Tag Archives: Music

Paul McCartney’s The Family Way – Record Store Day 2015

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Remember our 2015 Record Store Day failure to secure a copy of Paul McCartney’s limited edition The Family Way soundtrack vinyl reissue?

Well, thanks to good old eBay we now have a copy, and at only a small increase in price on what the LP would have cost new in Australia:Family Way Cover 1Family Way Cover 2

This Record Store Day edition is reportedly limited to 5000 copies worldwide. The small print at the bottom of the rear cover says:

 180 gram Vinyl – Limited Collector’s Edition                                                                                        Reissue Produced by Cary E. Mansfield and Chip Madinger • Mastered for vinyl by Steve Massie for Steve Massie Productions • Prepared for release in the U.S.A. by Tom Moulton. This release 2015 CANAL+IMAGE UK Ltd., under licence to Varèse Sarabande Records, LLC • ©1967 CANAL+IMAGE UK Ltd. • Package design ©2015 Varèse Sarabande Records, LLC. Originally released as Decca [U.K.] album LK.4847, 1967 •….etc.”

It is on the Verèse Sarabande label and these have the company logo in green and yellow on Side 1, but the colours are reversed on Side 2:Family Way Label 1Family Way Label 2

This release joins the CD re-issue (from 2011 – also on the Varèse Sarabande label and which includes a bonus track not reproduced on this 2015 vinyl release).

Also in our collection is the original Australian edition on the Decca label (we detailed this in May 2011):Family Way Cover 3Family Way Cover 4Family Way Label 3

 

 

New John Lennon LP Box Set Pressed By Optimal Media

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The new John Lennon 8 LP box set (due in stores early next month) will all be pressed at a state-of-the-art German factory in the town of Robel in Germany. Lennon_LPs_2015

Optimal Media are a large and experienced outfit which has impressive high-volume CD replication and vinyl pressing facilities as well as the ability to print and assemble the high quality LP covers, inner sleeves and custom boxes in which they are presented for back-catalogue (and new) collections of music.optimal_factory

Optimal is the same place that the Beatles Remastered Stereo box set was manufactured back in 2012. Their site (and the finished product) demonstrates that they do impressive work at a high quality.beatles-vinyl-lid-open2

They pressed the 40th anniversary vinyl box set edition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” LP – a limited edition two-disc set released for Record Store Day in 2011.Lennon_Imaginersd_lennonbox

Our copy of the Beatles in Mono vinyl box set also originated at the same Optimal factory. All the printing and pressing of the box set was done there and like the Stereo Box, this was a large and complex project to pull off. It has to be said the quality and attention to detail is absolutely first-rate. The cardboard used for the covers is thick, and the 180g vinyl feels chunky and solid in your hands.beatles-mono-box14

For a further discussion on the origin of recent Beatle vinyl releases see:  Where “Made in the EU” Vinyl Might Be Pressed

Original TV Ads – The Beatles Red and Blue Albums

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Stumbled upon this on the weekend:

And here’s the 2010 advertisement released when the remastered CD sets came out:

Both reminded me of the recently re-issued vinyl now on the Universal Music label…..

Ringo Starr – Postcards From Paradise

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Our CD copy of Ringo’s Postcards From Paradise has finally arrived. Apparently Australia Post has recently installed new automated machines which sort packages – and they are not going well…..

It has cost A$500 million to install the new system, but since then over 20% of parcels are being delivered to the wrong address! I’m blaming this on the length of time it took this little CD to get from Canada to my front door…..Ringo Postcards 1Ringo Postcards 2Ringo Postcards 3

It’s actually a pretty good listen with some really catchy hooks, clever lyrics and musical ideas. Here’s Ringo himself with a YouTube update:

Here’s the link to that cover story in Rolling Stone magazine that he mentions. And here Ringo is interviewed about the recording of the album:

And finally an album review from the April edition of Rolling Stone which gives Postcards three stars:

It’s been more than 50 years since Ringo Starr declared himself a fan of Beethoven — “especially his poems.” But all that time, he’s reigned as one of rock & roll’s most beloved sages. Postcards From Paradise, his 18th solo effort, is a masterful summary of Ringo-ness: his cheer, his cheek, his wisdom. He gets a little help from old friends like Joe Walsh and Todd Rundgren — no Kanye or Rihanna on this track list — and builds the title tune out of Beat-les quips: “It’s like I said the night before/I’ll love you when I’m 64.” Best of all is “Rory and the Hurricanes,” celebrating his pre-Beatles band — the one that made Ringo a star in Liverpool when the other three Fabs were nobodies.  ♦♦♦

And you can read an interview with Postcards From Paradise recording engineer Bruce Sugar at Beatles Examiner.

Warman’s “Beatles Field Guide” Book

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We found a cute little Beatle book the other day. It’s called Warman’s Beatles Field Guide. Published in 2005 it is a small (but thick at 512 pages), pocket-sized book listing prices and descriptions for a wide range of Beatle collectables.  Beatle Guide 1

Inside you’ll find articles on “Why the Beatles Still Matter” and “Ranking the Beatles” as well as commentary and information on their post-break-up and solo careers.

