HALFTIME: Whatever Happened to the Spectacle?

It was nice to catch a little bit of the Alabama and Texas marching bands during the BCS championship games, but it was little more than just a teaser. Thinking of all the bowls this season and in recent years, so little is shown, but at least with the college bowls, the presentation remains grand, each school's band playing in time-honored form while working in some new numbers like "Seven Nations Army" by the White Stripes.

Especially with HDTV and enhanced audio, wouldn't it be nice to see more rather than listen to same old sports talking heads analyze every little nuance of the game?

For the NFL, halftime revolves completely around the television broadcasts where there really isn't much going on at the stadium except for the Super Bowl. Today's halftime events might include something like some local radio station's morning shock jocks hosting the finalists for the city's loudest belching contest or something equally cosmic. Once upon a time, it was a nice showcase for high school bands or other entertainers to excite the crowd.

Watching television though, the only halftime entertainment we see is for the Super Bowl. Who didn't quake and carefully follow orders last year when Bruce Springteen commanded that the audience put down its glacamole chip!

Finally after years of misery including those horrible "Up With People" presentations and those sweet little singing children in ethnic costumes singing "It's a Small World After All" through Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction," the aging baby boomers have gotten quite a show with the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Prince, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Springsteen.

Can't we at least have some real good old halftime showmanship for the college bowls?

The Great Album List: Take A Look!!!

We've revised our album list available to our readers in the left column. It's now arranged by artist to make it easier to follow. If you're a discerning listener looking for the best music mostly from the last half of the 20th century, check our list. You'll find plenty of rock, R&B, country, jazz, reggae, blues, bluegrass, and those great old standards.

The list is a work in progress with more titles being added over time. Check back often. Listen to these fine recordings. Most of them are readily available. From good music to kick back and relax, tunes that are the life of the party, or just good cruising stuff for making life on the highway more enjoyable, there are dozens of great choices.

Please comment if you'd like to see us publish a review of any of the albums included or you might want to check for them at www.allmusic.com, an excellent resource for music collectors.

The Beatles Complete Remastered CD's: Timeless, Terrific, Tasty

Pictured above: The Mono collection and the Stereo collections

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Okay, we’re a little late with this, but it took awhile to get The Beatles in Mono as the blog’s finance department assessed whether this investment was worth starvation before sending the requisition to procurement after a massive buying effort which led to the inventory of the entire catalog of stereo albums. The end result is Right Minded Fellow is not as financially solvent with another investment of the 40th Anniversary boxed set of the Rolling Stones, Get Yer Ya-Yas Out right around the corner, but these great albums are the pillars of our modern culture, right? In that spirit, there are no CD’s of the Dave Clark Five available, so we downloaded a comprehensive two disc collection from iTunes. While a few songs were great to hear again like “Glad all Over,” the DC5 is probably best left back in the 60’s unlike some of their peers like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Who, and we’d even suggest some of the Kinks.

This is no small deal, we’re talking about the complete works of the Beatles, every official song from all their albums as they were originally released in Great Britain. No complete works covers so much musical territory in so little space so beautifully. Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and the Rolling Stones might have released many more albums, but what the Beatles accomplished in just less than eight years releasing 13 albums (with a 14th album, a compilation of singles and other tunes not on original albums) showing such remarkable growth from their first single, “Love Me Do,” through the album Revolver where they finally came of age with several remarkable albums to follow, stands on its own as the single most spectacular accomplishment in popular music history. Other artists may have issued albums that stand up to the best Beatles’ albums, but nobody’s collective works hold up nearly as well.

