Review: The new remix is the definitive Sgt. Pepper

Finally.

Fifty years, almost to the day, The Beatles have properly mixed Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in stereo. Producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell have reconstructed the album by sourcing the original tracks to present vocals and guitars that sparkle and bass and drums that roar.

Martin has centered the vocals, forever erasing the ugly extreme panning which segregated vocals to one channel and almost all instruments to the other. On every track he has added new details from guitars, keyboards, tablas, strings and backing vocals that ring out of speakers and headphones alike. Layers of sound that The Beatles and his father George with engineer Geoff Emerick first constructed in the winter of 1966/67 burst across the stereo picture in songs such as Getting Better.

Pepper was never my favourite Beatles album. (Revolver is.) In fact, Pepper was down my list. I listened to the 1967 stereo all these years and lamented how the album just lacked something. Too whimsical in places, not enough weight. Sounded flat. However, this 2017 remix makes me reassess Pepper. I now see its depth and appreciate its complexity. Its sheer force is now undeniable--and exciting.

Overall, Martin and Okell have injected the overall album with power and dimension. Long buried in the original 1967 stereo mix, Ringo's drums propel virtually every song, balancing the whimsy in tracks, such as Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite, and adding menace to others, including Good Morning, Good Morning.

Sgt. Pepper rocks.

Oh God, you may be thinking, another bloody Beatles reissue. Not at all. This release is not a re-master, but a brand new mix. It ain't a paint job and scrub, but an entire re-design by shifting vocals and re-organizing sounds to realize the effect that The Beatles originally intended in spring 1967. The band oversaw three weeks of mono mixing, but weren't ever around for the stereo mix that lasted three days. Mono outsold stereo in 1967. The audience lagged behind the imagination and ambition of The Beatles. In turn, their Pepper would propel stereo's dominance, usher the rise of the long-playing record and spark the transition of "pop" to "rock."

Giles' stereo mix takes its cue from the mono mix which was the mix that The Beatles intended the world to hear. Mono packs a sonic punch, forceful and aggressive, compared to the thin 1967 stereo. Here's a review of each track, plus the single that was originally planned for the album, Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane:

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Opens with snare drum on the left channel, a much louder bass that rumbles in the center and a guitar that now snarls on the right. The guitar offers far more detail than before and sounds like Jimi Hendrix. The guitar continues to slash as Paul screams the vocal in the centre to create an exciting dialogue. Backing vocals are spread across both channels in exquisite detail. An amazing opening.
Verdict: Excellent

With A Little Help From My Friends
Vocals are centered, and the overall track has a mono feel except that Paul's melodic bass dominates the right channel. This is one of the simpler tracks of the album, so there are no sonic fireworks, but all the elements roll along in the right place.
Verdict: Good

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
The opening keyboard riff dances across the left and right channels to mesmerizing effect that runs through the entire track. It's a subtle, but brilliant touch as if enticing the listener to run down the rabbit hole with vocalist Lennon. John's vocal is centered, anchoring the song. Drums, tamboura are center-left, while Paul's bass is center-right in a delicate balance. This is one of the few tracks where Ringo's drums aren't pushed to the forefront, and I understand why. That would have smothered the sound collage that Lucy creates.
Verdict: Good

Getting Better
The fireworks return with this track. Paul's bass is right upfront and gives the song a whallop that was missing before. Again, vocals are centered. New to my ears were the guitars chiming in both channels and the piano plucking in the right. Ringo's high hat sparkles in the left. The remix shows off the layers of sound like never before which hum together like a mighty machine.
Verdict: Stunning

Fixing A Hole
The opening keyboard has never sounded so detailed. Ringo's drums are predominantly left, guitar mostly right (except the solo) and Paul's vocal at center to anchor the sound picture. Backing vocals also mostly right, but the panning is balanced, not lopsided or distracting.
Verdict: Good

She's Leaving Home
The first thing you notice is how fast this track is, nearly as fast as the mono (which never sounded right to me). This mix demands some adjustment, because I'm used to hearing the slower 1967 stereo version. But in direct comparison, the slower version sounds melodramatic. Also, Giles has separated the individual stringed instruments across the channels giving them room to breathe while allowing Paul's vocal to dominate in the center. Faster, less emphasis on the strings, less melodramatic. Also, John's key background vocals are more distinct and detailed. Overall, a well-balanced track. This faster version gives the song more urgency and bite.
Verdict: Surprising at first, but overall good

Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite
This was one of the worst-mixed songs on the 1967 stereo, your typical hard-pan with the vocals 2000 miles away from the instruments. I hated it. Centering the vocals is a huge step forward here. Secondly, the individual instruments are separated across left and right, and each rings clearly. The difference is immediate and amazing. Third, Ringo's drumming adds weight to a song that was whimsical, even slight, before. And fourth, the wash of sound at the end is downright dazzling. Another WOW moment.
Verdict: Stunning

Within You Without You
Every instrument, stringed and Indian, sparkles on this track. They are spread across both channels instead of lumped together into a dull mess as before. George's vocal in the center literally bridges both sets of instruments. Most astonishing is the extended musical break starting at 2;23 where Giles exploits the soundscape to contrast and blend the Indian and Western instruments. Hands down, this is one of the most breathtaking moments of this remix.
Verdict: Stunning

When I'm 64
Brushes-on-snare on the left, clarinets on the right and Paul's vocal in the middle. Simple and it works.
Verdict: Good

Good Morning Good Morning
Crank this one. This new remix is a monster rock track. Ringo drives a tank throughout this song, adding a layer of menace which injects John's lyrics about a dull day with paranoia and chaos. And I mean that as a compliment. Another WOW moment. This remix is light years from any you've ever heard.
Verdict: Stunning

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)
Given the bass-and-drums boost of every track before, it's a slight letdown to hear this mix. On the 1967 mix, this track rocked the hardest, but no longer. Is this a bad mix? Not at all, but it doesn't surprise like the others. Paul's vocal, though, is crisper, and you can hear him scat in the fade out just like he does on the mono mix.
Verdict: Okay

A Day In The Life
Mixed feelings. John's vocal is centered throughout and--for once--I miss the extreme panning. In the 1967 mix, his vocal starts in the extreme right than gradually shifts to the center and eventually hard-left, counter-clockwise. I miss this sense of disorientation and movement. That said, every sonic element on this track rings clearer with more detail, notably John's unearthly Ahhhh at 2:46. And the final piano chord is a knock-out punch.
Verdict: Mixed feelings

Strawberry Fields Forever
Actually remixed in 2015, but the structure is the same as the other tracks: centered vocals and individual instruments and effects delicately mixed on the left and right channels. The svarmandal still deliciously sweeps across the soundscape. Again, the instruments offer detail and immediacy.
Verdict: Good

Penny Lane
It's subtle, but this is one of the most radical remixes. It's not a hard rock song, but a collection of vignettes that Paul imagines of his hometown, Liverpool. Storyteller Paul is front and centre. Flourishes appear discreetly on the left and right channels, like the piccolo trumpet solo on the right, or the fireman's bell on the left. Again, subtle. My only complaint is that the trumpet near the end of the song is slightly buried in the left channel. (If anyone's asking, on my iPod I've placed SFF/Penny between Within You Without You and When I'm 64 and chucked Lovely Rita altogether.)
Verdict: Good

OVERALL: Though imperfect, the 2017 stereo remix is the new definitive mix of Sgt. Pepper. It comes closest in capturing the Beatles' intentions and in conveying the complex soundscapes created in 1967 when the band was limited by four-track technology. All vocals, instruments and sound effects burst with fresh detail. Centering the vocals is a leap forward and boosting the drums and bass restores the visceral power of this rock album that used to be found only in the mono mix. My only real misgiving is the vocal placement in A Day In The Life, but the remixes of the title track, Getting Better, Mr. Kite, Within You and Good Morning are breathtaking. This remix firmly places this album in the 21st century and (partially) restores Pepper's reputation which has been overshadowed in recent years by Revolver.

book review: Photograph by Ringo

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Photograph is the unofficial sequel to Postcards from the Boys, 2004's disappointing collection of postcards Ringo sent to friends, fellow Beatles included, over the years. Both books were published in lavish, signed limited editions by England's Genesis Publications, which specializes in issuing expensive, signed limited editions. The posh Photograph came out two years ago with a print run of 2,500. For those who can't afford to mortgage their home, Photograph has just been released as a $70 (in Canada) large mass-produced coffee-table book.

The results this time are far more satisfying. Photograph is Ringo sharing his photo album with his fans, showing snapshots of his life from him as a baby to today. It's charming and personal, and the closest we'll ever get to an autobiography from Mr. Starkey. 

