BIG BEATLES NEWS DAY

It appears there is big Beatles news.

First off, George Harrison will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame a week from today April 14.  On the heels of that is supposedly an announcement sometime this month by Capitol/EMI concerning a new release of some sort by Harrison.  Is it another remaster(s)?  A career-spanning best-of?  Some fans believe it'll be something from his Apple days. More on that in the coming days.

And after years of rumors and fans holding their collective breath, the entire Beatles catalog has been remastered and will finally be released on September 9.  The grossly overdue sonic upgrade has apparently been at least 4 years in the making.  The link has a brief slide of what Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road will look like.

The New York Times goes a little more in-depth as well.

What won't be included is The Beatles Anthology material as well as some of the projects that followed such as the Yellow Submarine Songtrack and the Beatles 1 collection.

... and check out the Beatles home page!

MAYBE I CAN GET HIM TO SIGN IT...

For those keeping score on Japanese card sleeve editions, Ringo Starr's 1993 CD Time Takes Time (with produced by Jeff Lynne titles) was also just released as a Mini-LP edition in Japan only.  It boasts JVC K2 24-bit remastering and does contain the Jeff Lynne-produced Don't Be Cruel as a bonus track.

ANOTHER ONE SEES THE LIGHT...

Here's an amusing article on ELO by columnist Joe Stannard.  Here's the set-up:

Interplanetary scribe Joe Stannard picks the best of ELO's back catalogue . . . by picking nearly their entire back catalogue.

NOT FAR OFF...

Amazon has Regina Spektor's new album "Far" listed for a June 2 release.

TOM PETTY - MINI-LPs FROM JAPAN

I'll be honest.  I'm not completely sure why I dig these Japanese paper sleeve editions so much, but I do.  The latest batch (related to Jeff Lynne's producing) comes from Tom Petty.  Full Moon Fever and Into The Great Wide Open were released in Japan last week on higher quality Super High Material CDs or SHM-CDs.  

As mentioned previously, this is the first re-issue of any kind for Into The Great Wide Open.  On the downside, there's not much to it.  You get a plain lyric booklet and the sleeved plainly designed CD.  There was indeed a vinyl edition of this album, though not many were pressed.  

Where this Mini-LP CD lacks in physical content, it gains in sound quality.  It's a definite improvement over the original CD, and it has nothing to do with SHM-CD format.  Although there's nothing in the credits to suggest it, the CD sounds remastered to me.  Maybe it's mentioned in Japanese, I don't know...

Geffen released a remastered Greatest Hits for Tom Petty last year.  The sound quality on the Mini-LP CDs pretty much matches that.

Now, to Full Moon Fever.  Quite simply, the sound quality blows the doors off of the original CD and even beats the MFSL Gold edition.  Again, nothing in the credits suggests it's remastered, but the sound is much stronger and some finer details are more prominent than before.  

Funny, they never "officially" remastered this landmark CD and it was released 20 years ago next month.

The contents of the Full Moon Fever Mini-LP are much better and include the plainly designed disc, a replica of the original inner sleeve, a lyric booklet, and a numbered card certificate (pictured above) with an image of the original LP label. 

There are no bonus tracks on either CD.  Maybe that'll come with an official remastered edition down the road.  But in the meantime, these two albums sound totally rejuvenated and are worth revisiting again.

AND THE GOLDEN NOTE GOES TO...

Jeff Lynne will be among the attendees at this year's ASCAP I Create Music Expo and while he's there, ASCAP will present him with the Golden Note Award for his outstanding contribution to music.

The expo takes place on April 23-25 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles.

Another similar report from Variety.

NEWS: REGINA SPEKTOR

According to Strangeglue.com, Regina Spektor will release a new album called Far this June.  Jeff Lynne is reportedly one of the album's producers.  

Another report from FMQB. 

Spektor tells Pitchfork she wanted to work with Lynne due to his recent production work with Tom Petty

Here's the full Pitchfork article.  You have to click "more" at the bottom of the article to read the interview portion.

More as we find it.

Here's Regina Spektor's MySpace page for samples of her previous work.  And here's one of her cool videos.

