Review- The Beatles/ The U.S. Albums

The Beatles/ The U.S. Albums (Capitol, 2014)

I hate my money. Fucking hate it. There is no other explanation why I do this shit to myself. I have bought these albums multiple times in multiple configurations, but was only too happy to do it again. Why? Because I am mentally ill and I hate my money. Allow me to explain.

I own the original CD releases, but was always a sad panda that they were the UK versions and not the versions that my older brother played endlessly when we shared a room growing up. Beatles '65 will always kick Beatles For Sale's ass in my opinion. Imagine my delight when The Capitol Albums Vol. 1 box set was released in 2004 to cash in on The Beatles' fortieth anniversary of invading America. This delight continued when The Capitol Albums Vol. 2 box set was released in 2005. While I was dismayed that A Hard Day's Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) and The Beatles' Story were omitted from these collections I was pleased as punch by the real fake US stereo sound.

Word of this box hit me like a ton of bricks. Wait, you mean that I have to buy all of these again to get A Hard Day's Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), The Beatles' Story, Yesterday And Today, the US version of Revolver, and Hey Jude on CD? No, they were releasing these all as individual discs. Hooray! Except for the fact that they were issuing the infamous butcher cover for Yesterday And Today exclusively in this box set. Motherfucker! You greedy bastards got me again! I decided to eat a hamburger in protest of this and then pre-ordered this box set. 160 bucks that I will never see again.

The worst part of all of this? While the packaging of the original US LPs is flawlessly reproduced (including authentic first pressing paper sleeves) on dull matte cardstock, the UK mixes from the 2009 remasters are substituted for the “real” fake US stereo mixes found on the two aforementioned CD box sets. What does this mean? It means that OCD completism wins again! USA! USA! What it means for the fan who didn't buy those boxes but picked this one up is that most of the American elements that you would buy these albums for are missing. Here is what you won't find in this box set, to the best of my ability. Beatles experts can likely find a few more flaws, but this is what I came up with:

Meet The Beatles- 9 of the 12 mono tracks have UK mixes, while 10 of the 12 are stereo versions are the US ones.

The Beatles' Second Album is stripped of the original Capitol reverb. Buy The Capitol Albums Vol. 1 box set for the real deal on CD. Every single album has variances from the original US versions. Just buy those boxes now before they go out of print and spare yourself an aneurism. Help! (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is 100% wrong for the non-instrumental tracks. It is presented in a correct gatefold sleeve here at least.

A Hard Day's Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), like all of the early albums, includes the mono and stereo mixes. Problem is, there was no stereo version of this album, aside from the instrumental tracks! So you get a free stereo mixtape from the 2009 remasters I guess. The mono is spot on though.

Yesterday And Today contains five of the eight unique US stereo and mono mixes while curiously omitting the original US duophonic mixes of I'm Only Sleeping, Doctor Robert, And Your Bird Can Sing. Doctor Robert in mono is the original US mono mix but cuts off Lennon's spoken word outro. The 1987 remixes for the original CD pressings are used on Act Naturally, Yesterday, Drive My Car, What Goes On, and If I Needed Someone are used rather than the 1965 ones.

Revolver is correct as far as I can tell. Hey Jude has the proper US stereo. Paperback Writer had reversed channels on the original US release but has the correct/wrong UK ones here. The Ballad Of John and Yoko has the ending slightly faded. This album was originally called Beatles Again, and as such should have been labeled that here. Or maybe they could have included a sticker of that as well.

The box itself is quite nice. Each mini-LP style card sleeve comes in a resealable plastic sleeve. Each CD has a clear plastic sleeve to protect it from scratches going in and out of the cardstock sleeve. There are also replica paper sleeves that you could use if you dared.

A handful of songs throughout the box have curious, unknown to me mixes that sound like neither the US nor UK versions. I defer judgment to more qualified Beatles experts on a lot of this stuff. It is daunting compiling these lists. I despise the fact that these CDs don't automatically load the name on my car CD player. I can burn CDs that do that, why can't Capitol do this in 2014? Cripes. It's annoying to me. Not as annoying as wasting time comparing this CD to that or reading a hundred reviews and compiling a consensus of Beatles experts, but pretty damn annoying nonetheless.

All of this aside, the bottom line is The Beatles still rule. Yesterday And Today is the best Capitol designed album. And Beatles '65 will always kick Beatles For Sale's ass.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

Review: Paul McCartney @ Comerica Park in Detroit, MI, on July 24, 2011

I have a short “bucket list” of Rock bands that I want to see before they (or I) pass on. Sir Paul topped that list. I have always passed whenever he came to town, with reasons as lame as “ehh, too much money”, “maybe next time”, or “it probably won't be any good anyways.” I honestly couldn't believe it when they announced he was coming to a market as depressed as Detroit. I jumped at the chance, scoring the $39.50 seats. We were in section 323, Row 2, and while we were way up and far back, we enjoyed a wholly unobstructed view. The sound in Comerica Park is surprisingly good, especially when you factor in how huge this place is.

