Star Trek: PICARD Season 1 - A Review by Mark Barry of the January 2020 TV Series on Amazon

"...The Needs Of The Many Are Met By The Talents Of A Few..." 

Star Trek: PICARD Season 1

Classy, well-written, quality effects that work and don't just intrude - the Star Trek franchise returns in January 2020 with a genuinely likeable re-boot.

Effectively retired but restless in idyllic French countryside where the sunny vineyards are managed by automated sprinklers – it’s 20 years since Picard helmed the Starship Enterprise. We open with a tantalising flashback conversation embedded in a card game - Brent Spiner doing a guest appearance as the sentient android Operations Officer Data who gave his life for humanity in the painful past.

It’s a smart move on the part of the writers who know what Trekkies love and want - but the introduction of the hugely watchable (and ethereally gorgeous) Isa Briones as Dahj is a masterstroke.

She is a young intelligent and deeply sensitive woman having a loving relationship with a male creature of another species, when her seemingly ordinary world is shattered by three assassins catapulting into her New Boston apartment – an action that activates some Jason Bourne type moves inside her she clearly had no idea were there. Alone on the streets of a holograph-saturated city at night - Dahj is now hunted but also haunted by the face of Jean-Luc Picard who she sees being interviewed on TV by a smiling but wily host determined to get to her version of the truth and possibly make herself look good with her galactic viewers into the bargain (a clever way of introducing backstory). Finding him in France - and although they don't know each other at all – Dahj and Jean-Luc begin a journey to find out who or what she is and why their connection is so physically and mentally deep.

Orla Brady and Jamie McShane play Romulan housekeepers in France to our Star Fleet curmudgeon and the lovely Alison Pill (one of my heroes from the Aaron Sorkin TV Series "The Newsroom") turns up as a Synthetic Research boffin in Okinawa, Japan who hints to an animated Picard as to the possible true nature of Dahj. But it is of course Patrick Stewart reprising his most famous TV role that keeps you watching, infusing his Starship Captain with a humanity and dignity that few other actors could provide. Stewart's gravitas is extraordinary and as an actor he knows his character so well - his bruised Picard vegetating in retirement with his faithful hound by his side when his every sinew longs to be back in the thick of it – making at difference from the inside instead of giving interviews about what its like to be banished to the outside.

Telling y’all more would spoil the fun. I'm 62 this year and one of those people who waded through all 10 or 120 or whatever of the original Star Trek films with my brothers in the cinema - wearily trekking through the ups and down and have been baldly going to new frontiers (or multiplexes) ever since.

Episode 1 of Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard isn't genius or even groundbreaking for sure, but it is damn good, exudes class and feels like the start of something that could bring the flame back to life. Our beloved Star Trek seems to be back in the hands of those that love it as much as we have and will do this extraordinary space adventure proud – a wholly positive entity in our lives since the swinging 60ts.

So it seems that for now the needs of the many have indeed been met by the talents of the few, so we mere humanoids can go forth and boldly enjoy a galaxy just at the end of my remote and not in the least bit far away. Hell, I even want to kiss a communications officer in a first-time multi-racial clincher down at the Margate Universal Credit Office (I do hope she opens all channels if you know what I'm saying).

I'd better finish now because in my advanced dotage I can feel a set-my-phaser-to-stun joke coming on (I cannay control it Captain – oh do be quiet)...

"The Beatles: Anniversary 3CD Edition 2018" aka "The White Album" by THE BEATLES – Studio Double-Album Originally from November 1968 (UK and (USA) on Apple Records Reissued 2018 As "The Beatles And Esher Demos" - featuring Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr with George Martin and Chris Thomas (Production), Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott (Engineers) and guests Eric Clapton, Yoko Ono, Chris Thomas and Mal Evans (30 November 2018 UK Apple/Universal Reissue with 27 Previously Unreleased 1968 Demo Tracks – Giles Martin, Sam Okell, Miles Showell and Others Remix and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and Over 400 More Like It

Are Available In My E-Book 

THE TOWN HAS 
NO NEED TO BE 
NERVOUS! 
THE GROOVIEST 1960s MUSIC ON CD 

Your All-Genres Guide To 

Exceptional Reissues and Remasters 

"...Don't Pass Me By..."

Like so many fab-four obsessive hairy-men of a certain age, I've been digging this humungous 2018 reissue campaign for "The Beatles" – their fantastical, trashy, half-genius, half-indulgent knob 1968 2LP urge splurge - commonly known of course as 'The White Album'.

First up - on the audio front - this wee 2018 remix/remaster beastie knocks spots off what went before in my very blotted jotter and the 27 Previously Unreleased Demos done at George Harrison's house in Esher, Surrey in May 1968 just days before sessions at Abbey Road started - throw up an amazing Beatles-unplugged insight into their recording/thought processes of the time. We're finally offered actual White Album outakes in the guise of "Not Guilty" and "What's The New Mary Jane" and even given demos of Harrison's "Sour Milk Sea" which he gave to Jackie Lomax alongside "Not Guilty" and "Circles" – tunes George would return to in his own solo career in 1979 and 1982 (the "George Harrison" and "Gone Troppo" LPs). My only disappointment and misgiving is with the 'Anniversary 3CD Edition' variant and its rather boring and crappy-feel packaging that I wished Apple had pushed the repro boat out on a little (more of that later happy campers). But let's focus of what is here - time for Dear Prudence, Rocky Raccoon, Mother Superior jumping the gun and Sadie who may or may not be alluring...