REMASTERING HARRISON

Here's an interesting blog entry from Yer Blogger about George Harrison's past and hopefully future remaster projects.  A career-spanning box set of Harrison's work is way overdue and will hopefully, if and when it arrives, fill in the many gaps left in his reissue series so far.

The Dark Horse remasters yielded decent remastered sound, but yielded little in bonus material.  Most CDs added just one bonus track.  Cloud Nine was the exception with two.  To add to the insult, the digital versions (released in 2007) made an additional bonus track available, but only if you bought the whole album again.  Lame decision.  You'll likely make more money offering those tracks individually.

The Dark Horse Years left off some key tracks including the studio version of the Jeff Lynne co-produced Cheer Down, but I'm guessing they'll be part of the longer-term plan if there's a box set.

Yer Blogger says of Cloud Nine:

1987's hit album "Cloud Nine" featured two bonus tracks, but excluded the silly (but still desirable) "extended" version of "When We Was Fab".

...which I think isn't desirable at all.  It was the last part of the track in reverse.  What would be better for a potential box set is a clean copy of Fab with a section that was ultimately cut out for the original LP.  At least that's something new to hear.  A bootleg with the unedited Fab also carries That's What It Takes with a different mix in the very beginning.  You can bet there are other unreleased "ideas" that are worth hearing.  If you're that invested into an artist that you'll buy an expensive box set, an extra (or different) verse isn't going to make or break a track... or the artist.

More from Yer Blogger, this time about the Wilburys re-issues:

The four bonus tracks included were all from the “Volume 3” era, but were split evenly between the two CD's. There were also some alternate mixes and edits, as well as one unreleased alternate take, that were saved for the vinyl release. These could have easily fit as bonus tracks on the collection.

I understand they want to keep the continuity of the original CDs, but I agree.  What little bonus material we got out of this was oddly placed and ultimately fan-deflating.  Even the jarring edit (1:55) in the otherwise excellent Maxine was getting to me after a while.

YB continues:

Curiously, there was also a different edit for the video of “Inside Out”, which was included on the DVD.

They were all re-edited except for Handle With Care, plus they were all cropped for widescreen.  Inside Out was such a disappointment because it had a lot of funny moments between the guys... most all were edited out.  They either had no choice but to re-edit them or they simply lost their minds.  The documentary is the only reason to own the DVD.  

So, here's to looking forward to a possible Harrison box and here's hoping better decisions are made.  Yer Blogger will have some ideas in an upcoming post.

REVIEW: THE VERY BEST OF THE MOVE

I have to admit, this is probably the first time I ever looked at a CD and was this amazed at how crammed full of material it is.  This new 25-track Move best-of comes from Salvo, the label that gave us the impressive (however somewhat unfulfilling for Jeff Lynne fans) restoration series of The Move's original LPs and career spanning box set.

Some highlights on The Very Best of The Move:

• The CD is housed in a standard jewel case with card slipcover.
  
• Five tracks are unique to this collection. 
  
• Flowers In The Rain is the "original stereo album track" (apparently different from the newly created stereo version released in 2007... okaaaay) 
  
• I Can Hear The Grass Grow and Fire Brigade are enhanced stereo.
  
• Omnibus and Wild Tiger Woman are the original mono versions which didn't appear on previous Salvo releases.
  
• Do Ya is thankfully full-length.
  
• There's a reference to Nip/Tuck's recent use of Piece of My Heart.
  
• For the masses, the liner notes are concise.  For the fans, some of the pictures are new.  A thoughtful balance.

The Move can't claim as many comp CDs as ELO.  For that matter, neither can most bands.  But it's pretty safe to say you can stash away any old Move best-of's for good.  

When you teach your friends Move 101, this is your textbook.

LAST MOVE...??

Salvo's latest newsletter is just out with info on the new Move best-of CD.  Interesting quote at the end of it's blurb, "...the perfect way to round off Salvo/Fly's acclaimed Move reissue programme."

Does that mean that's it for Move releases?  What about the proposed BBC and live discs?  Who will handle those, if anyone?  I thought Salvo seemed so keen on The Move.

That would probably explain why Disc 2 of the Move Anthology was all Marquee.  I thought the concert was worth "documenting" on CD, but as its own release.

