The new voice of the Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society founded in 1971. We celebrate in this blog the history of the group using current research. We target the music back-stories the fans want to hear, and work to see all of the recorded material released and made available to fans.
Back in 2011 I was writing blogs about a project my late friend and sound engineer Stefan Wriedt wanted to tackle as there seemed no prospect of a comprehensive review of the Four Seasons Partnesrhips vaults/archive. And rumours had been rife for years that the tape vaults are incomplete in terms of the Master Sessions Matrix Index which we've developed on our web site. Do the MONO mixes we all know still exist as since 1988 and the advent of CD the output has been largely STEREO, and often wide or poorly mastered tracks of the analogue to digital transfers.?
Our UK Fan group web site index covers all known Matrix Numbers of Masters from 1962 to 1971 and an Excel Spreadsheet of what is stored in the Motown Universal vaults, much of it still Unreleased.
Here is our blog post back then and the enthusiastic response from long term fans Colin and Zane at the time. We have in the last two years achieved an amazing break through and collaboration like never before. So revisit this and then see what we are now achieving below.
Of course at that time 'Jersey Boys' was still in full flow and the 'Jersey Beat' Box set in 2007 had been the Rhino attempt at a collectors package. It underwhelmed most of us although many of us were able to comment on our fave tracks in the Charles Alexander inspired 'mini-book'. The Motown Anthology set in 2008 was 90% based on released material but on CD for the first time 'officially'. We know the 'unreleased' is there and have proved it since.
So our project work has progressed since and although sadly we lost Stefan[and GILG web master Frank Rovello and ex UK Fan club President Stuart Miller] with the help of Paul Urbans and Ray Nichol I completed a fully re-mastered set of 45 MONO A and B sides from 1962 to 1970. It's not perfect re every 45 side[as some MONO sides are very difficult to find in prime condition.....and it did not cover the 'Valli SOLO' 45s], but it is still a good consistent 'reference set' of the MONO vinyl released versions. That reference set we said in 2015 would have to do until someone found the money and as a result time to research the Tape Archive and re-digitise the Master Tapes with todays technology.
Well today as I write........ that is happening for the first time [thanks to Snapper Records of London] with a full set of specialists at work to create the 'Ultimate' salvage from the surviving tapes. Bob, Frankie, Snapper Records and the UK fan group have committed to aim for the best set of recovered Masters of Frankie and the group ever. Bill Inglot, so much the archive researcher for Bob and Frankie over the decades has reviewed in depth what analogue tapes exist and what we are seeing we will get will be a full review and NEW Analogue/Digital transfers. Coupled with Reynolds Mastering working on new Re-Masters and with record industry renowned compiler Bob Fisher they are a full team targeting the highest quality possible. A circa 40 CD set has been proposed and contracts progressed and research and transfer have been happening through the last few months. New transfers re-mastered as the best 2020 digital Masters ever is the aim. The work will bring some amazing finds.......some we have said should be there and some completely new to us all are surfacing.
Results so far show we can at last say a MONO Master set will be possible of all album and non-album 45 tracks released in the vinyl format [ie 1962 to 1970] and the surviving STEREO mixes are revisited and tapes checked for alternate versions. But perhaps the best news is that the magnificent STEREO hits set produced by Bob Crewe from surviving Master tapes [Edizione D'Oro] has been found and will be fully presented on CD for the first time ever. And a surviving MONO Master of Genuine Imitation Life Gazette will appear as a vinyl insert. Photos/memorabilia and an historic book will complete this de-luxe set.
This is a big achievement and what fans have been asking for for years. Alternate Takes/Live tracks and previously unreleased tracks have been found and these will be reviewed and approved by Frankie and Bob where of adequate quality[re performance and sound quality]. The fan group team are assisting as and when needed. Our reference set of the MONO sides has been provided for comparison purpose. 90% of sources are pulled from the Partnership vaults and transferred and review and re-mastering is well underway.
The one thing that qualifies ANY Frankie Valli/Four Seasons collection is that nowhere in the archives are copies of 'session work or multi-tracks'[unlike the Beach Boys recordings]. The whole library consists of completed Masters.....either from album /45 or left-overs in some rare cases. All previously known tracks follow the listing of Matrix numbers found in our Masters Sessions listings on our web site as far as the Vee-Jay and Philips period goes and MONO and STEREO versions do exist of most tracks. Of course several MONO only tracks like 'Ronnie' were never mixed to STEREO after the session and 45 release.
So apart from what is there we suspect nothing else has survived .......unless fans and former record company employees out there tell us. ? Now is the time to speak up if such gems exist in hidden archives. We have discovered one or two salvaged from cassette and acetate......but whether these make it into the set we can't say at present.
This investment by Snapper is the most in-depth investigation with Bill Inglot of surviving Master analogue tapes ever. As Stefan and I concluded in 2011 it is long overdue! The result will we believe establish the most accurate and comprehensive collection of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons work in 21st Century sound.
A real 'collectors piece'
The tape search goes on......'Unreleased' have been found at Philips and Motown and review and quality assessment continues with Bob Gaudio, who is fully supporting these research stages and the final product. More feedback when we have it. Target release August 2020. London.
[Qualifying Note: This is an article based on discussions in the Steve Hoffmann Audio Forum and his view on his attempts at 're-mixing' Whilst his quote is obviously as he says......other comments are not accredited to members to protect their privacy. They are simply used to illustrate the alternative views.]
As I continue to sort of 'forensically'study the Four Seasons catalogue[sad music detective that I am!] and criticising how bad some of the past product has been I was struck bySteve Hoffman'spost recently regarding re-mixing. Back in 2009 I probably would have agreed with him.
“In the 1980s I was working on reissuing the third Mamas & Papas album "Deliver" and having a long distance admiration affair with Diana Reid Haig, my counterpart in Nashville. I was playing the music for her and told her in my opinion that it was about the worst stereo mix I had ever heard, ever! She agreed it was terrible. I said "What I wouldn't give to be able to remix this album so it sounded good but the multi-track tapes were destroyed by ABC so they could make room for Pat Boone tapes so it can't be done."
She said a surprising thing to me. She said, "Good, I'm glad you can't do it."
Why, I said? She stated:
"Because the original mix is the original mix, the published version, that's the only version that is legitimate. The only version that counts."
I said it was terrible! She said "That's the breaks! Anything else is just not right."
I scratched my head at this but I never forgot it. She told me that "my remixes, although sounding in better fidelity, were not real. Not authentic, not anything but an exercise in playing God. She said that if something out of the past sounds less than wonderful, then it sounds less than wonderful but the music comes through, and the vibe of the era comes through and the energy of creation and the authentic feel of the era comes through and to change that is basically to laugh in the face of all the people who worked on the music to begin with, and that includes the songwriters, musicians, producers, engineers and everyone else. You can't wipe that all away for the sake of a change in fidelity or to reveal a hidden lute or to make the Celeste louder. It's not legitimate.
Now, I didn't agree with her at the time, but her words totally stuck with me, even all these years later (obviously), and I began to change my tune (pun intended.)
Some engineers can claim "I can match the exact mix but with better fidelity or something."
They can't. I can't. I've tried for 30 years and it's not possible. It comes out as a new creation, enjoyable, but it's no longer the original album anymore and anyone who says it is, has never tried doing it.”
One of the problems with such mixes is that they have been re-issued and even streame in some cases and labelled as 'THE ORIGINAL'
Steve makes a good point here and that is why my late sound engineer friend Stefan Wriedt and I agreed back in 2009 that the Four Seasons 1960s catalogue[particularly 1962 to 1966] is largely in pretty poor to ordinary 'wide panned' STEREO fidelity. 'Authentic'….yes[but only where it matches the MONO].......but only the MONO delivers their great track with the full drive and impact as that is what was intended and what we heard on radio and our record players back then.
That was why we started the MONO Archive of every A and B side from 1962 to 1970. I completed it in 2016. It remains my fave playlist of their songs. I couldn't see anything other than the MONO Mix being 'the business'.Well it still is but there is another way of looking at it........there is a new mix full of detail to complement[not replace!] the old STEREO as I've said before.
Other forum members responded to Steve and an interesting conversation followed which again puts the Four Seasons 60s catalogue into context.
“The concept of stereo was foreign for about the first 10-12 years in pop music, at least until 1968. Even then, they made a lot of sloppy, slap-dash mixes that barely resemble what I'd call "acceptable, balanced stereo." In particular, the 2-track "vocals on one side/instruments on the other" are awful to listen to. There are actually cases where the mono mixes have a lot more power and are more enjoyable to a point.”
With no multi-tracks [which is the feed-back we have re the Four Seasons catalogue] the case for 're-mixing'the STEREO Masters was a limited argument even a couple of years ago. The MONO rules!!!!!........But there is an additional alternative as another response to Steve put it.....
“History respected, sure, but as long as you don't augment an original recording with re-recorded portions of the music, I don't see any issue with repositioning poorly done stereo mixes. Everybody knows that back then, recording hits was purely a financial thing. Time was spent recording the stuff and (if done on a multi track machine) the mixing to mono was more carefully paid attention to. Often, the stereo mix was almost an afterthought.”
“Most remix producers worth their salt attempts to remix poor stereo mixes to match the mono version as closely as possible. Most of the time, when faced with a 2-track sounding mix (vocals on one channel, etc.), the remix producer center the vocals more in tune with what most of us consider better sounding stereo mixing.”
Some respondents agreed that perhaps the best way forward is to have both....” to the point that I have been buying several Japanese reissues where they offer the mono AND stereo versions of the same album on one CD. Let's face it, back in the 1960s the majority of album (and virtually all singles) were envisioned and mixed to mono. The stereo versions where usually created by a different engineer and primarily to make an extra dollar from fans.”
“If you look at the Billboard summary of record sales in 1960 mono LPs outsold stereo 3 to 1..and remember people were in a stereo frenzy in those days wanting to count how many tweeters and bass speakers were in each enclosure. Even by 1966, Mono albums were still outselling stereo almost by 2 to 1. It was in a year or two later that Columbia eliminated mono product causing an industry wide action. So yes, I applaud anyone who reissues a mono original, especially many of the ones that have not been issued in the digital era.”
That is what we asked for from Snapper Records as they approached Bob Gaudio re the contents of the forthcoming BOX SET[see our previous blog posts] , covering all their albums and singles. ALL THE MONO please!
But today things have changed and I no longer fully agree with Steve Hoffman. The reason is simple.......TECHNOLOGY......well more importantly …...SOFTWARE. And I am not the only one. The latest users of Spectral Audio Extraction see it differently.
“Since I really like doing stereo conversions & remixing even more, I totally disagree with Steve Hoffman's new view of mixing. I just try to get the best possible stereo sound out of any song I work on & some may agree with this approach & some not which is fine with me. As I wrote in another post, I much prefer the lead vocals & bass always & drums usually in the center to more clearly hear the rest of the stereo image better on the sides IMO. Many stereo songs even back in the early 60s were mixed this way & I greatly enjoy those songs without any need for any remixing. However, the songs that had the vocals and/or bass on one side just sound so unbalanced to my ears & even more so as I have gotten older. Maybe this is an issue with me but I do know most older people over 60 have trouble hearing things that are not centrally located in real life which I think extends into the stereo world also. I notice a big positive change hearing vocals much clearer in the center instead of the sides just like bass & drums.”
It really isn't an age thing it is just the appreciation of a 'balanced sound-stage'
Digitally Extracted STEREO from any era MONO[or channel limited STEREO] can be brought to life in an unbelievable way as collectors of ERIC Record releases know.But you have to be careful that the engineer has produced a genuine DES mix with no 'artifacts'[eg wandering vocals between channels/ghost harmonies etc]
I've also featured some samples in earlier blog posts by a top DES engineer and the case for creation of NEW STEREO creations from MONO only releases is such a no-brainer as NO STEREO version exists. Here is one set of great sounding examples.which are perhaps 'what the producer would have done today'.
It is not a case that there is a 'Best Mix'.There is room for all three mixes in our lives[MONO/Authentic STEREO/NEW DES]. I will be tackling getting this done for us Seasons fans as we continue our research. But ultimately fans want every chance to hear the detail of the recorded mixes........in both STEREO and MONO. And with todays software they can have it. But it is simply a case of a skilled engineer spending the time and developing the detail of the recording.
It is an interesteing debate and we will continue to develop DES STEREO versions of the Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons Catalogue to complement the ORIGINAL MONO and STEREO versions. All valid 'Best Mix' contenders.
It seems amazing to see the Four Seasons UK Fan Club still exists in 2019!!! Well really it is now a social media fan group, but with a web site full of the data we have assembled and published. We've been posting blogs about the groups career and back story since 2006 in Casey's 'Chameleon' blogand post 2011 'That 'Four Seasons' Sound blog.And it is amazing how much we have covered. So we go again!
We've had over a year now to contemplate the arrival next year from Snapper Records of London of a 40+ box set.
Well it is one of the least important things in life, but nonetheless we've achieved somethings that wouldn't have happened perhaps if we hadn't called for a properly re-mastered and presented career set and unreleased tracks on behalf of fans. This box set is one of the results of our efforts. As with most artists who own most of their back catalogue the Partnership and Rhino/Curb/ACE etc have always been thinking of timing of projects to persuade fans to part with their hard-earned money.......just as Vee-Jay/Philips/Warner/Private Stock et al did back in the days of vinyl.
To newer fans this will maybe sound strange but some of us have dozens of albums and CD's of every Frankie Valli/Four Seasons song ever!!!!!. So to strange people like us we needed something that would show us that this Box Set may definitely be the most important release ever.
So when London based Snapper Records told us their plans for a career spanning box set based on their 'brand' and quality presentation of the Four Seasons catalogue we were understandably interested......and when they said Bob Gaudio was enthusiastic about it they got our attention. A meeting in London revealed the plans were to include in a career spanning box set 40 + albums a large portion of unreleased.....and 'what did we want included?'they asked.
Lynn Boleyn and I in unison said the 'Motown Unreleased'!
You have to remember that both Bob Gaudio and Harry Weinger of Universal Motown stated back in 2008 that there weren't any unreleased'completed'Motown tracks . And imagine our surprise when Snapper announced that Bob Gaudio 'had unreleased tracks from every decade'. And he was prepared to release them.......well what a surprise and so by then we were getting excited!!.
Over the last 10 years we have researched and demonstrated a potential 30 to 40 Motown Unreleased tracks in paper records as 16 track or Stereo versions in the NYC vault[from their 1971 to 1974 contract with the label] . So the Motown Unreleased Campaign I[Ken Charmer] started 2 and a half years ago has made all this data available and this has been shared with the Partnership and Snapper. And we have posted You Tube videos of some of these songs [from demo acetate/tape] demonstrating this fact. The aim was to show that 'yes...it did still exist....and should be preserved ...and released'.
Well whether that exercise has been completed in depth and all 16 track tapes researched we do not know but we hear that only 14 tracks have been 'approved'by Bob Gaudio. Lynn Boleyn and I are extremely disappointed and it would be easy to be negative re the current proposals for the Box Set.
In response to our disappointment Snapper's Ian Crocket responded....“I must stress that with respect , your fellow Four Seasons collectors will not be familiar with the sets we produce. Nobody is producing box sets to the size quality and standard that we do and what must not be forgotten is the amount of additional content that is included (coffee table book, signature, vinyl, memorabilia etc). In my experience when fans eventually receive their purchase through the post they are generally blown away by the weight and size which is reflected in the comments on line. Whilst the unreleased Motown is key it is not the be all and end all, and we must not lose sight that this is a career retrospective.”
So after careful consideration we agreed on the following joint statement on behalf of the fans......”It is great that Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli are on board and that Bob has already approved 14 unreleased Motown tracks for inclusion along with two live show recordings. We hope that Snapper will be encouraging Bob to agree to further unreleased Motown tracks being included and also unreleased tracks from every era where we have been informed by Bob there are also unreleased tracks. We appreciate that Ian is working hard to make this box set a huge success and the more unreleased tracks that can be included the better.’
Notwithstanding the status of the catalogue in terms of career spanning material there remains no comprehensive set available and so such a compilation may be deemed value for money for some. Since 1988 and the real advent of CD [according to my count on George Ingram's US CD discography] there have been.....
33 plus Hits or Compilations of selected tracks on CD or Box Set
26 individual albums or 2fer CD sets
1 original album of new tracks
1 album of retrospective songs[Covers]
1 Christmas album of new recordings
1 Classic albums Box Set[FV/Four Seasons]incomplete career wise
1 Classic albums Box Set Frankie Valli Solo] incomplete career wise
Snapper said re this planned collection.......”I’m confident we will also have a disc of Partnership unreleased/alt takes as well as the 2 live performances [Bachelors 3 and Lucifer's] the 2 unreleased BBC tracks and the MONO vinyl, the books are also going to be very well received if previous experiences are anything to go by. Obviously we are still going to strive to make this the best Four Seasons release ever and with the content we already have I’m confident we are well on the way.”
So as we await with interest what comes together we will continue to review our research re the catalogue and in particular the Motown Period and the sessions that resulted in both superb releases and the 'unreleased' we have so long campaigned to hear. We do hope there will be more..and we get detailed feedback.....and so re the known 'unreleased' tracks completed at Motown? The campaign goes on.
2007 saw Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons 'storm' the house scene of Europe's dance floors with a song re-mixed from a minor 1966 hit by the group.
They have given us 4 decades of classic 'dance ' tracks. This is a little known or 'respected' set of music that Bob Gaudio is responsible for which should be reviewed and appreciated not only for the songs and production but also in the context of the group's and Frankie's long-term connection with 'DANCE' music........but firstly let's review the early history and their iconic place in DANCE music history.
From the very beginning THE FOUR SEASONS were not regarded for their 'dance' songs. OK 'Sherry' is urging teens to 'c'mon to my Twist Party' but nothing in the early to mid-sixties in their catalogue was focused on 'dance'. The group never turned to a 'dance' like 'The Jerk'
But with the Merseybeat era and the rise of Tamla-Motown in the UK, by 1965, the MOD Dance culture was being created in the UK[click the link]. Motown couldn't be ignored and Charles Calello has admitted the group's recordings in 1965 were mimicking the Motown Sound whilst not being able to create copies of it. 'Let's Hang On' was their best example.....and maybe 'Opus 17' in 1966.
But one track would cement their 'DANCE' reputation and it would be the UK that achieved that. The 1966 Frankie Valli 'solo' UK release of 'You're Ready Now' was a little known or remembered 45 when it surfaced at the Twisted Wheel club in Manchester in 1968 and became a 'dance floor' classic for the emerging Northern Soul Club scene. It even prompted the group to visit the UK for only the second time in their career to promote it's UK re-release with a national tour. It entered the UK charts rising to Nr 11[1970]
But the group by this time had faded to be an 'oldies' band and rock was dominant as the teen era faded into the 70s when DISCO was to become the mainstream music 'dance' craze. Before this happened however the Northern Soul club following grew strongly via North-West England clubs like The Torch in Stoke and Wigan Casino. By 1973 'I'm Gonna Change' from their NEW GOLD HITS 1967 album was 'bootlegged' on to a false SMASH label 45 with 'You're Ready Now'. These tracks today regularly feature on the still popular Northern Soul CD compilations and at evening and 'weekender' events.
But in the early 1970s the group was in disarray at Mowest/Motown and had no target dance market when 'THE NIGHT' was dropped as a 45 release in the US. It seems that 'dance' music was a UK thing!.
But following it's [only]45 release in the UK 'THE NIGHT'in October 1972 received constant play at the Northern Soul venues and by 1975 Motown UK had to see the demand and re-release it. It rose to Nr 7 in the UK charts ….just as.....the NEW Four Seasons were signed to Warner-Curb and released 'Who Loves You?'. This was a ground-breaking disco based style and took the world by storm. Their next 'dance classic' hit Nr 1 world wide as we all know and'December '63' Oh What A Night'would be their definitive 'DANCE' track for the next decades. Frankie Valli would claim'Swearin' To God'was a club classic in 1975 as he firmly entered the burgeoning DISCO market and he followed that with great 'dance tracks on his several 'solo' album tracks during the latter half of the 70s culminating in his last Nr 1 record in 'Grease'.
The demise of the group and Valli as mainstream artists would last several years following Bob Crewe's failure to keep the DISCO scene alive with the 'Heaven Above Me'album and his subsequent retirement from the music scene.
But with Bob Gaudio trying to help Frankie Valli re-establish a 'new' Four Seasons line-up with an album deal with MCA a new mix of ballad and 'dance' tracks would focus on the emerging 'dance' mix based on digital recording and drum machines. Streetfighter'album hit this scene straight on and 'Book Of Love'was the first single, catching the ear of radio audiences in the UK it was bubbling under on the BBC Chart and a UK visit to promote it was planned until Middle-East threats to bomb London caused it's cancelation and the single/12inch and album 'died'.
The album had pedigree as William Ruhlann covers at Allmusic....The primary creative force on the album, in fact, was Sandy Linzer, who had written old hits like "Dawn (Go Away)" and "Working My Way Back to You." He contributed to five of the album's eight tracks and also served as primary producer. As a result, the title song was an identifiable work of tough-guy-with-a-heart-of-gold sentiments in the mould of earlier Four Seasonsrecords, even if it sounded like it would have fit right in on the soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop. The old doo wop hit "Book of Love" was transformed into something that could have been performed by Toni Basil of "Mickey" fame, but it was still "Book of Love." And when things slowed down toward the end of the disc, Linzer and his co-writer, Irwin Levine, provided a moving adult contemporary ballad in "Once Inside a Woman's Heart." Unfortunately, unlike the '70s, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons were not able to mount another comeback with Streetfighter in 1985, and it was back to singing the hits on the oldies circuit.
But CD had surfaced as the NEW playing medium and would go on to subsume vinyl and CD and Techno DANCE music was on the 'up' by 1988.
This would herald the start of a Dance Era for Frankie and his 'still together' group of the early 1980s. The success of 'Dirty Dancing' – The Movie would re-introduce the Four Seasons to audiences and the re-interest in 'Big Girl's Don't Cry'from it's opening scenes persuaded Bob Gaudio and Tony D'Amico to decide to test the interest in the vogue of 'RE-MIXES'. [The 7” version would reach Nr 91 in the UK Charts in October 1988]. A 12” of the original with 'Dirty Dancing' Rap comprised....The Four Seasons Big Girls Don't Cry UK 12" vinyl single (12 inch record / Maxi-single)
1. Big Girls Don't Cry - Club Mix 5:17 2. Big Girls Don't Cry - Original Version 2:25 3. Big Girls Don't Cry/Dirty Dancing Rap 5:07 4. Big Girls Don't Cry - Enhanced Original Mix 2:24
Then........... Re-mixes of'Who Loves You' and 'Oh What A Night - (December 1963)[The 7” reached Nr 49 in the UK Charts in October 1988] emerged on CD Single[EP] Br Music CDS 277 in Europe to much acclaim on the 'dance scene' with a Ben Leibrand 'mix' of 'Who Loves You'…..giving a whole new perspective on the group's 1970s sound.
Br Music CDS 277
Oh What A Night (December, 1963) (Summer '88 Re-Mix) 3:32
Oh What A Night (December, 1963) (Summer '88 12" Re-Mix) 6:17
Oh What A Night (December, 1963) (Original Single Version '76) 3:32
Oh What A Night (December, 1963) (Summer '88 Instrumental Re-Mix) 3:43
Br Music CDS 278
Who Loves You (Single Re-Mix '88 – Ben Liebrand) 4:06
Who Loves You (12" Re-Mix '88 – Ben Librand) 7:21
Who Loves You (Original Version '75) 4:16
Who Loves You (Instrumental) 4:10
BMC Records joined in with their own MAXI single featuring the legendary DJ/Re-mixer Ben Liebrand's tracks
HITS! DIGITALLY ENHANCED would emerge at the end of the year capturing on album CD selections of these tracks ”A CD produced by Turner Di Sentri [Bob Gaudio] and re-mixed by Anthony D’Amico. ‘Enhanced’ here seems to mean ‘digital stereo’ re-masters of the several hits including Big Girls Don’t Cry from the film ‘Dirty Dancing’ and the Dirty Dancing rap version. Special mixes of Gypsy Woman (previously unreleased version of the Impressions song),Book Of Love re-mixed by Tony D’Amico and December 63 and Who Loves You produced by Bob Gaudio and re-mixed by Ben Liebrand”. The CD would be re-issued in February 1991 in Europe Curb D2-77304 and in the UK a selection on CD Single from the CD would attract reasonable sales.......as all their old 60s albums rolled off the production lines in an ever expanding CD market.
But the hits 'recycling' continued through 1990 with Rhino publishing 20 Greatest Hits and all the 60s albums before Curb re-issued HITS, Digitally Enhanced in January 1991[CurbMC (D4-77304); CD (D2-77304)] but with different play times and without the DD Rap version of BGDC. Curious indeed.!
It was a time for replacement of vinyl with CD versions of the past albums but catching the Dance Mixes of the day and cashing in on the'Who Loves You'and 'December 1963'Re-Mixes was proving addictive. These re-mixes had certainly inspired Bob Gaudio and brought a degree of success so when a collection of NEW songs was produced in the studio it was intended to develop this sound and success.
So when 'Hope And Glory' emerged in August 1992 [Curb CD (D2-77546); MC (R4-77546)]it was a FOUR SEASONSalbum but clearly Valli and the group enhanced by much extra vocal harmony additions. A mixture of up-tempo and ballads and it is anecdotal that Valli disliked it and wouldn't promote it[according to discussions between Valli and fans]. It's roots as William Ruhlmann states in Allmusic reviews. Are in the then current charts.....” In the early '90s, popular vocal groups such as Color Me Badd and Boyz II Men hewed to the sounds of hip-hop and new jack swing, and Gaudioand Vallilistened carefully. They also wanted to create music that could sit comfortably on the radio among the songs of adult contemporary stars like Richard Marx, Amy Grant, and Michael Bolton. That meant that Hope + Glory was an album of melodic but highly synthesized pop with the kind of musical touches that would give it a contemporary twist, even down to the brief rap (not by Valli) that appeared on "Just the Way You Make Love." Gaudio and Valli succeeded in creating music that plausibly might have resulted in yet another in their long line of Four Seasonshits, but as with their previous effort, 1985's Streetfighter, it turned out not to be enough just to sound like the hits of the day, and Hope + Glory was not a success.”