UK released 30 November 2018 - "The Beatles And Esher Demos" by THE BEATLES on Apple/Universal 0602567571339 (Barcode 602567571339) is a 3CD Reissue and Remaster of the 1968 STEREO vinyl double-album "The Beatles" (commonly known as "The White Album") with an additional and Previously Unreleased 27 Bonus Demo Tracks known as "Esher Demos". The 3CD variant plays out as follows:

CD1 "The Beatles" (Side 1 and 2 - 46:28 minutes):
1. Back In The U.S.S.R [Side 1]
2. Dear Prudence
3. Glass Onion
4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
5. Wild Honey Pie
6. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
8. Happiness Is A Warm Gun
9. Martha My Dear [Side 2]
10. I'm So Tired
11. Blackbird
12. Piggies
13. Rocky Raccoon
14. Don't Pass Me By
15. Why Don't We Do It In The Road?
16. I Will
17. Julia

CD2 "The Beatles" (Sides 3 and 4 - 47:19 minutes):
1. Birthday [Side 3]
2. Yer Blues
3. Mother Nature's Son
4. Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
5. Sexy Sadie
6. Helter Skelter
7. Long, Long, Long
8. Revolution 1 [Side 4]
9. Honey Pie
10. Savoy Truffle
11. Cry Baby Cry
12. Revolution 9
13. Good Night
All 30 tracks across both CDs are the double-album "The Beatles" - released 22 November 1968 in the UK on Apple Records PMC 7067-8 (Mono) and Apple PCS 7067-8 (Stereo) and 22 November 1968 in the USA on Apple Records SWBO 101 in Stereo only. Produced by GEORGE MARTIN and Engineered by Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott - all songs written by Lennon/McCartney except "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Piggies", "Long, Long, Long" and "Savoy Truffle" by George Harrison and "Don't Pass Me By" by Ringo Starr. It peaked at No. 1 on the LP charts in both the UK and USA enjoying eight and nine week runs (respectively) at the top.

CD3 "Esher Demos" (75:20 minutes):
1. Back In The U.S.S.R.
2. Dear Prudence
3. Glass Onion
4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
5. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
6. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
7. Happiness Is A Warm Gun
8. I'm So Tired
9. Blackbird
10. Piggies
11. Rocky Raccoon
12. Julia
13. Yer Blues
14. Mother Nature's Son
15. Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
16. Sexy Sadie
17. Revolution
18. Honey Pie
19. Cry Baby Cry
20. Sour Milk Sea (Vocals: George Harrison)
21. Junk (Vocals Paul McCartney)
22. Child Of Nature (Vocals: John Lennon)
23. Circles (Vocals: George Harrison)
24. Mean Mr. Mustard (Vocals: John Lennon)
25. Polythene Pam (Vocals: John Lennon)
26. Not Guilty (Vocals Paul McCartney and John Lennon)
27. What's The New Mary Jane (Vocals: John Lennon)

PACKAGING:
I've had varying CD reissues of "The Beatles" before and almost all (apart from the gorgeous Japanese SHM-CD reissues) have been less than inspiring in the art department (unlike the epoch-impact we all felt when the original Apple 2LP set was released in November 1968). This 3CD variant I’m afraid feels like yet another compromise. The 24-page booklet has a "We, The Beatles" preamble by Paul McCartney, and "Introduction" by Giles Martin, liner notes by Kevin Howlett called "On The Road To The White Album" and further very illuminating notes on Esher Demos by KH towards the end culminating in the usual reissue credits (done in respectful conjunction with Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison). The chunky but hardly sturdy card digipak has two nods towards the original double - "The Beatles" embossed on the front and the foldout poster inside (pictures on one side, lyrics on the other). CD1 and CD2 have both sides of the Apple label logo, while CD3 sports a sort of acetate/demo variant (a nice touch). But the four uber-cool colour picture portraits of the dishevelled boys aren’t here as separate inserts - moved instead to inside the first flap of the digipak. It's also rather crudely entitled "The Beatles And Esher Demos" on the garish lettered spine while the sticker gives it a more accurate "The Beatles: Anniversary 3CD Edition". I can't help thinking that a card slipcase like the 2017 "Sgt. Peppers" reissue was the way to go here with booklet, poster and picture cards as separate inserts. But all of that goes out the window once you clap your weary lugs on the audio...

A whole team of people have handled the transfers and mastering – son of the original Producer George Martin GILES MARTIN has done the principal honours of Production alongside Engineers SAM OKELL (Mix), MILES SHOWELL (Stereo Mastering), MATTHEW COCKER (Transfers), JAMES CLARKE (Audio Restoration) and Assistants Matt Mysko, Stefano Civetta, Paul Pritchard and Greg McAlister. Some have complained of compression and I’d admit that at times the cleanliness of the sound is startling and even overpowering given five decades of hearing the notorious lo-fi that is the Stereo Mix. But I say cobblers to that – there is barely a moment across any of the sides where you don't hear something new and feel instinctively as you listen that serious work went into these transfers by a crew that cares and was meticulous. To the music...

