Better late than never!
The Beatles’ “Rubber Soul” box set is FINALLY being released on October 2nd.
Comparatively speaking, there’s not much here in the way of “new” bonus tracks … all 28 “sessions” tracks fill up CD #2. In addition, you get a new 2026 stereo mix of the British album (14 tracks), a mono mix of the British album and the US track line-up that many have expressed their pleasure with over the years. (In MY world, that means I’ll be paying $159.98 for the 28 session tracks (or about $5.72 per track. I’m not sure that even makes sense if I can download them for $1.99 on iTunes!)
Truth be told, I haven’t particularly liked any of the new Giles Martin remixes of their box sets to date. After you’ve heard a record a certain way for 60+ years, you just expect it to still sound that way.
Dressing up the package a bit is the inclusion of the non-LP single “We Can Work It Out” / “Day Tripper” recorded during this era as well as an 88-page hardback book with a John Lennon forward and an introduction by Paul McCartney. The 12” slip-cased box set comes with photos, in-depth album background and track notes, two exclusive fold-out posters and two exclusive photo art cards. Each individual disc comes with its own album wallet set in a 12” gatefold disc holder sleeve.
Yeah, I know, I’ll buy it anyway … got to keep the set collection complete. For many listeners (including George Harrison!), “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver” seem to be a “matched set” of sessions … The Beatles had definitely turned a corner by this point, all leading up to the culmination of their “Sgt. Pepper” LP release in June of 1967. (“Rubber Soul” was originally released in December of 1965.)
Here’s the Complete Tracklist:
Disc 1 - New Stereo Mix
1. Drive My Car
2. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
3. You Won't See Me
4. Nowhere Man
5. Think For Yourself
6. The Word
7. Michelle
8. What Goes On
9. Girl
10. I'm Looking Through You
11. In My Life
12. Wait
13. If I Needed Someone
14. Run For Your Life
Disc 2 - Sessions, Demos and The Single
1. Wait (Take 3 – instrumental backing track)
2. Run For Your Life (Takes 1-5 – instrumental backing track)
3. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (First version –Take 1)
4. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Second version –Take 2)
5. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Third version – Take 3)
6. Drive My Car (Takes 1 and 2 – instrumental backing track)
7. Day Tripper (Songwriting work tape)
8. Day Tripper (Take 1 – instrumental backing track)
9. Day Tripper (Takes 2 and 3 – instrumental backing track)
10. If I Needed Someone (Take 1 – instrumental backing track)
11. In My Life (Take 1)
12. In My Life (Extract with unused organ solo)
13. We Can Work It Out (Paul’s demo)
14. We Can Work It Out (Take 1 – instrumental backing track)
15. Nowhere Man (First version – Take 2)
16. Nowhere Man (Second version – Take 5 – instrumental backing track)
17. I’m Looking Through You (First version – Take 1)
18. I’m Looking Through You (Second version – Take 2)
19. I’m Looking Through You (Second version – Take 3)
20. Michelle (Guitar rehearsal)
21. Michelle (Take 1)
22. What Goes On (Take 1 – instrumental backing track)
23. The Word (Takes 1 and 2 – instrumental backing track)
24. Girl (Take 2 – instrumental backing track)
25. Beatle Talk (Think For Yourself vocal overdubs)
26. Little Girl (John’s demo)
27. Day Tripper (2023 mix)
28. We Can Work It Out (2023 mix)
Disc 3 - Mono
1. Drive My Car
2. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
3. You Won't See Me
4. Nowhere Man
5. Think For Yourself
6. The Word
7. Michelle
8. What Goes On
9. Girl
10. I'm Looking Through You
11. In My Life
12. Wait
13. If I Needed Someone
14. Run For Your Life
Disc 4 - Capitol US album
1. I’ve Just Seen A Face
2. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
3. You Won't See Me
4. Think For Yourself
5. The Word
6. Michelle
7. It’s Only Love
8. Girl
9. I’m Looking Through You
10. In My Life
11. Wait
12. Run For Your Life
Harvey Kubernik offers his take on this landmark album in a special 30+ page report ... “Rubber Soul: 60 Years On,” written last year thanks to the expectation of a 60th Anniversary release of this landmark LP that never happened. (Instead, we got “Anthology 4.”) Drop me an email if you’d like me to forward you a copy! (kk)
Another big reissue was announced last week …
“Queen Budapest: Hungarian Rhapsody” was the last live concert ever filmed of the band with their original frontman Freddie Mercury.
