Alexander

Dean: "Yo, Frank, you're a great singer and everything, and I'ma let you finish...but Bing Crosby was one of the greatest crooners of all time. Of all time!"

How did people mock celebrities before the internet?

Regarding some of the above conversation: I'm a big Ray Davies/Kinks fan. Never understood the whole "either/or" mentality ("Ray Davies was better than Lennon/McCartney, etc."). Lennon/McCartney were good. Ray Davies was good. Mick and Keith were good. Brian Wilson was good. Why choose? Why not just enjoy them all?

Couldn't agree more. If the Beatles decided that they could sell more records as the Beatles instead of as solo artists in 1970, just from the best songs off the solo albums & singles from 1970 (some might be from 71) you would have pretty good Beatles record. Something like: Side 1: Mother It Don't Come Easy Another Day Maybe I'm Amazed My Sweet Lord Working Class Hero Side 2: Instant Karma Beware of Darkness Every Night All Things Must Pass Awaiting On You All Junk God I think I might have to make that CD!

You're wrong about that. I love the sermons on the "Goodbye Babylon" set and I'd love to hear more!

My daughter and I were out at the mall this afternoon (had to pick up my paycheck from Borders). We stopped in Best Buy to price the Beatles Rock Band game (the cheap version, without the Ringo bass drum and the Paul Hofner bass) and, well... You guys with kids, you know the look on their faces when you do something just completely out of character and wonderful? Something that fulfills their wildest dreams when they didn't even dare hope for something to happen? THAT'S the look on my daughter's face when I said, "What the hell. Mommy will probably kill us, but let's get it." We've been playing since we got home from gymnastics this evening (with a brief dinner break). And yeah, her mother's not too happy with me (but, hey...we're getting divorced, so what's she going to do about it?). We started out with me on guitar and my daughter on drums (her choice. Apparently, she's had some bad Rock Band/Guitar Hero experiences at friends houses that have convinced her that she's no good on guitar). She quickly got frustrated with the drums and switched to vocal. We're up to the "White Album"/"Let It Be"/"Abbey Road" period. My left arm ACHES! I did try to play bass on one song: "Paperback Writer." Didn't do so well. Switched back to guitar. I also tried drums on one track. Very hard. I'm looking forward to eventually learning to play all the instruments on this! Oh, and I also did vocals on "Helter Skelter" and "Taxman." Did really well on "Helter Skelter" and got a PERFECT SCORE on "Taxman"! My encyclopedic knowledge of Beatles lyrics in finally paying off!

As far as I can tell, "I am The Walrus" now ends in mono. "It's All Too Much" is in real stereo, while "Only A Northern Song" (which WAS in fake stereo) is now in mono only.

Just to clarify: The stereo versions of "Help" and "Rubber Soul" you have on the mono box are NOT the same versions that are on the stereo box. The stereo box (and the individual stereo releases) use the remixes George Martin prepared in 1987 for the CD releases. From what I've heard, it is better than the original stereo (which you have). They put the original stereo mixes on the mono box for the sake of completeness and to satisfy the fans who need to have all of the ORIGINALS. God forbid that time should pass and actually IMPROVE something...

Yeah...simple fact: The original stereo mixes were NOT VERY GOOD. The mono mixes beat them every time. You want to hear the Beatles mixed PROPERLY into stereo, get the "Yellow Submarine Songtrack" album, "Let It Be...Naked" and "LOVE." I was listening to the "Songtrack" last night and it is AMAZING. Great stereo mixes. Every one of them a major improvement over the original stereo. Once again, I understand why people want to hear the original stereo mixes for "historical" purposes. I get it. But the fact remains: They were hamfisted. They didn't take stereo seriously and it shows. "Revolver" is better in mono. "Rubber Soul" is better in mono. The first four or five albums were DEFINITELY better in mono. "Pepper" rocks the house in mono. Doesn't have to be that way, though. The three relatively recent remixes show that the Beatles CAN be mixed into stereo and sound fantastic. So what the HELL are George and Giles Martin waiting for? Just DO it, already!

I've seen that. It's amazing!

I hope he's okay. Leonard is a family friend. My uncle, Paul Ostermeyer, was a member of Leonard's touring band in 1979 and again in the early 90s.

I agree, I think it sounds fantastic also. But I was at a point when I needed to appreciate the randomness and absurdity of it due other things in my life pissing me off like work. Next time it may come off as pretentious. Though I did hear some new bits in it I never noticed before. Speaking of the rare Beatles stinker, spinning the new Past Masters despite the great remaster done on "She's A Woman" it still sucks. How much pot do you have to smoke to think "my love she's no pheasant" sounds good? I know misunderstood lyric, but even the correct interpretation of "My love don't give me presents. I know that she's no peasant" makes Oasis look like Shakespeare. The Inner Light, I can also live without. But for the most part even their B-Sides were good to great. I LOVE the Inner Light. One of my favorite George compositions. It sounds different in mono. These some sort of phasing on George's vocal that isn't there on the stereo version... As for "She's a Woman," yeah, I never liked that line either. Still think Paul kicked ass when he did the rave-ups, though! Not a cost-effective way to get them, is it?