From the moment you hear the sheer punch of the bass and drums after the jet sounds slide in on the Side 1 opener "Back In The U.S.S.R" and then the segued gorgeous acoustic guitars of "Dear Prudence" and Lennon’s voice so clear – you know you’re in the presence of a whole new thing. Never heard the white album like this. The Walrus Was Paul of "Glass Onion" sounds utterly transformed and even if it isn’t my fave of theirs – you can’t argue with the clarity of the acoustics on the acidic "Bungalow Bill". The spoken "ey-up" segue by Paul that usually starts "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is now at the end of "Bungalow Bill" so when you cue up "Guitar" – it goes straight into the song without it. More importantly - if ever a candidate for Audio Restoration Award of the Year was due – then it's on this layered baby. I've never heard Eric Clapton's guitar work or the too-dense mix feel and sound so good - and then the Side ends with the impossibly cool "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" – a titled suggested to John by George Martin from a newspaper article he was reading at the time.

Side 2 opens with "Martha My Dear" - Paul's piano parts clear as a bell (you can so hear his later Wings material in this song). Still can't make what the gibberish spoken at the end of "I'm So Tired" means but what a thrill to hear Macca's gorgeous "Blackbird" sounds so clear and present (it's an entirely solo entry, none of the other Beatles played on it). Again more Audio Awards but this time for a double-whammy - the harpsichord on Harrison's "Piggies" and the George Martin barrelhouse piano part on "Rocky Raccoon" both sounding all shiny like new diamonds. I've never had much truck with the throwaway "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?" while "I Will" sounds like a precursor to McCartney's "Ram" album material. The side ends with Lennon's beautiful "Julia" - a tribute to his mum that includes a nod in the "ocean child" lyric to his lady - Yoko Ono.

A rocking "Birthday" kicks Side 3 into gear with guitars punching above their weight all of a sudden. In direct contrast to the light-hearted opener comes the heavy-heavy grunge attack of "Yes Blues" which even now in Beatles lore sounds like a Fab Sound from another planet (such a huge geetar sound). I've always loved Nilsson's smart cover of "Mother Nature's Son" on his third album "Harry" from July 1969 - but you can't beat the bird-chirping original where once again McCartney plays all instruments and is augmented only by session musicians playing complimentary horns (so sweet the sound). I never really rated "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey" but this reissue wows on two fronts - the sonic blast of the finished album cut and the acoustic unplugged demo version over on CD3 – a deliciously different vibe that compliments. Legend has it that when The Beatles were in India seeking genuine spiritual enlightenment with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, he apparently tried something on Mia Farrow that wasn't very enlightening and John saw the Bentley-driving guru's true colours for real. But I suspect with the 'bigger than Jesus' debacle fresh in mind - he changed his initial scathing song title of "Maharishi What Have You Done, You've Made A Fool Of Everyone" into the catchier "Sexy Sadie". While The Beatles do Nirvana scream of "Helter Skelter" still manages to sound so Tarantino frightening (even after 50 years), Harrison's "Long, Long, Long" is probably the song many will want most to not be muddled. But because of the way the vocals are so far back in the mix, I think it's improved for sure - but not nearly as starkly as the rest (shame that). Unfortunately for me, Side 4 is where The White Album falls apart completely - indulgent dross like the eight minutes of the Avant Garde "Revolution 9", the ambling strangely tuneless "Cry Baby Cry" and mediocre "Savoy Truffle" are only alleviated by the lush "Good Night" where Ringo gets to close proceedings with a 30-piece orchestra. Overall though, impressed is a good word to use. Which brings us to CD3 that for Beatles nutjobs like me represents eureka and a bore all in one 75:20 minutes love fest...

First up – the 27 previously unreleased cuts on CD3 were taped not as sloppy demos on some cassette but on George's professional four-track tape machine at his Surrey home in Esher – and in Stereo too – many with doubled-vocals and doubled acoustic guitars – giving them a muscle and audio whack that is startlingly good. As per Kevin Howlett's superb liner notes, typically it seems that The Beatles had inadvertently invented acoustic 'unplugged' in May 1968 in one afternoon when MTV would later claim that 'unplugged' moniker with so many artists in the 1990s. These demos (especially 20 to 27 not used on the released double-album) also present a 'what-if' moment for compulsive re-arrangers like moi (I get to remake Side 4 from them, but more of that later).

Of the 19 that made "The Beatles" - the three rockers "Back In The U.S.S.R", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Everybody's Got Something To Hide..." show up here as fabulous acoustic strummers. John's "Dear Prudence" sounds as beautiful as the finished album cut and McCartney's "Blackbird" without Brass and Chirping Birds is even prettier - both thankfully with gorgeous remastered Audio care of Giles Martin. For sure some of the tracks like "Julia" and "Honey Pie" begin to sound like curios that are pleasant and even boring. But overall, this is revelatory stuff.

