Move over, Ms L!

Hi all, wondering why you are looking at this jumbled up page? This is due to the fact that Facebook didn't like our url since it starts with wog, so we have been forced to move the blog. This was some time ago, and we have placed a script which would automatically send you to our new location. Obviously, this hasn't worked for all of you, since we have just finished moderating some of your comments which appeared on this site recently, and not on our new (and improved!) site. So what we're saying is head on over to our new site, and update your bookmarks!

Thursday 19 October 2017

More coloured vinyl from Macca

New single in 2 versions from Paul.
And the Christmas spirit keeps visiting the blog. Back in 2012 in conjunction with Record Store Day's "Black Friday", Paul McCartney released a Christmas single in two versions, on red and green vinyl. The single featured "Christmas Kisses (The Christmas Song)", backed with "Wonderful Christmastime".

The 2012 Christmas single has become expensive.
Today this is a collector's item which can sell for up to $50. Next Record Store Black Friday on November 24, Paul is set to release two more singles featuring "Wonderful Christmastime" on respectively red and green vinyl. The former is backed with Norah Jones' version of "Peace", the latter has The Decemberists' rendition of "Jesus Christ". Paul's own song is a version featuring Paul himself, Jimmy Kimmel and The Roots. Will it be as collectable? Limited to 3500 for each colour, but as usual we have no idea whether this is a worldwide figure, or if it's just the North American quantities.

Links:
Green
Red

Video:

Wednesday 11 October 2017

New book about drugs and The Beatles

Joe Gooden's book, "Riding So High".
‘Who gave the drugs to the Beatles? I didn’t invent those things. I bought it from someone who got it from somebody. We never invented the stuff.’ – John Lennon

Riding So High charts the Beatles’ extraordinary odyssey from teenage drinking and pill-popping, to cannabis, LSD, the psychedelic Summer of Love and the darkness beyond.
Drugs were central to the Beatles’ story from the beginning. The acid, pills and powders helped form bonds, provided escape from the chaos of Beatlemania, and inspired colossal leaps in songwriting and recording. But they also led to break-ups, breakdowns, drug busts and prison.

The only full-length study of the Beatles and drugs, Riding So High tells of getting stoned, kaleidoscope eyes, excess, loss and redemption, with a far-out cast including speeding Beatniks, a rogue dentist, a script-happy aristocratic doctor, corrupt police officers and Hollywood Vampires.

‘The deeper you go, the higher you fly…’
Whether you're a stoner, straight-edge or somewhere in between, you won't want to miss this. Riding So High – The Beatles and Drugs. 113,413 words. 9 October 2017.

Joe also runs The Beatles' Bible, possibly the greatest online Beatles resource.

Links:
Ebook
Paperback

Thursday 5 October 2017

Ringo's Christmas album returns

Ringo's 1999 Christmas album 
Looks like someone is in Christmas spirits, because September 22 Ringo Starr's album "I Wanna Be Santa Claus" (or the Santa Claus album, "I Wanna Be Ringo Starr") was released on vinyl by Mercury Records. We heartily recommend this album! After this album, Starr was to leave Mercury after they had done no promotion for it, which in turn resulted in little sales.
This is the first vinyl edition of the album, as it was originally only available on CD and cassette.

  1. "Come On Christmas, Christmas Come On" (Richard Starkey, Mark Hudson, Dean Grakal) – 3:36
  2. "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith) – 2:55
  3. "I Wanna Be Santa Claus" (Starkey, Hudson, Dick Monda) – 3:46
    • features Timothy B. Schmit on backing vocals
  4. "The Little Drummer Boy" (Harry Simeone, Henry Onorati, Katherine K. Davis) – 3:19
    • features Timothy B. Schmit on backing vocals
  5. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Johnny Marks) – 2:21
  6. "Christmas Eve" (Starkey, Hudson) – 4:26
  7. "The Christmas Dance" (Starkey, Hudson, Jim Cox, Steve Dudas) – 4:06
    • followed by studio chatter in between this and the following track
  8. "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" (George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Richard Starkey) – 4:06
    • originally recorded by The Beatles in 1967 for their annual Christmas record for members of their fan club
    • features Joe Perry on guitar solo
  9. "Blue Christmas" (Bill Hayes, Jay Johnson) – 2:58
  10. "Dear Santa" (Starkey, Hudson, Dudas) – 5:12
  11. "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) – 2:56
    • features Timothy B. Schmit on backing vocals
    • followed by a short violin piece in between this and the following track
  12. "Pax Um Biscum (Peace Be with You)" (Starkey, Hudson, Scott Gordon) – 4:46

Wednesday 4 October 2017

Paul McCartney on coloured vinyl


8 albums from Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney and Wings are being reissued worldwide on CD, 180-gram heavyweight vinyl and limited edition coloured vinyl.

No bonus tracks, just the regular album songs. The CD editions will be priced lower than regular CDs. The reasoning behind the release: McCartney's change of label from Hear Music to Capitol Records. These are the same albums that were released by Hear Music in the ongoing Archive series, except that Wings Over America is not here:

01-McCARTNEY:
CD
REGULAR LP
RED VINYL LIMITED EDITION


02-RAM
CD
REGULAR LP
YELLOW VINYL LIMITED EDITION

03-BAND ON THE RUN
CD
REGULAR LP
WHITE VINYL LIMITED EDITION

04-VENUS AND MARS
CD
REGULAR LP
RED/YELLOW VINYL LIMITED EDITION

05-WINGS AT THE SPEED OF SOUND
CD
REGULAR LP
ORANGE VINYL LIMITED EDITION

06-McCARTNEY II
CD
REGULAR LP
CLEAR VINYL LIMITED EDITION

07-TUG OF WAR
CD
REGULAR LP
BLUE VINYL LIMITED EDITION

08-PIPES OF PEACE
CD
REGULAR LP
SILVER VINYL LIMITED EDITION

The colour vinyl collection.

