APPLE, SAUCE

Oh, PM's ears must still burn...

Sort of before it was really fashionable to regard the Beatles as anything but

earthly Gods, there was this book, Apple To The Core.

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Penned in 1972 by former Rolling Stone editor Peter McCabe, and Robert D. Schonfeld, a poly-sci and economist guy-to help sort out the dollars and no sense, presumably-this 200 page Pocket Books paperback gets down and dirty in the Fabs' break-up wankings, with Paul McCartney
seeming to get the worst pranging.

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There is great intrigue centering around the Concert For Bangladesh wherein just (court) deposed Beatle manager Ron Klein

is scheming to have the NYC show prep for a full Beatles reunion
later at Wembley Stadium. "I'll roast his fuckin' ass," Klein is quoted

about McCartney.

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According to the book, Klein plans to offer a few Beatle bust-up legal bon-bons to Macca if he will show up for a real reunion.

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However, as the authors point out, the dream reunion may never have been in play such was McCartney's displeasure at Klein stalling
the release of Macca's first solo album.

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Apparently, Ringo Starr was sent to Paul's house to sort things out, but Macca would hear none of it.

According to Ringo, Paul "went completely out of control, shouting at me, prodding his finger toward my face saying, 'I'll finish you all now..you'll pay,' and then Starr says Macca threw him out of his house.
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Yikes! Poor little Ringo.

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Or, as John Lennon sung a bit more metaphorically, "the dream, is/(was) over."

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I'd urge hard-core Beatle-freaks to seek out this book via e-bay, where

it is generally available for well south of $20.

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Remember though, all things must pass.

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And HEY, Dig this: www.boomermediareview.com

A QUICK ONE:LIVE AT LEEDS, SEVERAL WAYS

If you love the Who, get this!





Record Collector is usually always a good monthly read, but sometimes they come up with a must read issue that should not be missed.
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And the July issue is such a keeper.
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Even though it may make first-and my-generation Who fans feels like dying old, it is 40 years since what many consider to be the greatest rock and roll live recording ever released, the Who Live at Leeds was released.
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So RC salutes it, and rightly so.
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Not to be boring, but I'll never forget the day that I brought this original vinyl LP home.
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I was 15 and I had heard the Who before, but not THIS kind of Who!
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This, was amazing. Loud, frantic, angry, and most likely capturing
the Who at the height of their powers. At least live-wise.
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And even though we have had three different CD versions of Leeds-the original vinyl mix, the expanded single CD, and the deluxe twofer-some Who fans still prefer the original single LP and CD as its (edited) 40 odd minutes was tighter than a chicken's arse.
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The 10 page RC article points out all the many Byzantine machinations the Leeds recordings have taken through the years, including a Canada-specific variation in the medley contained in My Generation, as well as the sad fact that in 40 years, the complete, unedited Leeds show has never been legitimately released.
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But, as you can see at left courtesy of the Bootleg Zone, the Leeds
show in its rough 2 hour+ entirely, is, or was, available for a time.
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Of course there are many warts in that unedited recording, and it
is easy to see why Pete Townshend and crew sought to excise them.
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See, in the studio, one can do sonic wonders, although learning from the RC article that a fabulous echo/reverb effect was added
to a segment of My Generation kind of blew some myths to smithereens for me.
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Yet regardless sweating the details, Live at Leeds in any form
remains the preeminent example of live rock, at least in the 20th
century. (Click on image at upper left.)
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And hopefully, at least one other show from the era-many of which were recorded- will be legitimately released in the near future.
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Oi!

8 TRACKED, NOISY RUBBERED SOUL

Yech!

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A friend of mine in Burlington, Ontario has operated an independent record/music store for over 25 years.

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I don't think he ever sold an 8-track, but sometimes he sees them when people are cleaning out

their basements, or trash.

So when he told me someone brought in Rubber Soul, Rock and Roll Music and Something New on 8T, I asked to borrow one-forever-to display here.

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Man, is this plastic abomination a relic. Although it had its days in the 70s, the format has recently been judged to be the WORST EVER in terms of fidelity by online audio experts.

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About the only thing that was good about the tapes was easy portability, and if you were too wasted to get up, it was a continuous player. And besides, if one was that loaded, who would notice the incredible tape hiss and playing speed variations. (Check the "warranty" fine print, at upper left. And the Capitol office listed no longer exsists.)

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Sometimes, there were slight labelling and cover variations-and mixes-within these 8 trackers, and you will note that the cover of this Rubber
Soul chops off part of Paul's coif, and uses clunky title script, unlike the original vinyl, and all subsequent domestic versions.
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Finally, who can forget seeing these dubious cartridges lying smashed by the side of the road, with their guts slithering along the byway.

THE LENNON LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS or JUST LIKE STARTING OVER

"Lennon's on sale again..."

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Far be it from me-a genuine John Lennon believer since the age of 8, circa 1964- to call a turn on the House of Lennon, but how many times can one (re)release the same JL stuff?

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Apparently, the answer is ad infinite.

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Or at least until Mz. Yoko Ono is no longer with us.
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Yes, of course, we Lennonites knew that October 2010 would be a
big year for JL product, and as usual, we have to take the good with the not so good.

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The best news is that we will be getting a disc of "rarities"

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The bad news is that we will have to purchase a box set of all the remastered Lennon albums to get the good stuff. And at this point, don't even know what the "good stuff" is.

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Hardly the Lennon Anthology 2.0.
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The not-bad news is the re-issue of Double Fantasy in a deluxe 2 disc format, with a stripped down mix of the album, and the regular one, remastered. But, evidently, none of the Cheap
Trick assisted sessions or other possible worthies.

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We also could have used a double of Live in New York City with both the aft and eve shows, but will get the single, regular (aft) version instead.

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(After all, YO has to leave goodies for the future.)

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And some fans are even questioning whether the original Lennon catalogue-which has seen copious "greatest hits" and themed reissued released over the past 5 years needs a remastering.

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Will have to hold judgement on that until we hear the new ones, but there has been some significant improvements in analogue to digital transfer in the past 10 years and many original analogue recordings are sounding better on the CD format.

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But also Remember, that remastering involves fiddling with balances, tone, and sound stage, something that John no longer has a say in.

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So the new remasters may sound "better," but are they really faithful?

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Finally, as one Beatle freek I know complained, why not a box set of Lost Lennon Tapes?

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It seems that much of what ran on the radio 20 years ago appeared in truncated form, so a complete rendering would be excellent.

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Perhaps the next time, Lennon's on sale again...