Gary Owen's Blog

I haven't posted here for nearly 4 years. Today, I thought I'd showcase one of my favorite videos of us Blue Meanies performing at the St. George Theater, Staten Island, NY. It was filmed in 2019 at our annual Beatles Blast as we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the "Abbey Road" album. A lot has happened since my last post. On May 11, 2019, we lost our drummer, JT, at the age of 69. Hence the reason this video features our original, and now permanent, drummer Drew Paradine. This was one month after JT had passed and- as a tribute- Drew played JT's Gretsch drum set.  Anyway, pump it up and sing along to our rendition of "Here Comes The Sun" ......which I dedicated to my Norwegian wife, Mette!

Hey! It's good to know this old blog is still here!  Here's a link to my latest blog on my now main website, "Gary Owen Musician". It deals with the scorn that is always thrown at the Beatles releases on Capitol Records in the USA. Check it out: In Defense Of The Beatles US Releases

The "I Feel Fine / She's A Woman" single was released on November 23, 1964 (US) and November 27, 1964 (UK). Naturally, the "A" side, which we concentrate on here, became a worldwide #1 hit single. This time, for us Yankees, George Martin intentionally mixed a Beatles single a bit differently. Capitol Records had a habit (sometimes good sometimes not) of adding reverb to their releases as they assumed Americans preferred a "bigger sound" (many did). With Beatles releases, it w as usually the stereo LP's which were slammed with the extra effect. Most notably, the stereo version of "The Beatles Second Album" . Many fans actually prefer hearing those songs in this beefed up manner. I must admit, I love what they did to "Roll Over Beethoven" as the dry mix- in both mono and stereo- makes George Harrison's Gretsch electric sound like he's playing inside a tin can. A Gretsch should never be "pointy" and that ...

A continuation of my Beatles green "Starline Series" thread..... By 1969, Capitol Records had switched over to what is now known to collectors as the red and orange "target label" (my favorite). For whatever reason, in 1971, the company decided to reissue two of the unique 1965 Starline singles on said target label: "Roll Over Beethoven / Misery" and "Boys / Kansas City" . This time, they were released as regular reissues and did not bear the name "Starline". These singl es were only pressed at the Jacksonville, Illinois plant and are not common. At the same time (and plant) Capitol mistakenly pressed up a small run of the Canadian 45 "All My Loving / This Boy" which- in 1964- reached #45 in the US as an import. It bears the Canadian catalog number but has US markings. Once the error was discovered, production was immediately halted and the single withdrawn. Yes, it's rare. 

In January, 1962, Capitol Records launched it's "Starline" series as a vehicle for reissuing old hit singles. The 45's feature a greenish version of the classic yellow and orange swirl label which adorned Capitol's regular singles in the 1960's. IMHO, I think this label is more attractive, and, yes, their rarity does add to it. :) The six Beatles singles released in Capitol's Starline series were: 1. Twist And Shout / There's A Place (6061) 2. Love  Me Do / P.S. I Love You ( 6062) 3.  Please Please Me / From Me To You  (6063) 4. Do You Want To Know A Secret / Thank You Girl (6064) 5. Roll Over Beethoven / Misery (6065) 6. Boys / Kansas City (6066) The first four were reissues of singles which were released earlier on the Vee Jay and Tollie labels. The last two were unique creations by Capitol. For whatever stupid reason, three tunes:  "Misery" , "There's A Place" and "From Me To You" had not been releas...

It seems the "Winter Of Discontent" is doing it's best to hang on like a vice grip. This didn't stop Mette and I from meandering to nine different states within a week- and though it seemed as if it was warming up- the weather keeps falling back into February mode. I guess the best way to deal with it is just that: deal with it. Let's hear another bright and sunny tune. Maybe it will inspire Mother Nature to allow Spring to come in full blast. Sing it Simon, Crosby and Nash............ Here Comes The Sun (Simon, Crosby & Nash)

A blast from the mullet-era-stage-frightened past.