Well for a start it was a badly mastered CD with muddy mixes burying Valli's vocal and his voice was not good on the ballads[once his 'forte']. Also the Stereo Mix was not good. And to some extent some long-termfans couldn't take to it.
Other artists on Curb where doing well and there was some fall-out between Warner and Curb Records at the time. So the album was NEVER released in the UK[always one of the groups strongest markets] and on their first UK tour in 12 years they never performed ANY of the tracks and there is no evidence that they ever did do any 'live'.
But if Valli hated it so much and the tracks were not up to calibre why in July 1993 did Curb select the up-tempo songs, team them up with the late 1980s Who Loves You and December 1963 and Re-Mix these into THE DANCE ALBUM [Curb CD (D2-77634); MC (D4-77634)]?.....(The naked I/Learn how to say goodbye/Love has a mind of its own/Help me to believe in you/Book of love/You and your heart so blue/State of my heart/December 1963/Who loves you)?
By comparison with Hope and Glorythis was a revelation with a continuous and highly infectious set of good sounding and extended dance re-mixes. It passed almost unseen until December 1963was re-mixed again and became a Dance Floor Hit. Again at Allmusic we get a somewhat disparaging review......”In 1994, a remix of the Four Seasons' 1975-1976 number one song "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" returned it to the pop chart, peaking in the Top 20. Taken together, its two 27-week chart runs gave it the longest tenure ever on the Billboard Hot 100. To take advantage of the song's renewed popularity, Curb Records, the group's label, assembled this remix album of tracks from the '70s, '80s, and '90s. The disc begins with the 1994 remix of "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" done by Ben Leibrand and ends with an earlier revision, the 1988 remix of the song that hit the British charts that year and was done by Les Adams. Adams' version of "Learn How to Say Goodbye," a song from the 1992 album Hope + Glory, is also included, as well as Nigel Wright's mixes of that song, "The Naked I," "Love Has a Mind of Its Own," "Fly Like an Eagle" (a retitled version of a tune previously called "State of My Heart"), and "You and Your Heart So Blue" from Hope + Glory; "The Book of Love" from the 1985 album Streetfighter; and the hits "Who Loves You" and "Silver Star" from the 1975 album Who Loves You. This is certainly not an album intended for the Four Seasons' '60s fans. The group has maintained throughout its career a commitment to keeping musically current, whether that meant mentioning the Twist in its first hit, "Sherry," or taking on disco in the '70s hits. This album is full of '90s electro-pop, and the hope clearly is that the Four Seasons can extend the second honeymoon enjoyed by "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" with more dance hits, even though that doesn't seem likely to happen.”
Curb reacted with in 1995 the CD release....OH WHAT A NIGHTCurb CD (D2-77693/77693-2); MC (D4-77693/77693-4)[24/01/95] featuring (Dec 1963/The naked I/Book of love/Love has a mind of its own/Learn how to say goodbye/Fly like an eagle/You and your heart so blue/Who loves you/Silver star/Learn how to say goodbye-Euromix version/Dec 1963-Euromix version) "Fly like an eagle" is the same as "State of my heart" (alternative title)
Bob Gaudio was certainly changing with the times and allowing others to play with his music to great effect........but this doesn't detract in any way from the originals to many fans who were just glad to see them back in the charts.
Notwithstanding the limitations of the 're-mix phenomena'.......this would not be the end as although no releases followed during the next decade[and we know Bob Gaudio has other up-tempo songs unreleased. [as he told Stuart Miller this in a 2002 interview.]
The 2007 House Music scene exploded with the European Re-issue of the 1967 version of 'Beggin' Re-mixed by Pilooski to become a monster dance floor hit with this crazy series of issues in the UK [and Europe]
Beggin’ 12" promo(Pilooski Edit 5:35) No. SAM 01251 679 Recordings with Beggin' stamped in black over the white label; blank reverse side [ 5/07]
Promotional CD single – Not for resale, stereo No. SAM01252 (Tracks: Beggin’ [Pilooski Radio Edit] 3:31/Beggin’ [PilooskiRe-Edit]5:32)
Promo one track CD single Frankie Valli and Four Seasons Beggin’ (Pilooski Radio Edit) 3:31 Beggin’ (Pilooski Edit) 5:35 [6/07] [6/07] [6/07]
Promo one track CD single Frankie Valli and Four Seasons Beggin’ 679 Recordings Label 7" vinyl 45 rpm single No. 679L146/CD single 679L146CD [7/07] (32) & no. 1 on Dance Chart. (A side: Beggin' Pilooski [Re-Edit] Radio Edit 3:34;B side: Beggin' Original version 2:49) 12"vinyl 45 rpm single No. 679L146T (A side: Beggin' Pilooski [Re-Edit] 5:35;B side: Beggin' [Speaker Killer Remix] 5:26; Who Loves You Original version 4:09) Beggin’ re-entry into charts reaching no. 122 [8/08] Beggin’ 679 Recordings Label CDsingle No. 679L146CD re-entry into chart Beggin’ re-entry again in UK Non-Top 100 Chart entries at no. 131 [6/10]. And OH WHAT A NIGHTCurb CD was a CDre-issue on 06/05/08 .Pilooski's Re-Edit of 'THE NIGHT'also found a CD home and a good following although the classic original mix still stars on the Northern Soul dance Floors and this version for many fans and 'soulies' remains an 'aberration'.[sic...a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, typically an unwelcome one.
Although the Madcon [the Norwegian hip-hop group] version of this song would become a huge hit version with 35 MILLION You Tube watches.......whose version topped the charts in Norway, France, the Netherlands and part of Belgium.......the Four Seasons Pilooski Mix remains the definitive DANCE MIX. The full story of Beggin' is found on Wikipedia.
The DANCE ERA for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons was established and spanned the 70s to the 00s. It is an amazing record of quality and longevity. Fans from the 60s may not have been able to live with this closing 2 decades of re-mixes....and collecting them all has been near impossible.
No doubt Bob Gaudio will summarise the period in the forthcoming Box Set with Snapper but that is not an easy task without much repetition 'on the re-mix theme'??? [How many versions/variations on 'Oh What A Night' can any fan take.?]
I'll leave you with one of my favourites from this period.....the DANCE ALBUM version of THE NAKED I..........'the 'Four Seasons', Jim, but not as we know them!!' to plagiarise Scotty from Star Trek.
Ken Charmer – Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society August 2019
Back in 2009 German Sound Engineer Stefan Wriedt and I started a discography and review of all the CD issues of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons to identify the 'best mixes'. Anecdotal evidence showed that only STEREO mixes of most of the 60s material exists in WIDE STEREO– Instruments[Hard Left] : Harmonies[Hard Right] and Frankie centre.What we have is better than nothing in STEREO....and in some cases we only have the MONO. But thank God we have that......BUT this is the way it would be mixed today.
In 2009 we spent two years completing that discography[here]bemoaning the loss of multi-track Masters since the 60s and blaming bad engineers and poor re-mastering. And so we turned to the MONO mixes as obviously there we found balance in the sound and a structure that made it easy for us to say.......'this is the way producer Bob Crewe meant them to sound'. But NOT available as MONO albums and singles on CD.
It took nearly 5 years to collect and re-master all the MONO 45 mixes in our MONO Archive as we believed many may not exist as they have 'never' as a collection been released on CD. MONO has just not been the 'realm' of CD Re-issues for Frankie and the group. And we weren't alone in this as posts on The Steve Hoffman Forum' discussing all things sound and masters shows.
Yes the MONO mixes are fine with great instrumentation and harmonies gathered around Frankie's vocal......like most of the music we bought and grew up with during the 60s. Lots of great songs in punchy MONO sound.
I recently returned to that theme in a piece I wrote on this blog [post Stefan's passing] re-quoting earlier comments as we look forward to 'new transfers' from the Four Seasons Partnership to Snapper Records of London for their planned 40 album box set.
Speaking to Charlie Calello over the last two years I've been haunted by his comment that......'you are not hearing it like we heard it in the studio'. I brushed this off by saying that as Bob Crewe was 'engineering' MONO mixes then that was the way it should be....and those MONO mixes re-mastered in our MONO Archive sound great.
In the early 60s STEREO was a novelty release left to the Engineers....giving us the wide and entirely separated STEREO we've had to date.
But I met a man recently who showed me how all I've been thinking was wrong.
What we have had to date is all down to one thing......'Technology'. 1960s technology.
Bob Crewe used it like a musical instrument.....constructing instrumental and harmony backings using just 3 and 4 track recording equipment [upto 1966] and 'bouncing' tracks down to finish with the best structure for release. One track of instruments/one track of harmony/one lead vocal[sometimes double tracked]. The recording technology of the day and the 45 format and market dictated it for him as much as it did for the Beatles and every other artist of the day. The 'limits' of 'technology'! And that is what is around today and subject to some tweaking and'panning' is what we will get in this 2020 box set when it comes to STEREO. At least the plan to include the MONO mixes will give us the 'balanced' mix, which still sounds great.
But it wont be that way looking into the future. The recent Digitally Extracted STEREO[DES] creations I wrote about previously on this blog have been a revelation. Here's why DES is the future.
I realised how today's DES software with the skills of the engineer can 'uniquely' create completely NEW and aesthetically pleasing alternatives to even the best STEREO mixes from Vee-Jay and Philips STEREO Masters like not possible any other way. I realised that Bob Crewe and the group were forced to 'push'all the great instrumentation in Charlie Calello's arrangements into one channel[Left] leaving just occasional harmony backing [Right] with Frankie's vocal[Centre] so there is a lack of balance in the sound stage. The attraction of the MONO has been that at least everything is 'together'and although some would argue 'it was designed that way'…...that isn't true.......it is really just the result of the technology of the day and the constraints of the MONO 45 and it's market.
This'eureka'moment for me arrived when I realised how, in a working sample of 'Everybody Knows My Name'. the engineer was able to change the STEREO mix by placing the instruments across the sound stage so that you could hear each one. The great 'rolling' [Dylanesque?]rhythm track which was originally compressed to the left...in the DES version became a spread of the instruments across the 2 channels and brought the whole song to life like never before in any 'published' mix.
DES is getting an ever growing audience as others realise this is the only way to 'salvage' the sound of the 60s from the MONO or [limited]STEREO we have surviving from those days . Digital extraction of instruments individually and vocal elements generates a'multi-track'and allows engineers today to do what Bob Gaudio, Charlie Callelo and the group would do today with their mixes....create a balanced 'sound-stage'..as I said....it is all down to 'Technology'and we have come full circle.
Our next project is to select and persuade DES engineers and an enlightened Record Company to help recreate the TRUE 'studio' sound. But for us this is NOT a commercial venture someone else can use it to make money and build their record company. The engineers we know of do it mainly out of 'love' of the music and a commitment to preservation. Each track takes days of work of extraction. But the body of completed DES work is ever increasing on You Tube and at ERIC Records web-site.
Can a NEW set of Four Seasons Recordings be created like never before heard.......like...”what we heard in the studio” as Bob Gaudio, Frankie Valli and Charlie Callelo would say? More re the arguments for and against soon.
In researching Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons period at Mowest/Motown 1971/74 it might have been helpful to know sound engineers who either worked at the label or know the recording process from those times or are familiar with the tapes like Russ Terranawhose initials appear on some as the mixing engineer. One note shows up to 43 STEREO mix-downs by him of 'The Night' between 1972 and 1975.
So why are these cards so important now in 2019 and what can they tell us?
Well they reveal a raft of information re unreleased but completed tracks that indicates their existence and location.
When Motown moved to LA from Detroit in 1970 they adopted a different system for recording, storing and releasing recordings.
This was the Motown 60000 series of Master Numbers and this can be seen here.
These Master numbers appear on the released 45 as seen in the Cat45 listing above.
As fans we have tried to analyse the approach to session and recording management and decode some of the data records from the time based on the Analogue Tape Index and the Artists Cards.
What I believe happened was that studio sessions that resulted in a completed 16 track song generated a Master Nr [for example 60516 – Walk On Don't Look Back].
An Artists Card was produced[a simple card index] which showed the Title/Artist/Producer/Master Number/ Tape Number. The Tape Number [1stLocation] was a 4 digit code preceded by a predominantly P[Production Tape] or T[Temporary/Safety-Evaluation Copy]. Example Tape P2110 – The Night. Notes exist of mixes and dubs made and stored on many T Tapes.
The relationship with P and T Tapes has to some extent been clarified. I have a listing from the Tape Index relating to the P Tapes. These are the main Production Tapes with up to 16 tracks in sync from sessions. The big question is was a vocal lead laid down. Only playing the tapes will reveal this as tape boxes do not always reveal the accurate contents. STEREO mix-downs should also exists as these are the final Production versions for Evaluation through the Quality Assessment process meetings. There are famous stories re these reviews and evidence from Motown TCB Newsletters indicate unreleased completed tracks by the group were being assessed in January 1972 for possible single and album release. Several songs listed there appeared on the 'Chameleon'. Several have never been heard since. T tape copies existed of many tracks indicating they were completed as STEREO mix-downs. Some remain as 16 track and have never been played back since.. Research to find if these still exist but this research exercise hasn't extended to them at this point in time.
The Artists Cards were subsequently used to note transfers and copies as they are made [They are generally to T tapes but sometimes P tapes ] and this shows their locations[Master Mix/Remix] and 'Dub Cuts'.
Codes [in the Comments column] are hand written or typed and these need translation..They include.......
1. 16tRhy – which I assume is a 16 track copy
2. 02tsmx – which I assume is a stereo mix
3. SR6smx – which is a mystery but likely to be a type of stereo mix
The above Example is of an Artists Card which shows a track we found on cassette salvaged from the session, proving it existed. The track has been shared in our Facebook group.The Master Nr [not noted here] is in fact 60752 confirmed by other Motown Spreadsheets.
Sometimes there are references to the alternate 'Take' Numbers which in the case of The Night number 43.[The biggest hit.....by 1975 and the highest number of STEREO mixes made on the catalogue of the group at Motown]. Occasionally dates are shown and engineers initials. RT is probably Russ Terrana but others are a mystery. [The details behind this tracks production and surviving versions we hope to feature in the next year]
Some notes indicate that copies have been made to 'New Album' P Tapes clearly for pre-release.The Transfered/Temporay Tapes [T tapes] should be evaluated with reference to these Cards to identify copies [if necessay – should the completed tracks/mixes not appear on the Production Tapes]. Collating the Artists Cards with a Tape Index has shown over 30 tracks with Master Numbers by Frankie and the group that have never been released.Of course this analysis may be challenged by the people at Motown who know otherwise.?......but the tapes will speak for themselves!!
Will the transfer of these tapes to Bob Gaudio generate their release.? We will see, but at least the exercise has resulted in their'preservation'for posterity. Whether there is enough interest from the Partnership to invest the Sound Engineering time to mix-down to STEREO where necessary remains to be seen at the present time.? And how busy is Bob Gaudio to invest the Production time? It is perhaps also a question of what gets licensed in contract negotiations between Gene Zacharewicz at UMe and Snapper Records.
Whilst we do not expect any confirmation for release [or otherwise] for some months we will have more soon re what has been salvaged/preserved and remains unreleased.
Ken Charmer – Tape Index Researcher 2018[Updated August 2019]
Most members of this group will be aware of the amazing sets of Beach Boys 'unreleased' and session tapes that have surfaced and been released since circa 2000. Much of this has been because of the need for copyright protection but MOST of it is as a result of the amazing work of this legendary sound engineer Mark Linett. This video interview tells the amazing story of what has been found and what has been salvaged. It is a must watch for the likes of Bob Gaudio/ Frankie Vall/Bill Inglot and the folks at Snapper Records.
Unfortunately I believe we are not going to get anything like this extent of forensic work done on the Four Seasons. Well not in my lifetime or Frankie and Bob's, I would say. This goes to the root of the complaint of Four Seasons since the age of CD. No-one has respected the work as Mark has done for the Beach Boys. OK the multi-track tapes and copies stolen from now defunct studio archives have helped the process for him and them. But the very fact that Jersey Boys was such a success has impaired any attention the Four Seasons archive has had. We've done more in capturing the vinyl dubs and creating a MONO Archive of the 60s 45s than anyone over the last 10 years, and the research of the Motown vaults paper archives have been confirmed by recent tape research and transfers. But whether it is cost pressures or time/resource restrictions we are now not optimistic that the planned box set will achieve anywhere near fans expectations.
The Motown 16 track tapes need research and time to uncover the dozens of tracks and alternate takes there. And the fact that only 2 track STEREO masters exist from the 60s [as we hear about in this interview re the Capitol sessions with the Beach Boys]were thrown together back in the 60s.
But we don't see that delivering on a major scale here and it appears our high hopes and expectations will be dashed. Not something we are not used to as Four Seasons Fans.
Whatever the reasons and excuses re the Four Seasons catalogue.......it will disappoint most even though we can see from Mark's open and frank interview the problems of past digital tape preservation and digital restoration. The key is you have to care for the music....the creative process and the sound and invest in preserving it and putting it out.
This is a stunning interview and a credit to a true archivist engineer of the highest skill.
But the real future for the catalogue of the Four Seasons will be Digital Extraction and Mark touches upon it in this interview. The only way to salvage Bob Crewe's final mixes and alternative takes [with Charlie Calello's arrangements]and create NEW Masters for the future generation of collectors is coming.
The push to start this has started and we will be leading that in whatever way we can whether Bob Gaudio or Frankie Valli [or Snapper] choose to invest in the process. Someone will.......and we will be leading the campaign. We go again.....the way to the MASTERS is DES.
In March I was bemoaning the slow progress of the proposed 40 album Box Set by Snapper and the Four Seasons Partnership with Major Corporate Record Companies [Warner/Rhino/Curb and Universal Motown]
Well now it is summer and coming up a year since the fan group committed to the concept developed by Snapper Records when they 'sold' the idea to the 'majors' and Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio. But because the list of tracks has to remain 'open' to be developed as research continues, formalising contracts was delayed and the investigation of the Master Tapes in the Motown vaults took time.
But News last week that Bob Gaudio has committed to being co-producer of the new Neil Diamond Bio Musical on Broadway prompted many fans to question his commitment to this 'Legacy' project.? And concerns have been expressed as most of the content of this set is already available and there will be no difference.?
Our recent work has reinforced the strategy of the fan group as we've developed it in the last ten years.....in our last post we said...The Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society has been calling vociferously for catalogue preservation on it's web site blogs since 2008, when the paucity of the physical CD catalogue and the missing masters stories gained strength. Then it became apparent that between 30 to 40 unreleased recordings by the group existed on 16 track 'multi's' in Universal Motown's NYC vault. As we gathered evidence of what might exist uncovering several acetate copies we got resistance from UMe and the Partnership that these existed. [Just the same refusal to admit to the assets and the need to preserve them that has existed for decades]. It took 2 years of publishing evidence of the archive tracks on Facebook in the Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign for a forward thinking Record Company to ask the experts[THE FANS]....'What do you want?'
We clearly stated.....THE UNRELEASED......and have had great news of this since.
Ken Charmer will bring you news of this during the summer on the Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Facebook Group.
But progress on the box set has been made and the reason why it has been so slow is based on 3 problems.
The provisional track list and contracts have taken time to complete but the contract with Warner is complete and something like 34 of the proposed 40 albums are transferred to Snapper. Questions remain as to whether these are NEW analogue/digital transfers or existing digital copies.? Also the Re-mastering proposals and the inclusion/availability of MONO 45 mixes where different to the album mixes still needs to be addressed?
The Motown Tapes were confirmed as found in January and it took time to set up the contract to address these. Bob Gaudio's commitment was clear in his proposal to review with Frankie ALL Masters with his vocal on them. He asked for 2 track mix-downs from the 16/24 Track tapes, and with Snapper paying for these transfers he offered to mix the 16 track approved versions for Snapper. A big breakthrough and he recognises how many of you want to hear these 'lost gems'.
The sheer workload remains a problem. Memoribilia has been photographed and a designer and writer appointed.....BUT with Snapper committed to several Box Sets for the Christmas market 2019 the on-going pace of this project will slow as an issue date of August 2020 is now targetted.
Confirmation that the 'Bachelors 3' Fort Lauderdale 1974 and the 'Lucifer's' Boston 1973 concerts was really good news and Bob Gaudio will edit and provide what he has from other studio sessions. Re-mastering transfers and collation of 'Unreleased' tracks will in our view not happen till early 2020, and in the meantime the fan group will focus on locating alternative sources for missing Masters only available on vinyl. But Bob's commitment can clearly be judged as definite by this quote re the researching of the Motown Tapes......”revisiting the past can sometimes be painful. But apparently, there is a world of fans who would appreciate everyone’s efforts.”
The paper records [and cassette tapes from the studio] show Motown's tapes contain lots of unheard 'gems' and we will post re the potential finds during the summer as well as celebrating the decades of releases in the catalogue. Bob Gaudio has said he has 'unreleased' “from every decade” and we'll comment on what that might be. We are in regular contact with Snapper and whilst the transfer of the Motown material is still awaited, we will advise as soon as we know more.
News broke this week that Universal Music Group had hidden the devastating losses from a fire 10 years ago. It was something most of us had heard about but the NYT disclosed the full extent and exposed it as a scandal of mismanagement. “ The severity of the fire long went undisclosed”, according to an article published by TheNewYork Times Magazine on Tuesday, despite the fact that a confidential report inIn June 2008, confirmed a fire roared through a building at Universal Studios Hollywood, destroying thousands of audio recordings by music luminaries like Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and Tom Petty. The severity of the fire long went undisclosed, the loss being estimated at about 500,000 song titles.”
“The vault fire was not, as UMG suggested, a minor mishap, a matter of a few tapes stuck in a musty warehouse. It was the biggest disaster in the history of the music business. UMG’s internal assessment of the event stands in contrast to its public statements. In a document prepared for a March 2009 “Vault Loss Meeting,” the company described the damage in apocalyptic terms. “The West Coast Vault perished, in its entirety,” the document read. “Lost in the fire was, undoubtedly, a huge musical heritage.”
The successful effort to play down the scope of the loss was a triumph of crisis management that involved officials working for Universal Music Group on both coasts. Those efforts were undoubtedly aimed at minimising public embarrassment, but some suggest the company was also particularly worried about a backlash from artists and artist estates whose master recordings had been destroyed.
…...”but it was only the most recent disaster to strike the masters holdings of American record labels. These disasters include not only events like fires but also instances of neglect and even wilful destruction by the labels themselves, a hair-raising history that reaches back to the beginnings of the music business.
…....UMG began Project Phoenix in October 2008. The plan was to gather duplicates of recordings whose masters were lost. Those copies would then be digitally transferred to reconstitute the lost archive — albeit in sonically inferior form, with recordings generations removed from the true masters. UMG undertook a global hunt, searching for safety copies and other duplicates at a variety of locations in the United States and abroad. The project lasted two years and, by Aronson’s estimate, recovered perhaps a fifth of what had been lost.
The subsequent largely unknown world-wide search for duplicates and sources continues and as I'll show [or should I say I remain to be convincedabout is....] no-one can trust the 'Major Record Companies' as they continue to show little action as they focus on 'streaming' profit and on the basis that 'any old master' will do and unreleased tracks are of no significance. Asset Management and Preservation the NYT claims is not on the balance sheet or in the strategic direction. The question of whether such Boards at the Majors are 'fit for purpose' needs to be asked and answered.
If nothing else this is a wake up call to UMG and the industry that such assets[ie musical art] has been mismanaged for decades, and raises the question 'Should legislation and regulation be implemented to protect such assets?'
But this blogs concerns has always been for 'long-suffering' 4 Seasons fans as their losses roll back in the 1960s when first Vee-Jay went bust.....and subsequently Philips cleared out tapes to skips. But all this is no worse than the BBC recording over classic music and TV shows during the decade. Examples of lack of foresight and horrendous strategic management are endemic in the music industry. This current expose fits very nicely with the book 'Appetite for SELF-DESTRUCTION – the spectacular crash of the record industry in the digital age – by Steve Knopper
But for readers here the only concern is THE FOUR SEASONS CATALOGUE. When Vee-Jay went bust the Four Seasons got 'access' to their masters.......well a 'copy' of their ALBUM MONO and STEREO Masters. These were the 'mix-downs' from the 3 track Masters. And what of the highly produced 45 MONO Masters?. Never available in CD or streaming format. Do they still exist? And what has survived from the Philips/Mercury vault with so many Bell Studios masters dumped in a skip in the late 60s.? We are asking Snapper and Bob Gaudio the question.?
Music historian's like me have been maintaining that CD and streaming masters are inferior to the original vinyl in many cases. Sound Engineer George Schowerer told us that the CD Masters on the 25th Anniversary 3 CD Box Set in 1988 where [in many cases] 'inferior' to the Masters that left his Mirasound Studio in 1967. So what happened and what has survived?
It is clear we have never had the MONO tracks on CD as a comprehensive set. The STEREO versions are alternative versions in many cases, so it is time we had the catalogue sorted out with what has survived from the 1960s.
