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| From | "Jaimie Vernon" <bullseyecanada@hotmail.com> |
| Subject | Re: Klaatu |
| Date | Sun, 21 Nov 2004 12:18:48 -0500 |
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At Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2004 07:38:17 Mike Bennett wrote:
>This morning, I grabbed their first albums (on the
>two-for-one CD) and threw it on.
Sorry you got burned. The 2-fer-1 is a wholly inferior product to the
remasters the band put together for us (digital remastering -- which the
2-fer-1 ISN'T -- 16 page book, liner notes by the band). Buyer beware, I
guess.
>I can't say I'm a raving fan, but their some nice stuff on here. I am old
>enough to remember that >there was a rumor, when the debut came out, that
>these guys were The Beatles in disguise.
>
>Question -- Why?? Crack didn't hit the streets until a few years later, so
>I can't attribute this rumor >to people smoking too much of it. Heck, this
>isn't THAT Beatle-esque. Can Auditeers who were >around at the time fill
>in the blanks? I presume Jaimie will have some expertise on this one...
Miguel makes some comments on this in a follow-up email and he makes a valid
point. The world WANTED the Beatles to reunite. But, unlike the Badfingers
or Raspberries before them there were a dozen planets aligning that
contributed to what would be a hysteria completely unrelated to the songs
actually on the band's debut album (the rumour had already been dispelled by
the time the 'Hope' album was released in September '77).
Yes, "Sub Rosa Subway" is a salute to the Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles
(and in fact, the outtro of the song is actually "It's All Too Much" from
'Yellow Submarine')....and you can hear some Beatlesque moments in other
tracks but there was a dozen other influences on the album that no one
wanted to acknowledge -- the complete lift of prog maestros Giles &
McDonald's' "The Birdman" on "Calling Occupants", the lift of The Turtles
"You Used Me" on "Doctor Marvello", the re-enactment
of the Southern California surf-sound on "California Jam" (hello, earth
calling The Beach Boys!). Vaudeville giddiness on "Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby
III" and even Hendrix on "Anus Of Uranus" and "True Life Hero".
However, the similarity in "Sub Rosa" to all things Beatles led Providence
Rhode Island journalist Steve Smith to speculate that the band was either
working under a pseudonym or it was several members of the Beatles working
in tandem....OR a band who really nailed the feel for the Psychedelic era
Beatles. Truth be told, the rumour had some validity only in that the
Beatles deal with Capitol had expired -- the four solo Beatles having to
renogiate the very month that the Klaatu album hit big. Because of this,
Capitol had issued "Rock ANd Roll Music" and "Live At The Hollywood Bowl".
Also, Frank Davies had worked for Parlophone through Liberty Records in the
'60s as attache to Apple Records's Derek Taylor. So, there was some wiggle
room.
The Rhode Island FM radio station at the time hopped on the story as if it
were fact. Tracked down the band's management (Frank Davies of Daffodil
Records) to confirm or deny the rumour -- Frank did neither saying only
"maybe they are....maybe they aren't" and the story exploded from there.
Ironically, this was in February 1977....the album had come out in August of
1976 and completely stiffed. By March 15 of '77 Capitol had issued their own
press releases and informed staff to dig up "clues" connecting Klaatu to the
Beatles.....making it impossible for retailers to keep up with the demand.
Capitol pilfered their global warehouses for all the stock that had already
been slated for delete and threw them back into retail outlets (which would
cause no end of accounting nightmares for the band years later). Australia
alone was selling 1,000 copies of the album a day for 3 consecutive weeks.
Anyway....all this and more will be explained in the boxed set coming out in
May. The band is reuniiting for a fan convention in Toronto on May 7th,
2005. Rhode Island Journal writer Steve Smith will be attending to apologize
to everyone for the rumour :-)
Jaimie Vernon,
President, Bullseye Records
"Not Suing Our Customers Since 1985!!"
http://www.bullseyecanada.com
Author, Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia
http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicPopEncycloPages
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