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.
As we approach Thanksgiving, which is not a ‘holiday’ we celebrate in Europe, I recognize it is a time to celebrate as a family of fans what we have achieved in researching and finding the Unreleased work by Frankie Valli….AND The Four Seasons…..either as a group or solo entity and much of that research has resulted in the transfer of many 16 track Masters to Bob Gaudio [The Four Seasons Partnership – FSP] for his evaluation and for the approval of 13 previously unreleased tracks for inclusion in the forthcoming Snapper Music Box Set coming to release in 2023.
Even allowing for the delays, it will be the biggest and best release ever of their work after revisiting their analogue tapes. But it will not be the full story as I will document re potential sources of stored masters in the future from our research. For now, here is the latest known research of the Tapes at Universal [Motown] as we advised Snapper Music and the Universal Library Manager and Bob Gaudio [via Snapper].
There seems to be little in terms of paper records re the Four Seasons with the Universal Library Manager re this peiod apart from tape Boxes wheras we have Spreadsheet Records and Database Printouts as well as Artists Cards that detail the recordings done and the registration in many cases. We know that Tape Box research was done and Tapes Ordered from the Iron Mountain Storage for checking but only one tape box scan was supplied to the UK research team which confirmed what we knew of that tape to be correct. The issue of the cost of mixing down 16 track songs was admitted to by Bob Gaudio when it was clear the limits of visual Tape Box Review showed ‘listening tests’ were necessary. The budget issue arose. The songs that 'appear' [from the partial Tape Boxes inspection by the Library Manager] to have vocals.....were listed....BUT..... 'This is not a guarantee. They could be demos or scratch vocals, or miss-marked. They will need to be transferred and played to see if they do. [exist] ‘. We had a Database and Artists Cards which coincided with these titles but our records of mixes and Masters were not used in this research.
Working through the Tape Index in numeric order now, this is the latest information we have of what UNRELEASED tracks MAY exist based on paper records and demonstrates what remains to be confirmed or not.
Recordings started in October 1971 on a contract for 8 potential tracks by Frankie Valli solo with various in-house ‘producers’ and a ‘self-contained’ group effort of 12 songs as confirmed by Bob Gaudio in interview in 1971. Below are our finds from paper records gathered over the last 22 years re the 16 track session Master Tapes for tracks identified as potentially complete and ready for release[i.e.with a Motown Master Nr] either from SMX [stereo mixes done at the time] or Mix-Downs from the 16 track Master. The Motown Master Tape Database indicates that there are 32 UNRELEASED tracks given Master Nrs as completed/registered tracks in sessions. Tapes not highlighted below remain unknown from the Librarians Tape Box review. As far as we are aware Bob Gaudio was sent copies of 16 track tapes but we have no knowledge if he or the Universal Librarian have conducted full ‘listening’ evaluation or if Bob Gaudio has received all of these tapes. As was said...'Lastly, there are songs with possible alternate vocal takes, but it depends on if Bob Gaudio wants these alternates available'........Clearly some completed tracks have been found and mixed down and approved for release which we are all happy about. This current Motown Master Tape Review is solely based on my records and reported Tape Box lists.
The big benefit of the last 12 years work was to demonstrate a ‘goldmine’ of LOST tracks by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons at Motown and now both Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli know the inherent value of these tracks. They are in my opinion exceptional and well worthy of release in what I believe will be groundbreaking Catalogue Review. Whilst they did not get any royalties from their contract at Motown they have we assume gained some agreement with Universal for the release as expected of 13 tracks in 2023 as highlighted, and we believe and have been told that over 20 tracks as highlighted should exist in some form. The remaining tracks are listed in paper records at Universal Motown but have not been revealed as existing. However as I have said we have no evidence from Snapper that full listening tests have been done by either the Motown Tape Librarian or Bob Gaudio [and possibly his son Shannon]. This is not a complaint…just what we understand at this point in time. However enough have been reviewed for Bob Gaudio to have mixed the 13 approved tracks for inclusion. The rest MAY NOT be deemed good enough for release….but what about any of the alternative or extended versions found on acetate or in FSP storage as evaluation copies.? We know of several such versions. We have been able to ensure knowledge of some of the above as acetate dubs on You Tube…just search …. Four Season Motown Unreleased You Tube.
Any issue of such ‘unreleased’ material is, of course, the right of the FSP but it is worth considering that any unreleased tracks at Universal Motown will drop out of copyright by December 2023 [under UK Law], although these would have to be purchased for anyone to release them and extend the copyright. The UK Government website says of sound recordings that copyright exists for …”50 years from the year in which the sound recording was made. If during that period the sound recording is published or made available to the public (e.g. by being played in public or broadcast), copyright lasts for 70 years from that year.” That means that unreleased tracks due for release in 2023 start to fall out of copyright as ‘sound recordings’ this month.
This is our final listing of the paper records at MoWest and Motown and a listing for further review of the tapes stored at Iron Mountain regarding Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, and a reference point for any ‘listening tests’ to see what has survived. This is an ‘aide-memoire’ for anyone wishing to do further research in the future.
Ken Charmer – November 2022.
Music Historian – The Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society
The FULL and Final list of Unreleased Tracks and the known status can be downloaded here.
I wrote a post back in June this year as I completed corrections with Snapper Music to both tracks included, and Collectors Notes which had been supplied a year earlier for the Box Set and I wrote with so much optimism as Snapper/Madfish announced the release date of December 9th 2022. This week I have had to completely re-visit the blog posts as we are told, with no explanation, that the release date has moved to 14th April 2023....after an unknown number of fans have ordered and in many cases paid full price in expectations they would stand by this promise. This sad position follows over 4 years of hard work by me and a network of fans in the UK and USA providing tracks and research to Snapper Music.
Back in August 2018 we were asked by Snapper 'what do you want to have in the planned Box Set most of all?'....and before I could think?.........Lynn Boleyn said 'THE MOTOWN UNRELEASED'........!!!!!.....In retrospect this is ironic as the Motown Unreleased Campaign has been going now since 2011, due to my research, but no-one related to Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli's music has ever asked us that question before....or been prepared for the answer …... ever!. And it was maybe painful for them to revisit that period in time. It has been 51 years this month, Frankie and the group signed to Motown and began recording sessions with at least 15 tracks announced as completed in a Motown Newsletter in January 1972 as they prepared for a UK tour. It remains the only record label storage of comprehensive Master Session Tapes found to date. But ….like it did not exist until I proved it did.!! It's existence was denied in 2008 by Harry Weinger of Universal and Peter Bennett, former lawyer to the Four Seasons Partnership.
Since 2018 I worked tirelessly with Bob Fisher to research and gather tracks from the FSP storage facility in LA and after nearly 4 years and a huge review of tape transfers, the memorabilia, photos, picture sleeves and paper records regarding releases from our fan network, we have the storytelling done and some of the unheard tracks found...with superb artwork...and a good bunch of UNRELEASED and LIVE tracks....and some of the MOTOWN UNRELEASED of the 30+ we demonstrated are there and complete.
Some US music historians/sound collectors on the Steve Hoffman Forum accused me of being somewhat 'anal' re wanting these tracks from a largely non-existent period in Frankie's career whilst at Motown. One top collector believes many US fans have little interest in this or even later periods saying......”It's obvious from the Partnerships reactions or 'non action' [over the decades] that they would rather forget Motown ever …."never happened" for them”. For me that also revealed the US/UK fan 'disconnect' with regard to the UK fan groups 'holistic' view of the career of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons...THEY WANT EVERYTHING and feel they deserve it.....and Frankie himself has come to realise that in recent years with the adulation shown by UK show audiences how important we have been to his career.
We revitalised his career in 1970 taking 'You're Ready Now' into the charts for the first time as we did 5 years later with 'The Night' thanks to the Northern Soul Dance scene. We also [as did other countries around the world] gave them hits with 'Fallen Angel', 'Silver Star', and 'Down The Hall'. The US market and record companies did not see the worldwide support they deserved during this period.
Frankie and Bob Gaudio's commitment to this Box Set we believed was testimony and trust that the UK fan group.....now over 51 years old.......could tackle such a project with Snapper Music. And we worked hard to deliver after a difficult 4 years and the loss of our ex-Motown set producer Bob Fisher who sadly passed away before its completion. Unfortunately despite requests for reconsideration we could not get more of the Motown Unreleased Tracks we have researched...other than the 13 tracks Bob Gaudio chose to approve..nor could we get access to the tapes to confirm their suitability or verify our more extensive paperwork than was found by the Library Manager at Motown....or any inclusion in the tape research process. It was for Bob Gaudio and Universal Music a no-go area for the research team.
What was to be included always was and remains the choice of Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio who own the music and the rights to release it or not. The fans network knew that but contributed some 50+ tracks from decades of sources which the FSP now have copyright and total control of....as is there right. We, the fans, made that happen. The rest came from delving into the FSP archive as far as we were able to achieve within the funding of this project.
Whilst no music set can ever be truly ULTIMATE ....Certainly this is not final as to what exists [we know there are more tracks]....but this is pretty good ....but it is 'the best of its respective kind' and more comprehensive than ever before, thanks to many dedicated [and patient] 'music detectives' over the decades.....and in both the UK and US. Even Tommy DeVito's archive has been 'mined'. Classic sounds and stunning finds abound through every decade of the 'analogue' tape era from 1961 to 1986 and some we found. All of the subsequent CD era original albums and 'special' re-mixes of the CD and Dance Mixes are collected up to 2010.
In June we had a release date given of 9th December and pre-ordering started, with the design of the package complete as far as we knew. This is now delayed to 14th April 2023. A sad and unexplained delay.
I have been asked to show 'integrity' and not criticise anyone involved in the project. But my integrity is to the fans as they are the 'customers' but also to the quality of the 'curation' process. I personally apologise to all readers for the delays in getting our research to completion as we had planned but it is not down to the commitment and work of me or Bob Fisher and those in our 'collectors' network who helped us so much. Everyone in the Snapper production team, I believe, worked hard to achieve release including the engineer, designer, writers and admin.
I believed in the commitment of Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli in this compilation and believed and told many fans this could be the start of a series of Unreleased and LIVE concerts as has been done with the Beach Boys Catalogue and career. However the experiences over the last 4 years has left me feeling dismayed, disappointed and disenchanted by the Four Seasons Partnership and the senior management at Snapper who promised Lynn Boleyn, Bob Fisher and I so much back in 2018. This is not a criticism, just how I feel.
As a former Fellow for the Association for Project Management and having completed several multi-million pound projects during my working life, I know that of the 3 objectives of a project [TIME/COST/QUALITY] .......the one that must be maintained is QUALITY and that is is based on the record and reputation of Snapper Music. It will/has been a long wait but the quality is/will be unsurpassed if the content remains as we agreed with Snapper and Bob Gaudio in June 2021 and as the promised sound engineering standards.
We do deserve an apology for the delay and an explanation, given the love for the music we, the fans have shown.[and the pre-orders placed, many on my recommendation]. I know I have done all I can to make the project successful.
However, as our resident music historian, I will in our FB group continue to publish research of known sources of quality tapes and maybe as with the Beach Boys and Beatles, more will be funded to bring rare and unheard tracks, demos or rehearsals to the fans. [possibly in our lifetime]. I will enjoy The Beatles 'Revolver' Box Set this Christmas instead.
The Seasons On Saturday podcasts will continue the 'panels' views on the career of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as we reach 1970 in the next few weeks and we will move through the 1970s over the next few months. And I am also using the research and collated information to re-write and update my former e-book, The Rise And Fall Of The NEW Four Seasons and eventually to publish this.
And as the the rest of the unheard catalogue and LIVE sound board tapes show more recordings are out there. As I have said ….the Campaign goes on.
George Schowerer captured the magic of their relationship in dozens of studio photographs when they worked together in 1967 at Mirasound Studios and his production of her 45 sides 'I Want You To Be My Baby b/w Goodnight, Goodnight (What's So Good About It?)' on United Artists 5015. He also wrote the latter song for her using Jean Thomas, Mikie Harris and Valerie Simpson on backing vocals in March 1967 the same month he recorded 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' with Frankie Valli. See the background video here
That relationship would strangely later spark the start of Bob Crewe's recovery to a new 'golden age' of songwriting and production and a re-union with past writing and producing colleague Bob Gaudio that would see them both achieve Number One Hits and go on to Crewe also collaborating with Jerry Corbetta and the writer, Ellie Greenwich, in producing the original cast album for Greenwich's Broadway musical, "Leader of the Pack" in the early 80s.
The contribution Ellie would make to his recovery in 1972 was after Bob Crewe had suffered a career collapse at the end of the 60s. Dan Crewe, Bob's brother had been with him in establishing Genius Inc in 1962 and they were Chairman and President respectively in the CGC Group of Record Labels that collapsed in 1970 and he does not have kind memories of his brother who overstretched himself when they were effectively partners. “He was the biggest pain in the ass I ever had to deal with in my life,” Dan Crewe recently said of his brother, whom he described as a narcissist “who did everything to excess. He was a real drunk. He could get out of hand. It’s the story of his life. It’s racing to the moon and then crashing. …” Dan was taking care of the business......“We were incredible together before the drugs and alcohol,” Dan Crewe said. “We were zooming. We had so many god-blessed hits, it was one right after the other. In the early days of the Seasons, we had three Top 10 records all the time. We were always on the charts. It was endless. We had so many different acts, all the time.” Eventually, alcohol gave way to pot, which led to cocaine. “And once cocaine came into the picture.........” Dan Crewe said, without finishing his sentence. “With my brother, you always worried what was going to happen.” But not everyone saw Bob Crewe so negatively and he consistently made good records like no other producer of the 1960s and 70s, although he had problems with Bob Gaudio and Mitch Ryder which have been anecdotally made public. Ellie Greenwich had a good relationship with Bob Crewe and commented on his ability and on how they first met in an interview before her untimely passing in 2009....."I'm not exactly sure when I met Bob Crewe, but we always saw each other around the business from the very beginning. (We) had an affinity for each other (and) still do! He was a joy to work with on all levels . . . he's a perfectionist, he's open to any outside ideas, he really knows what he wants and gets it, and most of all, he is passionate about what he does. He puts all of himself into everything he touches . . . I always loved and still do love Bob! I can go on and on about this talented gentleman, and he is just that: A 'gentle man'." But as they were siblings and Dan Crewe was jointly managing the business decisions, perspectives clearly differ, and drugs can create big issues within families.
Although he still held it together into the studio to produce great 4 Seasons songs by 1970, they became very diverse but always interesting. 'Lay Me Down, Wake Me Up' [originally titled 'Let This Time'] would be his last writing and production work in the studio with Bob Gaudio and the group in August, before his financial and addiction related break-down. His final recording at this time with Bob Gaudio will surface this year with the sublime 'I Need To Get To Know You', which they wrote and recorded together and he would co-write 'A New Beginning' with him which was done as an unreleased rock 'demo' in 1970 before it would emerge in full harmony by the Four Seasons on the 1972 'Chameleon' album with Bob Gaudio producing.
Bob Crewe would be in 'recovery' until 1972 when brother Dan helped him get back into writing and production with a contract at Motown Records whilst Frankie and the group were signed to their LA based 'MoWest' label. He quickly adapted in September 1972 with the commencement of productions with Bobby Darin. One of the key tracks was ‘Happy’ , the Smokey Robinson – Michel Legrande penned theme to Berry Gordy’s movie with Diane Ross, ‘Lady Sings The Blues’. He also created some very harmonic ‘Seasons’ styled backings on ‘Another Song on My Mind’ and ‘ I Won’t Last A Day Without You’ with Bobby Darin. [allegedly also recorded with Frankie Valli and in the Motown Archive]. Unfortunately a heart operation resulted in Bobby Darin's tragic and untimely death and the album was finished with infill songs and released in Feb 1974. ( Bobby passed away on Dec. 20, 1973)
Bob Gaudio had signed Frankie and the group to Berry Gordy's empire in October 1971 with a deal for 8 tracks with in-house producers and 12 stand-alone full group tracks with Bob producing. Only one track, from the May 1972 album release 'Chameleon', would get US single release and a 'Corporation' production of Walk On, Don't Look Back' in August 1972. Notwithstanding this lack of promotion and releases, Bob Crewe's return would change their lives and paths as they started to write and produce, together and separately in November 1972. Bob Crewe would start to write again with Alan Shatkin, and Bob Gaudio and both Bob's set aside past differences after traumatic periods in both their lives, to pen new songs.
And whether it was a favour returned or not, we don't know, but by 2nd November 1972 Bob Crewe was back in the studio with Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. We still haven't heard it as it remains 'unreleased' but Bob Crewe's first registered and completed Master Nr 61633 at Motown on 16 track [Tape 2414] was a song contributed by him writing with Ellie Greenwich and ex Four-Evers member Steve Tudanger. 'Be My Lover, Be My Friend'. It would be a magic tribute to Ellie [and Steve] to hear it released.
Very soon the sessions and tracks were rolling and over a 5 month period some of the 'Bob's' best work together and in their own right as producers since the mid 60s were emerging from the mixing booths as completed recordings. 'With My Eyes Wide Open' was amongst the first of powerful driving songs which would not appear until post departure from the label on the album 'Inside You' in 1975. That title track was strong enough to interest the Motown Management and would eventually warrant an album release but only 'Listening To Yesterday' from these sessions at this time would be selected for single release [strangely twice!]. This song would also be mixed in two entirely different versions by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio as classy examples of this period and their ability. The latter previously unreleased version did not appear until the 2008 Motown Anthology.
Another song from these collaborations which will be released in late 2022 is 'Star'. A complex and innovative arrangement combining rock and harmony in a stunning production. By May 1973 Bob Crewe had completed the song from a movie [Tom Sawyer] 'How Come' [Motown 1255F] with soaring studio session vocalists and not the Four Seasons group which had temporarily been disbanded by Frankie whilst he recruited new members. Gaudio did the vocal arrangements with Crewe producing.
Bob Crewe also in the Spring recorded Frankie Valli solo on tracks which have not yet been released by 2022. 'Give Us This Day' and 'Turn It All Around' with arranger Dave Blumberg remain unheard which is criminal given the commitments made in preparing the Snapper Music Box Set. However Bob Gaudio's return to producing Frankie Valli in the middle of the year has produced three unheard tracks in that set as approved by Bob Gaudio. Previously 'You've Got Your Troubles' and 'The Skalawag Song (aka 'Silver Fishes') saw single release from those sessions and now we have 'Whatever You Want', a 1962 Crewe – Gaudio composition, 'You Can't Hold On' and 'Future Years' appearing this year. But for some unknown reason Bob Gaudio did not include 'Getting Over You” from the same Tape P2678?
Again lack of promotion and disarray at Motown meant the cancellation of a planned album MW788 [provisional title 'Inside Out'] and it is little wonder that all involved thought they had to find a way back to getting someone in a record company to believe in the music and promote it.!!
Motown made one final promise as a NEW Four Seasons group line up were signed up with a never before range of musicianship that would lead to two additional lead vocalists within the Four Seasons. The 'execs' at Motown committed to Bob Crewe sessions in November and December 1973 on new songs Bob Crewe had composed with '11th Hour' group member Kenny Nolan. He used the NEW Four Seasons with Nick Massi returning and Charles Calello arranging. 'Hymn To Her', 'Lovers', 'Charisma', 'Hickory', 'My Eyes Adored You' and 'Make Your Tomorrow Tonight' were completed and two released on Motown 1288F. 'Hickory b/w Charisma' got to Nr 96 in the US chart and an album was gathered from the 1973 sessions, but all too late. Bob Gaudio had his own new compositions registered at Jobete , the publishing arm of Motown and all of their contracts were running out. Bob Crewe was rolling too as Lady Marmalade hit Nr 1 with Crewe's production of 'Voulez Vous Couchez Avec Moi Ces Soi' in November 1974 and he subsequently bought himself out of his writing contract with Motown. Bob Gaudio appears to have waited for his to lapse and so left the publishing with Jobete for 'Who Loves You' and other tracks.
Only 'My Eyes Adored You' could be bought back when they left the Motown label with Bob Gaudio's unrecorded compositions The rest is history as they set up the contracts at Warner-Curb and Private Stock. Bob Crewe's production and writing effort with Kenny Nolan achieved the long wanted Nr 1 for Frankie Valli, with the 'TAPE SOLD BACK TO PRODUCER' song as their Artist Card records. The success for Bob Gaudio, who with co-writer Judy Parker had adapted and devoted his writing and production skills to the band, recorded and produced the songs that would hit the heights with 'Who Loves You' and 'December 1963(Oh What A Night).
Bob Crewe's production and writing effort with Kenny Nolan had at last achieved the long wanted Nr 1 for Frankie Valli. 'The Night' from the 1972 'Chameleon' album would also soar into the UK Top Ten upon it's re-release in the UK. A belated Motown success.
The 'Lost Era' would conclude finally with Bob Gaudio's success with the 'Who Loves You' album. However Bob Crewe's joys at the magnificent 'Swearing To God', and 'In My Eyes' for the 'Close-Up' album was ended by a hit and run driver, who nearly killed him in 1975 leaving him in a body cast for a year, and Bob Gaudio had to finish the album. Ironically this was as Crewe walked to an AA meeting [now titled NA(Narcotics Anonymous)] There are we were told by Bill Inglot other 'out-takes' from these album sessions but so far these have not surfaced.
