Beatles/Australia 1964 Early & Late Show

This is the second Melbourne performance from MC Label, following the release 10 years ago, but it is an overwhelming volume, a recording of the Beatles’ Melbourne performance that has been significantly upgraded with the sound source that was excavated after that. There is no title that can surpass this work in terms of the Melbourne performance. The fact that the Beatles’ concert, which is already more than half a century old, is still alive as a legend in Australia as well as in Japan, and the fact that it is a perfect set to relive it. [1964 World Tour] The Beatles were initially only popular locally in Liverpool, but after their debut, they became the most popular band in London and the UK. The members of the Beatles said that the moment they realized their success was when they performed at the London Palladium as a benchmark. Their popularity spread further to Europe, and in 1964, when “Dakishimetai” took the top spot on the Billboard, their name was heard throughout the United States. However, their first visit to the US in February 1964 focused on TV appearances and performances on the now legendary Ed Sullivan Show, with only two concerts in Washington DC and Carnegie Hall, more of a showcase, and they had to wait until August of the same year for a full-scale US tour. Gaining popularity in the US is equivalent to success in the world of show business. However, American fans were hungry. The Beatles had performed many concerts in Europe, including the UK, but most American fans had only seen them on TV. “Hunger”. This was one of the reasons why their first US tour in August 1964 was a huge success. Thus, the memorable year of 1964, when they took flight to the world, began with consecutive performances in Paris, France, and before the American tour in August, they also organized their first Australian tour in June. In other words, from France to the UK, Australia, and the US, this was the first world tour of the year. This work is a multi-faceted recording of the Melbourne performance from the Australian tour in June, with audio and video. [MESSAGE TO AUSTRALIA] Disc 1 is a message to Australian fans, recorded at Abbey Road Studios on September 12, 1963. The fact that such a recording was made in between recordings is interesting. It takes the form of a comment to DJ Bob Rogers, who probably requested the message. This DJ played Beatles records on his radio show and pushed them hard, and the message continues with gratitude for that. There is no tour scheduled yet, and Ringo leaves a comment saying, “I hope we can meet someday.” That “someday” will come true in about nine months. Although it is a message, it can be seen that it was recorded properly with multiple takes. [Melbourne Performance, June 16, 1964] Next, three songs are recorded from the Melbourne Festival Hall performance on June 16, 1964. It is the concert the day before the Melbourne performance that is the main recording in the main part. There are basically no audio recordings of this day’s performance, “Can’t Buy Me Love” was recorded halfway through, “This Boy” was only introduced by George, and “Twist And Shout” was recorded in its entirety. Since it is a proper soundboard recording, there may be other songs recorded, but so far only these two songs and George’s song introduction have been excavated. [Melbourne performance, daytime performance, June 17, 1964] And finally, the main performance will be held in Melbourne on June 17, 1964. On this day, two performances were held at the same venue, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, and this work records both of them in the highest quality. First of all, the intro in which the host Alan Field loudly declares “The world’s greatest attraction! The Beatles!” is impressive, and is also the title of this work. At this point, it can be seen that the Beatles were already the biggest attraction in show business. The Beatles’ live shows are known for opening with “Twist and Shout” in 1964 and 1965, and “Rock and Roll Music” in 1966, but this Australian concert is a rare one that starts with “I Saw Her Standing There”. From the second song onwards, it is almost the same as the later American tour, with the difference being that “Twist and Shout” is played in the second half. Both sets are the Beatles’ best at this point, but strangely enough, “Dakishimetai” is not played. Even though it was the Beatles’ biggest hit at this point, and even though they had performed it in Washington at the beginning of the year, it was omitted from this Melbourne concert. There may have been a limit to the number of songs and performance time per stage, but even so, it is difficult to understand why this song was omitted. Also, just before the 1964 world tour, Ringo was forced to leave the front line due to swollen tonsils. Jimmy Nicol was