For those still oriented to how the Beatles music was released on record, there was a huge difference between how the Fab Four’s work was presented in Great Britain and Europe and the New World up through the release of Revolver in 1966. Listeners who purchased the original 1988 CD releases finally heard the Beatles albums sequenced as the lads intended. The British albums generally had 14 songs, where the American albums had 11 songs. The British albums seldom had songs released as singles, where singles were included, usually with “B” sides too on the American albums. Thus the American albums worked out to roughly three albums for every two albums released in Great Britain, but the issues don’t stop there. Different masters for the American audience were prepared pumped up with reverb and more exaggerated equalization. Also, Capitol records did not see the Beatles marketable when the Beatles were first striking it rich in England so they passed on the first album and a few original singles which were mostly released on a rinky-dink label, Vee-Jay which was home to the Four Seasons. “She Loves You” was relegated to a small Philadelphia label, Swan! The American albums often had different titles. A Hard Days’ Night and Help! were released as movie soundtracks in the USA complete with incidental instrumental music from the films. Those accustomed to the American version of Rubber Soul were listening to two songs from the British release of Help! and only ten of the fourteen songs on the British release. Revolver was cut by three songs released on “Yesterday” and Today, “I’m Only Sleeping,” “And Your Birds Can Sing” and “Doctor Robert” all of which were only presented in fake stereo. The result was the American Revolver might give listeners the impression that John Lennon was checking out of the band left with only two of his performances with three songs by George, one sung by Ringo, and the rest by Paul.

Only the most dedicated Beatles fans were aware of the difference between American and British albums until 1988 when one standard, the British albums were adopted for the whole world. Hard core fans could find the British albums at specialty collector’s and audiophile record stores not the department stores, K-mart and shopping center stores where most fans got their records. Even so, when most fans were aware of the difference, the world had already standardized on stereo recordings, so the significance of the most recent CD release takes on even more meaning.

Now, let’s address the stereo/mono debate. Few listeners are probably old enough to remember their mono records, if they had any of the Beatles. These would be for folks who purchased the Beatles at the time of their records release from the beginning through Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but what we’re used to are the American alternatives which were mostly accounted for in the two sets of The Capitol Albums presenting the first eight albums as they were released in America with both stereo and mono recordings for each album.

Great Britain was slower to adopt stereo as a standard. Though some pressings of Magical Mystery Tour were issued stateside, the album was almost exclusively available in stereo. In Great Britain, only Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road, and Let it Be were released exclusively in stereo.

The “purist” will argue that the mono recordings are the “official” release of the Beatles catalog. When their albums were first released, there was no FM stereo radio. Most listeners got their Beatles on little transistor radios or on booming 6x9” dashboard speakers in their parents’ cars. Listeners did not have stereos or systems, but instead mostly listened to record players. What little stereo listening there was would be on mom and dad’s console stereos more noted for their furniture than sound on which stereo or mono albums made little difference anyway.

As such, the Beatles attended to the entire recording process only for their mono recordings. Stereo albums were created for essentially audio snobs in Great Britain, but had a little more interest on the US versions. The stereo recordings in the UK were usually supervised by producer George Martin with the Abbey Road engineering staff weeks or even months after the original mono albums were finished with no input from the band. American albums were finalized by Capitol records who’d even create ghastly fake stereo versions of songs only released in mono on singles Great Britain the worst of which are “She’s a Woman” and “I Feel Fine” on Beatles 65.

For the American audience, Magical Mystery Tour, aside from the singles on side two, The Beatles (The “White” Album), and some songs on disc two of The Mono Masters including the Yellow Submarine tunes, the current releases are their first taste of this material in mono. Some material, most notably, “Don’t Pass Me By” and “Helter Skelter” are far different mixes than what folks would have heard on The “White” Album.

The difference between mono and stereo is at times dramatic. For their first two albums and Rubber Soul where the stereo recordings consisted of all the vocals pushed to the right channel and most of the instruments pushed to the left channel a rather jarring effect, the mono recordings sound much more natural. Through out the recordings, there are little elements left in or left out from one version to the other, but the real irony comes with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band thought to be the most advanced experimental album of its time. One would think it would also boast the best state-of-the-art stereo technology available in 1967.

Not so. First, though the Abbey Road recording equipment was superb at delivering clear beautiful sound, it was not set up to accomplish much studio mastery. The Beatles were working with only four tracks where many US studios were running eight tracks by then with sixteen tracks right around the corner. As such, the engineers under George Martin’s supervision had to improvise techniques so the Beatles could pile up layers of sound creating the album. As such, figuring out a scheme of how to locate voices and instruments in the stereo listening field was arbitrary at best. For a fully realized artistic endeavor, the mono recording of Sgt. Pepper is the presentation of record. To fully appreciate the full creative intent of the Beatles, it is the recording to enjoy. For those who listen on headphones and don’t like music coming from the middle of their heads or simply just can’t adjust to mono as being so primitive, it would be hard to give up the stereo recording, however stereo listeners miss out on some things.

