Music Week 音樂一週

17/01/2025

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17/01/2025

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Kim Simmonds (Savoy Brown)

17/01/2025

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RINGO AT THE RYMAN — EXCLUSIVE BEATLEFAN REPORT: Ringo Starr and a cast of Music City’s finest players and celebrated guests performed the first of two sold-out nights at the vaunted Ryman Auditorium Tuesday night. Beatlefan Associate Editor Tom Frangione reports that Ringo and friends did a 19-song set list. Ringo's songs ranged from “Matchbox” and “It Don’t Come Easy” to songs from his new country album, “Look Up.” Ringo sang eight songs and other performers did numbers from his canon, including singer Molly Tuttle on “Octopus’ Garden,” Jack White performing “Don’t Pass Me By,” Billy Strings doing “Honey Don’t,” the duo The War & Treaty performing “Without Her” from Ringo’s 1970 “Beaucoups of Blues” country album, Sheryl Crow and Tuttle duetting on “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party,” Jamie Johnson singing “Have You Seen My Baby,” Larkin Poe performing “I Wanna Be Your Man” and others also performing numbers. The show wound up with ensemble performances (with the evening's stars joined by Brenda Lee) of “Yellow Submarine” and “With a Little Help From My Friends.” The latter is being rush-released as a single, with proceeds going to the California wildfires relief effort. The show will be performed again Wednesday night and a TV special will air on CBS and Paramount+ in March. Look for full coverage in the February issue of Beatlefan. (Photo for Beatlefan by Tom Frangione)

17/01/2025

FIRE AID 🔥

17/01/2025

Happy Birthday !!! Kai Hansen
（2023.09.14拍攝於 ORIX Theater - Eric Wong）

17/01/2025

Happy Birthday !!! Mick Taylor
（2014.03.09拍攝於 Cotai Arena - Eric Wong）

17/01/2025

MARC BOLAN .

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January 16, 1970 - T.REX By The Light Of The Magical Moon
By the Light of a Magical Moon / Find a Little Wood (Regal Zonophone RZ 3025)

The release was the fifth and final Tyrannosaurus Rex single, it failed to achieve chart success, with the main track taken from the album A Beard of Stars that was released in March 1970 by Regal Zonophone in the UK and Blue Thumb in the US, that reached No. 21 in the UK Albums Chart. "By the Light of a Magical Moon" was recorded on November 7, the first two takes were all-electric, similar to how the song was performed live.

PRESS REVIEWS
"Marc Bolan with new sidekick Mickey Finn has another crack at the singles market with a typical Bolan Child vocal, but an untypical backing with some nice Beatley guitar sounds and unusual chord changes it will be nice to see ... them get a hit after all this time. Let's hope the DJs cough up with some plays."
Chris Welch, Melody Maker

"Never am too sure about this team. Sometimes they lose me or I lose them. This is a gentle moody piece of light-hearted writing, with good vocal line and some intriguing guitar spasms. At least try it, please."
Peter Jones, Record Mirror

"Rex is looked upon by many people as an ‘album group.' Maybe so, though I am confident that it's turn in the singles chart will come. But whether or not it will be with this disc is a moot point.
It's hauntingly insistent, has a colourful lyric and throbbing beat, and highlights some sizzling guitar work.
It reminds me slightly of Donovan's “Goo Goo Barabajagal" and is certainly distinctive enough to merit a Chart entry. But some- how I have my doubts."
Derek Johnson, New Musical Express

16/01/2025

Happy Birthday !!! Sade
(2011.05.29 拍攝於 LG Arena - Peter Chow)

16/01/2025

Happy Birthday !!! Jon Davison
(2024.09.23 拍攝於 Okaya Nagoya Hall - Eric Wong)

15/01/2025

Axis :Bold As Love .

15/01/2025

ON THIS DATE (57 YEARS AGO)
January 15, 1968 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Axis: Bold as Love is released.
# ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 5/5
# Allmusic 5/5
# Rolling Stone (see original 1968 review below)

Axis: Bold as Love is the second studio album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, released in the US on January 15, 1968 (December 1, 1967 in the UK). It reached both the Billboard 200 Top LP's ( #3) and Top R&B LP's ( #6) charts and reached #5 in the UK.

Under pressure from their record company to follow-up the successful debut of their May 1967 album Are You Experienced, the album was recorded to fulfill the band's contract, which stated that they must produce two albums in 1967. Even so, it was not released in the USA until 1968 due to fears that it might disturb the sales of the first album. Bassist Noel Redding has noted that this was his favorite of the three Experience albums. He plays eight-string bass on some tracks.

Just before the album's completion, Hendrix left the master tapes of side 1 in a taxi. They were never found again, and thus the A-side had to be mixed again quickly.