For its 40th anniversary, the complete concert (recorded during the Summer of 1986) will be released on triple vinyl for the first time, with 2CD and digital editions arriving on October 30. The same day, the concert film will be released on 4K Ultra HD disc, Blu-ray and DVD – all of which follows a planned theatrical exhibition on October 7th that’ll see “Queen Budapest” screened in standard and IMAX theaters.
Incredibly, despite a couple more albums released in the late ‘80’s, the original hit-making version of Queen would only perform together live five more times after their Budapest concert, making this the last concert of them ever captured on film. Freddie’s diagnosis with AIDS limited his ability to sustain the grueling pace of touring … so this truly is a historical landmark for the band. Look for the official release on October 30th. (kk)
Hoping you’ve had the chance to watch Carole King’s “Tapestry” concert …
Now Tom Cuddy sent us this link to the Australian version of “60 Minutes,” which includes a 9 ½ minute piece on Carole King and her amazing song-writing career.
https://youtu.be/h8woN_0uu5E?si=TnZmaUGelxIi2Kfl
kk …
Wild Wayne’s Funny Freddy Cannon Story …
Can You Guess Which Song Was Freddy's Favorite Of All That He Recorded?
He Told Wild Wayne "BUZZ BUZZ A-DIDDLE-IT " Was His Favorite.
That Would've Been My Last Guess.
Freddy Was On Dick Clark’s "CARAVAN OF STARS," And About To Appear In ALLENTOWN, PENN.
Freddy's "BUZZ BUZZ" Was A #2 Hit In The Local Area.
Freddy Asked Dick If He Could Close The Show -- Maybe Sell A Few More Records & Push It Up To #1.
He's On The Stage Singing. Looking Out Into The Audience, Everybody Is Looking Via Binoculars.
The Concert Ran A Little Late. Everybody Was Watching The Horse Races That Started & Nobody Was Listening To Freddy Sing!
FB
More Freddy Cannon here (from Tom Cuddy) …
The Sweet Story Behind Freddy Cannon's "Tallahassee Lassie"
https://www.mentalfloss.com/entertainment/music/freddy-cannon-tallahassee-lassie
And here’s a picture of that original demo 78 that Freddy made …
We were able to reunite him with this one-of-a-kind collectable in 2014 …
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2014/10/freddy-cannon-forgotten-hits-exclusive.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2014/10/freddy-cannon-forgotten-hits-worldwide.html
Arlene Smith, Lead Singer Of The Chantels, Has Died.
FRANK B.
The Chantels inspired a number of female recording groups.
The Chantels scored four Top 40 Hits between 1958 and 1961: “Maybe” (#15, 1958); “Every Night (I Pray)” (#32, 1958); “Look In My Eyes” (#14, 1961) and “Well, I Told You (#28, 1961). (kk)
We know Rod Stewart has had some health issues again lately, causing havoc for him on the performing stage ... but the other night, at a fundraiser in The Hamptons for TeachRock, he showed to consummate pro that he really is.
Rod apparently hit a pitchy note while performing his hit "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You," his voice cracking while singing the line "take away all my sadness."
Stewart acknowledged the bum note and paused his performance immediately, joking “Let’s do that again” ... and then sang “my” once more, this time backed by thunderous applause from the audience. Everyone agreed that he handled it like a real pro. (kk)
Here’s an interesting concert spin …
Karl Green, one of the founding members of Herman’s Hermits, is doing a Songs and Stories tour that’ll bring him to The Arcada Theatre on August 18th. This will be a very intimate “dinner and a show” setting, where Karl will perform songs from The British Invasion Era, tell stories about his personal adventures and then take part in an audience Q&A session.
“Locals” can get tickets here: https://www.arcadalive.com/event/legends-stage-in-rock-n-ravioli-songs-stories-with-karl-green-original-member-of-hermans-hermits/
Another show worth talking about is Carla Cooke, daughter of Sam, coming to Club Arcada (in The Arcada Theatre) on Friday, August 28th.
Sam Cooke's daughter was only four months old when Sam died ... so the two never really got the chance to know each other. She grew up listening to his music and hearing stories of his career from friends and family who knew him. Now, she pays tribute to her father's music and also performs some of the most soulful standards of the past few decades.
She'll be appearing in the beautiful Club Arcada Speakeasy for one show only at 8:30 pm on Friday, August 28th.
More information here: https://oshows.com/event/club-arcada-carla-cooke-presents-an-evening-of-legendary-sam-cooke/
And don't miss The Arcada Theatre's 100th Birthday Celebration, coming up on September 6th.
