On the subject of Magical Mystery Tour, I came across a copy of the original British version fairly recently... ie the double EP containing only the tracks from the film. It would probably be described as in 'fair' to 'good' condition at best and lacked the booklet, but it was nonetheless a very pleasing addition to the collection. I do have a massive soft spot for Magical Mystery Tour and its very psychedelic sound.
That was an instance where the Yanks got it better than the Brits (up until then, the US Beatle albums were almost travesties of the originals, as tracks got, well, yanked off and put on compilations) while Sgt Pepper was the first to make it as originally prescribed, hence in part making for its ecstatic reception in the US, as for the first time they got the real deal.
With MMT, Brits did not get that as an album, only an EP I think, but in the US they did and I understand it sold nearly as well as Sgt Pepper, it went mega. Song for song it holds up very well against its predecessor.
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
That was an instance where the Yanks got it better than the Brits (up until then, the US Beatle albums were almost travesties of the originals, as tracks got, well, yanked off and put on compilations) while Sgt Pepper was the first to make it as originally prescribed, hence in part making for its ecstatic reception in the US, as for the first time they got the real deal.
Yeah, I've never had the urge to pick up any of the dodgy US-released albums like "Yesterday And Today," or "Meet The Beatles," etc. When I was young, my first purchased Beatles records were the two 'red' and 'blue' Best-Of sets, which had quite a lot of great music on them, naturally. But it was only later, when they first hit compact disc (and that was the bee's knees!) that I sought out the original Brit releases. Now, in my ever-advancing middle age, I'm back to vinyl and finally getting it right ;%
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
A great Stones song, but one I arrived at late because it wasn't on the Rolled Gold compilation I had as a teenager. I got this on their 40 Licks CD originally.
As great as it is, there is a bit at the end when it goes awry, as the band starts up a jam that kills the mood, as Jagger starts improvising in this awful cod Jamaican accent: 'I'm a certified fool man yeah yeah' oh shut up you lunatic, you're embarrassing yourself. I tended to switch off before that.
But on the vinyl single, it doesn't sound the same at all. Jagger's rambling is more buried in the mix, so it sounds like he's mumbling to himself more, and the whole thing holds together.
It is another instance when you might have found yourself being disparaging about a band, only to find actually they did get it right originally after all, and the world is back on its axis again.
Well, picked up a double album of The Beatles Love Songs.
The classy picture has the Fabs looking a bit modish. In fact, if you had a Beatles Mod album you'd have them looking like this maybe, and a track listing might include Dr Robert, Drive My Car, Taxman, Got to Get You Into My Life, You Really Got a Hold On Me, Sexy Sadie, Birthday, Paperback Writer, Twist and Shout... I suppose that's the point of iPod playlists.
Anyway, this one has the classic ballads, the obvious ones like Here, There and Everywhere, The Long and Winding Road, Yesterday and Something.
Less obvious ones like Girl, I'll Follow the Sun, In My Life and You've Got to Hide Your Love Away.
And rarities like Yes It Is and That Girl. {[]
But why is it not on my most played list? ?:)
Well, firstly, I do now tend to prefer the tracks in the original context on mono vinyl, esp Rubber Soul stuff. Secondly, the Beatles were a vital band, and these songs do send me to sleep a bit. Stuff like Another Girl, I've Just Seen a Face and You're Gonna Lose That Girl are I suppose not really love songs but would liven things up a bit.
Covers like Til There Was You or Taste of Honey or Words of Love are okay, but I'd prefer Baby I'ts You, Anna, or YOu Really ?Got a hOld on Me.
Well, picked up a double album of The Beatles Love Songs.
The classy picture has the Fabs looking a bit modish. In fact, if you had a Beatles Mod album you'd have them looking like this maybe, and a track listing might include Dr Robert, Drive My Car, Taxman, Got to Get You Into My Life, You Really Got a Hold On Me, Sexy Sadie, Birthday, Paperback Writer, Twist and Shout... I suppose that's the point of iPod playlists.
Anyway, this one has the classic ballads, the obvious ones like Here, There and Everywhere, The Long and Winding Road, Yesterday and Something.
Less obvious ones like Girl, I'll Follow the Sun, In My Life and You've Got to Hide Your Love Away.
And rarities like Yes It Is and That Girl. {[]
But why is it not on my most played list? ?:)
Well, firstly, I do now tend to prefer the tracks in the original context on mono vinyl, esp Rubber Soul stuff. Secondly, the Beatles were a vital band, and these songs do send me to sleep a bit. Stuff like Another Girl, I've Just Seen a Face and You're Gonna Lose That Girl are I suppose not really love songs but would liven things up a bit.
Covers like Til There Was You or Taste of Honey or Words of Love are okay, but I'd prefer Baby I'ts You, Anna, or YOu Really ?Got a hOld on Me.
