The Who Polydor Singles Box Set

The Who Polydor Singles Box Set

After being put back several times, the concluding singles box set has finally arrived. It's a surprise on a few levels, the first being it's the largest tome of the four singles boxes, weighing in at 15 singles. The second being the time span, 1975 to 2015, that's 40 years! Although strictly speaking only 12 of those were Poydor years, and even one of the singles in that time period is a MCA release. The first three sets have made it into the essential purchase category, but surely this collection where A and B sides were culled from the last 5 studio and several live LP's render this set a vanity piece?

Let's take a listen, there are more surprises on the way...

1 - See Me, Feel Me - Listening To You / Overture
In true shambolic Who style, this box set kicks off with a single that wasn't even a Who release. Credited to Roger Daltrey & Chorus, the Tommy finale always sounded slightly abandoned in single form on my original (pictured left), and despite the abandonment of a picture sleeve with this disc, the better sounding Abbey Road Half Mastered re-issue here still sounds like a weird choice of single from the Tommy movie soundtrack. The B side however more than makes up for it, credited to Pete Townshend, this alternative Overture has an energy and zeal that is often missing from the soundtrack. This version later appeared on the CD re-issue of Ken Russell's colouful re-imagined Tommy, but here it sounds better than ever.

2 - Squeeze Box / Success Story
Like the latter track singles from the last box set, the original plastic injection labels of the 70's and 80's (foreground above) are no longer feasible along with the teeth that surround the label, these enabled the stacking on automatic turntables to stop the singles slipping on top of one another (playlist - old school). However, like the preceding singles sets, these are Half Speed Mastered at Abbey Road and in all but one case sound superior to the originals. Both of these songs were taken from the Who By Numbers LP and Squeeze Box is a song worn thin by compilations albums, live versions and varying degrees of shoddy covers at your local jam night. So I'm surprised just how fresh it sounds in single form here, with Roger's vocals in particular sounding like he's singing in my lounge.

3 - Who Are You / Had Enough
In previous sets I've bemoaned the lack of some of the original single mixes, fear not, this time we are all present and correct with the single edit of Who Are You here in all it's glory. I mean, that's the point of issuing these singles, right?

4 - Long Live Rock / I'm The Face - My Wife (live)
5 - 5:15 / I'm One
Tied in to the movies The Kids Are Alright & Quadrophenia, these singles from their respective films fill some well deserved gaps. Long Live Rock, originally from the "Odds & Sods" compilation which is absent from the re-issue program, sounds better than I've heard it elsewhere. Whilst the B side I'm The Face isn't quite up to the reissue of the Fontana version (from the Brunswick Box), possible due to vying for vinyl space with a live version of "My Wife". As with any single or EP, to get a more tracks or time on it you have to reduce the volume as you are cutting the grooves closer together. The live version of My Wife that follows it was recorded at the highly regarded 77 Kilburn Show.
5:15 is the remixed and re-recorded bass version along with the remixed I'm One that John prepared for the Quadrophenia soundtrack album in 1979.

6 - You Better You Bet / The Quiet One
Again the single mix on the A side, although both the single & album versions were available on the original releases, I know because I have both. The disc pictured top right is the original single mix version, to the left is the rear cover of an album version, both were pressed in England. While below is the cover for the vastly superior sounding Poydor Box Set single.

7 - Don't Let Go The Coat / You
Many an evening in the eighties we would argue that this was the worst Who single ever. It isn't as we shall see shortly, however it's certainly worth moving swiftly onto the B side to listen too one of John's best recorded bass sounds on record.

8 - Athena /  A Man Is A Man
One of the most underrated Who singles in my opinion, I always thought it came alive in single format and it doesn't disappoint here. Pictured here with the original above and the rather elegant but noisy picture disc beside it.

9 - Eminence Front / It's Your Turn
Whilst this release never got off the cutting lathe, one of the finest moments of It's Hard continues to make appearances on TV shows and in sports arenas to this day. Yet again John's bass sounds HUGE and as with all these singles, the drums sound and feel like drums. Issued in this box set for the first time with the original planned artwork.

10 - Twist & Shout / I Can't Explain
You know that worst single discussion I mentioned earlier, well this is where the arguing stopped. This is the sort of thing that artists do to fulfil their contracts. Not a Polydor release, here are both versions on the MCA label, with the spanking new and better sounding disc below.

