ABBEY ROAD REVISITED
THOSE WERE THE DAYS
Company: Contra Band Music
Matrix Number: WEC 3907-A / WEC 3907-B
Release Date: September 1973
Country: USA
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SIDE A
1. John intro YOU REALLY GOT A HOLD ON ME 2:54
2. HAVE YOU HEARD THE WORD (incomplete) 2:48
3. dialogue DON'T LET ME DOWN/THOSE WERE THE DAYS 1:31
4. MEAN MR. MUSTARD 0:17
5. ALL TOGETHER ON THE WIRELESS MACHINE :58
6. announcer's intro STEP INSIDE LOVE 2:12
7. dialogue & intro BYE BYE BYE (NICE TIME) 2:35
8. COTTONFIELDS 0:19
9. Paul intro TWIST AND SHOUT 2:37
10. DIZZY MISS LIZZIE 2:46
SIDE B
a copy of RENAISSANCE MINSTRELS I minus track 9
Sound Quality: mono (see individual sources)
Source:
1 to 3, 8 to 10: from MARY JANE (VG)
4: Radio Luxembourg, Kenny Everett jingle, September, 1969 (no Beatle participation) (G)
5: Radio One jingle for Kenny Everett, "Where it's at", aired November 25, 1967 (F)
6: Paul demo, January, 1968 (F)
7: Kenny Everett TV show 1969 (F)
COMMENTARY
A record released together with CAVERN CLUB. In the second half of 1973 CBM started to run out of original material and began releasing repackagings of previous records. However, here are a couple of interesting items: Paul's version of Step Inside Love (later given to Cilla Black), and his jingle for Radio One, unfortunately of only fair quality.
RELEASES
1. September, 1973 (photo below the title). The record was released with a blue insert. The label of the first pressing was white with brown A side indication and the CBM disc logo (this is the only Beatles release that used the white label with brown side indication), and on side B the label was white with a 1" bar in red color. All the copies that were seen have this combination of labels.
Late, 1973. The subsequent pressings were produced at the same plants as the first one, and they had the orange label used at the time. After the producer moved from Virginia to Minnesota, in October 1973, the company started using the new pressing plants (see the different pressing marks here below, on left the ring at 7 mm, on right the ring at 12 mm from the hole and with a second ring at 32 mm) and the label that they used was the blue one with A/B side indications and the disc logo in black, or a white blank label.
In December, 1973 and January, 1974 the records had the white label with red pirate, and the insert had the number 3907 added on top left. The inner sleeve was made of brown paper, as was customary at the time.
Summer 1974, 1975 and 1976. In summer 1974 the releases had the green label with black pirate, and the jacket had the J. Fish drawing printed on the back. In spring 1975 the records had orange or red King Kong labels, that were replaced with blank white labels in the second half of 1975; the insert had always the 3907 number on the top left. In early 1976 the insert was again without the number and the label was red with black pirate.
INTEREST. The first release has interest for specialized collectors (***), the remaining releases are mainly for completists **/*.
Side A was repressed on the compilation CAVERN DAYS - SUPER STUDIO SERIES 5, coupled with Side A of CAVERN CLUB.
THE WIZARDO REKORDS RELEASE
A copy of this record was pressed by Wizardo Rekords on matrix WRMB 353-A / WRMB 353-B, titled ABBEY ROAD REVISITED. We saw the following issues:
Spring 1976. Wizardo Collector's Special blue/red labels, rectangular insert on white or pink paper, with number on bottom right, black or blue vinyl with black speckles. In late 1976 the records had Cat 'n' Dog labels and the vinyl was black. Some later pressings released in late 1976 or early 1977 had white blank labels. All these records were pressed at the Lewis plant.
A copy of this record was pressed by Wizardo Rekords on matrix WRMB 353-A / WRMB 353-B, titled ABBEY ROAD REVISITED. We saw the following issues:
21
Company: Melvin Records MM-02
Martix Number: 105-1 340 / OVL 105-2 340
Relesae Date: late 1975
Country: USA
SIDE A
1. THE HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE
2. TO KNOW HER IS TO LOVE HER (incomplete)
3. I'M GONNA SIT RIGHT DOWN AND CRY (OVER YOU)
4. SOME OTHER GUY
5. LOVE OF THE LOVED
6. LUCILLE
7. CRYING WAITING HOPING
8. A SHOT OF RHYTHM AND BLUES
9. SURE TO FALL (IN LOVE WITH YOU)
10. SHOUT!
11. HAVE YOU HEARD THE WORD
SIDE B
12. HONEY HUSH
13. COMMONWEALTH
14. GET OFF (jam)
15. CAN YOU DIG IT (jam)
16. SUZY PARLOUR
17. BESAME MUCHO
18. COTTONFIELDS
19. MOVE IT/GOOD ROCKING TONIGHT
20. JAZZ PIANO SONG
21. THE WALK
22. WHAT'S THE NEW MARY JANE (incomplete)
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sound quality: variable, inferior to the original
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source (all tracks taken from previously released records):
1: BBC radio “Saturday Club”, June 29, 1963
2, 3, 7: BBC radio "Pop go the Beatles", August 6, 1963
4: Liverpool Cavern Club, August 22, 1962
5: Decca Studios, Jan 1, 1962
6: BBC radio “Pop Go the Beatles”, September 17, 1963
8: BBC radio "Pop go the Beatles", August 27, 1963
9: BBC radio "Pop go the Beatles", September 24, 1963
10:Associated Rediffusion "Around the Beatles", May 6, 1964
11: the Fut, 1970 (no Beatles involvement)
12 to 15, 19: Twickenham Studios: January 1969
16, 17, 20: from LET IT BE movie Soundtrack
18: EMI Studios, June 5, 1968, Kenny Everett interview
21: Apple studios, January 27, 1969
22: unreleased Plastic Ono Band single, December 5, 1969
COMMENTS
The second release by Melvin Records appeared a few weeks after their first record. Again, a musically useless compilation, taken from many previously released bootlegs, even including several tracks already used for the first Melvin record. See THEIR GREATEST UNRELEASED for some remarks on the company.
RELEASES
The second Melvin record was distributed with the insert pasted on the front cover derived from the White Album inserts and that pasted on the back cover derived from the Butcher Cover, with the track listing. Three different versions were made, one with covers and labels printed on tan/yellowish paper, one on green paper and one on red paper; one copy seen had green front cover, yellow back cover, and yellow labels. According to the producers of 21, the first pressing had the tan cover and there were 500 copies (photo below the title).
Some copies of the first batch had white or light blue plain labels, and the insert, in a smaller size, used the front cover with the track listing from the back cover of the first version on yellow paper. These might be the last copies of the first version, when Melvin had run out of the custom labels.
The second pressing had the green cover and labels and was pressed in 100 copies.
About 50 copies of the "green" version of 21 were mistakenly pressed from the stampers of Melvin MM-01, THEIR GREATEST UNRELEASED. At least a part of these copies had a second insert, with the correct track listing - i.e., the track listing of MM-01.
The last version had the red cover and labels and was pressed in 100 copies. The records were pressed from new masters numbered 21 Side “1 340 / 21 Side “2 340.
INTEREST. Another much sought-after record, even if not as rare as the first item of the Melvin company (***/**** tan cover; **** green and red cover; ***** green cover with MM-01 LP).
INTEREST. Nothing very particular here. Interesting for collectors of the Wizardo releases. ***/**
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