So ended the LOST 'second coming' of Crewe – Gaudio. They never quite re-found that magic again although the 'Heaven Above Me' album and now the salvaged LOST DISCO ALBUM with the unreleased 'Back In Action' by Crewe-Corbetta will surface this year. 'Soul/Heaven Above Me' and 'Let It Be Whatever It Is' looked like being their last collaboration as Bob Crewe substantially retired by 1981 that is until their last effort, the prophetic 'What About Tomorrow' on the 1985 album 'Streetfighter'.......but Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan take pride of place in our full restoration of those sessions with the unreleased 'Killing Time' in the Box Set. Bob Crewe however did not participate in the production of the album.
If justice could be done we would have all of the music from the 1973 Motown sessions and in particular the unheard productions by Bob Crewe [along with alternate versions and 'takes'] to demonstrate the road to what followed in terms of success in the 1970s post Motown. Bob Gaudio has the power to give us this and set the record straight. As he says....'if you believe ….you receive'. 2023 beckons and another project is 'believed in and awaited'.
Casey Chameleon – September 2022
The titles shown in RED indicate previously unreleased tracks with some available in the Snapper Music Box Set this December
We only got to see this one Tape Box scan from the Universal Motown Storage but it tells us what we had told Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli and members of this group existed . Although we have researched and provided tape source information for over 10 years, we never got to see the rest of the 29+ Motown Multi-track Tape Box scans from Snapper during the project. You could ask why?....as we did. But we moved on and finished the full catalogue research based on what we had access to.
Taking a breath on a sad day and now waiting for final production and issue, some of our team members think...”This is only the beginning!.......'A NEW BEGINNING' …..in terms of the Motown Catalogue perhaps. Thanks you to all our readers for your comments and support for the Snapper Music Box Set to date, via social media and personal communication with me. It really was a labour of love from my perspective, both for the range and creativity of the music and of course Frankie Valli's awesome voice, but also for the relationships amongst fans and collectors we have developed since the 1970s and working with the late Bob Fisher, a dearly missed friend.
I was talking with an 'iconic' sound engineer recently re how he has achieved historic 'curated' projects with major artists and I was sharing with him the long and frustrating 'life' of 'Seasons' fan club members who have in the experiences of the Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society [FSUKAS]been both 'joyous' yet 'limited' and in terms of releases often left us feeling 'disappointed' and frequently 'let down'. Not however by Frankie and his commitment to tour and entertain the fans. Frankie spoke in interview about his love for sharing his music 'LIVE' but also the magic of creating in the studio and this box set will reveal that more fully than ever before. But what we have gathered is not enough, particularly in comparison with the legendary Beatles and Beach Boys. The passion and obsession of some of their fans and their large fanbase numbers has meant that their 'brand' has become a major commercial project. Feeding the fans every conceivable mix and bit of studio chatter has however been an expression of their 'art' and an important part of music history. The difference is of course that they retained their 'multitrack' session tapes. We found none in the FSP storage.......only at Motown do such 16 and 24 track masters survive.......and we scraped the barrel to find all we could of 'out-takes'
As we await the Snapper Music Box Set release it is with some frustration that after the release of the Beach Boys 'Surf's Up/Sunflower' Bonus CD Box Set and the 'Sounds Of Summer' set we are told.....”All 30 tracks on disc 1 of 'Sounds Of Summer' have been mixed in immersive Dolby Atmos, joining the group’s 'Christmas Album' which was mixed in spatial audio and released this past holiday season, and continuing the initiative to present the group’s catalog in the enveloping and exciting new audio format.“,..........we now have to see the announcement of another step in exploring the back catalogue of The Beatles with the forthcoming release of 'Revolver'......”The new special edition of 'Revolver' album from 1965, complete with tons of bonus tracks and alternate takes, comes out on October 28, 2022. The super-deluxe version will be a 5-CD set. You can pre-order that set for $139.00 at the official Beatles store.” This package [it has been revealed] will contain a 'restored' Mix of the album using AI powered digital extraction[DES] from the old four track tapes plus alternate Takes as Bonuses. This is restoration not previously possible and enabled by ever improving technology. Even I have been able to demonstrate how this type of AI software can provide enjoyable alternatives versions of the 60s Stereo Tracks on my You Tube Channel with some of Frankie and the groups classic recordings.
What these Beatles and Beach Boys releases reveal is that if you are regarded as a 'legendary' group, you develop a huge and generationally renewing collectors base. The Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons Full Catalogue release was always a major way for us fans to catch up [with everything].......but even now to still be left behind by other 60s groups [unfortunately by understandable delays].
As you will all know this set has been designed and built around 'rare and unreleased' sides, both MONO and STEREO'. But as I have said from a collectors and fans perspective it is not enough and is only levelling up to some extent the catalogue of the 'mega groups'. 'Working Our Way Back To You' is a very apt title for the set. As fans, many of you have trusted my commitment with the late Bob Fisher to the content, by ordering the limited edition. We both said we would see this production through to final mastering but with his passing and other pressures that has not been possible. We always planned to check the final mastering.
I have always been open and transparent with the fan base as my allegiance is to the network that helped us so much to achieve the set we have gained approval to. That is limited in a number of ways and the content does not include as many completed and unreleased Motown [and other]Tracks as I and you would have wanted. I am not angry or negative re what we achieved [at long last] but only asking a question many have asked me......."as you have evidence that more tracks are there and completed and in good sound quality why could they not be included"?. Time and cost pressures and particularly the pandemic made the planned approach impossible. The problems of getting 2 track Stereo versions of 16 track masters from Universal Motown during lockdown made it difficult to get songs to Bob Gaudio for approval and his commitment to the Neil Diamond stage production limited the 'mixing' he could do for this set. But lack of communication at times particularly since Bob Fisher's passing has meant that I am only 'Track Advisor' although I did contribute the Collectors Notes with the help of key knowledgeable music detectives. Snapper accepted these with little edit which I guess I should be grateful for and I hope they explain the release history and meet your approval but I have had no opportunity to collaborate with the Sound Engineer or check the sound quality of the final product. Hopefully the final quality [from 'best available sources' Snapper say] will meet all our expectations and the huge investment in the research of tracks Bob Fisher and I did........ Not least helped by the 'memorabilia' and photos of John Pingree, Bob Crewe's Sound Engineer George Schowerer and the superb design work of Rachel Gutek.....and the Snapper team.
There is, we all accept, the urgent need to release this set and then to take stock re the size and spread of the fan base [the market for product beyond the 'hits']. I would like to think that 2500 copies will sell by mid 2023 and we as fans can look ahead [to more]. Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli need to decide if they want to sell further product from their past by researching tape sources and build a future as 'legendary' artists with those that got them there. What do Four Seasons fans want?.......We in the FSUKAS want to celebrate all that they have achieved with the group and their co-creators such as Bob Crewe and Charlie Calello[to name just two...et al]
There are further sources and tracks to be found by the FSP but the first step is understanding and engaging with the fan base and past collaborators. Our FB presence shows the people are out there with the interest. Finding an 'investor' Record Company and Top Engineering led team of researchers is what the other 'legendary' groups have done. Frankie and Bob could do that too.....No !!!...need to do that. You cannot achieve it by simply selling your 'publishing'. You may own [most of] your 'catalogue' but you need to 'invest' in research and 'curate' it as 'art' and as a path to a future income stream for future generations. Perhaps the forthcoming 'Jersey Boys' TV Movie will trigger the next step and we can see our Campaign for the review and release of all of the Motown material and more.......complete its mission. Your comments and expectations can be voiced in our FB groups.........Ken
In the UK there has been no greater demonstration of the importance of what we have lived through and shared as illustrated with the recent passing away of Queen Elizabeth II. An illustration of one thing the British do well is respect history and commitment as we [in the UK] have shown for her as the world has seen this last week. In an emotional week for us in the UK, it struck me when I recalled as a 5 year old her Coronation on 2nd June 1953 and our Garden Party, it was the same year that Frankie Valli started his career recording 'My Mothers Eyes'. UK fans also showed and shared our respect and love for Frankie Valli on his visit to the UK this summer working hard to entertain us at 88.
In remembrance today of Her Majesty as Ken Charmer – Former Civil Servant with Lynn Boleyn – MBE , Dr George Ingram and Ray Nichol, The Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society – Core Team.
Rex Woodard – Music Detective was one of the first fans to make a difference and tell the TRUE Story of The Four Seasons and in doing so he may have created a myth. That of Jersey Boys – The Musical.
To modern day fans of the Four Seasons it may seem amazing that there was a time when we were scrambling around for news, backstories and lost tracks on cassette tape. There was no internet and a quarterly newsletter [delivered by 'snail mail'] 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 in the UK 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 in music historians 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 and for his widow a share of his royalties from the show and film. It has never been seen by the fans except in it's interpretation in the stage show. When will Rex's joint work finally go public? Possibly never as that was maybe part of the legal settlement with Tommy and his estate. And Valli and Gaudio have escaped any liability for copyright breach. Rex's widow failed to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling that the Broadway musical “Jersey Boys” infringed his unpublished autobiography in 2021. Perhaps after the forthcoming TV film a published book may be possible.? The new film is probably needed to pay for all the lawyers involved.!! But it will not be the full story. The forthcoming Snapper Box Set will be a major step nearer musically.......and we battle still for the rest.
Rex's contribution was based on years of research and 'foundation' articles that resonate today 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 no publishers were interested. After Rex's premature passing in 1990 the draft understandably didn't surface. It had lost it's champion. But we are all to be grateful that Tommy DID make it available to the stage shows scriptwriters. We got 'Jersey Boys' 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 [in the Four Seasons Partnership or Universal Motown] wanted us to hear the truth even as 2017 began......and since then our Four Seasons Motown 'Unreleased' Campaign Facebook Page has achieved the breakthrough of another over 25 unreleased tracks showing the brilliance of Frankie and the group's achievement between 1969 and 1974 in the forthcoming Snapper Music Box Set.
In Rex's 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, by 2022 extended his work with subsequent research, to reveal the deliberate suppression of between 30 and 40 tracks, completed and left in the Universal Motown vaults unheard by the fans since. Rex's research was at the heart of our campaign for their release.....and in the release of 13 and 8 alternative versions we have achieved partial success. 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 potentially closing [leaving the national touring shows to carry 'the sound'].......we are still hoping the bio that has been the subject of so much legal time over the last 12+ years will finally be published. The recent PBS concert by an 88 year old Frankie Valli probably heralds the end of the 'LIVE' concerts, but maybe the forthcoming Snapper Music Box Set will 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.
After nearly a 3 year wait the UK shows finally went ahead and we would like to thank everyone who made this possible. We are so glad that Frankie and the gang were able to make it especially bearing in mind that Frankie is now 88 and had been very poorly at the end of last year with pneumonia but now fighting fit and still going strong and putting on fantastic shows - Back In Action! Special thanks to Robby for pulling all the shows together, especially with the orchestra in London, Danny and Dean for arranging front arena seats for the UK fan club and to all the UK fans who have supported Frankie as it says in the tour brochure "since bell bottoms were in fashion"!
After arriving in the UK on Thursday 23 June the shows kicked off in Scarborough on Saturday 25 June at the beautiful sea-side venue Scarborough Open Air Theatre. Nothing, not even the British weather, could dampen the crowds enthusiasm - they were on their feet for most of the show dancing the night away! As you will see here:
In pictures "Oh What A Night" from the Scarborough News:https://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/in-pictures-oh-what-a-night-frankie-valli-and-the-four-seasons-wow-at-the-open-air-theatre-3745686
Welcome back to the UK!
Hello Birmingham!
The following night the band were in Birmingham and rocked the place again! Songs were the same as at Scarborough: Working My Way Back To You; Save It For Me; Beggin; My Eyes Adored You; Dawn; Silence Is Golden; Tell It To The Rain; I've Got You Under My Skin; The Night; Opus 17; Fallen Angel; Swearin' To God; Stay - intermission - Grease; My Girl; Groovin'; Who Loves You; December '63; Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You; Sherry/Big Girls Don't Cry/Walk Like A Man/Bye Bye Baby/ Rag Doll and Let's Hang On.
We had a fan club get together with Robby, the singers and the band after the show at the Hilton Metropole Hotel and we all had a really wonderful time. Fans from the UK, Brazil, Michigan, Spain and Holland were arriving for various shows in the UK. Robby filmed some of our get together for his Jam 'n Java programme (to be broadcast live from Liverpool the next night) and as he says "it was quite wild"! He also filmed the breakfast they served at the hotel although he did not attempt the black pudding (blood pudding)!
Frankie Goes To Liverpool!
Liverpool was the next show at the M&S Bank Arena on Tuesday 28 June. The last time Frankie was in Liverpool was on 12 May 1963 and I note Kennedy Street Enterprises were involved in the promotion back then - so they have been around for longer than Robby and me! This show was just so fantastic as I guess everyone was now over any jet-lag they might have had! Robbie and some of the crew, singers and band took the Beatles Magical Mystery tour and later paid a visit to the Cavern Club - a must do when you are in Liverpool! Robbie talks about this in his Jam 'n Java show "Live From Liverpool":
Live from Liverpool!
There was also a fan club get together after the show at the Pullman Hotel in Liverpool. Thank you to Robby, all the singers, crew and band for making this such a special evening for all the fans, especially our younger fans.
The next night the show went to Nottingham. Another fantastic show - where Suzie Quatro was in the audience - see for yourself here:
Royal Albert Hall, London
Probably one if not the best place to perform in the world and certainly a favourite of Frankie and Robby. Frankie and the guys did two shows one on the Friday evening and the last show of the UK tour on Saturday 2 July. These shows were made even more special as they were playing with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. Frankie added one song "Let It Be Me" sung so beautifully at both shows. Ian Crockett from Snapper Records was also at the show on the Saturday night with his wife and guests who said it was the best show they had ever seen! I agree!
Oh What A Night At The Royal Albert Hall!
Check out this great video of Oh What A Night and watch the bass player, Alfredo Lopez, at the end - such a passionate bass player! Amazing show!
Thank you again to everyone who made this tour possible - Frankie, Robby, Aaron, Ronen, Craig, Noah, Basil, Carmen, Rick, Alfredo, Andy, Dean, Allan, Redford, Mike, Rob and all the crew and, of course, Danny Betesh, Flick, and everyone at Kennedy Street. Thank you so much we are all so very grateful to you for all that you do.
Highlights of the UK Tour by Robby Robinson:
More UK Memories from Robby Robinson:
Robby's dressing room a the Royal Albert Hall!!
For lots more photos and videos of the UK shows please check out Royal Albert Hall July 2022 Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/768565614144698
and on our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/frankievallifans
Merchandise available here: https://frankievallifourseasons.com/shop/
Snapper 44 Disk Box Set
Just days before the tour we were advised by Ian Crockett of the release date for "Working Our Way Back To you" the long awaited Snapper Box Set - 9th December 2022. L'Eredita! Banners advertising the release date and details of how to pre-order were at all the shows. This legacy box set includes Motown unreleased material from the early 1970's - my favourite is "My Heart Cries Out To You" and also the lost Disco Album including the wonderful unreleased "Back In Action" from 1979. Full details are on our Blog. Many thanks to Ian Crockett, Ken Charmer, John Pingree, George Ingram, Ray Nichol and the late Bob Fisher for your hard work and dedication and finally getting some of the Motown unreleased material out there. More on the Motown Unreleased Campaign here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1049892628364291/?ref=bookmarks
Frankie and the gang are, of course, still touring in the USA and Canada and the tour dates for the remainder of this year are here:
Finally, On A Sad Note
I am so sorry to end this blog on a very sad note but thought you would wish to know that Dave Quick – known to many on Facebook as Francis Castellucio – passed away recently. We lost touch with Dave just prior to the UK tour and so guessed something was not right. Dave ran the UK fan club with Malcolm Grace and Adrian Rondeau in the early 1970’s after Stu Miller left in Summer of 1973. As a teenager I was a member of Dave’s fan club and corresponded with him on a regular basis. Dave's first Newsletter was February 1974 and his last one was June 1976. After the 1976 tour, our group took over from Dave and our first Newsletter was June, 1976 just after the UK tour. Dave was passionate about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, had a wealth of knowledge about them and was an avid collector of anything to do with the group. He was such a fun guy and will be very much missed by everyone who knew him and we send our sincere condolences to all his family and friends.
Adrian Rondeau said "I spent many a memorable evening with Dave in the early 70s helping him assemble the fan club's magazine. I subscribed to Billboard at the time so we would trawl through it for news of the Seasons to add to the newsletter. I enjoyed helping him and admired his vast knowledge of the subject".
Malcolm Grace sent me this which just about sums Dave up:
I had a phone call one evening and the caller said "yeah Dave Quick here you don't know me but I'm taking over running the 4 Seasons Fan Club and as your address is the nearest to me I'd like you to help me".
I had 4 or 5 years of helping Dave and it was a lot of fun from spending hours in his bedroom getting to grips with an ancient Gestetner printing machine to get the newsletter printed often helped with supplies of sausage sandwiches made by his then girlfriend and mum to some of our ambitious excursions.
He decided to arrange a club meeting at Geoff Sheards House in Birmingham. In the days before sat nav we had to stop three or four times to ask for directions but unfortunately he couldn't grasp the Brummie Accent. Eventually we found a Police Station and he went in to ask directions only to come out despondent saying "blimey they talk like that in there too"!
Another time we used the car to meet our third partner Adrian Rondeau. I didn't know Central London other than by bus routes so Dave navigated and I soon realised he was doing it by tube stations because that's all he knew.
Finally we went to a number of the Southern concerts on the Who Loves You Tour in 1976. Heading back to London from Bristol rather late and with the prospect of an early work start the next day I had wound up my Cortina to well over 90mph on the M4 when two Daimler Limos passed us as if I was on a Sunday drive. A few miles on they were on the hard shoulder and we pulled over. Dave knew one of the drivers who explained Frankie was making a phone call to the States. A little while later they passed us again and as they did so Don Ciconne gave us the "Royal Wave". I'm not sure how Dave thought I was going to fit them in the car because that's what he offered.
Like many others I lost touch with Dave until very recently on Facebook when I realised he was Francis Castellucio when he made a comment on those car journeys. When I told him I still had the car he said he would put it in the 4 Seasons Museum when he set it up.
Sadly we had just got around to arranging a get together when he stopped posting on fb."
The confirmation by Snapper Music on their Madfish on-line ordering site is a welcome sight for Collectors of The Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons catalogue. We did not expect the publication of the track listing so soon as this was still being edited a fortnight ago, but it gives everyone the chance to see what we uncovered in 3 years of research of all available sources with Bill Inglot, past Four Seasons and the fan network.
But in the rush to press a few tracks got missed off the list and publicity, and which Snapper have confirmed to me will be in the final release. So this blog confirms the revisions to the track listing provided on the Madfish 'official' site. Firstly the UNRELEASED Tracks.....
'Killing Time' – the Crewe-Nolan penned recording missed off the 'Streetfighter' album in 1986.....somehow it got lost!!.[ I have my ideas as to why back then]....but thankfully found now in time for the Box Set and to be included on Disc 33[or 34].
'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' – Alternate LIVE studio version from Acetate – currently missed out of the list for Disc 13, but now restored. Given the information from Artie Schroeck, this is a very special version, as he says....."The version of Can’t Take My Eyes Off You was his performance on the session. At that time the American Federation of Musicians made the artists sing on the live session. I had the acetate of that performance and made a tape for Frankie. It was a great performance. Because it was Frankie singing live with a big band which he always wanted to do. I was pissed when they made him sing it over. ". Fortunately a superb previously unheard and original MONO version of the song has survived and is being included.
'Michael and Peter' - Frankie Valli/Jake Holmes DEMO MASTER for the Frank Sinatra 'Watertown' album recorded in 1969 – Currently missed out of Disc 16, but now restored.
Then there rare tracks not previously available in digital form included.
'Deep Inside Your Love' – Rare 45 'B' side1986 – Currently missed out of Disc 33[or 34], but now restored
'September Rain' as a 45 issue was an alternative recording and mix to the later album version running 2:58 rather than the 3:16 album version and with slightly different and some would say more jazz influenced orchestration.
The 'Swearin' to God' 45 edit which was the hit version is also added as a BONUS Track to the 'Close-Up' album
Also to make it clear, both the the previously 'unreleased' MONO MIX version of the 'Half and Half' album is included as well as the STEREO.
However there are always hits and misses in a set as big as this and there are several Out-Takes which Bob Fisher and I had wanted to be left with the count-ins and outro chat by Bob Crewe, but these have been edited out by the engineer, and fans will get 'edited versions and have to wait post release for Bob Crewe's PRICELESS comment at the end of 'Watch The Music Play'.......as before he stops recording, he says.......”Thank You Gentlemen.....that was 'lovely'”....and there are other 'Raven' session Out-Takes 1-4 of which 1 and 4 are included in edited form. However ALL of the 'Timeless' MONO Takes included appear to LIVE session masters as Artie's description.
All were in the Final List agreed with Bob Gaudio, and as Bob Fisher and I drafted it.
Now with the Book detailing the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and special Collectors Notes done, and with these tracks confirmed to me as above, it will allow Snapper to finish the set and complete 'production' targeting a 9th December 2022 release date
The final Mastering has not been sound quality checked by producer Bob Fisher due to his premature passing last year, or by me in any way to make comment so we all have to await release and hope all goes to plan. We said back in 2021 what we wanted in terms of sound quality based on research of all of the CD re-issue catalogue since 1988.
