The Beaubiens / Beau Biens 50th Anniversary Re-release!
IT'S OFFICIAL! As of February 20, 2017 Frank Uhle's 50th Anniversary Re-release of this 1967 "Garage Band Classic" went on sale. The press run sold out, but check discogs.com to trade. It was the most commercially successful record I produced. Auction prices for the original have exceeded $200! The re-issue is remastered from studio session tapes, not just copied from the original pressing master. That improves fidelity by saving a tape generation or two, and substituting today's superior mastering software. Label art mimics the original, printed on similar blue/turquoise stock. The original misprint of the band's name as one word is corrected.
Frank did a great job of creating sleeve art and liner notes. They're quite a step up from the original plain paper sleeves! Here are a couple of product photos:
Pressings were manufactured by the same Archer Record Pressing plant in Detroit that made the originals.
See Frank's article about the band in Ugly Things #40. Here's how the original looks and sounds on YouTube: A Man Who's Lost Remastering OuttakeThis version of the song's end breaks into stereo. To me, it suggests our dispirited protagonist wandering into a vast abyss, his song reverberating throughout the universe. It materialized by accident while trying to achieve just the right echoing fade.
Though I like the effect, Frank convinced me it is too radical a change to use in a "re-issue". I thought you might enjoy hearing it here. Even though this is only a 128Kbps .mp3, you can probably hear the improvement in fidelity. The digital remaster uses 96 KHz, 24 bit sampling in conformance with today's professional standards. We subsequently reduced the bass level from what you hear in this sample. In some listening rooms, it seemed like too much. More Detroit Record Lore
Besides Motown, Fortune Records was a big influence on Detroit's music scene. Knowing I did a little work there, Frank Uhle was kind enough to send a fascinating book authored by two of his friends. It is handsomely constructed, and jam packed with pictures and stories of people there, relations with Motown, and lots of things I didn't know even though I was there! Its title, Mind Over Matter, was a smash hit for Fortune artist Nolan Strong.
|
aftermath after ~50 years (the band likes it not capitalized)YouTube postings of another successful record:
There are some cool pics of the band in these videos.
When I recorded these, I did not know that The Animals had recorded Bury My Body. After hearing theirs, I think I like the aftermath version a little better. Frank Uhle has also published an article about the aftermath in Ugly Things #40. aftermath Re-issue Released! Perfect Toy Records of Germany includes Messin' with the Kid on a vinyl LP titled "Down & Wired 3", released June 2017. The first track on side 2, it is an "extended LP" version, digitally remastered from the original 1966 studio session tapes, comprising originally released material plus a guitar solo and 2 additional verses. It is also offered in CD and download form at perfecttoyrecords.bandcamp.com/. The Continentals: Rufus Rastas/DonnaI hooked up with this band in 1965, and recorded them in WSLN's studios on the Ohio Wesleyan University campus. I thought they sounded pretty good, and they were happy with the result.
This YouTube posting bears a radio station's stamp: I'm not sure how I wound up with credit on the label as arranger for Rufus Rastas, and composer for Donna. That seemed to be the way the band wanted it, though I did neither.
I don't remember hearing any more from the band about how it went after they set off with their box of pressings. The record pictured here reportedly sold for $46 on eBay July 19, 2011. Vinyl LP "Down & Wired 5" arrived on my porch on September 23, 2021. My digital remaster of Rufus Rastas is one of its 12 tracks. This is a quality product from Perfect Toy Records, Germany. It looks and sounds great, with extensive liner notes. See perfecttoyrecords.bandcamp.com/ |
I had a lot of fun producing these, along with a couple other pressed records that have no YouTube postings, and some unreleased recordings of various groups. I have also had fun a half century later revisiting and remastering them. Thanks to Frank Uhle for his inspiration!
I still enjoy making new recordings from time to time. Here's a little commentary on the 2016 election season I recently put together:
Spin Doctor - Apologies to David Seville.mp3
Spin Doctor - Apologies to David Seville.mp3