MARCH MADNESS

Quietly sneaking on to store shelves this week, a USA edition slider pack for All Over The World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra.  There's a Fin Costello picture on Jeff on the inner flap (the UK edition has a generic star field) and a '78 concert tour pic under the disc.

If you find one this week at Best Buy, the price is $6.78...  it doesn't get much cheaper.

Also quiety out this week, the 5CD grouping of On The Third Day, Face The Music, A New World Record, Discovery and Time in the EU... as well as the new UK Move compilation on Salvo.

RECOMMENDATION: M. Ward

I just wanted to pass on a quick recommendation.  While I can't say it totally resembles Jeff Lynne's producing, there are traits about this album's tracks that, for me, pacify the gaping holes between Jeff Lynne releases.  

This is M. Ward.  I saw him play live last Friday and he was quite good.  His new album "Hold Time" was released a week ago and has several standout tracks.  Jailbird and Never Had Nobody Like You (almost a T.Rex clone) currently have me hooked.

He produced the album, wrote most of its tracks, and plays much of it.  ELO worshipper Jason Lytle is one of the guest musicians.

While on this topic, Sarah McLachlan's new song U Want Me 2 has some familiar rings to it, 2.

KELLY GROUCUTT

Former ELO bassist Kelly Groucutt has died of a heart attack at the age of 63.

News links: BBC

NME    antiMUSIC.com     Associated Press    

From Phil Bates    Bev Bevan     

Kelly Groucutt Official Website announcement.

While there will always be debate about how the ELO story plays out, there's not much debate on Kelly's popularity among fans.  He was outright the most accessible member of that band.  It was Kelly Groucutt who kept the ELO torch lit from the 1990s on and seemingly was the most passionate about it.  It was because of him that so many fans stayed passionate all these years... and still are.

Imagine how many shows ELO Part II played since the early 90s, how many fans wanted to meet the band members after concerts, and how many times he was gracious to let that happen... over and over again.  Think of how many records and CDs have his autograph because he always took enough time to sign everything.  Do you know how many pictures of him with fans are floating around out there?  Thousands, at least.  He had outright friendships with several fans I know personally.  Kelly gave so many fans a rare distinction others will never have.

All of the right and wrong aside, we all lost a very charismatic member of our family today.

ANOTHER NEW WORLD RECORD

The great Blu-Spec experiment continues.  Sony Music Japan is issuing A New World Record on the new Blu-Spec CD format on March 25.

I'm rooting for the whole catalog on Blu-Spec now...

OFF TOPIC: A COLD NIGHT AT THE GRAMMYS

If my prediction holds, and I hope it does, Coldplay will have an awesome night at the Grammys tonight.  Maybe not a complete sweep, but close.  If there's any band I feel has earned it, it's this one.  The marketing around Viva La Vida was unconventional and genius.  For me, they have managed to become the only band since ELO to keep me completely engaged this long.  

Since last May/June:

• They've released (by my count) 27 tracks.  27.  
  
• The lead off album track was a free download (on their web site) for a week.
  
• The album's signature track was available for purchase prior to the albums release.  This isn't a new idea, but at least it wasn't a free 30 second clip. 
  
• There was a vinyl 7" made available with an exclusive session outtake.
  
• The 12" vinyl version of the album had a promo CD of the album enclosed.
• To celebrate their tour's launch, they released another song (a short little ditty) as a download-only track on their web site... for free.  (The song ended up being performed by the band in the middle of the audience in the back of whatever venue it was.  A thrill for the cheap seats.)
  
• They made music videos (remember those??) and offered one on iTunes for a week... for free.  One of their videos was a first ever "video cover version."
  
• Their live appearances on TV weren't necessarily centered around the "single of the moment." The "venue" dictated which song was used.
• They issued a promo CD for Lost! with a unique Instrumental version.  There were just enough of them made so any resourceful fans could find one.
  
• A re-release of their album (later in the year) added an 8 track EP: 5 new songs, 3 remixes.
  
• One of the best tracks on the album, Lost!, was issued on Violet Hill's CD single in "acoustic" form weeks before the album.  I learned the song before I got the album and was never, I mean never, so floored than when I heard the album version at last.
  
