Yoko Ono and the World of Dance Music Remixes

Posted on March 15, 2014 by beatlesblogger

When we posted about the forthcoming re-issues of Yoko Ono’s Apple Records back catalogue we were contacted by the people at Mind Train/Twisted Records asking if we were aware of Yoko Ono’s other considerable success over many years in the world of dance music and remixes.

No, we said – tell us more.

And so Rob at Twisted kindly sent through a signed (yes, autographed by Yoko herself), 2-disc promo set which gathers together a selection of the very best of her output in this genre from the last 10 years or so:

Under the monicker ONO she has had huge successes with DJ remixes of her work on the Billboard Club charts. Last year ONO had not one, but two consecutive Number 1 hits – making her one of the most successful dance artists of 2013 and prompting articles like this one in Time magazine.

Her product is prepared and released by the Yoko-associated Mind Train Records and the iconic New York-based house music label Twisted Records. For more on Twisted see their Facebook page.

Yoko Ono’s Imaginepeace site also has some info on these releases.

Gotta say, I quite like these. They’re creative, mesmerising, and make you want to move. It just goes to show that in the world of collecting Beatle and Beatle-related music there is always something new to learn….

(for larger versions click on the images above)

Hear the Beatles Tell All – British Charly Records Re-Issue

Posted on February 27, 2014 by beatlesblogger

With the Beatles 50th anniversary of the arrival in the US now well under way, it was intriguing to come across a re-issued example of one of the earliest efforts to cash in on that US success.

Hear the Beatles Tell All was an interview disc which consisted of two lengthy conversations between the Beatles and Los Angeles radio disc jockeys. On Side One Dave Hull interviews John Lennon, while Side Two was titled “Jim Steck interviews John, Paul, George, Ringo”. No Beatles music was included on this interview album, rather a quite odd but jazzy percussion backing edited and scored by Lou Adler, and played by then top LA session drummer named Hal Blaine.

Originally released in September, 1964 on the Vee-Jay Records label, what we have here is a 1981 re-issue by the British record label Charly Records:

Charly Records have faithfully reproduced the cover. If you have the original Vee-Jay release the label will look like this:

But if it is a fake, you might have this:

Beatles Across the World – Book and Prints

Posted on November 23, 2013 by beatlesblogger

Stumbled across a cheap but only just-released book this week. Penned by a writer named John Stanley, it’s called The Beatles Across the World. Here are the front and rear covers:

The Beatles Across the World just 64 pages (it’s no Lewisohn Tune In, which runs to 946 pages!), and has clearly been released to capitalise on the 50th anniversary of the group’s appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show in the US – and the Beatle-mania which subsequently erupted across that country.

This publication is interesting though. It comes in a carboard folder which opens to reveal two pouches inside, one to hold the book on one side:

Plus on the other side another pouch which hold six 8×10 black and white Beatle prints:

Here’s the front cover of the folder:Go to the publishers website (Park Lane Books) to find out more, or click here for the Australian distributor, Herron Books.

The Bloody Beetroots and Paul McCartney – Vinyl Single

Posted on November 10, 2013 by beatlesblogger

Remember this post about Paul McCartney and Youth teaming up with Italian dance punk performer Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo (a.k.a. The Bloody Beetroots)?

Well, our limited edition and numbered copy of the vinyl single “Out of Sight” has just arrived:

Things to note on the rear cover are the song and recording credits…..

….the Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo (SBCR) logo and the McCartney signature…..

……and the hand-written limited edition number:

The single is taken from the Bloody Beetroot CD Hide, released in September:

George Harrison – Early Takes Clear Vinyl Ltd. Ed.

Posted on November 9, 2013 by beatlesblogger

Ain’t the Internet marvelous? It just keeps on revealing stuff you never knew.

Like the fact that George Harrison’s Early Takes Vol. 1 (released on CD and vinyl LP in May last year) has been issued in a limited edition, “translucent green” clear vinyl version as well.

At beatlesblogger.com we like to think we keep pretty close tabs on what is happening release-wise in the Beatles world, but this was news to us:

Apparently this came out at the same time (or just after) the original, black vinyl release. It’s a limited edition LP, pressed on 180 gram clear vinyl and issued by Universal Music. Only 500 copies were pressed.

There are a couple of copies for sale on Ebay at the moment – but (predictably) they are pretty expensive.

However, a quick trawl around the web found that Universal Music itself is still selling copies at their official UK vinyl site. In fact they are even on sale at the moment, reduced from £24.99 to £17.49.

If you, like us, are George Harrison completists you’d best be quick.

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery – Part 3

Posted on October 20, 2013 by beatlesblogger

A couple of posts ago we featured some of the album covers which blatantly copied or where perhaps inspired by the Beatles Let It Be. That followed this fairly similar copy from back in 2010 of the cover for their compilation The Beatles Number 1.

Now it’s time for the White Album.

