I wonder if they’ll put a countdown on that website similar to POB. The last reissue came out in April 2021 and so with early signs of STINYC now visible, I wonder if we are looking at a similar late Spring release. The 50th anniversary would be in June 2022.
Thanks and back at ya! If there was a Beatles version Jeopardy! TV show, I could hold my own, but when I watch the “regular” show.. the big winners who are on for weeks at a time would wipe me out.
That is the joy that these Ultimate/Archive boxes present for the group or solo albums, a chance to listen again to stuff that was not a fave first time around. Also it gives a chance to hear period outtakes/rehearsals/demos etc. I will say the John Ultimate box sets so far (Imagine, Gimme Some Truth, and Plastic Ono Band) are true box set/immersive experiences, but the Paul Archive sets have greatly improved over time with more and more unreleased tracks being included as the series goes on.
Other than the All Things Must Pass box, which I bought the deluxe version, I’ve been happy with the two CD versions of all the other solo reissues. The gold standard one for me was the 2 CD Red Rose Speedway one, which works as an actual double album experience for me. But getting back to your point, these various reissues drive me back to listening to my sometimes neglected original albums and then the various outtake things issued over the years so that’s always enjoyable . It’s like visiting with old friends I haven’t kept in touch with for awhile. I’m going to crank up my original Sometime in New York City vinyl right now, for the first time in probably 30 years or so!
All of these sets in these series are being called 'The Ultimate Mixes", because they are new remizes. There will be the usual offering of demos / alternate takes too.
For me the big weak link is EMB what a loose sloppy and shoddy outfit. Lennon needed a tight more together band imho
For me the studio album always seemed a bit musically shambolic and rushed, even lyrically in places, but that appeals to me. That’s why I am looking forward to the Ultimate version so much as I want to hear the creative process and the outtakes (hopefully there’s a bunch) and they intrigue me. I suppose I like the album in so much as it demonstrates John & Yoko’s versatility.
I actually like a lot of the album too and look forward to the element mixes and hopefully demos. Some good songs badly presented in their final form.
You know this to be true jl51080, or you are making a guess ? To paraphrase Glen saying he didn't like the album on first listen. I can say I hated it as young teen or preteen. But I love it now. In my case I sought out all the non lp tracks ( Happy Xmas etc ) even edited remixed a few. Not anti Yoko at all, just More Lennon is what I wanted. I have a version of Luck of the Irish with only John on lead vocals...not to be anti Yoko, but just wanting more John songs...did something similar on Attica State re-eqing, & flying in part of a different take, to make it more of a Lennon vocal... I don't disagree with fans that say Yoko's songs are as good as Lennon's on this album. They could be, & her singing on this album is pretty straight forward, traditional, no experimental caterwauling...I just happen to be A Lennon fan & Beatles-solo Beatles fan...and STINYC only offers 3 tracks of solo John vocals & 4 John-Yoko duets. In its official released form in 1972. In recent years they started adding Happy Xmas which offers a 'mostly' Lennon vocal. The boots & gray area stuff I've heard from this album, have NOT included any additional Lennon or Ono originals, but there are studio recordings of at least 15 oldies, Elvis tunes, Chuck Berry, and with a bit of mastering, editing, remixing ( if possible ) several of them are probably good enough to sit as extra studio bonus tracks in the set. There is a rocking Lennon Hound Dog 50 times better than the concert version. The only problem with it, Yoko is doing that really loud squealing/singing , while Lennon does a searing vocal & Elephants Memory a searing backing....if they can just either mute or reduce her squealing...there is also a good take of the oldie Caribbean, an obscure tune, but I think he just sings one verse & repeats it. There are also guitar/vocal demos to most of the songs. There are 3 short demos of Lennon singing different lyrics to Angela, but sadly not in the right key. As someone else mentioned...there is a ton of 71-72 live stuff besides the Madison Square garden concerts Lennon performs with Yoko and Elephants Memory on Mike Douglas tv show, David Frost TV Show, & Dick Cavett show, & Crisler arena in Michigan, Apollo theater in New York & Jerry Lewis telethon...among other things, there is a live John Sinclair, Luck Of The Irish & New York City, It's So Hard, at least 2 or 3 duets with Chuck Berry, lots of stuff. 2 or 3 live acoustic Attica State performances... I hope there is more I don't know about. I'm dying for a solo Lennon vocal on Angela & Attica State, Yoko is great, I'd just like to hear Lennon sing them. They can do solo Yoko mixes too, fine by me.
I played my rip of the Japanese mini sleeve sacd of STINYC from 2014 although I did not play the old side 4 the Zappa concert (football started). The album really does break down into the studio album and then the 2 live sides from different performances. Interesting on the screen tracks like We're all Water are credited as Yoko Ono as performer whilst NYC is credited as John Lennon. Off the top of my head I cannot remember how different the 2000 remix was of the studio material. I was lucky enough to buy the old longbox 2cd set in NYC on a trip to see Dylan back in the early days of the never ending tour.