11 - Won't Get Fooled Again / Bony Moronie
The single edit version that was re-released in 1988 to go with yet another compilation (Who's Better, Who's Best). Like the version on the Track box set I prefer the original single release, it just seems to have more presence and dynamics.  The B side Bony Moronie was at the time a glimpse into the archives, recorded at one of the Young Vic Lifehouse shows which has been subsequently released on CD. Whilst it's a rough & tumble version, it's never sounded so good as it does here. My neighbours think the Who have moved in. 

12 - Join Together (live) / I Can See For Miles (live) - Behind Blue Eyes (live)
Surprisingly better than you thought, yes the 25th Anniversary tour was a kind of Vegas cast of thousands approach, but the extra dynamics here that are missing from the thin CD album, along with the first two songs being an unusual inclusion into your usual bog standard OO set, that leaves a pleasant taste on the ear palate.

What is clear at this point if you've been following Matt Kent's rather fine liner notes in the booklet that accompanies this set, is that along with the 7" releases, there were some 12" versions that had some sexier track options than some of the offerings here. Rather than another single edit of Won't Get Fooled Again that was re-released in the Track box, maybe the live version of Dancing In The Street; recorded Dec 79 and taken from the same single 12", would have been a preferable substitute? Like previous sets, authenticity has generally ruled over diversity, you could make good arguments for either but I'll let the former have it's day here.

13 - Real Good Looking Boy / Old Red Wine
14 - Wire & Glass EP, Six Songs From A Mini-Opera / Mirror Door
Real Good Looking Boy in it's edited form sounded so good on the Who Hits 50 Lp that I was really looking forward to this single with the full version, it didn't disappoint. Both this and the flip have so much more dynamics than the digital release versions, that really hit you where it feels good. Anyone who thought the Who's recording career was over were kicked in the gooleys by the Wire & Glass EP. The single edit of the Six Songs from a Mini-Opera and the original, albeit substandard mix (compared to the album version) of Mirror Door are all present here in glorious analogue, and sound better for it too.

15 - Be Lucky / I Can't Explain
Originally released as a one sided 7" single (top right) and then as a blue vinyl record store day version (top left) backed with I Can't Explain, the new Abbey Road Half Speed Mastered single in this Poydor Boxset  sounds better than it's 2 fore-bearers, the guitar in particular cuts through the house like a axe windmilling madman.

Before it hit the mat, I was pretty sure this set was not going to make the essential purchase standard of the first three. I was wrong, and this package, like the others, continues to show the real validity and power of the single. The Who's 7 inch body of work is just as every bit essential as their album output, if you don't have these sets then you are missing out on the quality & fidelity of The Who, warts an all.

So to neatly wrap up The Who's Single Boxset Re-Issues:-

Often heard argument 1 - The Who are an album band.
Answer - Wrong, go to the beginning and start again. (Brunswick, Reaction, Track review)

Often heard argument 2 - I bought them the first time round.
Answer - With a couple of exceptions, these sound vastly superior to the original pressings.

The Who's single's box sets are a triumph.

Abbey Road Half Speed Mastering

Abbey Road Half Speed Mastering

 

It may not have escaped your attention that some of the releases I’ve recently championed (The Zombies Odessey & Oracle & The Who’s Brunswick Box Set being two) have been half speed mastered at Abbey Road. 

Six new releases have just been released and for reasons that will shortly be clear, The Police’s 1981 LP “Ghost In The Machine” has joined two other copies in my collection.

 

Like many other topics I pick up on, Half Speed Mastering is nothing new, even before Mobile Fidelity made it their standard practice in 1977, DECCA records had already been using the process for some of its classical output for nearly twenty years. As the name describes, you run the master tape at half speed, if it runs at 30 inches per second ( ips) you play it back at 15ips while the cutting lathe runs at 16 2/3 rpm. There are some well-known issues with this process, low end roll off and more difficult de-essing being two. Low end roll off means losing some bass at the deeper end of the sound spectrum and de-essing being a way of correcting the distortion on vocal sounds using “S” and “T”. 

A&M Pressing

Trying to improve on Ghost In The Machine is certainly a tall order, the original album (released on A&M) sounds terrific and I remember listening to it on my friends Dads posh hifiback in the early eighties, being mesmerised that recorded music could sound so good. 