Thanks for the advice guys! I had heard about corncob pipes being good "no-frills" starter pipes, so I may go that route. And I will be careful to educate myself about lip cancer.

The PCs sound swell, but the new remasters? There's stuff you just can't hear on the needle drops that are plain as day on the stereo discs. And that's not the answer I want to give- the PCs are way cheaper than the mono box. If you know what I'm saying. I've basically used the mono material from the Purple Chick remasters to make my own version of the Mono Box. I now have all 12 albums in mono (complete with cover art that I worked on last night) and the "Mono Masters" two disc set. I also assembled a copy of "Yesterday...and Today" to complete my Capitol albums collection. The PC remasters include US stereo and mono mixes of much of the material on that album...

I think it kicks butt. I had a music humanities teacher at Columbia that analyzed side two for us. He compared it to the way that Haydn strung together themes and melodies. It may be a bunch of unfinished songs strung together, but the way in which it's done is pure genius. For the first time, Paul's bass playing really sounds great as well. And no, side two was not George Martin's creation. He may have suggested that they string the unfinished bits together, but in the end, the musicians made it happen. You are correct. Martin was not the musical force behind side two. That was Paul. The idea was that each side of "Abbey Road" was "directed" by either John or Paul. John did side one (which was the more conventional "rock and roll" side) and Paul did side two (which contained the suite). The idea was that after the "Get Back" debacle, the Beatles wanted to return to the studio and make an album "like they used to." They called George Martin and asked him to produce, which he agreed to do on the condition that they allowed him to actually PRODUCE the album. Meaning that they would lay their egos aside and work together. The "John's side/Paul's side" idea was a compromise that allowed them to make the album without arguing over "creative direction."

While I'm asking for recommendations, can anyone recommend 1) A good, not too expensive pipe for a beginner and 2) A good quality (again, not too expensive) pipe tobacco? I'm keen to learn!

Lesson learned. What would be your advice on a good mild cigar for someone who doesn't smoke too often? Something with some flavor that won't break the bank...

I have a select few Christmas albums that I LOVE and that I listen to every year (some I even listen to year round). The Sinatra Christmas album is one. Dust-to-Digital's brilliant "Where Will You Be Christmas Day" is another. Nat King Cole. Kenny Burrell. Ray Charles. I LIKE what Bob is doing here. I LIKE the fact that he's doing the whole '50s overproduction thing. I think that it manages to be ironic and funny, yet dead serious at the same time. Only Bob could pull something like this off. Well, Tom Waits could do it too...

I agree, for the most part, with the whole length issue. I've always thought that "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" could have been cut down. The version of "She Loves You" on "LOVE" is just about perfect...

I'm certainly not trying to imply that their other albums are anything less than enjoyable. On their WORST day (much of the second side of "Beatles for Sale") the Beatles were making music that by any standard is still excellent. That's part of what makes them so amazing. They really had very few clunkers. They were smart enough to know when something wasn't going well ("That Means A Lot", "If You've Got Trouble") and to cut their losses. With the possible exception of "Leave My Kitten Alone," the Beatles ALWAYS selected the BEST songs and the BEST take. The "Anthology" is nothing like Dylan's "Bootleg Series" where a good portion was as good or better than the released material (why, oh why were "Foot of Pride" and "Blind Willie McTell" cut from "Infidels"? What was Bob thinking? Why was "Call Letter Blues" cut from "Blood On The Tracks"?). "A Hard Day's Night" is a landmark recording, by any definition. Certainly AS MUCH of a landmark as "Please Please Me" had been and "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" were to be. It marked the first time the Beatles had ever released an LP of all original material. It marked the ONLY time the songwriting team of Lennon/McCartney had an entire LP to their credit! It also marked a great leap forward in terms of songwriting ability. It is on this albums that the Beatles entered their "modern" period (their previous two albums, great as they are, are more dated than the music on "A Hard Day's Night." The music on this album stands up with their later work). It's not surprising, for example, that on the "Hey Jude" LP, "I Should Have Known Better" and "Can't Buy Me Love" don't sound at all out of place alongside "Paperback Writer," "Rain, "Lady Madonna," etc. When I was a kid and I would listen to that album, it never even OCCURRED to me that there was a two to five year gap between some of those songs. I don't think that would have been the case with "I Saw Her Standing There" or "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

I've heard nothing but good things about the BBC sessions, don't have it myself though. Yes, the BBC sessions are great. Lots of covers they never did on record (Paul doing "That's All Right," George doing "Nothing Shaking But The Leaves On The Trees"...all four doing "Shout").

I like it!

I noticed that too, that George gets a lot of face time compared to Paul and John. Like I said, it doesn't feel like they were taking it seriously. At all.

Okay, thanks. I never paid any attention to the Beach Boys, so I don't know them individually. Certainly not on a first name basis. Well, that's a pity. Brian was brilliant in his heyday. A terrific writer, arranger, and producer, and if the stories of his early life are to be believed, a bit of a musical prodigy. If you've never listened to "Pet Sounds," check it out. "Sgt. Pepper" was recorded as a direct reaction to it (of course, hearing "Sgt. Pepper" is what sent Brian off the rails and killed "Smile").

Purple Chick put out the whole thing as well...