Favorite Music Movies The Beatles & Motown

Get Standing in the Shadows of Motown on DVD here


Get the CD here


Get Beatles Stories on DVD here

Ringo Starr & Air - Episode 86

Listen to more samples and get Ringo 2012 [Amazon.com Exclusive CD+DVD Version] here

Get the regular CD version here

Get the mp3 version [+Video] here



Listen to more samples and get "Le Voyage Dans La Lune" (CD + DVD) here

New music reviewed: Buddy Holly tribute, Glen Campbell, Counting Crows

Artist: Various Artists

Title: Listen to Me: Buddy Holly

You will be interested if you are a fan of: Buddy Holly, Pat DiNizio's excellent 2009 tribute to Buddy Holly, the "Rave On Buddy Holly" collection released earlier this year

Tell Me More: Whereas Rave On Buddy Holly released earlier this year featured mostly reworked versions of Buddy Holly's material, the equally-ambitious Listen to Me: Buddy Holly features more faithful versions of the pioneering singer-songwriter's material. The Sept. 6, 2011 release of Listen to Me: Buddy Holly comes on the eve of what would have been Holly's 75th birthday. He was only 22 when he died in a plane crash in Iowa on Feb. 3, 1959.

Many of the renderings here are especially tender, with Jackson Browne's "True Love Ways" blending his rich vocals and an orchestrated backdrop recalling the innocence of Holly's times.

Ringo Starr sounds fantastic on the upbeat "Think It Over," a joyous celebration where his long-time love of country music is a perfect fit with Holly's '50s blend of country-western and rockabilly styles.

Chris Isaak's "Crying Waiting Hoping" finds the acclaimed singer putting his distinctive stamp on the classic, with the artful use of acoustic guitar and pedal steel guitar voices dancing around his emotive voice.

"It's So Easy" with Zooey Deschanel is one of the most upbeat tracks, with the She & Him singer's bright and sunny voice showcasing the song's timeless introduction of the joys of falling in love.

The Fray's lush "Take Your Time" is haunting, but sadly in tune with the so-called "The Day the Music Died" event that extinguished Holly's creative fire from the world far too soon.

Click here to get Buddy Holly tribute

Artist: Glen Campbell

Title: Ghost on the Canvas

You will be interested if you are a fan of: Glen Campbell, Brian Wilson

Tell Me More: I often felt as if I was a lone voice in the music reviewer universe when I would champion singer-songwriter-guitarist Glen Campbell. Indeed, I can count on one hand the feedback I received after writing a glowing review of Campbell's inspired show at The Grove of Anaheim in October 2010. I am now, thankfully, a voice seemingly lost in a sea of more high-profile types suddenly acknowledging the unique artistry of Campbell. Since his recent public admission that he is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, there is plenty of interest in his new studio album Ghost on the Canvas.

And, to be sure, Ghost on the Canvas is a wonderful and poignant release. Featuring a mix of original songs penned by Campbell and his producer Julian Raymond, the disc also features tracks written by Paul Westerberg (the Replacements), Jakob Dylan and Robert Pollard (Guided by Voices); Ghost on the Canvas is truly a precious follow-up to the Arkansas native's fantastic 2008 Meet Glen Campbell effort.

Listening to affecting songs such as "A Better Place" and "Strong" is to hear a master – although faced with mountains that loom higher by the day – rise to the challenge with a grace that not heard since Johnny Cash issued his final recordings in the face of his own mortality.

Although there are plenty of more days to count before 2011 has passed, I can't help but think Ghost on the Canvas is one of the year's greatest releases.

Get Glen's 'Ghost on the Canvas' here

Artist: Counting Crows

Title: August and Everything After – Live at Town Hall

You will be interested if you are a fan of: Counting Crows, Van Morrison

Tell Me More: The release of Counting Crows' debut August and Everything After was memorable for not only how great the album was and that it sold more than seven million copies in America alone, but how at odds it sounded in contrast with the early '90s grunge movement championed by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots and scores of others.