But the biggest and most interesting chapters are the sections on “Memorabilia” – which is a comprehensively illustrated price guide (in 2005 US$ of course!):Beatle Guide 3

The “Singles” (again lavishly illustrated and with indicative prices):Beatle Guide 5

And then a lengthy section detailing each of the “Albums”: Beatle Guide 4

These sections are all based around the US releases only – but it’s a great ‘ready-reference’ style book with a huge number of photos, background information and examples for each of the entries. A really worthwhile little book to have.Beatle Guide 2

New John Lennon Vinyl Box Set Coming

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Whenever new Beatle or Beatle-related vinyl is mentioned we get interested.

Yes, like most collectors we have these albums already (in some cases many times over….) but the completist in us has to have the latest. And the latest announcement is that a new box set of eight John Lennon LPs is due for release on June 8. For all the details go to johnlennonmusic.com – but in a nutshell these will be faithful reproductions on 180-gram vinyl of John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band; Imagine; Some Time in New York City; Mind Games; Walls and Bridges; Rock ‘n’ Roll; Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey:Lennon_Box

All artwork, including inner bags, posters, postcards and original labels will be reproduced:plastic_labels 2plastic_labels 3mind_games_labels 2mind_games_labels 3double_fantasy_label 2double_fantasy_label 3

Looks like the LPs come in a white box with the same design cues as the John Lennon Signature Box from back in October, 2011:

John-Lennon-Signature-Box---S-536618

That set contains the same titles – only on CD – plus it has two bonus discs of non-album tracks, studio outtakes and home recordings:

Signature-box-insert

Of course there’s been a previous incarnation of a John Lennon , 8 LP vinyl box set.

The Beatles “Help” – 50th Anniversary Podcast

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As we mentioned in December last year, the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) is hosting an ongoing series celebrating the 50th anniversary of each British Beatle LP.

As each album marks its anniversary presenter Rod Quinn speaks to US John Lennon biographer and Beatle expert Jude Southerland Kessler. Jude is the author of the extraordinary and ambitious nine-volume John Lennon narrative biography. The latest instalment in her series is Volume 3: She Loves You.

Last weekend the pair began a two-part series on the Beatles fifth studio album Help!.

You can find Part One (examining Side One of the LP) here.Help Label 1

And you can find Part Two (examining Side Two of the LP) here.

Help Label 2Previous broadcasts have covered Please Please Me; With the Beatles; A Hard Day’s Night, and Beatles For Sale. Each is well worth a listen.

Record Store Day 2015 – An Epic Fail….

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Record Store Day is already well under way here in Australia and we were very keen to secure a copy of the Paul McCartney soundtrack to the film The Family Way:family way

So we schlepped all they way in to the city to one of the biggest and best record shops in Sydney – Red Eye Records. They always get good stocks in of most Record Store Day releases and were opening at 9.00am. We got there about 20 minutes before hand expecting to see a small queue. Turns out that was an over-ambitious expectation. There was already a very long queue well down the block. So long that you couldn’t actually see the Red Eye store:RSD 1

We dutifully took our place and after an hour slowly shuffled toward the entry. They were basically letting one person in as one person left, so it was taking quite some time:RSD 2

We eventually got to within about 20 people from the sales counter and at this point an employee came out and was helpfully going down the line (which was still snaking its way down the block behind us) asking what people were looking for and advising them if they still had stock. “Any copies of Paul McCartney’s The Family Way left?”. “No”, came the answer. “We only got one copy of that and it went ages ago”. Damn……

The guy standing behind me said he thought Record Store Day caused more disappointment than joy. Maybe he’s right.  😦RSD 3

Abbey Road Studios Revealed

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Using Google today we accidentally stumbled across a fantastic interactive gateway they’ve created which takes you into the world of the historic Abbey Road studios in London – the place where so much Beatles history was created:Abbey Road 5

On the Google home page all you have to do is click on the link ‘Step inside Abbey Road Studios‘. When you do you’ll see this:Abbey Road 1Once inside you can choose to go to Studio One, Studio Two, or to Studio Three.

If you choose Studio Two (where the Beatles made so much of their music), have a look around. You can also click on a link to the making of Paul McCartney’s ‘Queenie Eye‘ video, which was shot entirely in Studio Two:Abbey Road 4Don’t forget to go upstairs to the Studio Two control room. There you’ll find Giles Martin at the mixing desk and a number of interesting features to click on:Abbey Road 2There’s also an option to visit the Abbey Road Mastering Room. Have a look at what’s on top of the stack of LPs on the coffee table at the back:Abbey Road 3This is a fantastic resource, one you can spend quite a while clicking around on and finding our more about the famous Abbey Road. Thanks Google!

McCartney/Rihanna/Kanye ‘FourFiveSeconds’ CD Single

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This just arrived from Amazon.

It’s the CD single of Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney singing ‘FourFiveSeconds‘:FourFiveSeconds1 FourFiveSeconds3

There’s just the one song, plus another track with the official video:

Have to say we really like the song.

One of the most interesting things about now having a physical copy of this release is the packaging – especially the detail contained in the prolific small print on the inside sleeve: FourFiveSeconds2

As you can see, for just one song, there is certainly a LOT of small print……

Turns out ‘FourFiveSeconds’ was indeed written by McCartney and Kanye West – but we learn they did it with (wait for it) seven other people. That’s a total of nine composers listed:FourFiveSeconds4(Click on the image above to see a larger version)

The rights to the song are administered by thirteen listed companies. And the song was recorded in New York, Santa Monica….and Mexico. Paul McCartney played acoustic guitar, but bass was provided by multi-instrumentalist and hip hop producer Mike Dean.

Oh, and apparently that Braille-like writing on the front cover is in fact Braille and it reads “four five seconds”.