We have to be aware of the background as the New York Times goes on to say....”Today industry professionals familiar with archiving practices question the big three labels’ commitment to preservation. [Ed we do to. See below] (A number of these insiders, including individuals with knowledge of the backlot fire, spoke on condition of anonymity, concerned they could face professional consequences with UMG and other labels.) One audio specialist said: “Labels need to see payoff: ‘We have a release next year from this artist.’ But as far as, ‘We have this inventory on the shelves, let’s preserve it’ — that’s not the attitude. An old recording that’s deteriorating on the shelf is not causing alarm.”
The result is a crisis, a slow-motion assault on our musical heritage that is poorly understood by many within the record industry, to say nothing of the public at large. Had a loss of comparable magnitude to the Universal fire occurred at a different cultural institution — say, the Metropolitan Museum of Art — there might have been wider awareness of the event, perhaps some form of accountability. Yet the conservation mission faced by record labels may be no less vital than those of museums and libraries. Recorded music is arguably America’s great artistic patrimony, our supreme gift to world culture. How should it be safeguarded? And by whom?”
Today several of the company’s nearly 1,500 facilities are devoted to entertainment assets. Warner Music Group stores hundreds of thousands of master recordings in Iron Mountain’s Southern California facilities, and nearly all of Sony Music Entertainment’s United States masters holdings — more than a million recordings — are reportedly kept in Iron Mountain warehouses in Rosendale, N.Y. The Boyers, Pa., facility where UMG keeps most of its United States masters is a 1.7-million-square-foot former limestone mine. The facility offers optimal archive conditions, climate control and armed guards. For labels, Iron Mountain is a one-stop shop. In addition to providing storage, it runs on-site studios, so staff members can pull tapes and send digital transfers to labels online, avoiding any need for recordings to leave the premises. Yet some music-business insiders regard this arrangement as a mixed bargain. When masters arrive at Iron Mountain, they say, institutional memory — archivists’ first hand knowledge of poorly inventoried stacks — evaporates, as does the possibility of finding lost material, either by dogged digging or chance discovery. (Many treasures in tape vaults have been stumbled upon by accident.) Tapes can be retrieved only when requested by bar-code number, and labels pay fees for each request. For years, rumors have circulated among insiders about legendary albums whose masters have gone missing in Iron Mountain because labels recorded incorrect bar-code numbers. The kind of mass tape-pull that would be necessary to unearth lost recordings is both financially and logistically impractical.
“I’ve always thought of Iron Mountain as that warehouse in the last scene of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ ” says Thane Tierney, who co-founded Universal’s now-defunct reissue label Hip-O Select. “Just endless rows of stuff. It’s perfectly safe, but there’s no access, no possibility of serendipity. Nearly all the tapes that go in will never come off the shelf. They’re lost to history.”
So this summer is a 'landmark' moment in deciding the future catalogue of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Snapper Records [with a reputation for 'ground-breaking catalogue wide sets] have challenged the Four Seasons Partnership to [GO TO THE MASTERS -BOTH RELEASED AND UNRELEASED]. A mega catalogue wide Box Set is in prospect.
The Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society has been calling vociferously for catalogue preservation on it's web site blogs since 2008, when the paucity of the physical CD catalogue and the missing masters stories gained strength. Then it became apparent that between 30 to 40 unreleased recordings by the group existed on 16 track 'multi's' in Universal Motown's NYC vault. As we gathered evidence of what might exist uncovering several acetate copies we got resistance from UMe and the Partnership that these existed. [Just the same refusal to admit to the assets and the need to preserve them that has existed for decades]. It took 2 years of publishing evidence of the archive tracks on Facebook in the Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign for a forward thinking Record Company to ask the experts[THE FANS]....'What do you want?'
PRESERVATION.....RE-MASTERING.......RELEASE.
Audiophiles and audio professionals view such recordings with special regard. “A master is the truest capture of a piece of recorded music,” Adam Block, the former president of Legacy Recordings, Sony Music Entertainment’s catalogue arm, says. “Sonically, masters can be stunning in their capturing of an event in time. Every copy thereafter is a sonic step away.”
This week after months of negotiation the known archive tape masters are being transferred to Four Seasons 'Brand' owner Bob Gaudio for evaluation.
And he has said he has 'unreleased tracks from every decade' since the 60s and is committed to the project.
We've told him of the rumours of tracks and given him the salvaged acetate digitised copies we have preserved. The hope is that this first true 'collaboration' between fan/collectors[who know the whole catalogue as released and much unreleased] and the 'artists' and an innovative Independent Record Company will show the 'majors' the way to a proper catalogue management strategy.
It is time for us THE COLLECTORS to address THE OWNERS.....in Andy Zax words from the NYT article.....”The most powerful argument for preservation is simply: ‘We don’t know.’ The sounds from the past that seem vital to us in the present keep changing. Since we don’t know what’s going to be important, we have to err on the side of inclusivity and insist that the entities that own our cultural history do the same.”
But as for the Universal fire 'what's lost is lost' ….but what remains is that Universal Motown has a HUGE catalogue of tapes in NYC that needs to be SALVAGED and heard. We are on the verge of chasing down the masters of their released and unreleased this summer...for their contract with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons....on 29 Production Tapes [P Tape]and numerous Temporary Tapes [T Tapes].......and we'll keep chasing them notwithstanding we had a 'gagging order' whilst the tapes were pulled for transfer.!!!!!!! We accepted this whilst the transfers were paid for and completed.......but all bets are off......we want to know what is there and what are the best surviving MASTERS for both the released and unreleased and I for one want to hear all 34 mixes of 'The Night' by legendary sound engineer Russ Terrana and others.......what were they looking for......and have we got it?????. The wait goes on this summer for how we will be told what has survived and in what format?
Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons have had many CD releases since the advent of the CD in the mid 1980s. So many licensing deals have been done that 'nobody' has a comprehensive assessment of the 'Best Masters'. Between 2007 and 2010 we started a mammoth review of what is available for 'Collectors' of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons on CD, publishing our findings at the time in our CD Buyers Guide
Stefan Wriedt, a professional Sound Engineer based in German and our own Music Historian Casey Chameleon began the daunting task of compiling and reviewing as many as possible and published this listing[see link above]. In it we stated....”With so many commercial releases on CD since 1986 it is a problem finding the best quality copies and those rare versions of tracks. This listing is fairly comprehensive with over 160 CD’s listed but it is not a complete list. It is also a work in progress as we review and assess each release. With so many of these CD’s now only available on E-Bay or as ‘out of print/deleted’ copies which sometimes appear on CD supplier sites, fans need a guide. CD’s are rated as :-
EC= Essential Collectors Item
CU = Collectible for it's unique/alternativetracks
NV=No value to collectors”
The intention at that time was to support 'collectors'in finding the best Masters until a fully comprehensive set of NEW Masters was available through a catalogue review by the Four Seasons Partnership. [That has never happened]. We did highlight a few Essential Collectors titles and these can be found coded 'green' on our CD Discography pages.
But we never got to collect and review everything as the list was ever growing and at the time had over 160 CD's listed. Obtaining all copies of albums releases is of course cost prohibitive and the assessment tools[and ears not easily available] It is impossible to estimate if this is as much as 90% of releases given the world popularity of the group. Whatever we were able to gather was to be assessed.
BUT then we got side tracked into 'preserving the MONO 45 Masters'when news filtered through that the Partnership 'may not have the 45 Masters' in every case.' And MONO on CD was not the CD concept of the re-issue of past albums at that time, even though during the groups hey-day all mixing was targetted to create the BEST MONO Master for vinyl. But by 2012 we decided that this MONO sound must 'rule'for this 'career' period as the production and engineering standards at the time focused on that output for Radio and records. STEREO remained a novelty and today we can see the weaknesses in the STEREO engineering.[As with many 'pop' artists of the day eg Beatles, Beach Boys etc]
Even with the sad loss and passing of our key engineer Stefan in 2014 we completed [with great help from US collectors] that MONO project by 2016 for ALL the MONO Vee-Jay and Philips 45s now preserved as reference copies for future access in the UK Fan club Archive.
With news in early 2019 that Snapper Records are in contract talks for a NEW catalogue spanning LUXURY Box Set in 2020 we have been asked what the fans would want? That was easy. ALL the 60s albums in original MONO and STEREO versions with alternative versions and all 45 non-album tracks plus the 70s through to the 00's STEREO albums plus as much unreleased as can be found. And all re-mastered tracks to recommended standards as established by our 'Sound Tests Page'and current engineering standards.
Lots of people have committed to this project already [including the Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society] and Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli have been confirmed as fully supportive. The Majors in the form of Warners and Universal [as the Motown arm of UMe] and Curb Records are also expected to collaborate. The Music Industry has finally realised that comprehensive 'catalogue' is the product for future customers to find their 'niche' artists.
So MAYBE next year fans will get the chance should they are able to......to invest in this set.
We will be asking for the best quality RE-MASTERS and are advising Snapper Records re this. We are encouraged that our request for the best 2020 Engineered Quality Masters to be delivered is currently accepted.
With this in mind and to set a minimal standard reference we are reviewing past issues on CD to advise here what CD's stand up as 'Quality' Re-masters.......focusing on 'Essential Collectors' physical Masters. Whilst much of the catalogue is available on You Tube or as 'downloads' or on 'streaming' services we are going to the CD source as only a quality wav file [ie CD] can create a good compressed[mp3 or AIFF]. No research is available re the availability of 'lossless' versions [FLAC]. We've judged the STEREO image on a clock face basis with 9 and 3 being the extremes of left and right channels with 12 centre vocal. Instrumental detail and vocal harmony background sounds best when spread between 9 and 11 left and 3 and 1 right. Beware that many CD's are far left/far right mixes [9-Left and 3-Right] and sound dreadful on headphones. We have reviewed Peak Volume, Loudness[RMS] and Dynamic Range[DR] as well as STEREO image. But for both MONO and Stereo it is the clarity and ambience that can only be assessed by the subjective 'ear'
It is fair to say that there are significant imperfections in ALL the album sets on CD for the 1962 to 1970 period. Inconsistencies in masters occur,[imbalance] with mistakes[dropouts – audible Tape hiss] and STEREO mixing issues [Channel crossover] in many tracks so any re-issue may not be able to address these as multi-tracks ARE NOT AVAILABLE. For that reason alone the issue of MONO Masters in 'pristine' sound is essential[More re this below]
Many collectors may dispute some of our review results but this is an honest assessment intended to be a guide to a better quality catalogue..IZOTOPE.COM says of best STEREO mixes......”The instrumental separation, definition of instruments within the stereo field, and sense of depth” should be sought. Re-mastered analogue transfers should be....”an engaging, lively sound that you can practically close your eyes and visualize where each instrumentalist is on the soundstage. The use of dynamic range is also exceedingly important in the sense of depth and clarity” so that it “ensures that the energy and vibrance of the performance shines.”
Fans should expect “a masterclass of effective panning and EQ for instrumental separation. Additionally, the availability of dynamic range (not over-compression) ensures that separation is maintained through the mastering stages. The dynamic range and smart EQ choices (along with effective use of reverb) can also result in an exceptional sense of depth within the mix.”
We do not believe these exacting standards have been fully achieved in past releases particularly of the groups 'classic' hits period as we'll comment below. But with the the restriction of STEREO only masters this limits STEREO as instruments and vocals cannot be spread across the sound stage – they are either left or right. So what can be done in Re-Mastering.? For today's market we would expect the STEREO catalogue of the Four Seasons to be Mastered with this definition in mind whilst accepting the restrictions of the discrepancies and flaws in the surviving STEREO Masters. “Think of mastering as the glue, varnish and polish that optimizes playback quality on all devices — from tiny iPhone speakers to massive dance club sound systems. Mastering bridges the gap between artist and consumer. The term itself comes from the idea of a master copy. All copies or duplications of the audio come from the master. These copies can be distributed on multiple formats like vinyl, CD’s or Tape, and streaming services like Spotify, iTunes and SoundCloud. Additionally, mastering allows for restoration of hisses, clicks or small mistakes missed in the final mix. Mastering also ensures uniformity and consistency of sound between multiple tracks on an album. Ultimately, what mastering does is create a clean and cohesive feeling across all your audio......A good mastering job makes an album consistent and balanced across all tracks....An ideal master is well-balanced and proportional. This means no specific frequency range is left sticking out. A balanced piece of audio will sound good on any playback system. ”
The CD's reviewed below, it can be argued, DO NOT fully achieve these exacting standards which is why we are doing this exercise and telling Snapper of our 'expectations/hopes'. We'll provide feedback to Snapper on what they propose.....if asked but will ultimately sit in judgement of a final product which we expect to be as good as is possible.....and certainly exceeding what we have had before on CD whilst enhancing what we have on 'vinyl'.
Part 1 – The Vee-Jay albums
The Masters used for all CD releases of the Vee-Jay recordings are based on the outcome of the Group's dispute with Genius Inc[who contracted their work to Vee-Jay]. A fuller explanation of the story and data re these is contained in our Masters sessionography[here].
So the CD re-issues are from the recovered tracks from the bakruptcy of Vee-Jay. The Partnership received MONO/STEREO album Masters supplied to Philips in 1964. No review of surviving Multi-tracks in the Vee-Jay Archive [now owned by Concord Music Group[should they still exist] has been attempted or appears likely given the Four Seasons Partnership Ownership rights.
All CD issues to date are, we believe, based on Analogue/Digital transfers done in 1986/87.[No evidence exists of any A/D transfers since as far as we know.] It is believed that for the Snapper project NEW A/D transfers have been done.
Early CD re-issues in the late 1980's where on compilations and although Rhino , Br music(Netherlands)[and Curb – in Japan]issued album re-masters on CD these are very rare and have been unobtainable except for Curb BVCP-2050 [Sherry & 11 Others].
This was a very wide[9-3] STEREO mix with little to commend it based on the above. As a result we did not obtain/review the rest of the Japanese releases from this early CD period.
We moved on and focused on the Curb releases Volumes 1,2 and 3 of 1995 [Curb D2-77695 to 7] and compared them with the ACE 2fer releases of the same period.
Without doubt the ACE CD's [507,615 and 596] offer the best collections and sound [in the main – for these catalogue albums].This is primarily because of the benefit of their 2fer format and the bonus non-LP sides. Sherry/Big Girls Don't Cry[plus bonus sides]507although not stated we assume was mastered by Bill Inglot....as the subsequent CD's were. It has a good STEREO image[Left 9/11: Right 3/1] and good Loudness [Range -11db to -16] as does the Christmas Album/Born To Wander CD 615, but something slips on Ain't That A Shame/ Live On Stage [plus bonus sides]596.
The clarity and ambience is somehow lost, and comparison with Curb CD D2 – 77967[Ain't That A Shame +11 Others]shows this. This Curb CD offers an impressive STEREO image [Left 9/11 : Right 3/1] but with great clarity and ambience [Loudness -12 to -16] making it by far the best set of Vee-Jay album Masters on CD we have found.The backing vocals and instruments are still split left and right but these mixes have clear separation, depth and warmth. They hang together around the centre vocal. They are not the TRUE STEREO we can get with multi-track tapes or with DES [Digitally Extracted STEREO] but they are the best you are going to find until another source is created. For more reading re creating a good mix try this link.
The MONO and MONO only at Vee-Jay
Three years of studio work in dubbing vinyl MONO and re-mastering for our reference set of 45s/MONO album Masters gave us a good reference set and generally all the MONO sides included on the CD's reviewed fall short of the standards defined above regarding clarity and ambience in Mastering. We can only put this down to poor transfer quality or poor re-mastering of MONO at that time. 24 bit 96 khz dubs from vinyl enabled us to get sparkling clarity and ambience capturing the original 'sound' much better than the 'dull' MONO re-masters found on many CD issues and we expect equivalent 'good' results in the Snapper Box Set. Whilst the 2 Real Gone releases from 2016 of Sherry and Big Girls Don't Cry albums appear to be re-mastered from the MONO album Masters [they say] we still believe these lack 'punch' and ambience on the vocals compared to the vinyl dubbed re-masters in our own MONO archive.This is an EQ problem.
The release and re-mastering of the MONO Master Tapes is a crucial part of this Box Sets market potential, With the inconsistencies of the STEREO Masters these will become the groups reference tracks and possibly a preferred play for future fans via all formats.
So to summarise there are currently many STEREO tracks from the Vee-Jay period in good/fair sound quality if you carefully search them out on 'out of print' CD's. But there are few MONO versions in adequate sound quality
In Part 2 we will look at the early Philips Masters in STEREO on CD and the inconsistencies and flaws that [surprisingly] became much worse at Philips when sound recording equipment and engineering was improving in most studios.
Footnote
Fans may consider a luxury BOX SET unnecessary as currently available are two Box Sets on Amazon covering 'most' of the 'Group'and 'Solo'albums but these are far from comprehensive.
These box sets have been criticised for content and quality with comments that show the lack of the Majors respect for the fans perspective...as these example quotes from reviews show...”What a lot of people fail to realize is that Rhino stopped being Rhino when it was sold to Warner Brothers in 1998, and the original Rhino guys left in 2003. The label became "Warner Strategic Marketing" and reverted back to their "special products" mentality of the 70s and early 80s - that is, that any "masters" will do, and the public will eat it up no matter what we do with it. This attitude is especially prevalent on stuff that's been placed with WEA rather than with their homegrown artists.”.....and“the Press release from Rhino/Warner stated"Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - The Classic Albums Box is an 18-disc set that includes the vast majority of the group's albums in mini jackets with original artwork”. So they acknowledged the missing ones up front. But using old Curb 1990s CD sets that are not the original albums was a big and careless mistake....also...”there are still 7 CD's missing from this package”.....”Rhino should have just reissued them like the ACE series, where you would have have had every track from the Vee-Jay, Phillips & Warner labels....maybe even had the MoWest stuff thrown in and make it a true set. It's overall shoddy work from a Label that I used to admire, it's like no one cares anymore.”… One reviewer commented “ The sound quality (on my copy) is identical to the ACE label releases which were issued in the UK and Germany between 1994 and 1996...and copies were produced in the EU. “
The 'Solo' Work set was described as....”This is NOT an anthology, best of, greatest hits, or even, as titled "Selected Solo Works". What this is, plain and simple, are eight (8) complete LPs recorded by Frankie Valli between 1967 and 1980. Each album is presented in its entirety exactly as originally released - no remastering of the original recordings.[or non-LP sides]”
We haven't obtained or 'forensically' reviewed these 2 sets for sound quality but have tracked back through album 'styled' releases [Rhino/Warner/Curb] during the 90s and some appear to be identical to CD albums released at that time and 'casually' reproduced and included in these sets. More re this in our next part. Ken Charmer June 2019
When the the Partnership/Snapper Tape Archive review is complete it seems inevitable that the tracks THAT NEVER DID APPEAR IN STEREO during the 1960s will still be MONO only.
So fans are stuck with those versions……you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear!! Or can you.?
These are the tracks from the early 1960s known to have only ever been issued in MONO
I’ve Cried Before
Soon
Ain’t That A Shame[45 version with Nick Massi overdub]
New Mexican Rose
Little Boy In Grown Up Clothes[45 mix without audience overdub added for ‘Live On Stage' album]
Dawn [45 version]
No Surfin’ Today
Big Man's World
Huggin’ My Pillow
There are also some very poor STEREO Mixes of some tracks[ like 'Beggar's Parade'] which can't be repaired or re-mixed to a balanced STEREO.
But there are a group of enthusiasts interested in sound technology and the ability of modern tools to ‘Re-Create’ TRUE STEREO from classic MONO recordings of the 1960s[or earlier]. The process is Digitally Extracted STEREO[DES]and it is increasingly being seen as a new way to enjoy the producers and the artists skills as they would use them with today’s technology.
One of the member of this group of engineers told us….’The only true stereo from MONO using modern software is DES. 'Digitally Extracted Stereo'. Anything else is not true stereo. DCS 'Digitally Constructed Stereo' can sound really good, & I used to do that before I started doing DES, some still do it. Stereo synch can sound very good, it is close to real stereo but is not the original single in stereo, it is usually an overdub or underdub placed alongside the mono record. ……only DES is true stereo.’
Christopher Kissel promotes the technique on a dedicated web site and states..’This website will focus on audio spectral editing, sound source separation, and other related tools and processes used specifically for the purpose of upmixing mono source material to stereo, with the goal of creating stereo mixes that are virtually indistinguishable from stereo mixes created using multi-track session tapes, had they existed.’
Most of such STEREO re-creations appear on a Record Label called ERIC RECORDSThe tracks take several days for re-construction but this work is not commercially driven.
Some have simply been shared on You Tube.
Published versions by our engineer friend on other artists include the following...
We asked the question….’Could this technique produce good results on the Four Seasons tracks only in MONO?’
Our engineer friend has updated us on work on-going on some of the Four Seasons MONO only tracks with these samples.
No Surfing Today.
Our engineer friend said….’This is how the parts are placed on the mix. Firstly this song seems to feature the group more than Frankie in places, & the normal place for the group is on one side of Frankie, therefore they are on the left & middle most of the way through.
So the Layout is. Group Left & Center. Drum rim tap on Left. Effects on left.. Guitar 1 on left. Falsetto group backing ('Don't Go' ….Don’t Go]on Left. Piano where featured on right, Harp? on right, clapping on right, Guitar 2/3? on right. Frankie, Drums, Bass etc in center.
'No Surfin' Today' does make a good DES, but it is also a hard one, [challenging]& a lot of work had to go into it, & a little more has to be done. I have made one or two very good DES records, in two or three days. That was because everything just fell into place, but most (probably 150 that I have done) take one to two weeks to do.’
To fans ears these are tremendous achievements and highly in demand if available.
The question to Snapper and Bob Gaudio is...'Is there any interest of including such NEW mixes in this box set?' It is the equivalent of adding 'unreleased ' tracks and would add attraction to this proposed Box Set in terms of quality and marketing and adding uniqueness to a quality catalogue spanning set of music.
If final versions are commissioned they would of course become a NEW copyrighted track for the Partnership
We will continue to pursue these UNIQUE MIXES either for this project...or for a future 'Four Seasons in TRUE STEREO' CD project if necessary.
When we met Snapper last August re the proposal of [up to] a 40 CD album project on Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons - 'What Do Fans Want?' seemed a daunting question nor one the Four Seasons Partnership or any previous Record Company had ever asked us.!! When asked what our priority was we all said the Motown Unreleased. When we were told Bob Gaudio was totally on board with the project and he had 'unreleased' tracks from every decade, the project became a NO BRAINER.
With a list of 'assets' in the Partnership of MONO and STEREO 'available' seen for the first time the objective became compiling 'The List'for licensing and contracts. The big news was that the MONO album Masters are available [for most of the 60s albums] and the proposal is to include both MONO and STEREO Masters as new transfers 're-mastered'.
So what about the 'Non-LP 45s'.......and the 45s that are different mixes from the album MONO?
Well the search is on in the Tape Archive with long-term archivist Bill Inglot 'on the case'. By November 'The List' was needed to prepare contracts and the proposal was to have the Non-LP 45s on a separate CD.....but we advised straight away that this would break the timeline of the set and so we suggested a structure like the ACE CD's from the 1990s with Bonus tracks to each album be the preferred approach. We burned the midnight oil to help construct the set 'list'
So the list included for relevant CD's album 'Bonus' tracks for 45s and 'special' STEREO mixes from the 'Golden Hits' album and where possible for all the 1960s albums to add to the MONO and STEREO versions.
MONO versions of 'Solo'and 'Timeless'albums have not been found and were never originally issued.[Possibly 'destroyed']. Philips we believe always intended these albums for STEREO only issue, and this seems to also be the case with the 'Half and Half' album.
BUT a MONO Tape of 'Genuine Imitation Life Gazette' has been found and is being proposed as a vinyl album insert to the box with FULL replica artwork
Bob Crewe's 'special' STEREO re-masters for 'Edizione D'Oro' have been found on Master Tape and will be included. Only 29 tracks are proposed as 'Peanuts'[special Golden Hits 'Re-mix]is included elsewhere.
A 'Rare 45s and Unreleased'CD is proposed for 1968 to 1972including releases on various labels and late Philips sessions plus the UK Warner 45 sides from 1971.
Snapper Records have said Bob Gaudio will supervise the Master tape availability/transfers with vinyl dubs from mint/Promo copies used by Snapper to achieve the list if necessary.
What a wonderful set of tracks if it can be achieved . This will be in new re-mastered sound and has never ever been attempted or achieved since the advent of CD re-issues.
More re the Motown Unreleased and other decade tracks in future blogs.
Casey Chameleon
PS. Back in 2013 we published the following blog note re our work on the MONO Archive and why it was so important. Click the Link Below.
Looking back at 5 decades of your musical creations must be both 'uplifting' and 'painful' at the same time for Bob Gaudio, Frankie Valli and their families. Fans can appreciate that.
Not many artists in 'pop' music have as much music to put into context with their personal life experiences, the changing times lived through, friends and family lost and the huge change in musical influences over that period. We know that this will be difficult for Bob and Frankie and we want them to know the fans appreciate this.
When Snapper Records proposal for a circa 40 album CD box set got a positive response from the Major Record Companies and The Four Seasons Partnership last summer it was a huge surprise for fans but one we have totally embraced. Mainly because Snapper asked us what WE, the fans wanted and said they would do all they could to persuade and help Bob and Frankie to include that.
For the fan groups it is perhaps easier 'looking back' because, for us, it is easy celebrating the 'music of our lives'. Whilst we all have those we have loved and lost over the decades....it is the music of Frankie and the Seasons that has carried us through the good and bad times and it still rings 'warmly' in our heads and hearts.
So whilst compiling the 'Track List' of our lives was easy for the fan group, it was an opportunity to research and find the 'Unreleased' tracks sitting in the Motown Vaults that 'added icing to the cake'. Sceptics still doubt that delivering the Box Set will be close to these expectations.
