THE HOLLIES/BUTTERFLY UK STEREO PMC 7039 VS. MONO PMC 7039

Feel I have to apologize for my condemning of this stereo in my first post on the mono a couple of years ago. I only had the mono back then so my judgement came from part faint memories of playing it on a lesser equipment and part after being disapointed by the "Evolution" stereo catastrophy (see earlier post). I have rewritten it since after finding this first press stereo and realizing that it actually has a lot to offer. Playing it now I hear a totally ok mix as made from a four channel recording - strong and though some of it is panned there's enough overlapping to get a satisfying picture. There are quite a few differences between the formats. E.g. the "Wish You A Wish" mono has birdsong at the beginning and end, stereo a waterfall at the beginning and nothing at the end. "Dear Eloise" and "Charlie and Fred" monos have more reverb. "Try It" stereo has a longer intro seemingly cut off from the mono. On "Postcard" stereo has slightly longer intro and and outro and the seagull noises differ. There's more but as all cuts apparently got separate treatment too much to get into here. Since both these copies are very early pressings it's more surprising that the song title "Wish You A Wish" is written together as "WISHYOUAWISH" on the stereo (-1 matrix/1R mother-stamper) while the mono (-1 matrix/1A mother-stamper) has the separate words. Also on the mono the vinyl show clearly visible gaps between the tracks while they are hardly noticable on the stereo, only seen in strong light (as on early Sgt. Pepper). Still whatever format you choose it is a great album with a perfect blend of emotional and experimental - catchy melodies spiced by well endowed effects. Mono remains my first choice but the stereo has so much to offer it's good to have both. Japan 2014 CD came with both mono and stereo versions plus two mono bonus tracks. EU 2016 2xLP set (PMC 7039/PCS 7039) with one mono and one stereo album, both cut from the original tapes with yellow/black Parlophone labels. Premiere UK had labels as shown here and laminated flip-back covers with EMI ad inner. (HÖLY*) (PÖX*) (MÅW*) (CPYC*)

THE BUSKERS SCX 6356 (-69) UK

("Busker" - one who plays in public places, usually while soliciting money.) After Don Partridge - often called "king of the buskers" - started to make money on his two big selling singles - "Rosie" and "Blue Eyes" - he decided to give something back to his fellow street musicians and hired Royal Albert Hall in London for a "Buskers Concert", where the profits were divided equally between the participants. It could have been a new start for all of the acts, where of many had struggled for a long time whithout recognicion and gained both experience and skill along the way. But apart from Dave Brock (now famed as the founder and eternal motor of Hawkwind) and California born Susan Keeley (who got an EMI contract and released a couple of non-selling singles) it didn't lead to much. Listening to the LP today, at least partly recorded at that Albert Hall gig, it's like getting an important message from another time another place. To me beyond good or bad - it's there and that's the only thing that counts. Though more or less presented as a live album I can't help hearing some of the tracks as recorded in studio with added reverb and/or public noise to mimick stage performances. No big deal, maybe it was for the best. However I'm totally charmed by 60 y.o. street soprano Meg Aitkens two contrbutions. You may think of Mrs. Miller hearing it, but this is a lot more sincere and beautifully out there. Very surprised how professional many of these buskers sound. Not just Don Partridge, Dave Brock and Susan Keeley, but also artists like Jasper Banard, Stephen Sak and Robin Burns - all three doing good self-penned songs well fitting the contemporary singer-songwriter tradition. As a whole good listening, especially if you're into sixties folk singers and/or enjoy the odd stuff. To my knowledge this UK vinyl was the only release, also as mono (SX 6356). It came with label as shown here and laminated flip/back cover. (LYBÖ*)(FÄV*)(SYSÖ*)(HÖWK*)