Tracks 20 to 27 are the anomalies/outsiders - "Sour Milk Sea" is a Harrison song given to Jackie Lomax as an Apple 45, the lovely melody of "Junk" by Macca would show up on his "McCartney" debut LP in 1971, Lennon's "Child Of Nature" later morphed into "Jealous Guy" on his 1971 classic "Imagine" album, Harrison's "Circles" and "Not Guilty" also appeared in reused form on solo LPs - "George Harrison" in 1979 and "Gone Troppo" in 1982. John singing "Mean Mr. Mustard" followed by "Polythene Pam" would of course feature as part of the song-cycle on Side 2 of 1969's "Abbey Road" while "What's The New Mary Jane" (along with "Circles") are the two genuine White Album outakes rarely if ever heard. I kind of wish they done finished versions of "Not Guilty" and "What's The New Mary Jane" because they could have replaced some of the dross on Side 4 and made the whole double-album a commentary on the social scene of the day - giving "The Beatles" an overall theme - this is us and our world in 1968.

Whatever way you look at it and despite niggles over packaging - you'd have to call this 2018 reissue a winner - especially on that all-important audio front.

"Don't Pass Me By" Ringo sang on his lone song-contribution to the world's most famously down and dirty double-album. And after 50 years waiting for decent transfers in Stereo, you would have to say that the drummer with the natty moustache has finally nailed it...

"Abbey Road: Anniversary Edition" by THE BEATLES featuring Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and (Guests) Billy Preston on Keyboards with George Martin on Production and Keyboards (27 Sept 2019 UK and EUROPE Apple Universal Music Group International 4-Disc "Anniversary Edition" Box Set with 3 Audio CDs and 1BLU RAY Audio – Giles Martin, Sam Okell and Steve Rooke Remixes and Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

  

This Review and Over 400 More Like It
Are Available In My E-Book 

THE TOWN HAS 
NO NEED TO BE 
NERVOUS! 

THE GROOVIEST 1960s MUSIC ON CD 

Your All-Genres Guide To 

Exceptional Reissues and Remasters 

"...Here Comes The Sun..."

The 50th Anniversary of 1969 has certainly proven a lucrative 2019 tap for reissue companies. It seems that everything issued in that end-of-decade pivotal year is getting the bells and whistles – some rehashing what's already been available for years with supposedly new remasters. So for those sceptics amongst us, both lifetime fans and newcomers alike may look at this half-century vaults-trawl of the magical "Abbey Road" album by THE BEATLES with a nagging feeling that Universal Music Group sure does know how to milk a cash cow (check out the endless format list below for starters).

But make absolutely no mistake – having lived with this sucker for a few weeks now, this 27 September 2019 reissue of "Abbey Road" in its 4-Disc "Anniversary Edition" form is a proper Bobby Dazzler - a genuine treasure in their awesome musical back catalogue. There's a huge amount of info and multiple formats to wade through, so take off your shoes, come together and let's scoot across the world's most famous zebra-crossing once more...

UK and EUROPE released, Friday 27 September 2019 - "Abbey Road: Anniversary Edition" by THE BEATLES on Apple/Universal Music Group International 0602577921124 (Barcode 602577921124) offers 4-Discs - 3 Audio CDs and 1 BLU RAY AUDIO all housed within a 12" x 12" Hard Card Outer Case with a 100-Page LP Sized Hardback Book. It plays out as follows:

CD1 "Abbey Road" 2019 Mix (47:29 minutes):

1. Come Together [Side 1]

2. Something

3. Maxwell's Silver Hammer

4. Oh! Darling

5. Octopus's Garden

6. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

7. Here Comes The Sun [Side 2]

8. Because

9. You Never Gave Me Your Money

10. Sun King

11. Mean Mr. Mustard

12. Polythene Pam

13. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window

14. Golden Slumber

15. Carry That Weight

16. The End

17. Her Majesty

Tracks 1 to 17 make the album "Abbey Road" – released 26 September 1969 in the UK on Apple PCS 7088 and 1 October 1969 in the USA on Apple SO-383. Original artwork in both countries famously didn't credit "Her Majesty" (the short acoustic ditty by Paul McCartney that ends Side 2) on the rear artwork at all. Labels - American copies credited the song on the label whilst many original UK copies didn’t (some did in later re-pressings). For the sake of showing everything that's on "Abbey Road" 50 years later – that 'hidden track' of old is now superimposed in on the CD card artwork and credited on the label too.

CD2 "Abbey Road Sessions" (52:24 minutes):

1. I Want You (She's So Heavy) (Take 32 with Billy Preston Organ)

2. Goodbye (Home Demo)

3. Something (Studio Demo)

4. Ballad Of John and Yoko (Take 7)

5. Old Brown Shoe (Take 2)

6. Oh! Darling (Take 4)

7. Octopus Garden (Take 9)

8. You Never Give Me Your Money (Take 36)

9. Her Majesty (Takes 1-3)

10. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Takes 1-3/Medley)

11. Here Comes The Sun (Take 9)

12. Maxwell's Silver Hammer (Take 12)

CD3 "Abbey Road Sessions" (55:23 minutes):

1. Come Together (Take 5)

2. The End (Take 3)

3. Come And Get It (Studio Demo)

4. Sun King (Take 20)

5. Mean Mr. Mustard (Take 20)

6. Polythene Pam (Take 27)

7. She Came In Through the Bathroom Window (Take 27)

8. Because (Take 1 - Instrumental)

9. The Long One (Trial Edit & Mix - 30 July 1969)

10. Something (Take 39 - Instrumental - Strings Only)

11. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Take 17 - Instrumental - Strings & Brass Only)

Disc 4 "Abbey Road" BLU-RAY AUDIO

With its larger storage capacity, the BLU RAY offers a further 5.1 Surround Mix of the whole LP (96 kHz/24 bit DTS-HD Master) and a Dolby ATMOS Stereo Mix too (96kHz/24 bit high resolution).

