The Beatles: "Hey Bulldog"

Okay, we'll start with the truly embarrassing part: we'd never really given "Hey Bulldog" a listen. The reasoning is rather strange, and bit meandering. First, there's the fact that it's not on any of the "real" Beatles record: the song was only issued as part of the Yellow Submarine soundtrack. As such, it didn't get any play in our standard spins of Beatles wax. What's more (and this is the truly silly part), for some reason we thought it was a cover. It's hard to say why exactly; maybe it's all the covers the band was doing in the Let It Be era, or maybe it's just the silly title. Regardless, the fact remains that "Hey Bulldog" was waiting in the wings, and now that we've given it some attention, well, oh my.

Our attention returned to the track with the reissue of The Beatles' catalog back in September. Picking up the discs led to a summary listen (straight through) of the band's entire catalog, and that meant exposure to a lot of the band's music that we had perhaps considered "tier two". And frankly, we're glad that it did: listening to some of the band's older records that were perhaps less "innovative", you realize they were kicking ass from day one. Not that it's exactly a shock, but sometimes it's nice to have a little validation of the mainstream assumptions.

Fast forward to the end of our listening marathon, and the record Mono Masters 2. The second disc of the band's singles collections, the album is a virtual greatest hits record. But there's a catch: The Beatles put very few of their singles on actual records, so while Mono Masters is loaded with hits, none of them are on the actual records! When you realize how many Beatles tunes there are that aren't even on actual records, well, it's rather astounding.

But, back to our focus: "Hey Bulldog". The tune sits at the end of Mono Masters 2, and despite having blindly skipped it so many times, we were on a listening marathon, so we sat with open ears. And we were astounded. This was no cover, this was no cheesy 1950's ripoff, it was a sweet, sick, Beatles jam of the best kind. The informed among you (no doubt) will be shaking your heads, but we'll be frank: we could give a shit. Discovering this track was like discovering a long lost friend we never knew we had. It's The Beatles at their creative peak, and moreover at their silly, unencumbered best. In short, it's fantastic.

The track is driven by a classic piano riff and a duet of Lennon/McCartney vocals. Combined with a fantastic bluesy melody and guitar line, the tune simply exudes the best in carefree rock and roll. Even better is that as the track continues, it gradually becomes looser and looser, while still managing not to lose any of its rock solid structure. As the track draws to a close, McCartney and Lennon devolve into comedic barking, and then the band returns in full. In short, it's a sonic tour de force.

The track (apparently) was put in the can after recording, and only resurfaced a few years as the need for new material arose. As such, the record company put together an after-the-fact video of the band recording the song in studio (see above), and the rest, as they say, is history.

In general, we'd advise staying on top of your shit: pay attention, listen carefully, and don't make presumptions. But, sometimes, the reverse can be true. Sure, we could be bummed that we only just now came upon "Hey Bulldog", but the fact of the matter is that it's sort of a gift. The Beatles haven't been making music for almost forty years, and despite the fact that they keep leaking progressively more studio material, they're never going to record anything truly new. So, that being said, we'll take whatever chance we can get to stumble into a Lennon/McCartney composition with reckless abandon, even if it means having been in the dark for far too long.

mp3: The Beatles - Hey Bulldog

The Dandy Warhols Cover "Blackbird"

In perhaps the most auxiliary turn of events resulting from the death of Michael Jackson, The Dandy Warhols have indeed covered "Blackbird".

For those not aware, on the opening track to Welcome To The Monkeyhouse, the Dandies promised "when Michael Jackson dies, we're covering "Blackbird"". Presumably this was in reference to Jackson's rather obnoxious purchase of the Beatles' catalog rights from under Paul McCartney's nose many years back, and a desire to deny Jackson any royalties.

Well, now here we are post-Jackson-mortem, and The Dandies have lived up to their promise. Ironically, the event also comes right on the heels of the band re-releasing their alternate version of Monkeyhouse entitled "The Dandy Warhols Are Sound". The cover of "Blackbird" is now being included as a bonus with the purchase of the new record.

We gave the track (which you can hear below) a listen, and we have to say we're a little bummed. It's such a straight-ahead cover, with Zia on vocals a highly manipulated Courtney Taylor Taylor on vocals and a bunch of layered synths, that it never seems to really go anywhere or do anything. Granted, the original is pretty mellow as well, but we were kind of hoping the Dandies would push it to another level. That being said, at least they kept their promise!

Beatles Remaster Awesomeness Ramps Up

The Beatles' catalog has been long-lamented for its first generation digital technology. Specifically, the current CD's are the same ones made from masters way back in 1988, and no upgrade has been made in those 20+ years. While other seminal rock artists like Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones have gotten complete catalog remasters to much acclaim, the fab four have been left high and dry.

