The news of the Apple Records catalogue getting a new remastering and reissuing is one of the many catalogue stories one should file under "cautious optimism." It is awesome to have these classic, underappreciated records from luminaries like Badfinger, James Taylor and Billy Preston back into local record shops, bearing fresh digital remasters by the team that did a pretty darn good job on last year's Beatles remasters.
But there are things we have to remember as fans. First, pretty much all of this material has been put out on disc before - some of it even had bonus content (which the new remasters will hopefully replicate and expand upon) - plus, although these LPs are going to be released digitally (the first in the Apple catalogue to receive such treatment), it's not going to be the litmus test for the (hopefully) eventual iTunes release of The Beatles' catalogue. (As good as these artists are, you can't tell me they'll indicate how The Beatles will sell digitally. Not that EMI seems to be banking on that notion, but even so.)
Anyway, with some time to go before the October 25 reissue date for these albums, The Second Disc provides you with a look back at this material and how it was released on CD in the past. This is the first in a two-part series; Part 2, to be posted tomorrow, will look at the other parts of the Apple catalogue not covered in this upcoming reissue campaign - namely, a few soundtracks and all the music released on the label by anyone who was a Beatle.
Have a go at Apple's Back Tracks after the jump.
James Taylor, James Taylor (Apple SAPCOR 3, 1968 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 97577 2, 1991)
Before Sweet Baby James (1970) established Taylor as a folk master on Warner Bros. Records, Taylor cut one album for Apple, and it proved that he knew what he was doing before that landmark album. Tracks like "Something in the Way She Moves" and the unforgettable "Carolina in My Mind" (originally recorded with Paul McCartney and George Harrison - part of the "holy host of others" cited in the lyrics) was a notable stepping stone in young Taylor's career. The initial CD release of the record did not have any bonus content, but getting it on disc was enough of a treat - especially as those aforementioned greats were re-recorded for Taylor's first greatest-hits package.
The Modern Jazz Quartet, Under the Jasmin Tree (Apple SAPCOR 4, 1968 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 97582 2, 1993) / Space (Apple SAPCOR 10, 1969)
These two albums from the venerable MJQ - a longtime fixture on Atlantic Records - didn't suffer from any attempt at eclecticism or modernization, despite the fact that they were on an eclectic, modern label. Fans of bop and swing styles will enjoy these two albums - the first of which was the only one included in the early-'90s reissues of the Apple catalogue. (The two will be paired up for the new reissue campaign.)
Mary Hopkin, Post Card (Apple SAPCOR 5, 1968 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 97578 2, 1991)
This folky, AM-radio-ready affair was elevated by production from Paul McCartney and George Martin; it's a bit overstuffed with standards but it's a good, mellow album to listen to. The 1991 CD issue reinstated every song on the original U.K. LP pressing (the Gershwin standard "Someone to Watch Over Me" was left from the U.S. version) and added a non-LP B-side (a cover of The Byrds "Turn, Turn, Turn," which backed hit single "Those Were the Days") and versions of that chart-topper in Spanish and Italian.
Jackie Lomax, Is This What You Want?(Apple SAPCOR 6, 1968 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 97581 2, 1991)
A fellow Liverpudlian and guitarist for local band The Undertakers, Lomax received heavy support from The Beatles during the end of their own career; the best known single, "Sour Milk Sea," was written by George Harrison and featured backup from Paul, George and Ringo. Lomax cut a few other singles for Apple before escaping its collapse, and those sides were appended to the CD reissue of the album by Capitol.
The Iveys, Maybe Tomorrow (Apple SAPCOR 8, 1969 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 98692 2, 1992)
The most confusing omission from the new Apple reissue series is this album, the exceedingly rare first outing by The Iveys, a band that would rename itself Badfinger after a year. The album, like all Badfinger albums, is unfairly good British power-pop; it's no surprise that Paul McCartney wanted to write them hits but Pete Ham and Tom Evans did a damn good job creating material, too. Four non-LP tracks were added to the very-hard-to-find CD release.
Billy Preston, That’s the Way God Planned It (Apple SAPCOR 9, 1969 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 97580 2, 1991)
Next to Taylor, organist Billy Preston was arguably the most famous solo artist of all time signed to Apple. He was also the only one on Apple to play with The Beatles when they were still The Beatles, on "Get Back." Preston had his own killer back-up band on this LP - Eric Clapton on guitar, Keith Richards on bass and Ginger Baker on drums. (Holy cow!) Preston wrote most of the material (fellow Apple-mate Doris Troy co-wrote two tracks) and covered tunes by W.C. Handy and Bob Dylan. The three bonus tracks on the Capitol reissue were two outtakes (including an alternate of the title track) and a B-side, "As I Get Older," with a major pedigree (Ray Charles produced, Sylvester Stewart of Sly and The Family Stone co-wrote).
