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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.  On May 5, The Turtles are coming to the U.K. with Demon Music Group/Edsel Records’ reissues of the band’s six original albums dating between 1965 and 1970.  And fans can get an extra-special taste before that, because on Saturday, April 22, the deluxe vinyl box set The Albums Collection will arrive from Demon Records as part of the Record Store Day U.K. festivities.

The six album releases were first made available last year in the U.S. as part of The Complete Original Albums Collection from The Turtles’ label FloEdCo and Manifesto Records.  (Read our comprehensive review of that landmark collection here!)  Now, Edsel is releasing them as U.K.-exclusive standalone sets with identical content to the Manifesto releases, but in a slightly different configuration.  Whereas the Manifesto discs were single-CD affairs, Edsel has divided each release into two discs.  On the first three albums, the mono and stereo albums each occupy one CD.  On the three later albums, the original album is on Disc One, and the bonus material on Disc Two.  There has been no word from Edsel yet of a U.K. release of All the Singles, the companion 2-CD release collecting the band’s cherished 45s.

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.  All of these long-overdue sets have been sourced from the original master tapes by renowned engineer Bill Inglot, and contain detailed liner notes by noted writer and archivist Andrew Sandoval.  Again, Inglot’s remastering and Sandoval’s notes have been retained from the Manifesto releases.

The Record Store Day U.K. release of The Albums Collection returns these six Turtles classics to vinyl in a lavish new box set painstakingly recreating each original release, with the first two LPs in mono and the remaining four in stereo.  Watch this space for a complete review of this extra-special collection on the eve of RSD!

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 artists as Three Dog Night’s Chuck Negron, The Association, Ron Dante, The Cowsills, and The Box Tops!)

You’ll find track listings for each of the six Edsel sets, as well as pre-order links, just below!  They’re due on May 5 in the U.K.!

The Turtles, It Ain’t Me Babe (White Whale WW 11/WWS 11, 1965 – reissued Edsel, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1 (MONO)

1. Wanderin’ Kind
2. It Was a Very Good Year
3. Your Maw Said You Cried
4. Eve of Destruction
5. Glitter and Gold
6. Let Me Be
7. Let the Cold Winds Blow
8. It Ain’t Me Babe
9. A Walk in the Sun
10. Last Laugh
11. Love Minus Zero
12. Like a Rolling Stone

CD 2 (STEREO)

1. Wanderin’ Kind
2. It Was a Very Good Year
3. Your Maw Said You Cried
4. Eve of Destruction
5. Glitter and Gold
6. Let Me Be
7. Let the Cold Winds Blow
8. It Ain’t Me Babe
9. A Walk in the Sun
10. Last Laugh
11. Love Minus Zero
12. Like a Rolling Stone

The Turtles, You Baby (White Whale WW 112/WWS7 112, 1966 – reissued Edsel, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1 (MONO)

1. Flyin’ High
2. I Know That You’ll Be There
3. House of Pain
4. Just a Room
5. I Need Someone
6. Let Me Be
7. Down in Suburbia
8. Give Love a Try
9. You Baby
10. Pall Bearing, Ball Bearing World
11. All My Problems
12. Almost There

CD 2 (STEREO)

1. Flyin’ High
2. I Know That You’ll Be There
3. House of Pain
4. Just a Room
5. I Need Someone
6. Let Me Be
7. Down in Suburbia
8. Give Love a Try
9. You Baby
10. Pall Bearing, Ball Bearing World
11. All My Problems
12. Almost There

The Turtles, Happy Together (White Whale WW 114/WWS 7114, 1967 – reissued Manifesto/FloEdCo, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1 (MONO)

1. Makin’ My Mind Up
2. Guide for the Married Man
3. Think I’ll Run Away
4. The Walking Song
5. Me About You
6. Happy Together
7. She’d Rather Be with Me
8. Too Young to Be One
9. Person Without a Care
10. Like the Seasons
11. Rugs of Wood and Flowers

CD 2 (STEREO)

1. Makin’ My Mind Up
2. Guide for the Married Man
3. Think I’ll Run Away
4. The Walking Song
5. Me About You
6. Happy Together
7. She’d Rather Be with Me
8. Too Young to Be One
9. Person Without a Care
10. Like the Seasons
11. Rugs of Wood and Flowers

The Turtles, Present the Battle of the Bands (White Whale WWS 7118, 1968 – reissued Edsel, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1

1. The Opening: The Battle of the Bands
2. The Last Thing I Remember
3. Elenore
4. Too Much Heartsick Feeling
5. Oh Daddy!
6. Buzzsaw
7. Surfer Dan
8. I’m Chief Kamanawanalea (We’re the Royal Macadamia Nuts)
9. You Showed Me
10. Food
11. Chicken Little Was Right
12. The Closing: Earth Anthem (All)

CD 2

1. She’s My Girl
2. Chicken Little Was Right (Single Version)
3. Sound Asleep
4. Umbassa and the Dragon
5. The Story of Rock and Roll
6. Can’t You Hear the Cows
7. The Last Thing I Remember (The First Thing I Knew) (Alternative Version)
8. The Owl
9. To See the Sun
10. Earth Anthem (Alternative Version)
11. Battle of the Bands – Radio Spot

The Turtles, Turtle Soup (White Whale WWS 7124, 1969 – reissued Edsel, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1

1. Come Over
2. House on the Hill
3. She Always Leaves Me Laughing
4. How You Love Me
5. Torn Between Temptations
6. Love in the City
7. Bachelor Mother
8. John and Julie
9. Hot Little Hands
10. Somewhere Friday Night
11. Dance This Dance with Me
12. You Don’t Have to Walk in the Rain

CD 2

1. Goodbye Surprise
2. Like It or Not
3. There You Sit Lonely
4. Can I Go On
5. You Want to Be a Woman
6. If We Only Had the Time
7. Dance This Dance (Demo)
8. Come Over (Demo)
9. How You Love Me (Demo)
10. Strange Girl (Demo)
11. Marmendy Mill (Demo)
12. Turtle Soup – Radio Spot

The Turtles, Wooden Head (White Whale WW 7133, 1970 – reissued Edsel, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1

1. I Can’t Stop
2. She’ll Come Back
3. Get Away
4. Wrong from the Start
5. I Get Out of Breath
6. We’ll Meet Again
7. On a Summer’s Day
8. Come Back
9. Say Girl
10. Tie Me Down
11. Wanderin’ Kind

CD 2                                                                          

1. You Baby (1967 Stereo Mix)
2. So Goes Love
3. Makin’ My Mind Up (1966 Stereo Version)
4. Is It Any Wonder?
5. Let Me Be (1967 Stereo Mix)
6. Grim Reaper of Love
7. It Ain’t Me Babe (1967 Stereo Mix)
8. Can I Get to Know You Better
9. Outside Chance
10. If You Know What I Mean
11. Cat in the Window
12. We’ll Meet Again (Alternate Take)
13. The Turtles’ Golden Hits – Radio Spot