This set has been re-mastered based on NEW transfers and we are hoping for so much.
There is always with such research, threads that could have been followed up, but would have needed more expensive Engineer's tape research time and so a 'coulda …. woulda..... shoulda' list is inevitable. Other tracks were missed due to various time and compilation decisions or not judged alternative 'takes', where it was felt the differences between album and 45 was not sufficient to justify inclusion.......and there may have been other takes and edits we just couldn't find in time. The Extended Instrumentals of 'Beggin' and 'I'm Gonna Change' could not be included due to space issues around the late 60s finds.....and there may be some unreleased tracks remaining in the Mercury Philips storage as some 16 track transfers from the Philips Reels were found but not fully mixed down other than 'Need To Get To Know You' and 'The Goose'
In retrospect, I would have liked to include the 4 songs by Don Ciccone and the band 'on their own' from a sound check recording in 1977, but these are on You Tube …......and a search of the Drexel University donated 'Sigma Studio' tapes could have donated two more tracks 'Can't Be Too Much Music' and 'Stagger Lee'....but we did find the unreleased 'Back in Action' and the LOST Disco Album set from those 1979 sessions. Obviously the REST of the Motown Unreleased is still wanted and will be campaigned for until Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli allow us to research all of the 29 plus tapes recovered from Universals storage for a future 'release event'
Some material was clearly unfinished and of poor quality, and some LIVE concerts suffered from Frankie having flu, so decisions re omission were based on historical importance and sufficient sound/performance quality for preservation.
Credits are included to all who helped Bob and I with tracks that we could identify as Collectors sources and the Four Seasons membership list was completed thanks to Musical Director, Robbie Robinson.
What remains is for us now is to get our own thoughts together on the influences that define the Catalogue tracks: the albums and 45s and the constraints of the various Record Companies......together with Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli's decisions on their career objectives.......and much will be discussed in our 'Seasons On Saturday' podcasts from July to the release date [and beyond] and then you will all be able to react to your purchases. Next will be Part 6 and a review of the 1966 to 69 period and the influences and history of recordings now uncovered in the context of this tape research.
It has been and remains a great honour and real fun reviewing the past music of this legendary vocalist and all of his recorded Four Seasons and much easier for us to evaluate and compile than for Bob and Frankie with perhaps many painful connections with their private lives and business decisions. Ours is the joy of fans......and before you ask I am already planning Disc 45 – The Snapper Box Set 'Out-Takes' for 2023....haha
I am sure some kind soul will make this information available to the music collectors forums.
Ken Charmer – for The Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society Box Set Team [Lynn Boleyn, Dr George A Ingram, and Ray Nichol] and our US associate Paul Urbans
We were asked by Snapper 'what do you want to have in the planned Box Set most of all?'....and before I could think?.........Lynn Boleyn said 'THE MOTOWN UNRELEASED'........!!!!!.....In retrospect this is amusing as the Motown Unreleased Campaign has been going now since 2011, due to my research. But no-one related to Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli's music has ever asked us that question before …... ever!.
Since then and after nearly 4 years and a huge review of tape transfers, the memorabilia, photos, picture sleeves and paper records regarding releases, we have the storytelling done and the tracks found...and superb artwork...and we have a good bunch of UNRELEASED and LIVE....and even some of the MOTOWN UNRELEASED. Some US music historians/sound collectors on the Steve Hoffman Forum accused me of being somewhat 'anal' re wanting these tracks from a largely non-existent period in Frankie's career. One top collector believes many US fans have little interest in this or even later periods saying......”It's obvious from the Partnerships reactions or 'non action' [over the decades] that they would rather forget Motown ever "never happened" for them”. For members of that group the Box Set should have been out a year ago for many as all they wanted was the 1960s albums in MONO and 'Edizione D'Oro'!!!! …a feat not possible with the pandemic!!.......but this to me also revealed the US/UK fan disconnect with regard to the UK fan groups 'holistic' view of the career of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons........and Frankie himself has come to realise that in recent years. We revitalised his career in 1970 taking 'You're Ready Now' into the charts for the first time as we did 5 years later with 'The Night' thanks to the Northern Soul Dance scene. We also [as did other countries around the world give them hits with 'Fallen Angel', 'Silver Star', and 'Down The Hall']. The US market and record companies did not see the worldwide support they deserved.
Frankie and Bob Gaudio's commitment to this Box Set is testimony and trust that the UK fan group.....now over 51 years old.......could tackle such a project with Snapper Music. And we will deliver after a hard 4 years.
Now at last we have a release date and the design of the package is complete. December 9th [world crises permitting] will be the date this 44 CD Box Set will see release. Whilst no music set can ever be truly ULTIMATE........this is given the history of pop music and the ebbs and flows of a 60 year career since 'Sherry'.....more comprehensive than ever before, thanks to many dedicated [and patient] 'music detectives' over the decades.....and in both the UK and US. Even Tommy DeVito's archive has been 'mined'. Classic sounds and stunning finds abound through every decade of the 'analogue' tape era from 1961 to 1986. All of the subsequent original albums and 'special' re-mixes of the CD and Dance Mix Era are collected up to 2010
We think that this is an iconic set of music by a true legend of the music industry......L'Eridata
Nearly time now at long last for the long awaited UK tour!
Details for the Fan Club Get Togethers during the tour are as follows:
Birmingham – Sunday 26 June – Show Start 8.00 p.m.
Meet before and after the show at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, NEC, Pendigo Way, in the Gild Lobby Bar which is just a short walk from the Resorts World Arena.
Keep a note of my mobile number in case of any changes to the above – Tel 07747 563623
Unfortunately it is highly unlikely that there will be any backstage passes due to Covid and due to Frankie being so poorly earlier in the year which is quite understandable. I have also been told that Frankie does not now shake hands with the audience at the end of the show so please understand if he is not able to shake hands during the tour. We are so lucky that the tour has been able to go ahead and Frankie is still able to perform at the age of 88.
Leeds,UK 28 November 2018
There are still some tickets available for some of the shows and these are detailed below.
Tickets Available:
Birmingham Resorts World Arena – Sunday 26 June – 2 Tickets £85 each. Block B. Row A. Seats 5 and 6.
These two albums remain two of the best selling Four Seasons albums ever and when ACE Records issued them on a Two-Fer in 1994 we had the best versions ever from the STEREO album Masters in the FSP vaults.
Now in 2022 as we are about to receive the MONO albums as well all re-mastered in the Snapper Music Box set the only problem is that some tracks on the STEREO albums are MONO and most STEREO versions of tracks are mixed 'wide' with the backing vocals separated in the right channel. But with Digitally Extraction software the music and vocals can be extracted and RE-MIXED to ensure all tracks are mixed consistently as on the Dawn album Tracks 3/4/5/8/11/12 and track 12 on Rag Doll.
So why not tackle this and see if a consistent vocal and instruments album can be created from the best Masters we have from the excellent ACE CD 554 from 1994. Particularly as we have a 1 Bit Studio transfer thanks to the late Stefan Wriedt to work from.
Here is a sample so far as we enjoy the 'together' sound of the Four Seasons for the whole album mixed this way. You will in time have the choice of the MONO....the original STEREO Mixes....and these NEW Centered Vocal Mixes in 2022. Enjoy!!!
Remembering the 60s, as I and older fans do, we saw groups come and go every month. One hit wonders in many cases......or songs that just didn't get the airplay and disappeared without trace. But distinctive group sounds did succeed and survive.......and much of it in the UK grew out of the Merseybeat era that gave us the Beatles.
Doo-Wop and Rock'n'Roll performed live in basement clubs in the UK in the early 60s eventually reached the studio and into hits along with West Coast Surf groups in the charts in the US and UK.......whilst at the same time soul, folk and a new sound from Detroit......meant that a melting pot of music emerged and eventually by 1966, group or act sounds became dominant amongst record buyers.
It was at the start of this period that The Four Seasons emerged and got a foothold with listeners, with their distinctive harmonies and a lead singer with an amazing range and falsetto, which producer Bob Crewe could focus on and songwriter Bob Gaudio could write for. But everyone [including writers, artists, arrangers and producers] knew that 2/3 years of hits was the best you could achieve. Longevity [or the coming importance of album sales] was not the thought of any of these artists and those that have survived often say that. The 7” vinyl 45 rpm 'Hits' came and went very quickly and royalties often didn't and management disputes and competition buried some groups.
But once a sound became established and adopted by fans, they stayed faithful and believed in the 'group' sound. But how long would it last and would the artists/groups stay faithful to their fans needs and wants ? Well history says MAYBE........ The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Four Tops, The Temptations are just examples of a groups sound that had a clear and distinctive element that has stood the test of time. The Four Seasons you may think had a group sound that has survived.....but if you are a longstanding fan of 'the sound' and it's development you will probably say NO. And looking at the decades of music group sounds.........only one group can claim to remain through the decades faithful to the essence of 'their sound' and that is THE TEMPTATIONS.
Spending many years collecting the recordings attributed to The Four Seasons [and the last 4 years reviewing the surviving master tapes with the late great Bob Fisher] it is clear we lost in many ways 'That 'FOUR SEASONS' Sound' many decades ago. In the forthcoming 'Seasons On Saturday' videocasts with our team I will be exploring this subject discussing the catalogue from 1965 onwards when their 'sound' was probably at it's peak.
'Who Killed The Four Seasons Sound?'.......will run through the background of these timeline related catalogue discussions as like every other successful 60s group they sought further 'fame and fortune'.[and to pay the debts Tommy left them with!!] And who are the contenders for losing the 'sound' ? Frankie Valli/Bob Gaudio/Bob Crewe/Nick Massi....or maybe Philips/Motown or Warner Curb..??.....we and this Box Set will force a re-appraisal of the group and Frankie's legacy.
For comparison and reference I look at THE TEMPTATIONS as they celebrate their 60th Anniversary with one surviving member in Otis Williams.
The early group had an amazing and distinctive sound that grew out of doo-wop soul with multiple lead vocalists[a notable element of group success that would revive The NEW Four Seasons of the 1970s pictured above] When David Ruffin wanted the group to be renamed 'David Ruffin and the Temptations'......he was to be summarily dumped and replaced so that the sound continued and developed with highly talented replacements. In 1999 their recruited line-up went 'Platinum' with their updated but related group sound on 'Phoenix Rising'. Proof [if it was needed] that preserving and developing the group sound was something worth investing in and developing through collaboration and teamwork. They also had 'family' in the way Motown worked in the early days and the longest standing artist/manager relationship in Otis Williams and Shelly Bergen......a true and trusted hand-shake arrangement also connected with the 'brand' and with the fan base........but it would seem with much greater success than that of Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio in The Four Seasons Partnership. There are reasons why the sound based around Frankie Valli's unique vocal was not developed as it could and this catalogue release by Snapper shows that, but also the great solo career he was able to develop.
So we have to look at the catalogue of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons with the context of the people and the investors and record companies as making music was and remains about making money....whilst making music. Whichever is dominant we will explore as fans in a critical career appraisal through our experience as fans with a creative and former musical director and member of the group, Lee Shapiro.
The Four Seasons at Motown should have been a new 'dawn' of developing sounds and hits. That is where the 60s took them by 1971.....to join groups like The Temptations and The Commodores at a classic label, but one by then flawed with distractions and mismanagement. We still seek to fully know what happened there to Frankie and the Band. That 'campaign' goes on.
We will in our next 'Seasons On Saturday' sessions pick up the history of the group and talk about 1965 and the place the Four Seasons had in pop music and how group sounds were changing and what was done …...or not done to preserve that 'longevity'. 'That 'Four Seasons' Sound' should have been 'legendary', but will this 44 CD Box Set demonstrate that or will it be a testimony to good and bad decisions and luck.? And given our experience as a 'fan group' since the 1970s it will sadly show a lack of 'connection' with the fans for decades.....only partly overcome in the last few years. The on-going popularity of Frankie Valli tour dates by this revered 88 year old lead singer this summer [and the hoped for success of the Snapper Music Box Set] would tend to prove the 'legendary' status is intact....much is owed to the team led by long-time musical director Robbie Robinson...since 1978 for the touring band....and all of the 'Four Seasons' band members through the decades.....So what of the journey from 1962 to today ? The next 'Seasons On Saturday' videocast will be coming in May. Next time 1965 to 1967......Frankie Valli's second solo career.....catch the previous episodes here.
The research of the Four Seasons Partnership Archive we thought would have produced several unreleased tracks from the late 60s recording session as well as both STEREO and MONO Masters of singles and the albums. Well, it was a case of good news and bad news.
The BIG find of a MONO mix of the Genuine Imitation Life Gazette was a starting BONUS whilst news of the Half and Half album also in unreleased MONO form gave us optimism more would surface as many experimental sessions took place during the period from 1968 to 1970.
One such track that had never been released in STEREO was ‘A Face Without A Name’…although it is rumoured to have been released on 45 on Bob Crewe’s CGC Label CGC – 18 DJ PROMO, but we have been unable to find anyone who has ever had a copy or check . This Master was 1-44773 but it was also a Master number 1- 42858 from late 1968 sessions and released on Philips. So was it recorded twice? We will probably never know. There has never been a more ‘cutting’ lyric from Bob Crewe as he ‘calls out’ a former partner as having a ‘soul of cellophane’ in this sad and rare song . It is a song and an arrangement worthy of highlighting and reviewing.
Our research of the FSP archive revealed one version was on the tape of UNRELEASED tracks on a 5 inch Tape Reel so we asked Bill Inglot to send it but the tape box turned out to have the damaged MONO Timeless tracks in the Tape Box. So as there are 200 tapes [5 inch] still in the storage ……many unlabelled ….and obviously with little time [and a spent budget] he couldn’t find it, so we have lost this Master [and ‘I Was A Boy/Baby’ and ‘Alone Again’ – an Artie Schroeck penned song on the same tape]
There appears to be only the one MONO surviving version after checking all the transfers. This appears to be as the ACE Half and Half album CD Bonus Track. Well we have no choice unless anyone knows of another version?
A copy on the PolyComp Salvage Tape or a vinyl dub was our only alternativet. As no-one has it in STEREO this appears the best and only surviving version and has been used in the Box Set.
So as an experiment our DES team worked using AI software to produced an interpretation of how this superb song and performance might sound in STEREO which we have uploaded onto you Tube. The instrumentation is mixed into both channels….and builds gradually in we hope an entertaining version in which the piano is clearly on the left as can be heard at 3:19 mins……
Following my Motown ‘Unreleased’ Project Plan to research the tapes which I did back in 2019 and updated this year, it is clear that Universal Motown have not done FULL listening tests of the Tapes recovered from the Iron Mountain storage, but our hope is that the Tapes listed in my spreadsheet from a 1990s database they had compiled have ALL been found and transferred to Bob and Shannon Gaudio and they will eventually be the basis of a detailed 'listening' review for a collectors release at a future date and as a follow on to the release of the Snapper Music Box Set this summer. However we think that not all of the tapes we have identified in the Project Plan have been sent to them or recovered from the vault.
From what we knew back in early 2019 only a review of the Tape Boxes was done [and not the Artists Cards] by the Universal Motown Vault Service Department pending decision by Bob Gaudio re what he wanted. At that time the Tape Box scans revealed that there were 19 [see below] that showed with vocals indicated. This of course was not a guarantee. They could be demos or scratch vocals, or mismarked. They needed to be digitally transferred and played to see if they exist. And other undocumented tracks could be found on the tapes that contain vocals as Universal have found in the past as these tracks contain all of the Production sessions and all of the TAKES and not only by Frankie in some cases depending on the producer.[e.g Hal Davis with Michael Jackson and Frankie Valli sessions?] What we can tell you is the songs that appeared to have Frankie's vocals on from Tape Boxes for the Motown Unreleased part of the Box Set in January 2019 were:
My Heart Cries Out For You Chained Save The Children Girl, Don't Take Your Love From Me Never Gonna Give My Love To You You're A Song (Slow version/Fast Version?) Loving You, That's My Thing Stop, Look And Listen To Your Heart Thank You For Yesterday I Will Love You Like A Man When I Come Of Age You Can't Hold On Hymn To Her (When My Love Touches Me) (You've Gotta Make Your) Tomorrow Tonight Whatever You Want Future Years
Lovers Getting Over You
Star
* Additionally, there were another 11 songs, with indicated possible vocals:
Starvin' For Your Love Time Will Tell Wigs And Lashes Where Love Ends I'll Make It Up To You After I'm Gone Minute By Minute - Day By Day After You Live It Up With You * Lastly, there are songs with alternate vocal 'takes' of existing releases like 'Hickory' and the 45 version of 'Listening To Yesterday' which had still to be found
Some of these songs we knew of only as rumoured recordings and some that are missing from this list we know may have been completed and copied as we have detailed locations for them in the Project Research Plan [e.g Be My Lover, Be My Friend]. What has happened since early 2019 is that as a result of the tapes being sent to Bob Gaudio, as he requested, he has reviewed enough of them to give us 13 of a potential 30 unreleased tracks including songs like the rumoured 'Minute By Minute, Day By Day' and 'After You' which are simply amazing finds. Clearly with more work by the Vault Services Team at Universal Motown and investment in time and finance by them and the FSP in listening tests and mixing down, there could be much more of adequate quality for release. It needs Bob Gaudio and Frankie to believe it is 'worth the chase' [and cost!!....yes we know they can afford it] as they seemed to be unconvinced at the time and we are getting so few 'unreleased' tracks in 2022. However, what has been found confirmed what I have maintained since the start of the Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign over 4 years ago, and as has been indicated from some 12 years of detailed paper records research. Obviously resources, collaboration and co-ordination is needed to complete the story. Simply put.......do Bob and Frankie care enough about what the fans want.?
So the potential in ‘Future Years’ is for a comprehensive Box Set from the only known remaining Multi-Track Library in the group’s history to still exist. THE MOTOWN YEARS SESSIONS BOX SET...........will be the target. And those of you that purchase the forthcoming Box Set will get to sonically appreciate why the FB Motown Campaign group was necessary and its continuation. Fortunately the 'financial model'.......$1m cash flow, enabled us to get these tracks as part of the full catalogue from 1962 to 2010. But the Snapper budget could only go so far and the extended time we spent produced many late finds. We are all grateful for how Bob Gaudio, Universal and Snapper Music have responded to Snapper's great decision to embark on this project, and although it falls short of expectations there is hope for more. It is all about money and the licensing and return on investment and not always a view of strengthening the 'brand' or preserving the 'art' as we [the fans] have done with the input to the forthcoming Box Set. Snapper believe they will do that with a 'sensational' product. We will see what impact it has and how the planned Jersey Boys TV movie works in conjunction with it. Without doubt the combination will set the future perception of The Four Seasons Story. We know the customer base, for these tracks and their history, and we only have a few more pieces for the jigsaw until the catalogue is complete. Then there is the 'story' behind the tracks.....'The Work' [Rex Woodard- Tommy DeVito]and 'The Rise and Fall Of The NEW Four Seasons'[our e-book]........more on these in future blogs........ and maybe Mike Derrico's long planned book?.
I will, later this year after the Box Set release, change the FB group's name to 'THE FOUR SEASONS RARE AND UNRELEASED MUSIC' as the focus moves on to the big picture of the catalogue and we can all comment on the 'rare' finds once released and what still remains unheard or unfound. The REST of the Motown Unreleased will remain a target and I want at least a recognition that our data has identified 'un-researched sources' and maybe the prospect exists of a follow on not as a limited edition like the Snapper Music Box Set but some regular releases at a lower cost for all. For now though you have all we know re the Motown contract years and subsequent releases in these blogs.
Some other tracks didn't make the Box Set and I will seek to share these when I can and do more DES versions for the You Tube Channel.
Celebrating the catalogue and unearthing 'lost gems' is still our aim.
More on the Tape Research 'finds' next time
Ken Charmer - Music Historian for the UK Four Seasons Appreciation Society
So in Spring 2022 as we approach the release of the Snapper Music Box Set I have shared the accumulated information from Universal Motown's paper records from the 1970s . The research from the start of the century has been a core reason for the incorporation in a 'catalogue' based box set and I have done the Research Plan blog posts and maintained the social media Facebook Page “The Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign' because we and Snapper Music with Bob Gaudio have not had the disclosure of the full story of what IS in the vaults and the comprehensive feedback from Universal to the research team I was a member of. Back in 2018 when Snapper Music were in contract discussions with Gene Zacharewicz at Universal it was confirmed that there were between 38-50 tapes that needed be researched to identify the released and 'unreleased' tracks that have survived. The Vault Service Tape Manager Andy Skurow was to research the Tapes and by early 2019 he had identified 19 unreleased vocals and had a further 11 that needed to be reviewed. This was based on the Tape Boxes and internal correspondence. Bob Gaudio was concerned re the complexity and uncertainty but eventually accepted he would review 2 track Masters and then Mix from 16/32 track those he and Frankie approved. It is clear the Vault manager simply read what was on the tape boxes and he said that listening tests of the multi-tracks was needed. It was eventually agreed he was to supply Bob and Frankie with either ALL of the Multi – tracks or selected and discovered 'unreleased' vocals. I believe he supplied a restricted selection. That is my opinion, but whatever happened we [Bob Fisher and I] were left out of the 'loop'. The Four Seasons at Motown has always been maintained by a veil of secrecy particularly in the days of lawyer Peter Bennett who told me any tracks there had been wiped or were demo's.....but facts are facts and I have told Harry Weinger at Universal that 'openness and transparancy' should be the way to work with researchers like myself and former Motown people such as Bob Fisher[unfortunately Bob passed away during our project]. I have only published all we know now because Universal have always operated a 'smoke and mirrors' approach rather than collaborative re these tracks. Unfortunately this is still a failure of the Record Industry and even Bob Gaudio[and maybe Frankie] have wanted this archive hidden from research for over 43 years.
