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...

HEY JUDESKI, COMARADES!

(Another)ONE OF THE MISSING

Man, these Rooskie Beatle CD original album knock-offs just keep
getting better-and better.
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This version of Hey Jude, obtained from Somethingorotherstan, is the

finest repro of an Apple product that I have seen, so far.
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The makers have even adapted the oversize digipak which is
common in the Land of the Rising Sun.

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This, along with an attractive OBI, makes the thing almost suitable
for framing.

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The colour reproduction of the front and back cover is spot on, and
the inserts-all scanned here-have the obligatory Japanese lyric

sheet, which can be a gas in and of itself, with its lost translations.
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And the needle-drop from the original Japan vinyl, is a good one.
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In fact, if you are a completist, this disc is the place you will find a Beatles CD with some exclusive mixes.
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When Hey Jude was originally released in 1970, it contained newly constructed stereo mixes of Paperback Writer, Rain, and Lady Madonna, which had been released as singles, and never appeared

on an album, in stereo.
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And if one compares these Hey Jude mixes with last years remasters, you will note some differences.
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Most notable is the hard left placement of John Lennon's lead vocal on Rain.
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The overall sound of the entire disc is excellent.
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In fact, compare the bass runs of Old Brown Shoe and Ballad of John and Yoko on this disc to other versions and you may find this one has special charms.
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Come on Apple for real; release this!

FROM RUSSIA, WITH ILLICIT LOVE

Something borrowed...

Found yet another superbly reproduced Russian knock-off of a Japanese vinyl album, this time, it's Something New.

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Regular readers will know that I have come across about 10 of
these "releases," in the past couple years which obviously all come from a competent CD manufacturing plant, and all of the same high caliber, with packaging and audio quality rivalling legitimate releases. They usually range in price from $15 to $25.
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And I just love the little cheeky, "Remastered From The Original Vinyl" sticker on the front cover! To say nothing of the Apple logo.

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Sometimes these CDs show up on e-bay and other on-line emporiums, and some time they are removed due to the tried and true, "cease and desist" from Apple/EMI. I got mine in a second-hand CD shoppe in southern Ontario.
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In any event, I'd reckon that even with the Capitol Albums sets
out there for some time, the rep and allure of Japanese imports-with the all-important OBI-even fake ones, are too much for real Fabs' fans to pass up.

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And besides, the legit release of Something New-an LP that John Lennon commands, with 8 of the 11 songs featuring his lead vocals- did not come with a unique gate-fold sleeve, nor the sometimes baffling and hilarious lost in translation lyric sheets that accompany this series.
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Plus considering that if you are looking to find this title on LP-and

that's if you can find it-expect to pay about $30 for the record which come from a Japanese collection entitled The Beatles 18, which were all expertly mastered.

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In addition, this series of Russian digital bonbons include LP transfers that Capitol/Apple/EMI have so far in their finite wisdom not bothered to release. Yet.

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They are: Beatles Story (Oh alright, we can do without this one),

Yesterday and Today, Rock and Roll Music, Love Songs, and perhaps the most blatant missing title, Hollywood Bowl.

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For a country that did not even allow Beatles records into their
country until 1990, the comrades are certainly making up for

lost time, and most importantly, rubles.