Sourced directly from the original 8-track sessions tapes, GILES MARTIN (son of original producer GEORGE MARTIN) has returned with SAM OKELL, STEVE ROOKE and a team of other Audio Engineers who've been involved with all of these Beatles' and Apple label reissues at Abbey Road Studios and remixed the Stereo Tapes into a new version. Across 40-tracks in the SUPER DELUXE version we are dealing with - CD1 houses the original 17-track STEREO LP whilst CD2 and CD3 offer up for the first time a mouth-watering 23 outtakes called "Abbey Road Sessions" that include selected previously unreleased material, studio chatter, a version of the stand-alone 45 "The Ballad Of John And Yoko" also released in 1969, a version of the White Album track "Goodbye" and sweetest of all - "The Long One" - an unheard early version of the 8-song medley that made up most of AR's Side 2.

The LP-sized box (12" x 12") features a truly beautiful 100-page hardback book with contributions from Giles Martin, Paul McCartney, a new appraisal of the album and its legacy by noted writer, author and former head bod at the Mojo Magazine DAVID HEPWORTH, song-by-song breakdowns, articles and unpublished photos on the iconic artwork, vast reissue credits and so on. Let’s get to the content...

Lennon's Timothy Leary song "Come Together" (a slogan tune that was supposed to depose the actor Ronald Reagan then running for Governor of California) opens proceedings with an audio wallop. The Bass, Drums and grinding guitar join Paul's vocals and that break at 2:03 minutes after 'right' - it all suddenly sound startling. Harrison's gorgeous "Something" feels luxurious and even more beautiful while bang-bang "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" now features that piano and Moog Synth combo to amazing effect (John absent entirely from that track). Producer GEORGE MARTIN gives it some additional piano on "Something" and also plays Electric Harpsichord on "Because" and Organ on the combo of "Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard". Like GM's subtle but significant contributions - "Something" also features the first of three uncredited album appearances by keyboardist BILLY PRESTON - the other two being "Oh! Darling" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". Preston's mere presence seemed to inspire the band during those July 1969 sessions. 

Speaking of inspiration - with John and Paul on duelling guitars and Harrison joining in on those three-guy harmony vocals - the power of "Oh! Darling" is shocking (the lyrics are tastily reproduced on Page 33, scribbled on Portland Club headed paper). Then of course Ringo gets his moment in the sun with the silly but enjoyable "Octopus's Garden" - Paul and George giving it some great harmonies as Ringo sings with that child-like wonder only he has (Take 32 was the master). Side 1 ends with the monster "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" - a brilliant and seriously accomplished piece of recording - Preston adding tasteful organ. If ever one song in this remaster was to show off the combined brilliance of the band - it's this brooding beast - the Bass playing - Lennon's seriously aggressive guitar attacks and that crescendo ending - it's not overwrought to my ears as some have suggested – it's bloody genius.

In direct contrast to the menace and brooding of 'heavy' - Side 2 opens with the literal sunshine of "Here Comes The Sun" - Harrison's second moment of glory on the album. The story goes that he was due to be at an Apple business meeting - Lawyers, Bankers, Accountants and various other money-men winding up the legal mess - when he just couldn't stand the idea of it and bunked off to Eric Clapton's home 20-miles south in Ewhurst, Surrey. Sat in the garden with acoustic guitar in hand, the tension-releasing melody to "Here Comes The Sun" popped into his head and out onto his fingers. The song was later finished on a holiday in Sardinia. The track also features eight woodwind players and with Electronic Music and its machinery still in its infancy – the Moog Synthesizer. The machine was a beast and is pictured on Page 42, a tangled wall of jack leads, knobs and modulators galore. The Middle Eight of "Here Comes The Sun" is also described by Harrison as "Son Of Badge" on the Lyrics repro’d on Page 41 - "Badge" being the Cream tune he had co-written with EC. George uses the Moog again on the gorgeous Lennon song "Because" – a perfect instrument counterpoint to the three dreamlike Lead Harmony Vocals (the Remaster here is superb). And on it goes to that fantastic guitar battle in the final segments before Paul gets all acoustic ditty on her indoors supping on a jug of wine.

The two CDs of outtakes are a strange brew of fabulous insight and slightly underwhelming noodle. It opens with an engineer at Abbey Road telling the boys that the neighbours have complained about the 'loud' session and could they tone it down - to which Lennon caustically preambles the take with "...last chance to be loud boys..." on his seven-minute moody rocker "I Want You..." And as you listen, you hear how Billy Preston's keyboard presence in the background elevates everything (such a smart move) giving that guitar crushing dominance some almost Yes Prog Rock organ melodies. Mary Hopkin would put "Goodbye" up at No. 2 for Apple Records in April and May 1969 - here we get Paul's demo that is pretty but hardly essential. However, we're then hit with both Harrison and Lennon on accomplished songwriting form with their Demo versions of "Something" and "The Ballad Of John And Yoko" - one man in love - the other angry and wanting to batter everyone. Both feel like genuine early-song magic - "Something" beautiful even in this stripped down form and "Ballad" with lyrics that hurt even now (fifty years after the press intrusion). Neither Harrison's "Old Brown Shoe" or Ringo's moment on "Octopus's Garden" leave much of an impression but Take 36 of "You Never Give Me Your Money" is a whole different ballgame. Recorded by a weary band at 2:30 a.m. - it still offers up five minutes of brilliance - more melodic guitar ideas than you can shake a stick at and must surely be one of their most underrated songs. And then "Golden Slumbers..." with its gorgeous piano makes you appreciate the finished cut with renewed wonder.