It's an all-day celebration filled with a parade, food and entertainment ... with celebrity marshals including Priscilla Presley and Chubby Checker ... as well as a few other surprises.
More details here: https://oshows.com/2026/06/22/arcada-theatre-to-celebrate-100-years-of-entertainment/
Speaking of anniversaries, Harvey Kubernik remembers “The Concert For Bangladesh” … on its 55th anniversary …
https://www.musicconnection.com/the-concert-for-bangladesh/
Micky Dolenz … interviewed for AARP Magazine ...
https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/music/micky-dolenz-monkees-tour/?cmp=RDRCT-ME-HEY-HEY&bpcode=101
On a somewhat related note, I am sad to report that Glenn A. Baker, Australian music historian, broadcaster, author and longtime Billboard Australia editor, has died. Baker’s influence on Australian music extended across journalism, broadcasting, artist management, publishing and music preservation for more than five decades.
I first became aware of Glenn’s work thru the release of the classic “Monkeemania” LP back in the late ‘70’s. It was the first legitimate release to feature previously unreleased Monkees tracks, beautifully packaged in a 2-LP set, with high quality sound. I then found his name frequently in Billboard Magazine as their Australian correspondent.
Paul Cashmere of Noise 11 pays him a far more fitting tribute here: https://www.noise11.com/news/glenn-a-baker-dies-aged-74-20260731
Here’s an interesting Top Ten List …
Carol Kaye, who played on probably 500+ hits of the late ‘50’s and throughout the ‘60’s as part of an assembly of Hollywood studio musicians (just don’t call them “The Wrecking Crew” … at least not in front of her!), was asked to name (in her opinion) the ten most important tracks she played on during this era. (The article says she likely played on as many as 1000 to 10,000 tracks over the years … not all hits, of course, but she was a prolific source when it came to contributing song and sound ideas and suggestions to any given recording.)
Kaye is one of the most praised musicians of the “studio musicians” era … and was certainly one of the most “in-demand” artists working at the time … she played guitar and/or bass on everything from hits by The Beach Boys and The Monkees and The Mamas and the Papas thru tracks recorded by Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, and both Nancy and Frank Sinatra … as well as dozens and dozens and dozens more of the top recording acts of the era …
Still, some of her selections may surprise you.
(Sent in by Tom Cuddy)
Carol Kaye picks the 10 greatest
songs she’s ever played on
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/carol-kayes-10-favourite-songs-she-played-on/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic/guitar
You posted, Kent, …
>>>I argue with Siri all the time when she gives me bad directions! (kk)
That's pretty Funny! Altho Siri and I get along pretty well most of the time, like any close, long-term relationship, disagreements do happen from time to time.
Once when she kept giving me answers that were not at all related to what I was asking, I did burst out in frustration without thinking and said, "You're not being helpful, Siri, and I don't like you right now!"
Her answer was, "That's not very nice." ( True! )
I actually felt bad about that for around a half hour!
( We've apparently made up since then! )
Reminded me of the 2013 movie, "Her," where . . . . . Wait a second. I just got a notice I have a message from Siri . . . . .
Well, I know I feel better!
CB ( which stands for "Cyber Boy!" )
! ! !
Some of my arguments with Siri can become pretty heated … and I know a lot of this has to do with my own tone when I speak to her …
Yeah, it’s probably me! (kk)
More from Chuck, our own Personal Forgotten Hits Whipped Cream Pie in the Face Director …
(And you have absolutely NO idea how hard it is for me to type the words “whipped cream” and NOT feature a particular photo favorite of mine whenever I do so!) kk
Love 'em or not, today August 1, is National Clown Day and today through Friday, is International Clown Week, a week set aside to honor clowns for their contribution to joy, charity, and entertainment. Established in the 1960s, it was actually officially proclaimed by President Nixon in 1971.
So here, this Special CB Clown Collection!
First, inspired by a Carly Simon Forgotten Hit's misheard lyrics ~~~
Next, this Clown Safety Tip!
And these two other Great Forgotten Hits ~~~
And finally these Clowns' example of Teamwork!
So, get your Red Nose, Rubber Chickens, Squirting Flowers and annoy everyone you can this week!
CB ( which stands for "Clown Boy!" )
! ! !
(Well, it’s not quite a SWEET SIXTEEN … but it gets us to at least a little bit better than halfway there!) kk
From Timmy …
I want you all to Clap For The Wolfman …
I love it!!!
And check it out, he’s STILL wearing a Midnight Special T-shirt (courtesy of Tom Cuddy) all these years later! (lol) kk