I remember my parents buying this album on vinyl in the late 80s or early 90s. Hope they still have it, I would like to have another listen.
Oh, it turns out You're Gonna Lose That Girl is on the album, my bad. However, one final caveat: despite what I've subsequently read of its reviews, the vinyl pressing is not great imo. Not awful, but not up to the 180g vinyl we may be used to, it sounds a bit flimsy, tinny. It's not quite a joy to listen to.
Unlike The Travelling Wilbury's first album which I got out Last Night , now that sounds upfront and bracing, albeit a tad overproduced.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle all dressed in green
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle till the moon is blue
Wiggle till the moon sees you
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle in your boots and shoes
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, you got nothing to lose
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, like a swarm of bees
Wiggle on your hands and knees
Wiggle to the front, wiggle to the rear
Wiggle till you wiggle right out of here
Wiggle till it opens, wiggle till it shuts
Wiggle till it bites, wiggle till it cuts
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle, you can raise the dead
Wiggle till ........
Only the Spice Girls with Zig-a-Zig-ah ! Have come close to winning a Nobel prize.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
But I defy you, read that out in Frankie Howerd's tone of voice, like he's addressing the audience, and you'll see it as the work of genius it truly is.
I picked up The Lion in Winter soundtrack by John Barry for £2 in a tat shop some months ago. I understand it was his first Oscar.
So far I'd only listened to Chinon/Eleanor's Arrival as I knew that one, and it's so good that was enough for the while, but only last night did I listen to it all.
Most of it is ecclesiastical choral work. Barry impressed the judges by making a study of the musical idioms of the Middle Ages, when the film was set, and applying it to the soundtrack.
Far from Bond, you might think. But the overall vibe is sex, death and God - so that's two out of three, as Meatloaf might say.
It really is very good. Proper grown-up music. The opener is a throbbing dynamo, similar to I, Claudius, the feted TV drama a few years later. The orchestration nods to Barry's other work: From Russia with Love, Diamonds are Forever and Moonraker. Some of it owes something to Holst, but as with the Planets Suite, I suggest if you get this on vinyl you get a quality one, as the silences are crucial and crackling shows up more, like taking solace in a magnificent cathedral and finding your penance interrupted by someone rustling crisp wrappers.
It is set around Christmas, so this is a dark seasonal bit of music for this time of year. One track on Side 2 is similar to Mountains and Sunsets off YOLT so there's a bit of self-plagarism, but all this works brilliantly because unlike most soundtracks, it doesn't have cues that obviously only work with the visuals or plot. It appears to work very well on its own terms.
Nice review, Nap, and I love that album too. Btw, it was his third Oscar. There's a re-recording by Nic Raine which has some additional music (though obviously the original is better).
Okay, yep, he got Best Score and Best Song for Born Free. {[]
Of course, The Ipcress File should have got something, perhaps. Hang on, didn't he get an Oscar for Best Song for Goldfinger? Or, as it was 1964, was he up against A Hard Day's Night and Mary Poppins' Chim-chiminee (which won, didn't it?)
I would have thought you could get it new for not too far off that price. If it were the original on 180g vinyl, then you might have a bargain.
I picked up Hey Jude by The Beatles for £3, it's normally around £15. However, there's no smiley emoticon this time round, as it sounds a bit flat. The vinyl looked unmarked, so it's like a vintage bottle of wine you fork out for only to find it's corked. It also jumps on the playout na-na-nah bit.
It's odd, some vinyl you really get the full kick. Laughter in the Rain by Neil Sedaka sounds great; full, strong and bracing. The first no 1 lesbian record, if only by default - Mr Sedaka's vocals sound female, and he's singing about her nipples poking through her wet shirt, or do I just imagine that lyric?
I also got The Byrd's Greatest Hits, and the vinyl makes it sound great. I did think that if only Rubber Soul had just one great Bryds-like song like All I Really Want to Do or Turn Turn Turn or Feel A Whole Lot Better on it, in place of What Goes On or Run for Your Life, it would be an unassailable classic.
But listening to the Hits, while I acknowledge those and other tracks are great, I'd have to say that just Rubber Soul by itself, alone, just one Beatles album, is better than The Bryds' hits all lumped together. I mean RS has Drive My Car, Norwegian Wood, Nowhere Man, Michelle, Girl, In My Life plus great other songs like I'm Looking Through You, The Word, If I Needed Someone (very Byrds like), You Won't See Me, Wait, it's all good really. It just has more 'hits' on it than many a Greatest Hits album, though I think the copy I own is heavy vinyl, and I'd recommend that for any Bryds album to balance out the treble and give the brilliant harmonies the best shot.
