While The Beatles' musical arc was ever upward, the group's cinematic efforts traveled in the opposite direction. "A Hard Day's Night" was the group's best film. Shooting in black and white was more of a financial than esthetic choice it worked perfectly to capture the staid post-war period the boys found themselves in growing up.
This fourth Beatles album didn't exist in America because it didn't contain any hit singles. In England, hits were singles, sometimes issued as four song E.P.s. In America hits were the bait to get teens to buy albums, but in England you got fourteen songs for your money. In America you got twelve but you got the hits.
Before I get further into this follow-up review, a short disclaimer: other than the US Apple/Capitol singles of “We Can Work It Out”/“Day Tripper” and “Hey Jude”/“Revolution” (which, as expected, sound lousy), I don’t have any Beatles 7” singles other than this new The Singles Collection box. All my Beatles listening is on LP (the 2014 mono series, the Giles Martin remix LPs, and a few mono and stereo UK and European pressings) and the occasional lossless digital format, therefore from these recordings I’m used to great sound quality. My expectations for The Singles Collection (generously gifted to me by AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer) were likely different from most others’: sure, I expected the all-analog lacquer cuts to sound good, but sound quality on 7” singles isn’t the first thing I think about. With the 7” format, it’s primarily about the musical content, collectibility, packaging (when applicable), and finally, sound quality.
The Beatles made four unforgettable live appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 9, 16, 23rd 1964, and one more, over a year and a half later on September 12, 1965—forty five years ago this coming September 12th, which is five days after the re-release of this fascinating and endlessly entertaining 2 DVD set.
Periodically, artists will issue an album that unintentionally divides their audience, as John Lennon did with his October 1973 solo LP, Mind Games. A new 2LP set dubbed Mind Games: The Ultimate Mixes & The Out-takes, released on July 12, 2024, may change some of that perspective, as it aims to bring listeners more inside Lennon’s 1973 recording sessions at New York’s Record Plant studio. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if this new edition of Mind Games is worth the investment. . .
Woody Allen famously said "80% of success is showing up." 16 year old recording engineer/producer Ken Scott showed up at EMI Studios less than a week after writing a letter requesting a job interview. He "passed the audition" and was rewarded with a job in EMI's tape library.
It shouldn't be surprising that The Beatle who sang on Meet The Beatles "Till There Was You" from the Broadway hit "The Music Man" would eventually dip into the old song basket and pull out nearly an album's worth. McCartney has written so many songs in the "old style," from "Honey Pie," to "When I'm Sixty-Four" to "Martha My Dear." His father led a jazz band.
When George Harrison, the youngest Beatle, passed away November 30th, 2001 at age 58, Allan Kozinn’s front page New York Times obituary referred to him as “the quiet Beatle”, which during the group’s touring years, is what the self-effacing youngest member of group was often called.
Analogplanet received one of the first Ortofon 2M MONO Special Edition cartridges developed by the company in cooperation with Universal Music Group as a tribute to the upcoming Beatles "Back to Mono" box set.
“Obsessive” is the one word that best describes a true Beatles fan. Most Beatles songs contain subtleties that some first notice only after a few hundred listens. Add critical listening tendencies and repeated plays to the fragility of vinyl records, plus the ease with which defects can be heard and you have a recipe for disaster—especially if you add to the mix “audiophilia”.
The jailer man and Sailor Sam are at it again. Paul McCartney & Wings will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Band on the Run on February 2, 2024, with a 2LP edition featuring previously unreleased “Underdubbed” mixes on LP2, and a separate half-speed-mastered 1LP version of the original December 1973 release. Read on to see just what “Underdubbed” mixes entail, and if these new versions of Band on the Run
As expected, Rubber Soul, sourced from George Martin's 1987 16 bit, 44.1k remix sounds like a CD. Why should it sound like anything else? That's from what it was essentially mastered.
MF: For the most part, you chose the material; it was only a few people who…
Martin: Pretty well, pretty well. I mean the idea of Vanessa Mae doing "Because": The idea of a mini violin concerto came first, and I had to find someone to play it.
MF: But she put so much into that. Sometimes that kind of thing doesn’t work—when you try to “classical-ify” something. But that was very good.
So aside from the Beatles, who were the most memorable artists that you’ve produced? Any standouts?
Martin: Any other artists? Well, I’ve been so lucky to produce so many people. It’s difficult to name one. It’s like saying, what’s your favorite track? Obviously, Peter Sellers comes pretty high on that list. We worked very well together.