Found Lennon Letter Blasting Capitol Records

[Soulsaman]

Wow I used to have this record as a kid.
I never new Lennon hated the cover art for this greatest hits album.

Looking at it now, it is pretty cheesy. Especially the 2 big thumbs added to give the effect that you're holding it! lol

Link:
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local ... 71204.html

[FretlessOnly]

Good stuff; thanks for posting.

Kind of makes me once again think twice about how many times the theory about the Butcher Cover being a commentary to Capitol has allegedly been disproved because the intent of the photo session had nothing to do with making an album cover. OK, fine. But if I bake a pie with the intent of serving it to my dinner guests and instead take it to a Three Stooges convention and throw it at someone, you cannot offer my original intent as proof that I didn't throw it. Silly.

Sorry, somewhat off-topic rant over.

[jingle_jangle]

I didn't know that grade school art classes were allowed to design Beatles album covers.

The art director should be hanged by his thumbs.

[simer4001]

This was an absolutely horrible cover. The gatefold was worse, with tailfins, milkshakes, drive ins etc... The reissue albums were released with a non-descript cover and it was released in two volumes

[jingle_jangle]

Slightly better but still doo doo.

I haven't seen the gatefold.

Tailfins? Milkshakes? Drive-Ins?

That's evocative of nothing except a phony "Happy Days" non-memory of a non-time years before the Boys ever hit these shores.

It also gives me the creepy feeling of being "worked" (manipulated) for my pocket change...

This great and timeless music that affected Western culture for all time, deserves greatness in its presentation.

Give me the original album graphics, or give me plain brown wrappers.

[Clint]

On the upside, I think the mix for Hey Bulldog is better on this album than the one on my copy of Yellow Submarine.

[johnnysain]

He went on: "Don't try to make a silk shirt out of a pigs ***...i.e. making Stereo out of Mono."

This turned out to be the most relevant thing in his letter.

I guess Yoko, the other Beatles, and Michael Jackson dismissed that comment......

[jimk]

I didn't know that grade school art classes were allowed to design Beatles album covers.

The art director should be hanged by his thumbs.

....or at the very least have his Crayolas taken away from him and sent to the time-out corner.
JimK

[chucksimms]

I do recall Ringo being critical of the artwork as well, but the worst compilation by far was the Beatles Reel Music, a collection of tracks from their movies. They even issued a medley 45 with this one, didn't they? The artwork is particularly amateurish on that cover. At least with Rock and Roll Music they remixed the tracks so they sounded a little more robust. It was one of my first Beatles albums so I have a soft spot for that one.

[dr_wahnsinn]

This was the first Beatles LP that I bought new. I probably bought it at Musicland in the Sun Valley Mall, or at The Wherehouse in Park And Shop. (Hello to all those who know what I'm talking about.)

What I remember most about that album is the metallic odor it had! Man, it was strong and was there for years. To this day I believe my copy still has some of that original scent.

[jingle_jangle]

Chinese vinyl with no deodorizer added. Smells like dirty oil. Beginners in Orient sourcing will usually miss this in their specifications from an Asian factory.

[dr_wahnsinn]

Paul, if you're referring to my post, I was referring to the original sleeve for this LP - not the discs themselves. It was with some type shiny foil-like material and had very much a metallic odor. This foil sleeve was not used for the entire production run - being changed to a different material even before the package was split into two single LPs.

[jingle_jangle]

Ah, OK. Thanks, Jocelyn. Foil has no odor, but the adhesive used to bond it to the card stock album cover does.

And, for the record ( ), I once had to literally sniff the kids' meal toys I designed to ascertain if the right deodorizers were being used by the Chinese rotomolders. The smell is memorable. I'm permanently imprinted like a baby duck.

[JeffZ]

When I got my copy, I remember being hit by the odor myself, whew...I bought it then mainly because it had "I'm Down" on it which previously had only been available as a single. This is an old record company trick; stick one rare track on an LP that the collectors will want bad enough to buy the repackage (The Kinks back catalog was mercilessly desecrated by PYE in this manner). George Martin was also quoted at the time as being unhappy with the record, feeling that any repackaging of The Beatles music was improper.

[Zurdo]

jezus krist! I still have my "I''m Down" 45 rpm record. Nothing sounds as good as that little record.