The Beatles, of course, appear in most photos, though they don't appear until p.82 of this 302-page tome. That's good. The first section allows the reader to get to know Ringo, illustrating his difficult childhood against the backdrop of grim, postwar Liverpool, and establishing who he is before he became famous.

Ringo is a happy lad in those shots but his brief captions relate a rough upbringing. “Admiral Grove was uglier than it looks in this photo,” he describes the stark rowhouses he called home with his beloved mum, Elsie, and his stepfather, Harry. There are as many pictures of hospitals and nurses as there are of classmates, given how Ringo was hospitalized for long periods as a boy. A few photos show him playing hookey from the hospital by spending his birthday in London with an uncle.

Suddenly, Ringo enters his teenage years and plays drums. We see several pictures of him in clubs in various bands, but Rory Storm and the Hurricanes dominate. His captions tell us that Rory was Merseyside's top band before The Beatles rose. Ringo poses with as many girls as drums, and he comes off as a carefree lad, like any teenage boy playing in a rock band. And boy does he look young.

In these pages, Ringo is the most candid he's ever been in print or in front of a camera, but only in short captions that accompany his pictures and, frankly, he doesn't offer details or wild stories in these pages. (This is Ringo, after all, not John or George.) Ringo keeps it simple and to the point, much like his drumming. Why did he leave Rory Storm and join The Beatles? “I just loved the band,” he answers, “that's why I moved.”

The Beatles photos are private shots, capturing him and his bandmates, for example, sequestered in the Georges V Hotel in Paris in January 1964. There's Paul mugging in a beret and George washing his hands in an ornate bathroom. Ringo writes, “I never had a bathroom in Liverpool.” In New York as they took American by storm the following month, we see Brian Epstein and George Martin sporting ridiculous Beatle wigs, John wearing strange glasses and a hat, and Paul vamping in shades and unbuttoned shirt like a young Elvis (above). This is a world of hotel rooms and limousines. There's nobody else around except The Beatles and their inner circle.

Fans appear intermittently, like a carload of excited teens somewhere between Washington and Miami. There are shots of police cars escorting them, and even a toll booth, which blew Ringo's mind. He found Murray the K “great,” but unsurprisingly thought Phil Spector “really weird.”

Most of the Beatles photos are in black-and-white though a few, like Miami in February 1964, are in glorious colour. They're snapshots of friends, vacation pictures we all take, like the one of Ringo, his first wife Maureen, John and Cynthia proudly holding some fish they caught on a trip.

Ringo's companions were, of course, The Beatles, but you won't find revealing moments here that'll deepen your understanding of his old band. There are a few shots of John and Paul singing during the sessions for A Hard Day's Night, but disppointingly Ringo's text offers no insight into these moments. 
 

One highlight are the pictures taken from a little-known stopover in India during the Asian leg of their 1966 summer tour. Ringo snaps colour shots of his bandmates walking down the streets of Delhi using a fish-eye lens (above). The result is trippy and captures the mood of the era. It's the first time I've ever seen the Beatles in India in 1966. Another psychedelic effect is the prism lens Ringo uses during the Hey Bulldog session of February 1968.

After that, The Beatles are rarely seen. Instead, we glimpse Ringo with actor friends and on various film sets, such as Who drummer, Keith Moon, and singer Harry Nilson.

The Rowboat verdict: Photograph is fun viewing for Beatles fans and, while you learn more about Ringo, you won't gain any insight into The Beatles.

Ringo's 8 Starr Moments

Today is Ringo's birthday and to celebrate we list his eight shining moments as a drummer, singer and actor:

She Loves You (1963)

Ringo's tom toms kick off the first monster Beatles hit and his relentless hi-hat carries the song at a blistering pace for the next 2:18. His drumming is the perfect bedrock for the infectious hooks that John and Paul lay down. From now on, Ringo's hi-hat wash would be a trademark sound of the Beatlemania era, propelling songs such as Roll Over Beethoven and It Won't Be Long.

A Hard Day's Night (the 1964 film)
I would argue (and director Richard Lester would agree) that George was the best actor in The Beatles, but Ringo's performance here is the most memorable. His sequence playing hooky with a truant kid is charming. Ringo is a natural onscreen.

Ticket To Ride (1965)

True, Paul directed Ringo on playing the complex rhythmic patterns on this Lennon song, but Ringo executed them beautifully. The drums leap out of the speakers (the left channel in the stereo mix), adding a heaviness to this mid-tempo rocker. The drum fills are inventive and forceful. The link above isolates the drums and Paul's bass.

