Think there'll be a Please Please Me (60th Anniversary)?

Discuss official releases and re-issues. The only links allowed here are to the Beatles YouTube channel or other band-sanctioned platforms.
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Lord Reith
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Re: Think there'll be a Please Please Me (60th Anniversary)?

Post by Lord Reith »

Gringo557 wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 12:05 am Peter Jackson's mixing technology could be applied to the Hamburg tape to bring up the vocals a bit. It's an amazing tape and my vote for most fantastic amateur tape recording of the century.
He said he was interested in doing it but I can't imagine Apple ever signing off on that. I think PJ just wants to hear the complete tape ha ha.
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Re: Think there'll be a Please Please Me (60th Anniversary)?

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Gringo557 wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 12:05 am Peter Jackson's mixing technology could be applied to the Hamburg tape to bring up the vocals a bit. It's an amazing tape and my vote for most fantastic amateur tape recording of the century.
The Star Club tape IS the most historically important tape ever recorded! It wouldn't sound right if it was a modern recording in perfect sound quality. I bought the album in 1977 on Lingasong. Then a couple of other issues(Bellaphon, and Hall Of Music that had a single pocket/no gatefold). I played the Lingasong ONCE. I played the others less than once. All had the appeal of fiberglass in a sleeping bag! They were a strain to comprehend. I thought they were unimportant compared to the Deccagone singles. However, the Lord Reith Magnetophon Band project gave the Star Club material the best chance for redemption that is likely to ever occur. Perhaps, the limiting factor is not the sound quality. That was the issue in 1977. There were only 11 Beatles songs(2 L&M and 9 covers) from their albums. The ambient racket was hard to hear through. The listener couldn't really appreciate what was on the tapes. So, if Peter Jackson has a miracle left up his sleeve, make sure that it's the right miracle. There is only one thing that he could do that might help but, there is one other way to consider. Peter Jackson's film restoration technique is pretty formidable. But, this isn't a film. But, he saved Get Back! Yes, he did...and he did it by giving it context. Jackson's Get Back prolog was way longer than it needed to be but without it, we would have had an 8 hour mess that made no sense. It was so incomprehensible that Michael Lindsey Hogg threw the chronology out of the documentary...to try and save Let It Be's cinematic integrity. With the Star Club, the chronology is not known anyway. The context is not properly presented...but, PJ seems to understand how important it is to point the weapon at the correct target. This would amount to a basic overview that has NOTHING to do with King Size Taylor. But, if properly aimed, PJ could hit the target, and it would have the advantage of momentum...ie the name Peter Jackson. His name might be more mainstream than the other name we know to be qualified. Lord Reith has done the work. Lord Reith could present the context as well as anyone. But, it IS the most important recording ever made. But, at the moment, Peter Jackson could draw people towards it with an open-mind because like Get Back, the work has already been done. I watched the slide show on Magnetophon Band and it only took a few seconds to fall in completely. When the dialog of the audience, the band, the waiter, etc. was all shown in subtitles...I was immersed in my first trip to Germany. The entire list of songs played through as enjoyable moments in a sequence of events known as the plot. It was over as fast as it began and I thoroughly enjoyed it. When the Beatles history is ever examined, we know that they have something extra that is clearly hard to come by. MOST celebrities DON'T have it. Whatever it is, I believe it came from Hamburg. They were not really aware of anything while it was happening. But, as they left to return to Liverpool after their last visit(right after the tapes were recorded, THEY knew that they would not be back and they knew that they had been honed to an edge. It's something that PJ or LR could explain in an entertaining way. But, the prolog must emphasize that there was something Hamburg about the Chemistry that they used to conquer the world. Once the prolog is set up, the moment will happen for anyone willing to start the slide show. They didn't know it until they got on the boat...and the Germans didn't know it until February 9, 1964. Nobody got it on the fly...except King Sized Taylor...he kept rewinding the tape, so he gets a little credit. But, if Peter Jackson puts a prolog to Lord Reith's work...we can all mach shau!
Hi Astrid!
KC

Stu R.I.P.
Last edited by Kwai Chang on Sun Jun 05, 2022 7:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Think there'll be a Please Please Me (60th Anniversary)?

Post by Lord Reith »

I like to compare The Beatles to a Formula 1 car. Most of the time they rocked at about 85% of their top speed, which was perfect for radio and their albums. All the other bands - in their old jalopies - had to put their foot to the floor just to even approach them, and even then they were still left far behind.

But when the Beatles put their foot to the floor... ahh, then we get the Star Club tapes. You can hear the engine screaming and the chassis shaking so hard it sounds like it's about to fall to pieces. But it never does. They always come back into the pit lane unphased and then, as if to make light of it all, rattle off A Taste Of Honey or Till There Was You while the tyres are changed. Then back out for another lap!
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Re: Think there'll be a Please Please Me (60th Anniversary)?

