KOLLECTOR'S KRATES, AND DON'T SHOW (MONO) HASTE

For the truly hurting?

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EXTRA, EXTRA: here is an image of the upcoming "limited" Beatle CD milk crates, featuring Sgt. P, Abbey Road, and Let it Be in black, white and RED. Wow! Kool, say the Apple PR weasels. (Interestingly, note that one of the "Krates" pictured is of Yellow Submarine.)

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Also, to clarify an earlier PPC exclusive, the bonus, mono box set tracks fron an aborted 1969 Yellow Sub EP will not be a stand alone CD, but rather, included on the YS mono CD stuff in the box.

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FINALLY, contrary to previous reportage, the mono box set WILL NOT be limited to 10,000 units worldwide.

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That is all.

http://www.boomermediareview.com/

WHY THE BEATLES BROKE UP: CHER CHEZ CHE LA FEMME($)

Close, but no sitar

Yes, since the days of the Rutles-and even before-people, some as famous as Mick Jagger, have been asking the $64 question, to wit: who broke up the Beatles?

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So, as we dangle ever closer to the precipice of worldwide super-duty Beatle hype on Sept number 9, number 9, number 9-and before as well-Rolling Stone mag weighs in with about a dozen pages on their theories.
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A nicely written ditty by Mikal Gilmore it be-with no new quotes but lots from the Get Back 30 Days boot- but one gets the feeling that Mikal is not really that familiar with the Beatles and their times, but rather, writes about something he's seen, but doesn't really feel.
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And, in the end, as they say, Gilmore carries the usual Yawn Weiner RS party line-thou shalt not blame Yoko for anything-and concludes it was Allen Klein who broke up the Fabs, then Paul McCartney who was pissed at Allen, and then John Lennon, who was pissed at Paul for being pissed at Klein, and for Macca having the temerity to announce first-via a silly press release insert in his first solo LP- that he was leaving the Beatles.

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Got that, mates?

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In this writer's opinion, the breakup of Beatles was caused (mainly) by artistic differences, money, wimin, money, a changing music scene, money, and well, money.

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Got that?

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FOOTNOTT: I generally like Rolling Stone but somebody-most like a bloody editor!-should have a jolly good pranging over a howler in a sidebar of the main article by Gilmore.

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Entitled, "Meet The Beatles, Again," about the upcoming CD remasters, and penned by Brian Hiatt, the following appears: '"I Am The Walrus," the title track from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band..."'

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Er, not quite boys!

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Close, but (from) one LP too far.

http://www.boomermediareview.com/

(SONG) WRITING IS ON THE WALL

Beatles for (ad) sale?

The front page of the Sunday New York Times for Aug. 23 has a fascinating piece on Marty Bandier, the 68 year old stogie-loving head-honcho of Sony/ATV. You know, the folks that managed to end up with most of the 230 or so Beatle song publishing money tree.

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Well, Marty is quite the old-skool music biz guy, and evidently, it is the music pub ops of Sony that is one of the few division of that storied company to make much profit lately.

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Anyways, Marty sez the fourth quarter of the music industry-beginning Sept. 9-"will belong to the Beatles," with the remasters release, and he surely ain't lyin'.

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Yet the fact that Bandier-who used to toil at EMI-has lately been

successful in getting many big-time artists songs into commercials

means that it is only a matter of time before we hear and see Lady Madonna promoting feminine hijinks products, or some such thing.

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I seem to recall John Lennon vowing back in the mid 60s that no way would the Fabs' music be selling tampoons and such.

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But now it would seem that the economics of music is that for the publishing to hold or grow its value, it must be utilized in the advertising market. Otherwise, the bloody all import "yute" market will be foreskinsaken.

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My prediction? No later than 2010 will the Beatles be on your tube and computer, shilling non-music products and forever changing the brand.

TOBACK'S TYSON: BRILLIANT/FLAWED

A Greek tragedy?

Director James Toback makes several reverences in the commentary and supplementary material of his new Tyson DVD release, regarding the film's 10 or 12 minute standing ovation when screened last year at Cannes.

And while that type of rave for this sort of doc may seem a little out there, there is no doubt that Toback has made one of the greatest boxing related films of all time, but with caveats.