• Their latest single, out last week, has an outtake called The Goldrush.  The lyrics were printed in their tour's concert program suggesting it may have originally been planned as another hidden or bonus track for the album.  It may have been edited out and put here instead... but it's another example of how good even the outtakes are.

And they did all of that while carrying out 2008's most successful concert tour in the world.

I have dreams that Jeff Lynne projects yield nearly this much.  But Jeff Lynne projects don't get Coldplay's budget, do they? The link I personally find between the two is the quality of their recordings.  Anytime both make records, every sound is extremely well thought-out and laid-out.  

So, my money's on a big night for Coldplay.  If that doesn't happen, oh well.  At least they're a rare example of how fans became a top priority... and how so many fans were willing to actually shell out money to hear more.

OUT OF THE BLU SPEC

In terms of this new ELO release in Japan, there's not much to add from the Discovery Blu-Spec comments earlier.  Currently, this version of the Out of the Blue remaster is the best sounding available.  The improvement is slight, but I have to admit, to my ears, there's one track seems to benefit the most from this new format: Latitude 88 North.  I hear a few more details (or is it stability) in this version.

Anyway, if you buy one, take care of the case.  It's an extra thick jewel case that houses the deluxe remastered booklet, Blu-Spec info sheet, black & white lyrics booklet and (unique to any other release) a standard CD fold insert (because the deluxe OOTB booklet isn't standard CD size) of the album cover art on the front, the inside of the spaceship on the flip side.

SOME MOVEMENTS AFOOT...

Two items from The Move coming up in March.

First, in the UK, The Very Best of The Move is out March 2 from Salvo.  Amazon and Play.com have pre-orders already.  FTM will likely follow. Like the new box set, its content is translabel, Harvest included... but in a slipcase?

Play.com reads the track list as:

1. Flowers In The Rain
2. Blackberry Way
   
3. I Can Hear The Gras Grow
   
4. Night Of Fear
   
5. California Man
   
6. Fire Brigade
   
7. Omnibus
   
8. Beautiful Daughter
   
9. When Alice Comes Back To The Farm
   
10. Curly
    
11. Tonight
    
12. Don't Throw Stones At Me
    
13. (Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree
    
14. It'll Be Me (Live At The Marquee)
    
15. Do Ya
    
16. Cherry Blossom Clinic
    
17. Disturbance
18. Hello Susie (Abridged)
    
19. Wild Tiger Woman
    
20. Piece Of My Heart (Live At The Marquee)
    
21. Wave The Flag And Stop The Train
    
22. Chinatown
    
23. Useless Information
    
24. Brontosaurus
    
25. Move
    

Secondly, Musictap is reporting on its January 28 post that Shout! Factory is putting out a Very Best of The Move on March 17.  No further info or track list for this one yet and no word on whether it's related to the Salvo relelase at all.

JUST ECHOES IN THE IVORY HALLS...

Sadly, it's been a while since we could hear anything other than a pin drop in the ELO and related world.  But there's two small items floating about (outside of the recent re-make of Mr. Blue Sky turning up yet again, this time in Paul Blart: Mall Cop)...

ELO's videos are now available in higher quality (larger files) versions from the iTunes store, but in the ass-backwards tradition of the digital age so far, Here Is The News is not one of them yet.  Go figure.  Look for the items that say iTunes Plus.

And secondly, Out of the Blue is coming out on BluSpec this week in Japan, and we got our first peek as to what it looks like.

Back to hearing crickets chirp.

A BLU-SPEC DISCOVERY

I'm trying to form an opinion on the new Blu-Spec format.  Discovery is the first ELO CD to undergo this treatment with Out of the Blue to follow later this month.

I really want to learn what constitutes the "best sound" possible.  But then the argument over analog's warmness over digital's clarity ensues and I'm not sure what to think.  I tend to prefer digital's clarity especially if we're talking remastered CDs.

So here we are with Discovery.  I tried side by side comparisons two ways: 1) over the stereo speakers using a Blu Ray player coax connection vs. the CD player analog connection and 2) over the iPod using uncompressed AIFF files.

On the loudpeakers, the original remastered CD sounded louder and a bit harsher (but OK) compared to the Blu-spec.  The high end seems reined in a bit on Blu Spec and one can assume when that happens you can hear the finer details in between.

