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I was reading today about the recording of Klaatu's Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft.

Words and Music By:John Woloschuk and Terry Draper
Lead Vocal: Terry Draper and John Woloschuk
Backup Vocals: John Woloschuk, Terry Draper, Dee Long, Terry Brown
John: pianos, organ, synthesizer, bass guitar
Dee: mellotron, synthesizer, electric guitar
Terry: drums, tympani, percussion

The track was recorded at: Toronto Sound Studios
Recording Period: March - August 1975 (mixed 06-Jan-1976)
Initial Release Date: August 1976

The most interesting finding for me was that John used a Rickenbacker 4001 bass for this recording. Go figure.

I don't remember them, but now I'll check out their music. I'm always looking for more good music to listen to.

Yeah, weird but really good band.

Korladis wrote: Tue May 26, 2026 8:54 pm Yeah, weird but really good band.

I concur Dan, a great band with terrific compositions but they were and are somewhat off the beaten path. Beatle-esque and Bowie-esque they added other musicians in the early 1980s such as Leland Sklar.

Didn't some people think they were secretly the Beatles or something for a bit?

Yes, there were a bunch of rumors of it secretly being The Beatles. They sounded similar to Sgt. Pepper era. None of the band members' names were listed and it was on Capitol Records. I bought the first album when it came out, not because it sounded like The Beatles but because it was good. I now have them all on vinyl and several on CD. You can hear the whole first album here: https://youtu.be/pS3dAvbO1wg?si=1-UdvlQqnx25C-g8
Sub Rosa Subway sounds just like McCartney (Both vocals and bass).

byu wrote: Thu May 28, 2026 3:45 pm Yes, there were a bunch of rumors of it secretly being The Beatles. They sounded similar to Sgt. Pepper era. None of the band members' names were listed and it was on Capitol Records. I bought the first album when it came out, not because it sounded like The Beatles but because it was good. I now have them all on vinyl and several on CD. You can hear the whole first album here: https://youtu.be/pS3dAvbO1wg?si=1-UdvlQqnx25C-g8
Sub Rosa Subway sounds just like McCartney (Both vocals and bass).

Right you are, Bill! Very Pepperish. I love the first album.

I really enjoy (California jam ) and am covinced at the end of the recording after the yeah yeah yeah it’s Paul McCartney on the track for one word (California) lol just listen and give me some imput. I think it’s uncanny

Pierce Roettele wrote: Sun May 31, 2026 11:26 pm I really enjoy (California jam ) and am covinced at the end of the recording after the yeah yeah yeah it’s Paul McCartney on the track for one word (California) lol just listen and give me some imput. I think it’s uncanny

At the 2:27 mark after the harmony "Oh Yeah" the solo voice "California" certainly sounds like Paul, but as the voices of Klaatu have closely resembled The Beatles, David Bowie and in this song the The Beach Boys I think they are more than capable of doing a Paul. It does sound very close thought.

One can see a brief glimpse of the 4001 in this video of Califirnia Jam:


https://www.youtube.com/live/JKW18CQri6A?app=desktop


I had heard of them only because one of my alternate screen names in Yahoo (for comments) was klaatubaratanicto (that's hoe I spelled it), and someone responded to a post and mentioned that he/she was a fan of Klaatu.
IMO, they also sound, appropriately for the era, a little bit like ELO thanks to the multi-layering of instruments and sounds.

I listened to the albumn Hope and like their sound.

doctorwho wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2026 2:17 am One can see a brief glimpse of the 4001 in this video of Califirnia Jam:


https://www.youtube.com/live/JKW18CQri6A?app=desktop


I had heard of them only because one of my alternate screen names in Yahoo (for comments) was klaatubaratanicto (that's hoe I spelled it), and someone responded to a post and mentioned that he/she was a fan of Klaatu.
IMO, they also sound, appropriately for the era, a little bit like ELO thanks to the multi-layering of instruments and sounds.

I listened to the albumn Hope and like their sound.

I agree Gary. ELOesque for sure.