The Turtles once staged a fictional Battle of the Bands on a remarkable 1968 LP, but were a real such battle to occur, the group founded by Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman, Al Nichol, Jim Tucker, Chuck Portz and Don Murray would surely come out on top. For more than 50 years, The Turtles have provided an unparalleled pop soundtrack via such infectious hits as "Happy Together," "You Baby," "She'd Rather Be with Me," "Let Me Be," "It Ain't Me Babe" and "Elenore." But those classics are only part of The Turtles' story. Happily, that whole story is about to be told anew on two new releases from The Turtles' label FloEdCo and Manifesto Records (the label behind the recent, wonderful collections dedicated to the albums of Lee Michaels).
August 19 will see the release of the 6-CD box set The Complete Original Albums Collection and the 2-CD anthology All the Singles, representing both sides of The Turtles: the effervescent pop hitmakers and the envelope-pushing counterculture album auteurs. These sets promise to encompass the entirety of The Turtles' recording career from 1965 to 1970 on White Whale Records with producers including Bones Howe, Joe Wissert, Chip Douglas and The Kinks' Ray Davies.
The Complete Original Albums Collection presents all six albums released by The Turtles between 1965 and 1970, expanded with rare bonus material. Each of the group's first three albums -- It Ain't Me Babe, You Baby and Happy Together -- is presented in its original mono and stereo mixes, while each of the remaining three -- The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands, Turtle Soup and Wooden Head --boast rare bonus tracks, including some previously unreleased material.
The two-CD All the Singles collects the A and B sides of every original 1965-1970 Turtles 45, with the tracks presented in the same mono or stereo mixes that were heard on the original singles. All the Singles additionally features several tracks that were prepared for singles release but not issued at the time.
Both of these long-overdue sets have been sourced from the original master tapes by renowned engineer Bill Inglot, and both contain detailed liner notes by noted writer and archivist Andrew Sandoval. Inglot and Sandoval were previously among the producers of The Turtles' comprehensive 2002 Rhino anthology Solid Zinc. In the press release for the upcoming releases, Mark Volman notes with accuracy that The Turtles were "making records that made it to the radio, but were still challenging and adventurous records. Experimental, but at the same time full of commerciality. The Turtles were really walking on a fine edge. We were only two years out of high school and we were making some pretty challenging music."
Following the group's disbanding, Kaylan and Volman have hardly slowed down. As Flo and Eddie, they brought their trademark harmonies to Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention (even featuring "Happy Together" as part of The Mothers' risqué onstage antics), recorded acclaimed solo albums, served as popular DJs and lent their voices to hit records by everyone from T. Rex to Bruce Springsteen. Today, they continue to champion artists' rights, and their onstage performances deliver comedy, music and irreverence. (Check out The Turtles' current touring schedule as part of the - what else? - Happy Together tour! They're joined on this year's tour by such other luminaries as Mark Lindsay, Three Dog Night's Chuck Negron, The Cowsills, The Spencer Davis Group and Gary Puckett and The Union Gap!)
These two sets are due from FloEdCo/Manifesto Records on August 19. You'll find track listings and pre-order links below!
The Turtles, The Complete Original Album Collection (Manifesto/FloEdCo, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Including:
The Turtles, It Ain't Me Babe (White Whale WW 11/WWS 11, 1965 - reissued Manifesto/FloEdCo, 2016)
- Wanderin' Kind
- It Was a Very Good Year
- Your Maw Said You Cried
- Eve of Destruction
- Glitter and Gold
- Let Me Be
- Let the Cold Winds Blow
- It Ain't Me Babe
- A Walk in the Sun
- Last Laugh
- Love Minus Zero
- Like a Rolling Stone
- Wanderin' Kind
- It Was a Very Good Year
- Your Maw Said You Cried
- Eve of Destruction
- Glitter and Gold
- Let Me Be
- Let the Cold Winds Blow
- It Ain't Me Babe
- A Walk in the Sun
- Last Laugh
- Love Minus Zero
- Like a Rolling Stone
Tracks 1-12 in mono, Tracks 13-24 in stereo
The Turtles, You Baby (White Whale WW 112/WWS7 112, 1966 - reissued Manifesto/FloEdCo, 2016)
- Flyin' High
- I Know That You'll Be There
- House of Pain
- Just a Room
- I Need Someone
- Let Me Be
- Down in Suburbia
- Give Love a Try
- You Baby
- Pall Bearing, Ball Bearing World
- All My Problems
- Almost There
- Flyin' High
- I Know That You'll Be There
- House of Pain
- Just a Room
- I Need Someone
- Let Me Be
- Down in Suburbia
- Give Love a Try
- You Baby
- Pall Bearing, Ball Bearing World
- All My Problems
- Almost There
Tracks 1-12 in mono, Tracks 13-24 in stereo
The Turtles, Happy Together (White Whale WW 114/WWS 7114, 1967 - reissued Manifesto/FloEdCo, 2016)
- Makin' My Mind Up
- Guide for the Married Man
- Think I'll Run Away
- The Walking Song
- Me About You
- Happy Together
- She'd Rather Be with Me
- Too Young to Be One
- Person Without a Care
- Like the Seasons
- Rugs of Wood and Flowers
- Makin' My Mind Up
- Guide for the Married Man
- Think I'll Run Away
- The Walking Song
- Me About You
- Happy Together
- She'd Rather Be with Me
- Too Young to Be One
- Person Without a Care
- Like the Seasons
- Rugs of Wood and Flowers
Tracks 1-11 in mono, Tracks 12-22 in stereo
The Turtles, Present the Battle of the Bands (Tracks 1-12 from White Whale WWS 7118, 1968)
- The Opening: The Battle of the Bands
- The Last Thing I Remember
- Elenore
- Too Much Heartsick Feeling
- Oh Daddy!