Many of the album's songs were composed with studio recording techniques in mind and as a result, were rarely performed live. Only "Spanish Castle Magic" and "Little Wing" were performed regularly. The lyrics of "Spanish Castle Magic" were inspired by The Spanish Castle, a dance hall in what is now Des Moines, Washington near Seattle where Hendrix jammed with local rock groups during his high school years. On "Little Wing" Hendrix plays his guitar through a Leslie speaker (a revolving speaker which creates a wavering effect, that is typically used with electric organs) for the first time.

The intro track, "EXP", begins with a few notes from "Stone Free" (although played one-half step down) and then features a conversation between Mitchell and Hendrix about UFOs, where Mitchell plays a radio host, and Hendrix plays an outerspace alien in the guise of a human named Mr. Paul Caruso, whose voice is gradually slowed down until he eventually takes off in his spaceship, much to the host's consternation ("But-but-but", he splutters). Paul Caruso was actually a friend of Hendrix's from his days in Greenwich Village. "Up From the Skies" is a jazzy number featuring Mitchell playing with brushes. The song is about a space alien who has visited the earth thousands of years in the past, and returns to the present to "find the stars misplaced and the smell of a world, that has burned."

"Wait Until Tomorrow" is a pop-song with an R&B guitar riff with Mitchell and Redding singing backing vocals. The fourth track, "Ain't No Telling", is a rock song with a complex structure despite its short length. "Little Wing", as Hendrix himself said, was his impression of the Monterey Pop Festival put into the form of a girl. "If 6 Was 9", the last song on side one, is the album's longest track and arguably the most psychedelic; Gary Leeds (from The Walker Brothers) and Graham Nash use their feet during the outro to make some stomping. The song features prominently on the soundtrack for the 1969 counterculture film, Easy Rider.

"You Got Me Floatin'", a rock song opening with a swirling backwards guitar solo (which is absent on the mysterious, differently mixed Polydor version of this LP (only available in stereo), which outside of France & UK was the only one available in Europe), opens the second side of the album. Roy Wood and Trevor Burton from The Move, who toured with Hendrix on a package tour through Britain during winter 1967, supplied background vocals. The following track, "Castles Made of Sand", is a ballad also making use of a backwards guitar solo. "She's so Fine", Redding's contribution to the album as a composer, a very British pop/rock Who-influenced affair features Redding on lead vocals with help from Mitchell. "One Rainy Wish" begins as a ballad but develops a rock feel during the chorus that is in a different time signature than the verses.

The song "Little Miss Lover" was the first to feature a percussive muted wah-wah effect (with the fretboard hand "killing" notes) - a technique that was later adopted by many guitarists. The final song of the album, "Bold as Love", opens very abruptly and segues into a mellow groove similar to "Little Wing" and "Castles Made of Sand". With a psychedelic chorus and an extended solo at the end it fades out the album.
_________

NOTES
THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE
AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE

Jimi Hendrix had put the finishing touches on Are You Experienced, the group’s remarkable 1967 debut album, before he began recording new songs for what would ultimately become Axis: Bold As Love. Less than nine months had passed since Chas Chandler had brought Jimi Hendrix to London in September 1966. With Chandler installed as his manager and producer, the two formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience with drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding. On the strength of early singles like “Hey Joe,” “Purple Haze,” and “The Wind Cries Mary,” the Experience had conquered England and Europe. The group’s stunning performance at the June 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and the subsequent release of Are You Experienced won over American fans and clearly illustrated the magnitude of the trio’s capabilities. While touring and other commitments would delay further Axis: Bold As Love recording sessions for the new album until October 1967, the unquenchable creative fire burning within the belly of the Experience would soon produce another gem. Avidly gathered and explored by the public, the thirteen majestic songs of Axis: Bold As Love proved that Jimi Hendrix was no one album wonder.

Not satisfied with mining the same vein that had yielded the motherlode of Are You Experienced, the Experience kicked off their sophomore effort with a novelty step into the science fiction milieu that Jimi loved. “EXP” featured a faux radio announcer, played by drummer Mitch Mitchell, interviewing Jimi posing as Paul Carusoe, an expert on alien life. The track launched thirty-eight minutes of some of he most brilliant rock to be etched in vinyl the entire year. It contains a phenomenal group of songs. “Spanish Castle Magic,” “You Got Me Floatin’,” the title track, “Bold As Love,” and the now standard, “Little Wing”. Few would attempt to argue the album’s timelessness. The range of emotions and styles expressed throughout Axis equals those found on Are You Experienced, but there is a different quality about them. The time between the initial sessions for the “Hey Joe” single to the final touches on “She's So Fine” for Axis was only a year. The Experience had spent the time well. From the full out rockers to softer poetic outings, Axis: Bold As Love was chock full of well crafted pop songs.