The Badfinger hit "Come And Get It" is presented on Disc 3 as a Paul McCartney demo that already has the song's winning arrangement fully in place but "The End" is sadly way too short and one of those instances where you wish it were six or seven minutes. However, the big draw is "The Long One" - an early edit of the Side 2 medley that slaps "Her Majesty" in the middle of the song-cycle instead at the tail end of the album and adds in some Liverpudlian shouts for "Polythene Pam" that were wisely edited out later. The piano refrain too is beautiful as it ends. Best of all are two 'string' versions of songs - "Something" and "Golden Slumbers" that feel like they were recorded for a project 40 years after 1969. They remind me of that "Eleanor Rigby" strings-only out-take on "Anthology 2" that blew so many away. For sure Discs 2 and 3 are very much for the fan and many may feel they'll never return to them again (so buy the single disc and leave it at that). But as someone who’s cherished this band and this long-playing record for so long, I'm psyched to hear them any old way.

To sum up – I had always expected to be impressed by this 50th Anniversary 2019 edition of "Abbey Road" – but what I hadn’t expected was to be so moved by it. And in the end (if the Fabs will forgive the pun), isn’t that the best recommendation of all. Half-a-century on and here comes the sun again...

PS: 

With a dizzying array of issues to pick from, I've provided a format list below. But fans will notice that although selling sites are not surprisingly trying to differentiate between editions for befuddled customers, the titles on each of these 50th Anniversary releases doesn't actually say DELUXE EDITION or SUPER DELUXE EDITION or even 50th Anniversary anywhere (the sticker ‘titles’ can be a wee bit confusing). And the only way to get Disc 3 of the outtakes on digital is to buy the 4-Disc "Anniversary Edition".

FORMATS (all released 27 September 2019)

1. "Abbey Road: CD Anniversary Edition" - Apple/Universal Music Group International 0602508007439 (Barcode 602508007439) – a single CD version in a foldout tri-gatefold card sleeve with a new booklet – 2019 Remix by Giles Martin and Steve Okell based on the 2009 Stereo version

2. "Abbey Road: 2CD Anniversary Edition" - Apple/UMGI 0602577915079 (Barcode 602577915079) – a 2-CD Version where the second disc offers 16-tracks, a mixture of outakes from the "Abbey Road Sessions" featured on CD2 and CD3 in the Super Deluxe Anniversary Edition. CD2 tracks...

1. Come Together (Take 5)

2. Something (Studio Demo)

3. Maxwell's Silver Hammer (Take 12)

4. Oh! Darling (Take 4)

5. Octopus's Garden (Take 9)

6. I Want You (She's So Heavy) (Trident Recording Session & Reduction Mix)

7. Here Comes The Sun (Take 9)

8. Because (Take 1 - Instrumental)

9. You Never Give Me Your Money (Take 36)

10. Sun King (Take 20)

11. Mean Mr. Mustard (Take 20)

12. Polythene Pam (Take 27)

13. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Take 27)

14. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Takes 1-3)

15. The End (Take 3)

16. Her Majesty (Takes 1-3)

3. "Abbey Road: Anniversary Edition" - Apple/UMGI 0602577921124 (Barcode 602577921124) – A Super Deluxe Edition with 4-Discs, 3CDs and 1BLU RAY inside a 12" x 12" Hard Card Outer Case with a Hardback Book 

4. "Abbey Road" - Apple/UMGI 0602577915123 (Barcode 602577915123) - Single 180 Grams Remastered VINYL LP, Limited Edition. As in keeping with the original 1969 release, neither the rear sleeve nor the label on this 2019 reissue registers "Her Majesty" as a track. EMI have even aligned the APPLE Logo correctly beneath the Side 1 track list. The Giles Martin and Sam Okell Remix and Remaster is based on the 2009 Stereo version

5. "Abbey Road: Anniversary Edition Picture Disc" - Apple/UMGI 0602508048883 (Barcode 602508048883) - a Limited Edition that comes in a die-cut sleeve with the album picture disc artwork showing through, no booklet

6. "Abbey Road: Anniversary Edition" - Apple/UMGI 0602508007446 (Barcode 602508007446) - a Triple VINYL LP DELUXE EDITION in a Box. LP1 is the 2019 remix of the album, LP2 and LP3 carry all 23 of the CD2 and CD3 outtakes from the "Anniversary Edition" DELUXE BOX SET

7. "Abbey Road: Anniversary Edition" - Digital and Streaming Versions with 40 FLAC Files offering all of the Super Deluxe Edition (no catalogue numbers)

"The Who Sell Out: Deluxe Edition" by THE WHO – Third Studio Album from 1967 featuring Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon (June 2009 Polydor/Universal 2-Disc DE Reissue with both Mono and Stereo Mixes and more – Jon Astley and Andy McPherson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Get Saucy..."

