The Beatles - The 1970s Beatles Albums (upgrade)

The Beatles – The 1970s Beatles Albums
(a soniclovenoize reimagining)
October 2019 UPGRADE

Disc 1 – Instant Karma! (1970)

 
Side A:
 1.  Instant Karma!  (We All Shine On)
 2.  All Things Must Pass
 3.  Every Night
 4.  I Found Out
 5.  Beware of Darkness
 6.  Working Class Hero
 7.  Momma Miss America

 
Side B:
 8.  It Don’t Come Easy
 9.  Isolation
10.  Junk
11.  My Sweet Lord
12.  Maybe I’m Amazed
13.  Love
14.  Hear Me Lord

Disc 2 – Imagine Clouds Dripping (1971) 

 
Side A:
 1.  Power To The People
 2.  What is Life
 3.  Dear Boy
 4.  Bangla Desh
 5.  Jealous Guy
 6.  The Back Seat of My Car

 
Side B:
 7.  Imagine
 8.  Another Day
 9.  Back off Bugaloo
10.  Oh My Love
11.  Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
12.  Isn’t It A Pity

Disc 3 – Living In The Material World (1972)

 
Side A:
 1.  Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
 2.  Hi, Hi, Hi
 3.  John Sinclair
 4.  I’m The Greatest
 5.  Who Can See It
 6.  Woman Is The Nigger Of The World

 
Side B:
 7.  Live and Let Die
 8.  New York City
 9.  Living In The Material World
10.  Single Pigeon
11.  Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
12.  My Love
 

Disc 4 – Band On The Run (1973)

 
Side A:
 1.  Mind Games
 2.  Jet
 3.  One Day At A Time
 4.  Mrs. Vanderbilt
 5.  Photograph
 6.  Be Here Now

 
Side B:
 7.  Band On The Run
 8.  I Know (I Know)
 9.  Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long
10.  Out Of The Blue
11.  The Day The World Gets Round
12.  Let Me Roll It
 

Disc 5 – Good Night Vienna (1974)

 
Side A:
 1.  Venus and Mars/Rock Show
 2.  Whatever Gets You Thru The Night
 3.  Love In Song
 4.  So Sad
 5.  Steel and Glass

 
Side B:
 6.  Junior’s Farm
 7.  (It’s All Down To) Good Night Vienna
 8.  Dark Horse
 9.  #9 Dream
10.  You Gave Me The Answer
11.  Nobody Loves You (When You’re Down and Out)
12.  Venus and Mars (Reprise)
 

BONUS Disc 6 – Skywriting By Word Of Mouth (1980)

 
Side A:
 1.  (Just like) Starting Over
 2.  Take It Away
 3.  Dream Away
 4.  Ballroom Dancing
 5.  Watching The Wheels
 6.  Wanderlust

 
Side B:
 7.  Tug of War
 8.  Nobody Told Me
 9.  All Those Years Ago
10.  The Pound is Sinking
11.  I’m Losing You
12.  You Can’t Fight Lightning
13.  Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)


Well hello there.  This is a long requested re-upload/upgrade, and I’ll finally make good on my promise to do it: The 1970s Beatles albums.  A series of reimaginings that ask “What if The Beatles didn’t break up in 1970?”, my collection, included here as one singular set, includes five proper 1970s Beatles albums: 1970’s Instant Karma, 1971’s Imagine Clouds Dripping, 1972’s Living In The Material World, 1973’s Band On The Run and 1974’s Good Night Vienna.  I am also offering my long-lost 1980 Beatles reunion album Skywriting By Word of Mouth as a sixth bonus disc of this set. 

Pretty much all sources have been upgraded, specifically from John’s Signature Box (which contains all original mixes), George’s Apple Years box set and Paul’s Archive Series releases.  Some slight tracklist alterations were made to fix errors or misjudgments I made seven years ago.  More importantly, all crossfades were recreated and, in my opinion, improved over the originals. 

Source used:
George Harrison – The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992 (2004)
George Harrison – The Apple Years 1968-75 (2014)
John Lennon – Sometime in New York City (2005 remix)
John Lennon – Signature Box (2010)
John Lennon – Imagine (2018 box set)
Paul McCartney – Band On The Run (2010 remaster)
Paul McCartney – McCartney (2011 remaster)
Paul McCartney – RAM (2012 remaster)
Paul McCartney – Venus and Mars (2014 remaster)
Paul McCartney – Tug of War (2015 remix)
Paul McCartney – Red Rose Speedway (2018 remaster)
Ringo Starr – Stop and Smell The Roses (1994 remaster)
Ringo Starr – Photographs: The Best of Ringo Starr (2007)

flac --> wav --> editing in SONAR Pro and Goldwave --> flac encoding via TLH lv8
*md5, artwork and tracknotes included

The Misfits - 12 Hits From Hell

The Misfits – 12 Hits From Hell

(soniclovenoize reconstruction)

Side A:

1.  Halloween

2.  Vampira

3.  I Turned Into a Martian

4.  Skulls

5.  London Dungeon

6.  Night of the Living Dead

Side B:

7.  Horror Hotel

8.  Ghoul’s Night Out

9.  Astro Zombies

10.  Where Eagles Dare

11.  Violent World

12.  Halloween II

This is a reconstruction of the unreleased 1980 debut album from The Misfits, 12 Hits From Hell, which was scrapped after guitarist Bobby Steele was replaced by Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein.  Some of the songs were instead released as 7” singles and the remaining tracks were used as a demo to secure a record deal and eventually re-recorded in 1982 as their seminal Walk Among Us.  Although 12 Hits From Hell was given a modern remix and remaster for a posthumous release in 2001, it was again vetoed and scrapped by vocalist Glenn Danzig and bassist Jerry Only because of errors in mastering, artwork and liner note credit.  This reconstruction ignores the posthumous 2001 remix and attempts to collect only authentic mixes to assemble how the album would have sounded in 1980.