Listening to the recently-released August and Everything After – Live at Town Hall, it is easy to see why singer Adam Duritz and company made such a big splash. Whereas bands like Stone Temple Pilots and Alice In Chains played with plenty of sonic firepower, their approach lacked the dynamic range and various emotional colors that Counting Crows captured in concert on a magical night at Town Hall in New York City on Sept. 18, 2007. Performing their debut in its entirety, Duritz (vocals), Jim Bogios (percussion, vocals), David Bryson (guitars, vocals), Charles Gillingham (keyboards, harmonica, vocals), David Immergluck (guitars, mandolin, pedal steel, vocals) Millard Powers (bass, piano, vocals) and Dan Vickrey (guitars, banjo, vocals) performed powerful versions of now-classics like "Mr. Jones," "Round Here" and "Rain King" that stand the test of time on the excellent 12-track disc issued by Eagle Rock Entertainment on Aug. 29, 2011.

Take flight with the Crows here!

Robert Kinsler

The Beatles Remasters Fake Stereo Vs. Real Mono

The entire Beatles Catalog has been rereleased in three different ways.

In stereo: Remastered and available as individual CDs, they feature new expanded packaging that includes extensive new liner notes, new photos, and are enhanced with a mini documentary on the making of the album. These new Stereo remasters are also available as a box set that includes all 13 Beatles albums, the 2 disc Past Masters CD (containing every song that was not released on an album) plus an additional DVD containing all the mini Documentaries. These new stereo remasters are widely available.

The stereo Box set currently sells for 179.99 on Amazon prices of he individual albums vary depending on where you go.

Not so widely available is the limited edition Mono Box set. It features the first 10 albums remastered from the original master tapes that where used for the original UK mono releases. Each one is packaged in meticulous re-creation's of the original vinyl packaging right down to the last detail (including inserts and paper sleeves). Also included is the 2 CD Mono Masters with the UK mono mixes for every Beatles song that was not released on their albums, the mono mixes for the originals songs featured on the Yellow Submarine movie, a very nice booklet with essays and photos and what has been dubbed as the 1965 stereo mixes for Help and Rubber Soul

The Mono Box set currently sells for 229.99 on Amazon

I have decided to forgo these new Stereo masters in favor of the mono box set.

WHY MONO?

Isn’t Stereo better? And the Mono Box set doesn’t contain the entire Beatles catalog! Plus it costs more! Why in the world would anyone choose to pay more for something that has less?

I thought the same thing….at first. But sometimes, in order to understand art, you have to understand the history behind that art. So let’s look at the history first.

The Beatles first 3 albums where recorded and released in the UK and America in Mono….Because at that time there was no such thing as stereo.

When Stereo was first introduced, it caught on big in the US. But in Europe, not so much.

So little so, that the Beatles continued to record and mix their next 7 albums in Mono for their UK releases.

They would then send of a 2nd generation copy of the master tape to the US where it would be panned right and left for stereo release in the US.

Stereo was still a new thing in the US at the time, and in order to show off (dramatically) the difference between stereo and mono (and probably to help sell more stereo gear) These albums where panned far left and far right.

In other words: (as an example) You play a US release of the Beatles and you hear the drums and vocals panned to the extreme far right of your speaker system and guitar and bass panned to the extreme far left. Turn down or disconnect your right side and you can’t hear the vocals and drums. Just the guitar, and bass.

These are not true full stereo mixes.

WHAT IS TRUE FULL STEREO?

In True full stereo we are trying to create a mix where it sounds like the band is in the room with you. Lead vocals are in the center, drums are more or less centered with perhaps the high hat panned slightly right and cymbals and toms panned slightly left to right depending on brightness. Guitars, Keys, Bass, and back up vocals are each individually panned to varying degrees somewhat to the right or somewhat to the left. The idea is to create a more surrounding mix. Panning hard left or hard right is mostly not done except to create an effect or emphasis.

These ping pong stereo mixes of the Beatles albums, that I referred to earlier, where just an afterthought to satisfy the US marketplace at the time. The Beatles had no real input on them. And their producer George Martin had only minimal input on them. They where also taken from a 2nd generation master tape (which means that there was already a degradation of quality).

…………And for years this is how we listened to the music of the Beatles in the US.

It took so long for Stereo to catch on in the UK, that only their last 3 albums, Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road & Let it Be, that the Beatles had their albums mixed in stereo for both the UK and US releases (although there where mono mixes of the 4 original songs on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack there where released as singles in the UK….more on this in a moment).