Thin Lizzy, Bob Marley & The Wailers and The Who share an unlikely bond - an abundance of 'Deluxe Edition' reissues from Universal (Black Sabbath and Fairport Convention too for that matter). Yet despite such lavish attention, some remain unloved and sulking in the reissue corner of a battered megastore near you.

Patchy album number three for England's favourite reprobates - 1967's "The Who Sell Out" - is more often than not overlooked for the British band's more famous and dare-we-say-it accomplished fare like 1969's "Tommy", 1971's "Who's Next" and 1973's Mod double "Quadrophenia". Why? Not everyone at the time felt the Radio London, Premier Drums and Roto Strings jingles and adverts between the 1967 tracks made it an essential listen but instead more of a gimmick - complete with its silly-billy artwork. And in the cold light of 2018 - even the most rabid Who nut would have to agree that the listen is still unnecessarily awkward - the actual songs on "Sell Out" swamped with unnecessary fluff around them (period charm or no).

But I'd like to argue that for lifetime fans like me (and newcomers alike) - this 2009 'DELUXE EDITION' of "...Sell Out" is a wee bit of a reissue gem for an odd reason. Offering genuinely brilliant Extras on both jam-packed discs (79:10 and 75:55 minutes) - a geezer can rearrange the album into a more coherent listen minus all the clutter (and in STEREO too). And in a world of bloated and overpriced Super Deluxe Editions - this reasonably priced star in a double-CD car is cheap too (usually just above a tenner). There are rivers of baked beans to swim through and underarm deodorants to sniff and whiff - so let's get to the acne spots and loincloth men…here are the details…

UK released Friday, 2 June 2009 - "The Who Sell Out: Deluxe Edition" by THE WHO on Polydor/Universal 5315336 (Barcode 600753153369) is a 53-Track 2CD 'Deluxe Edition Reissue featuring both the Stereo and Mono mixes of the 1967 album and more and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (79:10 minutes):

The Original Stereo Album

1. Armenia City In The Sky

2. Heinz Baked Beans

3. Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand

4. Odorono

5. Tattoo

6. Our Love Was

7. I Can See For Miles

8. I Can't Reach You [Side 2]

9. Medac

10. Relax

11. Silas Stingy

12. Sunrise

13. Rael 1 & 2

Tracks 1 to 13 are the STEREO mix of their third studio album "The Who Sell Out" - released 16 December 1967 in the UK on Track Records 613 002 and December 1967 in the USA on Decca Records DL 74950. Produced by KIT LAMBERT - the album peaked at No. 13 in the UK and No. 48 on the US LP charts. Note: right from the opening song and in between most of the tracks are uncredited Jingles and Adverts from 1967 for varying Radio Stations and Musical Instrument Companies – these are listed in full detail on Pages 22, 23 and 24 of the booklet.

BONUS TRACKS:

14. Rael - Naïve

15. Someone's Coming

16. Early Morning Cold Taxi

17. Jaguar

18. Coke After Coke

19. Glittering Girl

20. Summertime Blues

21. John Mason Cars

22. Girl's Eyes

23. Sodding About

24. Premier Drums (Full Version)

25. Odorono (Final Chorus)

26. Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand (US Mirasound Version)

27. Things Go Better With Coke

28. In The Hall Of The Mountain King

29. Top Gear

30. Rael 1 & 2 (Remake Version)

Tracks 20, 24 and 30 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Tracks 16, 18, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28 and 29 Remastered from Original Mixes

Tracks 14, 15, 17, 19, 25 and 26 are1995 Remastered Remixes by Andy MacPherson and Jon Astley

Disc 2 (75:55 minutes):

The Original Mono Album

1. Armenia City In The Sky

2. Heinz Baked Beans

3. Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand

4. Odorono

5. Tattoo

6. Our Love Was

7. I Can See For Miles

8. I Can't Reach You [Side 2]

9. Medac

10. Relax

11. Silas Stingy

12. Sunrise

13. Rael 1 & 2

Tracks 1 to 13 are the MONO mix of their third studio album "The Who Sell Out" - released 16 December 1967 in the UK on Track Records 612 002 and December 1967 in the USA on Decca Records DL 4950. Produced by KIT LAMBERT - the album peaked at No. 13 in the UK and No. 48 on the US LP charts. Note: right from the opening song and in between most of the tracks are uncredited Jingles and Adverts from 1967 for varying Radio Stations and Musical Instrument Companies – these are listed in full detail on Pages 22, 23 and 24 of the booklet.