Press Release
THE PAUL McCARTNEY ARCHIVE COLLECTION
COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION NOVEMBER 17, 2017
EIGHT TITLES TO BE RE-RELEASED VIA MPL/Capitol/UMe
FEATURING LIMITED EDITION 180g COLOR VINYL PRESSINGS

Paul McCartney: McCartney, McCartney II,  Tug Of War, Pipes Of Peace
Paul and Linda McCartney: Ram
Paul McCartney and Wings: Band On The Run
Wings: Venus And Mars, At The Speed Of Sound

Paul McCartney’s critically acclaimed and multiple Grammy Award-winning Archive Collection will offer fans another chance to complete their collections on November 17, 2017. That date will see the MPL/Capitol/UMe reissues of the first eight Archive Collection titles in affordable single CD digipak and 180 gram black vinyl single LP formats—as well as limited edition 180 gram color vinyl pressings. All vinyl LPs in the Archive Collection will feature a download card and fully restored artwork. The titles and corresponding limited edition vinyl colors are as follows:

Paul McCartney: McCartney - RED
Paul McCartney: McCartney II - CLEAR
Paul McCartney: Tug Of War - BLUE
Paul McCartney: Pipes Of Peace - SILVER
Paul and Linda McCartney: Ram - YELLOW
Paul McCartney and Wings: Band On The Run - WHITE
Wings: Venus And Mars - RED & YELLOW
Wings: At The Speed Of Sound - ORANGE

The Paul McCartney Archive Collection debuted with the November 2, 2010 re-release of Paul McCartney & Wings’ 1973 milestone Band on the Run, which won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Historical Album, while the Archive Collection’s Deluxe Edition Box Set of the 1976 classic Wings Over America took the 2013 Grammy for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. The most recent installment was this year’s reissue of Paul’s eighth studio album Flowers In The Dirt, which ROLLING STONE called “spectacular…  an extraordinary document,” and the OBSERVER hailed as "perhaps the greatest record to emerge from the world of AOR in 1989... an absolute pleasure to rediscover today."

Every release in the ongoing Paul McCartney Archive Collection is supervised by Paul himself, who oversees all aspects of each and every title from remastering to the curation of lost tracks, outtakes, artwork, photographs and video from his personal vaults, and much more. The result is one of the most ambitious and personal undertakings of its kind, one that encompasses more than 40 years of cherished, classic material from the most successful songwriter and recording artist in music history.

TRACKLISTING

McCartney
The Lovely Linda
That Would Be Something
Valentine Day
Every Night
Hot As Sun / Glasses
Junk
Man We Was Lonely
Oo You
Momma Miss America
Teddy Boy
Singalong Junk
Maybe I'm Amazed
Kreen-Akrore

RAM
Too Many People
3 Legs
Ram On
Dear Boy
Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey
Smile Away
Heart Of The Country
Monkberry Moon Delight
Eat At Home
Long Haired Lady
Ram On [reprise]
The Back Seat Of My Car

Band on the Run
Band On The Run
Jet
Bluebird
Mrs. Vandebilt
Let Me Roll It
Mamunia
No Words
Picasso's Last Words (Drink To Me)
Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five

Venus and Mars
Venus And Mars
Rock Show
Love In Song
You Gave Me The Answer
Magneto And Titanium Man
Letting Go
Venus And Mars [reprise]
Spirits Of Ancient Egypt
Medicine Jar
Call Me Back Again
Listen To What The Man Said
Treat Her Gently - Lonely Old People
Crossroads

At The Speed of Sound
Let 'Em In
The Note You Never Wrote
She's My Baby
Beware My Love
Wino Junko
Silly Love Songs
Cook Of The House
Time To Hide
Must Do Something About It
San Ferry Anne
Warm And Beautiful

McCartney II
Coming Up
Temporary Secretary
On The Way
Waterfalls
Nobody Knows
Front Parlour
Summer's Day Song
Frozen Jap
Bogey Music
Darkroom
One Of These Days

Tug of War
Tug Of War
Take It Away
Somebody Who Cares
What's That You're Doing
Here Today
Ballroom Dancing
The Pound Is Sinking
Wanderlust
Get It
Be What You See
Dress Me Up As A Robber
Ebony And Ivory

Pipes of Peace
Pipes Of Peace
Say Say Say
The Other Me
Keep Under Cover
So Bad
The Man
Sweetest Little Show
Average Person
Hey Hey
Tug Of Peace
Through Our Love


Bundle of all titles on colour vinyl
So, does this mean that the Archive series is continuing? We hope so!

Tuesday 3 October 2017

End of the line for Charlie T jr

Charlie T joins his fellow Wilburies, Nelson and Lefty.
Another member of George Harrison's old supergroup, The Traveling Wilburys has died. Tom Petty, also known as Charlie T Wilbury jr, died peacefully in a hospital in Los Angeles, Monday the 2nd October at 8.40pm local time. He had been rushed to the hospital after having been found lifeless at home. Petty had previously been open and outspoken about his problems with heroin addiction.
Petty was friendly with George Harrison and Ringo Starr,  and his band The Heartbreakers backed Bob Dylan on his 1986 and '87 tours.

Petty has been a central American rock artist since the late seventies, with hits like "American Girl", "Free Fallin'" and "I Won't Back Down". His first major album success with The Heartbreakers was "Damn The Torpedoes" in 1979.

His solo album "Full Moon Fever" lifted him to new heights ten years later, following Petty's membership in on of rock's biggest superstar groups, The Traveling Wilburys, together with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne. Now there's just two of them left on earth. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers finished their last tour just a week ago at the Hollywood Bowl.