red Eye, and watched it last weekend – which was a wet weekend and perfect for being a couch potato and settling in in front of the TV for a couple of hours.

Nicely put together, it traces the first few years of Lennon and McCartney trying to make their ways as solo entities outside the protective shell that used to be the Beatles. It compares them as composers and performers, examining their early singles and album releases. There is much more time and effort during the documentary placed on John Lennon’s output than that of Paul – but this is probably because the overall theory of the documentary is that Lennon was by far doing more serious and worthy work, and being more commercially successful than his former band-mate and co-writer.

There are nice shots of original album covers and single releases as the discussion panel (which includes Klaus Voorman, Paul Gambaccini, drummers Alan White and Denny Seiwell, and writers Johnny Rogan, John Blaney and Steve Turner amongst others) commenting on and appraising the relative strengths and weaknesses of each solo release between 1967 and 1972.

The front cover of "Composing Outside the Beatles"

The packaging of the DVD is impressive. It’s in the digi-pack style with opening “pages” revealing the DVD disc inside. It is glossy and has good production values with great photos and printed information.

The DVD cover open to the first of the tri-folds

Its a tri-fold digi-pack that finally opens out like this:

The tri-fold inner fully open

As you can see they have really taken some care with the presentation, including printing the DVD disc itself so that it matches the printing of the inner cover exactly. Here’s the rear cover:

The rear cover of "Composing Outside the Beatles"

So, “Composing Outside the Beatles” really has a strong slant towards John – both in the comments by the interviewees and the ratio of time spent on each. But maybe this is just a reflection on the times where Paul was struggling to be a musician outside the Beatles while John appeared to leap into it with a bit more style (as well as critical and commercial success). If you are interested there’s a further review here.