First, the annoying movement from speaker to speaker for the lead vocals on the title track is eliminated. “With a Little Help from My Friends” has vocals pushed to one channel. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” has a much more ethereal spacey sound in mono where the phasing techniques and other studio tricks work much more effectively. “She’s Leaving Home” is a little faster making the song far prettier and less laborious and dragging as it is in stereo. The laughter at the end of “Within You, Without You” is longer and louder. Listen to the animals in “Good Morning, Good Morning.” They’re much more pronounced. “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band (Reprise)” has more crowd noise at the beginning and Paul McCartney’s vocal rant at the end can be clearly heard in mono where there’s such the faint sound of Paul doing something at the end of the stereo version. Only “A Day in the Life” which concludes the album is perhaps better in stereo which is able to fully articulate the orchestral effects and captures the full drama of the song.

Fans will debate the comparative merits of A Hard Day’s Night, Beatles for Sale, Help!, and Revolver. Any differences noted by purists will go in favor of the mono recordings since they’ll argue, “that’s what the Beatles intended.” For the casual listener, opening up the sound and presenting it in stereo might be a more pleasant experience, but that’s debatable. The mono recordings are so well done, have plenty of dynamic range, and don’t suffer from the technological compromises of the limited Abbey Road technology available at the time could still be the best listen.

By the time of The “White” Album, the ability to record quality stereo had been mastered and American listeners would be familiar with the stereo version exclusively thus the differences become more of a curiosity than an essential.

Forget about the debates about don’t the original albums really sound better and more authentic. Here’s the catch, if the listener is lucky enough to have British records in almost mint condition and can listen to them on a high quality stereo system, then the sound quality is almost pristine. However, the quality of Capitol records recordings in the 1960’s was downright terrible at times loaded with surface noise, ticks and pops, and overall crappy resolution. The 1988 CD’s were among the best of first generation CD’s, but they were just that, 1st generation CD’s. As such, regardless of what recordings the listener chooses from the recent remaster release, the results are most satisfying.

Here’s the bad news. If the Beatles fan wants to buy single albums not wanting the entire Beatles inventory, the only choice is stereo albums. This will be the first release of their first four albums in stereo on CD since Please Please Me, With the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night, and Beatles for Sale were released in mono in 1988. Boxed set versions of the stereo albums are available containing the same packaging as the individual albums with the bonus of a DVD which includes the short video introductions included with each album assembled together – no big show stopper to be sure. The Mono box is very expensive listing at $299 but retailed more often down around $230. Each album is presented in a miniature facsimile of the original record sleeve right down to the dust sleeves inside the covers and enclosed in plastic protective covers. A nice booklet explaining the Beatles recording process with some great photos is also included. An additional bonus is that both Help! and Rubber Soul include both the mono recordings and the original stereo recordings. In 1988, those albums were re-engineered as ADD recordings by George Martin to pump up the sound. Honestly, there’s nothing in the original stereo recordings that would be revelations to anyone other than the most obsessive Beatles’ purists. For listeners who’d want to opt for the mono version, to complete the Beatles library, they would also need to purchase Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road, and Let it Be.

The stereo recordings have nice booklets with more liner notes mostly dedicated to the recording geeks on the making of the albums not the creative process. There is one serious complaint, the CD’s have nothing to fasten on and must be pulled from the sleeve allowing for finger prints on the discs and higher likelihood of scratching the disc surface. This is a major price to pay for more attractive packaging avoiding those horrible jewel cases.

The mono box was supposed to be only a 10,000 copy release. Advance sales far exceeded that so a second production run boosted up the inventory but EMI is mum on how long these sets will be available. There are no plans to release the mono albums individually. The thinking is any fan compulsive enough to care about the differences between the two would probably want the entire inventory anyway. They’re probably right about that for most listeners, but we’d argue Sgt. Pepper fans might relish the chance to get a Sgt. Pepper disc in mono.