BONUS TRACKS

14. Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand (US Single Mono Mix)

15. Someone's Coming (US Single Mono Mix)

16. Relax (Early Demo - Stereo)

17. Jaguar (Original Mono Mix)

18. Glittering Girl (Unreleased Stereo Version)

19. Tattoo (Early Mono Mix)

20. Our Love Was (Take 12 - Unissued Mono Mix)

21. Rotosound Strings (With Final Note - Stereo)

22. I Can See For Miles (Early Mono Mix)

23. Rael (Early Mono Mix)

Tracks 16 and 18 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Tracks 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 Remastered from Original Mixes

The 26-page oversized booklet has new liner notes from ANDY NEILL and a host of period photos - an advert for the American release on Decca Records showing the four boys on both sides of the witty album sleeve (Odorono Deodorant and Heinz Beans etc.) as well as a Jaguar Car advert where we're told their sleek front-grilled sex-o-machine offers 'grace, space and pace...' as well as a photo of Bassist Entwistle being handed a packet of Rotosound Strings by a grateful company-executive. Dave Marsh's liner notes for the July 1995 CD Remasters are repro'd in the first few pages followed by Andy Neill's essay entitled 'More Music'.

Release-delayed a month from November 1967 to December 1967 for copyright clearances of the jingles - legend has it that only 500 copies for each UK Mono and Stereo Track Records LP was released with a stickered sleeve declaring that you just got a 'Free Psychedelic Poster Inside' with your purchase. I mention this because while the Osiris-drawn poster for “I Can See For Miles” is reproduced on Page 8 (they also did the album poster) – it’s a bit of a major oversight not to have that original piece of packaging memorabilia reproduced anywhere in this new otherwise uber-thorough reissue. Where is the rare poster that so few have actually seen? Making up for that though are Stereo and Mono original master tape boxes (ABC Recording Studios) appearing beneath the two see-through CD trays and unseen outtake photos for the album shoot on the four flaps of the card digipak – one showing Daltrey sat in his laden bathtub looking ever so slightly worried as he offers a handful of cold baked beans to the camera (an overspill of red goo on the floor below).

But the big news is new Remasters for both the MONO and STEREO mixes from the original tapes with 11 Previously Unreleased Tracks and Mixes thrown in – long-standing WHO associates JON ASTLEY and ANDY McPHERSON handing the fabulous sounding transfers. Overall - it's very sweetly done. To the music…

"Sell Out" opens with a Radio London jingle where flanged voices urge listeners to keep that dial locked to their station on 'Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...' only to be followed by the blast of Speedy Keen's "Armenia City In The Sky" - THE WHO embracing the sound of the year - 1967 Psychedelia. "...Close your eyes and relax..." the lyrics advise as the band trashes across each speaker. Bassist John Entwistle provides the first real moment of wit-and-wisdom in the 'wots-for-tea darling' minute long "Heinz Beans". Always a highlight "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand" is the first Townshend song where May can't cook and Cindy can't sew but Mary Anne has other much-in-demand skills.

Premier Drums and Radio London provide two blink-and-you-miss-them jingles followed by a Townshend ditty "Odorono" where a lady in a glittering gown can't hide her disappointment at the grubby hands of a false suitor. Daltrey finally emerges as lead vocalist with the wickedly good welcome-to-my-life Townshend song "Tattoo" followed by an RL 'Church of Your Choice' jingle. Shining like a summer morning is how the upbeat "Our Love Was" feels – The Who stretching out musically - a song where the complexity and daring of "Tommy" is already showing. Two more jingles and the clashing cool of "I Can See For Miles" ends Side 1 on a high (an obvious single - and England's 'See For Miles' named their reissue record label after the song).

Side 2 opens with Pete telling us that a Charles Atlas course of body-building can turn you into a beast of man - but he doesn’t sound too convinced. That's followed by his melodic "I Can't Reach You" – an emotional distances song - craning his neck for love but to no avail. Called "Spotted Henry" on the US album, Entwistle provides one minute of acne nonsense in "Medac" (smooth as a baby’s bottom) – far better is "Relax" from Townshend – a firm fan fave and for good reason. Entwistle provides the menacing "Silas Stingy" where a moneybags man gets short-shift – John reckons lying in the gutter is best for him. The Townshend-penned "Sunrise" is the kind of song that many felt was drowned out by the LP's clever-clever jingles – a gorgeous tender acoustic melody far better than the showy gimmickry surrounding it (for me "Sunrise" is a highlight here). The LP ends with five-minutes of "Rael 1 & 2" - an ambitious piece where the band try out new sounds that I feel are unfortunately lost in a cluttered production.

The first nugget amidst the Bonus material comes in the ‘see you here tomorrow’ brassy "Someone’s Coming" – a brilliant song that I feel should have replaced one of the lesser Entwistle songs on Side 2. For that matter "Early Morning Cold Taxi" is the same – another winner with a rare Townshend/Daltrey co-writing credit. "Summertime Blues" would of course become a barnstormer on "Live At Leeds" in 1970 but I'm loving the kick-ass studio version offered here. Other outtakes like "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" and "Sodding About" are dismissible – but I like the slightly sappy "Glittering Girl" and "Girl’s Eyes". Which brings me to 'my' rejiggered version of "Sell Out" playing as follows at a theatre near you (without the jingles):

Side 1:

1. Armenia City In The Sky

2. Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand

3. Tattoo

4. Someone's Coming

5. Our Love Was

6. I Can See For Miles

Side 2:

1. Relax

2. Early Morning Cold Taxi

3. Summertime Blues

4. Silas Stingy

5. Sunrise

6. Rael 1 & 2

Answers, flowers, death threats, specks of bubonic plague…on a postcard please…to...