Showtime was 8PM according to the tickets, but there was some weird video montage for around a half an hour, likely to help latecomers get in and get to their seats. There was thunder and some sprinkles during the video, and I was dreading the seemingly impending storm. I have heard stories about how rain clears up when the Pope comes out on stage, and the exact same thing happened when Paul and his band came on at 8:30.

Hello, Goodbye started the show off strong, followed by the great Junior's Farm. I couldn't believe how great Paul's voice sounded, how fit and trim he looked at age 69, and how great his entire band sounded. I don't know who any of those cats were, but they were all experts on their instruments. Paul seemed playful with the crowd between songs, making you feel like he actually wanted to be in Detroit. He referred to The Beatles' first and only visit to Detroit at Olympia Stadium before launching into All My Loving. Paul said “I remember it...you don't”, as he pointed to the crowd. His Wings era got some love from Jet, and then he went into another Detroit story before Drive My Car. The cynic in me was thinking Dude, no one likes Detroit, but by the end of that night I believe that he does. Sing the Changes from The Fireman album was up next, and the crowd was polite if unfamiliar with the song. 

Paul told a story of how he toured the Motown Museum that afternoon, and about how much he loved Motown music when he was growing up. He proclaimed the Motown Museum and Detroit 'the Holy Grail' and then said that this was next song was being done especially for Detroit, Hitch Hike by Marvin Gaye. The Night Before by The Beatles was great live, and his band really had the vocal harmonies down pat. I was amazed at how great everything sounded. Let Me Roll It with the Foxy Lady Jimi Hendrix outro was next. Paul told a Hendrix story afterward. It seemed like he was really trying to express how much things meant to him throughout the show, and I felt like he was saying goodbye to everyone with each of these stories. Paperback Writer was brilliant live. I cannot adequately express how great everyone sounded vocally, suffice it to say that I felt like I was in the presence of a space alien or god. It kept hitting me during every Beatles song, my God, this is a Beatle in front of me. I wished that my son was older so that he could see Paul McCartney live in his lifetime. It was around this point in the show that I got a little sad. I came to the realization that we are living in the twilight of the gods. The '60s and '70s had some of the best music ever made, and the old guard that remains is on its way out. What will music be left with when Paul and his peers retire? Blink 182? This was a sobering thought.

Paul went to the piano for The Long and Winding Road, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five, Let 'Em In, and Maybe I'm Amazed. I've Just Seen A Face was another great moment. This concert was one of those life-affirming moments for me, where I just sit back and realize that maybe the world will be ok and life really is good. Music can be a powerful tool and force for good, and this was the best of the best. I Will was pleasant, but it was Paul's speech before Blackbird that really drove a point home. He was talking about how the civil rights movement inspired this song, and you could see that he was really reflecting on his life, on how much the world has changed. It's mind boggling to think about how much this man's music has impacted our culture for generations, and how many changes have happened since these songs were originally released. I wasn't even born when The Beatles broke up, and here I am playing these songs for my kids. That's pretty awesome to think about, that this music has survived this long and will continue to live on long after we are all dead and gone. It made it feel like an honor to be in his presence.

Here Today (John's Eulogy), Dance Tonight, and Mrs. Vanderbilt were up next. Eleanor Rigby was another spine-tingling moment, with the vocal harmonies. Paul told a story about George Harrison and ukeleles, and then proceeded to play Something on a ukelele. The band kicked in during the guitar solo. Band On The Run was great live.  Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da was fun, and after he played Back In The U.S.S.R. Paul told a story about he got to play that song in Red Square, and how amazing that was to him. He spoke of the iron curtain and the Cold War anxieties, and how the Government there all wanted to meet him. They all told him what fans they were, and it really gave you a sense at how powerful and uniting a force music can be. I've Got A Feeling was great, and the A Day In The Life/ Give Peace A Chance medley was wonderful. Let It Be was genuinely moving, and Live and Let Die was pure spectacle. Pyro on the accents, insane fireworks during the fast parts that seemingly overtook the stadium...just awe-inspiring. Hey Jude was all feel good and sing-songy.

That was the end of the set proper. For the first encore we got Lady Madonna, Day Tripper and Get Back. The second encore was Yesterday, a blistering Helter Skelter, and my personal favorite suite from Abbey Road, Golden Slumbers/ Carry That Weight/ The End. Three hours, and we were all still screaming for more. It must be said that Paul was out there the entire time. No bullshit guitar or drum solos, and I never even saw him pick up so much as a water bottle. I am in awe at his energy level. The best part of it all? He said “I'll see you next time”. I can only hope that there will be a next time for us here in Detroit.