Today over 6 months after the proposal was enthusiastically received by the 'majors' and the previously reluctant Bob Gaudio ….......we hear contracts are reaching completion and Tape Archive Research is showing exciting potential. But much work is needed to achieve what we want as the volume of tracks needing 'salvage'[either in terms of re-mastering to modern standards and checking of 'unreleased' multi-tracks and mixing to final STEREO ] is huge.
We will expand on this in subsequent blogs as the process unfolds. But there remains great potential.
Back in 2009 German Sound Engineer Stefan Wriedt and I commenced what has become a 'forensic' review of the status of the CD released Masters and the prospect of 'unreleased' tracks. For ten years [5 without my late friend Stefan] my research and blog writing with collectors and fans has uncovered the huge potential for such a set. Only now[post Jersey Boys] has a commercial 'model' for its delivery in the form of a luxury Box Set emerged as viable..
Now we anxiously await feedback from Tape Research and hope for the best.
In the next few weeks I'll document what we have asked Bob and Frankie for [through Snapper] and what is emerging. Getting our 'wants list' may not be possible in every respect but it remains in Bob and Frankie's control what we get to hear. With so many 'unreleased' and completed tracks having emerged in our research we remain confident much 'collectible' work will make it into the final set.
Snapper know that to succeed the product must be 'quality' as we have defined with them. Frankly the message to Bob and Frankie is 'listen to us'. We will be the ultimate critics and Facebook remains the voices of you the fans. Speak up!
Today on a morning debate TV show they asked.....'Will you live long enough to see Brexit?'
Well with an extension to the 'Brexit' leaving process looming......most UK people have lost any interest and are simply focusing on keeping 'body and soul' together. Well Four Seasons fans had better do the same!
Everything is running slow and for Four Seasons fans I'm afraid the story is the same. After the great enthusiasm of Snapper Records concept of a mega/luxury BOX SET of 40 albums spanning the career of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and the news of Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli's enthusiasm, it is becoming ever more apparent that 'delivery' is the problem. So we can ask the question.....'Will we live long enough to see Snapper's and our concept?' Bob and Frankie may also be asking that question.
The problem is, 'The Majors'...ie Rhino/Warners and more importantly Universal Motown.
Licensing and legal delays have prevented the completion of contracts....and although we had been promised a high proportion of 'unreleased'....'from every decade'......no news has surfaced on the Tape Archive review at the Partnership or from the Motown Archive research.
In many ways this is not a surprise. Whilst Rhino and the Partnership have regularly licensed tracks in their ownership, and were positive when the concept was launched....and Universal Motown saw the potential of the 'unreleased' track they were able for the first time to put before Bob Gaudio.......the administrative problems of licensing when you do not have a definitive 'final list' of tracks to be included appears to becoming problematic. Firstly this is the first time since 1988 that NEW transfers from the analogue tapes has been a viable proposition and the identification of material for inclusion cannot be underestimated. There are so many diverse problems re the Masters to be resolved. Also anecdotal evidence shows Universal Motown are renowned for not having a 'can do' approach to licensing and many projects in recent years[and still today] have been bogged down in their 'processes'. Other licensees have been tearing their hair out and abandoning projects because Universal will simply find excuses for not licensing songs. There is too much evidence for anyone to argue that this criticism is unfair.
In the meantime Snapper and the fan group members have been positively gathering 'memorabilia' from our archives to illustrate how the groups music was presented in the media in past decades for potential inclusion in the proposed /Book'.
On the music catalogue side we have been commencing a 'forensic' review of what is important to be included and the limitations of surviving Masters. What fans want[as far as we know from vinyl and CD issues] has been documented and this has been shared with Bob Gaudio as our 'wants list'. Questions of copyright and royalties payments on 'live' recordings have arisen and at present remain unresolved and the content....remains unclear.
Snapper are not unfamiliar with such problems and have both the determination and experience to manage such issues, but how much time it will take and the compromises necessary are just emerging several months into the design development.
We continue to back the idea of a project that is based on fan input/wishes, as this would be the first time ever in the history of the group that it has happened and we have great confidence in Snapper's leadership and drive. Their track record shows this.
In our forthcoming blogs we will be tackling issues that have become an intrinsic set of problems for the sound we have and what legacy will the groups catalogue leave. The question is how much work is necessary to salvage, repair and issue a representative version of their 'body of work'. We'll be posing questions and potential solutions. But can the music industry be moved by the innovative ideas of a small independent Record Company [with the backing of the artists] and the fan group? It is a bit like the question....'Can 'democracy' survive?'.....Only time will tell......hang in there everyone. We owe it to the next generation of fans.
Casey Chameleon
Next time …..Part 2 - Repairing the 1960s Catalogue.
Maybe as 2019 hits home and the anti-climax of post Frankie Valli Farewell Tour sets in, fans and collectors have become depressed....but there is no need to be.
There are different perspectives on the future of music......“It’s human nature to attempt to conceptualize the future. All civilizations, from the ancient to the modern, have had some tradition of divination or fortune telling.' says Kate Morgan at Medium, but to her it seems we are very bad at forecasting the future!
So as I read forecasts of the dying Music Industry by Dan Fieberger on the BSN Forum I began to smile.....
”Once enough Boomers are dead, music sold in tangible form will cease to exist entirely.
Then x-years from now, all those older tangible music formats will be rare collectors items (cuz so many of them were just initially thrown away).
Then a hundred or so years from now, they'll be so rare as collectors die and the entire collections are thrown into dumpsters to sell their houses as fast as possible, that the occasional rare tangible piece of music will be extreme rarities in museums worth millions of dollars. Eventually they'll be taken down from display cuz nobody cares about them, and/or thrown away or stolen by thieves who then discover that they can't sell them on the black market and so they throw those final copies away also.
Once repository websites like You-Tube collapse cuz it isn't profitable for the webmasters to maintain anymore, eventually, there will be no evidence available that any of the music we produced in the 20th century (or us) ever existed at all. “
OMG.......the end of the world?
And when Rolling Stone recently said its 'piece' about last year, change becomes more real and apparent.'Thanks to the still-expanding streaming industry, overall music consumption grew in double-digits for the second year in a row. But the way we think of “music consumption” itself is permanently changed, and it doesn’t show any signs of going back to what it used to be. The dwindling popularity of music purchases — which is driven by listener preference as well as the music industry’s shift of focus away from [physical] sales, giving it a knock-on effect for retailers and buyers — can also be seen in the shares of total album consumption in 2018. '
The music industry may appear to be totally committed to streaming income and whilst some have been trying to kill of the CD in the last 2 years, physical product still exceeds 48% of income.......but formats don't die.....they just become 'niche' as these articles show
Clearly it is science-fiction to conceptualize the future and there is counter evidence to the revenue analyses showing that physical collecting will continue to accompany the ever expanding streaming industry as music on-line simply becomes an alternative to physical or digital form collecting. And not EVERYTHING is available on stream!!! So whilst we are entering the 'End Of The Boomers Era' and we have to accept that we, our friends and music heroes will inevitably pass on....the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and their fan base is growing and will live on. And we are working to see the best sounding Masters and the 'whole' catalogue [including previously 'unreleased']on CD Box Set. That way the world will retain a 'physical' presence for the groups work long into the future.
There is still a real focus on physical media with rising vinyl sales and even the humble cassette being re-energised. Collecting of both used vinyl and CD is strong and prices are holding and in many cases increasing as rarity impacts.
There are some brilliant sets here and our discussions with Snapper Records in 2018 have left us optimistic that this year will bring a similar stunning 'Tribute' to the career of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons that will fuel our playing, writing and review of their music for many years.
We've been championing the need for 'preservation since 2010 and we made it clear in our 2019 Press Release what we are doing to support the 'Project' and memorabilia research will continue this month. We want the released and unreleased in MONO and STEREO all re-mastered like never before. Capturing a catalogue that was 80% analogue tape stored with today's technology has long been our aim ….so what was either 'unreleased' or recorded to Analogue Tape is 'Digitally' salvaged for posterity. That will superced all the CD re-issues and the previous Analogue transfers of 1987 and provide the classic 60s MONO mixes plus the rest.
The products in this 'Second Disc' 2018 review and in the content of Snapper's cataloguedemonstrates that this small element of the music industry's turnover is both in demand and profitable. But perhaps most important is the close 'bond' such collections are building between fans and artists. Fans can tell their music heroes today what they have collected and loved. Archivists can fine tune released, unreleased and live career spanning work in high quality audio and paper products. Such 'curated' sets are a forensic examination of the 'legacy' left by a great artist and group including amazing memorabilia. We don't want 39 versions of Heroes and Vilians as The Beach Boys have done in their box sets and this Guardian article somewhat cynically examines.
Those that can afford it will want “L'Eridata” and those that can't will wait for a 'torrent' or You Tube version. Or maybe one day it will eventually be streamed.
The collectors groups are too big and 'connected' via social media and the marketeers know 2000 + copies sold will generate enough income and profit[and fund the restoration]. We in the collectors groups will see it as a 'treasure trove' and the legacy of our favourite artists musical careers.
Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli have it seems 'embraced' this and shown enthusiasm to start the process of archival research and we have given them the collecting content 'wants' list that represents 'essential' masters from the past on both vinyl and CD[and 'live']. There is much to treasure and to be collated and this year has the promise of a great future 'box set' for fans. What we all want is the top quality that 'Snapper' have achieved with other artists
Music is a celebration of our times and will always be a portrayal of history, so why not keep celebrating it for as long as we can and the part it has played in our lives, and in doing so let the future take care of itself.
Happy New Year to followers and Facebook group members from Lynn Boleyn, George Ingram, Ray Nichol and myself.
2018 was a 'special year' in the history of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.
It was a year we discovered more unreleased tracks from the past since the 1975 release of 'Inside You'!
We were able to bring all of the data we have on the groups history up to date on our revised Web site in November
This was followed by the 'Farewell Tour' of the UK by Frankie and his Team for several memorable concerts to huge audiences.
The release of Charlie Calello's biography 'Another Season' in November [just out on Amazon.co.uk]
But perhaps more importantly it was the year we helped 'connect' Bob and Frankie with a high quality Record Company who want to celebrate the history and 'legacy' of their careers.
Not bad for a group that started as a small UK fan club 48 years ago.
Lynn told me that during the concert 'meet-ups' people were asking her.....'What is left now after a 'Farewell Tour?' Is it the end of the road? '
Well not as long as we can keep breathing that is!!
2019 may be the biggest year of our lives 'musically' as 'The Project' takes shape.
In January we hope contracts will be concluded on the 40 album box set featuring we believe 'unreleased tracks from every decade of the Partnerships existence. Tape research has started and the 'wishlist' of album tracks 45s and known 'unreleased' has been supplied to Bill Inglot and Bob Gaudio and Motown Universal have mobilised tape research of the 1971 to 1973 archive tapes. Live 'quality sound' shows are being researched to capture the legendary sound of the group from the 60s and 70s.
This blog will keep you informed of progress as will the Facebook group[The Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign]
What could surface has already been amazing. In November we published 2 previously unheard unreleased but 'completed' Motown tracks from the Chameleon album sessions and before Christmas we heard Snapper Record's contact with the BBC Archive manager has unearthed 2 radio recordings for a Saturday morning 'Top Pops' show from 1963 when the Four Seasons visited the UK for a brief tour. 'Big Girls Don't Cry' and 'Ain't That A Shame'....LIVE at The BBC. Amazing news.!
Super rare photos are also emerging for the box set book and work starts this month on the memorabilia of unique material to illustrate the musical dynasty the group created. We will, during the year in our blogs, be revisiting album releases and special MONO and STEREO rarities that need to be included. The whole set will include amazing 'unseen' and 'unheard' material.
Whilst the aim is a 2019 release, we and Snapper are working together to bring the best ever Four Seasons product to the fans...with the support of Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli and their team.
So as I said Happy NEW YEAR 2019 to all involved and to you 'the fans'
The first show of the UK Farewell Tour kicked off in Leeds on 28 November and what a great show it was. Frankie got very emotional following the reaction from the fans when thanking them for supporting him throughout his career and they started singing “We Love You Frankie ….” he seemed close to tears and you could really hear the emotion in his voice. He said how much he loved the UK fans and although a lovely time of the year to be here he was finding the weather very cold!
Frankie opened with “Working My Way Back To You” followed by “Dawn”. The very beautiful “Our Day Will Come” next was a wonderful surprise – a song not done by Frankie in the UK since the early 1980’s with Toby Tyler.
The full list of songs were:
Workin’ My Way Back To You Dawn Our Day Will Come Opus 17 Tell It to The Rain Under My Skin Beggin’ Silence Is Golden The Night Fallen Angel Swearin’ to God Who Loves You Spanish Harlem My Girl/Groovin’ Stay December ‘63 Can’t Take My Eyes Off You Sherry/Big Girls don’t Cry/Walk Like A Man/Bye Bye Baby Rag Doll Let’s Hang On
Also included was “The Rap” and Frankie cheekily asked “Do people really make love to that music!”
When Frankie sang “My Eyes Adored You” there was a “sea of lights” from thousands of mobile phones which was very moving. Beautiful harmonies too when Frankie and his singers performed “Silence Is Golden” the B side to “Rag Doll” which Frankie joked “We’re not doing that”! Rick Keller provided some wonderful saxophone solos especially during “Swearin’ To God” and Basil Fung did some amazing guitar playing during “Fallen Angel”.
Frankie’s new band were absolutely amazing and it was really great to see Richard Garcia back in the fold again! They are all extremely talented musicians and really warmed to the audience and their camaraderie really shone through. It was very clear that the band were enjoying the experience just as much as the audience.
After the show the fan club members there were invited backstage by Robby Robinson to say hello to the band who were a real pleasure to meet and who spent a lot of time talking to the fans – Basil Fung (Guitar); Wil Roberts (Bass Guitar); Sandro Rebel (keyboards) and Andy Sanesi (drums). Rick Keller, Dean Egnator and Allan Gaba also joined us and then Frankie Valli popped in to say hello and said “let’s do a photo”. He looked and sounded great. We did not get chance at this show to meet any of the new singers (Erik Bates; Ronan Bay; Craig Cady and Joseph Ott) but were told they had only been with Frankie since the end of March so they did remarkably well to learn all the songs and the dance moves in that short time before the UK tour.
It was really good to see Richard Garcia back with Frankie and Robby. Richard worked with Frankie back in the late 1970’s and we showed him a photograph we had of him back then with his moustache which created a few laughs! He said even his family did not know he used to have a moustache!
Glasgow
Next show was Glasgow on 29 November which was as good if not better than Leeds. Although security at the front of the stage was a bit tighter than Leeds, with only a few people at a time being let to the front to shake hands with Frankie, those sat on the front row said they preferred it that way! Again there was the beautiful “sea of lights” when Frankie sang “My Eyes Adored You”.
Glasgow review here from The Scottish Sun: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/music/3559505/frankie-valli-four-seasons-glasgow-live/
Birmingham – Genting Arena
The next show, in my ‘home town’, was Birmingham on 1 December.
A great show in front of around 10,000 people and Frankie was very chatty on stage. Just spoilt a bit by the very tight security who would not let anyone near the front of the stage and even stopped fans from dancing in the aisles even though Frankie had announced to everyone to get up and dance! They did not allow anyone to go and shake hands with Frankie, only those people who were sitting on the front row got the chance to do this. I felt this did spoil it a bit especially for Frankie who loves his audiences and loves shaking hands with as many people as possible.
My younger sister, Carol, was with me for her first ever Frankie Valli concert – something everyone, including Robby Robinson, found very hard to believe! She loved it and now knows what she has been missing all these years. Although those of us who have seen Frankie performing with the Modern Gentlemen for the last 14 years or so were very disappointed they were not with Frankie, especially for his last UK tour, Carol, not having seen them thought the four new singers were excellent and thoroughly enjoyed the show. We all loved meeting with Robby and the band again after the show at The Hilton Hotel in Birmingham for a few drinks. Carlos and Claudia from Brazil, who were in the UK for all the shows, spent lots of time speaking with Sandro Rebel who was also from Brazil. We are all so appreciative that Robby and the band spend so much time with the fans creating such special memories for everyone.
O2 London
The show at the O2 was just incredible – 15,000 Brits singing “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” needed to be seen to be believed – just amazing. Wil Roberts said the band were enjoying the concerts just as much as the audiences. Frankie dedicated “My Eyes Adored You” to all the romantics in the audience where there was another “sea of lights” which was very beautiful.
He introduced the singers after “Oh What A Night”, Joseph Ott; Erik Bates; Ronan Bay and Craig Cady. He then asked “How many of you guys out there have seen Jersey Boys? How many of you out there have seen it more than once? How many have never seen it?! Get their names and telephone numbers!” He said that he has had a wonderful career and that Jersey Boys is still touring here in the UK and is also in Japan and New York adding “Thank you so much for that”. He said that “so many wonderful things have happened in my life and the next tune was written by Bob Gaudio especially for me so I am really thankful for that and would like to do it for you now and I want you to sing so loud they can hear you in Birmingham!”
I was lucky enough to meet with everyone backstage after the show with Bob Fisher and Ian Crockett from Snapper Records, London, who are working with Ken Charmer and myself on a project to hopefully to put out a limited edition box set to include the Motown Unreleased material but more on that in a later blog!
Frankie had announced that Suzie Quatro was in the audience on the front row and it was a pleasure to meet her and her husband, Rainer, backstage and she very kindly signed Frankie’s “Farewell To The UK” book “To Frankie, Much Love and Respect, Suzie Quatro”.
Dave Munden, drummer and singer with The Tremeloes, who had a huge hit with “Silence Is Golden” was also backstage on his 75th Birthday and he also signed the book for Frankie.
I had a brief chat with Brando, the only one of Frankie’s sons with him in the UK. It was also a great pleasure to meet Jackie Jacobs, girlfriend of Frankie Valli, and lucky enough to have some lovely photographs taken with both of them.
Full live performance at O2, London
Bournemouth
So next onto Bournemouth on 4 December for another fantastic show. A review from The Bournemouth Echo is here:
There was again a fantastic audience at Cardiff on the 5 December. Erik Bates said “the people of Wales, UK can be proud of themselves. I've NEVER heard Can’t Take My Eyes Off You sung louder!” Robby thought the show was terrific and said “Cardiff rocks! Cardiff sings! Wow the Welch can sing! They are almost drowning out Frankie as they belt out “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”! They even sing the horn lines!”
Manchester
The final show of the UK Farewell Tour was at Manchester Arena on 6 December. What an emotional night it was. Frankie was again very chatty on stage and reiterated again how much he loved the UK audiences and he did not think he would be able to leave us hinting that he could well return to the UK at some point. Everyone was on their feet at soon as “Oh What A Night” started and they danced and sang until the end of the show and shouting for “more”. A great show of almost two hours.
Robby said “We closed our UK tour at the Manchester Arena and not to be outdone by their Welch “rivals” the packed arena sang “I Love You Baby” loud & proud! Then to take it to another level, the stadium crowd at the Manchester United football match reprises the refrain. The UK definitely has a love affair with Frankie Valli!” We do sure do Robby!
The UK Fan Club had backstage passes to see me present Frankie with his UK Farewell Book. I thanked Frankie on behalf of all the fans for giving us the wonderful music and so many happy memories and said that this book would be a little bit of the UK that he could take back home with him to remember us all by. He said that he would love to come back and he loves the UK audiences. I did say to Frankie that I was waiting for him to sing “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and he laughed and said he does have a Christmas Album. I said he missed a trick there as he could have sung some tracks from the album to promote it at the same time and he laughed again and said if he comes back to the UK during the Holiday season he will definitely do that!
A similar ‘Farewell Book’ was presented to Robby Robinson to thank him for his time and kindness to the UK fans over the last 40 years. Nothing has ever been too much trouble for Robby and he has always made time to speak to the fans and encouraged the singers, band and crew to do the same for which we are all extremely grateful.
Robby said they should have done “You’re Ready Now” for the UK shows and also “C’mon Marianne” and said if they do come back then he will arrange for these to be performed. He spoke about the great concert at Cardiff and said he would love to see Frankie Valli tour with Tom Jones.
Johnny Hornsby from Louisiana was supposed to be joining Bill Bozeman from Florida for the UK tour but unfortunately was not able to make it due to illness and was scheduled for surgery on the 7 December. Robby telephoned Johnny from backstage at the Arena to wish him well and said a lovely prayer for him. He chatted to Johnny for a while and all the fans shouted “Hello Johnny”. Robby is such a very kind and generous person and we all love him for that. I am pleased to report that the 18 hours of surgery went very well and Johnny was back at home a week later and is doing well. We all send Johnny lots of love and hugs and wish him a speedy recovery at home.
Dean Egnator was also thanked for all his help especially with arranging front arena seats, along with Danny Betesh at Kennedy Street Enterprises, for the fan club members at all the venues over the years and for arranging the “meet and greets” with Frankie Valli.
We met with the singers, the band and crew back at The Lowry Hotel for farewell drinks in the bar. Robby played “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and “December ’63 Oh What A Night” on the piano in the bar and everyone sang along loudly. What a lovely way to round off what was an incredible tour.
Brian Brigham, Brandon Brigham, Landon, Beard and Todd Fournier were very much missed as was Craig Pilo, Larry Lingle and Bill DeLoach. Although The Modern Gentlemen, who had been with Frankie for around 14 years, are now touring very successfully in their own right we did very much miss them and their camaraderie and of course our after show meet ups in the bar – we would have had such a blast! We have many happy memories and thank them, and indeed all the former Four Seasons and former band members, for their kindness towards the UK fans over the years and wish them every happiness and success for the future.
There was, as you would expect, lots of merchandise on sale and to order any items please go to http://www.chesterhopkins.co.uk/Frankie-Valli-T-Shirts-Official-Tour-Merchandise/
After the tour Wil Roberts sent this message “Thank you again for all the support and love we felt in the band during our tour here. We all had such a great time and I hope our paths cross again sooner than later”.
They say a picture says a thousand words so at the end of this Blog I have posted a few of the photographs that were taken during the final UK tour. Enjoy!
Finally, on behalf of myself, George Ingram, Ray Nichol and Ken Charmer, we would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a very happy and peaceful New Year.
Seasons Greeting!
Lynn
And... finally …. Paul and Linda Tavernor have an English Pointer Puppy and they spotted this Kennel Club name on the second photo down. We think he should be honoured on our Blog!
As the UK Farewell Tour gets closer I thought it might be a good idea if we presented a book to Frankie at the end of the tour to thank him for the wonderful music and all the great concerts here in the UK with messages of thanks from all his fans. Although I initially referred to this as a “retirement” book Dean Egnator reminded me that Frankie is not retiring as he will still continue performing in the USA. So it will be a “celebration” of his music and if anyone would like to add a few words to the book then please email me. If you would also like to email me a photograph (the more obscure the better!) I will try and include as many images as I can. Many thanks to John Riley and Bill DeLoach who have already sent me some little crackers! If anyone is attending the shows or fan club get togethers at Leeds, Birmingham, London or Manchester you can sign the book personally if you wish. My email is: lynn.boleyn@sky.com
Bill DeLoach unfortunately will not be with Frankie on the UK Farewell tour and said he will miss seeing us all. We have also heard from Brian Brigham who said “Obviously we (The Modern Gentlemen) won’t be there for the farewell tour and we are gutted to not be able to see you all again. We just want to thank everyone for being so supportive of us and our journey. We will miss taking the UK stages for the final time with the Boss as those past tours were some of the best memories we had and will never forget it. Please give our love to everyone!” Thank you Brian, we will miss you all too – the UK Farewell Tour will not be the same without you, Craig and Bill. We are really looking forward to meeting the new members and, of course, some old friendly faces too!
Web Site Update
Many thanks to Ken Charmer who has now updated our Web Site. This is the first major update since 2013 and is designed for our new ID as an information site with historical data and music/collectors guides to products. – take a look – L’Eridata!
I was listening to the ACE CD transfers from the 1990s on my I-pod on headphones the other day and realised they were nearly all STEREO but were making me cringe!
Why? Well..... every track in STEREO from every album from 1962 to 1970 was in wide STEREO ,,,,in many cases the instruments were across the park and the harmonies in my neighbours garden and Frankie Valli's vocal was in my head!!!! I decided.....I've moved beyond that.
Here is a retrospective re the background as to why this happened.....what the sound engineers tell of the times the first STEREO albums were created back in the 60s......”those early stereo mixes were limited by the technology of the time. The industry was still learning how to bring this newfangled thing into the world. It is really common to hear a ‘60s stereo mix where all the guitars are on one side, the vocals on the other, and the drums in the middle with absolutely no bleed-through at all. This is called “hard panning” and it can definitely make for a challenging listening session, depending on your room setup and personal preferences. It may or may not be fun with headphones too. At first, Stereo was something of a novelty. It wasn’t commonly listened to, and therefore was a bit of a gimmick. The first Stereo mixing consoles were typically 2 track or 4 track mixing desks. This meant you were limited to separating only 2 or 4 individual elements in the Stereo image. Using The Beatles as an example, the first two albums in Stereo were 2 track, so if you listen to them, you will notice all instruments are on one side, and all vocals on the other. This is what people mean when referring to ‘hard panning.’ This even continued when they started using a 4 track desk (I Want To Hold Your Hand), and even the incredibly dense sounding Sgt Pepper was made using a 4 track desk. Mixing huge instrumentation arrangements was possible on 4 track by using a technique called ‘bouncing.’ I won’t go into that here, but you can google it to find out more.
Because Stereo on commercial pop records at this point was a novelty, and a new exciting technology, and because engineers and producers of popular music were new to the idea, early 60’s music in Stereo generally sounds quite primitive. When you have only 2 track Stereo, hard panning is the only option to create a crude Stereo image, and is essentially redundant. But even with the advent of 4 track stereo, you will find that instruments were still hard panned (i.e the drums all on one side, vocals one side, guitars in the middle etc….) It is only towards the latter part of the 60’s, and with 8 track or 16 track becoming more common, that Stereo mixes started to sound like what you would hear [created] today, with instruments placed in a realistic and pleasing stereo image.One danger today is that I know that for one or two big labels, once Stereo became the standard, they thought their mono masters were now worthless, and they destroyed them (or wiped them and reused the tape.) So the mono 45's of these songs are the only way to hear the best-sounding mixes of these songs.”