Back to Hey Jude, this does sound good in mono even though my copy isn't too flush. The mono version has more pronounced base, which lends the track more gravitas and profundity. It's like it's in a cathedral, which goes with the 'from this day forward' mood of the song. Also, you notice that the Beatles were a great band, I mean in the way they play it. It's a song that might be a tad pedestrian, but they perform it in such a way that it gathers momentum as it goes, as though the singer is building on his convictions.
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
Picked up a cherry vintage copy of Meat Loaf's 1977 "Bat Out Of Hell." I had forgotten what a great record that is.
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
One problem with vinyl is you start going off digital music. It just doesn't sound great, though maybe it is better with earphones, which is how most listen to it. It just sounds flat, compressed, pinned down.
It seems I enjoy more miserable music on digital, too. Side one of Rubber Soul is great on vinyl but until now I only really got stuff like Girl, I'm Looking Thru You and In My Life, v good stuff but melancholic.
Picked up for a quid an early Dionne Warwick album. I don't even like her that much, it was an impulse purchase, I sort of liked the cover.
It sounds fantastic. Part of this has to be the heavy black as soot vinyl, I mean songs like You'll Never Get to Heaven if You Break My Heart never did much for me, it's okay, but sounds great on this.
On the other hand, you recall my raving about The Lion in Winter on vinyl. Well, I ordered a new copy as the one I bought was a bit crackly. But though it had the same serial number, straight away I realised it wasn't the same, as the vinyl is not heavy, and it just isn't as powerful. I'll try to return it.
Thirdly, however, I listened to the remastered Sgt Pepper mono vinyl at last. Don't like it, I actually turned it off. The songs in mono sound dreary, joyless and repetitive. All the mystery and magic gone.
Mine is a Technics SL-Q303 which I bought second-hand about a year ago. Before that I had a cheap and nasty USB turntable which I was very glad to see the end of.
At the moment my turntable is playing through a Samsung mini hi-fi system. When my budget allows I hope to get a decent amp and speakers.
Comments
With MMT, Brits did not get that as an album, only an EP I think, but in the US they did and I understand it sold nearly as well as Sgt Pepper, it went mega. Song for song it holds up very well against its predecessor.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Yeah, I've never had the urge to pick up any of the dodgy US-released albums like "Yesterday And Today," or "Meet The Beatles," etc. When I was young, my first purchased Beatles records were the two 'red' and 'blue' Best-Of sets, which had quite a lot of great music on them, naturally. But it was only later, when they first hit compact disc (and that was the bee's knees!) that I sought out the original Brit releases. Now, in my ever-advancing middle age, I'm back to vinyl and finally getting it right ;%
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
A great Stones song, but one I arrived at late because it wasn't on the Rolled Gold compilation I had as a teenager. I got this on their 40 Licks CD originally.
As great as it is, there is a bit at the end when it goes awry, as the band starts up a jam that kills the mood, as Jagger starts improvising in this awful cod Jamaican accent: 'I'm a certified fool man yeah yeah' oh shut up you lunatic, you're embarrassing yourself. I tended to switch off before that.
But on the vinyl single, it doesn't sound the same at all.
It is another instance when you might have found yourself being disparaging about a band, only to find actually they did get it right originally after all, and the world is back on its axis again.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
The classy picture has the Fabs looking a bit modish. In fact, if you had a Beatles Mod album you'd have them looking like this maybe, and a track listing might include Dr Robert, Drive My Car, Taxman, Got to Get You Into My Life, You Really Got a Hold On Me, Sexy Sadie, Birthday, Paperback Writer, Twist and Shout... I suppose that's the point of iPod playlists.
Anyway, this one has the classic ballads, the obvious ones like Here, There and Everywhere, The Long and Winding Road, Yesterday and Something.
Less obvious ones like Girl, I'll Follow the Sun, In My Life and You've Got to Hide Your Love Away.
And rarities like Yes It Is and That Girl. {[]
But why is it not on my most played list? ?:)
Well, firstly, I do now tend to prefer the tracks in the original context on mono vinyl, esp Rubber Soul stuff. Secondly, the Beatles were a vital band, and these songs do send me to sleep a bit. Stuff like Another Girl, I've Just Seen a Face and You're Gonna Lose That Girl are I suppose not really love songs but would liven things up a bit.
Covers like Til There Was You or Taste of Honey or Words of Love are okay, but I'd prefer Baby I'ts You, Anna, or YOu Really ?Got a hOld on Me.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I remember my parents buying this album on vinyl in the late 80s or early 90s. Hope they still have it, I would like to have another listen.
Unlike The Travelling Wilbury's first album which I got out Last Night
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I lost my head, got into a fight.
I rolled and tumbled till I saw the light.
Went to the Big Apple. Took a bite.
Even Nobel Laureates have off days.