As a part of the Snapper Research team we did NOT get to see the Tape Box scans[even though these were made available to Bob Gaudio], other than one, and our Tape Index Spreadsheet was criticised as 'loaded with errors'. Given that this was a Motown Tape Index supplied back at the start of the century from their paper/computer records this was a surprise as it was a follow on to the original listing of unreleased titles supplied in the 1990s by Tom DePerrio, and was confirmed by Cary Mansfield and corroborated in many cases by Artists Cards in 2011. The details provided by Universal Motown to Snapper and Bob Gaudio was clearly incomplete and did not target the Tapes identified fully re the location advised on Artists Cards as these Project Plan Notes show. Delays within Universal [pre-pandemic] and pressure to complete contracts on this key part of the Box set did not help. After this superficial review it is no wonder Bob Gaudio was reluctant to review the tapes due to the time and cost involved and he rightly expected more from them. T tape safety copies and P tape transfers have not been fully followed up, and this exercise does Universal no credit nor the Archive Management Team. Feedback to Snapper revealed some previously unknown recordings [like 'Chained' and 'Starvin' For Your Love'] and it did indicate that most of the tracks we had discovered as having had Motown Master Nr's were existing most likely completed tracks. Andy Skurow did not share data with us and we believe Bob Gaudio as he should. In many cases Stereo Mix Downs existed but were not supplied. We could have helped trace down more but maybe it would have added work for the Vault Issue Department.?
I do know that Bob Gaudio appreciates that there is a sizeable group of fans and collectors in the world that have worked very hard to get the material that is going into the Box Set. He trusted us to find what we could in the Four Seasons Partnership[FSP] storage facility of tapes and the quality of what he has reviewed and approved for release from Universal Motown is superb. He asked back in 2019.....”Someone at Universal, if possible, could get a 2-track on the songs that Frankie put vocals on. Snapper have agreed to cover the cost, if indeed it is reasonable. Once I can decide with Frankie, what is acceptable for release with Snapper, I would then require 16/24 or 32 tracks. I would then mix them down for the Snapper project. I hope this isn’t too much to deal with, because revisiting the past can sometimes be painful. But apparently, there is a world of fans who would appreciate everyone’s efforts. I thank you for all for your time.”......We reckon he did the best he could in in the time available for inclusion and for contracts to be set. It is just unfortunate that 'I Will Love You Like A Man' was left out after approval for perhaps LGBTQ sensitivity reasons.
From the tracks listed re vocals existing the Vault Manager made some mistakes but fortunately Bob has found vocals and mixed and approved them for the 13 tracks included. This just confirms the need for 'listening tests'. As a bonus we found alternative mixes of several tracks in the FSP archive supplied back in 1973/74 as sample mixes which we have salvaged so that they can be added to Disc 22 to show the alternative mixes considered at the time. The results overall for this CD are amazing and whilst we haven't heard the rest of the 'unreleased' that we have listed we have evidence that many other tracks with vocals have been found and survive. We believe the whole of the sessions history at Motown should be researched and made available to fans as has the Beach Boys catalogue of session masters and alternate takes.
The problem is that Universal Motown OWN these masters and whilst in this day and age after 50 years the Masters should, in any reasonable persons eyes, revert to Bob and Frankie , Universal are NOT going to give up masters to their former artists. That is policy. They have licensed both released and some unreleased but will not give up ownership, especially for a music legend like Frankie Valli. The multi-track tapes represent a gold-mine of the creative skills of artists and producers and they will issue tracks from them when money is to be made from them.......hence the current Stoney/Meatloaf compilation....so soon after his passing.
The notes I have compiled in the Research Plan demonstrate the sources to be checked to verify where completed tracks have survived and not just what appears on the Tape Boxes. If and when the FSP want to or feel able to challenge ownership then maybe we will hear more or maybe Universal Motown will be open to licensing with an independent Record Label in the future.......but don't hold your breath – it has taken 14 years since the first and only CD release of their Motown released tracks. Mixing and evaluation is a cost I know Bob Gaudio questions as worthwhile spending for release, as is challenging Universal's ownership. As collectors and researchers we know that such finds will be treasures for us and future generations and a good long-term investment for the FSP and if the opportunity to preserve them exists, in the future, we are ready and willing to help and have a plan and know the sources. …....until someone listens to all of the tapes and tells all.
The Motown Master Nr list of Frankie Valli and Four Seasons tracks is given in the link below indicating probably completed tracks with the released tracks being highlighted in yellow. So there are a minimum of 32 UNRELEASED Completed Masters...we have identified locations for 90%....and this summer will see the release of another 13 as highlighted in blue. And whilst we are still alive to say it.......this is our history, and I will keep the FB Campaign Page going and we should all blame Universal Motown for what we and the FSP don't have. They have simply passed all the work to Bob Gaudio for the listening tests and may not have supplied all of the Tapes we have listed. We want more....particularly the missing Bob Crewe productions from 1973......But this Box Set is a godsend....a real treasure for all fans and collectors.....in spite of Universal.
More details on tracks found.....probably!!.......next time
Bob Crewe Late 1973 Sessions Frankie Valli[ Four Seasons]
[lncluding Kenny Nolan, Charlie Calello and Nick Massi and a Four Seasons including Gerry Polci and Lee Shapiro, Joe Long and Demitri Callas]
Core Tapes to be researched: P2664:
Track Title: My Eyes Adore You-Title on Artists Card!! [Alternative Mix found and proposed for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Bob Crewe
Motown Master: 62522
First Location Tape: P2664
Second Location: T5178
Additional Location: P5085[Album]
Notes
It's very interesting studying the Artists Card for 'My Eyes Adore You' which shows the first stereo mix done on 11th December 1973 and copies done to T tape 5178 but then again some 6 months later on 4th and 10th June.(the second one being to P5085 the mysterious album tape Motown assembled that month). So then there is the note “mixes out to producer” in red and “tune sold back to producer”.
This raises the question of 'when' was it sold?. Perhaps it was as late as June 1974 and that is when Crewe/Valli/Gaudio started 'hawking it around' to other Record Companies before signing Frankie Valli up to Private Stock.? Does anyone know more?
Charles Calello told us he put added strings on the copy purchased for release in late 1974. This copy remains in Motown’s vault as the original Master and we found a Tape Box of a ‘New Mix?’ version in the FSP Archives. It has a louder guitar in the mix and a different vocal outro from Frankie which is not as effective as the version later released on Private Stock. We have proposed this version for inclusion as a Bonus Track in the Box Set ‘unreleased’ tracks Disc 22.
Track Title: Hymn To Her [found and for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: Bob Crewe
Motown Master: 62523
First Location Tape: P2664
Second Location: T5198[78?]/T5767
Additional Location: P5085[Album]
Notes
The administrators that did the Artists Cards at Motown in 1973 didn't always get the right 'gender' message as the data for Master Nr 62523 shows.[Titled ‘Hymn To You’ !!] This magnificent Bob Crewe-Kenny Nolan song just oozes quality and the anthemic 4 Seasons which we know include Nick Massi lift it to another level. Frankie Valli may have wanted to get away from his falsetto hence the focus on 'My Eyes Adored You' rather than this but it is suggested he did try to buy 'other masters' from the label in Rex Woodard's article from Billboard in 1981. He now knows the superb master for this still exists and that fans would love it as we have put the acetate on You Tube since 2011 when we uncovered it. Mixed as early as 11th December 1973 and subsequently copied to album Tape P5085 which we now know had tracks added in May 1974 all too late for a frustrated group and producer and never released. Bob Gaudio already had plans to take this group in a new direction and Frankie Valli wanted to re-establish himself separately as a solo performer. Did Frankie Valli's solo ambitions eventually destroy the Four Seasons sound?.....answers on a postcard to......The Four Seasons Partnership c/o...!!!........it is however ESSENTIAL FOUR SEASONS. The mix approved by Bob Gaudio for inclusion in the Snapper Box Set is different to the copy we found in the FSP Archive....it had been there since 1974??....and is the same choir fade-in start as the acetate. It has been proposed for inclusion in the Box Set as an alternative Mix.
Track Title: Lovers [found and for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: Bob Crewe
Motown Master: 62524
First Location Tape: P2664
Second Location: T5198
Additional Location: P5085[Album]
Notes
This is one of the last unreleased recordings from the November 1973 sessions with Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan and the Four Seasons that included Lee Shapiro and Gerry Polci. Charlie Calello was the arranger and Nick Massi also arranged the vocals and contributed to the harmonies. We have salvaged an acetate copy and posted the recovered version of this on You Tube since 2011, but this card confirms all we had from the Tape Index was correct. Bob Gaudio has mixed and approved a version for inclusion on the Snapper Music Box Set. It is on P2664 but was mixed and copied to P5085 in May 1974 which was the album assembled for release as Crewe/Valli/Gaudio decided to leave the label and try to take the songs they had done. It's a pity this one couldn't be bought along with 'My Eyes Adored You' as it would probably have sold well.
The FSP Archive actually contained an alternative mix with slightly different closing which we believe was the final mix selected for copying to the cancelled album tape. It has been proposed for inclusion in the Box Set.
Track Title: You've Got To Make Your Tomorrow Tonight
Second Location: T5198
Notes
This track has been found as an acetate demo but begs the question....Why?. It is a Wonder Who styled song of ‘novelty’ quality but was completed. It can be heard on our You Tube channel ‘Mowest Chameleon’. Maybe it is more a joke by Bob Crewe to wind-up Motown Execs.? But whilst interesting it isn't a strong addition to the groups catalogue although done at the same sessions as the above tracks and with the same personnel.
Track Title :Hickory [Extended Version]
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: Bob Crewe
Motown Master: 62521
First Location Tape: P2664
Notes
Although a released 45 - Motown 1288FA we found an acetate in 2011 of the ‘Extended’ version with an extra verse and a superb Frankie Valli falsetto ending. Whether it has been found or reviewed by Bob Gaudio is unclear as he identified that he did NOT WANT the extended version of ‘Charisma’ included in the Box Set even though it was included in the 2008 Motown Anthology 2 CD Box set.!!! Obviously it should be.....but why a NO from him when I sent him the Master of ‘Charisma’ Extended?
There are rumoured other tracks from this session tape to be confirmed via listening tests which given the volume of Tapes involved may not have happened yet and most certainly Universal Motown are not allowing anything else to be included in the Box Set and Bob Gaudio is not approving anything else for this project
Track Title: Future Years [found and for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Bob Gaudio
Motown Master: 62216
First Location Tape: P2678
Second Location: T5232
Notes
Our final Artists Card in a set of 23 for individual recordings was not the last recording but from the final Bob Gaudio session at Motown with Valli seeking to find a 'solo' hit.(in May 1973). 'Future Years' had no writing credits as far as we could find during our research but represents a 'telling' title to close the Motown 'unreleased' Artists Cards. With a completed Master Nr 62216 it was probably recorded before 'The Scalawag Song' (62300) although it appears on a later P tape (2678 c/f 2505). Recording dates show May/June recording and it was part of Bob Gaudio’s review of the Motown Tapes transferred to him by the Vault Issue Department at Universal Motown,. He obviously focused on his own sessions which he knew/recalled best and this track has been approved for release as part of the Snapper Music Box Set.. It is an excellent and prophetic lyric written by Tony Martin Jr and Guy Finlay who Bob Gaudio would go on to produce an album with, before leaving Motown. The track was copied to Tapes P5084/5 as part of a planned album in May 1974 as the group and Bob Crewe left the label. Gaudio would leave as a writer/producer in 1975 . It appeared to only ever be stored as a 16 track master but whilst reviewing the FSP archive we found a number of unreleased Motown Copy Tapes and one included this song but in a different ‘Take’ with slightly different closing instrumental and vocal. It has been put forward for inclusion in the Box Set as an Alternative Version.
Track Title: Getting Over You
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Bob Gaudio
Motown Master: 62217
First Location Tape: P2678
Second Location: T5232
Notes
It appears that before Bob Crewe took the NEW Four Seasons into the studio with Nick Massi and Charlie Calello in November 1973 that Bob Gaudio did further summer tracks with Frankie Valli targeting a solo hit. The only Master to emerge as a Motown release from these sessions is 'The Scalawag Song' (62300). A beautiful song but another poorly promoted release by Motown. But other songs with earlier Master Nrs would indicate other unreleased but completed songs from such sessions. 'Getting Over You' (62217) is one of three other Master numbers (with 62216 and 8) that appear to come from a May 1973 session that we know very little about. What we do know is the Artists Card captures some clues as to the last solo session Valli did at Motown. Some confusion seems to have existed when the card was produced as to whether the song was being recorded by Martin and Finley as opposed to Frankie Valli. We know Bob Gaudio produced Martin and Finley's sole Motown album 'Dazzle 'Em With Footwork' – a very disappointing sounding album which appeared in 1974 before Gaudio left Motown. A later added note (in red) on the Artists Card indicates the departure of the group from Motown saying 'Out Of Spec' which appears on a few of the last Cards. Although clearly found by Bob Gaudio in his review of the tapes in 2019 it was a surprise that it was not approved for release along with others from these sessions. But it is complete and we want it!!.
Track Title: Whatever You Want [found and for release Summer 2020]
A song which is a throwback to 1962 and Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe's developing writing partnership. The song is 'Whatever You Want' and the Artists Card and Tape Index show this was recorded by Frankie Valli at a May 1973 session with producer Bob Gaudio on P Tape 2678. It is, of course, a re-make of the classic 1962 Jerry Butler song of the same name written by Gaudio-Crewe and originally released on Vee-Jay 486(SS195 UK). Could it be as good as the superb Jerry Butler original updated by Frankie Valli?. Well Motown thought so in May 1974 as they copied it to the then planned P5085 Master tape for a NEW album which would never see release as the group left Motown. It has lush Beach Boys style backing vocals by Motown session singers and a plaintiff Frankie Valli vocal. A great sound.
Well we also found a copy of it in the FSP archive from 1974 so Frankie and Bob had always known it was complete and there. This is an underdub version with a piano only backing. But it is a superb production and vocal/backing and has been proposed by us for release.
Track Title: You Can't Hold On [found and for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Bob Gaudio
Motown Master: 62299
First Location Tape: P2505
Second Location: T4389
Additional Location: P5084[Album]
Notes
Back to the Motown Records Artist's Card that supply clues of happenings at Motown in both 1973 and 1974 we found 'You Can't Hold On' was not a song title for which we can identify writers [and Motown refer to it as COPYRIGHT CONTROL] but it was one of a handful of songs Bob Gaudio produced with Frankie Valli in May 1973 as it is on the same P track tape as 'Scalawag' (Master Nr 62300) and has the previous Master Nr 62299. The copy dates were at first misleading, but what has emerged is that Stereo Mixes of the song were made in May 1974 for possible use as the B side to a single proposed for ‘The Night’. We found a copy of both Mix 4 of this track with Mix 39 of The Night [ the Frankie Valli lead-in version of 43 mixed in total !!]. If Valli/Gaudio and Crewe hadn't confronted Motown and left with 'My Eyes Adored You' we may have heard this on a released album in late 1974 as it was also copied to Tape P5085 for that cancelled album. But researching the FSP Archive we also found 2 different versions to the one approved as a final ‘Take 6’ Mix which has alternate Valli and backing vocals and has been put forward for inclusion in the Box Set.
This may also be one of the tracks they also tried to 'buy' from Motown who wanted too much money for them . Were 'My Eyes Adored You' and the released 'Scalawag ', the best of the tracks they had in the vault from these 1973 sessions ?. Well our research and this Snapper Box set release will show there were many quality tracks still left behind [or sitting with Bob Gaudio ] as documented in this research plan.
Next Time......Part 6 – Bob Crewe’s November/December sessions 1973
With Bob Crewe recovered from his breakdown in 1970 and being re-signed as a writer producer with Motown[for Bobby Darin sessions in October 1972], he and Bob Gaudio patched up past differences and resumed writing together and in late 1972/ early 1973 recording sessions with Frankie Valli [with perhaps the Four Seasons and/or Motown Session singers as the Four Seasons] took place.
The start of 1973 appears to be a low point for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons with the imminent demise of Mowest and their allocation back to Motown, when Frankie actually sacked the group and recruited new members Gerry Polci and Lee Shapiro.by the middle of the year.
The return of Bob Crewe shows that they returned to the studio [in late 1972] as at the beginning of 1973 mixing of stereo tracks and registration of Master Nrs for potential release resumed. There is no indication in the filing systems if sessions were in LA or in NYC which was the location for their later 1973 sessions with Bob Crewe. The first P tape(16 track) to be listed in a clear run of sessions involving Crewe/Gaudio were P2388 and 9 with several mixes done to stereo masters in February 1973 and there was a new sound emerging and more importantly Crewe-Gaudio were writing and producing together again. 4th Feb 1973 saw 'With My Eyes Wide Open' (Master Nr 61749) a magnificent anthemic song which should have gotten the interest of Motown Execs. But they didn't see the single potential and this would not get release until the 'retrospective' 'Inside You’ album in 1975
Core Tapes to be researched: P 2388/89: 2414: 2511: 2656
Track Title: Be My Lover Be My Friend
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Bob Crewe – Bob Gaudio
Motown Master: 61633
First Location Tape: P2414
Second Location: T3742
Notes
But the earliest Master Nr from these sessions was we know a song Bob Crewe composed with friends Ellie Greenwich (who we saw helping Bob in the studio in George Schowerer's photos of the 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' sessions) and former Four Evers singer Steve Tudanger. The song 'Be My Lover, Be My Friend' (Master Nr 61633) is listed in Ellie's compositions on the BMI database, but we can find no record of it being recorded by anyone but the Four Seasons. It was completed and mixed and copied to T3742 as a safety copy. This would appear to be the start of plans for a new album and the start of very important sessions to revive Frankie and the group..
Track Title: Star [found and for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Bob Crewe – Bob Gaudio
Motown Master: 61746
First Location Tape: P2389
Second Location: T3728
Notes
Researching the 'unreleased' tracks and the Artists Cards, it proved impossible to find writing credits for a song called 'Star' as there have been so many with that title on the BMI and ASCAP databases. But the rumoured version as recorded by the Four Seasons was found to definitely exist by the Artists Card which lists the Master as 61746 and is located on Tapes P2389 and T3728. Produced by Gaudio-Crewe it now turns out to have been written by them and it's Master and Tape Numbers indicates it was recorded in December 1972 and January 1973 at the same sessions that produced 'Listen To Yesterday'(61747). But although it is listed as a Four Seasons track it may have been part of sessions involving Motown session singers as on later tracks during this period. It remains 16 track only according to the Artists Card but was confirmed as a salvaged track in the Motown internal memos of 2002 and a contender for CD release in the 2006 draft compilation. The supply to Snapper of a Tape Box scan showed it as on the same tape as 'With My Eyes Wide Open'(61749), and closely followed by 'Inside You'(61758) and 'How Come'(62130). It was the only Tape Box scan from the Motown period that we were supplied with during the box set research and it confirms so much and clearly why it was mixed and approved by Bob Gaudio. But interestingly it is the secondary location T3728 and not the original P notation session tape. That raises more questions from us? It is a very unusual song which starts with a driving rock vocal before it drops in to a slow harmonic Seasons harmony ballad with soaring falsetto by Frankie. It is a simply amazing song and production that will be loved by fans.
Track Title: Listen To Yesterday [Alternatives]
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Bob Crewe – Bob Gaudio
Motown Master: 61747
First Location Tape: P2389
Second Location: T2389 and T3728
Alternative Locations: T4240/P4617[10 Stereo Mixes]
Notes
The reason for including this track is that although released in 2 versions, the original which had two 45 releases has never appeared in CD format. The version released on The Motown Years 2 CD set in 2008 was an alternative version with surf sound opening and Four Seasons type male backing harmonies whereas the original vinyl version [also available on the 'Inside You' 1975 album] features female backing vocals. The tapes need research to recover the original 45 mix
Track Title: Turn It All Around
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Bob Crewe
Motown Master: 62131
First Location Tape: P2511
Second Location: P2656
Additional Location: T4162[24 Track]
Notes
As we attempt to 'Turn It All Around' (and get this music released) we found the Artists Card for this Bob Crewe production from the very important P tape 2505. At least we know the writers for this....Bob Crewe and Bob Hardwick who would also write for the Bob Crewe Generation a few years later (the ‘Motivation’ album). We have never heard the song but the tape contains the incomparable 'How Come' so was probably from the same spring 1974 session. Recorded in stunning 24 track this was copied to 2 different tapes so should have been found and approved in the Snapper Box Set. The question remains ‘how could this not be up to standard.?’