Chas Chandler’s contribution in that vein should not be overlooked. Chas had learned a great deal about pop music structure as the bassist for the Animals, one of the most successful groups of the British invasion. His knowledge was in full display on Are You Experienced, where he was clearly in charge. It is to his credit that he recognized Jimi’s remarkable growth as a musician and composer. By the Axis sessions he and Jimi were equal partners in creative matters. His influence reined in some of Jimi’s more extravagant impulses that later reemerged with new discipline on Electric Ladyland. The longest song on Axis, “If 6 Was 9” runs 5:32. Of the other eleven songs, only “One Rainy Wish” and “Bold As Love” exceeded the three minute AM top forty radio barrier of the day. Unquestionably, Chas had carried his message well.

Just as important in the history of the Jimi Hendrix Experience was how the band reacted to their incredible initial successes. Many bands have found early success a distraction and a recipe for dissolution. The Axis days for Jimi and the Experience, on the other hand, were some of the happiest in the short tempestuous life of the group. That joy translated easily to disc and was clearly apparent throughout the sessions for the album. The trio created a union that, on the surface, might have seemed unlikely, but one that used its disparate influences to form a union of three with a single soul.

Mitch Mitchell brought his love of jazz, and Philly Joe Jones in particular, to the table, and his adroit stickmanship and machine gun fills reflects that interest throughout Axis. For example, Mitch’s breaks on “Wait Until Tomorrow” come right out of the hard bop book. His brush work (at Noel’s suggestion) on “Up From The Skies” would be just as at home in a smoky jazz piece as on this funky science fiction rocker.

Noel Redding was a converted guitar player and brought a guitarist’s sensibilities and deftness to the bass. His style pushed Jimi and Mitch into a tight union normally reserved for the tightest of bassist and drummer combinations. This coalition was a key element on Axis. Listen to the delicate interplay within “One Rainy Wish” founded on that well-established rhythmic rapport. With “She’s So Fine,” Noel’s own composition, the bassist assumed the lead vocal, leading Jimi and Mitch through this charged rocker. From start to finish, Noel’s offerings were an integral part of this fine album.

Jimi’s own passions involved the great bluesmen such as Buddy Guy, soulsters like Curtis Mayfield and jazzmen like Wes Montgomery. Those influences are apparent all through the Axis: Bold As Love album sessions. The soft rhythmic flow of “Little Wing” bears Curtis’ imprint and in Jimi’s opening rhythmic line to “Wait Until Tomorrow” we hear him tipping his hat to the R&B and Soul riffs he learned in his days on the chitlin circuit. Ironically, though Jimi heard the intricate line clearly enough in his head, he had difficulty reproducing it in the studio, according to the engineer on the sessions, Eddie Kramer. He obviously got it right eventually.

Kramer was another important part of the Axis effort. He and Jimi had, by this time, forged an important kinship. With Chandler’s full confidence and support, Kramer was astute enough to recognize Jimi’s understanding of mixing and catered to Hendrix’s suggestions. Axis: Bold As Love was his second album with the Experience and he had developed an uncanny ability to grasp what Jimi had in his mind and was willing to work doggedly to achieve it on tape. Jimi, especially when discussing the subtleties of sound, would often describe what he wanted to hear in terms of colors. Eddie was able to develop a palette that Jimi could paint with. And when Jimi said he dreamed of having his guitar sound like he was playing it underwater, Kramer, along with fellow Olympic studio engineer George Chkiantz, developed the technique of phasing to make that dream come true. The coda at the end of the title track illustrates a remarkable use of the technique.

Axis was not an album that could be easily translated into live performance, nor was it intended to be. In the first place, the songs had not been road-tested like those on Are You Experienced. They were built from the ground up in the studio and the various effects that were added to the album (including a glockenspiel on “Little Wing”) were not intended to be part of the group’s thrilling live gigs. In fact only “Spanish Castle Magic” and sometimes “Little Wing” were ever regularly performed by the group. In Jimi’s mind the two areas were completely separate. On stage, Jimi’s message was entirely singular and he made the most of his opportunity to connect with his audience. The recording studio required a different focus, a different way of communicating through his music.

Axis: Bold As Love almost became a failure to communicate. After deciding on the thirteen tracks which would make the final cut, the firm of Hendrix, Kramer and Chandler began the laborious task of creating a final mix. After finishing the job in the early hours of Halloween, 1967, Hendrix and Chas Chandler took the master tapes home to the apartment they shared. Somehow, the unthinkable happened. Jimi misplaced the mixes for the album’s first side. Since the tapes had been removed before any safeties were made, their loss was truly a disaster. The mixes had been made from four-track originals and their creation had been a performance unto itself. Needless to say no one was happy with the task that faced them, remixing the half inch tapes and having to recreate what they had finished once already. With the lucrative Christmas season fast approaching, and the album already scheduled for release, the mixing had to be accomplished in one night.