chosen as a substitute drummer and accompanied the tour. Ringo recalled how he felt at that time, saying, “Pete Best crossed my mind.” Of course, Jimmy Nicol was nothing more than a substitute, and Ringo was back in action, and that was Melbourne. On stage, Paul made a relatively long comment to celebrate Ringo’s return, and the audience was heard welcoming him. Disc 1 first contains the performance recorded from WBC RADIO MASTER. As it is a raw tape from before the broadcast, the sound image is somewhat rough, but it is an unedited leaked recording. It includes nine songs from the matinee session, starting with the host’s greeting. At first listen, you notice the Beatles’ passionate performance, especially Paul’s good groove. The fact that it was their first time in the country and that it was the hottest time before they went to the United States probably led to the passionate performance at this Melbourne performance. Since it is a raw tape, the sound quality is excellent, and it is a world apart from the air check recordings that followed. The air check recording is recorded in the second half of Disc 1. It has the sound quality of a radio broadcast at that time, and is recorded here as one of the many versions. What’s interesting is that this broadcast sound source is a mix of the day and night parts. Of course, it’s easy to tell which songs are day and which are night by listening to the sound source. The main part of Disc 2 is recorded from the WBC Radio Transfer Tape of the day part of the Melbourne performance on June 17, 1964. Moreover, it is notable for being recorded from the opening act, and above all, for its excellent sound quality. The opening act part includes one song by local singer Jonny Chester and seven songs by Sounds Incorporated. Sounds Incorporated also appeared as an opening act for the Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965. There are some defects in the WBC Radio Transfer Tape of the day part due to the leak process. First of all, “Long Tall Sally” is not included. Also, due to differences in the leak route, some of the tapes are missing “This Boy”. Some of the previously released titles reused these two songs from the evening part. One advantage of this work is that “This Boy” is recorded properly from the afternoon performance. [Melbourne performance, evening performance, June 17, 1964] The second half of Disc 2 contains the WBC RADIO MASTER sound source of the evening performance. Like the afternoon performance recorded on Disc 1, it is a leaked low master, and the sound quality is excellent even when heard with modern ears. The way the performance starts with the grandiose presenter’s announcement and then rushes into the performance represents the momentum of the Beatles at that time. Another version of the same WBC RADIO MASTER is recorded in the second half of Disc 3. Both are of high quality and difficult to choose between, but the fact that such a different version actually exists may not have been known until now. The first half of Disc 3 is the WBC RADIO TRANSFER TAPE of the evening performance. This also contains one opening song by Johnny Devlin and seven songs by Sounds Incorporated. It also includes the complete recording of “Long Tall Sally”, which was missing from the afternoon performance. Although there is some noise, this is the longest version including the opening act. The parts of the Australian local artists were almost completely ignored in the YD album “AUSTRALIAN TOUR 1964” and other releases, so this is the first time that this opening act has been recorded almost completely. The two Australian support acts were dressed as Elvis imitators and performed a very amateurish show, while Sounds Incorporated, who accompanied them from the UK, performed the William Tell Overture and the insert song “Maria” from the movie “West Side Story.” This opening act reflects the social conditions and trends of the time. The Beatles’ performance was even more wonderful than the matinee performance. There is an anecdote that Epstein was so pleased with the quality of the performance that he allowed the Beatles’ performance scenes to be used more than originally planned. From the fast-paced “I Saw Her Standing There” to John’s screaming “You Can’t Do That,” you can enjoy the Beatles’ live performance with a fresh atmosphere from their early days. Listening to these, you can see that the previously released titles were produced with great effort using multiple sources. The greatest feature of this work is that it records each of the following separately: WBC RAJIO MASTER, which has the best sound quality, WBC RADIO TRANSFER TAPE, which is the longest recording from the opening act, and its different versions. And this can be said for both the day and night performances, but since this Melbourne performance was broadcast, many collector’s items