On the iPod, the only major difference I can detect (using Little Town Flirt as an example) was a fuller bottom.  Again, the highest parts are solidly there but more controlled. It all didn't seem that much more "stable" but in the end, I would give the Blu-spec a slight edge.  

I suspect since it's the same master used for both discs, the difference won't be that much for most people.  As much as I'd like to spend thousands of dollars in upscale audio equipment, I can't.  But I'd still be eager to learn what makes something sound great.  How can you tell if you have a good ear and how can you train it to be better?

So, long story short: the more picky you are about the sound of the music you listen to, the more a Blu-spec CD may a fit for you.  Otherwise, the remastered CD will suit the non-picky just fine.

LOOKING ON...

I hope everyone had a terrific new year.

Time, though, for the annual look at some of the projects/releases/whatever that is currently waiting in the wings/rumored/wished/etc.  And the list seems to have gotten replenished since some of the items on past lists (most notably the Move and Traveling Wilburys remasters) came to fruition in 2007-2008.

• A documentary on George Harrison.  Martin Scorsese is reportedly still compiling this but I can't imagine this won't involve Jeff Lynne on some level.
  

• Traveling Wilburys. A book from Genesis Publications is apparently not off the table yet.  If you want one, I recommend saving your pennies now.  Books from Genesis Publications are very expensive. 
  

• The Idle Race.  FTM has revealed that a BBC Sessions disc is all but ready to go.  This on top of a 5CD box set which has been forthcoming for a few years.
  

• elo.biz has been promoted on ELO CD releases as early as April 2003 and as late as March 2007.  There has been only a generic greeting page since its first mention almost 5 years ago.  But this is apparently still going to happen.
  

• Would somebody please give Rossif Sutherland a record contract??!  For those who don't know, Jeff Lynne produced and played on These Words and two other yet to be revealed tracks.
  

• Joe Walsh revealed to a newspaper that he has been recording with Jeff Lynne.  Whether the fruits of that labor will be seen this year or not is any one's guess.
  

• Jeff Lynne's last album of his own material will be 8 years old this year.
  

• Armchair Theatre remastered and expanded.  Jeff Lynne's solo album from 1990 is awaiting a release date.  As is ELO's Greatest Hits Live.  So says FTM.  Next year will mark Armchair Theatre's 20th Anniversary, so they will at least have an occasion.
  

• Into The Mysterious.  This 2CD set of solo/former ELO members and related tracks sounded already released or at least imminent from Sanctuary Records when it was mentioned on Clog Dance: The Very Best of Violinski in 2007.   Barely a word on it since then.
  

• Electric Light Orchestra.  Well, 2008 marked the 25th anniversary of Secret Messages and it went pretty much unnoticed.  Why should this remaster be revisited, revised and re-released? (and is this the 40th time I've written about this?) In simple terms, Out of the Blue may be ELO's magnum opus with the masses.  But Secret Messages is a way more interesting record, ripe with mythology, mystery, fun facts about its recording, a rather daring group of songs and apparently alternate session material/mixes out the wazoo.  There is still one completely unreleased title that has been the topic of ELO conversations among hardcore fans for over two decades.  Three songs from the original 2LP planned release (which turned up on Afterglow in 1990) need the remastered treatment. And scores of fans, many of whom I've talked to over the years, flat out prefer Secret Messages over Out of The Blue.  Will any of this matter in the end?  Probably not.  But for me, a well thought-out 2CD set of the original (2LP) Secret Messages album and engaging session material/mixes is at the top of my wish list.
  

• Secret Messages is the tip of the iceberg, though.  Long Beach, Xanadu, Zoom, Discovery, Eldorado and Time could all stand to be upgraded.
  

• An ELO singles box has been in the pipeline recently with FTM revealing the possibility it could spread out over three box sets.
  

Given that Sony/BMG seems more worried about wasting their energy with the same stuff over and over again, I predict there will be a 2CD release in 2009 that combines the All Over The World and Ticket To The Moon best-ofs.  Don't laugh... I'm not putting it past them.

So, the ELO pipeline seems to be more of a pipe dream for now, though, especially given the current financial squeeze of many record companies and, not the least of which, fans.  But here's hoping...