[Mirasound 8 track Ampex? tape console 1966- Courtesy of George Schowerer]
The main thing is that the whole production was geared to a MONO product. All the hits were made that way and heard that way....on record players and radio....throughout the first 7 years of the decade hardly anyone[fans] had a STEREO record player.....and as stated above that was the gimmicky alternative version. BUT what was the 'Best Mix'? Well in the case of the Four Seasons Catalogue we've been asking that for a long time!!
First of all it seems [or it has been stated in several anecdotal sources] that the 2 and 4 track masters did not survive a Bell Studios clear out. BUT STEREO masters in this 'crude' wide form have survived. Some are different to the MONO that appeared on 45 and album. They don't contain late dubs by Bob Crewe added at Bell after he had taken the MONO master from Stea-Philips or Mirasound studios [according to sound engineer George Schowerer]. And Vee-Jay supplied Philips with MONO and STEREO album mixes only[according to Philips Master lists]. We wonder if that means there are missing 45 MONO Master mixes? On the evidence of post 1987 CD releases that seems to be the case[eg I've Cried Before].
So detailed research of the Tapes surviving [in all potential locations] is necessary to preserve the radio sound that really is the Sound of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. With work, the STEREO versions would be a bonus to todays and future listeners. They could in a decent sound stage reveal more detail than the MONO and be more akin to a 'live' performance. One of the reasons why MONO has some renewed interest though is exactly because STEREO replaced it. By the time CDs arrived, the stereo 'wide' mixes of most albums had become the “official”[defacto]mix.[now on CD] As vinyl records went out of print, people were left with only this STEREO option when they bought a new copy on CD. Within 15 years of the advent of CD, many MONO mixes were more or less forgotten about.
But today my argument is we need top re-mastered versions of BOTH.! So I researched back what my best friend, Stefan Wriedt, a German sound engineer had told me several years ago about STEREO mastering.
But ‘how do fans make their own assessment of what is a good stereo mix?’,.................. we asked him.
“Stereo images are best assessed on headphones. You have to listen. Wide is 120 to 180 degrees, anything between 60 and 30 degrees is small[narrow], 60 to 120 is normal (90 degrees as usual). I haven't found any meter / display that can show this.[only our ears on headphones]”
So I started doing further research on the 'best mixes' in STEREO and the groups catalogue and realised all the 'best' sounding STEREO were recorded in the 1970s and obviously on vinyl. There are some rogue STEREO mixes that surfaced on 'special' vinyl HITS albums during the 60s[eg Edizione D'Oro] that improve the mix, but every STEREO version is different as the content is more detailed than the MONO and can be panned differently.
The 60s STEREO limitations are clear . CD's with WIDE STEREO can sound good on an 'old style' listening environment when the speakers are the right distance apart and the listener is in the 'sweet spot'. This represents only about 5% of anyones listening experience today as we all listen on headphones/ear-buds/in-car or on the go Boom boxes. The STEREO becomes just like MONO. And after spending 3 years collecting and restoring MONO mixes from vinyl it has become obvious how the groups PRIMARY catalogue elements should be delivered.In MONO with 'enhanced' STEREO versions as a bonus set.
This guide from the WWW to assess STEREO supports this idea.Mixing engineers should mix tracks with a live sound stage/concert stage perspective in mind . We found an audio blog that defines this.
“'Panning' is how the instruments are arranged within the stereo image. By properly using this mixing feature you can create a very realistic sound.
Vocals are always in the centre because the band lead singer is the star of the show. At the back of the vocals is the bass player. Typically at the back of the bass player is the drummer. The band's two guitarists are on the left and the right. Although, different panning arrangement are possible for additional instruments (such a band with piano or others), this concept illustrates the basic things on how to do panning in audio mixing to create a very realistic stereo image.
Live sound monitors for vocals and bass are placed up front facing the audience, so that fans can get a great feel of the vocals and the bass groove. On the left and right loud sound monitors are the guitars.
In the best commercial audio production and using software, panning can be controlled between -100 to +100. Where mostly -100 is the leftmost part of the stage and +100 is the rightmost part of the stage.”
Stefan agreed…..”In the case of the Four Seasons recordings that we have[on CD in STEREO]……….. listen to any track on headphones and see how much these principles are adhered to. Many of the early stereo recordings fall short of this standard (with instruments and vocals panned far left and far right with acres of space between occupied by ‘nothing’).Today the listening experience is different, Everybody who bought a Four Seasons CD already has got the wide-stereo version[except for the tracks NEVER RECORDED IN STEREO by the Engineers] which again goes to the root of the original purpose.....a RADIO 45 mix.”
["What do you think of that 'mix' Ellie?" - Bob Crewe to Ellie Greenwich late 1966 - Mirasound - Courtesy of George Schowerer]
With the ‘MONO only’ versions [that often don't exist in STEREO] we are listening to the only example of what the producers sought.....and record company put out originally on vinyl. So we might as well have that....well mastered with the punch and ambience of Bob Crewe's mixes....in the correct MONO 45 and album mixes. They sound great when mastered well. And the STEREO tracks can be the bonus if mixed perhaps to a 90 degree sound mix as identified above.?
There are 3 examples of Four Seasons tracks from the early 60s given this treatment by Bob Gaudio and that is on the 1988 CD 'HITS – Digitally Enhanced'. Bob Gaudio commissioned an engineer to prepare this type of 'modern' STEREO mix on 'Marlena', 'Sherry' , 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love' and 'Stay'...[check out the mp3 samples if you don't have the CD]......That is what the fans need by 2020...But with ALL the 60s STEREO in this enhanced form.. The technology is here in 2018 to do this for all our playing equipment and listening needs. A completely NEW set of Masters
As Stefan said and we found doing the MONO ARCHIVE......”. The fun is when you are re-mastering and you are trying different settings. Sometimes you suddenly find the groups sound just works better. That is such a ‘buzz’. ..a real adrenalin rush.”
[Bob Crewe with George Schowerer....Artie Schroeck in background - Mirasound - late 1966. Courtesy of George Schowerer]
Our research makes the case for the catalogue of the future to enable you to 'feel' the MONO original sound as intended by Bob and the Group or Frankie in his 'solo' efforts and to also create NEW 'life-like' performances from the STEREO Master[NEW STEREO MIXES - as appropriate]
This is a potential Box Set that needs doing that can be sold to the fans of yesterday and today. There is the 'traditionalist' argument to not change the 'original'....but would we buy that AGAIN? After all we have all the WIDE-STEREO already on CD.We should be able to fully appreciate the transition from MONO to STEREO and capture the punch and thrill of MONO and the 'performance simulation' of STEREO in a modern presentation of their music as it is now understood. So NO hard right/left panning STEREO for me....thank you.!
The possibility that some-one will listen to this option and take it on board is something we will consider and we'll no doubt debate. More soon.
As the visit of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons for the UK Farewell Tour rapidly approaches we are working towards a big celebration and reinforcing the sense of connection with long term and new fans.
Lynn Boleyn has organised get togethers with the fans before each concert and I have updated the web site for the tour and to support research and fan interest into the future....as well as preserving free downloadable data about the past.
WE have big hopes for the future and after the unfortunate demise of the late Frank Rovello's Genuine Imitation Life Gazette Web Site we became the main fan club site remaining on the WWW. So we spoke to our web Hosting company Northbrook Web Consultants and they are moving us to a new server and helping make future updates to www.seasonally.co.uk easier. Everything is based on picture links on our web page to our data and we retain our 'pop-art' design.
We have now made access to our specialist collectors Facebook Pages re 'The Unreleased Motown Tracks' and 'Charlie Calello's 'Lost and Found' Tracks' and a link to our Twiiter page.
All our data pages are preserved with links to download George Ingram's Newsletters [Nrs 47 to 68] packed with newspaper and magazine articles from the past.
Our research into the history of the group is also preserved with our two blogs we've run since 2006 and our part drafted E-book based on the 60s and 70s 'Rise and Fall of The NEW Four Seasons.'
The list of all the Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons 'HITS' is on the web site in a special Page based on Charles Alexander's research which is the cornerstone of the groups 'legacy' and we have big plans to celebrate that in the future with a mega project we hope will completely re-vitalise the whole catalogue and it's history.
The 'Farewell' tour is not the end...nor the beginning of the end....but in the words of Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio......A NEW BEGINNING.
Meet up from 6.00 p.m. in the River Bar at the Lowry Hotel and again after the show. As this is the last show of the UK tour if there is any change to the after show venue I will let you know.
Back in 2011 I started to document the travesty of mis-information that 'faithful' and 'trusting' Four Seasons fans have had to suffer for what was then 37 years. It is now over 43 years since we were told.......nothing was left in the vaults.
In one of my blog posts[15thJanuary 2011] I was able to reveal the existence of completed 'unreleased' tracks by the group still lying in the Universal Motown vaults when I said....
”Since The Four Seasons left Motown in 1974 and the subsequent release of the ‘Inside You’ album (Motown M6-852S1) in September 1975, fans have questioned whether any other tracks remained left in the vaults.
Rumour and myth have circulated since and it is amazing that no definitive answers have been found. But now in what is to me a ‘shocking’ disclosure we can prove that the answer is YES completed masters do exist and with examples and research we will show all fans the potential which has been wasted.”
Well I have been documenting and sharing data and music re this lost period ever since in a Campaign to get someone to act and preserve and release up to 50 tracks unheard since the 1970s.
And now just as another piece of evidence arrives, others realise the potential ....... there is a possible acknowledgement by Bob Gaudio to Universal Motown......and some hope emerges that, finally, these sessions will be researched. We've established real interest from Record Companies and some hope a project will ensue.
And coincidentally, as hope arises of a release, we are able to re-visit P Tapes 2105/2110/2111 and the rehearsal recordings for tracks that would eventually surface on the group's 'only' album release whilst under contract there. The Chameleon Sessions Re-visited is a set of rehearsals of tracks that would when complete comprise a very different and 'progressive' Four Seasons album. Critics and fans have said since how significant an album it was artistically and some [like me] rate it as the groups best ever album[notwithstanding the cult following of 'Genuine imitation Life Gazette']
11 tracks, 8 of which would [when complete] create a stunning album. One in instrumental form, raising the question of whether it was ever completed with vocals, and 2 completed and unheard tracks which have never been released which sound really good. Up-tempo driving Four Seasons songs completely different to the album eventually created[but none the less stunning]
This is also our chance to hear, for the first time ever, studio session work pre-release with missing dubs, differences in instrumentation and alternative vocal elements. We all know it has happened with the Beach Boys Sessions and this is a 'snatched' example of Bob Gaudio working up the songs to their final Masters. On our Facebook Campaign Group we will share these moments re-mastered as we bring to fans the Sound Engineers dubs[presumably the legendary Russ Terrana's acetates] salvaged from cassette tape.
And now these are perhaps a prelude to what Universal Motown can do with the support of the artists?. Is that support 'real' and will the project happen? Well in the words of the Bob Crewe penned song amongst these early sessions by the group at Motown......'Time Will Tell'?
I don't suppose he anticipated it but a new hero has emerged for music collectors. The release last week of 'Go Ahead and Back Up' the 'Lost Motown Masters' – Bobby Darin from Real Gone Music in conjunction with Second Disc and Motown Universal has produced the 'goto' CD of the summer.
Darin's time at Motown like several white artists Berry Gordy recruited post 1970 was never fully understood or appreciated until now. It can now be seen as a creative close to his life....which sadly he knew was coming. Any discovery of 'lost music' can be either a treat or a complaint[what the hell was he trying to do?]. But reviewing such art needs 'context' and 'timeline' When an archjvist and a fan combine the result is a flowing journey for a listener that the artist would appreciate.Andy Skurow, the 'librarian' [ie archive manager] responsible for the Universal Motown archive has provided a fully annotated review of the recording history of 24 tracks which surpasses anything seen in a Motown related release for many years. Joe Marchese of Second Disc has filled in the story. The music?......well it's not the Motown Sound[as it is 'defined' by many] or the Booby Darin trademark sound but a testimony to an artist,writers, musician,back-up singers and producers searching for new expression.
I'll leave the Amazon reviewers to assess the results musically......but they are refreshingly diverse. The interest for me and the importance for Four Seasons fans is in the process and the results achieved but also in the commitment. Harry Weinger Universal Motown's CEO enabled Andy with highly respected Sound Engineer Kevin Reeves to 'interrogate' the data bases and uncover the tapes this artist left in the vaults. What is so profound for me and I would guess for Bobby's family and friends is the list of material started but never finished. This is a common occurrence with Motown research. A song listed somewhere may only be a backing track with no lead vocal[in this case 29]. Completed tracks may be prepared for album release and then for vague or unknown reasons shelved.
This set was firstly committed to by Bobby's family as they have always wanted to find ways to celebrate his life and talent. That is the primary ingredient Motown Universal require if they are to undertake a project. Artist commitment! There is clearly here a commitment to apply Andy Skurow's skill in identifying, locating and salvaging the work. The result is a credit to his professionalism. The data in the sleeve notes encapsulate everything anyone would want to know about the recordings to enhance the listening experience. Andy even found the Tapes [P4325/6] containing the 'unreleased' album mixed and copied from the main 16 track session tapes.
These tracks immediately precede and overlap the known 'unreleased' tracks from the first Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons contract at Motown. What we also know of the Valli/Seasons sessions is that similar preparations were also made for [at least 2] unreleased albums whilst at Motown. One in August 1973 and one in May 1974[we even know the tracks on this one]. We'll keep Frankie and Bob informed that we have a Project Plan ready to share with Andy Skurrow and team when the time is right and there is commitment to such a project.
The question to Valli/Gaudio will be 'constantly' over the next few years......i'f they could do it for Bobby....then why wont you let them do it for you.?' Casey Chameleon
Most fans of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons know that they had less than half the tracks they recorded released by Mowest/Motown during their contract there. So the collation of collected and researched data on the Four Seasons 'Lost Masters' at Motown from 1971 to 1973 has been drafted into a Project Plan to allow engineers and compilers to research the 16 track [multi-track] Tape Masters in the Universal Motown Vaults in NYC.
In summary the research has identified that there are:
28 Master Tapes[of released and un-released tracks, including multi-tracks and alternative 'takes'/'mix-downs']
36 identified and located 'mixed' tracks that have never been released[many with Motown Master Nrs]
12 identified alternative versions/mixes of released songs requiring research
9 individual producers as well as Crewe-Gaudio
8 listed titles for unknown songs with no location information.
Background notes to the sessions and the songs, their writers, producers and how they were covered by other artists
This information is collated from anonymous donation of lists from within Motown Universal's paper/digital records but gives no indication of whether the tapes still exist or what their condition is. This is basically a log of the analogue sources with no confirmation of digital recovery/preservation. The recently released Bobby Darin 'Lost Masters' CD confirms that such tapes still exist in good condition from this period when Valli/Gaudio and the Four Seasons were recording. This shows in some cases the same producers are present with each artist. So we can be pretty confident that the tapes are there.
The Project Plan will be made available to the artist and tape owner when confirmation that no barriers to such research exist. In the meantime we will be posting an updated Tape Index this summer.The Project Plan covers:-
Introduction – Background to the Universal Motown Vaults and Tape Index
Session Review Plan Part1 - Period 1971[Oct] – 1972[Aug] - Artist:Frankie Valli - Various Producers
Session Review Plan Part 2 - Period 1971[Oct] – 1972[Aug] - Artist:Four Seasons – Various Producers
Session Review Plan Part3 - Period 1971[Oct] – 1972[Aug] - Artist:Four Seasons - Bob Gaudio produced 'Chameleon' Sessions and other tracks
Session Review Plan Part4 - Period 1972[Aug] – 1972[Dec] - Artist:Frankie Valli Sessions Mid-Late 1972 – Various Producers
Session Review Plan Part5 - Period 1973[Jan] – 1973[May] - Artist:Frankie Valli - Bob Crewe Early 1973 Sessions Frankie Valli [with Motown Session singers as the Four Seasons]
Session Review Plan Part6 - Period 1973[Mid] – Bob Gaudio sessions - Artist:Frankie Valli
Session Review Plan Part7 - Period 1973[Oct- Dec] - Artist:Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons - Bob Crewe Late 1973 Sessions Frankie Valli[ Four Seasons][lncluding Charlie Calello and Nick Massi]
Further research this year will be based on more salvaged tracks from the sessions [copied and preserved during the sessions]and known information on the individual tracks and their background and web site updates will document their part in the 'Four Seasons Story'.
Ken Charmer – Webmaster/chief blogger and lead music historian[team leader] at The Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society. www.seasonally.co.uk
It was 1976 in the UK and music was exploding into the charts again. The excitement of collecting records and going to see it performed 'live' was everything to us. We'd had 'My Eyes Adored You' hit Nr 1, 'Who Loves You' change the Radio Airwaves and 'The Night' emerge from the club scene to rocket into the charts as a 'long-lost' oldie re-issue. Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons where about to hit the peak. Overnight top stars and their biggest ever hit was about to hit Nr 1.
They toured, we saw them, they were 'our' Four Seasons. We saw them on TV every other week . It was 'hedonistic' and the natural and only way to find out more about the music and the band was to join the fan club. Friends were made , expectations raised and support given to the group and their management. They were all great musicians, all but Don had been trained by Jazz musicians, and so their performances were superb then and remain historically important.
Well 42 years on it is a different world as we approach the end of the line in terms of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The fan club died in 1981and the fan group that succeeded still hoped for whatever line-up Frankie Vall could employ to come visit and take us back to those times. There will be time to reflect on this life of fandom and The Four Seasons Story for old and new fans post the November/December UK tour but for now we can reminisce.
John Hornsby[a long-standing fan from the US fan club] sent me his cassette tapes and I have managed to salvage in reasonable sound the Midnight Special TV Shows from the mid 1970s. They don't do full justice to what we experienced 'live' but these tracks capture the essence of what I wrote in the opening paragraph. It's good to have been able to tweak these old tape recordings and share them with you in a CD Download.
And to finish as Bonus Tracks is what I have been shouting about for the last 8 years. It was 37 years since Valli/Gaudio left Motown and that music ended with the 'Inside You' album when these songs surfaced. Something Vall and Gaudio had nothing to speak about as they didn't own the masters. They still don't. Motown Universal do. No completed songs remained we were told. Jersey Boys was the big earner.......nobody wanted to know nor do they now. That is oficial as far as BG and FV are concerned. But we have these hissy old acetate recordings. I've re-mastered these again this last year with new tools to clean them without damaging the detail. The completed Masters are sitting in the Motown Vaults with up to 50 other unheard and unreleased tracks. We know exactly where and they could be recovered tomorrow. Motown Universal wont act without FV and BG support and that is not forthcoming. Hence our continuing campaign for their official release sometime. I spoke to Lee Shapiro back in 2011 when these acetate dubs turned up and he recalled the session, the fact that Motown musicians played and the Seasons[including Gerry Polci and Nick Massi sang, Charlie Calello arranged with Kenny Nolan] and Bob Crewe danced on the recording console! He also confirmed Bob Crewe had them complete union session contracts and the masters were completed and handed to Motown. As was ‘I Wonder Why’ . More re all the sessions down the line!!!!!
So as we head into the Farewell Concert Tour of the UK and US just enjoy what the 70s gave us and still could if sometime someone listens to our Facebook group – The Four Seasons UK Motown Unreleased Campaign. You'll find links there to this music for a short period. Enjoy. Casey Chameleon
As 2018 develops as probably Frankie Valli’s final touring year we are able to celebrate 2 anniversaries. This blog has been running for 7 years this month and February is the 2nd Anniversary of the formation of The Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign on Facebook. Our 253 members are able to share news, views and music in a very easy way and Lynn Boleyn and I use the blog to regularly publish news and research re the group’s tours, former group members and the back catalogue of music.
But as we celebrate these 2 anniversaries in February 2018 two things stand out.
Firstly our ‘brand’ has become firmly established as a linked ‘fan club’ community and information centre for the few hundred international friends who want to share their common interest. The old style newsletters and e-mail groups have literally been ‘retired’. Facebook is too easy and powerful a tool today.
Secondly, our joint ‘positivity’ through Facebook and our blog that eventually our voice will be heard. Our focus remains strong on discovering and celebrating music we have never heard; and we continue to believe that we can one day convince the artist we admire and respect to help release this music unheard for over 45 years. That is perhaps because as a result of the shared objective we have in the last few years unearthed and shared more ‘unreleased tracks’ than in the whole of the previous history of the group. The recent release of the ‘Lost and Found Vol 3’ which followed our April 2017 CD of ‘The Best ‘Unreleased UK Collection 2017’ demonstrates this.
That in itself is a positive outcome. So over the next year I’ll be continuing our efforts [God willing!]. But we are adapting to change.
We now know from our Motown network that the release of the 50 plus tracks in the Motown vault at UMG by Frankie and the group is ‘just a phone call away’!!!!!
We have good reason to believe that it simply needs Bob Gaudio to pick up the phone and ring Harry Weinger at UMG and he would initiate the project to recover the tapes and the unheard music and release a second Motown Anthology – The Unheard Masters. Harry as he has previously shown wants to be a friend to ‘the stars’ and in so doing strengthen the Motown Brand. He has done it many times before and will do it again. It just needs the artist to give it the ‘green light’ and he will we believe empower the legal and commercial processes. With this in mind we will devote this year’s research to the project plan for when that happens.And we will 'reach out' and try to establish a dialogue with Bob, Frankie or their representative. Whether that achieves dialogue we'll continue to publish the latest we can for fans
That is the more positive approach than the alternative which is to wait till Bob and Frankie ‘pass away’ with the release to then be a posthumous tribute to their time at Motown.
In the forthcoming months we will outline the sessions from the groups Motown period and the tape research strategy for the engineers and compilers we know are ready to work on the project. BG/FV only have to say 'go' and we will be ready.
We will also continue our salvaging of re-mastered rare, live and ‘unreleased’ tracks to be shared on the Facebook group. It will take time but we hope to bring group members more treats during the year. Thank you all for your continued support and ‘likes’.
Ken Charmer
[Previously unseen photo courtesy of James DiNapoli: Photographer Bobby Valli]
Addendum April 1st2018
This will be our last subscription blog post with links to our web site. We'll explore News posts in the future
Lynn Boleyn and I have been discussing the future of our collaboration to maintain fan access to data and news re Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons given Frankie Valli's Farewell Tour and impending retirement. So as of today we are closing this blog and moving all support services to fans to our Facebook page ' The Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign'.This has over the last 2 years become our research base and discussion channel for all historical research and data re the group. I'm mindful that the web site www.seasonally.co.ukis in need of an update to preserve and provide access to ALL the data and articles published since April 2006 in George Ingram's Newsletter and in Discographies, our 1970s E-Book and past blog posts.
The aim is to continue to supply this data long term as a key reference for the most accurate historical data for releases and recording sessions by the group and the articles and research published to date. 'Chameleon's blogand 'That 'Four Seasons' Sound' blog will still be accessible and our past articles will crop up whenever you do an internet 'search' re the 'Four Seasons'. Published blogs will be accessible through the web site and our on-going research will continue to be published on our Facebook page. We are also researching using the non-subscription Typed blog service or a possible Facebook Page totally devoted to the forthcoming UK tour for attending fans. Lynn and I will advise re this by Summer 2018.
When I was working through old cassettes in the studios this autumn I got to thinking that UK Fans of Four Seasons back in the sixties never got to see their group live[apart from a very brief 1964 UK tour visit that nobody i know ever saw!] and they never appeared on UK TV during the 60s as far as we know. Experiencing that unique 'live' atmosphere and Frankie Valli's stratospheric falsetto was something we eventually heard about from US fans. Those that experienced that live sound are now in their mid/late 60s and will struggle to remember the 'live' sound. In fact even during the 70s when many of us joined the fan club we had no 'live' recordings of their shows from the 60s and only the 'Live On Stage' album to judge from. The earliest audience recorded cassette tape was from Clearwater in Florida 1964 which hardly captured the ‘real’ in concert sound.
So when I picked up a tape titled 'Tommy De Vito Archive' I wondered what I might find. This tape it appears was given to Rex Woodard during his now 'legally' infamous interviews for Tommy's biography now known as 'The Work' and claimed to be the inspiration for the musical play Jersey Boys. What I found inspired me to collate as much as I could of the 'experience' of the group 'in concert' that would create the legend they are. A key collectors set was the result.
I recalled the script of Jersey Boys and Bob Crewe's response to a group disenchanted and wanting an identity and a hit of their own. “Bring me 4 songs......and I'll record you!” is the fictitious line in the play and fans have discussed whether this was true or not....and if so what were the songs? Well it could be that Bob Gaudio and the group presented Crewe with these songs as 4 demos....in late summer 1961. The opening four tracks of this set we discovered can be placed clearly at that time as two would be re-recorded and released in October by the group then named as Billy Dixon and the Topics on Bob Crewe's new label Topix 45 – 6002[I Am All Alone/Trance]. Here we present the original acetate demo versions taped by Tommy DeVito for preservation. This presentation was a big improvement on the Village Voices 45 they did during the Spring of 1961. Possibly recorded 'live' rather than using 3 track studio machines, they feature a group arranged by Nick Massi with a styling distinct from the 45 release versions.[We've finished the CD set with Re-mastered versions of the 45s for comparison]. But two other tracks emerged from these sessions surviving on this tape. 'I Still Care' also appears in Jersey Boys being sung by Miss Frankie Nolan[ABC 10231], with Frankie Valli's soaring falsetto backing and the rest of the group in harmony. This version is in a subdued harmony style that would be a feature of their early albums. The final unheard side was an early version of 'Like You'[which turned up as another alternative version unreleased demo from 1963 only in Spring 2017]. This earlier version by the full group has slightly different lyrics and probably went by the title 'That's You'.