Ah yes. That eternal battle of which format is superior......... IMHO, it depends on the song itself. Something which requires a ton of overdubs usually breathes better in stereo but so many tunes come to life in monophonic. A prime example being the 1966 single "Paperback Writer" by The Beatles (oh no... not those guys, again). We'll get to that in a moment...... In the 1960's, walking into a record shop and having the choice of either format was routine. Most kids bought the mono recordings because: 1. Most 45's were in monophonic so they had no choice. 2. Their playback equipment wasn't exactly of the highest quality and only had one speaker. 3. Mono LP's were usually a dollar cheaper than the "posh" stereo pressings. Since monophonic was the norm, The Beatles were more concerned with these mixes. They rarely attended stereo mixing sessions which would usually be completed within an hour or so. These said stereo ve...

For those who are unaware, it seems the market has been flooded with homemade copies of the following box sets: 1. The Beatles Stereo Box: 2. The Beatles In Mono Box: 3. The Beatles U.S. Albums: There is also the Japan Box  but I have not heard of any fakes yet (I am sure it's only a matter of time): I have seen a counterfeit  "U.S. Albums" and it's pathetic. The covers were all off center, the CD's looked like garbage, no inner sleeves, the gatefold albums were a disaster and the sticker with the "Yesterday...And Today" trunk cover was separate from the CD. What made it worse is the thing was obviously hand-cut with scissors. Ridiculous. Sad that so many people would/will never notice. The first of the  red lights  are the third party people selling these at discount prices. If you are looking for that bargain through these offers, send the seller an inquiry asking if the set is legitimate and to provide photos. This ...

This past October, I spent a wonderful weekend performing at the Beatles festival high up in the ski-resort town of Beitostølen, Norway. This was a big departure from the likes of Beatlefest and Abbey Road On The River as it's much smaller and personal. Met many nice people like Terje- the person running the convention- and was given the chance to sit down with renowned Beatles author Mark Lewishon. Some interesting Beatles-related tidbits were discussed over a nice dinner. Ola Furu- a Beatles record collector- was displaying his collection. He specializes in all the UK pressings of the "Please Please Me" LP and had about forty copies showcased! He also had all the uniquely compiled Norwegian 45's which command a hefty sum these days. Scandinavian pressings- especially Norwegian- are not common at all. I was given the chance to really unload on some of the more obscure material that nobody performs. That was a major rush for me as anything interesting and different...

One of my favorite pastimes is performing tribute shows. The band I am a part of- The Blue Meanies- have done a few interesting performances of this type. We've done Monkees, Kinks, CCR, British Invasion and obligatory Beatles tributes. Sometimes we'll do an entire album by whichever artist we choose. For Abbey Road On The River 2011, we performed the entire "Ringo" album- including the non-LP "B" side "Down And Out" . Click on the links to hear "Have You Seen My Baby (Hold On)" and "Down And Out" from that show: Have You Seen My Baby (Hold On) Down And Out

A fun weekend of gigging. Friday was a wonderful gathering of friends at Simmy & Hal's Groovy Winter Festival. One of those cozy "set me up in your living or dining room" shows. A few people brought their guitars and others took over vocal duties on various songs. Wound up staying later than planned which always makes for a good time. Saturday was Joyce's Tavern. Some of Friday's attendees were on hand and the place was aglow with happy faces. One thing is for sure, I never get tired of performing for a room full of Beatles fans.

One of the biggest selling CD's in history is The Beatles album "1" (released in 2000). This is a compilation of number one hits from the US and UK respectively. Essentially, this collection expanded upon and replaced the October, 1982 album "20 Greatest Hits". Certain tracks were not released as singles in the UK and various tracks did not reach #1 in either country. This resulted in a few anomalies on both the American and British versions of the "20 Greatest Hits" album. The Australian pressing went a step further by adding a three song EP to the LP which was titled "23 Number Ones". I love this kind of stuff, ya know. :) Anyway, I have created a unique version of "1" based on the number one hits in Norway. Unlike the official pressing of the album, I have utilized the correct monophonic 45 mixes for everything applicable (19 of the 21 tracks). Makes for a superior listening experience along with some strange and interest...