The stereo box is also a limited release. The stereo albums are supposedly special releases with the video included. At some point, they’ll revert to just the song selections and there’s no word on what packaging will be included.

Our recommendation to Beatles fans is to spring for their favorite albums from the new releases if sound quality matters in the least. Likewise, if the old LP’s are long gone, the new discs give a nice feel of those album jackets of old. Listeners who never enjoyed the British format of the albums are strongly encouraged to check out A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Rubber Soul, and Revolver. While A Hard Day’s Night is still at the height of their early Beatlemania sound, there’s so much going on beneath the surface of these bright, joyful songs. George Harrison influenced many with his brilliant 12 string electric lead guitar work enough so that Roger McGuinn was inspired to learn the craft and establish the Byrds. Help! is so much more pleasant without having soundtrack gibberish interspersed plus the songs left to show up on Beatles VI, Rubber Soul, and “Yesterday” and Today make more sense on their original albums. While some argue the American album of Rubber Soul starting each side with songs from Help! “I’ve Just Seen a Face” for side one and “It’s Only Love” for side two and eliminating “Drive My Car,” “Nowhere Man,” “What Goes On,” and “If I Needed Someone” accidentally became the definitive recording since it flows together with a remarkable folk-rock feel, the British album is a more thorough affair and there’s no CD alternative to “Yesterday” and Today. Revolver absolutely sounds castrated with three John Lennon songs removed. In its full glory, it’s easy to understand why as time passes, it is increasingly being recognized at the Beatles finest album.

With the holidays around the corner, this would be a good time to inspect friends’ and family members’ CD collections and find some good Beatles additions for their library; however, if that special someone is a real Beatles maniac and worthy of a $300 Christmas present, allow them to discover the joys of the stereo CD’s. That’s all that will be on the shelves at most music stores anyway. Spring for The Beatles in Mono. It’s the real deal for the real serious Beatles fan.

We are abandoning our plans, at least for now, to summarize the merits album by album, start to finish of all fourteen Beatles albums. We’ve come to realize anybody who loves the Beatles already knows their music and those who haven’t discovered the joys of their music is not old enough to appreciate this blog anyway. We do believe that if it came to just one album, Revolver is a far better choice than Sgt. Pepper which can sound dated and gimmicky after 42 years. Just about all Beatles fans have their personal favorites with Sgt. Pepper, The “White” Album, Abbey Road, Revolver, and Rubber Soul usually topping the list. Honestly, no one can go wrong with any of their albums though their first two are far from the creative power they’d show later in their career. While Beatles for Sale is considered by many a bit of a disappointment, more or less a transitional album, as such it has not gotten as much attention over the years. Surprise, surprise, there’s still some really good stuff on it and might be a nice surprise for those who’d only know the songs if they remember Beatles 65 and Beatles VI.

Finally, the Beatles, Stones, and Who all have wonderful remasters of all their classic albums. There’s still much music from that golden age demanding some good technological TLC for today’s listeners many of us aged lovers of the music when it exploded upon the airwaves all those years ago.

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The Beatles: Get Ready for the Big Beatles Blitz!!!

Classic shot from 1st Capitol single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, John Lennon

Look out world, here come the Beatles again! It’s been forty years since Abbey Road, the last album they recorded was released, but with the release of their entire catalog as part of a comprehensive remastering program and the introduction of The Beatles: Rock Band, a video game capitalizing on the Guitar Hero craze, the Beatles frenzy will almost certainly hit its highest degree of intensity since the word of the band’s demise shocked the world as Paul McCartney released his first solo album and their final album compiled from the massive Get Back project, Let it Be, hit the stores.

Yes, there have been Beatle blitzes before. Before the digital age, Capitol records attempted to create some excitement through a series of compilations of the Fab Four’s work, then in the spring of 1987, the Beatles catalog was released, a couple albums at a time on compact disc. For first generation CD’s, EMI records did a respectable job. Surely, they should be applauded for releasing the original British albums for the entire world. Each album was the same song selection and titles as they were introduced with Past Masters, on two volumes, the catch all for singles and other songs never on an official album. Many found it puzzling that their first four albums were released in mono even though Hard Day’s Night and Beatles for Sale were recorded in full stereo not the format with instruments on one side and vocals on the other as their first two albums and Rubber Soul were originally presented.

