20 GREAT HEARTBREAKERS NE 954 (-76) UK MONO + STEREO

One of many UK compilation sold through TV ads on K-tel label. I happen to like those since they collect more or less classic hits from a variety of labels in one place and often carry the original mixes. This is the case here - just a few of the cuts are stereo or enhanced mono, but the lion's share true mono. Here I get a number of tear teasers from the past. Older ones like Paul Anka "Lonely Boy", Platters "The Great Pretender", Teddy Bears "To Know Him Is To Love Him", Bobby Vee "Run To Him", Ray Peterson "Tell laura I Love Her" and Richie Valens "Donna", coupled with more recent hits as Box Tops "Cry Like A Baby", Lulu "To Sir With Love" and Hermans Hermits "No Milk Today". It's good to listen through a compilation where every track is in the same mood. No need to skip cuts here. It's all sentimental, picturing more or less sad situations. Autumn will soon be here and this will fit perfectly for colder days, when skies are grey. Then I can curl up in my listening chair and just feel it. The audio is surprisingly good considering they crammed in ten cuts on each side. Not top of the line, still very ear pleasing. To my knowledge this was UK only, also on cassette (CE 955). Vinyl had label as shown here in a thin laminated cover.   (SÄM*) (KÄJT*)

                                                                                  

                                                                                    

                                                                          
                                                                                 

                                                                                   

                                                                                    

                                                                                

 

                                                                                

 

MOTOWN CHARTBUSTERS VOL.1 MS 707 (-70) US

 Time for one more Motown sampler. Even if I picked and posted quite a few of those up till now I still can't refuse when yet another I haven't seen before shows up in a bin. I may have most of the tracks already on other vinyls, but there's always something new to enjoy - occational songs that's new to me or a more or less smashing sleeve design. And this comes with all of that. Apart from obvious classics as Temptations "(I Know) I'm losing You", Smokey Robinson & The Miracles "Mickey's Monkey", Diana Ross & The Supremes "Back In My Arms Again", Martha Reeves & The Vandellas "I'm Ready For Love" and Brenda Holloway "You Make Me So Very Happy", I can also enjoy a couple new to my collection. Also the sleeve design is downright lavish. I do prefer Motown in mono, since those mixes mostly comes clearer and harder hitting, but since this was 1970 and issued in stereo only there's not much choice. At least all cuts are true stereo and even if I would have liked a little more spunk the audio is just fine, providing good listening all through. There have been lots of compilations named "Motown Chartbusters" released in various formats all over the world through the years. To my knowledge this particular one was vinyl only and just issued in US and Italy, though there may be others with different titles carrying the same cuts that I can't trace. Premiere US came with label as shown here in a sleeve with a beautiful front, consisting of tiny dots of gold and silver shimmering in the light, and a Motown ad inner. Unfortunately my scanner refuse to reproduce the glow, so You just have to imagine it. (YZÄ*)  (TÖMÖ*)  (SÄM*)

                                                                                      

                                                                               

                                                                                 

                                
                                                                                

                                                                                  

                                                                             

 

THE TEMPTATIONS/DO THE TEMPTATIONS G6-975S1 (-76) US

 Their thirtieth or so LP since the 1964 debute one. (For more on the band please check posts on some of their other albums  https://monolover.blogspot.com/search?q=(%C3%84I%C3%96*)&max-results=20&by-date=true  ). After this they were sacked by the Gordy label, apparently since the Motown heads wasn't happy that the combo took too much control over their recordings. They then spent four years releasing a couple of albums for Atlantic before returning to Gordy and stay. Not sure why Motown didn't like the outcome of this. I hear a broad soul sweep here, from disco to languishing ballads, most performed in their signature way, and I especially like that some of the arrangements are more adventurous than middle-of-the-road, like the brass in "Why Can't You And Me Get Together" or the psych intro to "Is There Anybody Else". There are also some nice heartfelt ballads to enjoy, as "I'm On Fire (Body Song)" and "Let Me Count The Ways (I Love You)". I've been a Temptations fan since the sixties, so I'm probably biased, but however this was recieved by the public and Motown moguls back then I like it now and that's all that matters to me. Issued and reissued all over the world on vinyl and/or cassette and/or 8-track, but to my knowledge never like this on CD. Premiere US had label as shown here in a thin fully laminated cover. (YZÄ*)  (ÄIÖ*) (TÖMÖ*)

                                                                              

                                                                              

                                                                                 

                                                                                   

 

SEX PISTOLS/THE GREAT ROCK'N'ROLL SWINDLE VD 2510 (-79) UK SOUNDTRACK

                                                                                   