If you mean this remix from 2005 I think it’s a vast improvement over the original (as I did for all the Peter Cobbin remixes of the Lennon catalogue where applicable) and I also enjoyed the Yellow Submarine Songtrack he did. John & Yoko / Plastic Ono Band With Elephant's Memory And Invisible Strings – Some Time In New York City (2005, +Bonustracks, CD) What bodes well for me for the Ultimate mix version of STINNY was that Angela from the Gimme Some Truth Ultimate mix set was for me one of the most successful remixes on there and it’s not too dissimilar to the Cobbin version.
Peter Cobbin remixed most of the 2000-2005 Lennon CDs, but the 2005 Some Time in New York City was remixed by Paul Hicks.
It would make sense that the guy who just remixed Angela for Gimme Some Truth would be the one involved in the 2022 remix. It seems like Sean will be taking the 'Dhani' role in the Lennon estate from now on. It augers well for the hopefully upcoming Mind Games, Walls And Bridges and Rock n Roll deluxe editions.
Yes, it would seem that Dhani, Sean, and Paul (Hicks) are now firmly at the helm of the George and John reissue program. This is indeed good news. I get the impression they're keen to move forward but at their own pace. They're all in their 40's now and these reissues will a large part of their day jobs for the foreseeable future. Last least I hope that's the case. I wish they would be allowed to take charge of Ringo's solo legacy. I don't know if anyone is doing this but I still hope fervently for a 2023 reissue of Ringo's 1973 masterpiece.
With all due respect to other opinions. YES, the Angela remix sounds great, BUT. For me it's a drag because, despite the great sounding backing, despite Yoko's quite decent melodic co-vocal, it's a weird kind of 2 part harmony & Yoko kind of masks & overshadows Lennon's low part vocal. There was great care in it. If you listen carefully & compare to other mixes, you can here how they rode the vocal faders, through the whole tune , making careful, subtle level changes line by line. Professional careful work. Some lines are better than others. An engineer mixing, has different priorities than someone like me, the big Lennon fan. Although the very difficult, complicated vocal rides on Angela are well done. From my perspective, Yoko's natural range & singing tone, has kind of a shrill aspect to it, working better on some types of tunes than others..John & Yoko aren't what you'd call a "natural blend " in 2 part harmony...Lennon clearly is the gifted, versatile all around singer, Yoko a gifted avant gard artist of several disciplines, is not particularly gifted as a singer, though she can sound good, very original at times... If it was my mix, and we were going with the duet, The one Change I'd desperately want to try, is 4 or 5 more dbs of level from John, or pulling Yoko down a bit....her high vocal range & more shrill tone, overpower Lennon's lower vocal part, in my opinion. J don't even know if they have separate tracks for John & Yoko vocals on the song, or if it's one live ( with punch in's ) track both on one mic...I'd assume there were at least 2 or 3 takes of the duet & they made a composite, master duet vocal track, but I don't know.....if there are separate John & Yoko vocal tracks, I have no idea how much bleed there is either. Clearly Lennon had the tune, melody, chords, he made at least several guitar voice demos, using totally different & unfinished lyrics. "" J.J. " & " People " were his lyrics...Clearly the song is a co-write, with Yoko contributing the majority or most of the " Angela " lyric. Which is where they went with it. Yoko's lyrics are complete & better...& they fit the political & or social awareness theme of the album. As you can see I've spent a lot of time listening, evaluating this record, it is a decent duet, good song, fits the album theme, very professional mix...Paul Hicks I believe, is not just an engineer--mixer, but also has a musical backround, He is a musician, songwriter himself. I believe he's made several albums, in a band, as a co-artist with Dhani Harrison Yes ? Who now 2..( band name )..much like Dhani Harrison & Sean Lennon, Paul Hicks is the son of a rock star, his dad is the writer-singer of the 60s group The Hollies.. so he understands this stuff.... Without droning on much more..YES I hear how much work went into the recent Angela mix. Track sounds great, Yoko sounds good, well balanced etc....but for my 2 cents, just the oddball differences in John & Yoko's vocal textures...I wonder if isolated multitracks exist, with different harmonies or solo voice non duet takes exist. Sorry for the long post. But I feel strongly Lennon is a bit buried overall...there is one original 72 mix or remaster I downloaded off YouTube years ago, possibly vinyl rip, John's vocal just pops out a bit more, thr track is muddy less sophisticated, but at least Lennon's voice pops out a couple dbs more. Hey I am not negative about the new STINYC 72 set...I think it has more potential for mixing improvements & outtake material, than any other Lennon album. Let's Go Let's Go ! Hurry hurry hurry !
I would think that the STINYC Ultimate box would contain the "Live in NYC" album/bonus material either as a companion piece or included in the box (see 2018-the Imagine Ultimate box and the companion "Above Us Only Sky" Blu-ray).
Well maybe not...perhaps the Madison Square concert album & STINYC album/box are considered 2 different Canon releases.
With this news breaking today: Elvis Costello Urges Radio Stations to Stop Playing 'Oliver's Army' I'm wondering how the Lenono estate will treat Woman Is The N****r Of The World. You don't get any less subtle use of that word than in that song... Will they : 1) Apologize [In 1972 it was meant to shock people out of complacence, but wasn't like it is today] 2) Minimize [Bring it up as little as possible, don't push it as a stand out track, go with Angela or something else] 3) Lean in [That was John, always stirring up controversy to get attention for his causes] Some combination of the above..?