Emerging as one of the first wave of hardcore punk acts in 1977 New Jersey, it took a few years and scrapped projects for The Misfits to find their sound.  Harnessing the new-found aggression of hardcore punk, the quartet recorded what was intended as their debut album, Static Age, in 1978.  Following a change in band lineup, image and lyrical subjects—embracing the themes and aesthetic of classic horror movies—the album was scrapped and The Misfits instead focused on touring and single releases.   By 1980, the lineup had solidified with guitarist Bobby Steel and drummer Arthur Googy, backing up Danzig and Only. 

Entering Master Sound Productions Studios on August 7^th, 1980, the quartet recorded twelve songs meant to function as their debut album.  All the tracks were initially cut live in one take, except “London Dungeon”, which required two takes.  Unknown to Steele, Only had been grooming his little brother Doyle to replace Steele as guitarist, and Doyle was brought in for his own set of guitar overdubs.  The effect is unique in The Misfits body of work, as the album—provisionally titled 12 Hits From Hell—is the only release with two different guitarists.  The recordings were equal parts energetic and atmospheric and were never replicated later in their career.  The Caiafa Brothers (Jerry and Doyle) would have their way by October and Steele was ousted from the band, relegating the recordings to function as a demo tape to shop the band to prospective labels. 

Luckily the recordings were not left in the vault for long, as “London Dungeon”, “Horror Hotel” and “Ghouls Night Out” were all released on the abbreviated EP 3 Hits From Hell in April 1981, and “Halloween” and “Halloween II” were released as a 7” on Halloween 1981.  The session also did its job as a demo, securing the band a contract with Ruby Records that year and producing their ‘proper’ debut album Walk Among Us in 1982, which featured re-recorded versions of six of the remaining unreleased 12 Hits From Hell songs.  While The Misfits eventually disbanded in 1983, Danzig took the liberty to overdub and remix a number of unreleased tracks for the 1985 compilation Legacy of Brutality, which featured doctored mixes of “Where Eagles Dare” and “Halloween” as well as pillaged versions of some of the Static Age songs.  The original 1980 mixes of “Astro Zombies” “Night of the Living Dead”, “Skulls” and “Vampira” were released the following year on a self-titled compilation that was eventually known as Collection I, with “Halloween”, “Horror Hotel” and “Halloween II” released on the follow-up compilation Collection II in 1995.  Finally, all the aforementioned tracks as well as the original unreleased 1980 mixes of “I Turned Into a Martian”, “Violent World” and “Where Eagles Dare” were released on The Misfits Box Set in 1996. 

Interestingly enough, the scattered tracks found on the box set was not the last word on 12 Hits From Hell.  After the unreleased Static Age album had been successfully issued as a proper posthumous release in 1997, 12 Hits From Hell warranted the same treatment and was remixed from the mastertapes in 2001 for a tentative Halloween release on Caroline Records.  All twelve songs—as well as the alternate first take of “London Dungeon” as a bonus track—received a more spacious and wide-stereo mix, a very modern-sounding mix that was a sharp contrast to the tight and claustrophobic 1980 mixes.  After a number of promotional copies had been distributed to industry insiders, the album was cancelled, promo copies recalled and subsequently destroyed.  Why?  Both Danzig and Only—the two who retained the rights to the Misfits brand—claimed not only a “mastering error” but incorrect credits in the liner notes, as well as subpar packaging and cover design that didn't meet their standard.  On the other hand, former guitarist Bobby Steele had an opposing point of view: that the newly-remixed album was scrapped because of Danzig & Only’s egos, who wanted to erase his guitar parts that were featured prominently in the new mixes.  In a possible retaliation and absurd twist, Steele recorded his own version of the entire album with The Undead in 2007.  But putting aside petty squabbles, what did 12 Hits From Hell originally sound like?   

For my reconstruction, we will focus solely on the original 1980 mixes of 12 Hits From Hell, for better or for worse; while admittedly the 2001 remix sounds stunning, it is not what The Misfits sounded like in 1980.  Luckily all the (presumably) vintage mixes are found on the 1996 Box Set in their best mastering, making our task extremely easy!  The tracklist will follow the planned 2001 12 Hits remaster, as the CD itself followed Danzig’s own handwritten tracklist from 1980, written on MSP Studios stationary.  The final touch is a cover design that borrows from the 3 Hits From Hell EP, an art concept that is as vintage as possible (also included is alternate cover art designed by Jon Hunt of idesignalbumcovers).  So without further delay, put on your make-up… it’s time for an early Halloween! 

Sources used:

The Misfits - Box Set (1996 Caroline Records)

flac --> wav --> editing in SONAR and Goldwave--> flac encoding via TLH lv8

*md5, artwork and tracknotes included