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Beatles re-issues


Tjazz

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  • 1 month later...

Here's a little tid-bit...

Although "Meet The Beatles" was the first Capitol album, it wasn't the first American Beatles release. Roughly a year earlier, after Capitol initially declined to release the Beatles in the US (and *they* were the friggin subsidiary of EMI, not the other way around), there was an unsuccessful attempt to release a version of "Please Please Me" stateside under the title "Introducing the Beatles." The lable? None other than Vee Jay! I believe it was the entire "Please Please Me" album (minus the title track and "Love Me Do"), and this was essentially what Capitol released as "The Early Beatles" (right down to the two missing tracks) a couple of years later during Beatlemania.

To me, the most USLESS Capitol album was a thing called "The Beatles VI." This excrement was made up of all the tracks from "Beatles for Sale" and "Help!" that hadn't been released on their US counterparts. Since this stuff was filler anyway, it combined to create the limpest, most deadly DULL Beatles album of all time (except for "Eight Days A Week," which is an awesome song).

I did cave in and buy the box set, btw. Since I grew up listening to these albums (especially "Beatles 65" which was a favorite of mine), I must grudgingly admit that it is a hoot to hear these albums again in all their cheesey fake-stereo glory. Man, they are short albums though! I was able to listen to all four (stereo mixes only) in about an hour or so!

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Yeah, I think the VeeJay release is pretty widely known of.

I think the short length of those Beatles albums was so much the better - they still sound fresh and never wear out their welcome.

BEATLES VI may not be the strongest of the American bastardizations, but there are some truly GREAT tunes there other than the admittedly wonderful "Eight Days A Week." How about "Yes It Is," Lennon's frantic take on "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," "Tell Me What You See" (an early foreshadowing of the darker tendencies of the next few years), heck even the wonderful Buddy Holly homage on "Words of Love." Sorry, another pretty great one, although maybe more subdued and subtle than the few that came before.

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In the US weren't the early Beatles records in stereo with the instruments on one track and the vocals on the other? I think that's how they were in Canada. Iim not sure becasue I was listening to Miles at the time and thought I was too cool for the Beatles. But I used to hear them at parties. I think the first Beatles record I bought was Rubber Soul. And I think they released completely different Lps in Canada: ie neither the British or the US.

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BEATLES VI may not be the strongest of the American bastardizations, but there are some truly GREAT tunes there other than the admittedly wonderful "Eight Days A Week." How about "Yes It Is," Lennon's frantic take on "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," "Tell Me What You See" (an early foreshadowing of the darker tendencies of the next few years), heck even the wonderful Buddy Holly homage on "Words of Love." Sorry, another pretty great one, although maybe more subdued and subtle than the few that came before.

You may be right. I haven't heard that album in many years. My recollection was that there were some pretty weak songs (except for "Eight Days A Week"), but if "Yes It Is" is on it, than that does make something of a difference. I don't know about "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," though. I always thought it was the least of Lennon's rock and roll covers ("Twist and Shout," "Money," "Bad Boy" and "Rock and Roll Music" are much, much better). I don't know. The post "Hard Days Night" pre "Rubber Soul" material always seemed tired to me. With the exception of a few songs, both "Beatles for Sale" and "Help!" lack both the exuberance of their earlier work and the sophistication of their later work. It's a weak period, and given that in the US "Beatles 65" and the "Help!" soundtrack had used up most of the A material on those albums, "Beatles VI" was a pale reflection of something that wasn't so great to begin with.

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I must grudgingly admit that it is a hoot to hear these albums again in all their cheesey fake-stereo glory. Man, they are short albums though! I was able to listen to all four (stereo mixes only) in about an hour or so!

Yeah,

but they sure sound a whole lot better than the previously issued British versions on CD. Man these sound good to me.

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Weren't there two different versions of the Vee-Jay album, songwise? Seems like there were, but it's been a lonooooooong time since I was into that kind of thing.

Now what I can't understand is that Tollie single. What the hell kind of label was Tollie? :wacko::wacko::wacko::wacko::wacko:

Agreed, FOR SALE is from the not the best period. They were tired, exhausted, even, and it shows in the music and on the cover. The decision to quit touring was the right one, at least at the time.

But - John Lennon did Larry Williams better than anybody besides Larry Williams!

BadBoy.jpg

GOTTA have it!

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I must grudgingly admit that it is a hoot to hear these albums again in all their cheesey fake-stereo glory.  Man, they are short albums though!  I was able to listen to all four (stereo mixes only) in about an hour or so!

Yeah,

but they sure sound a whole lot better than the previously issued British versions on CD. Man these sound good to me.

I agree. :tup

I just wish they'd put some care into their catalog and reissue the regular Beatles' cds before we're all too old care.

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  • 1 year later...

up....

on deck for April 11th (supposedly), is The Capitol Albums, Volume 2!

CCAP57497-4.jpg

Albums included are The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, Help! and Rubber Soul, in both mono and stereo. Available in both the longbox version and a "brick", just like Volume 1.

edit - whoa, I just became a Funkateer!! :alien:

Edited by Aggie87
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up....

on deck for April 11th (supposedly), is The Capitol Albums, Volume 2!

CCAP57497-4.jpg

Albums included are The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, Help! and Rubber Soul, in both mono and stereo. Available in both the longbox version and a "brick", just like Volume 1.

edit - whoa, I just became a Funkateer!! :alien:

Cool! We get to hear a remastered version of "Help" featuring the cool James Bond-ish intro! I always thought the British album was missing a lot without that intro!

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That means the next one will be just Yesterday...& Today and Revolver. After that they were the same as the British version.

There are also other things that could be included. There's a couple of large threads over at SH talking about this stuff. You have the "Rock & Roll Music" release (which may have different mixes?), the Hollywood Bowl live album, and the Past Masters stuff that could be thrown in there at some point too.

Personally, I have a hunch they'll box all of the remaining albums like this, regardless of whether they were the same or not.

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I forgot about Hey Jude! Hollywood Bowl would be good to put in there also. Y'know what one I always liked was the Star Club 1962. Some fiery performances on some songs.

Red Sails In The Sunset

Ain't Nothing Shakin' But The Leaves On A Tree

Be-Bop-A-Lula

and my favorite: Talkin' 'Bout You. The Stones version pales compared to this one.

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up....

on deck for April 11th (supposedly), is The Capitol Albums, Volume 2!

CCAP57497-4.jpg

Albums included are The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, Help! and Rubber Soul, in both mono and stereo. Available in both the longbox version and a "brick", just like Volume 1.

Actually, in some ways the American version of Rubber Soul works better than the authentic, British version. Don't get me wrong, the executives at Capitol were cretins to do such a thing, but the American version does have a more consistant sound (plus the fact that I heard it first.) :)

The "Hey Jude" album----yes, it was a quickie corporate patchwork album (a "Frankenalbum" you might say), but it's damn good listening. Gives a nice brief overview of most of their career, and it's got "Rain"

which blew my mind in high school even more than "I'm Only Sleeping" from Yesterday and Today.

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