1995 brought us another Beatles revival with the Anthology project consisting of three two CD sets of outtakes and alternate versions which realistically are for only the most dedicated fans. ABC also broadcast a marvelous series of Anthology television specials which then would be released as a boxed VHS and DVD set with far more material. A hug table top book was also part of this blitz.

As such, each decade provides its own reintroduction of the Beatles to another generation, and regardless of how one looks back at their material, they never fail to please.

We have our own insights on the Beatles, their music, their contributions to pop music, and to Cultural Revolution of the 1960’s. We’ll have several commentaries on the Beatles in the days ahead both examining their albums and adding some context about their release.

Yes, we will ruffle the feathers of some Beatles’ fans on some issues, but this writer was ten years old in fifth grade when the Beatlemania went wild in early 1964. He also became an instant fan of the Rolling Stones and Beach Boys, other British acts, Motown, soul, Bob Dylan, and the whole folk rock scene within the next year or so leading to a life long love of music and an insane gigantic music collection. We lived the Beatles from 1964 forward. No musical talent or other entertainers short of one’s home town sports team winning a championship could ever equal the excitement of what the Beatles created at their prime with the release of each hit single and album.

Let’s revisit their wonderful music and enjoy. For those never captured by the Fab Four, the trap is set!!! For the joy and happiness the Beatles put in our heart during the darkest hours of Vietnam, maybe a little bit of that tonic would be perfect for a world that's feeling rather down and out these days.

Elvis Presley: The King's Demise - 32 Years Later

The album that changed the world. Presley's first album for RCA.

Today marks the 32nd anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death at only 42 years of age. The “King” or the “King of Rock n Roll” died a miserable death having been destroyed by the ravages of excessive drug abuse and a generally poor lifestyle becoming obese and sickly. For all Elvis accomplished, and the many ways he reinvented himself, by the mid-70’s, Presley had become a fat, sickly mess barely able to hang on between the variety of drugs he was taking and a hideous diet. Everything about him seemed much older than his age.

Considering Elvis’s final days became much more poignant after Michael Jackson’s death in June revealing haunting similarities in how both pop icons died. Jackson too had suffered a miserably unhealthy life style and was constantly doped using his inner circle and handlers to maintain his lethal habits.

Of course there was the strange intersection of the King and the King of Pop when Michael Jackson briefly married Elvis Presley’s only daughter, Lisa Marie, a relationship that created a huge media uproar.

What both fallen stars share besides their grotesque fates is their incredible body of work, and few performers changed the face of music the way Elvis Presley did. Michael Jackson worked within styles of music already well established, but it was his showmanship and ability to capture a new medium, the music video that helped make his career so stellar.

To think the teen audiences who went crazy for Elvis in the mid 50’s are now in their 70’s. Rock n Roll, the music of youthful angst and rebellion has reached old age, but there’s nothing old about Elvis’s groundbreaking early recordings from the material he recorded for Sam Phillips at Sun Record to his first worldwide hits for RCA.

His work for Sun helped define the essence of rock music, the union of the blues and rhythm of Southern African American music with the melody of country music. True to this form, he recorded blues legend, Arthur Crudup’s, “That’s Alright Mama,” and the country classic, Bill Monroe’s, “Blue Moon of Kentucky.”

Once landing a major label contract with RCA, the output of hits in rapid succession was something perhaps only equaled by the Beatles in 1964 who of course cite Elvis as among their greatest influences. The first wave of hits and his first album, Elvis Presley, in 1956 included both original material and brilliant covers such as: “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Heartbreak hotel,” “I Got a Woman,” “Shake Rattle and Roll,” “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” and a new pumped up version of “My Baby Left Me.” Not to be outdone, his second wave that year which yielded an album simply called, Elvis brought forth “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Long Tall Sally,” and “Love Me Tender.” Meanwhile, a wave of a completely new sound completely changed the face of pop music as romantic crooners backed by lush orchestrations were replaced by small combos and charismatic young singers often with just a guitar or two, bass, drums, and maybe a piano or saxophone. The other underlying factor was young white musicians were playing music either originally performed by or highly influenced by black performers. Elvis dominated simultaneously the pop, country, and rhythm and blues charts. When has there ever been an artist who could have accomplished that.