“If 6 Was 9” was the one track they just couldn’t seem to get right. Each attempt had the team scratching their heads knowing that the sound wasn’t right. Despite a number of attempts, neither Chandler, Hendrix, nor Kramer were sure as to how they had achieved the earlier mix. Exasperated, they dispatched Noel in a cab to find a seven-and-a-half inch, three inch reel containing a rough mix from June that the bassist had at his apartment. The tape turned out to be badly wrinkled and needed to be ironed in order to get it through the studio machine. The mix was finally accomplished though, and beautifully so. From then on, the high praise Chandler and Kramer enjoyed for their labor has always brought on a sardonic smile. “If you only knew,” Chandler would often laugh.

For the listener, the extra effort was well worth it. With Axis: Bold As Love Jimi and company had created a magnificent and groundbreaking album that has stood the test of time. It remains not only a faithful document of its era, but it is just as relevant today as it was nearly thirty years ago. Since its initial release, Axis: Bold As Love has remained both a critical and a fan favorite. Though Jimi has been gone longer than he lived, we are fortunate to live in a time in which recordings keep his genius at our call. Axis is definitive proof both of that genius and the magnitude of our loss.

– Jym Fahey
__________

NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS, November 25, 1967

UFO COULD BE JIMI!

NEXT time you spot an unidentified flying object crackling across the night sky with electric blue flames streaming out behind, look closely, for it just might be that traveller in time, space and sound-Jimi Hendrix.

His latest album "Axis: Bold As Love" (Track), released on December 1, cost approximately £10,000 to produce and the incredible sleeve accounted for £3,000 of that amount! It depicts Jimi as a Pharaoh-like figure, with a snake in one hand and a flower in the other, surrounded by traditional Indian figures and demi-gods. With- out a doubt the most impressive sleeve for an LP I have ever seen.

The album begins with drummer Mitch Mitchell conducting a mock interview with space-man Hendrix, who blasts off into the air with an alarming variety of electronic guitar sounds guaranteed to stand the fur up on the boa of the cat's neck and reduce Frankie Vaughan fans to neurotic heaps.

IF A SIX WAS NINE is the stand- out track on the first side, combining brilliant guitar-antics with Hendrix defying the laws of gravity and con- vention and turning his world from white to black. " It's my world to live and I ain't agonna copy you," he sings, " I want to wave my free flag."

And for those older people who can only hear a confusion of electronic sound from these amplifiers and dis- cordant shrieks from the guitar, what can we say to convince them? How do you explain the riot of the colour red to a blind man?

UP FROM THE SKIES is more musical science fiction coupled with imaginative lyric and instruction to " Let Your Fancy Flow." SPANISH CASTLE MAGIC is an invitation to take a trip on a dragonfly and the strings on Hendrix guitar vibrate almost as quickly as those gossamer wings.

LITTLE WING has both Oriental and Indian influences and reflects the gentler plaintive aspect of Hendrix work.

On the second side, CASTLES IN THE SAND has an obvious message, and is another potential single. Almost Dylanesque in composition the lyric might have been considered slightly sick if the sincerity were not apparent. YOU GOT ME FLOATING is a dancing, wheeling, reeling, feeling and thinking song.

SHE'S SO FINE is a Noel Redding composition which he sings backed with harmonies from Mitch and Jimi.

LITTLE MISS LOVER indicates how important are the basic rhythm patterns established by Mitch and Noel and maybe " Bold As Love " is the answer to how you might convey colour to a blind man. KEITH ALTHAM
__________

ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW

Jimi Hendrix sounds like a junk heap (Ben Calder crushed monolithic mobiles bulldozed), very heavy and metallic loud. Rock's first burlesque dancer, superman in drag, his music is schizophrenic. Axis: Bold as Love is the refinement of white noise into psychedelia, and (like Cream) it is not a timid happening; in the vortex of this apocalyptic transcendence stands Hendrix, beating off on his guitar and defiantly proclaiming "if the mountains fell in the sea, let it be, it ain't me." Such cocky pop philosophy shall not go unrewarded.

"EXP" is Hendrix's white tornado advertisement aperitif (come-on), "my God Martha, it's a white tornado": "There ain't no life nowhere." The science fiction continues (Mose Allison) in "Up from the Skies," while "Spanish Castle Magic" transforms the Clovers; in fact, much of Axis demonstrates that Hendrix stands in relation to rhythm and blues of the fifties as the Who stand in relation to mainstream rock of the fifties–two useful transplants, indeed. "Ain't No Telling" is all Mitch Mitchell, who is by now definitely one of rock's most frantic drummers (from Moon to Baker). "If 6 Was 9" cracks foundations with banalized hippie lore ("wave my freak flag high"), while "She's So Fine" positively destroys walls. If "One Rainy Wish" repairs everything (like "May This Be Love"), pomp and circumstance ushers out "Bold as Love"–we all know that she by now has to be experienced.