She Said She Said (1966)

Many, including Ringo himself, would say that Rain showcases his drumming at its finest, but I prefer this biting rock song from Revolver. Ringo's idiosynchratic drumming follows no recognizable pattern before or after this song was recorded in spring 1966, but its eccentric patterns finely complement John's bitter and sad lyric about lost childhood and death. I would argue that 1966 is the peak of Ringo's drumming in The Beatles. The link above highlights the drums.

Tomorrow Never Knows (1966)

Ringo's drumming is deceptively simple on this surreal pastiche of sound that closes Revolver. It anchors a whirlygig of backwards loops, dark sound effects and a distorted Lennon vocal that explode across the stereo spectrum. Without Ringo's beat, the song would descend into chaos. His drumming itself sounds primal, like an ancient tribal beat.

A Day In The Life (1967)
Like She Said She Said, the drum fills in this song follow no discernible pattern and sound like nobody else. In the documentary The Making of Sgt. Pepper, Ringo modestly explains that he just drummed what felt natural to him. Ginger Baker, for instance, is technically a better drummer and Keith Moon was more showy, but Ringo's fills on this landmark song are economical and memorable. No two fills sound the same, and they complement the experimental spirit of A Day In The Life.

The End (1969)

Ringo's one and only drum solo and it's a stunner. This link isolates his drums.

Ringo (1973 album)
Believe it or not, Ringo was the most successful ex-Beatle in 1973. John was separated from Yoko and that dampened his musical output (the disappointing Mind Games), Paul was still finding his voice in Wings (he would break through in 1974 with his masterpiece, Band on the Run, and George released the commercially successful but artistically weak, Living in the Material World. Ringo was a number one album that reunited his former bandmates—albeit on separate tracks—and yielded hits in You're Sixteen and Photograph, which he wrote with George. Other highlights include John's I'm The Greatest and Paul's Six O'Clock. With his limited vocal, Ringo carries rockers, ballads and mid-tempo tunes with ease. Ringo is not a personal statement like John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band but it's a catchy, highly listenable showcase of Mr. Starr.

Will The Real Sergeant Pepper Please Stand Up?

John Lennon was the walrus, or at least that's what he sang. But in Glass Onion he told us he had another clue for us, and that the walrus was Paul. Or was Paul really dead, making William Campbell the walrus?

In 1966 (some say 1964), according to the supposed clues in the music and album covers, Paul McCartney died in a car accident and was replaced by a lookalike and soundalike named William Campbell. (Or was it William Shepherd, or even William Shears?) Heck, there was even a photo of the real William Campbell on the poster included in The White Album. And because it wasn't the real Paul, the other Beatles called him Faul, shortened for fake-Paul. George Harrison even slipped and said it in public. But then Paul McCartney was never really Paul, was he? He was James McCartney, and simply used his middle name. He was also Paul Ramon, Apollo C. Vermouth, Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington, Bernard Webb, and later The Fireman.

In 1967 John was well on his way to fusing himself to Yoko at the hip, thus becoming Johnandyoko. He was born as John Winston Lennon, which later was changed to John Ono Lennon, before he dubbed himself Dr. Winston O'Boogie. John proudly possessed more pseudonyms than the others, including John O'Cean, Reverend Thumbs Ghurkin, Captain Kundalini, Dwarf McDougal and Dr Dream. Just check through his and Yoko's discographies.

It would be another couple of years before George jumped on stage with Delaney and Bonnie under the moniker L'Angelo Misterioso. But for now George was just George. Or was he the Mystic Maestro, the Hare Krishna so famous he never even had to cut his hair. And then there was Arthur Wax, Bette Y El Mysterioso, Carl Harrison, George Harrysong, George O'Hara, and Hari Georgeson. Finally he was Nelson Wilbury and Spike Wilbury.

Ringo Starr was in disguise all along, having been born as Richard Starkey, and was so famous he really never needed to use his surname after 1964. There was only one Ringo, and he was a Beatle. Unless you read old cowboy comics. For a time he was Ognir Rrats and even Ritchie Snare. Now, of course, there's a whole generation of kids who think he's a tank engine named Thomas. 

But back in the summer of love he was Billy Shears. Paul introduced him as such at the end of the opening track on Sgt. Pepper, and Ringo later confirmed it in 1973 on his self-titled album. Not only was the cover a homage to Sgt Pepper, but in I Am The Greatest he declared that he was indeed Billy Shears, and had been for so many years.