 Soundtrack to a British mockumentary movie, meaning to depict the whereabouts of the UK punk movement in the late seventies, with most focus on The Sex Pistols and their manager Malcolm McLaren. Haven't seen the whole movie yet myself, but guess it's as chaotic as this album. The band had already split after Johnny Rotton left and Sid Viscious was down on drugs, which would kill him before the album was released. So this is not a freshly recorded Sex Pistols album, more a patchwork made by McLaren, where he among other things use old rehersal tapes with added bass and drums. Also letting other singers in to replace Rotton, as old band members Sid Vicious, Paul Cook, Steve Jones and himself, besides famed train robber Ronnie Biggs and musician, actor and TV presenter Edward Tudor-Pole. To make it even more complicated the album has been released in different variations with diverging track lists, which is the reason the tracklist inside fold/out is incorrect and an insert with correct tracking had to be enclosed. All the above would be enough for any band fan or student of rock history, but how does it sound? Even after listening through I seriously don't know, but under the circumstances maybe not that bad. The mended 1976 rehersal tracks suffer from half-ass audio, but still very ok punk rock, French street musicians doing their version of "Anarachy In The UK" is odd in a very good way and Ronnie Biggs "No One Is Innocent" is quite all right. My favourites here world be Sid Vicious doing covers of "Something Else" and "C'mon Everybody", though I hear his mock version of "My Way" as mostly tragic considering he passed away after an overdose just a while later. All in all McLaren's act of greed, flogging the dead horse as hard and ruthless as he could, which he also gladly admitts. But good or bad it is a testimony from a very special time and place in rock history and therefore valuable, at least for me. Issued and reissued through different formats, trackings and sleeve designs all over the world through the years. I can't count them all. Not sure if this is a first or second UK press. In any case it came with labels as shown here in a glossy fold/out cover with two stickers and a one-sided insert. (ZÖNT*) (For more on Sex Pistols please also check post on the first UK press "Never Mind The Bollocks"  https://monolover.blogspot.com/2012/06/sex-pistolsnever-mind-bollocks-77-1-1.html  )

                                                                                     

                                                                                   

                                                                                 

                                                                               

                                                                                    

                                                                              

                                                                                   

                                                                                   

                                                                               

 

THE SHADOWS/HITS RIGHT UP YOUR STREET 2442 194 (-81) SCANDINAVIA

 The combo's fourteenth LP. Mainly a cover album, doing stuff by John Lennon, Rod Stewart, ABBA, Shakin' Stevens, Ennio Morricone, Anton Karas and The Tornados among others. Don't know how it sold world wide, but it did very ok on home turf, peaking at #15 on the UK chart. To my taste a good choice of covers, mixing pop wonders like "Sailing", "Telstar", "Imagine", "The Winner Takes It All" and "This Old House" with other genre classics as "The Third Man", "Misty" and "Chi Mai". The audio and balance are tophole all through giving a caressing experience. Smooth as a baby's butt without any dirt or thrill. I guess some would call it muzak and just dismiss, while most Shadows fans probably just will see it as another good outcome in a long line of albums. To me it's not their best effort and not one to sit down and listen closely to, but a nice and sufficing background to this retiree's reading, crossword puzzles or occational cleaning. Originally issued on vinyl and/or cassette all over Europe, Downunder, South Africa, Japan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. UK 1992 CD on Pickwick Music (PWKS 4106). First Scandinavian  had label as shown here in a thin fully laminated cover.  (CCÖ*)  (CXÄ*)

                                                                                   

                                                                                     

                                                                                 

                                                                                 

                                                                             

 

JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE/ELECTRIC LADYLAND PART 1 613010 (-68) UK

 Finally after many years found an update to my old tattered copy. Therefore time for a slightly updated re-post of the one I made twelve years ago. I think it is interesting enough to be reminded of, so here I go again...Compared to United States and many other countries buying a record in England was relatively expensive in the sixties. The whole manufacturing process was complicated and tax was high. Therefore it took a while before 2-LP albums became big sellers, first block buster being "White Album". Early on doubles from other countries were stripped and released as single albums with 7-8 songs on each side - e.g. Freak Out and Supremes Greatest Hits. There was also a habit of splitting into two separate issues and sell those side by side with the double - e.g. Blonde On Blonde and Wheels Of Fire. This Electric Ladyland is an exemple of the latter. Mostly the 1-LP alternatives had about the same sleeve design as the 2-LP ones, but while the part two here came with the famed "large pic/blue font"  https://monolover.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-jimi-hendrix-experience-electric.html  this has an unique art work - a David King creation called "End of the World" (parts of the cover shown below). It is amazing how the double issue can fetch up to £500, but you can get an equally rare part 1 + 2 top copies made from early matrices with top audio for £50-100 together. This variation originally issued on vinyl over Europe and in South Africa. Also on 4-track and/or 8-track and/or cassette over Europe, Downunder and in US. 1st UK came with label as shown here in a thin fully laminated cover. (JHÄ*) (TRÄC*)

                                                                               

                                                                                  

   

                                                                                 

                                                                                  

                                                                           

 

THE HOLLYRIDGE STRINGS/THE NEW BEATLES SONGBOOK ST 2429 (-66) UK

 One of many many issues titled or subtitled "The Beatles Songbook" or "The Beatles New Songbook". The one here belonging to a serie recorded by Hollyridge Strings, a Capitol studio orchestra specializing in making easy listening versions of contemporary pop music. These were popular back then and many of them reached healthy sales around the world, especially the six Beatles ones, of which this was the third. Normally not my cup of tea, but getting a Beatles related solid UK first press on Capitol at a very good price was more than I could resist. And how does it sound? Rather good actually. Even if string driven covers of Fab Four songs wasn't high on my want list I have to admit this is very well done and not all wrong as background to smooth chores. Arrangements soft and caressing, carried by smashing stereo mix and audio. It doesn't make me wanna jump up and down and scream with joy, but can sure have a calming effect in hectic times. Premiere US on Capitol (T/ST 2429). Also issued on vinyl in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. US 8-track on Capitol (8M 2429) as "The Beatles Songbook Vol. III". To my knowledge never released like this on CD, though most of the songs have showed up on various CD compilations through the years. First UK (also as mono T 2429) had label as shown here in a laminated flip/back cover.