Track Title: Give Us This Day
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Bob Crewe
Motown Master: 62132
First Location Tape: P2511
Second Location: T4162[24 Track]
Additional Location: P2656
Notes
This appears to be the remaining song from the 'How Come' sessions in Spring 1973 which is two Master Nrs later. This we found is a Bob Crewe-Alan Paul Shatkin composition. Shatkin had worked with Crewe as early as 1969 ( To Give/Who Am I – Karen Wyman) and they would team up again for Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes (I See Your Name) 'Up In Lights' in 1975. 'Anything and Everything'(ain't nothing without you) was published the same month as this recording and this one appears in Crewe's BMI listing.
This Artists Card once again fails to get Crewe's name correct. It was never mixed to Stereo but was copied to 24 track tape. Another mystery track from previously unknown sessions, its completion is evidenced by the Artists Card showing it being Motown Master Nr 62132
All of these sessions were moving to a planned August 1973 album release - Motown 788 [ titled ‘Inside Out’ – but not issued] and these titles are preceding the Bob Gaudio ‘Scalawag’ summer sessions and the Bob Crewe 'Hickory' sessions which we will come to in Parts 6 and 7.
Next Time......Part 6 – Bob Gaudio’s summer sessions
Record keeping and session information is pretty slim/erratic for this period but based on Master and Tape Index Nrs, sessions with Frankie Valli did take place. Bob Gaudio I recall in interview with Stu Miller at the time said Valli was just doing demos for other artists and it is true some titles listed are released by other artists and some may well be demos. These tracks are grouped together due to limited data with what we know until more is found but generally they cover sessions with Hal Davis, Willie Hutch and Michael Masser. No clear session dates are available for most and some may be recorded earlier in 1972. However if they were given a Motown Master Number we would expect them to be completed. Whether they remain intact requires a tape listening review.
Core Tapes: P2134: P2304: P2351: P2352: P2440
Track Title: With You
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Not Known[possibly Hal Davis]
Motown Master: 61561
First Location Tape: Not Known[Possibly P2304 or P2351]
Notes
It is believed this is the Carole Bayer Sagar – Ken Ascher song that Frankie Valli eventually released on the “Lady Put The Light Out' album on Private Stock PS 7002 in 1977. The Motown Master Nr does confirm a completed product but no Artists Card has been found and the Tape location is unknown
Track Title: Include Me In Your Life
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Not Known[probably Hal Davis]
Motown Master: Not known
First Location Tape: P2304
Notes
A song recorded in the same period by Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, and released as the B' Side to "My Mistake (Was To Love You)", the writers being McLeod/Bolton and the producer was Hal Davis. The Valli version may well have been used as a demo for the release as it has no Master Nr but listed to exist on Tape P2304. Tape Box information indicates it was “Reassigned to Suzie Ikeda/Suzie vocals/Also Ross/Gaye” but on the 1990s internal Universal list as recorded by Frankie Valli
Track Title: Point Of No Return
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Not known[possibly Hal Davis]
Motown Master: Not Known
First Location Tape: P2304
Notes
Research Kev Singer identified that this title was recorded by The Stylistics on their self-named 1971 Avco album. As 'Stop, Look and Listen' is also listed as a Valli recorded song [which has been found complete and for release this year] we would suggest a Hal Davis production of this excellent Thom Bell-Linda Creed composition. On the 1990s internal Universal list as recorded by Frankie Valli
Track Title: Where Love Ends
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Not Known[possibly Willie Hutch]
Motown Master: Not known
First Location Tape: P2134
Notes
All we have for this title is the Tape Index reference and lists from the 1990s and 2002 [Motown internal memo] which give this track as existing. Only 2 BMI listings exist for the title and one is a Michel Legrand orchestral piece.
Track Title: I'll Make It Up To You
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Not Known[possibly Willie Hutch]
Motown Master: Not known
First Location Tape: P2134
Notes
This and the previous track are listed as on the same tape as the released Willie Hutch produced and written 'Thank You' which was recovered from P2134 and mixed for inclusion on the 1975 album 'Inside You'. Again it is listed in the 1990s and 2002 Motown lists. A review of P2134 16 track Tape is needed
Track Title: Minute By Minute – Day By Day [found and for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Not Known[possibly Michael Masser]
Motown Master: 61587
First Location Tape: P2351[30IPS]
Second Location: T3252/3253
Notes
BMI searches reveal a song called 'Minute By Minute' written by Michael Masser and Kathy Wakefield and given the fact 'After You' see below was recorded by Valli with Masser this was our path of research. The writing duo teamed up with Al Ruzika[of The Night fame] to pen 'Last Time I Saw Him' for the same titled Diana Ross album during this period. This track appears with copies made to T tapes indicating that it was completed and that has proved to be the case and it was somewhat amazing to hear it when Bob Gaudio confirmed it was approved. It is a superb mid-tempo song which Frankie Valli sings with great skill.
Track Title: I Can Get Away From You (But I Can't Get Over You)
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Not Known[possibly Michael Masser]
Motown Master: 61588
First Location Tape: Not Known[Possibly P2351/2]
Notes
This song appears to be written by Pam Sawyer and Michael Masser and was released by Tony and Carolyn on VIP 25068F in 1971. FOUND HERE. No other background info to this track can be found apart from the fact that a Master Nr was allocated which categorises it with the previous song and given the co-writer was Michael Masser it is reasonable to think it is from his sessions with Valli and was completed. There is no Artists Card and only the title appears in the Tape Index and on a list of tracks from Motown during the 1990s and on an internal memo within Motown in 2002.
Track Title: After You [found and for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Michael Masser
Motown Master: Not known
First Location Tape: P2352
Notes
A collectors tape box scan of a 7.5ips reel box with the instrumental track gave us the first clue to these potential Michael Masser sessions and a confirmed Tape index Nr P 2352 confirmed the session......but as the reel we had contains only the music backing and no verification of Valli's lead vocal had been found until surprisingly it was one of the 13 tracks ‘approved’ by Bob and Frankie for release.
The box indicates a November 1972 date for that copy. And with no Master Nr and no Artists Card we thought it was incomplete. It was subsequently recorded and released by Diana Ross and Englebert Humperdink but with different orchestral arrangements. It is a 'full' musical arrangement with a heart-aching and intense vocal interpretation by Frankie Valli. This surprising find supports the need for a full listening review of all of the 16 track tapes.
The song was recorded by Diana Ross on her self-titled 1976 album. FOUND HERE in a very different arrangement. Interestingly it is a Crewe/Corbetta/Marmelzat composition and the timing of this potential recording could coincide with Bob Crewe's signing for Motown in fall 1972 and the start of his relationship with Jerry Corbetta [ Note– Jerry Corbetta had performed with the group ‘Sugarloaf’ a Denver, Colorado based rock and roll band that performed from 1970 to 1975. Jerry teamed up with Bob Crewe in 1975 when he was the band leader of the The Jam Band on the Disco-Tex and The Sex-O-Lets first album...and became a four Season in 1979 until 1981) ]
Track Title: Sitting On The Edge Of My Mind
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Probably Hal Davis
Motown Master: Not known
First Location Tape: P2440
Notes
On the same tape as 'Life and Breath' which was released, Kev Singer tells us, “Then there's the mystery of "Sitting On The Edge Of My Mind". Could this be the same song as recorded by Jermaine Jackson and issued on his "Come Into My Life" album in 1973? This song was written by Don Fletcher, Charlotte O'Hara and Nita Garfield. It was arranged by Greg Poree and produced by ..... Hal Davis. The matrix (side 1 of the LP) shows C5RS-7696-1 and cat no M775L.” The recording by Valli may simply be a demo or simply not given a final mix. 'Life And Breath' itself was only recovered and mixed from this tape in 1975 for the 'Inside You' album and it suggests the rest of the Hal Davis session contents are on this tape.
Track Title: When I Come Of Age
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Hal Davis
Motown Master: Not Known
First Location Tape:P2440
Notes
Again on the same tape as 'Life and Breath'. Researcher Kev Singer told us, “Listed as an unreleased song by Frankie Valli is "When I Come Of Age". The lyric is clearly for a child and any version, given the title alone, sounds like it would have to be a demo if a recording by Valli still exists. The track by Michael Jackson which remained in the vaults was eventually issued on his "Looking Back To Yesterday" album. This song was written by Hal Davis, Don Fletcher and Weldon Dean Parks especially for Michael.”From the Michael Jackson version on You Tube, it appears that any version sung by Frankie would be a Demo.
Next Time......Part 5 – Bob Crewe returns for 1973 sessions
Four Seasons - Bob Gaudio produced 'Chameleon' Sessions and other tracks
Core Tapes to be researched: P2105: 2110: 2111;2262
Unreleased Tracks
Track Title: Loving You That's My Thing [found and for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: Bob Gaudio
Motown Master: 60752
First Location Tape: P2111
Second Location: T2062
Notes
A discarded track from one of the 'Chameleon' tapes P2111 is 'Loving You, That's My Thing' which sounds like it should be a soul/funk track by the Temptations or Jacksons. But can you judge that on the title? It's certainly not a title we could find any other record of, but evidence was that it was recorded at the same time as 'Poor Fool' and 'You're A Song'. But not heard since. Well until recently that is. A completed version of it has surfaced from the session and the track is an up-tempo harmony laced 'sing-along' 'fun' type song completely different to the serious songs of the ‘Chameleon’ album . A completed Master Nr 60752 (on Tape P2111) exists but no evidence of a Stereo Mix for album/single assessment { Tape Box Data reveals 2 leads, 1 incomplete ] so maybe it was not considered for release although at the time it was one of the 15 completed tracks listed in the TCB Newsletter in Jan 1972 which was the first mention of it. [ A Finished Copy has also been found by fans] . Now we have it from the Master Tape and Bob Gaudio has found and approved the track for inclusion in the Snapper Music Box Set.
Track Title: Lovewell
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: Bob Gaudio
Motown Master: 60759
First Location Tape: P2111
Notes
One of the more intriguing Artists Card from Motown is a song that appears to be a 'Chameleon' album reject. It has also proved to be a title with no recognisable registered writers. 'Lovewell' was mentioned by Steve Bailey as worked upon at the 'My Heart Cries Out To You' session. But it was not mentioned again other than in the list of 15 tracks laid down in the TCB Newsletter Jan 1971 and we can't find anything on BMI/ASCAP about it. But this shows it was recorded and where it is located.
Track Title: Never Gonna Give My Love to You [found and for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: Bob Gaudio
Motown Master: 60760
First Location Tape: P2110
Second Location:T2023
Additional Locations: T2062/T2151
Notes
In early 72 newsletters from Stu Miller's notes it was stated....”three (songs from the 15 listed back in Feb 1972)are at present being considered for a first single. They are 'Never Gonna Give My Love To You', 'The Night' or 'Time Will Tell'. .....Al Ruzicka wrote by himself 'Never Gonna Give My Love.....' and co-wrote with Bob Gaudio 'The Night'.
Finding Al's published songs has been pretty difficult at both BMI and ASCAP but we know he also wrote 'Poor Fool' , and co-wrote 'Touch The Rainchild' and it seems he co-wrote 'When Will You Come Home To Me' with Bob Gaudio and Kathy Wakefield(a Motown in-house writer) for Diana Ross and it appears on the 'Last Time I Saw Him' album. This album included two other Bob Gaudio co-written and produced songs.
But we do have the Artists Card for the Four Seasons Sessions at Mowest which shows this track as the last in a sequence of Motown Masters that run from 60752 to 60760. It follows 'When The Morning Comes' and 'Sun Country' and is probably one that didn't make the 'cut' for the ‘Chameleon’ album. This sequence of tracks indicate sessions in November/December 1971 with Stereo Mixes done in January 1972. Obviously from the TCB Newsletter listings at least 15 tracks were mixed to Stereo for potential release. Only 'Love Isn't Here/Poor Fool' made it to 45 and surprisingly the 45 scan names the album source as 'Chameleon' in Feb 1972 when the album didn't surface till May 1972. I'm asking everyone to search their notes and records from back then for any more data but it seems the concept for 'Chameleon’ was set in stone prior to this February 45 release date. Also it appears Gaudio's productions took precedence over other producers(including The Corporation) and it now seems probable that he persuaded Mowest to go with his choice of 45 and that all 8 songs for the album were recorded and mastered(along with others that remain unreleased). Evidence of the Chameleon track sessions was found on cassette tape and this track has surfaced in completed format and it is an up-tempo song with chanted backing by the Seasons. Very like the live song they did in the 1980s concerts [You're Never Too Old To Rock And Roll' ] this is a real hand-clapper and totally different to the tracks selected for ‘Chameleon’. It doesn't fit that concept at all
This track [which we have as a completed demo] was mixed to a 16 track copy tape and two Stereo mixes were made but no dates are given. However Bob Gaudio has found it and it appears ‘Re-Mixed’ from 16 track BUT with loads of reverb and echo on the Four Seasons backing vocals which in my opinion destroys the feel from the session version. It will be in the Snapper Music Box Set
Track Title: We Had It All (Walking In The Sunshine)
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: Bob Gaudio?
Motown Master: 60769
First Location Tape: Not known possibly P2105/10 or 11
Notes
No Artists Card or Tape Index Reference has been found for this track and a long lost demo of the Four Season backing and instrumental track has surfaced giving the perception that Valli never did a vocal lead?. It also appears in this format in the FSP Archive. However a list of Motown Masters confirms the track was [most likely] finished and resides on one of the key tapes noted. The Master Nr immediately precedes 'The Night' and so we surmise it is a Bob Gaudio production. But as a Willie Hutch Master follows 'The Night' on P2105 that is a qualified guess. The song appears in the BMI listing as a Stone Diamond published song and as these publishers did many Motown songs we think it may be a Haynes – Rhone composition or maybe Bob Gaudio could tell us?
Track Title: That's All I Want From You
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: Bob Gaudio
Motown Master: 60772
First Location Tape: P2111
Notes
When you look at the Four Seasons Motown Tape Index, 3 tapes stand out from the sessions that took place at the end of 1971 as intensive studio recording took place. Tapes P2105/2110/2111 feature predominantly Bob Gaudio produced songs and the majority were very innovative arrangements and original Gaudio or group written songs. Several saw release and I've already featured some that didn't make the 'Chameleon' album or 45 cut. But one features a song that asks the question........was it completed?..The song was recorded and given a Master Nr 60772 on Tape P2111. The Artists Card confirms it's existence although only as a 16 track recording with no final Stereo Mix done to date. But evidence has emerged of the backing track being copied to cassette A real mystery this one. The fact that a Master Nr exists would indicate a completed session Master but only the tape research would reveal the song which may need a final mix from the 16 tracks. We have the Instrumental version from a session tape cassette but know nothing more re its completed form.
Track Title: You're A Song
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: Bob Gaudio
Motown Master: 60777
First Location Tape: P2110[Slow Version] P2111[Fast Version]?
Notes
As we've seen with the most recent Artists Cards there were a number of tracks that were recorded as part of the Chameleon sessions, led by Bob Gaudio which never made the 'cut' for the album and which he had never heard since [until the Universal Digital Transfer]. His fan base can just be aghast at this and wonder whether any hidden 'gems' exist or just 'out-takes' he'd rather not have us hear.? But we know the one we have heard.....but 'which version is it?' Motown Master Nr 60777 is a song from the 'Chameleon' album but there are it seems, a 'slow' version on Tape P2110(along with The Night, Touch The Rainchild and When The Morning Comes) and a 'fast' version on Tape P2111(along with Poor Fool , A New Beginning and a few other unreleased titles ). And a Lead vocal and Harmony vocal are confirmed as existing on that Tape. But it is hard for us to tell which one we have as the released version (probably the 'slow' one) makes it hard to believe there could be an alternative ‘fast’ arrangement - .although we do know at least 18 takes were done . Stereo and 16 track copies exist on T Tapes too. We have a version with Frankie singing it in another key which we believe is an earlier Take.
Until Bob Gaudio tells us what was on the digitized copies of the tapes sent to him by Universal, he'll probably not reveal the 'other' version, but we'd like to hear it whether it was an out-take or not.
Ken Charmer – Music Historian
March 2022
Note; The Chameleon session out-takes listed above that we have will be featured in the Motown Unreleased Campaign Facebook Group.
Core Tapes to be researched P2060: 2082: 2093: 2105: 2113: 2134: 2205: 2206
Introduction: Early Mowest 1971/72 Session Four Seasons
Just when the various producers sessions occurred after the Four Seasons signed up to Motown in October 1971 is unclear from the Tape Index and the Artists Cards. Tape Nrs and completed Master Nrs do not necessarily run in sequence, but some dates do appear when Stereo Mixes were done from the 16 track Master Tapes that lead to possibilities that condense thinking about the style and sounds being developed. We can clearly see that the original 'Chameleon' sound was a definitive set of sessions that reside on P2110/11 and had an original and very distinctive sound for the time. There was no definitive 'hit' sound during early 1972 and probably Mowest execs were searching for a new LA sound. The country rock singer/songwriter scene was firmly established out of Laurel Canyon and the Eagles country rock style(eg Take It Easy) would emerge by mid 1972 as the Southern California sound. So at the end of 1971 producers at Mowest it appears were looking for a competing adult-contemporay 'blue-eyed' soul sound that would suit AM radio.
There are interesting notes and connections in the Artists Cards. Sometimes the Artists Cards are more a mystery than anything else. The first mystery is how 'Walk On Don't Look' back appears with 2 Master Nrs. ? It is the very first Master Nr (60516) which suggests it was their first recording at the label in November 1971 and that is the Master Number that appears on the 45 BUT this wasn't released until 8/72. It doesn't really appear to be their first recording there either and it is not listed in the 15 tracks listed in Feb 1972 in the TCB fanzine as recorded in the early sessions. It is therefore included below as 'unreleased' re the Artists Card Number. It should be noted that master number 60516 was also used for The Blackberries track "But I Love You More". My understanding is that The Blackberries single MW5020 was a non-issue and the two tracks "Somebody Up There" and "But I Love You More" remained unreleased until The Complete Motown Singles 12A was issued more recently and MW5020 was specially pressed as the 7" fronting that set.
Why in mid 72 this was preferred to 'The Night' for August 1972 release remains a mystery. For such a strong single on an album to be missed by Mo-West in the USA is amazing. A test promo pressing was produced and we have scans of this. Although released in the UK in Oct 72 [MW3002] lack of promotion in the UK when the Mowest label launched is also a mystery? [It would become a featured track at Mr M's, Wigan Casino Room [and across the Northern Soul scene during 1973 and 74] which would force it's re release and chart entry in 1975(Chart Nr 6 UK)] And if considered a stronger track, why wasn't this alternative 45 'Walk On Don't Look Back' heavily promoted in the USA in Aug 72 and the UK in March1973? What we have heard shows that all of these completed Masters are well worthy of release as they were at the time. moWest simply didn’t have a clue.!
Unreleased Tracks
Track Title: My Heart Cries Out To You [found and for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: Larson - Marcellino
Motown Master: 60692
First Location Tape: P2060
Second Location: P2082
Additional locations:T2043/T2134/T3984
Notes
Just the second title on the Motown Tape Index the only detail we had on this in the past comes from former Four Seasons International Fan Club President, Steve Bailey(thanks to John Hornsby research). What we can now see from research of the Artists Cards is that the still unreleased song ‘My Heart Cries Out To You’(Tapes P2060/P2082) was co-produced by Marcellino and Larson as a potential single. Steve Bailey the USA fan club President managed to get into the sessions that finished the song. He wrote on a newsletter at the time....” Frankie had already done lead vocal and musical tracks were finished. Joe(Long) and Demitri (Callas) with Mel Larsen did background tracks and then Frankie did some doubling and back- grounds. It is a fantastic song. Maybe the new single. I sure hope so." The track was copied to two 16 track tapes and at least one Stereo Mix was done. It was the second listed Motown Master by the group at 60692 so probably recorded in November 1971. Essential listening for Four Seasons fans? Well hearing this find now ‘approved’ for release it is obvious it should have been the first single and heavily promoted as it is a classic in the Four Seasons ‘harmony style’ mid-tempo and falsetto laced song - it is simply superb.
Track Title: Girl, Don't Take Your Love From Me
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: Willie Hutch
Motown Master: 60749
First Location Tape: P2105
Second Location: T2199
Additional locations:T2200/P6414
Notes
If confirmation were needed that Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons started recording as soon as they joined Motown then this shows it . It also shows us songs they recorded first before being released by others months later whilst this remains left in the vault. The Tape Box to Tape P2105 shows” 2 versions: 1 Assigned to Four Seasons - 2 Vocals / Another to Michael Jackson - 2 Vocals”.
“Girl, Don't Take You're Love From Me' (Master Nr 60749) which we've heard by Michael Jackson was recorded by the Four Seasons in early November 1971(dub cut 20th November and again 20th December). One of only 2 Willie Hutch productions on them (‘Thank You' being the other).....surely there must be more as yet unresearched?.
A Stereo Mix was copied very late clearly after their departure from the label to Tape P 6414 which suggest post 1975. Songs like this add to the mystery of why MoWest didn't release more in 1972, but when you hear that before The Commodores moved to the main Motown label they had a whole album 'vaulted' at Mowest which remains unreleased to this day, you realise Motown Universal today are way behind the times and have little or no retrospective music release schedule. Perhaps they wrongly assess this period as unworthy of re-visiting or too expensive [legal and production cost] to prepare for release
Track Title: Wigs And Lashes
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: The Corporation
Motown Master: 60756
First Location Tape: P2113
Second Locations: T2350
Additional location:P7675
Notes 'Wigs and Lashes' we now know was a laid-back mid tempo song written by Larry Mizzel of The Corporation, [tasked to find a new sound for the group] and the Artists Card for Master Nr 60756 was one of a handful they tried with the group. Mixed on 14th Feb 1972 and copied to 2 T tapes it has never appeared by the group although The Miracles versions on their 1973 'Rennaisance' album gives us an indication of how the song may have been handled by Frankie and the Seasons. There appear to be at least 6 mixes done at the time of the Master recording but one note indicates a copy to P7675 which would have been a 1980s tape after the copying of tracks to the Superstars album (P7245) in 1981.