THE HUMAN BEINZ/NOBODY BUT ME ST-2906 (-67) US STEREO

Those were the days when about any aspiring rockband with enough skill and contemorary agenda could sign a contract for a major label. Often unvalued by executives, instead coupled with understanding producers who did their best to get the band's intentions on track. This is an exemple of that and a good one too. Ohio cover combo starting as The Premiers 1964, but soon changed their name to The Human Beingz to better fit the zeitgeist. The dropped g into Beinz was apparently a label mishap they decided to go with. After a good start reaching #8 on Billboard with a cover of Isley Brothers "Nobody But Me" - spiced with a fine guitar solo and a borderline psych feeling - that was it and they're now considered a one-hit-wonder. Though with continuing success in Japan and a couple of other countries the American dream was soon over and they broke up 1969. This debute album has a mix of covers and self-penned with four tracks written by producer Lex De Azevedo. Side one is mainly up-tempo while side two consists of much calmer stuff. All of it well sung, well played and well produced with fine audio. Maybe not breathtaking, but as whole a worthy exemple of American sixties rock. A little too neat to be called garage, but naked enough. Favorite tracks - the rockers "Nobody But Me", "The Shaman" and "Turn On Your Love Light" plus the much slower "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair" because of its weird orchestral psych part. Stereo mix is partly quite panned but ok anyway. Would love to find an original mono eventually and when (if?) I do you'll be the first to know. Sixties releases in US, Canada, Japan and parts of South America. UK 1991 CD on See For Miles Records (SEE CD 327). Premiere US had label as shown here and glossy cover. (YZÄ*)

DEREK AND THE DOMINOS/LAYLA AND OTHER ASSORTED LOVE SONGS SD 2-704 (-70) US

(Been cut off from the net for about a week due to severe server trouble, but here I go again...) Yet another all time classic I have to post to get this blog more complete. Got nothing to add on the exhaustive wikipedia article so if it's background you're after - go there. I'm just here to shove lots of love over the LP. To me an all time top ten double album and one of the best white blues efforts ever. Two superb guitarists - Duane Allman and Eric Clapton bonding through mutual respect to an excellent backing - Jim Gordon and Carl Radle (former Joe Cocker and Delaney & Bonnie) and Bobby Whitlock (just out of George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" sessions). A mix of covers and self-penned, blending carefully prepared with studio live. Mostly with a rather smooth and alluring exterior, but there's so much emotions going on under the surface it's almost painful to dig in. I get sadness, regret and a fair share of angst, but also streaks of hope. Funny how a record can carry so much weight for fortyeight years and still coming out so fresh and important invoking such strong feelings. Favorite tracks - "Bell Button Blues", "I Looked Away", "I Am Yours", "Anyday", "Tell The Truth" and "Little Wing". For some reason not totally embraced by fans and critics at release, but is now commonly regarded as sterling of its kind. Issued and reissued all over the world through any possible format. Japan 2009 3xCD (Polydor UICY-93958/59/60) came with a remixed version of the original album, connected jam sessions and alternate outtakes. I had a UK first (Polydor 2626 005) some years ago but didn't like the audio - cut too loud for my taste. This US on the other hand sounds perfect and will remain my only keeper. Still not all in with the rather complicated set-up of different US pressings, but the matrixes on this are etched - ST-C-702043 E-1/44 E-1/45 B-1/46 C-1. Maybe possible to figure out. It came with label as shown here, thick matt fold/out cover and ATCO ad inners. (CÄRÄ*) (YZÄ*)

THE BLUES MAGOOS/BASIC BLUES MAGOOS SR-61167 (-68) US

Had the band's first two LP:s early seventies but lost both many moons ago. I remember liking the garage psych though for reasons I can't recall didn't value them high enough to avoid trading. Listening today from various sources on the net I miss having them and will get new copies as soon as opportunity gives. Found this their third - and last album before original setting break-up - a while ago and as far as I can hear it's different from its predecessors. Apparently influenced by British psych pop/rock and to my great joy at least some by The Move. Not only through the cover of "I Can Hear The Grass Grow" - here more psychedelic than the original and very good as such - but also the lovely "Sibyl Green (Of The Inbetween)". A couple of the other tracks may slightly remind of The Who while others are just weird not reminding of anything else. A little uneven to my taste, yet the blend of UK and US psych, leastways partly profoundly played and produced, makes it worth while. Audio not entirely fitting my ears - too much treble - but it is what it is and as an original canonized since -68. Favorite tracks - "I Can Hear The Grass Grow", "Sibyl Green..." and the mighty heavy "I Can Move A Mountain". To my knowledge only originally issued on vinyl in US and Canada (same number). UK 2004 CD on Repertoire Records (REPUK 1051) came with six bonus tracks, where of four mono single mixes. First US had label as shown here and glossy fold/out cover. (YZÄ*)