Badfinger, Magic Christian Music (Apple SAPCOR 12, 1970 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 97579 2, 1991)
The "first" Badfinger LP (featuring Joey Molland on bass in place of Ron Griffiths) is actually part of Maybe Tomorrow with songs from The Magic Christian film and a bunch of new tunes, including "Come and Get It," a Top 10 hit penned by Paul McCartney. One can only hope the new reissue will expand on the two bonus tracks and include the rest of Maybe Tomorrow.
Doris Troy, Doris Troy (Apple SAPCOR 13 (U.K.), 1970 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 98701 2, 1992)
Best known for her Top 10 hit "Just One Look" for Atlantic, Troy was recruited by George Harrison and Billy Preston for this rock/soul outing. Like many of the other Apple releases, it'd be more obscure if it didn't have such a Fab pedigree attached to it - but the CD reissue added a bunch of bonus tracks: two B-sides (including a cover of The Beatles' "Get Back") and three session outtakes.
Billy Preston, Encouraging Words (Apple SAPCOR 14 (U.K.), 1970 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 81279 2, 1993)
Armed with the same backing band from That's the Way God Planned It and George Harrison in the producer's chair, Preston made a record easily as good as its predecessor; unfortunately, the label couldn't last long enough to give Preston his due, and he would jump ship to A&M in the 1970s, where he'd record some of the best soul music anyone committed to wax. The Capitol reissue included two bonus tracks - a non-LP single ("All That I Got (I'm Gonna Give It to You)") and a B-side, "As Long as I Got My Baby."
John Tavener, The Whale (Apple SAPCOR 15, 1970 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 98497 2, 1993) / Celtic Requiem (Apple SAPCOR 20 (U.K.), 1993 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 984xx 2, 1993)
Another pair of left-field entries in the Apple discography, Tavener was an avant-garde classical composer in his early twenties when John and Ringo, particularly, allowed him to record two early pieces for Apple. Both came out during the reissue campaign and went out of print very quickly. These two will ostensibly be released on one disc.
Badfinger, No Dice (Apple SAPCOR 16, 1970 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 98698 2, 1992)
Another super job by Badfinger, this record included another Top 10 hit ("I Can't Take It") and a song that may be the casual fan's introduction to the band: "Without You," a heartrending breakup ballad which was taken to No. 1 by Harry Nilsson in 1972 and back into the Top 5 by Mariah Carey in 1994. Five additional cuts round out the original reissue.
Badfinger, Straight Up (Apple SAPCOR 19, 1971 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 81403 2, 1995)
Unfortunately, this is where the Badfinger story took a turn for the worse. The early sessions for Straight Up, produced by Geoff Emerick (who'd produced No Dice), were scrapped by George Harrison for new ones under his guidance as producer. The band was drained by the time Harrison abandoned the project for The Concert for Bangladesh, and went along with hastily prepared sessions with Todd Rundgren as producer. Despite another batch of Top 20 singles ("Baby Blue" and "Day After Day") in the U.S., the album was marred by critical confusion and the implosion of Apple Records. The bonus material on the eventual reissue saw some of the early Emerick sessions unearthed from the vault, as well as the U.S. single mix of "Baby Blue."
Mary Hopkin, Earth Song/Ocean Song (Apple SAPCOR 21 (U.K.), 1971 - reissue Capitol CDP 7 98695 2, 1992)
Although this was a more obscure LP than Hopkin's predecessor, it was still a worthy effort, thanks to the notability of Tony Visconti as producer. The CD version, which had no extra content, was the stateside debut of the record.
Badfinger, Ass (Apple SAPCOR 27, 1974)
Hastily recorded, remixed and disowned in the final days of Badfinger's tenure on Apple, this album was rushed to compete with the band's Warner Bros. debut from the same year. It didn't do particularly well, and the reissue only made it to a few non-U.S. markets, with one lonely bonus track.
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This must be explained. The Lennon, Harrison & Starr solo material only symbolicly appeared on the "Apple" label. Those recordings were always owned by EMI.(excepting "George Harrison-Wonderwall Music", an album on which, at least officially speaking, Harrison doesn't perform).
Yoko Ono & Paul McCartney each(over the subsequent decades) got ownership of their albums that had originally appeared via the "Apple" label(the recordings had originally been EMI-owned).