Post by Bazilnerk »

Lord Reith wrote: Wed Feb 16, 2022 3:45 am
Albert Grove wrote: Tue Feb 15, 2022 12:18 pm
Megazeti wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 10:49 am With the Hamburg's isn't their still some legal argy-bargy about them?
What happened to the tapes after Allan Williams sold them to Paul Murphy of Buk Records?
They were given to Larry Grossberg who still has the tape. He has tried to auction it twice but got no takers because it is now unplayable. However he has a cd copy from somewhere and George Harrison gave Apple a copy he had made in about 1973, which is fantastic quality. So Apple could easily put this out if they wanted. They won't.
For clarity's sake. Larry does indeed have the original tape which is in very bad condition. BUT he also has the complete dub to professional 1/4" tape that was made in 1977 from the original. It is from that tape that we know exactly what is on the original reel. Those tapes were digitized around the same time as the auction - the dubs were offered in the same lot as the original. Apple do NOT have a copy of the full tape, only one of Allan Williams' samplers. I don't believe the tape didn't sell because of its condition - especially when the dubs were included - but because due to litigation from Apple, nobody could legitimately release them, so not worth investing the money.
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Re: Think there'll be a Please Please Me (60th Anniversary)?

Post by thewarpedvinyljunkie »

Lord Reith wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 1:01 am But when the Beatles put their foot to the floor... ahh, then we get the Star Club tapes. You can hear the engine screaming and the chassis shaking so hard it sounds like it's about to fall to pieces. But it never does. They always come back into the pit lane unphased and then, as if to make light of it all, rattle off A Taste Of Honey or Till There Was You while the tyres are changed. Then back out for another lap!
LR, I listened to the Star Club tapes for the first time in over a decade yesterday--specifically in your stereo remix on video with subtitles--because of KC's wonderful words, "However, the Lord Reith Magnetophon Band project gave the Star Club material the best chance for redemption that is likely to ever occur." I had failed to realize (until your video version) much of what was going on--and now I'm captivated. I don't blame Brian for toning down their stage act (for although they were indeed destined for greatness, they were much too "raw" at that point to have become the superstars we all know), but you are correct--there is a sense of joy in the creation and realization of the strength of the phenomenon occurring onstage (okay, maybe I just should say they knew, "Hey, we can really rock, and people really like it!") with which I believe few bands (even most big-name ones) are ever blessed. (And, yeah, your analogy is better than my restatement, but just had to get my ha'penny in.)
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Re: Think there'll be a Please Please Me (60th Anniversary)?

Post by Lord Reith »

thewarpedvinyljunkie wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 4:38 pm LR, I listened to the Star Club tapes for the first time in over a decade yesterday--specifically in your stereo remix on video with subtitles--because of KC's wonderful words, "However, the Lord Reith Magnetophon Band project gave the Star Club material the best chance for redemption that is likely to ever occur." I had failed to realize (until your video version) much of what was going on--and now I'm captivated.
Yes, I think the subtitles really help to make sense of the show. It's very confusing to listen to without them (the first time, anyway).
Bazilnerk wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 3:07 pm For clarity's sake. Larry does indeed have the original tape which is in very bad condition. BUT he also has the complete dub to professional 1/4" tape that was made in 1977 from the original. It is from that tape that we know exactly what is on the original reel. Those tapes were digitized around the same time as the auction - the dubs were offered in the same lot as the original. Apple do NOT have a copy of the full tape, only one of Allan Williams' samplers. I don't believe the tape didn't sell because of its condition - especially when the dubs were included - but because due to litigation from Apple, nobody could legitimately release them, so not worth investing the money.
Thanks for that info. I think George's 1973 copy is probably better than Larry's though just because it is 4 years earlier and less likely to be as damaged. I thought that Apple would take a copy of George's tape because it is heard in Living In The Material World and it sounds fantastic. But they would surely have access to it through Olivia even if they don't have it. But I guess the fact that they haven't bothered to get their own copy means they have zero interest in it.
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Re: Think there'll be a Please Please Me (60th Anniversary)?

Post by Bazilnerk »

Lord Reith wrote: Sun Jun 05, 2022 2:28 am
Thanks for that info. I think George's 1973 copy is probably better than Larry's though just because it is 4 years earlier and less likely to be as damaged. I thought that Apple would take a copy of George's tape because it is heard in Living In The Material World and it sounds fantastic. But they would surely have access to it through Olivia even if they don't have it. But I guess the fact that they haven't bothered to get their own copy means they have zero interest in it.
I'm not sure how much better it would be. Alan Williams played the tape to anyone who wanted to hear it for many years and a lot of the damage was from early on, so it probably wasn't in the best condition in 1973. I think a lot of the damage had been done. It was handled only by professionals from when Paul Murphy started to work on it, So I doubt they would have allowed any more damage to take place. Certainly bootlegs that come from copies that Williams made show similar damage. I'm also not sure how professional William's copies were. Of course it's also possible that the version used on LITMW might be from a bootleg! I'll have to see if Hans knows any more than was in our article - I did all the technical stuff, he is the font of all wisdom concerning that tape - and the only person apart from Larry and his engineer to hear the complete tape since 1977!
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Re: Think there'll be a Please Please Me (60th Anniversary)?

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Bazilnerk wrote: Mon Jun 06, 2022 10:46 pmOf course it's also possible that the version used on LITMW might be from a bootleg!
No I checked it very carefully. It is way better fidelity than anything else that has ever appeared, bootleg or otherwise. It sounds as good as the Johnny And The Hurricanes set from NYE.
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Re: Think there'll be a Please Please Me (60th Anniversary)?

Post by RalseiDeltarune »

Yes. I do believe that a PPM 60th and a Revolver Box are definitely in the cards right now. If it's not one, then it's probably the other. Wish we could have both, though..
Interested in any/all Bootlegs. Sometimes I make my own.

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