Jimi Hendrix may be the Charlie Mingus of Rock, especially considering his fondness for reciting what might loosely be called poetry. But his songs too often are basically a bore, and the Experience also shares with Cream the problem of vocal ability. Fortunately both groups' instrumental excellence generally saves the day, and Hendrix on Axis demonstrates conclusively that he is one of rock's greatest guitar players in his mastery and exploration of every conceivable gimmick. Uneven in quality as it is, Axis nevertheless is the finest Voodoo album that any rock group has produced to date.
~ Jim Miller (April 6, 1968)

TRACKS:
All songs written and composed by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted.
Side one
1. "EXP" - 1:55
2. "Up from the Skies" - 2:55
3. "Spanish Castle Magic" - 3:00
4. "Wait Until Tomorrow" - 3:00
5. "Ain't No Telling" - 1:46
6. "Little Wing" - 2:24
7. "If 6 Was 9" - 5:32

Side two
1. "You Got Me Floatin'" - 2:45
2. "Castles Made of Sand" - 2:46
3. "She's So Fine" (Noel Redding) - 2:37
4. "One Rainy Wish" - 3:40
5. "Little Miss Lover" - 2:20
6. "Bold as Love" - 4:11

15/01/2025

Close To The Edge - YES .

15/01/2025

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5CD/LP/BLU-RAY SET FEATURES A NEWLY REMASTERED VERSION OF THE PLATINUM-CERTIFIED RECORD PLUS PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED RARITIES. OUT MARCH 7, 2025

14/01/2025

Happy 45th Birthday !!!!

ON THIS DATE (45 YEARS AGO)
January 14, 1980 - Rush: Permanent Waves is released.
# ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 4.5/5
# Allmusic 4.5/5
# Rolling Stone (see original review below)

Permanent Waves is the seventh studio album by Rush, released on January 14, 1980. It reached #4 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.

The album marks a distinct transition from hard rock and progressive rock into a more accessible, radio-friendly style and consequently, a significant expansion in the band's sales with hits such as "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill" seeing considerable radio airplay.

The writing of the album began in July 1979, at a farmhouse at Lakewoods Farm in Ontario on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron while Peart started his lyrics in a cottage near there. They began with an instrumental jam, which they nicknamed "Uncle Tounouse". Parts of this were used in the songs on the album. While Peart worked on lyrics, Lifeson and Lee would work on musical ideas in the basement. Within a few days they had put together "The Spirit of Radio", "Freewill", and "Jacob's Ladder", which came very naturally to them, and it was recorded on a Slider JVC mobile unit. "Entre Nous" was the only lyric completed ahead of time.

Neil was working on making a song out of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the medieval epic from King Arthur's time. Based on the story written in the 14th century, he was trying to keep its original style. It was deemed too out of place with the other material and was discarded.

In 1982, Lee told Rolling Stone Magazine that the album's title referred to "a theory that was going [within the band] about, like, culture waves; and there was a night when Neil said that a big album was like a permanent wave and I told him, 'that's our title.'"
__________

ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW'

It's easy to criticize what you don't understand, which at least partly explains why Canadian power trio Rush have suffered so much at the hands of rock journalists since the band's debut album in 1974. Critics find bassist-lead singer Geddy Lee's stratospheric wails and drummer Neil Peart's lyrical excursions into philosophy. science fiction and fantasy easy targets, and usually dismiss Rush as a head-banger's Genesis.

True, earlier LPs like Fly by Night and Caress of Steel bear the scars of the group's naiveté. But now, within the scope of six short (for them) songs, Rush demonstrate a maturity that even their detractors may have to admire. On Permanent Waves, these guys appropriate the crippling riffs and sonic blast of heavy metal, model their tortuous instrumental changes on Yes-style British art rock and fuse the two together with lyrics that – despite their occasional overreach – are still several refreshing steps above the moronic machismo and half-baked mysticism of many hard-rock airs.

Fortunately, Rush lead off with their trump card, a frantic, time-changing romp called "The Spirit of Radio." Not only is the sentiment right on, but the tune is packed with insistent hooks, including a playful reggae break that suddenly explodes into a Led Zeppelin-like bash. Guitarist Alex Lifeson makes the most of these hooks with harmonic inversions and aggressive solo breaks, taking off in "Freewill" and "Jacob's Ladder" with a theatrical agility that could give Jimmy Page pause for thought. Other surprises are a straight-ahead rocker with an artfully segued acoustic chorus ("Entre Nous"), a dramatic Genesis-style ballad ("Different Strings") and an overall sanding down of the abrasive edges of Geddy Lee's voice, revealing a far more competent, expressive singer than his original Robert Plant-like shriek might have suggested.