The Elvis phenomenon continued at a feverish pace until October 1, 1958 when Elvis was drafted into the army where he attempted to meld in as just another soldier.

His popularity and the revolutionary nature of his music including the hip wagging swagger and the apparent raw sexuality created quite a backlash of horror. Some would see Elvis as ushering in the very destruction of our civilization itself. Frank Sinatra, who’d later come to appreciate Elvis was quite hostile at first, observing, “His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac. It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people." The FBI under J. Edgar Hoover’s paranoid reign even suggested Presley was a danger to US security. Preachers sermonized against him. Judges threatened to arrest him but Elvis rocked on.

A different Elvis emerged coming out of the military, perhaps best identified as Hollywood Elvis. Through most of the 1960’s, Elvis performed in one cheesy movie after another including “Blue Hawaii” and “Viva Las Vegas.” The King had his share of hits, but nothing matched the intensity of the 1956-1958 period. By 1964, Elvis was now the old guard as Beatlemania swept the world. Still, one could not dig too deep into the material of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones and not see a strong Elvis influence. In fact, Mick Jagger attempted to display black influences and exploit sexual themes to create even a more intense furor than what Elvis accomplished.

By 1968, Elvis was ready for a comeback and delivered with a December TV special featuring a live segment that showed Presley sure could still rock and helped introduce him to a new decade of fans who came to rock and roll through the British invasion and flower power. The program opened with, “You looking for trouble…you came to the right place.” Some mighty powerful rock and roll showmanship followed. 1969 saw Elvis hit his greatest creative peak of his later career with the release of “From Elvis in Memphis” a more mature, decidedly country and blue eyed-soul effort accompanied by two highly successful singles not on the original album, “Suspicious Minds” and “Kentucky Rain.”

Soon Elvis would be back in Vegas, at first triumphantly, but as time went by, the image of Las Vegas Elvis would become the very symbol of his demise. The 1970 release of Elvis in Person at the International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada showed just how powerful the Elvis big band Vegas show could be, backed by a core band of Glen Hardin on piano, James Burton on guitar, Jerry Scheff on bass, and Ron Tutt on drums. Additional musicians, and singers including the Sweet Inspirations who worked with Aretha Franklin, and a Vegas orchestra helped produce a most powerful show. The lavish, big show, live album would be repeated with various degrees of success, On Stage, February, 1970; Elvis Recorded at Madison Square Garden; and Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite. During this time, Elvis released his last critically acclaimed album, Elvis Country (I’m 10,000 Years Old from 1971).

After 1973, the album output would ease up as would the quality. 1975 saw the release of Promised Land featuring a lively rocking version of the Chuck Berry song. The 1977 release of Moody Blue, an album finding his career gasping for breath, though the single, the album’s title track, was certainly a decent country single for its time and is clearly recognizable as the work of Elvis.

Today, Elvis’s prime recordings drift in and out of print with various singles and alternate recordings often recorded. The most recent generation feature some excellent remasters often including singles not included on the album and some additional material. Not all albums have gone beyond their original CD release. For the casual fan who wants a good dose of Elvis for his or her music collection, Elvis: 30 Number 1 Hits featuring his number one worldwide hits and Second to None which rounds out his work featuring well-known work that was not a chart topping single.


Still, for the music fan wanting to capture the essence of rock music, two revolutionary albums that set the stage for so much we’ve enjoyed for the last half century plus, the original RCA albums Elvis Presley and Elvis are must haves. Both are supplemented with concurrent singles that give the listener the whole Elvis story of that landmark year in American music, 1956, the year the King took his throne.

My Sweet George Revisited

Let it Roll: Songs by George Harrison

A good overview, but some glaring missing tunes...