have been released since the analog era, but since all of them used air check sources, there were no titles with satisfactory sound quality. Moreover, titles that record each separately like this work are unprecedented. [Melbourne performance on June 17, 1964, day and night] Disc 4 contains the GTV VIDEO MASTER sound source, that is, the sound source accompanying the video described below. At the time, the quality of tapes was poor, and film soundtracks were the best recording media. Looking through Japanese audio magazines from the 1980s, there were even plans to preserve audio sources on VHS video instead of cassette tapes. In fact, the audio sources you can listen to here are far superior to those broadcast by radio stations, or even pre-broadcast audio sources. The radio was recorded for radio, and the video was recorded separately, so they are considered completely different things, even though it is the same concert (however, there is no record of the daytime TV broadcast and the late show radio broadcast). The radio recording not only includes the unrecorded opening act, but also the Beatles’ part is recorded with the best sound quality. Unfortunately, the parts without video footage naturally do not exist as audio sources, so the content is not complete, but the sound quality is noteworthy. The recording is also a mixture of the daytime and evening performances. This comes from the practice, which has existed from the time to the present, of editing multiple concerts to create a more complete video work.The only difference is that it is the same day at the same venue, day and night, so you can watch it through without feeling any discomfort from the sound or video. As a collector, you would want to listen to each one separately, but as one of the many versions, the end of this work contains a day-night mixed video sound source derived from this video. DISC ONE ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS September 12, 1963 01. Message To Australia MELBOURNE FESTIVAL HALL June 16, 1964 02. Can’t Buy Me Love 03. This Boy 04. Twist And Shout MELBOURNE FESTIVAL HALL June 17, 1964 Early Show WBC RADIO MASTER 05. Alan Field Introduction 06. I Saw Her Standing There 07. You Can’t Do That 08. All My Loving 09. She Loves You 10. Till There Was You 11. Roll Over Beethoven 12. Can’t Buy Me Love 13. This Boy 14. Long Tall Sally MELBOURNE FESTIVAL HALL June 17, 1964 Early & Late Show WBC RADIO BROADCAST 15. I Saw Her Standing There 16. You Can’t Do That 17. All My Loving 18. She Loves You 19. Till There Was You 20. Roll Over Beethoven 21. Can’t Buy Me Love 22. This Boy 23. Long Tall Sally DISC TWO MELBOURNE FESTIVAL HALL June 17, 1964 Early Show WBC RADIO TRANSFER TAPE JOHNNY CHESTER with THE PHANTOMS 01. Fever SOUND S INCORPORATED 02. Instrumental 03. Fingertips 04. Brontosaurus Stomp 05. The Spartans 06. Drums Solo 07. Maria 08. William Tell Overture THE BEATLES 09. Alan Field Introduction 10. I Saw Her Standing There 11. You Can’t Do That 12. All My Loving 13. She Loves You 14. Till There Was You 15. Roll Over Beethoven 16. Can’t Buy Me Love 17. This Boy 18. Twist And Shout MELBOURNE FESTIVAL HALL June 17, 1964 Late Show WBC RADIO MASTER 19. Alan Field Introduction 20. I Saw Her Standing There 21. You Can’t Do That 22. All My Loving 23. She Loves You 24. Till There Was You 25. Roll Over Beethoven 26. Can’t Buy Me Love 27. This Boy 28. Twist And Shout 29. Long Tall Sally DISC THREE MELBOURNE FESTIVAL HALL June 17, 1964 Late Show WBC RADIO TRANSFER TAPE JOHNNY DEVLIN with THE PHANTOMS 01. What I’d Say SOUNDS INCORPORATED 02. Instrumental 03. Fingertips 04. Brontosaurus Stomp 05. Spartans 06. Drum Solo 07. Maria 08. William Tell Overture THE BEATLES 09. Alan Field Introduction 10. I Saw Her Standing There 11. You Can’t Do That 12. All My Loving 13. She Loves You 14. Till There Was You 15. Roll Over Beethoven 16. Can’t Buy Me Love 17. This Boy 18. Twist and Shout 19. Long Tall Sally WBC RADIO ALTERNATE MASTER 20. Alan Field Introduction 21. I Saw Her Standing There 22. You Can’t Do That 23. All My Loving 24. She Loves You 25. Till There Was You 26. Roll Over Beethoven 27. Can’t Buy Me Love 28. This Boy 29. Twist And Shout 30. Long Tall Sally DISC FOUR MELBOURNE FESTIVAL HALL June 17, 1964 Early & Late Show GTV VIDEO MIX SOUNDS INCORPORATED 01. Instrumental 02. Fingertips 03. Brontosaurus Stomp 04. The Spartans 05. Drums Solo 06. Maria 07. William Tell Overture JOHNNY D EVLIN with THE PHANTOMS 08. C’mon Everybody 09. What’d I Say 10. Jailhouse Rock JOHNNY CHESTER with THE PHANTOMS 11. (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care 12. Miss Ann 13. Fever 14. Let’s Have A Party THE BEATLES 15. I Saw Her Standing There 16. You Can’t Do That 17. All My Loving 18. She Loves You 19. Till There Was You 20. Roll Over Beethoven 21. Can’t Buy Me Love 22. Twist And Shout 23. Long Tall Sally