THE BEATLES/MONO MASTERS LC 0299 (-14) EU

In a way a superduper deluxe version of the 1979 UK/European variation of the "Rarities" album (see earlier post). Here a 3LP set containing 34 original mono mixes primarily unissued on LP in UK. As first part of the 2009 remastered CD box set/MP3 "The Beatles In Mono" it'd be fair to expect the same digitized stuff to show up on these vinyls, but luckily no. Apart from "Love Me Do" (see futher info on that below) it's all 100% analog prepared especially for this issue and the audio is perfect in every part - offering direct connection with the ability to take you back, but also to discover new things in many of the tracks. I've been trying to find all original Beatles mono mixes on LP:s for a long time now and have most of these already. New to me are "Across The Universe" and the ones that were already prepared, yet for some reason never used, on the "Yellow Submarine" mono - "Only A Northern Song", "All Together Now", "Hey Bulldog" and "It's All Too Much" (see earlier post). Those cuts were the reason I bought it in the first place, but there are also other things here that make me smile. It's on the dark Apple label, the vinyls are thick unflexible 180 g:s and the stickered triple fold/out sleeve is fully laminated with black polylined inners. Further the sleeve has a couple of rare images (the b/w:s enhanced here) and lots of info on sessions and recordings. I'm tempted to call it the final Beatles compilation. Not that I believe it's the last by any means, but the combination of all the above will make it very hard to surpass. Excellent work! (BÄ*) (PÖP*) (ÄPLÄ*) (LGÅ*)

LULU/LULU'S ALBUM (-69) UK MONO SX 6365 VS. STEREO SCX 6365

Though with not many directly distinctive differences between the formats - e.g. "Mighty Quinn" mono fade out is a second or so longer and mono has partly more reverb - I have to say they sound like separate mixes. It's the audio - connecting the channels on the stereo gives a mostly damp and flat outcome, while the mono blossoms - big, clear and well separated all the way through. Not sure if they could have created such a big difference any other way, but knowing that producer Mickie Most made separate mono mixes for 45:s up to 1971 for the sake of audio my best guess is he didn't like the fold and therefore decided to make changes. I would like to know for sure, but till I do I stand by that this mono is true (and adding it to my other UK -69 issues with separate mixes - now also as a page link under "MISC"). This was her last collaboration with Mickie Most for a very long time, here with arrangements by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones. I didn't like it much at first though have started to warm up to it lately. A cover album with quite a few good moments, like versions of "Show Me", "Mighty Quinn" and "Gimmie Some Loving" embellished by some good old Lulu power and there are also fine guitars here and there - reputedly played by Jimmy Page, but not confirmed. Not my collection's most exciting moment, but good listening nevertheless. US issue as "It's Lulu" (Epic BN 26536) came with different sleeve design. UK 2002 CD on EMI (7243 5 38850 2 1 ) coupled this stereo with the "Most Of Lulu" compilation as a 23-track. Premiere UK had labels as shown here and thin structured cover with EMI ad inner. (FÄV*) (YMÖ*) (MÅW*) (CPYC*)  (LÅL*)

MARIANNE FAITHFULL/BROKEN ENGLISH M1 (-79) UK

Sometimes it pays to get back to records you didn't fancy or even hated long time ago. Bought this at release to my then girlfriend. But while she played it over and over, learning all the songs, I rejected it totally because of the synths and the feeling didn't catch me at all. After we broke up the LP stayed in my collection forgotten for decades. Then a while ago I saw a documentary about Faithfull on TV, was impressed and to my surprise I still had the record so I picked it out a went for a spin. And now I'm quite touched. The synths doesn't bother me so much anymore as I hear a balance from other instruments and they actually help to set the mood. Tracks a blend of self-penned, collaboratios and covers. Though from differing sources performed in a way they all seem to reflect her previous years as a derelict tainted by heroin abuse, homelessnes and depression. It's dark, but described by a mature discerning woman, not a victim. I'm enjoying it a lot, especially the hard-core "Why D'Ya Do It" with its Fripp-inspired (?) guitars, the cover of Shel Silverstein's "The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan" and the title track. But it's so evenly produced and performed you wanna play it in one sweep, reluctant to miss a bit. And the best thing is - it's new to me! If digging it from the start I might have been slightly fed-up by now, as you can get by listening to favorites over and over, but in my world it's now a novelty, fresh and something to get in to and discover. So I'm glad I missed it back then. Issued and reissued all over the world through the years in every possible format. First US on Island (ILPS 9570). Premiere UK came with two different label designs - one with colored title/logo and one all black/white - both apparently using the same matrixes with "ILPS 9570" scratched out and replaced with etched "M1-A1" and additional ISLAND JONZ on side one and side two having "M1-B1" with ISLAND SOUND CLINIC . No clue which was first. This b/w copy came with thin fully laminated cover and polylined black inner. (FÄV*)