Another discovery from the archive tape would prove to be the earliest good quality 'live' concert recording by the original group that we have ever heard. Featuring a sequence of four songs, 'Stay/Since I Don't Have You/Cry Myself To Sleep/Dawn' we believe this is from 1964 and presents Frankie and the group as we have never heard them...the 'original' superb live concert sound.
Wanting to develop a set worthy of collectors of Four Seasons music we set about gathering as many true live performances from VT recordings during the decade. We were able to gather a good number of songs and medleys that continue to illustrate the 1960s live concert sound of the group. We were even able to include 2 versions of the rare 'Sound Of Music' medley from TV shows. We finished the set with NEW creations in STEREO of some tracks that only ever featured as MONO tracks in their original form re-engineered by sound engineers in the USA.
We re-mastered the archive collections in Wavelab Elements 9 using our MEDSS mix sound treatment[Mono Enhanced with Digital Stereo Simulation]. This removes as much noise and crackles as possible without removing original music and creates a wider/deeper sound stage to enhance the raw MONO.
It is in our view a unique and enjoyable snapshot of the group we love and have collected since our youth. As a step forward it follows on from our late friend Stefan Wriedt's 'The Fantastic First Years'.....taking us through some of the most collectable performances of the 50’s/60s. This set is dedicated to the memory of the late Rex Woodard and Stefan Wriedt but also Frank Rovello and Stuart Miller....who would have loved it. We hope fans enjoy it as much as we we did assembling it. Happy 2018.[47 years on from when those Billy Dixon demos were recorded] . Thanks to John Hornsby and George Juba for their help with this collection. Special thanks to Jim DiNapoli for source tapes. Photo courtesy of Bobby Valli. The download is available for a short time to members of The Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign Facebook Group.
A few UK fans met up with Gerry and Rhea Polci at the Tyneside Tavern in Haddington, near Edinburgh on the 2 December 2017.
Gerry and Rhea were in Scotland to renew their wedding vows at Cromlix Castle, Kinbuck, near Dunblane on the 1 December and were presented with a Scottish Quaich with a wee dram of Deanston whisky from the fans to celebrate this special day. A Quaich is a two handed cup often presented at weddings as a sign of friendship and Deanston, a short 20 minute drive from Cromlix, is the “local” whisky. We arranged for the Quaich to be engraved “Rhea and Gerry – Cromlix – 1 December 2017. A reminder forever of that very special day and Gerry and Rhea were really over the moon with this small gift and brought it along to the Tyneside Tavern where the landlord, Paul Kinnock, filled this with Famous Grouse for everyone to drink from – very nice it was too!
It was an absolute pleasure to meet Gerry and Rhea and they gladly answered questions from everyone from how they met, to working with Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker and the change of lyrics to “December 63”, Tommy Devito and Gerry’s first weeks pay check for $186 - for 7 shows - when he was employed as a drummer before he became a “4 Season”.
Gerry told us that his Father (originally from Rome) and Frankie Valli went to the same school in Newark, Abbington Avenue Elementary School, although they were a couple of years apart. His Mom and Dad used to go and see Frankie Valli when the band were The Four Lovers so when Gerry joined the Four Seasons “it was like joining The Beatles – the greatest thing ever!” He recalled one show that he did with Frankie in New Jersey when his Dad arranged to take 80 people, family and friends, in 2 buses to the show and after the show Frankie signed autographs and had his photograph taken with every one of them. Unfortunately Gerry’s Dad died young, age 50, and never heard “December 63” or “Who Loves You”.
Gerry serenaded his lovely wife with his beautiful version of “Love Me Tender” after which Gerry and all the fans sang “Oh What A Night”.
Gerry and Rhea were so warm, receptive and relaxed and we all entertained the diners with a rendering of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” whilst the group photo was being taken at the bar – Haddington probably wondered what had hit it – great hospitality at the Tyneside Tavern and Gerry and Rhea also gladly signed autographs and posed for photographs with the local fans from Haddington.
Gerry Forbes, from Scotland said “it was a pleasure to meet Gerry again and his gorgeous wife Rhea and to hear his intricate tales with the Seasons and a pleasure for me to sing along with him and for them - “She wears my Ring” - Gerry actually complimented me on my voice but most of all it was wonderful meeting our Seasonal friends again who had travelled from various parts of the UK to meet one of our musical heroes - a great night. “
A message from Gerry:
Rhea and I are still gushing how wonderful the evening at the Tyneside Tavern was for us. You went above and beyond to make Rhea and I feel so comfortable and welcome. It was a pleasure for us to meet again all of the friends that have supported me throughout the years. I’m most happy with the way you and everyone else made Rhea feel a part of this moment and celebrate our vow renewal and love for each other. I will never forget that and will always be grateful. Lynn, you will always be in our hearts and know you are always in our thoughts and prayers. All the gifts from everyone were quite unexpected and are greatly appreciated. I would like to say a very special thank you to John Pingree for obtaining the pictures and the records and to Ray Nichol for the singles that he presented to me.
You guys Rock!!!
Thanks again and all the best.
Sincerely,
Gerry Polci
We would like to say a very special thank you to Gerry and Rhea for taking time out from their Honeymoon to meet with the fans; to Paul Kinnock at the Tyneside Tavern for his hospitality; to Martin Weir, the wedding photographer for capturing Gerry and Rhea’s special time in Scotland both before, during and after the renewal of their vows and to Sharon Thompson at Cromlix for arranging to present the Quaich to Rhea and Gerry after their vows.
We wish Gerry and Rhea love, laughter and every happiness for their future together – a very special couple clearly very deeply in love.
We would also like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year. It has certainly been a great 2017 and we are all very much looking forward to 2018 and the UK Farewell Tour by Frankie Valli next December - wrap up warm though!
Martin Weir took some absolutely stunning wedding photographs and a selection are available for the fans to purchase by clicking the link below, the password is Polci
A true music icon - Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons announce ‘The Farewell Tour’ with seven UK shows in November and December 2018.
We have again arranged special front arena fan club tickets at all the venues – thanks to Dean Egnator, Kennedy Street, Regular Music – ensuring that the true fans get the best seats in the house!
The special fan club link to order tickets for Leeds, Birmingham, London, Bournemouth, Cardiff and Manchester is:
The Facebook group established in February 2016 is going strong and as the year ends we have sent Motown CEO Harry Weinger, [the executive responsible for the Motown Anthology 2008] our End Of Year : Status Report.
In it we outlined our aim which remains to research and recover all aspects of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons recording career and share this with fans. Whilst our focus is primarily on the Motown tracks still in the vaults, we are now focused on ALL 'un-released' tracks. So this report tells fans what we have told the CEO of Motown responsible for the only 'Official' Motown CD release by Frankie and the group this century. The first 'official' release of their time at Motown.
The facebook group contains the data we have re the Motown vault but in addition we have made some astonishing finds on acetates dating back to the early 60s on Frankie and the group. Acetate recordings of early pre-Four Seasons have recently surfaced and will be 'released' [shared] next year with the facebook group and we now know of and have re-mastered the Motown acetates made by Bob Crewe and made Frankie fully aware we have these and we have informed him what Motown have in the vault.
We corresponded with Harry Weinger the UMe CEO before the 2008 Anthology [he asked for our help] as he did the tape research re the 'Released' tracks and we were able to confirm the tracks released in the US and UK on that collection. My intention in writing this time has been to update him on our research status at the end of 2017 and to ask him to ensure that our information is available to his archivists/researchers and of use, as and when he has the resources, approvals and support for a release of the many 'completed' but unreleased tracks we now know are on 16 track master tape or already digitally recovered. We know of several 'digitization' programmes this century but only know of one main researcher who currently does in depth work on the tapes and that is Keith Hughes. His work and reputation as a detailed Motown researcher is second to none. DFTMC web site is a 'work of art' documenting Motown releases. But he is, as far as we know, not an employee of UMe[on a permanent basis], and we are unaware of any current digitization or specific research programmes he is involved with for Motown [apart from the forthcoming Motown Unreleased 1967 download/CD set].The DFTMC database only extends to 1972 and includes limited Four Seasons releases and none of the 'un-released'
There is only one Motown researcher we trust implicitly and that is Paul Nixon and he is interested in our project aims. For that reason we've copied him with the latest version [July 2016 revision] of the key file on which we have collated information re Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons material recorded at Motown In our Excel spreadsheet we identify the P Tapes [and some T Tapes] and Motown Master Nrs[where known] with titles, songwriters, producers etc. This is, we believe, the most comprehensive record of the material by them at Motown to date and the essential reference point for any research into this period of recording by them. It is also almost certainly the biggest gap in their recording history and the [probably]biggest cache of 'unreleased' music by Frankie[solo or with the group] in existence. But if there are other paper records and information available we have offered to help and make this record of data as comprehensive as possible. It will need to be for the legal 'approvals' process. We are grateful for the anonymous donation of data sources that has enabled this data record to be compiled over several years but it is only a starting point. We also have full lists of the Motown Masters and Artists Cards for the period. These also detail the Stereo Masters [when mixed for potential release] and their location.
We will in our blogs next year be outlining how any future research projects should take place ….....and we know that will happen[Frankie Valli is just TOO IMPORTANT an artist] …...we are trying to ensure that team has the most comprehensive info available and a proper plan of research.
We will extend our research and explain how WHENEVER anyone researches these tapes they will be able to focus on the 6 specific phases of Frankie and the groups recording sessions from 1971 to 1973. For our next years blogs and research we are enlisting the help of an MBA in Project Management to design a strategy for research that is comprehensive but cost effective with sound engineering resources. We'll highlight the tapes relating to each phase and the producers involved and what they, Frankie and the group aimed to achieve. All this should direct research of the analogue tapes specifically rather than the more random research from general digitization programmes which we know have gone on in the past. We only know so much but we believe the internal research is incomplete. A specific artist project can be initiated by Universal Motown to extract known digital tracks and to research the analogue tapes for finished and unfinished[un-mixed] 'multi-tracks'. We have evidence of Digitally Mastered 'completed' tracks found to date but we can see not all the tapes have been 'found' or researched despite the work that uncovered un-released tracks for the Motown Anthology in 2008.....nearly 10 years ago. We'll say more re this in our publications during 2018.
But finding all the P and T tapes we list, we realise, may not be the easiest of tasks given what we have heard [even from Harry himself in interview] about the state of the tape vaults. Whilst the Detroit tapes have some order we believe the LA tapes are somewhat 'disorganised'. Obviously the source tapes are the final key research point but may well contain 16 track recordings not 'mixed down' but equally so these tapes may contain unknown songs NOT listed by the 'Motown interns' at the time. We have been told that many of these tapes have probably not been listened to since the sessions. The priority is to ID, find and gather ALL the relevant tapes from the vaults and verify and complete digitization for research. Informing this is our 2018 programme of research.
We do know that tape research was done for the Anthology set and that 2 previously unreleased versions of songs appeared on that compilation......which shows that not only the STEREO MASTER tapes of the original albums were the source tapes for that project and proves that what remains is not simply demos and incomplete rehearsals as has been maintained up to 2008 by Bob Gaudio. But we are now into the post Jersey Boys period and with the sad loss recently of Bob's wife Judy Parker it is impossible to judge how Bob will react or approach the group's history.
But moving past that followers of this blog will know we have approached both Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio to try to assess if they[and their heirs] have ANY INTEREST in this music, and THE JURY.....remains out on that at present.....but we may get an answer as we keep them informed of our research.......ever the optimist.........'with Motown...you never know'!!!!
So as we approach the year end our next compilation of 'Best' sound quality 'Un-released' is 'in the studio' and more historic and rare 'live' material is 'in the works' for 2018. A Happy Christmas and Happy New Year to all our followers. Casey Chameleon
The button badge is from 1976 and the hey-day of the UK fan club when we would have raved about finding 'unreleased' Frankie Valli/4 Seasons tracks but amazingly another one has turned up from an unexpected period. The song discovered this year [2017]we now think dates back to Autumn 1961 and the sessions that resulted in 'I Am All Alone/Trance' -Topix 45 6002 released in October 1961. This is before the first appearance of the group as The Four Seasons in December 1961[Bermuda/Spanish Lace- GONE 112] More re those sessions in the future.
We believe it may be from the 'between labels' period when the group were in dispute with Vee-Jay. It appears that after their mid 1962 preparations for the Copa cabaret show they didn't go into the studio again except as back-up singers until they recorded 'Dawn' at the Atlantic Studios prior to signing with Philips in late 1963. They did work on several projects with other artists including the 4-Evers on 'Be My Girl' with Al Kasha producer and it has been suggested this may be from that period/sessions. But finding another version by the Four Lovers last week was a shock. I've asked Casey to carefully restore that version too and we'll share that in due course. This is a much more refined arrangement than the 4 Lovers version and is listed under Bob Gaudio's BMI listing as 'Like You'[Composition 100].
But to find this version after so long is truly the discovery of the year. Our 'music detectives' are always searching through old cassettes and looking for demo's and acetates and when this surfaced we wondered when it was recorded. Further research hasn't confirmed definitive information or it's source. Our continued investment in technology and sound editing software[and our buddy Casey]have enabled the recovery and sharing of this nice song and performance. He told me 'We owe much of the pre-Four Seasons history on CD to Stefan Wriedt who collected and re-mastered many of the earliest Frankie Valli recordings on The Fantastic FIRST YEARS CD on Sparkletone. He taught me how to re-master old vinyl dubbed in Wavelab and as collectors we owe him so much for preserving those early recordings from 1953 to 1961. His legacy is the on-going emergence of tracks like this we are able to restore and share”
For now let's celebrate another great find....and although it is unlikely much else survives from this period we do have some interesting acetates and 'live' material coming up to share with members of our facebook group as we assemble 'More UK 'Best' Un-released and 'Live' Tracks' by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.
Over the summer we've seen the emergence of one of the most successful 'Motown Unreleased' CD's for many years. Brenda Holloway's ' Spellbound' is full of rare and unreleased tracks many of which have surfaced during the last 2 years and have only been available as mp3 downloads. This CD set is fully re-mastered from 8 track and in great sound.
The anticipation[almost hysteria] in the build-up to it's release provided a substantial pre-order and fuelled by 'word-of-mouth' on speciality Facebook groups and the Northern Soul scene the CD achieved a UK Top Ten album position in the weeks following it's released and a second pressing as copies quickly sold out. In this day-and -age of dying CD sales this is pretty phenomenal.
But what are the lessons learned from this release and does it give hope to Four Seasons fans that the large 'cache' of unreleased Valli/Seasons tracks may soon achieve a similar fate?
Well to me there are five important 'lessons' to be learned from this release not only for collectors but for Universal Motown Group and the independent Record Companies that seek to license such tracks and invest in such release programmes.
Facebook groups are a clear market for unreleased material in new CD compilations. With ever increasing numbers of people gathering in interest groups that research Motown 'treasures' or rare and vaulted material it's pretty obvious that marketing is easier than ever .....thus targeting sales with little or no financial investment.
Quality control of 'sound mixes' is still an important consideration with 'hard copy' wav files preferred by collectors to mp3 downloads.
Artist involvement is a major marketing necessity. Brenda was fully involved with Cherry Red Records and producer Paul Nixon to help compile and approve this release.
Record Companies with belief in the project and the launch process are essential. ACE Records lost out to Cherry Red in licensing this music and they must be 'devastated' at getting that wrong. But the big future problem appears to be UMG[we are currently researching their policies and processes for future releases]
Such projects need a top compiler/producer with knowledge of the artist and the market[ie collectors like us]
What this demonstrates is that there is still a substantial demand for the release of tracks from the vaults of UMG [ie Motown Unreleased] and everyone we contact whether a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons fan club member or collector of their music..... knows the strength of their 'brand' …...their 'image' is huge. They remain top stars of the 60s and 70s music scene. Their unreleased music is clearly in demand as the steady growth of members of this group has shown. This is a project waiting to happen. So what is the problem.?
There are Record Companies who license tracks from UMG and top compilers who would promote the project IF......UMG and The Four Seasons Partnership would support it.
BUT the recent decision by UMG to cease third party licensing of tracks to independent record companies not only threatens to stop ALL new projects but threatens perhaps the role and purpose of those collector labels. Some projects are in the pipeline and will 'probably' surface in time...... but this is a real threat to collectors of this material and a huge disappointment to Four Seasons fans.
Our role is to publicise the lack of transparancy by the parties[i.e. artists and track owners]. Our sister blog site 'That 'Northern Soul' Sound' will consider this in more detail as we bring the situation to the attention of the Four Seasons Partnership. Then there is the Corporate 'animal' that is UMG? Whether they respond or not only time will tell. We won't hold our breath based on past experience.......but past experience doesn't always shape the future. Times are changing and the Facebook groups are becoming stronger and more influential. More questions than answers again!!! Hope remains that sense will prevail and the UMG policy will change in the light of this clear enhancement to Motown's music image. More when we have it!
Live At The Marquee, Cork, Southern Ireland 8 July 2017
“I’ve worked here for 12 years and this was the best show I have seen here”- Security Guard – Live At The Marquee.
The show was fantastic as was the crowd – at times they were singing even louder than Frankie – especially “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”. Considering we were in a “tent” the sound was very good.
Nothing new with the songs sung which were as follows:
Who Loves You/Dawn/Working My Way Back To You/Save It For Me/Beggin/My Eyes Adored You/Tell It To The Rain/Opus 17/Grease/Under My Skin/The Night/Harmony/Swearin To God/Fallen Angel/Rap/Spanish Harlem/My Girl/Groovin/Silence Is Golden/Stay/December 63/Can’t Take My Eyes Off You/Sherry/Walk Like A Man/Big Girls Don’t Cry/Bye Bye Baby/Rag Doll and Let’s Hang On.
Oh! What A Night
I went to Cork with Dawn Gates - the first time she had ever flown! Before we left she told me "I am getting excited about seeing Frankie, but not getting there. Oh what I put myself through for that man". Perhaps Florida next time then Dawn? It was good to also meet up with Feibe Zweers again and Kath and John Hogarty and Tom Cole.
We were lucky enough to meet up with Robby and his lovely wife Carla, the Seasons, Dean, Alan and the band back at their hotel after the show where they shared some fantastic stories and photographs of their time in Tel Aviv where they told us it was extremely hot so they were grateful for the cooler weather in Cork! They told us they were playing in London on the 8 July at a private wedding – obviously for someone very rich!
Don Ciccone may never have achieved the fame of Frankie Valli, but he was a vital member of the Four Seasons, and sang on some of their biggest hits and sang lead on the demo of “Who Loves you” which was prepared on 30th December 1974 for presentation to Warner-Curb to sell the song.....before Frankie Valli's lead vocal was added.
Don also led The Critters in the 1960s, with hits like “Younger Girl” and “Mr. Dieingly Sad,” and was a musical director and bassist for Tommy James and the Shondells in the 1990s.
As we now know there was an unreleased batch of songs he recorded in the early 1970s with his long-time friend Brian Gari. Brian wrote the songs and backed Don on piano on recordings they made as demos to interest record labels. Of 20 selections, several were produced and released as complete songs.
As recently reported in the New York Times Brian and Don would occasionally prod each other to dust them off and release them as a “Ciccone Sings Gari” album. In early October, Don contacted Brian and said hoped to finally do just that, but a week later Don died of a heart attack at age 70. Brian called the project bittersweet, bringing him both the joy of hearing Don’s youthful voice again, but also a twinge of sadness that he was not around to participate and enjoy the results.
The full article from The New York Times can be read here:
Let's hope we may also one day hear all the unreleased material of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons still currently in the Motown Vaults.
Oh! What A Summer Music Festival!
The Redlands Bowl
The Modern Gentlemen played at the Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival on Friday 14 July. The Redlands Bowl is the location of the oldest running music festival in the USA. You can check out the video and photographs on their web site:
We heard recently that Joey Long had been in hospital and he told me following his surgery that he was “feeling a little better, but still weak on my feet, so I'm taking it easy”. More recently he told me “I’m feeling much better, but recovery has been slow. We old "geezers" take a little longer to heal! Thanks to you and all the great fans in the UK for your thoughts and concerns”.
We all send our love and best wishes to Joe and wish him a very speedy recovery.
Demetri Callas, who has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, meaning he is no longer able to play the guitar, has asked me to pass on his thanks for everyone who donated following the fund raising event for him in February and said “I am sincerely grateful for all the support I have been given by the wonderful 4 Seasons fans. Love, Light and Joy to you and yours”.
Frankie Valli Memorabilia For Sale
There are still some items left for sale following the 2017 tour, including the tour brochure, tee-shirts, polo shirts, fridge magnets and mugs, and these can be ordered here directly from Big Hit Merchandising:
And finally, further dates have been added to the UK Jersey Boys Tour which now includes Stoke, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Hull, Sunderland, Glasgow, Plymouth, Nottingham, Bradford, Norwich, Sheffield, Aylesbury, Southend, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Belfast. Full details are here:
This years UK Tour has provided us with an opportunity to let Frankie Valli know there are a number of unreleased songs in either acetate or 'live' show versions that are in the hands of fans. Some have been around for years and some are new discoveries. I promised to compile sleeve notes re the tracks so here goes.
Track 1 – Like You
Our latest discovery thanks to one of our longest standing 'music detectives'. Recovered from acetate this song he tells us comes from sessions Valli did at the same time as he did the 'Be My Girl' session with the 4-Evers. If so this would date the session as early 1964. Perhaps producer Al Kasha was involved but the writer was Bob Gaudio[see his BMI listing]. Perhaps Valli's earliest idea for a 'solo' career whilst with the 4 Seasons this remains our top find in recent years. A song and delivery reminiscent of solo artists of the time like Bobby Vinton. The acetate was clearly in good condition and we were able to clean and re-master to a very enjoyable version.
Track 2 – Hymn To Her
Again the same 'music detective' discovered acetates produced by Bob Crewe from the sessions in December 1973 after Bob persuaded Motown he could generate a 'hit'. Bob Gaudio was not involved and Crewe was confident that assembling past expertise would make a difference. He persuaded Nick Massi to come back to arrange vocal harmonies and Charles Calello to arrange and he had a bunch of songs he'd written with Kenny Nolan [a singer songwriter with a studio group Crewe was producing called The Eleventh Hour]. 'Hymn To Her' returns the Seasons backing sound to an anthemic harmony with Valli hitting falsetto in his traditional style. An unusual but intense lyric that hints at religious connections[“my very own Madonna'] this acetate dub was sufficient for us to recover a very listenable version. It remains in the Motown vault as a completed master Nr 62523 and although it didn't convince the Motown Execs it was slated [in mid 1974] for album release just when the group left the label.
Track 3 – You Are The Sunshine of My Life
This Stevie Wonder original was arranged as part of the NEW Four Seasons 'live' shows during 1974. Frankie Valli had promoted the young Lee Shapiro to be his musical director/arranger for live performances. It was a transitional period for Frankie and the group. He had enlisted Gerry Polci, Don Ciccone[who sings the lead in parts] and John Paiva had joined the backing band, joining Joe Long in what some rate as the best 'ever' Four Seasons. John Paiva's personal tape collection allowed us to salvage these tracks from their Bachelors III Cabaret Club show in mid 1974 at Fort Lauderdale. With many of Frankie's 'New Jersey friends' there this show contains more 'unrecorded' songs than any other we know of.
Track 4 – I Wonder Why
Mid 1974 with a new 'settled' line-up Lee Shapiro and Joe Long persuaded Frankie that they should show Motown bosses that this line-up were capable of good things and so the group whilst on the road, wrote and produced this song as a demo and presented it to Motown boss Susan De Passe. The full story is told here. This copy survived on tape which although somewhat deteriorated shows a great song and the groups ability as writers, producers and performers. We'd like to find a better copy for re-mastering and wondered if Lee Shapiro had one? But thanks to Joe Long at least we have this. I'd forgotten we had re-mixed a stereo version of this and I'll try to find it in September
Track 5 – Hickory[Alternative Extended Mix]
Whilst the shorter version of this was released in 1974, this original extended version with extra verse at the beginning and a falsetto ending comes from a Bob Crewe acetate. The Master tape we believe still contains this version from the December 1973 sessions. Motown Master Tape 2664 will reveal that.
Track 6 - Killing Time
This left-over track has been around for a while. It didn't make the 'cut' for the 1984 album 'Streetfighter'. We don't know why as it is a very strong song and performance. Perhaps it's length didn't allow it to fit the vinyl format. It's source is unknown and we have just added to the mp3 version some EQ and punch.
Track 7 – Michael and Peter
Bob Gaudio did a whole album of demos of the 'Watertown' project for Frank Sinatra and sang most of the songs himself but this track was done with Jake Holmes opening the song in spartan style before a tremendous fully arranged solo by Frankie Valli. This has been around collectors circles for many years and a cleaner version [with less clicks and pops] was not possible without a better original dub and top sound engineering skills.
Track 8 – I Got Love
This song was an fairly frequent opening 'live' show number from around 1970 till this concert in 1974. From the stage show 'Purlie' it was allegedly arranged by Charles Calello but never done as a studio recording. Always a favourite with the band members this slightly shortened version still rocks. Recovered from the Bachelors III Show tapes it has been specially cleaned and re-balanced by the late Stefan Wreidt and Ken Charmer.