ROLLING STONE "GREATEST SONGS" MAG JUST STONED

Lottsa ka ka





Of course these "greatest" lists are mostly bullocks, but Rolling Stone may have hit a new balls, low.
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Because according to the new "Collector's Edition Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time," the Beatles do not place until #8, and then with Hey Jude!
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Hey Jude is a great tune but I'd say in most Beatle fans' opinion, it is not their "best" work.
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Then, the list makes another bad decision placing Yesterday at #15, a song no other Beatle but Paul McCartney wrote and played on!
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I Want To Hold Your Hand at #16 and Let it Be at #20 rounds out the Top Twenty.
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And if you can believe it, A Day in the Life makes just #28, whilst some Nirvana noise hits #9!
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The index of the "Greatest" issue states that the Top 500 was compiled from several reader polls, as well as the RS editorial staff.
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Although the Beatles place the most songs on the list with 23, RS figgers that
Abba's Dancing Queen should be #174, and the Beatles' Something, #278!!!!!
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That, my friends, is a huge load of sheit.
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And while it's true that you can't make everyone happy with these lists, this one is just fundamentally, wrong.
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I mean only one song from perhaps the Fabs' finest effort, Revolver, and
then that is perceived by RS to be Eleanor Rigby, when many other
tunes from that platter were more worthy.
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Or Strawberry Fields coming in at #76???
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Are they bloody nutters?
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But in any event, the mag is worth picking up if for nothing else to see that living is easy with eyes-and ears-closed.

ALI IS GOAT!

An amazing volume...

It is almost 50 years now, since a young Cassius Clay returned to Louisville, Kentucky as the 1960 Olympic Gold Medal winner in light heavyweight boxing.
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Clay would quickly turn pro, and compile an undefeated record,
regularly fighting in the US and even over in England, against so-so to good opponents.
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Yet young Cassius was still considered by the boxing "experts" to be nothing more than a showman with a big mouth and small punch, Clay was not taken seriously when he met Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title in Miami on Feb. 25, 1964, and Rocky Marciano actually said before the fight that, "Clay should see a good psychiatrist."

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But "crazy" Clay beat up the fearsome Liston, shortly thereafter became known as Muhammad Ali, and the rest, as they like to say, is h-i-s-t-o-r-y.
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And the book, Ringside Ali, compiled and edited by John Miller and Aron Kenedi has some absolutely delicious words and eye-candy in it to further the legend.

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Such as, an interview with Ali conducted by Alex Haley in which Ali describes
in intimate detail his victory over Liston, an insightful essay by Norman Mailer

on the Rumble In The Jungle, and an introduction by James Earl Jones.
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As someone who was fortunate enough to have watched many mid 1960s Ali fights live on television, and then beginning with the first Joe Frazier fight on
closed circuit, I'd have to describe this book as beyond a stroll down memory lane.
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Ali was the archetype hero to the counterculture and Baby Boomers.
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My father and his friends hated Ali, and dearly wanted to see him punched
out and vanquished.
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Hell, Ali was so far from a Joe Louis "credit to his race" figure as to make
him from another planet.
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So of course my friends and I all loved Ali, first for his skills and second for

his ability to piss off our parents.
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Oh, how "The Greatest Generation" hated his guts for not going to 'Nam!

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Man, those were the days.
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But perhaps Malcolm X summed up Ali the best:
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"Not many people know the quality of the mind he's got in there.
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He fools them.
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One forgets that though a clown never imitates a wise man, a wise man can
imitate a clown.

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He is sensitive, very humble, yet shrewd-with as much untapped mental
energy as he has physical power."

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IN THE 'HOOD WITH FLYNN & CROWE & LOAF

"Robin Hood, was an English fag."
-Archie Bunker



So, the very estimable Russell Crowe shall open his interpretation of Robin Hood at Cannes this weekend.
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And I think Crowe is the perfect fit for Robin H, seeing that Russell seems to channel Errol Flynn from time to time, be it drink, or trouble with the gendarmes et al.
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But the thing is, sacrilegious re-make or not, I think the 2010 Hood will do very well, indeed.
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Why? Because the themes that made the Flynn version in the 1930s a hit-a depressed economy wherein criminal bankers (still) make out like concrete cavern bandits whilst main street peeps get not even crumbs-is surely upon us this dark day.
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Hopefully, the theme of taking righteously from the rich to give to the cornholed poor will catch on.
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FINALLY, and in other, other-worldly thinking, Meat Loaf has a new album out.
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You recall Mr. Loaf, don't you?
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The Bat Out Of Hell, produced by Todd Rundgren in 1977 was, as
they say, big time.
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See for yourself what Meat is up to now:
http://www.boomermediareview.com/MeatLoafHangCoolTBSpecial.html