Rush's problem has rarely been competence, however. They simply don't play fashionable music. If they couldn't cut it on their own terms, that'd be different. But this band is among the very best in its genre. And if the Top Five status of Permanent Waves is any example, it's a genre wherein critics don't count at all.
~ David Fricke (May 1, 1980)

TRACKS:
All lyrics written by Neil Peart, except "Different Strings" written by Geddy Lee; all music composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee.
Side one
"The Spirit of Radio" – 4:57
"Freewill" – 5:24
"Jacob's Ladder" – 7:26

Side two
"Entre Nous" – 4:36
"Different Strings" – 3:48
"Natural Science" – 9:17
I: "Tide Pools" – 2:21
II: "Hyperspace" – 2:47
III: "Permanent Waves" – 4:08

14/01/2025

日本初版。

14/01/2025

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ON THIS DATE (56 YEARS AGO)
January 13, 1969 – The Beatles: Yellow Submarine is released.
# ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 4/5
# Allmusic 3/5

Yellow Submarine is a soundtrack album to the movie of the same name, released in the US on January 13, 1969 (January 17 in the UK). It reached #2 on the Billboard 200 Top LP's chart, kept from the top by The Beatles (White Album), which had been released two months before.

Only one side of the album contains songs performed by The Beatles; of the six, four were previously unissued. "Yellow Submarine" had been simultaneously issued in 1966 as a single and on the album Revolver, and "All You Need Is Love" had been issued as a single in 1967. The second side features the symphonic film score composed by George Martin, in versions recorded specifically for the album.

Starting out as a sing-a-long vehicle for Ringo Starr on Revolver, "Yellow Submarine" became the inspiration for the 1968 animated feature film of the same name. Most of the soundtrack was composed and orchestrated by George Martin, but the remaining six songs were far from being Beatle cast-offs. George Harrison's two contributions, "Only A Northern Song" and "It's All Too Much" mark the adventurously experimental phase the Beatles were in at that time and dabble in woozy psychedelic shadings laced with orchestrations that continued to influence cutting-edge pop artists for decades to come. Along with the aforementioned "Yellow Submarine," other Lennon/McCartney compositions include the good-time, skiffle-flavored "All Together Now," the Lennon-driven rocker "Hey Bulldog," and "All You Need Is Love"--the unofficial flower-power anthem.
__________

LINER NOTES (Original US)

Somewhere during the hours between the years 700 and 750 (anno Domini), a brother from the Northumbrian monastery wrote of a youthful thane of King Hygelac (King of the Geats) named Beowulf...a hero. A super-hero who arrived from far by sea to rescue Heorot...a feasting hall built by a benevolent old king called Hrothgar...a feasting hall that exuded the pleasures of food and music and perpetual celebration and all that was raison d’etre...a feasting hall which for years had been ravaged by the villainy of an evil spirit named Grendel. Having already proven his metal as a good-guy combatant par excellence (by the conquering of a picturesque sea monster and a victory over Breca in a swimming match), Beowulf goes forth to rid the once beautiful Northumbrian landscape of destructive Grendel...a demon who indeed perishes when his arm is delicately dislodged from its socket by Mr. Wulf. The kingdom is saved (albeit after disposing of Grendel's mother who took unkindly to the action) and Heorot restored with the pleasures or rood and music and perpetual celebration and colorful beauty...a restoration which permits bigger and better glorias to be raised to the local gods addressed as Wyrds.

Some 465 years later (1215), an English king named King John signed a Magna Carta at a roost called Runnymede...an act of prodded royalty which liberated barons and bumpkins to roust with a greater degree of carefreedom.

Some 561 years later than that (1776), a Virginia gent named Jefferson quilled a Declaration of Independence in, of all places, Philadelphia and shipped it to a king called King George which hypothetically rid a small group of new-world colonies from crimson-frocked enforcers from a faraway land...taxations without representations vanished and the colonies flourished freely under a hero named after the colonies' capital, Washington. (Ruffled feathers on both sides of the sea have since been plucked.)

And in 1968—some 1,218 years anno Beo (A.B.); 753 years anno Magna (A.M.); 192 years anno Declaration (A.D.)—bad people (Blue Meanies) still force their wills on good people (Pepperlanders) and demolish the human and physical landscape of beautiful pleasure domes (Pepperland). And Agnes—the inquisitive baby sitter next door in California, United States of America—will be pleased to know that there are still heroes around of the calibres of Messrs. Wulf, John and Jefferson...there's John, Paul, George and Ringo and their attending Lonely Hearts Club Band who sail from one place (Liverpool) at the invitation of a benevolent but old leader of another place (the Lord Mayor of Pepperland) to rescue the pleasures of food and music and perpetual celebration and colorful beauty from the villainous hands of less-than-beautiful people (Blue Meanies) who act under the supreme guidance of the most evil spirit (Chief Blue Meanie).