Track 9 – Golden Slumbers
When the tribute movie/album to The Beatles was being done in 1977[All This And WWII] Frankie Valli appeared on TV doing 2 Beatles songs which he never did for the album. A fan at the time recorded the [to us in the UK] unknown song on we believe 'reel to reel' and it subsequently surfaced on cassette. This is the first of these. We've added EQ and Punch to improve this for CD and it once again shows Frankie Valli's vocal interpretation skills
Track 10 – If I Were A Carpenter
Another Bachelors III salvaged track done quite often in concert in 1974 this is another example of Lee Shapiro's arranging skills and the great playing skill of the NEW Four Seasons.
Track 11 – One Man
Discovered in the Mercury vault by a researcher looking for Lesley Gore tracks this was on a tape can that said, “One Man - Mono Master : The Four Seasons” it was donated to us in 1997 on the basis that we make it a free issue to fans. From the 1970 final sessions at Philips this Bob Crewe-Larry Brown song has a somewhat 'dated' lyric and unpolished production. Perhaps raw and unfinished it remains all we have of the 'several' unreleased Bill Inglot reported tracks discovered during tape research. This good tape transfer has been re-mastered from the original cassette copy for this CD.
Track 12 – Bridge Over Troubled Waters[Medley]
A big production 'live' track in shows since 1970, Joe Longs skills are all over this arrangement and although not the best group performance of this medley it is the best sound quality version we have. By combining the title track with The Long and Winding Road and McArthurs Park Valli and the group created a stunning mid-show classic.
Track 13 – We Had It All
Somehow a backing track surfaced 10/15 years ago of a song rumoured to be a Motown recording. Probably recorded to cassette at the session. Believed to be titled 'Walking In The Sunshine' for some time we had confirmation in 2016 it was completed by Valli as a Motown Master Nr exists for it. Nr 60769 means it sits between 'Touch The Rainchild' and 'The Night' in the Motown vaults. It's all we've got for now but is a demonstration of the 'treasure' still unreleased by Universal Motown.
Track 14 – All In Love Is Fair/The Way We Were [Medley]
A new arrangement in 1974 by Lee Shapiro for 'live' performances this medley survived through into the concerts of the mid to late 70s. This salvaged from tape version is from Bachelors III again and features great harmony support by The Four Seasons.
Track 15 – Close Your Eyes
During the early fan club days of the 1970s when audience recorded 'live' tapes were frequently in demand, the earliest cassette based recording of the 4 Seasons was from Clearwater in 1964. Poor sound of course but it contained this gem. When Nick Massi died and as a tribute to him this 'duet' with Frankie Valli was salvaged from tape and added to You Tube. It's amazing that we have managed to get as good a version of this from the tape as a demonstration of respect for Nick's unique contribution to the group.
Track 16 – The Fool On The Hill
The second Beatles song from circa 1977 recorded from TV by a fan. It is enhanced here for CD listening.
Track 17 – If
With 'Bread' amongst the most popular group's of the time in mid 1974 it was another chance for Lee Shapiro to show off his emerging arranging skills and for Valli to give a masterful vocal on this David Gates classic for the Bachelors III cabaret audience.
Track 18 – You're Never Too Old To Rock'n'Roll
This song was included in the early 1980s 'live' shows and was intended for album /single release. But with the record industry being in recession no company was prepared to offer Frankie and the group a recording contract and it remains unknown if a studio version of this exists. The writers are unknown but in concert Frankie Valli is said to have claimed he and Jerry Corbetta wrote it.
Track 19 – Natural Morning
I can remember the late Frank Rovello searching for this nearly 20 years ago as a relation to the writer[reputably an 11 year old?] was sure Frankie Valli had recorded it. Paper records discovered in 2015 confirmed it was recorded in 1968 with Artie Schroeck arranging but it seems it was never finished. This version is re-mixed to stereo from faded tape Mono versions and was in 2 parts....combined here. Not the best of songs but an interesting vocal and arrangement.
Track 20 – Lovers
Unfortunately this Bob Crewe acetate has been over-recorded during dubbing and the restoration of this superb Crewe – Nolan composition has been limited. It was recorded at the same session as 'My Eyes Adored You' and was slated for album release prior to the group leaving the label. Clearly a completed and superb recording it remains in the Motown vault. An alternative dub may be possible in the future but a Master Tape re-issue is our constant aim.
Track 21 – Make Your Tomorrow Tonight
The final acetate from the December 1973 Motown sessions this was clearly Bob Crewe taking a re-visit to the Wonder Who sound in 1973 as a joke for Motown execs. They were unimpressed with the result and although probably never intended for release we are unsure if a normal vocal was ever done. This did not make the 1974 proposed Motown album Master Tape.
With several of these tracks 'culled' from the Bachelors III concert in Ft. Lauderdale I thought the original article on this 'salvaged' concert would be relevant and interesting in the context of this 2017 collection. Here is the link.
Many thanks to all those who have contributed to this collection in terms of the music and the background. Anonymity is necessary for some but they know we appreciate their contribution and we are happy to have been able to share this with you to brighten your day. Casey Chameleon
PS The CD has been made available to members of our Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign Facebook Group.
I've been complaining about the lack of good compilations of Frankie Valli/Four Seasons material[including bonus tracks] for some years and whilst it is easy to focus on The Four Seasons Partnership and a lack of understanding or action re this , it is not as simple as it sometimes appears. We often think THEY should relate to our wishes and design good compilations for us. But would we buy again when we have all the tracks on CD.?......and if there are not enough vaulted tracks to create a bonus to persuade buyers, is there any point in a release.? Music is after all a product.
Let's examine some of the fan views and some of the current music industry realities.
Here are some typical and understandable comments from fans.....”Frankie and Bob continue to not fully understand the true collector...their feeling is it doesn't have mass appeal and tracks need remastering or remain unfinished. The true collector DOES NOT CARE... a release of these songs would be for the true fansthat have stuck with them all these years...once AGAIN another volume of BEACH BOYS unreleased tunes has hit the market with all the flubs,mistakes,false starts,studio banter instrument tuning, alternate versions and yes even unflattering versions. so Frank and Bob need to get with it, we don't care if someones voice cracks or they coughed or sneezed during a take or that someone was off tempo,these make the recordings even more endearing to us” said Jim Valenti in our facebook group. In response Chuck Walker makes a good point.......”Jim has a perspective similar to mine. How about a challenge....back in January of 1964 Frank and Bob responded to "Surfers Rule" with "No Surfin' Today. Is it time to respond today, but instead of redoing the redo's provide something which clearly shows the creativity of the group. Granted they may not think everything is the best, but how many of the 4 Season 'also ran' songs have become hits for other artists. "Like You" from the recent [Unreleased free bootleg] CD shows they had creativity long long ago and the Motown stuff continues in that vein. Or could it be that the bad taste left by those problematic years over powers all else.? I for one think some of the"unreleased" I have heard via Casey Chameleon's work is better than what was included in some of the released albums. Just one persons perspective.”...and Jim agrees....... “Chuck you are 100% correct about some of the unreleased that has made their escape out, Frank and Bob are using the argument about the material not being up to their standards,standards what standards when nonsense like "GYPSY WOMEN" and most if not all of the Romancing the 60's and Hope and Glory were considered up to their standards and worthy of releasing.......for over 40 years now since the 70's they skimped on LP tracks, most having only 10 songs but some having 8.. just on that short coming alone the fans deserve some extras”
Good arguments perhaps....especially when we see collections like this from the Beach Boys
“This release, mastered for fine sonics by Mark Linett, is a worthy successor to such similarly collector-oriented collections as Hawthorne, California, and more recently, The SMiLE Sessions and the 50th anniversary presentation of Pet Sounds. Conventional wisdom has it that Brian Wilson abandoned his ambitions following the demise of SMiLE, but this release reveals that he instead channeled his considerable energies and remarkable musical instincts into a different but equally valid direction: one of apparent, back-to-basics simplicity – which is often the most difficult and complex quality to achieve. The creatively fertile music by Brian, Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston on 1967:Sunshine Tomorrow was in many regards out of time, existing in a vacuum removed from the other sounds of The Summer of Love – hence, the original, poor chart placement of Wild Honey. Yet this rootsy, rocking, soulful, and quirky yet still unmistakable iteration of The Beach Boys has aged well in the context of the band’s entire career. Aren’t you glad for Sunshine Tomorrow?” says the second Disc review and is targetted at a known and well researched 'group' of fans.
So there is evidence of well managed archive releases and major pop artists farming their back catalogue and master tapes. A body of work that represents your musical life....your 'art'. The economic model for collectors sets for record companies remains based on both short and long term sales.
The biggest set of 'unreleased' Four Seasons/Valli tracks remains in Universal Motown's [UMe]vaults and their policy, in recent years as CD sales have declined, has been to move away from product release themselves leaving 3rd Party record companies to lease tracks from the vaulted archive. ACE have been the most prolific over the last few years. But the level of competition between such companies seems to have reached a damaging level for the collectors. Anecdotal evidence suggests recent projects have seen ACE, Caroline Records and Cherry Red vying for release of vaulted tracks with projects switching labels but failure to progress to release. Rumours have surfaced that UMe have suspended 3rd party licensing and that the CEO of archive material [Harry Weinger}has moved to California to a new role[possibly for Universal mainstream artists] and a potential void in personnel, and projects of archive material is a fear for us collectors for the future.
The CD market today has shrunk so much many fear for the future of re-issues/vaulted material particularly as older collectors pass away. The economics of re-issue/vaulted material remains a fine judgement. Companies need to feel confident a product can sell at least 1000 units in the first place. Any growth could take sales to 3000 units which would mean a very successful project in todays marketplace. Compare this with the noughties when Cellarful Of Motown Volumes were selling 7/10,000 units. Such sales today of rare older material seems impossible.
But there is a clear market that could enable both UMe and the 'independents' to successfully utilise the vault. Todays Facebook groups related to Rare Motown material contain nearly 2,300 dedicated members [whilst the main Motown group has over 64,000 members] all potentially purchasers of good product. They regularly share You Tube tracks and discuss artists rarities and classic tracks. Record company execs would argue that You Tube access to downloads and CD sharing are too damaging to sales to risk some projects and that may be true in some cases and some artists. Most facebook group members would want a product rather than downloads. They are 'collectors' and NOT casual music 'consumers' like the younger 'streaming' subscibers. Their interests and markets are narrow but they are coming together into an information sharing environment. A name like Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons is known to everyone today and not just Motown collectors. Many find it hard to believe no record company will tackle the subject. A fear that The Partnerships 'attitude' will be negative. But we believe that may not be the case as we speak to the 'inner circle' after concerts. The test of rare music sales we think will be the next few months as we see milestone releases testing the market and my personal theory re the future for archive and back catalogue material.
Cherry Red Records are about to release a 2 CD set of unreleased vaulted material of Brenda Holloway, a classic but little-known artist[outside Motown collectors]. This will contain properly re-mastered versions of poorer quality 'cheap' downloads recently issued. [a trend followed by UMe in recent years.]
The Motown Treasures Facebook group poll also found Cellarful Of Motown Vol 5 to be the most wished for release and rumour has it this is planned and that will, I believe, demonstrate that the best market for vaulted material is 'facebook groups'. Social media PR will I believe be the best avenue for sale of rare music wanted by collectors of classic 60s/70s material.
'Second Disc' the re-issue blog demonstrates the range of artists collections targeting such collectors. The problem remains the licensing of material and 'clearance' of such material for issue.
At UMe 'quality control' sessions review 'approaches' re potential compilations to assess their 'contribution' to the 'corporate' image and the available catalogue. This happens in both the UK and again in the US before any compilation can be put forward for approval. A lengthy process that needs careful management. Experienced compilers know this process is fraught with disapointment. And it seems to be getting worse! But what if The Four Seasons Partnership promoted the approach and if a leading music artist or producer championed such an idea?.... would the bureaucracy move better? I sometimes wonder if problem solving in the 'clearance' process is the real issue. When Harry Weinger stepped in in 2008 we got the Motown Anthology set.
The problem perhaps with the Four Seasons Partnership is that they have been locked into their Rhino licensing deal for so long and they appear to no longer have someone like Bill Inglot managing the masters and compiling collections. Compiling collections is in many ways 'an art form' and it needs a knowledge of your audience as well as your material. Thus the benefits of a social media group is vital to designing and compiling sellable CD collections as well as finding the best compilers who can manage the process.
In future blog posts I'll be revisiting how this nearly happened with the Motown unreleased and focusing on their best rarities collections in the CD era whilst trying to find an approach to generate a viable project for Four Seasons fans. Casey Chameleon.
Pulling together my collection of the best sounding 'unreleased' tracks has been a real treat this year and to make it available to as many people as possible who collect Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons music has generated great encouragement for the research to continue. With a recording history of 55 years it remains necessary to make Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio aware of this 2017 collection as we press for research and release of those efforts left collecting dust in the Motown Universal vaults and in the Partnerships archive.
So before I move on to sleeve notes for this years UK 'Unreleased' collection, [our 'best' discoveries to date]let me sum up what we know today about Four Seasons 'related' unreleased tracks that need to be researched and released.
There is no evidence to suggest any tracks remain from the Vee-Jay days as all the masters were passed to Philips after the court settlement in 1964. All were released apart from a rumoured copy/re-recording of the Village Voices songs.
It is apparent some 'project' tracks could exist in demo/acetate form from the 1963 pre-Philips months when sessions were done with Larry Santos and the 4-Evers but whether these survived we do not know.The Four Seasons had no contract whilst in litigation but did backing work which seem to have created some Valli solo work which could have survived on 'demos'.
Philips sessions are documented and we have listed the unreleased recordings in our session masters listing on our web site where paper records have listed these. No listing has surfaced for the final sessions at Philips which we have heard have left several tracks in the Partnerships archive...some [we are told] may be incomplete.
The Motown period we now know contains the most completed but still unreleased tracks with at least 30+ tracks known to be on Motown Tapes or as completed masters [There is some evidence of partial 'digital' recovery of some]. The ownership issues around these tracks remains an issue [surfacing in 2008]with the Partnership lawyer[and allegedly Bob Gaudio] refusing to acknowledge their existence and Motown Universal not willing or able to negotiate over this. From 2021 these tracks if unpublished MAY revert to the Partnerships ownership under copyright law. Our Facebook group Campaign continues to publicise these and call for their release.
Private Stock recordings seem to be all released and we have no indication of 'lost' material but according to anecdotal evidence from the Four Seasons members at the time a full 'second' album was recorded at the 'Helicon' sessions and remains in Bob Gaudio's control.
Some evidence exists in paper records that suggests the Mercury vault has unreleased tracks from Bob Crewe's final sessions for the 'Heaven Above Me' album.
We have a track left over from the 'Streetfighter' album and we heard that before that an album was recorded in 1983 but was never picked up by a record company during a music industry recession. There are no doubt later sessions which remain unreleased and rumours abound of tracks no-one has heard throughout the 90s and up to today.[at Valli's private studio]
This all demonstrates the potential 'treasure' that exists for music detectives battling against a management that has always denied the existence of such material. Why? You may well ask. With so many artists today trawling their past for such material we continue to be amazed that we are the only researchers calling for such material to be issued. But if we keep the research going perhaps one day someone will agree this music should be made available to music historians and fans in a commercially produced series.
If anyone knows more or can add to this 'status report' then let me know and I'll keep the record of potential sources up to date.
It has been a huge year for the touring Frankie Vall and the Four Seasons with amazing summer dates this week in Tel Aviv, Israel[4th July] and Cork, Ireland on Thursday and a 'private' London wedding on Friday. Lynn Boleyn will be in Cork and will post this blog with her thoughts soon but as we reflect on the immense appeal of this 'live' show it is interesting to consider the big differences of a legendary career spanning 55 years since The Four Seasons first major musical success.
When the UK fan club started[1971] Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were already an 'oldies' band and during the 1970s they became truly legendary as the 'renamed' Four Seasons hit Nr 1.
Live performances today and back then have their very different styles. We've accepted the development and celebrated the songs then and now.
This Tel Aviv performance is well videoed and recorded and captures what we enjoyed so much about the April concerts in the UK. When the UK fan club started[1971] Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were already an 'oldies' band and during the 1970s they became truly legendary as the 'renamed' Four Seasons hit Nr 1.
But I was talking with John Paiva today about the 'aura' the whole group had back in 1976-78. We argued about then and now. 'Today' John said is the 'show sound' Frankie wants to project [an evolution of Jersey Boys]whilst I argued that the sound of a 'Band' not enhanced by technology with Frankie's voice at its peak is unsurpassed!! I experienced as will some of you reading this the stunning Four Seasons(featuring the 'sound' of Frankie Valli') during the early 60s (some may actually remember seeing them!)but [surely?]they never truly became 'legendary' till the mid 70s. John and I agreed the merits of both but as I've said before we celebrate all eras of the Four Seasons today [one joke going the rounds is that to date there may have been '4000 Seasons'....all but 4 'employees']
During the UK tour in April we told Robbie Robinson about our research to uncover 'unreleased' tracks for this historic 2017 Tour. We looked at how much the groups recording career and live performances have meant to us. Our research team of US and UK collectors had gathered 21 of 'collected' unreleased recordings from acetates/demos/masters and live performances for 'The Best of the 'Unreleased' UK Collection 2017'. A set assembled to preserve the rarities from the past in as good a quality as possible[given their source quality] We asked Robbie to pass it on to Frankie for him, his sons and to share with future generations of fans. Some tracks have been around for years and some are on You Tube but some are only recent discoveries, now digitally enhanced for CD /digital storage for the first time. Every track has a story behind it and we'll document as much as we know about their background in due course.
In a letter to Frankie we made it clear that our Campaign on Facebook continues in an attempt to persuade Universal Motown to act to preserve [and commercially release] the 30+ completed tracks which we now know are in their tape vault of recordings done by Frankie [with Bob Gaudio, Bob Crewe and the group] between 1971 and 1973 which have never been released. Bob Crewe prepared acetates of some of these Motown sessions in late 1973 and we have been fortunate enough to get hold of tape dubs to salvage a reasonable restoration of these. The masters we know are still in Motown's vault. Plus we have 'never recorded' songs from the 1974 Bachelors III shows at Ft Lauderdale which are in excellent sound. The resulting CD[with some recently discovered gems] is, we believe, an enjoyable and historic celebration of the tremendous career and the work of Frankie, the group and other collaborators.
Our research promises to uncover more salvaged songs from old fans cassette tapes over the next year.
Another project we have completed focused on digital preservation and took 3 years but resulted in digital copies of all the MONO 45 mixes recovered from best quality vinyl and re-mastered to preserve these often unique mixes which we know never survived the Philips contract. These are reference copies for anyone researching the 'original' music in the future. We've forwarded these to Bob Gaudio as a reference set. We have also archived all of the Vee-Jay 45 MONO mixes including the rare 'B' side version of 'My Mother's Eyes' done before the Philips 1967 LP version with a different arrangement.
We re-assured Frankie that as the 'unofficial' [but recognised and accepted] UK fan club we have never operated or intentionally acted in breach of copyright and will continue to do all we can to preserve and educate for new fans, the legacy of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, in all line-ups and in every decade. All our music restoration is focused on preserving/assessing the 'art' of Frankie and the group.
The hope is that one day maybe Frankie or one/all of his sons will agree that his legendary career could be better researched, documented and published with 'unreleased' tracks made available. [This has happened with Roy Orbison's sons who now manage his archives]
Further dates have been added to the UK Jersey Boys Tour including Plymouth, Nottingham, Bradford, Norwich, Sheffield, Aylesbury, Southend, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Wolverhampton and Belfast. Full details are here:
Fan Club Tickets For Cork, Ireland are available from 9.00 a.m. today for 24 hours when they will then go on sale to the general public. The link for the special fan club tickets is:
The real-life Jersey boy is coming to Cork, Ireland! Legendary singer Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons have confirmed they will play this year’s Live At The Marquee in Cork on Thursday 6 July.
Frankie and the Four Seasons kicked off in Birmingham on 20 April 2017 at the Genting Area. The energy Frankie and the guys had was a big factor, as well as the stage management, which made this such a great show. Carlos Etzberger and Claudia Fontoura arrived from Brazil who had tickets for all the shows as had Jim Davis from New York, Mike and Linda Taylor and Dawn Gates. Peter Petit from Holland was also attending this show.
We all laughed when Frankie sang the rap and asked “Do people really make love to that music” to answers of "Go on then" and “I’ll give it a go!”
The song list was the same at all shows as follows:
Who Loves You/Working My Way Back To You/Save It For Me/Dawn/Under My Skin/Beggin’/My Eyes Adored You/Tell It To The Rain/Opus 17/Fallen Angel/Grease/Spanish Harlem/My Girl/Groovin/Swearin’ To God/Silence Is Golden/The Night/Stay/December ‘63/Can’t Take My Eyes Off You/Sherry/Walk Like A Man/Big Girls Don’t Cry/Bye Bye Baby/Rag Doll and Let’s Hang On.
Interesting that after Swearin’ To God “Our Day Will Come” was listed but had been crossed out. We remember Frankie doing that song in the early 1980’s with Toby Tyler. Robby told us that Toby still sings at the event he organises every December where John Schroeder also plays. Other “extras” that were listed at the bottom of the sheet but not sung were “Native New Yorker” and “Streetfighter”.
We were lucky to meet up with the guys after the show at their hotel and to tell them how great the show was.
Photo at hotel - Bill , Jason and Rick
The next show was at Bournemouth International Centre which I think was even better than the show the night before. Mariette Chellew and Sue Mitchell arrived from South Africa for the show armed with the panties to throw at Frankie which resulted in lots of laughter when Jason picked up a pair and put them in his top pocket! It was also Craig Pilo’s birthday and everyone sang Happy Birthday to him.
Happy Birthday Craig - Photography by John Riley
Just when you think it could not get any better we were all treated to an amazing show at the O2 Arena in London with an audience of 12,849 people. My favourite show of the tour – why? Well have a listen to this and especially Frankie’s lovely words at the end of “Oh What A Night”:
"I wish you could feel what I feel inside every time I come to the UK. I love you guys out there" Frankie Valli
Frankie joked that he had got his sparkly jacket from Bruno Mars (who was in London the night before) and that Suzie Quatro was in the audience, sitting right behind Ken Charmer who had arrived from Spain for the show with his son Mark. Ken said he was “gob-smacked” at Frankie’s performance for a man of his age and that there were so many highlights but one of his favourites was the Spanish Harlem/Groovin/My Girl medley. Feibe and Hennie from Holland where there too. Frankie said that he aimed to get back to the UK at least once a year which he has done and hopes to be back again next year.
Mark Garvey met up with Frankie at his hotel in London where he signed Mark’s tattoo!
The next show was at Edinburgh and I am sure the lads enjoyed tasting the famous Scotch whisky and enjoying the beautiful sights there.
Leeds Arena was the next show on 26 April. Another fantastic show:-
We met up with Robby after the show at his hotel and discussed Frankie’s 83rd birthday on the 3 May. Robby said we should all sing Happy Birthday to Frankie at the final show at Manchester and said he would arrange for a birthday cake to be brought on stage.
Sure enough at the Manchester Arena the following night, after the group introductions, Robby announced Frankie’s up and coming birthday and everyone sang Happy Birthday to him. His sons, Francesco, Emilio and Brando wheeled the birthday cake onto the stage and Frankie blew out the candles. This was my second favourite show for that reason and again for the lovely words Frankie said about UK audiences.
Happy Birthday Frankie
“Of all the places we play in the world there are no audiences, since I have been doing this, quite like the audiences in the UK” Frankie Valli
Many thanks to John Riley for the great photos. John, as many of you will know, is a former Chairman of the UK Fan Club and one of the founder members along with myself, Ray Nichol, Bryan Lomas, and Paul Tavernor who were also at the shows. We started the UK Fan Club back in 1976 - 24 April 1976 - 41 years ago and, like Frankie Valli, we are still going strong!
Robby asked me to video the whole show for him which I did and I just hope that the recording came out OK! We were invited by Robby back to the hotel after the show for drinks with everyone and it was great to see Sir Greg and Lady Knight there and especially Ray and Avril Nichol – Ray had to miss the London show following a recent operation and it was great to see him looking so good and keeping up with everyone at the after show party!
Special thanks to Frankie, the Seasons, the band and everyone who made this UK Tour simply the best ever. Thanks also to Dean Egnator for arranging special fan club tickets again meaning that the true fans got the best seats in the house. Thanks to Mike Taylor from Exeter who provided very special gifts for Frankie, the Seasons, the band and the fans – thank you Mike from everyone – you are very kind and generous.
The best UK Tour ever - we wouldn't have missed it for the world!
"I can't tell you what a great time I have had and can't wait for the next time we can all do it over again" Dawn Gates
"Just wanted to thank you again for the fan club link for the Sunday show. We had such a great evening – can’t believe we had front row seats. I have never been to the O2 before and found it enormous" Kay Ailes
"I had more fun than I ever expected on this epic journey. The shows and the get togethers I'll never forget along with the new friends I met and all I knew before. Manchester was awesome. It was an experience I'll never forget. Thank you for all your hard work in putting it all together. It couldn't have been done without you. You're the best".
Jim Davis, New York
"How great to see you and the rest of the bunch, and what a fantastic show, I enjoyed every second" Peter Petit
Can't tell you how much we enjoyed the concert, we thought he was superb - Alan Page
STOP PRESS!
Dean tells us that Frankie and the Seasons are to play at this years Live At The Marquee in Cork, Ireland on Thursday 6 July. Tickets go on sale via Ticketmaster on the 4 May.
Don Ciccone, Brian Gari's friend of 50 years, unexpectedly passed away last year at the age of 70. He was the former lead singer of the Critters. He sang "Younger Girl" and wrote and sang "Mr. Dieingly Sad."
He joined The Four Seasons and played bass and sang on the hits "Who Loves You?" and "December '63 (Oh What a Night)."
He later became a Shondell with Tommy James and last performed in The Hit Men.