Four or five years ago, I picked up a second hand copy that was released on the Nautilus Recordings label, released the same year as the original it was half speed mastered and marketed as a “Super Discs – Listen To The Difference”. Having read lots of conflicting opinions on the benefits of half speed mastering I thought it would be interesting to hear it for myself. Supposedly, by running the lathe slower it has more time to accurately cut the groove, whilst this sounds like it should make sense it could also be audio snake oil. Now this version certainly sounded better, I thought the bass had more clarity and the treble seemed crisper. Whether this was down to being mastered at half speed or just being mastered with more care and superior equipment, there is no clear evidence to say, but I’m happy to reap the benefits either way. 

The new Abbey Road half speed masters have somewhat controversially been using hi-res digital masters to cut the new re-issues. Mike Showell who oversees the half speed masters has spoken about why he feels that using new hi-res digital copies of the original master tapes to make these records is superior to cutting directly from tape-

“The greatest variable in all of this is the replay of the master on the tape machine. Just about all of the limitations of analogue cutting from tape are made twice as bad at half-speed. For this reason I firmly believe careful and sympathetic high-resolution digital capture from a well-cared for and customised (i.e. improved) American tape machine will ultimately yield better sounding records which is the sole reason for this series of releases. There is no perfect solution, but I feel by some distance this is the best way to proceed.”

Mike Showell talking with Michael Fremer

For full interview visit http://www.analogplanet.com/content/ume-abbey-road-12-speed-mastered-series-update-we-ask-tough-questions#Hj2hydyik4hexebC.97

 

Well the proof of the audio is in the listening, so after listening to the Nautilus version I pop the new Abbey Road version on the turn table. It’s a revelation. Virtually all the bass sounds deeper and clearer, everything sounds more defined and it still retains a real “depth” of sound over the rather flat sounding CD version. Whilst the improvements to the treble are quite subtle, they become more obvious on the soundscape intro to “Secret Journey”. The dynamics seem improved too, the explosive start of the chorus of “Invisible Sun” sounds bigger than ever. 

From what I’ve heard so far from the Abbey Road Mastering Team I’m mightily impressed and thoroughly recommend these re-issues.

Concentric Grooves

Concentric Grooves

Those who first purchased Monty Python’s Matching Tie and Handkerchief album in 1973 were in for several surprises when they pulled the album out of the sleeve. After the first shock of the aforementioned male accessories being attached to a dead man, lovingly created by Terry Gilliam on the inner sleeve, the purchaser then had the record label to contend with having both sides labelled “FREE RECORD, given away with Monty Python’s Matching Tie and Handkerchief - Side 2”. After listening to both sides and having a good chuckle, it would be neatly filed away for next time. When it did return to the turntable to be replayed, it may then have been an amazed listener who was hearing a completely different recording of Python material.*

How could this be? 

The concentric groove.

The Concentric groove, sometimes called a double or parallel groove is simply more than one groove that is cut into the disc (think of the difference between a single carriageway road and the lanes on the M25, maybe it would be a more interesting motorway if it just spiralled in on Central London) and depending on where the needle lands in the leadoff area you will hear one of whatever that groove contains. Whilst on this Python offering this was kept quiet, probably for the self-amusement of the team, concentric grooves were often marketed as a selling point. The earliest example is a 1901 78rpm on the Victor label, demonstrated on this You Tube video.

 

 Since the 30’s various “Horse Racing” games have employed the double groove to bring in the random element that you can bet money on.  Examples of which can be seen here http://www.ankitoner.com/gramolud/gramolud_cavalls.htm

 

The first vinyl release I can find is a 7” 45rpm on the RCA Victor label by “The Fontane Sisters” called “Fortune Teller Song”. Released in 1951, on what became known at the time as magic records, this contains four different endings depending on which of the four grooves your stylus fell into. 

The earliest stereo records were also produced using concentric grooves and a special double stylus; one groove had the right channel and the rest you can work out for yourself. These were little more than test pressings that were quickly superseded by the single stereo groove in 1957. 

The first concentric groove record I bought was on a 12” 45rpm. “Pop Music” by  “M” was released in 1979, side 1 contained the A side “Pop Music” and  the B side “M Factor” on the coin flip concentric groove which must have driven DJ’s mad. Side two had a single groove with a disco mix of “Pop Music” (bravo chaps).

 

Throughout the eighties various 7, 10 and 12 inch records were released with various combinations of concentric groove. The prize for the most however goes to the octo-groove flexi disc issued with Mad Magazine in 1980. It’s not Lennon & McCartney standard song writing, but hats off for getting 8 grooves on a flexi disc.  
 