Last week I was examining the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album and for the first time wondered who Sergeant Pepper actually was.

I mean the band is supposedly The Beatles but not The Beatles. An alter-ego permitting musical freedom, without rules, expectations and responsibilities. This was exactly how Paul originally envisaged the concept. Not The Beatles, but Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The leader of the band is supposedly Sergeant Pepper. But who exactly is he? 

I know.

It's Ringo.

He's the only one who has three chevrons on his uniform sleeve, the insignia designating a sergeant. None of the others appear to have any rank at all, although Paul is wearing his Ontario Police patch, the one that for many years people presumed meant Officially Pronounced Dead.

 So Ringo is Billy Shears is Sergeant Pepper.

Or is he? And are we really sure who they all were anyway?

An Illustrated Record

Roy Carr and Tony Tyler's The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, was the first Beatles book I ever owned. I bought a copy when I was about thirteen years old and devoured it. I carried it everywhere, read it a zillion times and knew entire passages word for word.

It's an album by album overview of their releases, both as a group and as solo artists, up until 1975, the date of publication. As a young lad who had everything Beatles I could lay my hands on, this book described treasures I could only imagine. Wonderwall by George Harrison, Two Virgins by John and Yoko, Beaucoups of Blues by Ringo. These were albums that weren't commonly available to me. Heck, even Some Time in New York City was considered obscure where I grew up.

So as I read it, over and over, I wondered what some of these tracks sounded like. I tried to imagine them. What did We're All Water sound like? How about Microbes? Or even singles, like Paul McCartney's Give Ireland Back to the Irish?

It's still excellent as an introduction to the work of The Beatles. Even now I enjoy dipping into it from time to time. Most of it stands up, although there are a few odd comments in there. The review of The White Album concludes with "They were no longer invulnerable." A sentence that leaves me scratching my head and wondering whether it was intended for the review of Magical Mystery Tour movie.

My copy of this book is falling apart. The covers are missing and pages are loose. It has been like that for thirty years or more, and apparently this is not uncommon with this edition. I shall have to rectify this and obtain another copy.

A few years ago I managed to find a copy of the 1978 revised update. Basically it's the same, although to make room for the newer releases some of the previous text seems to have been discarded. Plus several of the newer reviews are even more bizarre than Yoko's warblings.

"Altogether, it is a “morning” album—the ideal accompaniment to hard labour or (God save us) housework—and irritatingly unilayered if played when evening shadows have fallen, when glow-moths glimmer—and when the mood of the nocturnalist is one of purple despair mingled with deep introspection and a desultory randiness.
Or something like that."

Ummm, yeah. That, by the way, is the conclusion to the authors' review of Wings At the Speed of Sound.

I much prefer the first edition.

The Almost Beatles Album

After The Beatles broke up in 1970, fans were desperate for any sign of reconciliation. They would grasp any rumour or gossip that the four had re-united. Of course this led to a number of bizarre situations, such as the tongue-in-cheek reunion offer on Saturday Night Live, and the instant fame of Klaatu.

The SNL offer came closer to a reunion between Paul and John than anyone at the time could have possibly realised. Stories vary as to whether they only joked about accepting, or made it all the way down to the street but couldn't find a cab. We can only speculate at whether they may have continued on the reunion path had they actually made it down to the SNL studio. Klaatu, on the other hand, were a trio of Canadian musicians who remained anonymous as they wanted their music to speak for itself. A journalist noted the musical similarities to The Beatles, which rapidly evolved into a rumour they actually were The Beatles in disguise. The record label chose not to deny it, which then ruined the band's future career as the public presumed it was a deliberate hoax. While they certainly wear their influence on their sleeve, one listen to that first album should have been a clear indication it wasn't the fabs. Sad. It's a great album that's largely ignored and forgotten.

But in 1973 reports circulated The Beatles had reunited, without Paul, to record tracks for Ringo's solo album. Klaus Voorman had played bass for Manfred Mann and had been suggested as a replacement for Paul three years earlier. He'd known the boys since Hamburg, dated Astrid Kirchherr and lived with George and Ringo for a period of time. Later he'd won a Grammy for  designing the cover of Revolver. Add Billy Preston on keyboards and fans had reason to believe it was just like old times.