The two film soundtrack albums originally released(only in the U.S.A.) by "Apple"("El Topo" & "Come Together") were always(from the outset) ABKCO-owned, and it was ABKCO founder Allen Klein's idea to license them to(and release them through) Apple. The Phil Spector Christmas Album is also something that came to Apple via a license from ABKCO.
I explain all of this, so you know what "Apple" can and can't reissue.
Thanks for the clarification, Phil. Today should see a part two of the Beatle/soundtrack-oriented Apple stuff in case any fans are scratching their heads as to why only this non-Beatle stuff is being reissued.
If memory serves correctly, there were a few other Apple catalog releases on CD back in the 1990s -- though maybe just through EMI in the UK with no Capitol counterpart? For certain, I remember seeing (and I still regret not purchasing) a release of Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan's "In Concert 1972". I seem to remember Badfinger's "Ass" eventually getting released as well as the self-titled Radha Krishna Temple LP. And, of course, Yoko Ono released her Apple catalog (as well as the Unfinished Music albums) via Rykodisc.
As for "Badfinger-Ass", there were more potential bonus tracks(beyond the one bonus track on the UK CD), but (now retired) EMI executive Mike Heatley vetoed their inclusion because he didn't think they were good enough.(for the novelty song "Piano Red", Mr.Heatley was correct to veto it)
There ARE more Apple albums on which Apple still has the rights that COULD be reissued, including:
George Harrison-Wonderwall Music(Yes, this is an "Apple" not EMi recording, since Harrison officially doesn't perform on it)
Ravi Shankar- Soundtrack from Raga
Lon & Derek Van Eaton-Brother
Elephants Memory(self-titled)
The Iveys-Maybe Tomorrow
Mary Hopkin-Those Were The Days
(and possibly)
Radha Krishna Temple(some people on the internet have claimed that the album's rights have reverted back to the Krishnas)
The issue of getting Apple's non-L.P. singles artists onto CD(and seeing if some of them recorded unreleased albums) remains unexplored. These artists include Chris Hodge, Trash, Sundown Playboys, Ronnie Spector, Hot Chocolate Band & The Black Dyke Mills Band. Chris Hodge was released from his contract because he wanted to move to the U.S.A. and sign with RCA Records. Trash's album(which was allocated a catalogue number) was shelved because the group disbanded.
An important update: Ravi Shankar's soundtrack album for his film "Raga"(originally released by "Apple") is owned by Shankar himself, who will be giving the album its' first-time CD release on his own label in October. Shankar's label will also be releasing the "Raga" film on DVD.
Mike, did I miss Part 2 of the Apple reissues? I really am looking forward to the remastering of many of the Apple artists, especailly Badfinger, Mary Hopkin, Jackie Lomax and assorted Beatle solo works.....if they turn out anything like the Fabs' remasters from 09/09.
Question to Apple collectors: Was there ever a 12" Lp from Apple that was an entirely mono release? (excluding the Phil Spector Christmas rerelease on Apple) I'm thinking not, due to the era they were released in (1970's) when EMI and Capitol were phasing out Mono releases and going Stereo only. Am I missing something?
An old music friend and I have fantasized for years (decades!) about a deluxe set Apple artists' compilation release. We once thought of it as a double or triple album set (that's how long ago we started taking about this)....but now see it as a 2 (possibly 3) CD set. We once had detailed thoughts about graphics, liners, the whole enchilada! Mike, curious as to what you'd come up with as content for this set?? I'll share ours once you put yours out.
-Cheers!
Well, there was a UK mono L.P. release of "George Harrison-Wonderwall Music". By Late-1969, EMI/UK changed over to releasing only in Stereo.
Don't worry guys, Part 2 is coming probably Thursday. Part of me feels like I should give the floor to Phil for the whole post, though - he knows his stuff!
Oh, thanks Phil, for shaking the cobwebs out of my brain...of course, a mono Wonderwall! Another search for "hen's teeth" begins.
You speak as if your paycheck might once have come from EMI/Capitol...or does currently. Who are you, Phil?
I am a long-time Beatles music collector(since early 1964, when I was 7 years old), and from 1991 to 2003, I was an information contributor for the now-defunct CD newsletter "ICE Newsletter"(later "ICE Magazine"). Also, for a Brief time(1992-1994) I was a compact disc box set compiler in London(sets for the Charly label by "The Yardbirds", "Small Faces", "Humble Pie", "The Nice" and various artists "Immediate Records" sets). I had the pleasure of taking my Yardbirds set to Abbey Road Studios for 3 days in the summer of 1992, where it was mastered by the very talented(now retired) Chris Blair.