 

 

The latest and bravest use of a concentric groove is on Side 2 of Jack White’s Lazaretto, which for the first song starts off on concentric grooves, giving you either an acoustic or electric intro before the stylus is corralled into a single groove for the rest of the song. It almost works! With the acoustic version it plays through fine, only with the electric intro is there a small repeat of the word “just”, but full marks for effort. It would have worked better if the whole track was on concentric grooves and merged quietly between the banding. 

However many grooves you find, enjoy them, and if nothing else, next time a smart alec tries to assert their cleverness on you with the question "how many grooves are there on a record" you can tell them.

 

 

*This was only on the real second side of the original pressings and it’s quite plausible that it could have taken many more plays to discover this extra material. In fact there may be some who still haven’t discovered this. 

Matching Tie & Handkerchief on the Charisma Label

Side 1 - Matrix / Runout (Runoff A): CAS 1080 A-1U

Side 2 - Matrix / Runout (Runoff B): CAS 1080 B-1U A PORKY RAY ADVENTURE

And yes, Porky Ray is the infamous George "Porky" Peckham, one of the finest master disc cutters in the land.

 

A Digital Record...?

A digital record…?

All analogue (often referred to as a triple A release) is the holy grail of most vinyl record enthusiasts, recorded on multi-track tape, mastered on tape and directly cut to the lacquer that is used to make a record. During the seventies some records were cut directly onto the lacquer, called “direct to disc recording”, bypassing the tape hiss accumulated on the multi-track & and master tape stages. Cutting direct to disc was nothing new, it was used prior to the early fifties before the invention of tape to make 78 shellac records, however this time it was a very niche market featuring mainly jazz & classical titles and pretty much died a death by the eighties, despite the odd resurrection here & there since. 

By the late seventies, digital recording was seen as the future and a more useable alternative to direct to disc in terms of eradicating tape hiss. The first major record to be recorded this way was Ry Cooder's “Bop ‘Til You Drop”, on a 32 track digital tape machine built by 3M. Today most new releases are recorded digitally and some like David Crosby’s last solo album “Croz” sound amazing. 

 

In 1983 Joe Jackson was lamenting the sound of modern albums, often recorded in isolation (one instrument at a time) in a heavily dampened room; they lacked the acoustic ambience of the great studios such as 30th Street Columbia Studio in NYC & Abbey Road in London. Joe searched high and low over New York trying to find an appropriate sonic haven, eventually settling on an old Masonic Lodge that was used by Vanguard Studios for classical recordings. After a painstaking 3 days of rejecting various digital recording equipment, Joe settled on a 3m 4 track machine to record most of the instrumentation live over a 3 week period, the vocals then being recorded at Atlantic’s Studio B on 60th Street. Whilst this digital process delivered one of the better sounding early Compact Discs, due to it not requiring to go through the thin and crispy sounding Analogue to Digital converters that plagued early cd releases, it is on record that this album is highly prized by audiophiles and music lovers. On songs “The Verdict” & “Be My Number Two” they show off the magnificent sound of the room, the latter as it moves from quiet piano and voice to a full on band in less than moments revolution of the turntable will certainly test your audio equipment to its limit. The scraper intro on “Cha Cha Loco” is reminiscent of test records such as “Persuasive Perfusion”, the wonderful dynamics of “Loisaida” and “Heart Of Ice” are all brutally squashed & compressed on the remastered 1997 CD. It is on record they breathe like music should. 

I understand and certainly agree that where possible analogue tapes should be used, The Beatles Mono reissues & the recently reviewed 2016 Beach Boys “Pet Sounds” are testament to this, however it is possible to make a great sounding digital album.

Big World – Joe’s 1986 follow up album did away with the multi-tracking stage and the band performed directly onto a digital 2 track master.

The Galileo 7 New single, album and French Tour 2016

Out Now - Galileo 7 single & album

The 28th of March sees the release of the new single by The Galileo 7, Cruel Bird c/w Nowhere People, the live(ish) album Live-O-Graphic closely followed by the start of a ten date French tour.

