The Best Of Geoge Harrison

There was a "The Best of George Harrison" CD at Goodwill today and I got it.

This isn't an album I would support by a long shot. I've never had it before even though I've seen it many times.

It makes me wonder who approved and put it together. Because I always thought it was weird that George's "Best of" CD (at that time) would be half filled up with Beatles' tracks.

I remember some of his solo albums pretty well, and it would not have been hard when they made this album to come up with 13 tracks off his solo work to be a "Best of" collection. Come on.

It seems insulting to him. If he was the one who wanted it this way, well, that's weird. That would be different though. Otherwise...it was a bad way to do a George album!

Got To Get You Into My Life

One of the differences in the mono version of this song -- by The Beatles on the Revolver album -- is it's longer.

It's a little jarring, in that the place where we're used to hearing it fade out, it continues on and sounds like it skips. I'm hoping that's the way it's supposed to be.

Maybe that's why it was faded out earlier on the more common stereo version. There's around 10 seconds difference between stereo and mono.

The Beatles' Set Not Numbered

Back in July when I ordered the Beatles' mono CD set, they said at Amazon it'd be a limited edition of 10,000 and numbered. I wrote about it at the time, wondering what number I'd get.

So yesterday when I got my set in the delivery, the first thing I did was to get the mono box out and see what number I had. Hmm, no number on the outside, must be inside. How tricky, I assumed, because no one can keep their copy sealed because they'll never know what number they got.

But inside ... no number either. So I figured I personally got screwed. Which didn't make any sense. But who knows? I'd heard later there was 13,000 copies for the U.S. market, which would mean 3,000 on top of the 10,000 numbered copies.

Checking around, though, I now read there's no numbered sets! They decided it wasn't "feasible." OK, jokers, you make a decision like that before you advertise they're going to be numbered. Or is marketing just not your thing? This was a major disappointment. But at least we're all in the same boat. And it takes away the conundrum of what I would've done if I had a real low number, etc.

Still, I think we deserve something for the letdown, getting screwed over like this.

I think I deserve an all-expenses paid trip to England, to hang out with Paul and Ringo for a week. We'll rent a bus, fill it with eccentric people, and travel around England, filming our adventures. Only then will I be happy. And maybe a few concert tickets, with backstage passes. And some holographic visits with John and George from wherever they are.

Don't let me down! Don't - let - me - down!

The Beatles - Take 2, OK...

I re-ripped all my Beatles CDs at 256 kbps. Now that the new boxed sets are about to come out, I'm thinking about putting any ripped CDs (not just Beatles ones) in boxes and stacking them in the closet or somewhere.

They take up a lot of shelf space if I already have them on my hard drives, but I of course want to hang on to them until they eventually cart me off to the nursing home.

I've always noticed this particular problem with CDs, but it was really pronounced on one of my Beatles CDs. They have those little slots at the top where the dust can get in. There was quite a bit of dust in one, and some in all. They get messy just setting on the shelf. So they'd be better off in boxes.

I didn't actually have every CD ripped already, like EPs and incidental stuff and a few of the other albums, but now I do. It took a while. The computer works slowly. Plus everything has to be labeled, tagged in particular ways. You get the labeling information from freedb and it's extremely helpful, but there's no standard way of doing it. So you have to edit practically everything for your own preferences. Then find album art ... and it's a hassle.

The Beatles 9-9-9

I pre-ordered the Beatles' CDs coming out on September 9 of this year.

I noticed the mono boxed set is a limited edition of 10,000, numbered. We've all heard over the years of particularly valuable copies of the White Album, like if it was No. 0000001 or probably anything under 1000. And maybe 1000000 and anything with all of any particular number. My own numbered copy of the LP is 0927160, so I don't think that has any significance. And my numbered copy of the White Album CDs from when they first came out is 323946, and that doesn't ring my numerological chimes either.

But now I have one of these limited editions of 10,000 to come, if pre-ordering is some kind of guarantee of an actual purchase. And I'm wondering what number I will get.

If it's by some miracle 00001, that'll be nice but also a problem, since I won't want to open it. And if it's at the other end, 10000, that'll be the same problem. Since it's coming out on 9-9-9, it seems like 00999 or 09999 would pose some difficulties. Anything under 00100 would be nice, or the midway 05000 would be cool. But I don't see myself truly digging in and enjoying it unless it's a very inauspicious number, like 09187.

If it's 01492, I can see that having troubles. Columbus came to America, the Beatles also came.

00909 and 00910 would be troublesome, because of the song "One After 909." If I actually get the "one after 00909" I will be very happy. 00017 would recall, "Well, she was just 17," a very romantic sounding number.

So whatever I get, if it's auspicious or not, there's going to be implications. Too auspicious, I'll never be able to enjoy it. Not auspicious enough, I'll enjoy it but forever lament missing out on one of the more significant numbers.

I have to assume there are higher powers looking out for me. And to them I give this plea, "You Know My Name (Look Up My Number)."

Ringo And Paul

The big disadvantage the Beatles had is that each member was so well known. You get some groups from the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and no one really knows their names, or the average person doesn't. Like Herman's Hermits, the Dave Clark Five, the Platters, and so on. For groups in that category it doesn't matter if they're alive or dead, someone can own the name and go out on the road.

I've seen the Diamonds a couple times, and I think they have some relation to the actual group that recorded once upon a time. But when it comes to these Diamonds there might be a few carats missing. Who knows? They know, but what do I know? I never knew their names anyway.

The Monkees, basically everyone who knew anything about them knew their names. So you couldn't have Mike, Rick, Tim, and Fred as the Monkees and fool a lot of people.

Of course the Beatles are in that category. Even though there were other Beatles -- Pete Best is the one that comes to mind (Stu Sutcliffe, but he died a long time ago) -- there are only four Beatles that have or can have any relation to the group that we've all known and loved. And we know those four individuals intimately.

Paul and Ringo recently reunited for an event, something about raising money for Transcendental Meditation, it sounds like. They did some Beatles' songs, but there's no way they could get two other guys and call it the Beatles.

Anyway, nice to see they're still around!

Bluebird

Today an old song came to my mind, snippets of it, then a little bit more, and I couldn't think of who did it. "Bluebird, bluebird, bluebird!" But that's all I could remember.

So I asked someone else and she didn't know, didn't seem to remember any such song. We were on our way home so I knew I could look it up on "The Google," with 'Bluebird, song.' But then one of those nick-of-time memory miracles happened and I remembered, Paul McCartney.

I was actually thinking Beatles, but "Blackbird" was all I could remember from them. I know all the various Beatles' songs and knew there wasn't a "Bluebird" in the bunch. But when my memory miracle happened, I knew it was Paul and the "Band on the Run" album, which turned out to be exactly so.

I haven't gotten it out to listen to it, but heard the 30 second sample of it at Amazon and that's good enough so far.