The Master Nr 60756 only precedes 'When The Morning Comes' by 2 numbers and suggests a November 1971 recording session
Track Title: Time Will Tell
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: The Corporation
Motown Master: 60757
First Location Tape: P2113
Second Locations: T2083
Notes
Another find of a listed track in the Motown Tape Index I'd never heard......but one I have become obsessed with now thanks to Music Detective Mike 'Doo-Wop' Daddy who sent it to me. I've shared this version with you all on You Tube[Mowestchameleon]. The version that was released was by Second Nature on Bell Records in 1973....as a Bob Crewe Production. This groups vocals are not the best and it would be interesting to hear the Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons version which was being considered for 45 release in Jan 1971[ according to newsletter notes by Stu Miller]. It is Master Nr 60757 which puts it 2 after 'Poor Fool' and 1 after 'Wigs and Lashes' . The next Master Nr 60758 was 'When The Morning Comes'. Although co-written by Bob Crewe with Louis St Louis it was produced by The Corporation TM.
Track Title: Walk On Don't Look Back [Alternative Master?]
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: The Corporation
Motown Master: 60960
First Location Tape: P2205
Second Locations: T2735
Additional location: T3010/T3012
Notes
A look at the Tape box for P2113 may reveal more about the Corporation sessions including when 'Walk On Don't Look Back' was actually recorded. There are two designated Master Nrs for this which is the only track in the index where this occurs. An alternative Master was shown on the 45 and this is the only ever occurrence of this anomally on all their Motown Index. Master Nr 60516-7B doesn't appear on a separate Artists Card. This 60960 card indicates a 'dub cut' in May 1972 post the early Seasons sessions and post the Bob Gaudio 'Chameleon' sessions. Subsequent copies to T tapes including 2 by Russ Terrana which align with the 28th August release on Mo-West 5026F. Why a Master Nr 60516-7B appears on the 45 rather than 60960 remains a mystery. However the 'released' version HAS appeared on CD on the 2008 Anthology. The Artist Card shows the Stereo Master was copied on 22nd May and again on 7th August with 10 'takes' in total copied. Other version/takes are worthy of research.
Track Title: After I'm Gone
Artist: Four Seasons [possibly Frankie Valli]
Producer: The Corporation
Motown Master: 60961
First Location Tape: P2206
Second Location Tape: T2381
Notes
Although we have a Master Nr and a Production Tape locations for two 16 track versions nothing is known re this song except that we have an Artists Card that show it was recorded with The Corporation which dates it as amongst the early 1972 Four Seasons sessions. The fact that it was copied suggests it was completed but only tape research would reveal more. No other tracks are known from this tape but it may contain much more as it precedes the tape which contains 'Walk On Don't Look Back' which is assessed as being recorded in May 1972.The Master number follows this song and precedes 'Coming Home' and so is obviously from the same sessions
Track Title: Coming Home
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: The Corporation
Motown Master: 60962
First Location Tape: Not known but possibly P2205 or P2206
Notes
No Artists Card has surfaced for this song nor any mention in the Tape Index BUT an internal report from Motown Universal shows it as a 'completed' Master Nr. The song was subsequently recorded by Michael Jackson and surfaced on a compilation. It appears on You Tube and was produced by The Corporation too. Writing credits are to Berry Gordy-Deke Richards-Freddie Perrin-Alphonso Mizell [The Corporation]. It's Master Nr follows 'Walk On Don't Look Back' Nr 60960 and 'After I'm Gone' Nr 60961 suggesting P2206 as a possible location
Track Title: Live It Up
Artist: Four Seasons
Producer: The Corporation
Motown Master: 60997
First Location Tape: Not known but possibly P2205 or P2206 or P2225
Notes
This song was written and recorded by Jermaine Jackson and released in June 1972. The song appears on You Tube and is a perfect vehicle for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. A completed Master Nr 60997 indicates it should exist by them. But no clues exist as to which Tape it could reside on but probably the same as the other Corporation productions..
Core Tapes to be researched: P2079: 2201: 2203: 2225
Unreleased Tracks
Track Title: What Love Has Joined Together - [found and for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Cleveland - Payton
Motown Master: 60662
First Location Tape: P2079
Notes
Only 2 songs are listed on Tape P 2079 in November 1971 and they became Motown Masters 60662 and 65 both produced by Cleveland and Payton and both songs were previously released by Motown artists. Perhaps the producers chose 'What Love Has Joined Together' because of a Smokey Robinson and the Miracles album title side from the 1970 'concept' album of the same name. That version is a beautiful update to the same song from the 1965 Temptations on the 'Sing Smokey …..' album and a Mary Wells recording from 1964 and there is an Artists Card to prove Frankie Valli tried a cover version too. These are indicated by Artists Cards as Frankie Valli 'solo' sessions. At first thought it was difficult to see with many of these tracks with in-house producers at Mowest what Frankie Valli could add to already issued material that wasn't hit single standard or what the producers were looking for, particularly for such an old song. But Tape P2079 almost certainly contains other songs currently 'unlisted' as the size of such tapes means several completed mixes could have been accommodated and the producers would probably have tried more than 2 songs at the session.
Although 2019 research indicated that the Tape Box listed the song as NO VOCAL by Frankie Valli as it was ‘Assigned to The Commodores’, it was a completed song.[It shows that you have to play the Tapes]
The song was found and approved for this year’s Box Set release and is a wonderful version by Frankie Valli. It is clear that a Frankie Valli does ‘Motown Classics’ was a proposed album and as Wikipedia says.....“Due to its beauty and intimately romantic style, this song has been and continues to be a popular staple at weddings. There were no singles released from this album “. A listen to Smokey's lyric...."It would be easier to take the cold from snow or the heat from fire than for anyone take my love from you..." delivered so well by Frankie with Motown male backing singers shows it was a contender for a potential solo album track and is well worthy of release.
Track Title: Save The Children
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Cleveland - Payton
Motown Master: 60665
First Location Tape: P2079
Notes
Frankie Valli must have taken some convincing that he should record a version of Marvin Gaye's 'Save The Children' but it is evident that producers Cleveland and Payton did persuade him and the song was completed and became the second Motown Master (nr 60665) on one of the earliest Master Tapes in the Four Seasons Motown Tape archive. Al Cleveland who co-wrote it must have seen that Valli could 'add-value' to the original unless it was just 'album fodder'? The song originally recorded on Marvin's 'What's Going On' album there features Marvin recording both a spoken word recitation of the song and a vocal version then mixing the two vocals together in stereo with Marvin's soft-spoken vocals on one side and his expressive tenor on the other.
It is both unique and distinctive and it seems unlikely any other version could be as effective. Not a hit but did get some chart action in the UK. Diana Ross did a medley version with 'Brown Baby' on the 'Touch Me In The Morning' album. Maybe Frankie would rather his effort was never heard and at present that is likely to be the case. The allocation of Frankie Valli to a series of producers for solo work at the start of their Motown contract remains one of the mysteries of this period and I recall Bob Gaudio commenting somewhat critically on Motown trying all sorts of producers to find a hit sound in interview in the mid 70s. Tape Box data indicates 1 lead + 2 [spoken]Narrations by Frankie
Track Title: I Will Love You Like A Man
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Larson - Marcellino
Motown Master: 60842
First Location Tape: P2225
Second location: T2170
Additional location: P7675?
Notes
Some tracks in the Motown Vault by The Four Seasons remain intriguing titles that make you wonder how they came to be recorded. One such track is 'I Will Love You Like A Man'. It seems an incongruous title today. And maybe given the LGBTQ following it was dropped by Bob Gaudio after being approved . Tape Box records show.... 1 Lead and a shadow lead. But the completed Master Nr 60842 sits amongst the earliest of Frankie Valli's recordings at Motown [with Mel Larson and Jerry Marcellino who were involved in producing the released Valli version of 'Baby I Need Your Loving'] and this may have come from that session even though the Master Nr is much later. This song was mixed to Stereo Master on 12th February 1972(or maybe 17th) by Russ Terrana. We've not found any writer credits or other versions and this remains a mystery track we may never hear given Bob Gaudio’s decision not to include it in the Box Set..
Track Title: Thank You For Yesterday
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Hal Davis
Motown Master: 60918
First Location Tape: P2203
Second location: T2298
Notes
Here is a great title for a song and a message from us to Frankie Valli......'Thank You For Yesterday' and it remains a mystery who the song writers are? But this Artists Card shows that the Master Nr 60918 probably places its recording before 'Life and Breath' and 'Thank You' in February 1972. It is according to an Artists Card a Hal Davis production and was mixed to Stereo so will exist on both the original 16 track master tape (P2203) and a T2298 tape stereo master .
Track Title: Stop, Look, Listen To Your Heart Together - [found and for release Summer 2020]
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Hal Davis
Motown Master: 60950
First Location Tape: P2201
Second location: T2230
Additional Location: P7420
Notes
The original was by The Stylistics in 1971 and we have heard the 1973 Diana Ross/Marvin Gaye version of 'Stop, Look and Listen To Your Heart' but here is an Artists Card that shows not only that the Mowest interns couldn't spell Frankie Valli's name but that several Stereo Mixes where done and deleted from T tapes in February 1972 before a copy was made to P7420 which must have been after the group left the label or possibly to an album tape as the number sequence indicates this. One of the several Hal Davis productions done with Frankie Valli it is on the same original tape (P2201) as 'Life and Breath' and was (we understand) found in the 2008 Motown Years CD project research. We believed it was complete, mixed and ready for release, and has been found and approved in the Box Set. A superb vocal version by Frankie Valli it matches the Stylistics version in terms of quality and far surpasses the Gaye/Ross version. It is believed to pre-date that version and that Gaye/Ross used the same backing track. This is real treasure for Collectors.
Track Title: Torn Between Two Lovers
Artist: Frankie Valli
Producer: Not Known[Possibly Hal Davis]
Motown Master: Not Known
First Location Tape: P2203
Notes
The title strikes a chord as Wikipedia tells us...... “"Torn Between Two Lovers" is a song written by Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary) and Phillip Jarrell. As the writing date is unclear.....is it possibly the song done by Frankie Valli? The location on P Tape indicates an early 1972 recording session. There is no other evidence to show the song was written this early but it was performed by Yarrow before its 1976 recording. It may be a different song altogether.?
This recording is on the same tape as 'Thank You For Yesterday' which was a Hal Davis production. But no Artists Card or Motown Master Nr have been found. Apparantly the Master Tape Box says of this song ......’Assigned to G.C. Cameron’ . No lead’ by Frankie Valli... but has the tape been played?
Track Title: Chained
Producer: J. Marcellino - M.Larson
Motown Master: Not Known
First Location Tape: P2060
Notes
The title is almost certainly the Marvin Gaye Northern Soul Classic penned and produced in 1968 by Frank Wilson. Evidence from partial tape box research shows that although not registered anywhere in Paper Records at Motown, it is on Tape P2060 which is the first of the Master Tapes after they signed to Motown in October 1971. The Motown Tape Librarian confirmed a lead vocal by Frankie exists on this tape
This project has its roots in the 1975 release of the album 'Inside You' which featured 'previously unreleased' tracks from Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons contract at MoWest/Motown from 1971 to 1974. Released without Frankie Valli’s or Bob Gaudio’s permission, this caused them to distance themselves from their years at Motown, particularly as they had two new recording contracts at Warner-Curb and Private Sock to manage and promote. They had moved on with new material and a NEW sound. The NEW Four Seasons.
And as the Motown contract was an often unhappy period in their personal lives and brought them no musical success they have distanced them from it since as much as they could...it appears. We however have not, as the recordings done are amongst the best of the 70s session work in the context of that decade.
We were told back in 1975 [and up to 2008] that anything else left would have been 'wiped' from tape or if remaining would be unfinished songs and demos. We believed this until a list of songs emerged from within Motown Universal arising from their database back in the 1990s. Subsequent, anonymous donations to us of the ‘Motown Tape Index’ and the Recording Index Cards from the 1970s, known as 'Artists Cards' confirmed our suspicions that completed Tracks still existed. At the same time we found 3 'finished' demos of completed but unreleased songs on acetate which surfaced in 2010. Our suspicions were confirmed and we have researched and campaigned for their release since.
With the start of the Snapper Music Box Set Project in August 2018 Lynn Boleyn, former Motown UK staffer Bob Fisher and I believed we had broken through and Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli would want their archive of Multi-Track [16 and 24 track] recording sessions at Motown during their contract, - recovered, preserved and released as we made clear our help and commitment to the Box Set was for this to happen. I had been researching the status of the Tapes in the Motown Tape Index for several years and had found some verification of the status of what we had never heard of listed as P and T 16 track and Stereo Master Tapes from an 'insider' at Motown Universal. Following our research of the Four Seasons Partnership[FSP] Tape Storage it became clear that this is the only known surviving archive of Multi-Tracks in their whole career catalogue except for what is in Bob and Frankie’s personal storage. All other Studio recordings are lost, as far as we can find at this date. But the Motown Catalogue remains intact we now know.
A Motown Vaults researcher told me.........
“Apparently T as well as P tapes still exist in the Vaults, like the Detroit DM[Duplicate Master] tapes they seem to have no common format, there are Production Masters, Original Masters, Multi-Tracks, all sorts. Also, a lot of Live tapes have T prefixes. There are over 1000 finished master tapes from the Detroit era alone in the Vaults. Some contain up to 90 tracks (eg a three track tape with all three tracks full of mono masters). There are thousands more from the LA era, plus the multi-tracks, plus the live tapes ... more than anyone could listen to in a lifetime … This is why the Vault in NYC is the most exciting music archive of the past that probably exists,.........” Again the researcher continues......”It is I am told quite possible that no-one has listened to any particular tape since the last time a track was added to it. Researchers have often found tracks that no-one knew were there. One of the stock responses when someone asks, Is such-and-such in the Vaults?, is “With Motown, you never say never” , even CEO Harry Weinger has said this. Who knows? Some tracks went missing for forty years because they were filed under a different artist and a different title.”
Now the Four Seasons analogue Master Tapes were researched, at least in part, some time ago and Harry Weinger confirmed in 2002 “There is a released album, an unreleased album and a Frankie Valli album” and our research of the Artists Cards has shown this. Many tracks listed have been released by other Motown artists usually around the same time. As a result of our research and a UK plan for Unreleased Tracks via an independent label, in 2008, Harry Weinger took over and with the agreement of the Partnership, tapes were researched and this led to digitization of the previously released tracks and all were found except one and the Motown Anthology, the first CD release of their vinyl releases by Mowest and Motown back in the 1970s. However in that set the original version of 'Listen To Yesterday' was replaced by an alternative version with ‘surf sound’ overdub and a male backing vocal rather than the female vocal on the original 45 version.
So what about the unreleased ? I found evidence from more than 3 sources that the 'assets' were there, but as to what has survived in a completed form remained unknown in 2018 when the Snapper Box Set Project was implemented with Universal Motown supplying Bob Gaudio with at least 25 Tapes identified in this plan.... ‘digitized’ and sent to him for evaluation...... It appears unlikely that a full research of the tapes has been done. I doubt this given the above comments and although my research was partial, it was substantially correct and between 38 and 50 tapes were transferred from Iron Mountain [storage] for evaluation containing all of the 16/24 track and Mix-Downs done at the time... It does not however confirm completeness of recordings nor do the Tape Box covers which should record the session information. But the Tape Index we have and the Artists Cards all cross-relate and confirm the recording session work and the Master 16 [or 24 track] location of analogue tapes and songs as well as SMX’s done[i.e. Stereo Mixes].
Bob Gaudio in 2018 said he really wanted the STEREO Mix-downs and to not incur the cost and time commitment of a full research project....[.he had the Neil Diamond Broadway Musical as his priority.]........HOWEVER Bob did ask for the Tapes to be transferred and the Snapper Music Motown UNRELEASED CD took shape..The Motown Librarian found 19 ‘completed vocals’ in a partial review and 11 Tapes still to be checked in 2019. Bob Gaudio didn’t recognise many of the initial list of 19 songs identified on Tape Box Notes and was asking Frankie what he remembered.
By early 2020, Bob Gaudio made the final decision He either found MIX-DOWN’s from 16 track versions or mixed them himself to make up the 14 tracks [ well 13...as he withdrew ‘I Will Love You like A Man’ perhaps to avoid a LGBTQ reaction?] . We had 13 approved and mixed. Those he did approve either Frankie or he remembered. 15 Tracks with vocals were indicated by the Motown Librarian at the time of transfer and these have not been approved for release.
Several of these he should have remembered as he produced them. The results of their review were, we believe, kept a secret to only Frankie, Bob and Shannon Gaudio. It seemed incongruous too that Bob somehow had even rejected the inclusion of the EXTENDED version of ‘Charisma’ which had already been [without his knowledge] included in the Motown Anthology 2 CD set in 2008!!. Although we have asked Snapper Music for background and more data re the review by Universal and the FSP, we have no explanation for the whole review and selection ‘process’ nor the final result till the Box Set appears. What we know is that the Motown recording story is incomplete and we are documenting our findings and research for the future FULL project we hope will eventually happen
We advised Snapper we wanted more as there are alternative ‘Takes’ and mixes too, confirmed as existing by the Motown library manager. All of the tapes need to be carefully played and annotated, as ALL of the Four Seasons and Frankie Valli Motown recordings remain there as 16 track or STEREO Masters. For example there are alternative Mix-Downs [e.g there are 43 Mixes of THE NIGHT] and some tracks have been found in 2019 copied in to the FSP Tape Storage back in 1973. We have found several alternative versions supplied to the FSP by Motown as ‘sample’ Mixes which we have analyzed and put forward for inclusion and we hope these get included. Only the final Snapper Music release will confirm this.
We have been surprised and somewhat amazed that so little has been included from these unreleased tracks given that completed mixes by Bob Crewe, Hal Davis and The Corporation exist. So in our forthcoming blogs we are documenting what we know at this point in time from our paper records as a partial research of the ‘pulled’ Tapes and we will continue ‘Campaigning’ for more. It is necessary for us to be assured each tape has been reviewed in 'real time' by an engineer from the digitized copies that exist. We would have like to have been involved and escape the ‘cloak of secrecy’ re-these recordings.....but that has been Universal and FSP policy.
Our wish to tell the story of the recordings calls for ‘transparency’ of data and is the reason for this series of blogs re possible tracks and locations that may be found during such a review of the tapes and has always been our approach. Why not be open and build desire in the market place?. The counter argument is that such disclosure can lead to future disappointment if a track cannot be found or is incomplete. But most fans want ‘openness’ as hope is better than zero information. Secrecy is the enemy of an artist’s popularity and legacy.
In our archival research we have 50 Artists Cards, which show the recording history of songs on 16 [or 24] track Tapes. What we have data on covers 21 known released,and 29 ‘unreleased' songs.. So whilst we have 13 tracks approved and included in the Snapper Box Set, there is still a need for a FULL RESEARCH of the tapes and a dedicated Four Seasons at Motown Collectors Box set as the Snapper Box is a LIMITED EDITION set and only 3 CD’s of the Motown Years which covers 35 songs plus perhaps 9 alternative version. This is not right...... when the research in 2019 showed there is enough unreleased material to justify a dedicated Motown release of up to 60 to 70 tracks for inclusion on such a ‘Collectors’ set. The Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign Facebook page will continue to push for a Project where Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli would trust us to research and help compile. We will show in our ‘project plan’ how we would approach this and what we would search for.
This Project Plan is based on a review the Production Tapes pulled from the Motown Universal storage and our Paper Records. There is sufficient data that follows to recover what we believe are a remaining [at least] 15 to 20 extra unreleased tracks located via the Artists Cards as well as the 13 approved in the LIMITED EDITION Snapper Set as well as the Alternative ‘Takes’ and Mix-downs. T tapes may still be the only source for some Masters and these should be sought. Now we know there are other tracks previously only rumoured to exist or completely unknown previously [e.g. ‘Chained’....the Marvin Gaye classic song recorded in late 1971 by Frankie Valli]. Questions still remain.re the tracks on the tapes... Are there vocals? Are they complete or just ‘demos’ ? Who wants them to remain unreleased? Are they financially viable?....Bob Gaudio himself posed the question in notes in 2019….. ‘Are they worth the trouble’….?...re the Snapper Box Set before being reminded that the whole concept of the Box Set back in August 2018, that got the UK Fan Club support was based on including UNRELEASED ….and particularly the MOTOWN UNRELEASED…..so it appears he just did what he felt was viable for him at the time…BUT would he do more in the future?
So.........we are realistic as we have been Campaigning for over 20 years to get the breakthrough of the Snapper Box Set. That Snapper and Bob Gaudio’s commitment proved to be limited has been very disappointing and in reality we see 4 barriers to hearing any of the rest of the tracks:-
Bob Gaudio needs to be willing to spend money on ‘mixing’ tracks that will not add very much to his income compared to the rest of the Masters already issued.? [ he has said he is not wanting to so far – and whether Shannon Gaudio will in the future is the big question?]
