Dave Dexter, Capitol and the Beatles

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Bill, Mar 26, 2019.

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  1. Bern

    Bern JC4Me

    Location:
    Allegan, Michigan
  2. jmxw

    jmxw Fab Forum Fan

    [I almost hate to wade into this quagmire, but I will...]

    I'm not sure what your point is there, but it seems a bit muddled to me.

    Capitol did not produce fewer hits, but in fact, pulled many songs that were not on British singles to be 45s:
    I'll Cry Instead / I'm Happy Just To Dance With You
    And I Love Her / If I Fell
    Matchbox / Slow Down
    Eight Days A Week / I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
    Yesterday / Act Naturally
    Roll Over Beethoven / Misery
    Boys / Kansas City
    Nowhere Man / What Goes On

    The in the 1960's demographics were different. It's a bit oversimplified, but the gist is:
    In the US kids bought singles and adults bought LPs. In the UK everyone bought everything.
    In the US adults felt ripped off if the current single did not appear on the LP. In the UK people felt ripped off if the current single appeared on the LP.

    [drops mic]
     
  3. jmxw

    jmxw Fab Forum Fan

    I won't go into the merits of Dexter's manipulations of the recordings. I grew up with the American ones.

    I know Dave wasn't directly responsible for these mixes [although George Martin's reverb-drenched mix was almost certainly a response to Dexter's US versions of the Beatles tracks], but it was a huge revelation to hear I Feel Fine and She's A Woman in [UK] mixes that were not murky echo-plastered messes on Past Masters in 1988....
     
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  4. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    What he did prior to working with the Beatles is not relevant to his handling of the Beatles (which is the topic of this thread). Past accomplishments do not somehow mitigate his failure to recognize the potential of the Beatles or his mis-handling of their catalog. To use a sports analogy, that would be like saying we can't criticize how Michael Jordan played with the Bullets because of his great accomplishments while with the Bulls. No one here is criticizing Dexter's career as a whole... the criticism is directed only at his handling of the Beatles.
     
  5. PRW94

    PRW94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Southeast
    That is a fair assessment.

    I do think people were going a little overboard with stuff like "fat ego and mangler of music."
     
  6. PRW94

    PRW94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Southeast
    I generally don't get argumentative in forums like this, don't have the time or inclination, but the one thing I will strongly protest is ascribing musical tunnel vision to me.

    My musical tastes span everything from classical to Gregorian chants to Bulgarian folk songs with every possible incarnation of rock and roll in between. My musical collection has the same breadth. I like and listen to everything, literally everything. If I had a playlist it might go from "Get Away Jordan" by The Statesmen to "Cuban Fire" by Stan Kenton to "Helter Skelter" by The Beatles to "Goin' Steady" by Faron Young to Vaughan Williams' Third Symphony to Pink Floyd to Dylan and The Band's Basement Tapes to Julie London to The Weavers to The Who to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to the Grateful Dead to Charlie Rich to innumerable Broadway show tune albums to Ernest Tubb.

    The reason for my posts is the whole attitude that I detect ... and if I'm in the ether, so be it, not the first time I've been there and won't be the last ... is that this guy is Satan incarnate and beyond redemption and burning in a pot of sulfur somewhere for the fact that he had the audacity to mess with THE BEATLES (a group which as I said I revere down to the DNA in my bone marrow) and because he was tone deaf to what was happening in rock across the Atlantic in 1964.

    Neither was a capital crime or a mortal sin.
     
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  7. bluejimbop

    bluejimbop Thumb Toe Heel Toe

    Location:
    Castro Valley, CA
    Pssst ... you forgot the hide under chair emoticon. ;)
     
  8. Bern

    Bern JC4Me

    Location:
    Allegan, Michigan
    I perhaps could have phrased it somewhat better..I'll admit.
     
  9. PRW94

    PRW94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Southeast
    No prob. It's all good. Like the music. ;)
     
  10. PRW94

    PRW94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Southeast
    He shouldn't have to.

    The Beatles themselves knew how cool those folks Dexter brought to Capitol were.

    It's all music ... it's all good.
     
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  11. bluejimbop

    bluejimbop Thumb Toe Heel Toe

    Location:
    Castro Valley, CA
    *passes hand over forehead*
    Whooosh!
     
  12. Rock66

    Rock66 Forum Resident

    My question to you is "How many singles are there on the UK Albums vs the US Albums?" If UK<US you got my point.
     
    Keith V likes this.
  13. Rock66

    Rock66 Forum Resident

    See, you got my point!
     
    Keith V likes this.
  14. jmxw

    jmxw Fab Forum Fan

    Well, if your criteria is "how many singles are there per album" then 1 should be your favorite. Followed by Past Masters and Red/Blue...

    But then you'd be missing out on the deep glories of the White Album and Sgt. Pepper. And you must think the albums with only one single on them [Abbey Road, Revolver, etc.] are much less entertaining.

    I could not agree less... but to each his/her own.
     
  15. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    Let’s not forget, a good deal of early UK albums HAD to have singles on them for one reason or another. Consequently, Please Please Me, Hard Day’s Night, and Help are IMHO more satisfying than With the Beatles or Beatles for Sale.
     
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  16. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    ah ha ha!
     
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  17. ShockControl

    ShockControl Bon Vivant and Raconteur!

    Location:
    Lotus Land
    Preferring Nat, Frank, Duke, Peggy Lee, and Stan Kenton to the Beatles does not require hiding under a chair, in my circles, at least. ;)
     
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  18. Bill

    Bill Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    It does, however, raise the question of why such a discriminating music fan is commenting in a....sniff....Beatles thread. As Stan once sang, seems that there's a whole lot of thread crappin' going on.
     
    nikh33 likes this.
  19. ShockControl

    ShockControl Bon Vivant and Raconteur!

    Location:
    Lotus Land
    I am commenting on a Dave Dexter thread, not a Beatles thread. It raises the question of why some members can't read thread titles.
     
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  20. Bill

    Bill Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    I composed that title, my friend: Dave Dexter, Capitol and the Beatles. My initial post makes it clear what this is about, as does the article I linked. Read them.
     
  21. bluejimbop

    bluejimbop Thumb Toe Heel Toe

    Location:
    Castro Valley, CA
    I give up.
     
  22. Sidewinder43

    Sidewinder43 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lavaca County, TX
    George Martin picked the tracks and sequencing on the early albums. So, if anything, it was against Martin's "artistic intentions."
     
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  23. Sidewinder43

    Sidewinder43 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lavaca County, TX
    The UK She's a Woman sounds like a demo to me compared to the USA mono single.
     
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  24. Gems-A-Bems

    Gems-A-Bems Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Duke City
    I certainly wasn’t. I was talking about Dexter’s musical tunnel vision. That’s why I said “his” when I replied to your post rather than “your”.
     
  25. Bill

    Bill Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    As the OP here, I regret the tone this thread has taken. I suggest that the ad hominem stuff stop. We are talking about the music we all love. No need for this ugliness.
    Thanks for considering the foregoing.
     
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