Because while Toback does not shy at displaying many-that's many- of Tyson's well, and not so
well known warts, the director makes it known in image and words that the considers Tyson in his prime (1986 to 1989 the greatest heavyweight, ever.
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At best, this is a stretch.
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Tyson beat Trevor Berbick-a real strain to make the top 10 of even the 80s best-for the title, and as Tyson and Toback note, most Tyson opponents lost the moment they stepped in the ring and saw the ferocious "baddest man on the planet." (Interestingly, there is no reference made in the film of this moniker widely give to Iron Mike in his hay-day.)
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Mike makes no such "greatest" boasts in the film, explaining rather eloquently why he did love boxing, although we come no closer to understanding the "real" Tyson, if in fact there is such an entity.
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Even more telling is Toback, in the commentary, not even including George Foreman or Joe Frazier as on par with Tyson. In this boxing watcher's opinion, both Frazier and Foreman in their primes-and maybe even Foreman on the come-back-may have defeated Tyson, who relied on bullying his opponents. Smokin' Joe and Big George did not bully so well.
Also a stretch is Toback's claim that Tyson was a great example of a "Greek tragedy." Not sure that traditional "Greek tragedy" had second and even third acts.
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In any event, while the film genuinely presents Tyson as much deeper crazyman-hurtchild than has been previously accepted-and as Toback says you can either choose to believe Mike's take or not-it is also obvious that Toback does not give much respect to Evander Holyfield, who beat Tyson up in their first fight, and had both his ears bitten up in the second.
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Toback, in his commentary basically explains aways Tyson's first loss, and subsequent second"bite fight" meltdown as the result of evil Evander leading with his noggin.
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Even more absurd is Toback's assertion, also in the commentary, that Tyson was "winning" the second fight before his disqualification.
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That's very interesting as most people watching the fight, and the pro boxing writers in attendance believed Mike was whipped, and flipped out to avoid being beaten again.
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Toback seems to want to ascribe "normal" reactions to Mike Tyson. I'd say that Mike is as far from "normal" as one could be and still walking around, 300 million dollars lighter.
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So, overall, if you want to see the "good" in Mike Tyson, some bad-Toback leaves out feuds with former trainer Kevin Rooney(who reportedly pulled a shotgun on Mike) and the ridiculous PPV "exhibitions" Tyson put on just before he officially retired-and some myth, then Tyson is for you.
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However, it would seem that at 42, without the bedrock of boxing for Tyson to give him some structure, and in Mike's own words, "the past is history, and the future, a mystery."

BEATLES DO BETTER WITH MONO!

We all live, etc.

Yes, we took the piss outta the Apple Beatles for Rock Band, but we come today not to bury the lads but to praise them, mostly.

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We have to give the moneychangers at Apple credit for releasing the upcoming Mono Box Set, even if the price is too high, and the claim of a limited run of 10,000 is probably disingenuous at best.

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Yet wot we is being told by little birdies is besides finally having the long sought-after Sgt. P and White Album-the two most notable in their different mixes from stereo-we will be also getting a special bonus of an aborted 1969 EP release of Yellow Submarine, with five songs-All Together Now, Only A Northern Song, Hey Bulldog,It's All Too Much, Across The Universe-that have never seen (legit) release in mono.

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Not sure how much different these mono mixes will be as by even early '69 the Fabs were starting to think stereo, but ANYTHINGwe get as a bonus from Apple is reason for wetness.
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Oh, and just to whet yer whistle, this week a radio sampler goes out of some of the stereo remastered tracks, so if you know anybody in the biz, start buggin' em for a (burned) taste.

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Also of note is the hype about to be generated by the media monsters for the Beatles CDs.

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A two hour ABC TV special on Thanksgiving weekend as well as a three week national TV ad campaign, even hitting MLB and NBA broadcasts.

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Plus for the really, truly, obssessed, 3 "Kollector's Krates," housed in mini-milk crates with your choice of Let it Be, Abbey Road, or Sgt. P, and each with a t-shirt, will be available.

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Finally, not sure what kind of copy-guard that will be on these CDs-maybe none, who knows?-but nevertheless, I'd bet that most major retailers will receive their shipments during the Labor Day weekend, and so some copies will begin filtering out from then on, regardless of any dopey, useless, "embargos." (See Anthology DVD fiasco from 2003)

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Yes, it's all too much.

www.boomermediareview.com

BEATLE ROCK BAND BOLLOCK

The sound of one hand rocking, and counting

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OK, so the Woodstock 40th any weekend, The New York Times Sunday Magazine let loose with a multi-page treatise on the Beatles Rock Band computer game, set for a Sept. 9 release.

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Now, I am no not some burned out, freaked out hippy who is PC illiterate and who longs for the greasy days of scratchy vinyl, but I am yes, anti-bullshit. So despite the thousands of words given over to the Fabs' RB trivia in a well-written article by Daniel Rodish, I remain, and am unmoved by the hype.

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In fact, when true Beatle fans find out that the gamers have taken

a few liberties with certain Fab facts, I fear the dogs of minutia will be savagely released.

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For according to Rodish's piece, the sanctity of the 1965 Shea Stadium concert will be slipped a musical Macca mickey.

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It seems that-for reasons unstated, although I have my suspions-I'm Looking Through You has been artificially inseminated into the Shea gig, while another live show from Budokan uses a studio version of Paperback Writer, except for a brief snippet.

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The music arranger for the Beatles Rock Band, Giles Martin, says that the game should be considered a "fantasy version" of the Beatles times, which in the game spans from The Cavern in 1962 to the Apple HQ rooftop in Jan. 1969.

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Apparently the brainwave of and at the urging of George Harrison's youngest son, Beatle Rock Band will not include any of the Abbey Road studio dramas, although (benign) studio chatter will be heard.

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But, as John Lennon so aptly noted in 1971, "those freaks" out there will be hard at work picking apart all of the less than factual stuff on BRB, and the full Internet forum wank will for surely be on.

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Now while the Times' piece seems to roll with the Apple party line that the new game is to "educate" the younger lumpen proletariat about Beatle music, and is an adjunct to the CD remasters due on the same day, my take would be that that claim is about as sincere as the story behind Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds. (i.e., LSD had nuthin' to do with it.)

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If it looks like a cash grab and smells like a cash grab, it's a CASH GRAB!

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And if this game ain't a cash grab, then Lucy was really for real even if nothing is real. Really.

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END NOTE:

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According to the Times' story, the first 3 Beatle albums to be made available via download will be Revolver, Sgt. P, and Abbey Road. No date given fro release.