THE  1987 RELEASES TO NOW

In 1987, when the Beatles albums where first released on CD, the first 3 where re mastered versions of the original Mono US releases. The next 7 albums, where taken from the same stereo masters that where used for the US vinyl stereo releases, so they featured the same extreme hard right, and left panning

Now back in 1999 in conjunction with the release of the Beatles movie Yellow Submarine on DVD, Capital records did an interesting thing. They not only remastered, but remixed all the songs from the film and released them On CD. For the first time these songs (at least) could be heard in true stereo (rather then the hard left and right panning that was previously available). Many fans found the difference to be quite astounding with favor falling towards these new remixes over the 87 remasters.

So prior to their 09/09/09 release date, there where a lot of speculation that these new rereleases would also be remixed in true full stereo.

Sadly for many fans, this was not the case.

So while these new Stereo remasters may be an improvement over the 87 versions (opinions vary on this greatly though). What we have with these new releases, are remasters of the same hard right and left panning that has plagued the US Beatles releases since day one.

Given the Beatles and Producer George Martin’s almost complete lack of involvement in the original US stereo releases, and given the fact that at times it would seem that the stereo releases where engineered more to show off how different stereo was from mono at the time (and not to serve the songs themselves). It is my opinion that, in the case of the first 10 albums, it is the mono mixes that are the definitive mixes. These are the mixes that the Beatles and George Martin took part in and signed off on. This is what they heard in the studio and this is the way they wanted audiences to hear these songs. And I have decided that this is the way that I want to hear them.

BUT DOES IT REALLY SOUND ANY BETTER?

In music, beauty is in the ear of the beholder. But most audiophiles who have compared the mono mixes to the stereo releases will agree (due to the hard R/L panning of the US stereo releases) that the Mono releases sound fuller and better. When you play them on a good stereo if feels more like the band is in the room with you. Also there can sometimes be startling differences. In some cases the American engineers may have used a different vocal take, Certain vocal and guitar effects may have gotten washed out during the conversion to stereo and sometimes (due to the tape machines) the speed of the recording was changed. The Sgt. Pepper album offers some of the most apparent differences. I had the chance to listen on line to the original mono mix of She’s Leaving Home. The song is already a thing of beauty, but it was unbelievable to hear how much different it sounded from its stereo counterpart. The tempo was a bit faster and it had a gorgeous richness that the stereo mix never had.

But once again, these mono mixes are what the Beatles and George Martin labored over and signed off on.

WHAT ABOUT THE LAST 3 ALBUMS?

The Yellow Submarine soundtrack, Abbey Road, and Let it Be are not included since they where mixed and released in stereo only. The mixes for the US and UK releases are the same. Therefore (in my opinion) the stereo mixes of these albums are definitive (and I already bought them back in 87).

The Original Yellow Submarine soundtrack album only featured 4 new Beatles songs (the movies title track and All you Need is love had been previously released) The rest of the album featured George Martin’s very under appreciated orchestral score for the film. But since Mono mixes of the original songs where released in the UK as singles, they are also included.

WHY ARE HELP, AND RUBBER SOUL ALSO INCLUDED IN STEREO?

Why not the other albums? Apparently George Martin did try some experimentation with Stereo mixes for these two albums. He was trying to create a stereo mix for the UK that would play well on Monaural players. These stereo mixes where not the same as the American versions. So they have been included in the Beatles Mono Box set.

FINALLY

So far from all the samples I have heard, and I have only heard these on youtube which is going to have compressed audio, these original Mono mixes are fuller and feel more real than their American stereo counterparts and probably always will be until they are not just remastered but remixed in true stereo.

But until the release of this new Mono Set, the only way you could hear these mixes was if you had those original British vinyl pressings. So this new Mono set finally offers a chance to hear these recording the way they were always meant to be heard.

I have not had the opportunity to hear the new Stereo remasters yet. They are more than likely an improvement over the 87 versions. And if you have never owned any Beatles CDs, I am sure they are worth your money, but it’s hard to believe that for decades now, We Americans have been hearing the Beatles music in mixes that where designed, more or less to show off stereo and sell stereo equipment, rather than a truly great and real sounding stereo mix.

Even more hard to believe is that their have been two opportunities (back in 87 and on 09/09/09) to fix this oversight.

I want the Beatles in stereo too. But I want to hear it done right. Until then…..Make mine mono.

TJR  09/21/09

Beatles Stereo Box Set

Beatles Mono Box Set

Listen to the mono mix of "She's Leaving Home".



Listen to the mono mix of the Sgt Pepper reprise (notice Paul calling out at the ending and other differences)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm5vBl1cQ30&feature=PlayList&p=9250DD99EC529736&index=5