I wanted to continue compiling but opportunities dried up when Charly reverted from being a full-fledged label to being a licensing company recycling its' existing catalogue through the Snapper label. My recent attempts to reestablish contact with Charly(via an e-mail to Snapper) yielded no reply.
Others on the internet may know me via the permanently unreleased 30 to 45 year old classic rock materials that I supply to the Singporean download website http://www.bigozine2.com
Another thought....if we are clearing the Apple vaults, let us not forget the two Zapple releases! (Does Nilsson's Dracula LP on Rapple count, too? LOL)
And Phil or Mike, if you have insight into either the Richard Bratigan Zapple LP that eventually was released on Capitol or Angel (the memory fogs here a bit) and/or the first Bonnie and Delaney LP that went to Elektra, please share. Both were originally created for Apple, but the Fates thought otherwise. Thanks.
The Richard Brautigan album was not yet finished when "Zapple" shut down. Brautigan later completed the album and released it(in the U.S.A. only) on EMI/Harvest(It is now available on CD from the "Collectors Choice" label). Mr Brautigan died comparatively young at age 49 in 1984.
Delaney & Bonnie were already under contract to Elektra, and were trying to illegally break their contract by taking the album to Apple. UK Promotional copies with no album cover exist on Apple, and a London record shop owner showed me the record during my visit to London in 1992. The £1500 price tag was beyond anything that I could ever consider. The album was later released by Elektra.
The Uk catalogue number for the Apple L.P. of "The Original Delaney & Bonnie"(SAPCOR 7) was later re-assigned to the album "White Trash" by the group "Trash". There is no certainty to this day whether the album by "Trash" was ever recorded, or indeed, whether the group taped anything beyond the 4 songs released on their 2 singles. Even if the album was recorded, it wasn't released, due to the group's disbandment. No acetate or test pressing has ever surfaced. Only Apple knows whether the recordings exist, and they are notoriously secretive.
Wow, Phil, thanks for filling in the gaps and stirring my memory. Yes, Brautigan on Harvest, I do remember now!
I guess Sapcor 7 was never a lucky number for anyone?! I read an article about BLUE ( containing many ex-Trash members) and how Elton John was a fan of those Apple/Trash singles. When Rocket had the chance to sign Blue, he jumped at that chance. Blue ended up making some really decent pop records in the 70s, enjoyed them very much.
Thanks for your knowledge!!
BTW, what's your take on UK Apple single 1. I have a CD-ROM of every Apple single and acetate....and they contend that #1 was a private pressing of a Frank Sinatra side. It was given as a gift from Ringo(?) to Maureen Starr for her birthday. Any truth from your perspective?
Thanks, all the best.
Yes, Sinatra did cut an acetate for Maureen Starkey, but whether this can be considered an "Apple" record, I don't know.
Some preliminary info about the Apple releases is available via a link at The Beatles official website. There is cause for both celebration and dismay. No bonus tracks for James Taylor, Jackie Lomax, Modern Jazz Quartet & John Tavener. Undoubtedly, the previous edition of the Jackie Lomax CD(with 5 bonus tracks) will now become a costly collectors item. The other CD's will have lots of bonus tracks(many previously unreleased or new to CD), BUT, there will be further bonus tracks(up to 6 of them on some albums) that will only be included in the download versions(audiophiles will be dismayed.)
There will also be a 21-track CD "Those Were The Days:The Best of Apple Records", which will include some of Apple's non-L.P. singles artists(Trash,Chris Hodge, The Sundown Playboys, Brute Force, Ronnie Spector & The Hot Chocolate Band) (Yes!), but only the A-sides(sigh!).
And the bluntly commercial Mickie Most-produced Mary Hopkin tracks(which Ms.Hopkin detests) are being purged from availability, so no more "Knock Knock Who's There", "Temma Harbour" or "Que Sera Sera".
Apple apparently hasn't learned from the mistake of sending the stereo versions of the first four Beatles albums into "exile" on bootleg CD's for decades, so now some Mary Hopkin & Jackie Lomax tracks will go into a similar "exile".
The part of the Apple Records website with the album tracklistings(and sometimes laughably incomplete website graphics) has disappeared.
Uh...Earth Song/Ocean Song did come out in the US in 1971, and I own a copy to prove it...
Can anyone shed any light on why on earth my friend, from Steve Marriott's own personal collection, has a Humble Pie double sided acetate with Apple label on it? I can't for the life of me find out why or when this was made. My gut feeling is that he was there and wanted an acetate and he got one, but I can't find any record, no pun intended, of it anywhere. Help! 😊