Creating career spanning compilations is risky business. Invariably, some songs are omitted while others perhaps get more recognition than they deserve by being included. Such is the case in listening to Let it Roll: Songs by George Harrison.

What the listener gets is material from his first album, the bombastic beauty, Phil Spector production, All Things Must Pass up to his final album released posthumously, Brainwashed. Bringing together his recordings originally released by Apple/EMI/Capitol and Dark Horse, finally the listener can get the whole perspective. Most of the familiar hits are included as are some tasteful album cuts plus some of his Beatles compositions performed during his tremendous benefit concert for Bangladesh.

The recording quality is superb and given the long span covered and radically different production styles featured, there’s no jarring conflict in overall sound from one cut to the next. There isn’t a bad track on the album.

The album disappoints in the songs it omitted. Not a single track is provided from three consecutive albums: Dark Horse, Extra Texture, and Thirty Three and a third. Granted the first two, his last two for Apple/EMI/Capitol are uneven albums, some great songs could have been included. From Dark Horse, “So Sad” is one of his strongest and most haunting cuts from any album. “Far East Man,” his collaboration with Ron Wood is a strong candidate, as is “Dark Horse.” Extra Texture is surely his weakest album and the only candidate would possibly be the single, “You,” but if there’s an album to be forgotten, this is the one. Thirty Three and a Third is one of his best solo albums. “Crackerbox Palace” is the most glaring omission of all possible songs neglected from this album. “This Song” is one of Harrison’s better humor-laden tunes. Two other strong candidates for this album could also be considered, “Beautiful Girl,” a classic love ballad, perhaps an update of “Something.” His cover of the Cole Porter classic, “True Love,” is another enjoyable tune. Other songs left out that sure belong include “Devil’s Radio” and two tracks from Best of Dark Horse (1976-1989) currently out-of-print, “Poor Little Girl” and “Cockamamie Business.” Perhaps a thoughtful two disc compilation is in order.

What’s on the album is good. The songs are not in chronological order for those listeners seeking historical perspective but mixing them up surely makes a more listenable album. The album opens with his last hit, “Got My Mind Set on You,” from Cloud Nine, 1987. Three songs from “Brainwashed,” his final album are included, “Any Road,” “Marwa Blues” and “Rising Son.” All Things Must Pass is the most heavily represented album with five tracks but “Beware of Darkness” is nowhere to be found. Cloud Nine is represented with three tracks as is the Concert for Bangladesh.

One unreleased song, possibly a Wilbury number, a Bob Dylan composition, “I Don’t Want to Do It” debuts. It’s a decent mid-tempo ballad, not a hit but a fine album cut.

For true George Harrison fans who have most of his CD’s, Let It Roll: Songs of George Harrison breaks little new ground. Listeners looking for a good overview of Harrison’s career should be disappointed with the obvious omissions. This album is a good recommendation as an introduction to George Harrison’s solo career. It’s also a great George Harrison quick fix. With nineteen tunes, there is a lot of music to enjoy – a fine collection for an iPod or car stereo.

While this album serves as a good overview, we would encourage the brain trust at EMI and George Harrison’s estate to consider either a volume two or a two disc set that tells the whole story.

George Jones Does It Again!

Do you like country music? Do you really love country music? Do you love real country music? If so, you're probably a huge George Jones fan. Nobody like George "Possum" Jones has been one of the top roosters in the barnyard since the 1950's. The "Possum" is both an unequalled talent and a survivor (both personally and professionally.) His new release, Burn Your Playhouse Down: The Unreleased Duets, collects recordings over the last few decades feauting the country legend's smooth as Tennessee Whiskey singing mixed with a variety of artists including rock legends like Keith Richards, Leon Russell and Mark Knopfler to country mainstays like Tammy Wynette (his ex), Vince Gill, Dolly Parton, and Ricky Skaggs right up to current country chart-toppers like Mark Chesnutt and Jim Lauderdale. Yeah, yeah, the "country duet" sub-genre is something that has been played to death in recent years uniting country powerhouses with every kind of show-biz sensation to where the prospects of Shania Twain coming out of hiding to do a hit single with P Diddy doesn't seem so unlikely though calling Twain's music truecountry is a bit of a stretch to this listener's thinking.