- Buzzsaw
- Surfer Dan
- I'm Chief Kamanawanalea (We're the Royal Macadamia Nuts)
- You Showed Me
- Food
- Chicken Little Was Right
- The Closing: Earth Anthem (All)
- She's My Girl
- Chicken Little Was Right (Single Version)
- Sound Asleep
- Umbassa and the Dragon
- The Story of Rock and Roll
- Can't You Hear the Cows
- The Last Thing I Remember (The First Thing I Knew) (Alternative Version)
- The Owl
- To See the Sun
- Earth Anthem (Alternative Version)
- Battle of the Bands - Radio Spot
The Turtles, Turtle Soup (Tracks 1-12 from White Whale WWS 7124, 19669)
- Come Over
- House on the Hill
- She Always Leaves Me Laughing
- How You Love Me
- Torn Between Temptations
- Love in the City
- Bachelor Mother
- John and Julie
- Hot Little Hands
- Somewhere Friday Night
- Dance This Dance with Me
- You Don't Have to Walk in the Rain
- Goodbye Surprise
- Like It or Not
- There You Sit Lonely
- Can I Go On
- You Want to Be a Woman
- If We Only Had the Time
- Dance This Dance (Demo)
- Come Over (Demo)
- How You Love Me (Demo)
- Strange Girl (Demo)
- Marmendy Mill (Demo)
- Turtle Soup - Radio Spot
The Turtles, Wooden Head (Tracks 1-11 from White Whale WW 7133, 1970)
- I Can't Stop
- She'll Come Back
- Get Away
- Wrong from the Start
- I Get Out of Breath
- We'll Meet Again
- On a Summer's Day
- Come Back
- Say Girl
- Tie Me Down
- Wanderin' Kind
- You Baby (1967 Stereo Mix)
- So Goes Love
- Makin' My Mind Up (1966 Stereo Version)
- Is It Any Wonder?
- Let Me Be (1967 Stereo Mix)
- Grim Reaper of Love
- It Ain't Me Babe (1967 Stereo Mix)
- Can I Get to Know You Better
- Outside Chance
- If You Know What I Mean
- Cat in the Window
- We'll Meet Again (Alternate Take)
- The Turtles' Golden Hits - Radio Spot
The Turtles, All the Singles (Manifesto/FloEdCo, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
CD 1
- It Ain't Me Babe
- Almost There
- Let Me Be
- Your Maw Said You Cried
- You Baby
- Wanderin' Kind
- Grim Reaper of Love
- Come Back
- So Goes Love
- On a Summer's Day
- We'll Meet Again
- Outside Chance
- Makin' My Mind Up
- Can I Get to Know You Better
- Like the Seasons
- Happy Together
- She'd Rather Be with Me
- The Walking Song
- Guide for the Married Man
- Think I'll Run Away
- You Know What I Mean
- Rugs of Woods and Flowers
- She's My Girl
- Chicken Little Was Right
CD 2
- Sound Asleep
- Umbassa the Dragon
- The Story of Rock and Roll
- Can't You Hear the Cows
- Elenore
- Surfer Dan
- Christmas is My Time of Year
- You Showed Me
- Buzz Saw
- House on the Hill
- Come Over
- How You Loved Me
- You Don't Have to Walk in the Rain
- Love in the City
- Bachelor Mother
- Lady-O
- Somewhere Friday Night
- Teardrops
- Gas Money
- Who Would Ever Think That I Would Marry Margaret?
- We Ain't Gonna Party No More
- Is It Any Wonder
- Eve of Destruction
- Me About You
William Keats says
At last! Most of their catalog has been largely unavailable in comprehensive form on CD, although a number of vinyl campaigns have been undertaken. It would be nice if this was one-stop-shopping for their entire catalog including already-issued demos and other non-album variants, but I guess it's too much to expect all the Rhythm Butchers EPs to ever see the light of day (I've only seen actual copies of about half of that series).
Louis Bova says
I'll wait and see on this... I have the cds that were released on Repetoire back in the late 90s and this collection seems to be a re-release of that series.
zubb says
I will be picking up both collections. I especially love the "sourced from the original master tapes" aspect as opposed the dubious "best available sources" as with some other reissues.
UnclePutz says
All had been available on Amazon for quite some time. Sound quality is awesome as well.
Michael Boyce says
All Have Been CD,Re-Issued by Flo & Eddie,Inc. as CD-R's Made To Order!
Joe Marchese says
These are newly remastered editions on pressed CDs with additional and unique bonus material plus liner notes and new packaging. They shouldn't be confused with the existing CD-R releases currently available on Amazon.
Louis Bova says
But Joe, are they the same source as the Repertoire releases?
Joe Marchese says
I don't know the source of the Repertoire reissues offhand, but I do know these have been mastered from the original tapes by Bill Inglot. With Bill and Andrew Sandoval involved, I would be (shell)shocked if these weren't the best-sounding Turtles reissues yet.
Ian Cooke says
I look forward to this with great anticipation and fondness for all those great songs by The Turtles! Lucky enough to have seen them Live back in the mid 60's a few times and also as Flo & Eddie!
Richard Pachter says
No Shell Shock? Oh well.