Harry Weinger needs to get Universal to commit to it [although they may no longer own the recordings in law] ?
No profitable financial model exists to make it viable [at present] as no more than 3/4,000 copies would probably be sold without major promotion worldwide. However owners of the Beatles and Beach Boys Master Tapes have and are doing just what we propose
The buying market will reduce progressively as older fans pass away....again without promotion.
There is a possibility that the catalogue investors Primary Wave would see the ‘light’ and someone will seek to generate income before rather than once Frankie and/or Bob have passed away. Maybe the research here will help them but at least we will have shared it. We have seen evidence that the FSP has been primarily money driven in the past and not focused on the ‘art’ and skills of the productions and past musicians, arrangers and producers ...as well as Frankie...but the money will continue to roll in from ‘Jersey Boys’.....and re-issues of ‘Beggin’ !!!
Parts 1 to 6 of our detailed Track knowledge will follow to reflect the songs and the recording session work as we see it.
The Tape Sources
The Universal Motown Tapes we have knowledge of run from P2060 to P2678 [25 in total] for the original ‘Production’ sessions with additional copies made to P and T tapes as noted on Artists Cards. In addition there are 3 Albums of completed Stereo Mixes which should be part of the initial search. These are Located on:-
P4336&7 – Chameleon - Released May 1972 - [used for MW108 CD – The Motown Years 2008]
P4645 – Unreleased Album [Aug 1973} – MW788
P5084&5 – Unreleased Album [May/June 1974]
P5536&7 – Inside You – Released Aug1975 -MWS7007[UK] - [used for MW108 CD – The Motown Years 2008]
Retrieving Tapes P4645/P5084/85 is the first vault search that should be done as this would easily locate a number of 'unreleased'' STEREO mixes completed and transferred to final tape for release. We have recovered some of these tapes from the Partnership Storage which contains an unheard copy of My Eyes Adored You – The Final[and alternative] Mix.
A full list of Master Nrs from an 'internal' Motown Universal spreadsheet is available to complement this list for both released and unreleased. All previously released tracks are NOT included in these lists [bar 2 – 'Walk On Don't Look Back' Alternative Master] and 'Listen To Yesterday' Original 45 Master} and have been issued on CD. The Motown Years 2CD Set 2008 CD issue includes the PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED versions of 'Charisma' [Extended unedited] and 'Listen To Yesterday [Alternative Version] from Tapes P2389 and P2664 respectively.
All Tapes identified as core production tapes should be checked in 'real time' playback as they could contain many original multi-tracks and final STEREO masters. It has been claimed that Motown destroyed or wiped many. This is true and Artist Cards show this but Artists Cards also indicate transfer to alternative T tapes when this happened. Artists Cards confirm this which also indicates that all 16 tracks were completed. Sources within Motown have advised they have to be played to be checked as in the above quote.
Ken Charmer – For the Four Season UK Appreciation Society
So here we are in 2022 and still no Box Set. I wrote a series of Blogs back in 2020 highlighting the limitations of the forthcoming Box Set contents and as I revisit these blogs and update them, we still await the release of the project we started work on back in 2018, and I face the sad situation that I have lost confidence in the Snapper team since my collaborator Bob Fisher’s passing after they unilaterally decided to change contents without consultation and whilst this is their choice and decision as it is their investment, I cannot confirm the final contents and Snapper have made the decision to keep this confidential and also not to commit to a release date at this point in time.
Whilst this will most likely be before the planned UK Tour by Frankie Valli, I am no longer in the loop. I have been side-lined as I see it. I told Snapper...."The work that Bob Fisher and I undertook in the research and selection of suitable and necessary Masters took 3 years and we have compiled in the order of 814 tracks in the set. I personally spent over 2,000 hours on this work with Bob’s support and help day to day and whilst the SET is based on RELEASED ALBUMS we achieved around 271 BONUS TRACKS [33.29%], of which 60 are Alternative Mixes or UNIQUE 45 Mixes [7.37%]. We found[and got approval to] 129 Unreleased Tracks in the FSP or Universal Motown Storage[15.84%] and The Four Seasons Appreciation Society contributed 82 tracks [10.07%] via our archive and network of sources and Collectors. Whilst sound quality in a few instances was limited, the historical connection of the whole set has integrity as a career spanning profile in my opinion.
A truly superb achievement and yet we could and should have had more. At least 30 more UNRELEASED Tracks from Masters and 16 Track Tapes from Philips in 1970, Universal Motown and Drexel University [Sigma Tapes] were discovered but budget limits and time prevented further research and such efforts must be left to a future project if perhaps someday someone finds this commercially or artistically worthy of ‘preservation’ for the fan base to enjoy. We also know of other potential sources.
As the UK fan group we will continue to Campaign for such further research and in the meantime will share such information we have till we are no longer able to use our Web Site and social media presence passing the baton hopefully to future generations to discover.
I feel sure everyone we know [speaking on behalf of the UK Fan Club Core Group] who love Frankie Valli and all Four Seasons music will enjoy this unique ‘preservation’ of 90+% of the Catalogue of recordings and we look forward to its launch.”....and getting all of the 60s albums in MONO.
It has been a challenging and demanding job to identify and assemble various quality sound recordings and get these published but Snapper have not had explanation from Bob Gaudio as to why the rest of the Motown UNRELEASED Catalogue is below the quality required. They did not want to 'rock the boat' or engage with him re what fans would want and our requests for more. Lack of consultation or dialogue has also been behind the decisions by Snapper to omit superb INSTRUMENTAL versions of ‘Beggin' and ‘I'm Gonna Change’. Both are superb Northern Soul tracks and not poor Masters. So as I revisit the research finds, as to what we recommended should be included.....we will let you all know what the RESEARCH revealed and what still remains and where we believe it is. In the meantime what I said re Motown Unreleased remains correct and whilst this Box Set is ESSENTIAL to Collectors I would understand other fans comments that it could and should have been better if money had been spent on further research or Bob Gaudio and Frankie pushed for more. The pandemic may have delayed this project but that is not down to the efforts of Bob Fisher and myself…..and the support of Lynn Boleyn, George Ingram, Ray Nichol and the network of Collectors that you are.
Back in 2019 we said this with Snapper of a planned 2020 release……
So why are so many top artists selling their publishing rights to Major Investors and as we start 2022…[the latest being Bruce Springstein……..WHAT COULD THIS MEAN FOR FRANKIE VALLI AND THE FOUR SEASONS FANS? With the Primary Wave’s acquisition of the Publishing Rights of the group in late 2020 [for a 10 year Strategic Partnership] we awaited their approach while finalizing the WHOLE CATALOGUE Box Set with Snapper Music. Whilst we await the confirmation of a ‘release date’ for that 800+track collection in a limited edition 2500 set we know that is simply the beginning of a strategy that they should want to pursue.
Rolling Stone Magazine did an analysis of this last year and with NEWS of the sale of David Bowie catalogue it is a subject once again in the public eye.
“Of course, some artists want to sell their rights and receive an immediate lump-sum payment. That is where outside investors come in. The multiples that entire catalogs are being purchased for are high by any measure of an investment’s future value. That’s good for the artist. But it’s uncertain what it may mean for the investor. Mr. Ball, who competes with the funds that are buying entire catalogs, does not dismiss their strategy.
“Their goal is to grow their portfolio as large and as fast as they can, and when they get above a certain level, that value of all those catalogs is much greater than the sum of the parts,” he said. But he said he had more confidence in the funds run by people with music industry experience than those run by private equity managers. “They’re really smart people, but they don’t understand the nuances,” he said. Mr. Knowles said he considered it good to give the older artist the option of getting a lump-sum payment and be done with trying to manage different royalty streams. He also said he was confident that the music business would continue to perform in a way that justified the amounts being paid.“The growth in streaming has increased,” Mr. Knowles said. “It’s changed the dynamics of the music industry. It’s also reduced our overhead. We’re in a very good place in music.”
“Time is passing,” Neil Young explained to fans after news of his deal broke. “I want to cover my family and my art.… A good father plans on how to take care of his children.”. Many of these deals were put together after the pandemic brought the live music business to a complete stop, meaning many veteran artists were suddenly shut off from their main source of income. “Given our current inability to work live,” David Crosby said about the sales of his songs, who noted that it allowed him to pay off his house, “this deal is a blessing for me and my family.”
For Bob and Frankie given their age as the’ Four Seasons Partnership’ it is obviously a smart move for the next 10 years to Partner with PRIMARY WAVE and their children will obviously benefit now and during those years and it appears Shannon Gaudio will be clearly taking an interest in the catalogue management following his involvement in the evaluation and approval of the MOTOWN UNRELEASED in the forthcoming Snapper Music Box Set. Equally with Reid Crewe’s involvement [Bob’s niece] with Dan Crewe and the Bob Crewe Foundation it makes sense to maximize income now and promote and still achieve income in the future after their similar deal with Resevoir.
Again it is said by Forbes Magazine….”This scenario enables artists to participate in the upside growth that inevitably results from “active” management of their songs and recordings by sophisticated buyers who become real “partners” to maximize value in everything the artist does. Respected buyers carry deep expertise and sophisticated teams of specialists who actively promote the artist’s valuable songs and recordings. These are resources that most artists and songwriters simply can't match on their own. Active, significant attention generates real results. Period……So-called financial multiples on these rights and royalty streams (essentially a multiplier placed on current royalty streams) have never been higher. That means that artists can get a big cash payment right now - in one immediate lump sum - rather than wait for royalty checks arriving over many years that may never add up to the lump sum they can enjoy right now. …Buyout compensation (in the above case, the $6-$30 million number) may be treated as long-term capital gains in the U.S., whereas the feds treat continuing royalty checks as ordinary income. So, that gives artists even more money to enjoy right now. This is a significant, yet frequently not appreciated, factor to consider…
Buyers understand that musicians frequently “don’t need the money.” But getting paid top dollar right now is only one reason to sell. Perhaps even more important to many artists, “active” buyers’ deep expertise and resources grow new opportunities for songs, recordings and the artist’s overall "brand" and legacy.
These are resources that artists, bands and songwriters - no matter how “big” - can't match. Resources, that expand a song’s reach and artist’s audience (including to new generations of fans). Some buyers (those who take an “active” approach) have built significant teams of brand experts, marketing experts, digital experts - in addition to traditional synch and licensing experts - who proactively manage catalogs and create important and innovative new opportunities to maximize the artist’s “brand” and extend their legacy.
Not all buyers are massive nameless, faceless entities. Active buyers listen to the artist’s goals and give real attention and focus to the artist, songs, recordings and overall “brand.”
Sophisticated active buyers think of artists as partners in every sense of the word (and want the artist to feel the same way about them). They develop real strategies together with artists, and frequently share their vision and those strategies early in the deal process. They seek active input. They are receptive to the artist’s wishes. They crave active artist participation. That's why many of the top artists and legends of all time have entered into these kinds of deals.
For many artists, bands and songwriters, without active management, their "brand" slowly diminishes over time and their songs and recordings lose out on the critical opportunity to be exposed to (and enjoyed by) new generations of fans….For iconic and legacy artists, active management by a dedicated and passionate team of experts is especially critical.
And, don't forget about music reversion rights under U.S. copyright law.So long as songwriters and artists give sufficient notice, ownership of post-1978 music publishing rights - and potentially even master recordings (there is some debate here) - revert back artists after 35 years (assuming the songwriter or recording artist didn't originally own them outright). That means that, in most cases, songwriters should own all of their publishing rights - and recording artists potentially their master recordings - for all works created prior to 1985 (no matter what those deals looked like back then).”
This blog will continue to promote and discuss the forthcoming Snapper Music release…..and not only the research and finds soon coming to a fortunate 2500 fan collectors, but to promote and push for future releases….LIKE…..’The Frankie Valli and The Four Season Motown BOX SET’ which should include a full 5/6 CD Box of the Released/Unreleased/Alternate Versions that we have shown exist. A full analysis of our data will appear this year from us as Bob and Shannon Gaudio now have all the Multi-track Tapes from Universal Motown and a huge claim to their ownership. We will explore the limits of the current 13 ‘approved’ tracks and the barriers to this potential project….and others.
We will continue to create NEW STEREO MASTERS with DES and share these with you via You Tube….and explore the catalogue history in our ‘Seasons on Saturday’ podcasts.
Our policy of openness and transparency will bring our views on what still exists as UNRELEASED TRACKS and where we believe these songs are, so they can be found and released further promoting the ‘brand’ with fans.
Of course all of our aims support and complement the investors and the artists achievements and ultimately their ‘brand’ and future income……but we also want this to happen for ‘surviving’ fan generations and not just ‘future’ ones so our TELL ALL policy re the music will continue. We can’t wait for action….we want it now and so the CAMPAIGN continues….with our own“dedicated and passionate team of experts”
Ken Charmer – Music Historian for the Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society
Happy Christmas and a hopeful New Year for 2022 to all of our followers from us the founders of The Four Seasons UK Appreciation in our www identity.......George Ingram, Lynn Boleyn MBE, Ray Nichol and myself Ken Charmer[Happy Christmas from Spain].
So here is our Christmas 'music treat' of the original Four Seasons line-up 'Becoming the Four Seasons'
It is 60 years last month since the Four Seasons appeared on the record label – Gone 5122. Anyone who studies the Four Seasons catalogue will know their first recording was in November 1961 with 'Bermuda b/w Spanish Lace'.....an unedifying yet interesting beginning.....and even more so as they appeared as Billy Dixon and The Topics before and after that supposed NAME CHANGE. Firstly in October 1961 with 'Trance b/w I Am All Alone', and then in January 1962 with 'Lost Lullaby b/w Trance' both on Topix......and again as the Topics on a single side 45 on Perri 1007 with 'Girl Of My Dreams' in May 1962. So the road to success with Vee-Jay and 'Sherry b/w I've Cried Before' was up to this point in late 1961/early 1962 unclear in terms of the FINAL ID that they would live with and become famous as. They had been recording backing vocals for Bob Gaudio since 1960 and appearing LIVE still as The Four Lovers in the New Jersey area, before their eponymous 'Four Seasons Lounge' bowling alley appearance would lead to the name change as we see in the 'Jersey Boys' Show and film(s)
However Tommy DeVito's Tape Archive revealed how 4 songs preceded their ultimate ID change and led to three songs that would see release, and one that would be recorded three times but never be released at all. All three of these unreleased versions of a song called 'LIKE YOU' [in totally different arrangements] are included in the Snapper Music Box Set coming out next year, but one other song of the 4 DEMOS which was NOT APPROVED by Bob Gaudio for inclusion in the Box Set remains unheard by most fans [until now that is]. You will have to read about the other tracks in the Box Set Collectors Notes and hear the results there of the other salvaged and restored tracks that did get approval.
The four songs which survived as DEMOS on a cassette archive tape in Tommy's collection reached us via the late Rex Woodard who co-wrote the BIO that would inspire the 'Jersey Boys' script from his 1990 interviews with Tommy DeVito. 'Trance/I Am All Alone/Like You/I Still Care' were all recorded as DEMOS in the early 1961. Clearly they impressed Bob Crewe who recorded and released the first two under the Billy Dixon and The Topix 'moniker' on his Topix label 6002.
But 'I Still Care' was selected for recording by Miss Frankie Nolan with the group backing [and Frankie Valli's soaring falsetto vocal] on Paramount 10231 in April 1961 and can be heard below. It is a great 45 performance and song.
The Billy Dixon and The Topics DEMO has surprisingly been rejected by Bob Gaudio for inclusion in the Snapper Music Box Set. We sent it to him and he has heard it.....but surprisingly said NO.... We asked Snapper Music why?..... but never got an answer and they did not approach Bob Gaudio for an explanation!!!!. Maybe as the song by Miss Frankie Nolan appears in 'Jersey Boys', Bob did not want to confuse matters ?. Maybe the sound quality of the DEMO was judged too poor for Inclusion? He wrote it, so receives 'royalties' for it from 'Jersey Boys' but the version by the group that would within a year become The Four Seasons 'sensation' is a full harmony ballad treatment typical of many of their later Vee-Jay tracks. It should have been in the Box for Collectors. We think it is an amazing find.
However with the help of Casey Chameleon and DES Artificial Intelligence 'sound splitting' technology we are able to present and share this extra-ordinary performance in a Digitally Extracted STEREO Version as the only way to preserve this great DEMO. We hope you enjoy it and will form your own opinion if the Four Seasons that became the group we all love should have recorded it and released it at Vee-Jay. We think so!!!
Ken Charmer – For The Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society
Finding the Four Seasons Master has been a four year task to ensure the Snapper Music Box Set contains all that has survived in the FSP Archive of Tapes.
Back in the early 60s tape recorders started to appear and my father’s obsession with new technology meant we were amongst the first people in Liverpool to own a Grundig TK5 reel to reel tape recorder in 1961. The Four Seasons plus many 1960s artists were recorded from radio by a teenage music lover......ME. The Germans invented the tape recorder during the Second World War and by the late 50s and early 60s it had taken over from the acetate as the primary recording medium for popular music and the basis for most of our records. Across the Atlantic the creators of the hits where squeezing every trick out of the sound engineers to give us our MONO singles using the most advanced tape recorders available from makers like AMPEX.
As a Four Seasons Appreciation Society Music Historian my interest is based on research by the late German Sound Engineer Stefan Wriedt in to Sound Engineering Quality and our aim was always to find the original Masters and have them properly re-mastered and issued in MONO and ‘good’ Stereo. Stefan and I started to critique the poor STEREO of much of the 6os period so I am always asking if we have the best possible recordings from the studios back then when 'Sherry' and the early hits were created by Bob Crewe?. As we have just had access to the Four Seasons Archive of Analogue Tapes with new digital transfers from 1962 to 1986 from the Partnership storage, we will soon hear what has been salvaged from those tapes for the Snapper Music Box Set for release next year. All the MONO and STEREO catalogue has been found and will be re-mastered to 2021 sound technology standards from new digital transfers by Bill Inglot's Studio with Mastering by Peter Reynolds of Reynolds Mastering on to CD.
Wikipedia tells us.....”Ideally, because of their high resolution, a CD or DVD (or other) release should come from the best source possible, with the most care taken during its transfer. This does not always happen. The earliest days of the CD era found record companies using whatever tapes they had lying around to create their CDs, with frequently underwhelming results. An nth-generation tape equalized for vinyl frequency response might be deemed perfectly acceptable by a record company, and (importantly) might be much easier to locate than the "original" source master. Additionally, the earliest days of the CD era found digital technology in its infancy, which also aided often poor sounding digital transfers marked by dropouts, under-utilization of Signal-To-Noise Ratio, etc. When the first CD re-masters turned out to bestsellers companies soon realized that new editions of bare-bones back catalogue items could compete with new releases as a source of revenue. Back catalogue values skyrocketed, and today it is not unusual to see expanded and re-mastered editions of fairly modern albums.
Theoretically, digital re-mastering should solve some of these problems. Original master tapes, or something close to them, can be used to make CD releases. Better processing choices can be used. Better prints can be utilized, with sound elements remixed to DES or 5.1 and obvious print flaws digitally corrected. The modern era gives content providers almost unlimited ways to touch up, doctor, and "improve" their creations and products, and as each release promises .......improved sound....”
In this Box Set many of those potential problems will be tackled and we will all hear 'what has survived' of those iconic vinyl releases. I wanted to ask a sound engineer from the 60s about the process and to understand why we often don’t have the quality today from the early 60s recordings that we would like on CD's in the 'digital era'. Fortunately I got the chance to ask not just any sound engineer but one that worked with Bob Crewe and The Four Seasons. George Schowerer was a sound engineer who worked with Bob Crewe in the early sixties and, after a break in the army, again in the latter part of the decade as technology advances changed the quality of recordings.
George confirmed what Wikipaedia says and gave some reasons why we can’t always be sure that what we hear is closely related to the original recordings…….”When the old Rhino 25th Anniversary CD box set came out, I complained bitterly about the quality of the mixes I had done. They were not equivalent to the mixes that left Mirasound. Eventually, in conversation with Bill Inglot, the engineer responsible for both the Rhino 25th Anniversary set and the current [then 2007] ‘Jersey Beat’ box-set, he acknowledged that in some cases, the record company involved would not release the original tapes...only a copy...and depending on who made the copy, you got whatever you got at that time. Now, when I chided Rhino about the quality of some of my mixes, I quoted a CD I had (in my library) manufactured by Ace Records from England(CDCHD538) 'Solo/Timeless' by Frankie Valli in which the transfer were the best I've ever heard of my material from Mirasound... so I know that good transfers do exist!Bill Inglot indicated to me that the reason for the earlier Rhino 25th Anniversary CD album sounds (which were distorted) were due to the quality of what the record companies supplied to him.[in the FSP archive?]. He said that in many cases, the record companies destroyed the multi-tracks to avoid misuse...remixes etc. I think that's crazy, but I haven't lived their life problems with cover records in that era. I remember that the business was ripe with copy records which cut into sales of the original discs. And then there was plain bad re-mastering. I remember when the first CD of Bread came out, I thought it was a "cover" record! The classic "sound" wasn't there...it was replaced by a very "sterile" mix sans echo...and it was obvious that someone had gone back to the multi-track masters and started mixing them over again without ever listening to the original releases that made them hits! I don't know what I would have done, if I was responsible for master tapes... but then again, I'm one of those people who saves everything (much to my wife's distress).