To order these please visit the Galileo 7 website http://www.thegalileo7.fourfour.com/


Tour Dates

31/03 - CAEN at Portobello Club
01/04 - ALBI at Jour de Fête
02/04 - PERPIGNAN at Vinochoppe
03/04 - TOULOUSE at La Dernière Chance
04/04 - ST ETIENNE at Thunderbird Lounge
05/04 - GRENOBLE at Maily's Club
06/04 - TOURS at Bar A Mine
07/04 - CLERMONT - FERRAND at Bombshell Club
08/04 - BOURGES at Murrayfield Pub
09/04 - LILLE at L'Imposture Bar

Also on the 30th March, will be a Galileo 7 radio take over on RCV FM, hosted by Eon Ballinger. 

Followed by a "homecoming" date at The Moth Club in London on April 16th with The Masonics & Mindreaders.

You can stay in touch with the Galileo 7 at the obligatory Facebook Page

Whilst I'll be tweeting on the road from my Twitter account @paulmossuk 
Come join me with the hashtag #G7tour

And we have badges.

Clouds

Clouds - 1-2-3

 

You would like to think that if in the second half of the sixties, your band got a support slot with Jimi Hendrix, a regular spot at the Marquee Club in Wardour Street, a Billboard Magazine review that screams “This band will be a giant”, cited as a big influence by Rick Wakeman & Keith Emerson, name checked by David Bowie & Pete Townsend, oh, and signed by Brian Epstein, that your place would be reserved in the Rock & Roll hall of fame.

Scotland 1964 - The Premiers were a soul band that included Ian Ellis (vocals) and Harry Hughes (drums) that were well known on the circuit. In an effort to boost their success they added Billy Ritchie on organ, who’s busy and flamboyant musicianship quickly rubbed the other musicians up the wrong way causing their departure, thus leaving just Ian, Harry, Billy and a rather large dilemma.

London 1966 – Ian Ellis had moved to bass, the trio had moved to London and renamed themselves 1-2-3. While their new line-up and style had not worked on the Scottish Club circuit, they were quickly absorbed into the London scene and signed to Brian Epstein’s NEMS management company.

London 1967 – Following the death of Brian Epstein, Robert Stigwood takes control of NEMS and decides to send 1-2-3 on a cabaret tour of North England, fitting in around comedians, ventriloquists & jugglers.  

So on returning to London and seeing The Nice steal their thunder must have been almost as depressing as sharing a dingy Sheffield club dressing room with a comedy balloonist. Their fortune seemed on the upturn after being signed by future Chrysalis Label partner Terry Ellis who changed their name to Clouds.

Their first single, released on Island in 1969 is the very hard to come by “Make No Bones About It”, a superb pop song backed by the proto-prog “Heritage”.

Despite successful American tours and three superb albums, by 1971 Chrysalis were putting all their effort into Jethro Tull and the Clouds parted.

 1-2-3 has since been given a re-appraisal by Music magazines (for whatever that’s worth) for their precursory influence on progressive rock. The only official release is on “Up Above our Heads - Clouds 1966-71 2CD anthology” as a bonus track. Recorded live at The Marquee, 1-2-3’s version of Paul Simon’s “America” was recorded a year before it was released on Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bookends”. Paul had originally recorded a demo in London which passed to 1-2-3 by studio engineer Stu Francis, along with “Sound Of Silence” they performed this at the Marquee Club in April 1967. In the audience was Yes vocalist Jon Anderson, who would use this arrangement on their own version several years later.

It’s a shame Clouds do not have the same rock mag pass, the 2 CD anthology shows them to have a superb collection of songs, smartly captured with some great performances.

 

For more information on Clouds visit www.cloudsmusic.com

 

If you don't listen to what I say, you'll hear what I do

If you don't listen to what I say, you'll hear what I do

Sound limiters

After years of telling people I won't plug into sound limiters, welcome to the McGregor £15 100 watt amp. It sounds like a bag of farts but if you don't care about my equipment, I don't care about what you have to listen to. 

I have no problem playing quietly, in fact I'm happier performing at lower volume. I've even had shows where I can't hear what I'm playing over people talking, but if I get paid I'm fine with it. 

What I object to is the arbitrary cutting of power to my equipment which in the past has damaged it and left me a huge bill to cover. The last time this happened was about ten years ago, not because I was playing at any sort of volume (this was the aforementioned can't hear myself over the talking scenario) but every time someone shouted or laughed the power cut off. 

Cutting the power to an amp means the fan stops working, this stops keeping the power sink cool and can cause damage, which is what happened to me.

So please, keep the sound / noise indicators, ask the band to keep below it or even better give them a contract that means they won't get paid if thier music exceeds the levels, rather than destroying thier equipment.