Hahaha, well Margarita is not a favourite of mine. I really like Tweeter and the Monkey Man though.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle all dressed in green
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle till the moon is blue
Wiggle till the moon sees you
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle in your boots and shoes
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, you got nothing to lose
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, like a swarm of bees
Wiggle on your hands and knees
Wiggle to the front, wiggle to the rear
Wiggle till you wiggle right out of here
Wiggle till it opens, wiggle till it shuts
Wiggle till it bites, wiggle till it cuts
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle, you can raise the dead
Wiggle till ........
Only the Spice Girls with Zig-a-Zig-ah ! Have come close to winning a Nobel prize.
But I defy you, read that out in Frankie Howerd's tone of voice, like he's addressing the audience, and you'll see it as the work of genius it truly is.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
So far I'd only listened to Chinon/Eleanor's Arrival as I knew that one, and it's so good that was enough for the while, but only last night did I listen to it all.
Most of it is ecclesiastical choral work. Barry impressed the judges by making a study of the musical idioms of the Middle Ages, when the film was set, and applying it to the soundtrack.
Far from Bond, you might think. But the overall vibe is sex, death and God - so that's two out of three, as Meatloaf might say.
It really is very good.
It is set around Christmas, so this is a dark seasonal bit of music for this time of year. One track on Side 2 is similar to Mountains and Sunsets off YOLT so there's a bit of self-plagarism, but all this works brilliantly because unlike most soundtracks, it doesn't have cues that obviously only work with the visuals or plot. It appears to work very well on its own terms.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Of course, The Ipcress File should have got something, perhaps. Hang on, didn't he get an Oscar for Best Song for Goldfinger? Or, as it was 1964, was he up against A Hard Day's Night and Mary Poppins' Chim-chiminee (which won, didn't it?)
Roger Moore 1927-2017
No idea if the Mary Poppins song won that year!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
A double feature?
I picked up Hey Jude by The Beatles for £3, it's normally around £15. However, there's no smiley emoticon this time round, as it sounds a bit flat. The vinyl looked unmarked, so it's like a vintage bottle of wine you fork out for only to find it's corked. It also jumps on the playout na-na-nah bit.
It's odd, some vinyl you really get the full kick. Laughter in the Rain by Neil Sedaka sounds great; full, strong and bracing. The first no 1 lesbian record, if only by default - Mr Sedaka's vocals sound female, and he's singing about her nipples poking through her wet shirt, or do I just imagine that lyric?
I also got The Byrd's Greatest Hits, and the vinyl makes it sound great. I did think that if only Rubber Soul had just one great Bryds-like song like All I Really Want to Do or Turn Turn Turn or Feel A Whole Lot Better on it, in place of What Goes On or Run for Your Life, it would be an unassailable classic.
But listening to the Hits, while I acknowledge those and other tracks are great, I'd have to say that just Rubber Soul by itself, alone, just one Beatles album, is better than The Bryds' hits all lumped together. I mean RS has Drive My Car, Norwegian Wood, Nowhere Man, Michelle, Girl, In My Life plus great other songs like I'm Looking Through You, The Word, If I Needed Someone (very Byrds like), You Won't See Me, Wait, it's all good really. It just has more 'hits' on it than many a Greatest Hits album, though I think the copy I own is heavy vinyl, and I'd recommend that for any Bryds album to balance out the treble and give the brilliant harmonies the best shot.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Back to Hey Jude, this does sound good in mono even though my copy isn't too flush. The mono version has more pronounced base, which lends the track more gravitas and profundity. It's like it's in a cathedral, which goes with the 'from this day forward' mood of the song. Also, you notice that the Beatles were a great band, I mean in the way they play it. It's a song that might be a tad pedestrian, but they perform it in such a way that it gathers momentum as it goes, as though the singer is building on his convictions.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
It seems I enjoy more miserable music on digital, too. Side one of Rubber Soul is great on vinyl but until now I only really got stuff like Girl, I'm Looking Thru You and In My Life, v good stuff but melancholic.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
It sounds fantastic.
On the other hand, you recall my raving about The Lion in Winter on vinyl. Well, I ordered a new copy as the one I bought was a bit crackly. But though it had the same serial number, straight away I realised it wasn't the same, as the vinyl is not heavy, and it just isn't as powerful. I'll try to return it.
Thirdly, however, I listened to the remastered Sgt Pepper mono vinyl at last. Don't like it, I actually turned it off. The songs in mono sound dreary, joyless and repetitive. All the mystery and magic gone.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I have a Sony PS-X Biotracer player in perfect condition stroed away here somewhere - just because I love the mechanics and the concept!
I also have the Ortofon MC 200 matching to it:
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
With Cambridge Audio Amp and Glade speakers. £300 all in, still if it's good, stuff sounds good on it.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
At the moment my turntable is playing through a Samsung mini hi-fi system. When my budget allows I hope to get a decent amp and speakers.