Released in 1968, its cover was a simple and stark contrast to the visual complexity of the Sgt Pepper LP which (at least in Britain) immediately preceded it:

Since that austere, one-colour look with absolutely minimal text there has been more than a few followers to have worked the same theme. Here, in no particular order, are just some of the many:

Of course, good old plain black has been very popular over the years:Of course, John Lennon’s own Live Peace in Toronto probably qualifies too:

So too does McCartney’s side project The Fireman with his 1993 release Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest:Know of any more? Let us know.

The Beatles Tune In – Lewisohn’s New Book Out Today

Posted on October 9, 2013 by beatlesblogger

Volume One of Mark Lewisohn’s new biography of the Beatles is out in the UK today.

The book is called The Beatles: All These Years – Volume One: Tune In. The marketing people have come up with a catch-phrase: Throw away what you think you know and start afresh.

It may well be true.

We’ll know more when we see the book for ourselves – but early reports and reviews are good. They’re saying that there is “….a surprise on every page, a revelation in every second chapter.”

At the moment on the book’s official homepage they are running seven read extracts from the audio edition. Here they are collected on SoundCloud for you:

All These Years – Introduction (Read by Mark Lewisohn)
All These Years – Extract Two (Jim McCartney warns his son Paul that John Lennon will get him into trouble. Read by Mark Lewisohn)
All These Years – Extract Three (The decisive moment in John’s separation from both his father and mother. Read by Clive Mantle)
All These Years – Extract Four (John and Paul meet for the first time. Read by Clive Mantle)
All These Years – Extract Five (John and Paul welcome young George Harrison’s talents into the mix. Read by Clive Mantle)
All These Years – Extract Six (Paul is growing up fast, and 1958 draws to a colourful close. Read by Clive Mantle)
All These Years – Extract Seven (Pete Best is unwell so the Beatles grab Ringo Starr as temporary deputy – and enjoy the difference. Read by Clive Mantle)

See also Mark Lewisohn on YouTube (three short videos) talking about the background to the book, and the different versions which will be available.

Tripping the Live Fantastic – Triple LP Vinyl

Posted on October 1, 2013 by beatlesblogger

Wings Over America (originally from 1976, and released again this year as part of the Archive Series) isn’t the only triple live LP set Paul McCartney has released. He also did it in 1990 with Tripping the Live Fantasic.

I’ve just picked up a nice Spanish pressing of this for the collection.

The stripped-down, single disc Tripping the Live Fantastic – Highlights vinyl has been in the collection since it was first released, but never the full triple vinyl deluxe package, complete with its 26 page full-colour booklet, three individual coloured inner-sleeves and custom labels:

Here’s the front cover of the glossy booklet with some great live photography inside:This is the cover of the trimmed-down single LP Tripping the Live Fantastic – Highlights:

The giveaway of the single vinyl version is the addition of the word “Highlights!” on the front cover:This is the Australian vinyl pressing so no custom labels, just the standard black and silver Parlophone issue:

And the Highlights! inner sleeve:

Highlights! was also released as a single CD – but with quite a different track listing having 17 songs instead of just 12 for the vinyl version. The CD adds “Got To Get You Into My Life”, “We Got Married”, “All My Trials” [which is unique to this CD – it doesn’t appear on the vinyl Highlights! LP, or the more complete triple LP/CD versions], “Things We Said Today”, “Back in the U.S.S.R.”, and “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End”. However, the LP version has the song “Put It There” included. That makes both interesting, and also a little bit collectable for the completists among us.

The full Tripping the Live Fantastic set was also released as a double CD in a jumbo sized jewel case in most markets (though in the US it was also available in two separate jewel cases). It has the exact same track listing and running order as the vinyl LP.

Garage Sale Beatles 45’s

Posted on September 19, 2013 by beatlesblogger

It’s not often you see 7-inch, 45rpm Beatles vinyl for sale at garage sales anymore. There are occasionally one or two, but they are now getting few and far between.

That’s why I was surprised this week when I asked after records at a local garage sale and the guy went into his house and brought out crate after crate of the small, vinyl gems. He had literally hundreds of 45’s – all pop and rock artists ranging from the 60s, 70’s and 80’s.
It took me quite a while to look through them all but the task produced a couple of nice items. Some I already owned, but others I didn’t have in my collection – so it was very worthwhile.

Here’s what came out of crates (in release date chronological order). First up, an Extended Play – four songs – from A Hard Day’s Night (1964):

Then came a copy of the Beatles Rock and Roll Music single (1965):

These next few have the release date displayed on the label:

This next one, Yoko Ono’s Walking on Thin Ice (1981) comes in a picture cover:

All the above are Australian pressings (except the John and Yoko Happy Xmas which is British). There was though one odd item in the crates. It was just the sleeve (no record inside unfortunately) of a French EP from 1964 with four songs:

I’ll keep it – in the hope of finding the correct record to go inside it one day….

Beatles Blog

Adventures in collecting Beatles music

Tag Archives: Beatles Collecting

Hear the Beatles Tell All – British Charly Records Re-Issue

Beatles Across the World – Book and Prints

The Bloody Beetroots and Paul McCartney – Vinyl Single

George Harrison – Early Takes Clear Vinyl Ltd. Ed.

The Beatles Tune In – Lewisohn’s New Book Out Today

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