The only taste of remastering listeners have gotten was the 2006 mashup album Love, for which George Martin and his son had access to the master tapes. While the record sounded fantastic, it was certainly not canonical material, and many fans questioned the relevance of its mashup quality. What it did do, however, was offer insight into just how good the band's catalog could sound, given the right treatment.

Well, now that's about to all change. Word has come down the wire that the bands full catalog has undergone a remaster, and will be available on September 9th of this year. The remasters will be an all-out affair, covering the band's mono and stereo material, and offering up mini documentaries about the making of the records. What's more, the artwork is being redone with original quality scans, and a box set entitled Box Of Vision will be released featuring LP size artwork.

While we tend to be skeptical of certain remasters as money making tools, this is one remaster that will be worth your while. To hear these records with their full dynamic range in place is not only going to be audibly noticeable, but we're guessing emotional as well. Frankly, we can't wait. Meanwhile, you can head to the band's web site and check out a preview clip of the Revolver documentary. Yum.

The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper In Mono: Yeah, It's Pretty Damn Good

After reading this post on Gizmodo back in April, we couldn't help but start digging around to find some Sergeant Pepper's mono rips from the vinyl. And find it we did: the rip is happily waiting on the internet in a torrent of questionable legality. But, to be frank, it's the only way to get the tracks aside from a (pricey) original slab of vinyl, so we were willing to take the risk. Was it worth it? Yes. Was it better than stereo? Debatable.

The argument behind the mono mix being "better" is a pretty simple one: the band and George Martin were present for the mono mix, and much longer was spent on it than the stereo mix. Apparently many argue that the stereo mix was still novelty at this point, and so it's almost meaningless. However, that misses some facts that are certainly important, if not crucial.

First, the stereo mix was created by Geoff Emerick. Now, while certainly not a Beatle, Emerick is a producer and engineer of quite a bit of reknown. It's not as though he walked in off the street and made a mix. He was present during all of the recordings and intimately involved with the record. Second, what defines a "novelty" mix? Any mix puts the music in new light, so is one mix more "important" than another? It seems far more fitting to define a mix as being truer to the artist's vision, which may be true of the mono mix in this case. That being said, to trivialize the stereo mix seems to ignore the fact that clearly someone thought it was true to the album's character, or they wouldn't have mixed it that way.

So, caveats aside, what do you get with the mono mix? Well, in short, you get a different mix. Yes, many sources glamorize it as the "true" mix, or "infinitely more exciting", or "the way it was meant to be", but those all seem like rather extreme opinions. The reality is that the record is noticeably different, but questionable in its superiority. Yes, the guitars certainly rock harder, which is actually quite nice. The instrumental emphasis is also quite different, and most of the songs take on a different character that has a bit more oomph to it. Perhaps most notable is the mix of "She's Leaving Home", which, with a different tape speed and key, has a completely different feel.

It's very hard to say what makes a release "true" to the original vision. Every year, record companies pile on release after release of reimagined, remixed, and remastered reissues. In an attempt to take advantage of new technologies, these versions offer the listener a new and exciting view into the music. Is the surround sound mix of Young Americans the original vision? Obviously not, as the technology didn't exist then. Still, it's pretty damn cool. Even the Beatles have jumped on the bandwagon, with the Love album being released in DVD-Audio, and George Martin extolling the format's virtues.

So, that being said, we're uncertain where all this concept of the "true" mix comes from. A mix is a dynamic beast, and we wonder what these same listeners would be saying had the stereo mix of Pepper never existed. Would they be begging for one, in order to add to the dynamics and instrumental separation of the mix? It makes you wonder.

We're just glad to have another way to hear one of our favorite albums. The Beatles created some of the most fantastic records of all time, and we wouldn't mind if we got to hear them ten different ways, let alone two. Getting to hear one of their records in a new light is frankly, enough of a treat to satisfy us for quite a while, "true" mix or otherwise. We have no idea when this mix will see official release, so if you find yourself wanting to hear a new take on Sergeant Pepper, we recommend you do just that. Mono or stereo, it's The Beatles, people. Were you expecting it to suck?

New Beatles Track On The Horizon

Well, this is just cool. Apparently an unreleased, epic, 14 minute psychedelic experimental Beatles track called "Carnival Of Light" is in the vaults - and Paul McCartney wants to release it. The track has only been played once, at a music festival in 1967. From descriptions of those who have heard it, it's apparently a large mass of random noise and music, formed largely in an improvisational bent. A new album of lovely songs it is not.

In light of his new Fireman release, McCartney is apparently feeling a bit insecure about his experimental rock cred - and thinks this would solidify it. We have to admit, Sir Paul's rep certainly does roll more in the category of "Silly Love Songs", but to be frank, we're not sure one release from 1967 would change all that. The guy still wrote some of the most accessible, poppy, fantastic music ever created. The Guardian UK has the full story.

In the meantime, we're still waiting for 24 bit remasters of The Beatles catalogue. Please?