A week before he died, he sent Brian an email telling him his next project would be Don Ciccone Sings Brian Gari. His heart gave out before he could put it together. Instead of letting the project languish, Brian took the original demos and kept them intact when they had a rhythm section because it was mostly Don playing. When it was simply a bare vocal and piano (and/or guitar), he added the arrangements they had originally envisioned with the help of Peter Millrose, Lee Shapiro & John Paiva of the Four Seasons and the brilliant guitarist Dean Bailin ("Escape--The Pina Colada Song"). A special gift to this project was finding Don's gorgeous, original orchestration for "The Non-Affair Affair." He never got to hear it played, but the rest of you can now. Over 20 tracks & 66 minutes.
Many thanks to Brian for letting us have the details.
Don Ciccone with Lee Shapiro and John Paiva, Gerry Polci and Frankie Valli
We were originally going to meet up at the Genting Hotel but we will now be at the Crowne Plaza which I believe is just a short walk away from the Arena.
Bournemouth – Friday 21 April
Meet up from 6.00 p.m. before the show and again after the show at The Highcliff Marriott Hotel Lounge Bar.
Meet up in the bar at the Park Inn By Radisson Manchester City Centre which is directly opposite the Arena. As this is the last show of the UK tour we will try and arrange to meet up after the show or back at the hotel.
If anyone would like to make a donation during the UK tour then please let me have your donation in a sealed envelope with your email address and I will pass these directly onto Demetri along with any cards and good wishes.
LAST PERFORMANCE OF JERSEY BOYS, LONDON
The last show was on Sunday 26 March at 5.00 p.m. A very emotional experience. The good news is that the second national UK tour will begin in December at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham – what a nice Christmas present! For updates click here: http://www.jerseyboysuktour.com/
THE TOUR SEASONS
The second national UK tour of Jersey Boys kicks off at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham on the 16 December (until the 6 January 2018) and tickets can be booked here:
The tour will also visit Liverpool (9 to 20 January); Milton Keynes (23 January to 3 February); Stoke (6 to 17 February); Hull (20 February to 3 March); Sunderland (20 to 31 March) and Glasgow (3 to 14 April). Further dates and venues to be announced.
We have recently heard from Joe Long that Demetri ‘s health has been steadily declining and In the past year he was stricken with Parkinson’s Disease which developed very rapidly resulting in him no longer being able to play the guitar - music was his livelihood and so he is having a really tough time.
Joe has sent a message asking that “the great people in the U.K. who still remember Demetri when he toured here in the early 70’s, and who love him, to pray for him. He’s a special human being, and a super talented artist. Sorry to bring such sad news, Lynn. Stay well, and give all of the gang in Britain my love - you are all so warm and loving, and, as I have since the first time I visited Britain, I love you all”.
Demetri has also been in touch and says he appreciates our concern adding:
“Here's hoping all is well with you and yours. I chat with Joe LaBracio frequently.......have not seen Tommy DeVito since his 88th birthday party in June and I talk with Bill DeLoach regularly. Stay well........be happy. Love, Light and Joy! Demetri Callas”
A group of his friends from his home town, Frederick, Maryland, are having a fund raising event for him this Sunday 19 February at the FSK Holiday Inn Ball Room. Joe is going to attend the event to try to help out by speaking, and signing some photographs to help raise some money to help Demetri with his bills.Details below.
If you would like to help Demetri online donations can be made here - remember to put Demetri Callas as the recipient name - he will then receive a note of your donation and I am told that he will receive 100% of the donation made.
(If you are in the UK type in your postcode for the Zip Code and then I put WM in for the State - donations are made via credit card - I have just done this and it worked OK and I received an acknowledgement - Lynn)
If anyone would like to send a card or a message to Demetri please send them to Lynn Boleyn and she will pass them on for you.
We met up with Demetri in Raleigh in October 2008 with Joe Long and again in November 2009 in Las Vegas with Bill DeLoach and Joe Long.
At the start of the Raleigh convention in 2008 Charles Alexander opened up a large box of ‘Jersey Boys Fruit’ courtesy of Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio and read out a message from them:
“Hi Gang, both Frankie and I are overwhelmed by your support through the many years of harsh winters, warm summers, and the spring and fall of our careers. Quite a ride and seemingly just beginning again. We especially want to thank Joe and Demetri for travelling that road with us and contributing much music and memorable moments to say the least. Yes, Joe and Demetri did add some highlights. Like Demetri walking through a major airport wearing Hot Pink short shorts in the dead of winter. And Joe engaging in an after-hour sport with Tommy Devito presiding as judge. Now that one I will leave to your imagination and Joe to deal with for the rest of the night … All and all, “Guys and Dolls”, this has been a real thrill for everyone who has ever cared about our music. And as someone from the fan club said, “Jersey Boys has Valli-dated Frankie Valli and The 4 Seasons and everyone who loved them” … We are humbled … Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli.”
What an honour it was to spend time with Joe Long and Cheeky Demetri Callas (who outdressed us all!) and to hear just some of the many wonderful stories they had to tell - like the time the 4 Seasons were in the UK and their hotel bar was closed early – Joe was sitting in the lobby and Demetri got into the elevator – he said he was bored so he went up to the next floor and then pressed the button to come back down again, the doors opened and he had removed an item of clothing! He pushed the button to go back up to the next floor again and he continued to do this a number of times and said “each trip I removed one item of clothing!” Joe recalled that he got down to the final item!
Demetri’s impersonation of Frankie Valli caused howls of laughter from everyone at the convention (he walked into the room on his knees) just proving what a really warm, great and fun guy he is.
Demetri was with the 4 Seasons for 3 years, replacing Tommy DeVito and proved to be “an act all by himself". He joined the group in early 1970 following a call from an agent who told him the Four Seasons were interested in him becoming a guitar player – he said he was really excited as the Four Seasons “were a legendary act” although at that time he did not realise he was to be Tommy’s replacement. Demetri thought about the offer for a week and then said “Yes”. He said he was then “beckoned to Joe’s House in New Jersey” and it was Joe’s job “to break me in” – it was his job to teach Demetri all parts of all the songs in 3 days which he did. Not only that but they then switched parts and Joe sang Tommy’s parts and Demetri sang Joe’s!
The first recording Demetri sang on was “My Eyes Adored You” which they recorded for Motown in 1971. Demetri and Joe sang on all the Chameleon recordings and they said that the Seasons “never sounded tighter or more in tune” than at that time. Demetri left because in his own words “I am not proud of this but I must have been the most irresponsible erratic character in the group” and he got wind that he might possibly be dismissed. Demetri said that he loved every minute of the times he shared with Joe and everyone else in the group and that due to his time with the group he learned so much in a short time.
Another story told by Demetri was about “I Wonder Why”. Having too much time on their hands whilst on tour in Southern Marilyn, Virginia, he, Joe, Gerry Polci and Lee Shapiro composed a song called “I Wonder Why”. They all got together and put the words and the music together and took a cassette of the track and played it to Frankie and asked him if he would put his vocals to it after the show that night which he agreed to do. “Our biggest disappointment” said Demetri “was we took the only master tape of that recording to Motown/Mowest and left the tape with them - they said they would like to release it. We went back to New York but soon after the group left Mowest.”
I Wonder Why - Lost In The Motown Vault can be read here:
It was lovely to see Joe and Demetri again In Las Vegas in November 2009 when we also met up with Bill DeLoach who is currently touring with Frankie Valli again assisting Robby Robinson on keyboards.
Bill, like Demetri, joined the Seasons in the early 1970’s just after the release of Chameleon.
The full review of the meet up in Las Vegas is here:
Thoughts, much love and prayers to Demetri – all your friends and fans in the UK and across the world will keep you in their prayers and we will do whatever we can to help you. Keep that cheeky smile beaming and your wonderful sense of humour shining through and think of those Hot Pink short shorts whenever you are feeling down. Take care and love to you from all of us.
Another great year which saw the release of a brand new Christmas CD by Frankie Valli - very aptly named by Brian Brigham. Interestingly, Brian must be the longest serving member of the Four Seasons (apart from Robby Robinson of course who has been with Frankie for around 40 years). Brian has been singing with Frankie for the last 13 years; Landon joined at the same time as Brian but left for a couple of years before re-joining recently. Brandon has been with Frankie for about 11 years now and Todd is approaching his 10th year with the band having re-joined the band in 2007 after a short spell with them in 2002.
Oh What A Night! Hyde Park, London, Saturday 10 September 2016 saw Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons headlining at the patriotic Last Night Of The Proms in the UK with the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by the very talented Robby Robinson in front of 40,000 people. Unbelievable!
The year was tinged with sadness, of course, with the news that sadly both Don Ciccone and Jerry Corbetta passed away and our thoughts and prayers are with their family and friends especially at this time of year.
Looking forward to next year we will see Frankie and the Four Seasons embark on their Greatest Hits Tour in the UK with concerts in Birmingham, Bournemouth, London, Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester next April. Full details and tickets can be purchased here:
Sad that Jersey Boys on Broadway will closing on the 11 January after 11 years – but what a wonderful Joyride it has been for the Jersey Family and all the fans being the 12th longest running show in Broadway history and being the winner of 57 major awards worldwide. Jersey Boys is also closing in London on the 26 March after a run of 9 fantastic years. There will be a second national UK tour of Jersey Boys starting in December 2017 at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.
We would like to wish you all a very ‘Sherry Christmas’ and a very happy and peaceful New Year from the Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society – Lynn Boleyn, George Ingram, Ray Nichol, Ken Charmer and not forgetting Casey Chameleon. Seasons Greetings and enjoy the new Christmas CD “Tis the Seasons” or indeed, our favourite, the original "Four Seasons Christmas Album".
To modern day fans of the Four Seasons it may seem amazing that there was a time when we were scambling around for news, backstories and lost tracks on cassette tape. There was no internet and a quarterly newsletter was all we had and the group were regarded as an oldies group with no future. It's easy to forget how hard it was then to get information and even released music on vinyl or cassette..
But then came 'My Eyes Adored You', 'The Night', and 'Who Loves You' before their biggest ever success as a group 'December 1963(Oh What A Night)'. Back then during the early 1970s Rex was gathering research that would decades later lead to the record breaking show 'Jersey Boys'. Rex Woodard was a champion of today's Four Seasons 'music detectives' still gathering information and seeking out more 'lost' music by them than we could ever have imagined existed.
So it was with a degree of pride that I read of his widows success in establishing his contribution to the show 'Jersey Boys' was finally recognised. 'Then and Now' the jointly written bio by Rex and former Four Season Tommy DeVito was judged to have contributed to 10% of the shows success.
It's never been seen by the fans except in it's interpretation in the show. When will Rex's work finally go public? Well not soon it seems which is a shame as damages assessment by the court will take a few months and the case will probably go to appeal: it's not over yet!. But Valli and Gaudio will probably get pulled into it yet again for solid legal reasons. They licensed the play as owners!!! And they knew of Rex's contribution. He was never a 'ghostwriter' but the real 'author'.
Rex's contribution was based on years of research and 'foundation' articles that resonate today as we still fight to get the full story of the group's lives and music available to us. When he persuaded Tommy DeVito to 'dish the dirt' back in 1989 it should have been a coup for Four Seasons fans but back then their 'brand' was low key and after Rex's premature passing in 1990 the draft understandably didn't surface. It had lost it's champion. But we're all to be grateful Tommy DID make it available to the scriptwriters. We got JB and history made The Four Seasons 'iconic'.
But Rex also anticipated the continuing battle to recover the Motown unreleased without realising what we now know. Rex wrote in Goldmine in August 1981[A Lesson in Survival].....”The myth must die! For several years now, almost every rock and roll encyclopedic source has faithfully instructed it's readers that the legendary Four Seasons bit the dust sometime around 1969, only to be resurrected as an entirely new group in 1975. Lies!”
Well the 'myth' is dead BUT no-one wants us to hear the truth even as 2017 begins.
In the 1980 article he documented the history of those intervening years and the groups creative work during that time. Today with the inspiration of that work and data from some anonymous Motown connections we have in 2016 extended his work by subsequent research to reveal the deliberate suppression of between 30 and 50 tracks completed and left in the Universal Motown vaults unheard by the fans. Rex's research is at the heart of our campaign for their release.
And to follow that in June 1982 he published what is regarded as the definitive article detailing the history of the Four Lovers in the same magazine.
As we enter the post 'Jersey Boys' era.....now the shows in New York and London are closing.......we are hoping the bio that has been the subject of so much legal time over the last 10 years will finally be published. It is time to herald a new period of documenting and restoring the history of the group and their music over the next few years. Rex's legacy should be the cornerstone of that objective. And our battle to get the music left in the vaults will continue. He'd want us to fight for that.
This time of the year I can't wind things down for Christmas without thinking about the lost friends and music detectives who have helped create 'the body of knowledge' that exists about the Four Seasons which we have accumulated over the last forty years. So rather than comment on the latest effort by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons – Tis The Seasons I'd rather reflect on the fans contributions to our musical knowledge and remember them.
Stuart Miller presided over the UK fan club in the early 1970s and this led to all that followed for the fan club during the 1970s. His legendary interview with Bob Gaudio remains one of the most insightful interviews he has ever given. Right in the middle of the Motown contract it shows the thirst for a new direction that would strike 'gold' by 1975. And the pressing of a bootleg album of rare sides by Stuart kept the fan club going through the darker days at Motown
Frank Rovello single handedly ploughed the furrow for US fans and collectors when the WWW arrived and founded the Genuine Imitation Life Gazette website and packed it full of articles, interviews and information that stretches back to the 70s.He was a great friend and collaborator we shall never forget.
Stefan Wriedt, my German sound engineer friend taught me how to use sound engineering software to restore vinyl gems. Through his work as a restoration engineer he brought us The Fantastic First Years CD of all the pre-Four Seasons tracks from his personal collection and the first CD release of the Motown tracks since they were previously only available on vinyl, with The Night/Inside You CD back in the 1990's. He also helped me establish the CD Discography Index at our website an invaluable reference for finding the best Four Seasons Masters on CD.
And finally Rex Woodard who did more than anyone to research the history of the Four Seasons and may well provide us with their first bio book in the next few years. We now know he contributed 10% to the success of 'Jersey Boys' . That's 'official'. I'll write separately regarding Rex and his contributions.
All these friends and former 'curators' are sadly missed by all as we close 2016. But their legacy lives on as we continue to seek more music and backstories to our favourite group. They'll never be forgotten.
I said in my last article we as followers and collectors of the brand known as 'The Four Seasons' are moving into the 'Post Jersey Boys' era claiming the group's history back as our collective ownership and identity. We are gathering in 'groups' of like minded people to 'curate' the history, memoribilia and music of our heroes and claim it for our own. We've been doing it for over 40 years.
So with that in mind let's identify what content is needed by fans and how it should be presented. We've more or less done this with the Motown vaults material paper records (subject to what UMe still have and with the hope of eventual release of this material) and we'll continue to 'curate' the history of Valli and co's unreleased efforts onto You Tube over the next several months.
A few years ago I reviewed the Four Seasons sound at the time Nick Massi left the group and Charlie Calello joined for a few months before Joe Long took over. This was a time of great change. 1965 saw pop music burst into new sounds led by the Beatles, The Beach Boys and Bob Dylan et al. So it had to be all change for The Four Seasons as Frankie Valli launched his solo career.
That review culminated in a curators compilation. 'I'm Gonna Change' – The End Of The Philips Era as I tracked the evolving sound of the groups productions from 1966 to 1970. I've re-visiting those tracks culled from vinyl and the ACE CD compilations of the 1990s and am re-mastering these using 2016 software to re-connect with the analogue sound from the 1960s using the Rescue sound processing plug-in in Wavelab Elements 9.
Some I'll get uploaded to You Tube to capture the 'feel' and others are already there.
I'll disclose and discuss these tracks on our Facebook group, 'The Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign' as we seek to extend the story of the changing sound of the groups efforts from 1971 to 1975. Join us there as we revisit the days of the 45.
It seems that there is no-one listening to fans of the Four Seasons asking for unreleased tracks from the past to be issued. But that is nothing unfamiliar to long-standing fans of the group. Many would claim the Four Seasons Partnership have never been tuned into what fans want nor have they or their record companies listened to them. But should that position be accepted today? Can fan influence bring change?
A recent music industry blog said.....”There is no doubt that the music industries are a complex web of inefficiencies and that if they were being redesigned tomorrow that they would be a far more streamlined, effective and transparent proposition. This on the surface makes the music business ripe for disruption. But unlike fully open markets like the smartphone business, the music industries are interwoven with complications such as de facto monopolies, statutory licensing frameworks and global networks of reciprocal agreements. All of which shelter the business from the full impact of disruption. Change happens slowly in the music business.......None of this means that change is not happening and that the rate of change will not continue to happen. But the odds are heavily stacked against a single entity aiming to unseat the marketplace”
The Four Seasons UK Appreciation still exists through the efforts of a few and the dedicated following of a few hundred fans. Whilst we have always 'championed' 'THE FOUR SEASONS' as opposed to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons this is because we see the contribution of all members of the group and the team that gave us so much good music. The problem has always been we think that way. 'Collaboration' versus 'Ego' some would say.
So with the end of the Jersey Boys 'era' how will fans be served/kept and created.?
It is becoming more and more apparent that The Four Seasons Partnership need to invest in 'curators' if they are to maintain and develop the marketing of their 'brand' through the internet world of today. A recent blog re the music industry compared the playlisting of streaming services with themed and researched CD 'playlists'........”The fact that 25% of music subscribers still buy compilation albums show that however a good job streaming playlists might be doing, there remains a big demand for compilations, even within the core of streaming music aficionados. Curated playlists will continue to gain importance but compilations are going to live alongside them for a good long time to come. And all the while the distinction between what constitutes a playlist and a compilation will continue to blur.”
With Facebook groups devoted to Four Seasons 'memoribilia', Motown's unreleased music and Charlie Calello's vast catalogue of arrangements and productions we have a place to be, to belong, to share and to collaborate all fuelled by our curation. This keeps the ID of the group, their music and their image firmly in the hands of us all. In 'From Bitcoin To Burning Man' there is a forecast that in the emerging social structures.....”The crux ….. is the insight by David Reed, formerly of the M.I.T. Media Lab, that on open networks such as the Internet, greater value is generated through groups that are progressively more coherent and collaborative – or what Reed calls “Group Forming Networks,” or GFNs.....the most valuable networks, says Reed, are those that facilitate group affiliations. “
Looking at the content of our web site and blog and the membership of our Facebook groups I realised we have have become a GFN......we have been 'curators' for The Four Seasons Partnership since the 1970s and on the internet since the 1990s and now the facebook group members have made us a GFN. Whether it be our group members, blog writers, newsprint and 'memoribilia' collectors or amateur sound engineers, 'curators' is what we have become. Wikipedia tells us that ….“Content curation is the process of gathering information relevant to a particular topic or area of interest. Services or people that implement content curation are called curators.” This 'collective' basically provides that service.
But it is alright talking about the back stories....what about the music?
The Four Seasons Partnership and their Partner Rhino no longer invest in compilations like they did. Future compilations must provide playlists akin to the Rhino Rarities CD's (Vols 1 and 2 September 1990). Curated collections with high quality digital masters.
But if not them WHO?
Well in the Facebook 'Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign' we've documented 80% of the paper records af the sessions at Motown and revealed the background to at least 30 and upto 50 unreleased tracks still lying in the vaults. A massive curation job that even UME could not have achieved with their compilers. We are just awaiting the re-mastering and release.
Back in 2012 Ray Ricci and I exchanged notes on the non-existence of a good Four Seasons Archive as a set of full STEREO mixes don't exist. Some were never mixed and some lost(thrown out by Philips) but the problem of the final 'Bob Crewe' mixes surfaced....”Four Seasons aside - there's very few Crewe productions that exist anywhere in a multi-track format as we think of it. It's not really a case of studio capabilities or number of multi-tracks available: it's how a producer worked through the bouncing and mixing and overdubbing to get an orchestra mix that works in MONO. Stereo was secondary, and could only be loosely constructed with what remained after essential mixdowns with overdubs were already in place.
What's of concern is that MONO masters are lost!”
Well with the help of German Sound Engineer Stefan Wreidt a project to preserve the MONO masters as mixed to vinyl began in 2012 with the help of several UK and US collectors with access to original vinyl. Cleaned and re-mastered to give good quality MONO masters these digital masters contain all of Bob Crewe's great final productions.
Of course I can't share these as I don't hold the copyright, but the archive is available to any national preservation body. The copyright remains with the Four Seasons Partnership but we completed the 'salvage' operation in 2015. Some may appear on You Tube for purely educational purposes!!!
Of course The Four Seasons Partnership could have done this(and could still do so) , making it commercially available but they would need to get access to good vinyl copies and spend 3 man years, collecting, sifting, dubbing and re-mastering. No? They will continue to use the mis-match of masters they have served up before. Not faithful to the original in every case...but who will know the difference.? The fact Nick Massi's bass vocal is missing on 'Ain't That A Shame' or that there is no faithful MONO master of the 'B' side of 'Sherry' ….'I've Cried Before' ….are blatantly ignored.
Unfortunately Stefan passed away from cancer before I was able to complete the archive but it is now complete and testimony to his work and those of us who have become.....'The Curators'.
Well it clearly is the end of an era for both Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and in our Autumn Newsletter update we cover the latest Four Seasons related news for 2016. Some sad, some re new music, some re 'lost' music, some legal, and some celebratory, and even news of a final tour. All contributing to the legacy of The Four Seasons
This last month has seen us sadly lose two highly respected and loved former Four Seasons. First we heard of the passing of Jerry Corbetta, former Sugarloaf founder and member of the Four Seasons from 1980 to 1984. He was a vibrant stage presence at concerts. Then last week we tragically heard of the loss of former Critters member and legendary Four Season, Don Ciccone. As a member of the group's most successful line-up and as a member of The Hit Men he will be dearly remembered. His demo of Who Loves You is fondly collected by his fans. Slip Away will always be remembered for his emotional 'live' delivery.
Another piece of sad news was the end of the 'Jersey Boys' shows runs during the next 6 months in NYC and London. Since 2007 it has brought the music of our favourite group back to world-wide popularity and acclaim and to the cinema with the Clint Eastwood produced film . It has been a 9 year explosion of the group's popularity like never before.
But this month also brought good news with the release of probably Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons final studio album(surely?). It was not only a surprise but the choice is puzzling to many fans. A Christmas Album and a track featuring Jeff Beck? But it may be a way to test the current market for his music? Well some fans will buy anything and love everything he does but others will critically say he shouldn't have done it. At 82 some fans have observed on this collection his voice is weak and the buried in the mix but if it makes people who buy it feel good over Christmas then it's a welcome gift. And each year he has fans it will maybe be a long-term 'earner'.
It is perhaps unfair to compare it with his past vocal performances but surely the legacy of his pending retirement will be a focus on the back catalogue and maybe on the large number of unreleased tacks that remain in the vaults at Universal Motown Enterprises(UMe). We continue to campaign for their release through our Facebook Campaign Group page
This remains the single largest collection of recored but unreleased material by Frankie and the group and we hope that in retirement Frankie may turn his attention to this curently 'lost' material.
Talking of 'lost'.....we heard that Charlie Calello's 'shelved' biography has been dusted off and is being reviewed by a writer and an esteemed editor for potential publication. So we thought it only fitting to celebrate Charlie's vast archive of arrangements and productions as they appear on You Tube in a new Facebook group. Charlie Calello's Lost and Found Tracks web page
A great former Four Season and a great friend to his fans.
But the era really concludes next Spring as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons pay respect to their UK fans with (what appears to be) a final tour. Lynn Boleyn has already publicised this and UK fans have their designated 'fan zones' and there will be organised 'pre/post meet-ups' as we get our last big chance to re-unite and celebrate as fans and to say goodbye to Frankie and his band and in particular Robbie Robinson who has been Frankie's Musical Director for all his 'live shows' since the early 1980s. A magnificent record.
So the end of an era and as 'Looking Back' was a Four Seasons album we hope the next era will focus on just that. It is becoming more and more apparent that The Four Seasons need to invest in curators if they are to maintain and develop the marketing of their 'brand' through the music. A recent blog re the music industry compared the playlisting of streaming services with themed and researched CD 'playlists'........”The fact that 25% of music subscribers still buy compilation albums show that however a good job streaming playlists might be doing, there remains a big demand for compilations, even within the core of streaming music aficionados. Curated playlists will continue to gain importance but compilations are going to live alongside them for a good long time to come. And all the while the distinction between what constitutes a playlist and a compilation will continue to blur.”
And in this context and the content of our Facebook groups and our blog I realised we have become 'curators' for The Four Seasons Partnership since the 1990s. Wikipedia tells us that ….“Content curation is the process of gathering information relevant to a particular topic or area of interest. Services or people that implement content curation are called curators.” This group basically has and continues to provide that service. Unfortunately our top curator Frank Rovello has passed away and we no longer have access to our Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society web space to effect updates but for the foreseeable future that web space remains accessible at http://www.seasonally.co.uk
Hopefully future compilations will provide playlists akin to the Rhino Rarities CD's (Vols 1 and 2 September 1990). Curated collections with high quality digital masters and even unreleased tracks or live performances like the 'Bachelors III' concert from 1974.
And finally news that the long and drawn out legal case re the 'Jersey Boys' book written by Rex Woodard and Tommy De Vito come to a head this Halloween with a Jury Trial. Whether or not Valli/Gaudio et al are found to be in breach of copyright, at least the courts have recognised that Donna(Rex's widow) has a 50 % share of Tommy's royalties from the show. It will be good to see this settled and the next era of the groups legacy can move on.Maybe with publication of 'The Work'
For the future though we'll be updating our Facebook groups regularly and carrying this blog through the next year with news and reviews. Let's enjoy the end of an era!!
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