The Beatles come by sea (through the Seas of Monsters, Time, Music, Science, Consumer Products, Nowhere, Green Phrenology and Holes—each puddle supporting a lively cast of characters) in a YELLOW SUBMARINE captained by Old Fred (also leader of Sgt. PLHCB) where they prove their heroic metal by outwitting a sea monster (Vacuum Man) and out-swimming competition (School of Whales) even before they reach the shores of the besieged undersea kingdom of Pepperland. Once arrived at target P., they triumph over the Chief Blue Meanie's primary evil-tempered henchmen (par example: the lanky Apple Bonker who assaults his prey with Baldwin apples; the corpulent Hidden Persuader with a penchant for underhanded unscrupulence; the abdominal Snapping Turtle Turk who chomps at the slightest bit; the belligerent Butterfly Stompers who perform the tasks that any evil butterfly stompers worth their soul would perform with supreme acuity). The good guys win…the hero-Beatles triumph once again and restore the pleasures of color and music and all that's beautiful...a restoration which permits bigger and better glorias to be sung to the reigning god of Pepperland addressed as Love.

Dan Davis
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RECORDING NOTES

Produced by George Martin
Orchestrations by George Martin
Principal Engineer: Geoff Emerick

The four 'new' Beatles songs included on side one of Yellow Submarine had, in fact, been recorded a long time before the album's release in January, 1969. Three came from 1967 and 'Hey Bulldog' was completed in February, 1968. The most recent recording on the LP was the film score on side two, which George Martin had re-recorded with an orchestra of 41 musicians in Studio One of Abbey Road in October, 1968.

The songs that were introduced on Yellow Submarine were made in the period when only four-track tape machines were available to the group in Abbey Road. That was fine for “All Together Now' and 'Hey Bulldog', which were confined to four tracks. However, the other two songs required extra tracks and the usual method was to create them by 'bouncing down'. This process involved copying the first reel's completed four tracks to a new tape and simultaneously combining some of them to leave free as many tracks as were needed for additional overdubs. 'It's All Too Much' was begun and then 'bounced down' to a second tape at De Lane Lea Studios. Following a repeat of this process to a third four-track at Abbey Road, more overdubs were added so that nine tracks were used to complete the song.

In contrast, using just one four-track tape, 'Hey Bulldog' was recorded, overdubbed and mixed in a single ten hour session. Track one had drums, piano, guitar and tambourine; two contained bass, guitar and off-beat drum with reverb; a double-tracked vocal and guitar solo were on three; and the final track included John's lead vocal with Paul singing a backing vocal and an additional guitar solo.

Dating back to the sessions for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 'Only A Northern Song' had been recorded in a unique manner. Abbey Road's technical engineers had discovered a way of controlling the speed of two four-track tape machines so that they ran in perfect synchronisation. With no need for 'bouncing down', eight tracks were simultaneously available. Tape one consisted of bass, trumpet with glockenspiel, drums and organ and the second tape featured effects, piano, vocal and double-tracked vocal.

However, problems arose during mixing when, as the play buttons were pressed on the two machines, it became a process of trial and error whether they would, in fact, start at exactly the same time. It was such a haphazard and time consuming process that only a mono mix was completed and as a result an artificially enhanced—or fake—stereo version had to be created for the stereo album. Although this was common practice at the time, it subsequently fell out of favour and so the song is presented on this CD in mono.

Ironically, the original mix of 'Only A Northern Song' was never used because the mono LP was created during the cutting process by simply combining the left and right channels from the stereo master tape. Consequently, this previously unreleased mono version can now be heard for the first time.
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BEATLES BIBLE

Recorded: May 1966-October 1968

Producers: George Martin, Paul McCartney
Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Dave Siddle, Eddie Kramer

Released: 13 January 1969 (US), 17 January 1969 (UK)

Personnel
John Lennon: vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, ukulele, harpsichord, banjo, harmonica, glockenspiel, handclaps, effects
Paul McCartney: vocals, bass guitar, double bass, acoustic guitar, piano, trumpet, tambourine, handclaps, effects
George Harrison: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, violin, organ, tambourine, handclaps, effects
Ringo Starr: vocals, drums, finger cymbals, tambourine, handclaps, effects
George Martin: piano, backing vocals
David Mason and three others: trumpets
Paul Harvey: bass clarinet
Sidney Sax, Patrick Halling, Eric Bowie, John Ronayne: violin
Lionel Ross, Jack Holmes: cello
Rex Morris, Don Honeywill: tenor saxophone
Stanley Woods, David Mason: trumpet
Evan Watkins, Harry Spain: trombone
Jack Emblow: accordion
Mal Evans: backing vocals, bass drum
Neil Aspinall, Geoff Emerick, Pattie Harrison, Brian Jones, Marianne Faithfull, Alf Bicknell, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Marianne Faithfull, Jane Asher, Mike McCartney, Pattie Harrison, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, Keith Moon, Hunter Davies, Gary Leeds and more: backing vocals
Mike Vickers: conductor
Uncredited orchestral musicians

The soundtrack for Yellow Submarine, The Beatles’ fourth film, was the band’s tenth UK album. It was released in early 1969, just weeks after the White Album.