Richard Perry, the producer, reportedly could not believe his luck. Here he was producing The Beatles. "Just like that; no planning. The three ex-Beatles recorded one of John's songs. Everyone in the room was just gleaming. It's such a universal gleam with The Beatles.^"

It was not quite a reunion, simply one session that ran for eighteen minutes. Ten takes of I Am The Greatest, which suggests most takes must have been incomplete and the whole process was rushed. It was a song Lennon had penned, supposedly intended for Ringo, and it sounds like it could have opened a Beatles album. Harrison and McCartney played on other tracks on this album as well, though notably not together. Both contributed songs, while Harrison co-wrote one with Ringo.

Even Ringo has sole writing credits on a couple of songs, although I wonder how much help he received. The film Let It Be makes it quite clear Harrison played a major part in the writing of Octopus's Garden. And the other songs he wrote around this time, such as Going to Carolina, display little in the way of sophistication. It Don't Come Easy, a single not on the album and credited solely to Ringo, is a good song. And certainly more complicated than anything else he'd done thus far. The demo version, complete with guide vocals by George and 'Hare Krishna' backing vocals, suggests Ringo wasn't the main author.

And so we had the most Beatlish of the post Beatles albums. Billy Shears gets a mention. All four wrote songs and played on it. Beatles alumni, such as Klaus Voorman, Nicky Hopkins and Billy Preston, all made contributions. Heck, even Mal Evans finally got a co-writing credit.

And then there's the cover art. A not too subtle nod to Sgt.Pepper. George certainly liked the idea as he revisited the concept on Dark Horse.

Forty years later and it's still the most Beatles sounding of any of their solo albums. It holds up reasonably well, although there's only so much of Ringo's singing voice I can take. If Ringo had sung only one track, George had sung two, and Paul and John had taken three each, we'd have a reasonably good Beatles album.

Alas we only have what we have. I find Ringo as an album more satisfying than their other output from 1973. Mind Games was uneven, Living In The Material World was too Krishna, and Band on The Run, while a close second to the Ringo album, is simply too twee in parts.

If only they'd put aside their differences and used their powers for good.

If only.

The White Book

Ken Mansfield was A&R for Capitol Records when he first met The Beatles in the mid 60s. They hit it off, and within a few years he had been employed as the head of Apple Records (U.S.). So I held high hopes that Mansfield's The White Book would offer a different insider's view to all those others I'd read.

Mansfield stayed with the Fabs until the Allen Klein years when he decided it was time to leave and took up an appointment elsewhere. Those few years, however, saw him firmly in the calm at the midst of what had been Beatlemania. Sure, they didn't play live shows anymore, and the girls no longer screamed and wet their pants, but The Beatles were just about the most famous four people on the planet and none of them could go anywhere without being noticed and followed.

Into the eighties and Mansfield's career in music was dead in the water. He'd moved into production after leaving Apple and had some success. But he was no longer 'hot' and ended up close to broke and working as a rigger for live shows. Even the stories from this time are insightful.

Ringo was the one who finally gave him permission to write a book. And it seems the others, and Olivia Harrison and Yoko, agreed. Photo credits and acknowledgements thank them all.

Mansfield's writing is warm and personal, anecdotal yet factual. Being an integral part of the Apple years, Mansfield wrote about a few incidents and details I hadn't known before. So there were studio overdubs on the Concert for Bangla Desh album? I guess that doesn't surprise me, as it happened a lot with live recordings. It simply never occurred to me they may have overdubbed that particular album. Now I'll have to investigate whether the film and the audio soundtracks are the same.

One contentious fact that emerges, at least for Beatle freaks, is whether George Harrison mastered the vinyl for the U.S version of the White Album. Mansfield claims Harrison was in the U.S. and heard a test pressing which sounded awful. Apparently Harrison grabbed the tapes and spent several days in the studio creating a new master.

I've read comments on this in The 910 and the Steve Hoffman forums, and there are those far better placed than me who have conducted comparisons between original US and UK vinyl and can detect no differences. Of course it's important to bear in mind we're talking about a different master, not a different mix. But it does seem odd to me that Harrison would be the one who would take responsibility for this. Mastering is a skilled task he'd never performed before. I would think he'd have simply spoken to Apple and ensured the engineers made a new master that was acceptable. It's a story that just doesn't sit right, and I wonder if Mansfield's memory played tricks on him on this occasion.

The thing I love most about this book is the insight we are given into John, Paul, George and Ringo. Mansfield speaks warmly of them, natural, relaxed and away from the public. Four personalities I wish I could have met and with whom I could have enjoyed an hour or two passing the time.

Highly recommended.