The highlight of the album is the title track uniting George Jones and Keith Richards. That those two guys could record together, that both were alive and well in the same room is a miracle of Biblical significance. Between their personal bad habits and self destructive behavior with drugs and alcohol coupled with life threatening events be it Jones' vehicular accident or Richards falling out of a tree in the tropics, the world is blessed to have two guys with lots of miles on them still big shots in their profession. Their combined performance is a thing of pure joy full of passion and mischief in their singing, energy in their performanace, and all the Nashville cats in top form playing hard rockin' pure country honky tonk heaven. Keith Richards has never turned in a better lead vocal performance, period. That old bloke sounds like he's having the time of a lifetime not having to play second fiddle (er uhm rhythm guitar) for Mick Jagger whose not so bad at turning country on ocassion. George Jones is...well...George Jones, enough said. The free-flowing transitions from one instrumental soloist to the next is vintage Nashville at its finest. The song is an instant classic. Slide in the CD or click to download, and there it is, a song that lines up with "White Lightenin'" for Jones' fans and "Happy" for Richards' fans.

There's a lot of other tasty stuff on this fine little album. The album opens with "You and Me and Time" teamed up with Georgette Jones, who's the daughter of Tammy Wynette and some guy she married and once recorded with. It's fine, mellow, modern country ballad. The next number is a natural for Leon Russell to join in, "The Window Up Above." Leon struck country gold when he recorded with Willie Nelson when Willie's career was white hot in the late 70's. Ricky Skaggs signs the guest list on the next number, a prototypical George Jones ballad, "She Once Lived Here." It's a natural for both country boys. The next track opens with beautiful mandolin pickin's and possum whaling in his best "He Stopped Loving Her Today" country voice, the duet partner is that old mountain girl who has been around the globe a few times, Dolly Parton. "Rockin' Years" provides a great number for two of country music's most famous stars to stretch it out together. Neither outshines the other. They've been down that road before. Keith Richards drops in for the next cut, already discussed. Vince Gill steps up for the next number, "Selfishness in Man." another tear-jerkin' ballad with superb instrumental backing. "Tavern Choir" is the kind of tune only George Jones could get away with. It's one of those sentimental cornpone numbers singing about Willie Nelson after his death and his last wish..got that? Somehow George Jones with partner Jim Lauderdale makes it work. Shelby Lynne steps forward for the next number, "I Always Get It Right With You," nothing special, just a nice laid-back ballad. Yet, every song on this album gives the listener another taste of all of the master's singing tricks and nuances. "When The Grass Grows Over Me" brings on current big shot, Mark Chesnutt center stage on probably the most predictable formulaic tune on the album. It's almost like Jones is fighting with one arm tied behind his back so as not to show up the up and coming up and comer or whatever Chesnutt is. Starting down the home stretch is one of Possum Jones most famous hits, "I Always Get Lucky With You," united with Dire Straits' mastermind, music genre bender, Mark Knopfler who blends right in like a good buddy sitting on the next barstool. His guitar solo fits right in as does his laid back vocal performance, a sleepy eyed, little gem not even trying to emulate George Jones' masterful singing. Marty Stuart kicks the tempo up to a nice honky-tonk standard with "You're Still On My Mind." It's a nice little good old boy get-together -- the good old "I've been drinkin', I've been stinkin'" country classic. As if by now folks familiar with George Jones and duets hadn't thought of the possibility, "Hmm, he sure used to sound good with Tammy, there was a little magic left in the can with "Lovin' You, Lovin' Me." It's not their best duet by any means, but it's a reminder of the wild and beautiful chemistry they once shared. It's hard to believe Tammy's been gone for ten years now, dead at age 55, with lots of fuel left in the tank.

This is one fine little album. The transatlantic handshake between eternal bad boys "Keef and Possum" playfully performing the title track makes it a nice album to own. There are plenty of other fine numbers that remind the listener, when it comes to country music, the whole genre has never mastered keeping up with this Jones. Play this album, and almost certainly some of the other George Jones' CD's on the shelf will be spinning in short order. "Yabba-dubba do, the king is gone and so is you...."