The film project had begun in 1967, at a time when The Beatles had little enthusiasm for making a full-length film. They had recently completed Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and were more focused on the television special Magical Mystery Tour and its soundtrack.

However, they were under contract by United Artists to make another film, and by way of compromise an animation featuring the voices of actors and the music of The Beatles was decided upon. The Beatles additionally agreed to film a short sequence for the film’s end and oversaw its creation.

The Beatles supplied four new songs for the film. Two of these – ‘Only A Northern Song’ and ‘It’s All Too Much’ – were by George Harrison. At a time when the guitarist struggled to have his compositions included on The Beatles’ albums, this shows how little regard the band, and John Lennon and Paul McCartney in particular, held the project.

“Bespoke, indeed, not exactly a good fit. The dregs of their inventory. Pieces they would in any case jettison: junk, file-and-forget pieces… I don’t fancy you will use the new songs as highlights embracing story points, but rather as filler at best.”
~ George Martin - Up Periscope Yellow: The Making of the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, Al Brodax

Of the other two new songs, ‘Hey Bulldog’ was recorded in a 10-hour session, during the filming of the ‘Lady Madonna’ promotional film. ‘All Together Now’, meanwhile, took even less time, just six hours on 12 May 1967. In the absence of George Martin, the song was essentially produced by Paul McCartney with assistance from engineer Geoff Emerick.

The soundtrack album also contained two older and previously-released Beatles songs – the title track from 1966, and the following year’s ‘All You Need Is Love’.

The albums’s second side comprised seven tracks, re-recordings of the George Martin’s orchestral soundtrack for the film. These album recordings were taped with a 41-piece orchestra over two three-hour sessions on 22 and 23 October 1968, and were edited on 22 November.

IN THE STUDIO

The oldest song on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack was the title track, which had been recorded for the Revolver album in May and June 1966.
The first original song to be recorded was ‘Only A Northern Song’. This was taped in February 1967 during the Sgt Pepper sessions, but was rejected for that album and replaced with George Harrison’s ‘Within You Without You’. ‘Only A Northern Song’ was completed in April 1967, with the addition of new vocals, bass guitar, trumpet, and glockenspiel.

‘All Together Now’ was the next of the songs to be recorded, on 12 May 1967. ‘It’s All Too Much’ was recorded a few weeks later, in May and June 1967.

‘All You Need Is Love’ had been a single in July 1967, the month after it was recorded and premiered during the worldwide satellite broadcast Our World.

Hey Bulldog’ was taped on 11 February 1968, shortly before The Beatles’ trip to India to study Transcendental Meditation. It was written and recorded while The Beatles were being filmed for a promotional film for ‘Lady Madonna’.

“Paul said we should do a real song in the studio, to save wasting time. Could I whip one off? I had a few words at home so I brought them in.”
~ John Lennon - The Beatles, Hunter Davies

THE RELEASE

The Beatles had originally intended to release the four original Yellow Submarine songs on an EP, with the bonus song ‘Across The Universe’, in September 1968.

This was to have been on a mono 7″ single, to be played at 33? rpm, but plans were put on hold to make way for the release of the White Album.

When the Yellow Submarine album eventually emerged on 13 January 1969 in the United States, and four days later in the UK, it was several months after the film’s launch in July 1968, demonstrating how low a priority it was for the band.

While it was issued only in stereo in the US, it was available in mono and stereo in the UK. However, the mono version was simply a fold-down, made by combining the two stereo channels into one, rather than a true mono mix.

In the US, an 8-track tape version contained ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’, another of the film’s songs, as an additional track.

Yellow Submarine was first released on compact disc in August 1987. It featured the UK artwork, and liner notes by Derek Taylor and Tony Palmer.

In 1999 the Yellow Submarine Songtrack album was released. It omitted George Martin’s orchestral instrumentals, and contained remixes of The Beatles songs, including nine not included in the original soundtrack album.

A remastered version of the Yellow Submarine album was released on 9 September 2009, along with all The Beatles’ other albums. This edition included both the US and UK sleeve notes, plus historical information and recording notes.

TRACKS:
All songs written and composed by Lennon–McCartney, except where noted.

Side one
1 Yellow Submarine - 2:40
2 Only a Northern Song (George Harrison) - 3:24
3 All Together Now - 2:11
4 Hey Bulldog - 3:11
5 It's All Too Much (Harrison) - 6:25
6 All You Need Is Love - 3:51

All songs written and composed by George Martin, except where noted.
Side two
1 Pepperland - 2:21
2 Sea of Time - 3:00
3 Sea of Holes - 2:17
4 Sea of Monsters - 3:37
5 March of the Meanies - 2:22
6 Pepperland Laid Waste - 2:19
7 Yellow Submarine in Pepperland (arranged by Martin) - 2:13