Crewe indicated to me in April this year [2007] that he had lost some of the multi-tracks due to a studio going out of business (Crewe Records) and others by just being thrown out as well as some studios not doing a proper search for the parties who owned various recordings. I have heard many engineers say that when libraries were full to the brim, studios would notify the various "owners" as to the need for retrieving their tapes. When no one appeared to come for those tapes, studios would then dump them, because they needed the space. Most studios in those days didn't charge for storage and the various companies took advantage of that fact! While I don't have the reasons they sat so long in the studio libraries, I do remember many people not showing interest in picking up their stuff. I guess the original people must have felt that it was now the problem of whomever they sold the masters to. It was a case of the cost. It sure is different now that original masters are so highly valued.. But money is money...in whatever form it is created.”
A very true comment and perhaps saving money on storage all those decades ago means now there may be 'limits' [sound wise] to what they have on analogue tape and what can be achieved from the FSP archive. BUT 'money' is also the driver that has made this project possible as with such a high price box set, the research and HQ 2020 transfers have been possible. What we have found from this research of the FSP storage is that the tapes are ALL Safety Copies of the original albums as issued in MONO and STEREO with some copies of tracks from the Studios as DEMO mixes. So far the quality of these new transfers appears good and will be the best achievable as that is WHAT HAS SURVIVED.
I asked George if it was true that there was 'distortion' on some Four Seasons recordings…………” Up to and including 4 track,( to an extent) records were in essence a representation of a performance.” This approach was used by Bob Crewe at both Olmstead and Stea-Phillips in a focus totally on the MONO mix for 45 and album. George had his own approach when the group moved to Mirasound due to distortion problems [according to Charles Calello] that they were having in late 1966 at Stea Philips………. “Many of the Season's recordings that came out of Sound Centre in New York had distortion due to the many numbers of overdubs that were a trademark of Bob Crewe's work. I believe the reason for the distortion was the fact that in those days, the playback quality in the "sync" position (in order to add tracks while remaining in sync), was god-awful! So were the consoles used in many of the famous hit records. That's why I pioneered the use of normal playback during the addition of tracks. This was because of Bob's penchant for multiple tracks at any given session...the number never consistent, but could reach 20! In other words the small section strings might be overdubbed three times in the course of the session...same for the horns, etc. The only problem with that method is that all tracks would have to be overdubbed to maintain sync overall. But the quality remained first rate. The only track (or tracks not "bounced") were the final vocals, since playing back all the music tracks in sync position was only for the benefit of Frankie's headphones.”
“Now in my earlier days with Bob Crewe(59-61) done at Allegro Studios featuring Freddie Cannon, Billie & Lillie, the Rays, and the Shepard Sisters, we had only two mono Ampex recorders which were used. You can imagine how much bouncing was done this way! Other sessions at Allegro (not for Bob),were He's so Fine (Chiffons) and Mickey and Sylvia/Kitty, The Tokens, etc. Most of those sessions used only two Ampex four channel mixers combined to a MONO output..only by 61/62 did we get into STEREO at Allegro. Keep in mind that none of the works in the early to mid sixties had anything but a single 45 rpm record in mind. That's why the STEREO mixes coming from those days have such a 'ping-pong' stereo balance. We didn't have the availability of the equipment used today. Following that period in Jan.62, when I was drafted into the US army till Jan 64, I was not active in the studios. When Bob found that I had returned, we connected again at Mirasound in 67..the rest is history.”
For most of the STEREO mixes up to 1965 the Four Seasons appear separated from Frankie in the right channel with all of the Drums in the left channel and instrumentation split in the right channel as a result of the limits of 3 and 4 track mixing possible in the studios at that time. It was the tape technology of the day. Motown and Atlantic had 8 track recording and the group were able to take advantage of that in November 1964 when they recorded 'Dawn' and 'No Surfin' Today' with master engineer Tom Dowd at Atlantic before signing to Philips and then back to 4 track and eventually 8 track.
So I asked George if our expectations of sound quality today from these 60s recording are too high?. Though the process of 'bouncing' is degenerative to sound purity and clarity, Spector used it as a key element in his "Wall Of Sound". George told us…….“As for the aspect of why many of those recordings cannot produce a current expectation of today’s mixes is very simple. Take "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" for example, by the time the overdubbing was bounced so many times, the mix of strings is down to one track of a multitrack ( 8 track master in this case). Same for each section of the orchestra. So. this prevents a nice spread of the orchestra in STEREO... The Mirasound mixing board had just twelve inputs and four output buses! That's why my photos at Mirasound show additional mixers. During the initial session, we used all inputs, sometimes even used the outboard mixers! Then, during overdubs, I switched the use of the console, using eight of the input faders to monitor (in STEREO, since I loved STEREO ahead of its time) the eight channels of the recorder in use. I used the other four inputs on the console (and sometimes the outboard mixers as well) in order to feed the eight track Ampex with the newly overdubbed material.
When you work with Bob, there were several channels of handclaps and tambourines alone [ on many songs, like 'Beggin'], which were all mixed together and "bounced" to one channel. I have no idea what was coming next on the sessions until Bob decided on the spot what to add...so trying to keep the overall picture was quite challenging. But I know what left the studio was clean because of the use of my playback method.
I hope this gives you some needed answers to the many questions about resurrecting the old material. The MONO stuff is set in stone, while the eight track stuff will be ‘stiff’…....and the only thing that would allow for a good STEREO mix is perhaps the 16 track stuff. I was fortunate to be the first mixer to use 16 tracks..the very first session on that machine was "With This Ring" by the Platters, produced by Luther Dixon.
As for the method used on the Seasons Sessions, we would record the basic session onto 7 of the 8 tracks available. Then the process of clearing room would start. Multiple channels of drums, horns, or strings would be mixed together (each group separately) and "bounced" to a single track. This would free-up several channels for overdubbing. Any further additions of strings (for instance), would be mixed again to a new channel so that, once again, all strings were relegated to a single channel...and so on! This is why the tapes of this era cannot make satisfactory updates, when the original intention did not allow for STEREO spread of any string or horn group (rhythm included). Since we only had one 8 track machine, this was the only way everything could be mixed for a mono hit record. If we had had two machines, then you could go back to earlier generations and recover material in a straight-forward manner. We didn't have those options back then. I had pretty much imagined what Bob Crewe would want as a final product, and always kept that image in my mind while overdubbing the brains out the music. In many cases, he graciously let me do the compilation at hand and I know he felt comfortable with my work. I still cringe when I hear some of the Season's stuff (which was not my work) that was turned into STEREO and the resultant selection of where they placed some tracks in the mix (when STEREO was never the intention of the original producer).”
Many aspects of such mixing will in the near future be able to be corrected by the use of DES [Digitally Extracted Stereo] which uses advanced software to extract individual instruments and vocals into 'stems' [another name for music tracks] and then they can be remixed to create a true STEREO soundstage. BUT without the Producer alive how do you know where he would place them?. [We will return to this subject in a future blog asking.....'Is the Future 60s Sound UPMIXING?] Bob Crewe did go back to the surviving multi-tracks in 1967 and corrected tracks re placement in the mix which was the sound he wanted with the Seasons and Frankie together with a spread of instruments across the sound stage. These mixes saw release on the ALL STEREO 'Edizione D'Oro' Double LP in 1969. George was also achieving this with the 16 track recordings from 1967.
George again commented about the frustration of Bob Crewe adding to mixes before their final pressing to vinyl.......“The fact that Mirasound only kept a Gotham/Grampian/Scully acetate cutting lathe to basically do dubs (not the most sophisticated system), it did prompt Crewe to take his final mixes to Bell Sound for acetate cutting and that engineer at times would talk Bob into adding echo, etc. which I deplored. Bell had a particular "sound" to their chamber (live), and I certainly didn't like it at all! To this day, I can immediately identify a song mix that came out of Bell Sound. The funny thing is that at Mirasound, I used a mix of straight and delayed echo feeds to the Emt plate...giving a sort of Columbia sound to the echo. If you listen to some of Frankie Valli's songs, you can clearly hear the two different types of echo on some of the mixes. Bell Sound had their own live chambers, and as such, I can, even today, tell that the session was done at Bell Sound..”
So did bouncing still really reduce the quality of Frankie's and the Four Seasons recordings as this time was now 1967?...... “To help everyone understand the bouncing of tracks, let's use an example... The original session with musicians was recorded onto a maximum of six channels of an Ampex AG-300-8 recorder. The individual channels were perhaps ,1-drums, 2-bass, 3-guitar/s, 4-horns, 5-strings, 6-vocal (usually for reference, but sometimes final). Now after the musicians left...(a standard session for the union musician was four songs in three hours), the strings let's say returned a half hour later to avoid running into the union rep! They would lay down another string part (to build-up the sound of the strings - don't forget, in those days we didn't have emulators and computers to multiply the sound of four strings). So now we have strings overdubbed on track 7. We now must combine channels 5 from the original session strings and the overdub strings on 7. That combination mix will be "bounced" over to channel 8. Once the producer is happy with the "string sound" on channel 8, we canrecord over tracks 5 & 7, add perhaps more horns, or guitars, and so on...further mixing those added channels to an available track (5 or 7). This pattern continues until we have loaded 7 channels (in the case of Bob Crewe and the Season's sessions, this might have included extra overdubs of hand claps, tambourines, foot stomping, background voices, and more.... so you now have an idea of what it took to plan where you were going to place these items (and whatever else they managed to "cook up") on 8 measly tracks to make a "final" finished song. Any thoughts of STEREO were remote at best [until mid 1967]. Getting the MONO sound right was the only priority in all the bouncing. Remember that in my system of "bouncing", I couldn't use the sync position on playback because of the lack of fidelity off the Ampex unit. So each "bounce" placed the new mix, out of sync with everything else on the tape. That's why all tracks eventually had to be "bounced" and brought into syncronization with each other. For the final vocal track, there was no reason to have to "bounce" it...because all tracks (1 thru7 ),were already in sync, and at that point the vocal artist could care less about the fidelity in his headphones of those tracks, so we used the sync position of the sel-sync for playback...and the newly placed vocal would already be in sync. Understand that this way of working meant that all instrumentals portions of the tape were at least one generation away from the original session, if not more, when so much was added later. This called for meticulous levels, and absolute quality control during the many steps used, to ensure the final product was clear andwith a wide-range in fidelity. On the ACE dual album disc to which I compared the quality with the tapes that left my sessions with the CD quality, it clearly shows this was done with care.
I didn't do all the songs on that disc, however, I'm satisfied with my section of the works selected. That disc contains 6 or 7 different studios (at least), and each has a different audio character to their sound...the later material [Late 67] was recorded with higher quality consoles that featured an abundance of pan pots, and features used to record 16 or more channels, giving the engineer a wider array of channels to work with. As you could well imagine, once we got the first 16 track Ampex into the studio, we could offer even better sound by not having to "bounce" the living daylights out of the song/s. As I mentioned, the first session on the 16 track recorder was "With This Ring" by the Platters, which actually was done completely "live" with no overdubbing, a welcome change to the way we could now work. Add to that, we never had auto faders with memory for mixing. At Mira, I also used (at times on Frankie) the Columbia style of chamber, which was a mix of delay and direct echo...which helped the strings in those days, since the strings were usually never more than 4 strings (orig session) and 4 strings (overdubbed). I was pleased to note that at least one other engineer of the later dates used the same delay on Frankie's voice, which I thought gave him a classier sound.
Working the way it did really meant that you had to always be alert and consider what the final mix will sound like because one mistake and your screwed. Once the 16 track Ampex came into the studio, we could then take into account the idea of STEREO spread on the final mix and the sound improvement was quite obvious.”
George would move on in late 1967 as would the group to record Genuine Imitation Life Gazette at Mercury Sound Studios, 110 W 57th Street in NYC but this snapshot of how they recorded all of their hits [and particularly as technology changed between 1966 and 1967] is the only record we have been able to find of their recording methodology and the equipment used with Bob Crewe. The descriptions re alternative echo and instrumentation spread will be audible on Discs 11 to 14 of the new Box Set as these cover Atlantic, Stea-Philips and Mirasound Studios and the [added] overdubs Bob Crewe did at Bell Sound as these vary from the album MONO and STEREO versions but are preserved as Bonus Tracks. This Box Set will enable fans to hear the evolution of the recording approach and how good the MONO mixes really were, and also how even in the late 60s the MONO and STEREO mixes have their own distinctive character. This is one of the most outstanding aspects of this Box Set not captured before in previous issues by the group. By 1971 at MoWest Frankie and the Four Seasons were working with some of the best recording and mixing technology and the most legendary engineers [e.g. Russ Terrana] and the Motown STEREO mixes in this Box Set are 'arguably' the best in their catalogue.
Ken Charmer
[All photos are courtesy of George Schowerer and our thanks go to him for his feedback re the recording process and his amazing results]
As our Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons Project [with Snapper Music] to create a catalogue spanning box set enters 'Mastering' we are already looking around as what is needed to improve on it in future projects . As well as tape sources we know with potential unreleased tracks, there are some new approaches to the way we hear the sound of our favourite group. The technology of the first half of the 60s left the STEREO albums 'very' separate in terms of the VOCALS as Frankie became separated from the group on the STEREO versions of their albums.
But today there is a NEW approach which seeks to give us, now and in the future, a better listening experience, particularly on headphones. They call it 'Upmixing'........Experts are using Artificial Intelligence [AI] to pick apart classic recordings from the 40s, 50s and 60s, isolate the instruments, and stitch them back together in crisp, bold ways.
Well we are not experts but we KNOW the Four Seasons SOUND and the catalogue.
WIRED Magazine covered the approach being taken by STEREO enthusiasts and Engineers with new skills earlier this year....
Specialist work by dedicated DES Engineers on the BSN Forum has shown what can be done with The Beatles and Beach Boys Catalogue and many other classic 45 releases from the 60s. Our resident Studio Researcher Casey Chameleon has got involved and created several classic Four Seasons tracks as DEMOS until a project for a full REVISED set of STEREO versions is available. That will take much studio time and the use of a top DES Engineer and we know a few but as we can't wait for Bob and Frankie to spend the money on hiring one so we have created our own very interesting DEMOS. The aim was to emulate the single version with the Four Seasons centred vocally with Frankie, with drums to the left, and instruments to the right. This can be best heard on headphones in the results we have created as new mixes.
We will feature some of these on You Tube and in our FB pages over the next few months as rare and collectible versions for members. We start with a song never produced in STEREO. But here is an example of what the AI software can do to create STEREO from MONO in a way never before possible.
The magnificent single of 'Ronnie'. A nice NEW STEREO mix in the style we believe Bob Crewe would have done it if the multi-tracks had survived.
And in our research we have seen who lost the multi-tracks......Frankie Valli haha.....
[Photo courtesy of George Schowerer - Mirasound Studios 1967]
Since the arrival of our internet presence(circa 1997) and 2021 we have collected and collated a huge amount of data that can be found on our UK fan club web site that documents the musical recording history of Frankie Valli/The Four Lovers and The Four Seasons from 1953 to 2018. Back in the 1970s we were novices and knew only 60% of the story. Now we know so much more. And continuing touring by Frankie Valli and the success of Jersey Boys has kept the music alive. This research has come to a peak with the forthcoming Snapper Music Box Set, but that is not the full story and we can and will explain why.
Of course Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio are the 'bosses' and we are talking to their employees and not all of the stories will be happy and will uncover the fiction of 'Jersey Boys'.....which many of you know and does not detract from how great the show is. This is/was the music business and this was a 'band'.......and remember....they always break up. But Frankie Valli was the 'instrument' that delivered all but 2 Four Seasons HITS in the UK and is the main man to carry the group and sound.
Whilst research has revealed much some gaps in the groups music and history still remain unless we can collectively dig out unreleased music, articles and peoples memories: facts or stories they haven't disclosed or can even remember. On the face of it this did not seem realistically possible a few years ago. There has always been a reluctance to talk about or publish stories re the history of the Four Seasons outside a bland storyline, firstly because back in the 60s/70s the Partnership worried about negative connections damaging Frankie's reputation as a celebrity. But now we know so much and want you the fans what we have and what remains out there.
'Seasons On Saturday' is our further exploration of the history of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons via a series of podcasts and video through the medium of Mixcloud to entertain collectors and fans, and onto the next generation of fans. We are able to tell them what we can as the ULTIMATE[so far] collection of their recorded music is presented in the forthcoming Snapper Music Box Set.
Our first effort is a ZOOM interview with Lee Shapiro and John Paiva which covers their induction and development as Four Seasons in 1973 and 74 up to the recording of the 'Who Loves You' album in 1976. Joining us for this session are Dominic Paradise, Anthony Contratella and Chuck Walker along with me [Ken Charmer] and Mark Charmer.
Back is 2011 we published the research at the time re the 1969 release of the biggest and BEST EVER albums of the Four Seasons 1960s hits all in newly mastered Stereo mixes. That article can be found here
In conducting the FSP Archive research we advised Snapper Music that the inclusion of this Double Album was essential to the Box Set, if the original Master Tapes could be found ?. We had of course preserved via vinyl dub the 1972 high quality pressing versions and held these Re-Mastered in our own archive. But we have advocated and told Snapper that we wanted the original Masters.
Bill Inglot advised that two sets of tapes existed. A Scotch Tape Safety Copy and the same on Ampex Tape were found and transferred to the UK Sound Engineer for evaluation and Re-Mastering. The best sound quality versions will be selected for inclusion. Why these could not be found and supplied to ACE Records back in the 1990s has never been explained ?
Some fans were critical at the time of the past release of this album on CD by ACE Records of London in September 1997 as that was mainly Mono versions of their hits, but that was not really their fault as at the time the FSP could not find or provide these as the ORIGINAL FULL Master Tapes . Some doubted they had survived but we were delighted that 2 safety Copies do and Snapper's Sound Engineer has them.
Chuck Walker wrote the sleeve notes for that unfortunately 'inaccurate' release of the album by ACE on CD for the first time. Chuck has revised the information on the CD release here to create an accuratesummary of the original album tracks, there importance and highlights, especially those that were appearing for the first time in Stereo, and the other mixes used to create the vinyl album. The original Double Album reached # 38 on the US Billboard Album Chart. Chuck's notes.......
“The Philips Release of Edizione D’Oro in December 1968 marks the end of what some consider the Golden Era of The 4 Season hit single releases. It spans the years 1962-1968. Like many aspiring artists it took a while for the group to find their niche and unique sound which they became famous for.
'Edizione D’Oro' differs from the previous Greatest Hits Albums in both design and musical content. First pressings of the two record set came in a distinctive gold foil gatefold album cover along with a poster/calendar for the following year. This distinctive higher cost packaging was somewhat unique at the time for pop/rock albums, but became typical in later years. The album cover had their name and album title in gothic lettering which resembled a window in a cathedral. The album was released and first promoted during the 1968 Christmas season causing some consumer confusion as at first glance it appeared to be a Christmas album.
The Inner gatefold contained brief notes by Dick Clark explaining how he helped them promote “Sherry” and the group with an appearance on his nationally televised American Bandstand Show. Later pressings of the album changed the gold foil to a gold printed cover, the big 4 on the front from red to white and eliminated the poster/calendar.
The 4 Seasons, somewhat older than the typical rock record buyer, were finding it difficult to connect and having minimal commercial success in their later Philips years. They were playing concerts as the opening act for Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas. Youthful record buyers connected them more with their parent’s era than the youthful sounds of the late 60’s. This trend would continue to be apparent as radio transitioned from AM to FM Stereo stations. After the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969, it was clear younger people were into different styles of music than being offered by The 4 Seasons.
Record companies also made a dramatic shift in their marketing mid-1968. Historically nearly all singles had been issued in Mono. Albums were typically released in two versions Mono and Stereo. In 1968 production of Mono albums ceased and hence forward only a Stereo album with mono compatability was produced. Existing Mono records were dumped into the cut out bins by record companies and were available at deep discounts for several years.
This transition to all stereo may have been the reason Crewe and Philips decided on a new Greatest Hits Album. There was however, a problem. Bob Crewe, like many independent producers had focused on the Mono singles market. Mixes of singles he produced until 1968 were all done in Mono, and if there was enough success for an album it may have Stereo mixes or simply re-channeled mixes to simulate stereo. Actual true stereo versions were limited [particularly pre 1967 due to 4 and 8 track Studio Tape capability] and in many cases had a tendency to mix vocals primarily on one channel and instruments on the other. [and a separation of Frankie Valli from the 4Seasons]
Ten of the tracks are from the Vee Jay era (62-64). Seven were first issued as singles, “Peanuts” on an EP and later a single rerelease. “Stay” and “Alone” were released to take advantage of the market after the Group parted company and moved to Philips. Most are reworked mixes of various Vee Jay Stereo album versions. The only one with significant differences from the Vee Jay albums is “Ain’t That A Shame” which is missing Nick Massi’s vocals, which were apparently never included in the final [STEREO] mix.
The remaining 18 songs are from the Philips era (64-68). Seven appear for the first time in true stereo.
“Dawn (Go Away)” is based on the version cut at Atlantic when they were trying to negotiate a contract in late 1963. It has a more prominent guitar riff and is missing Frankie’s vocal introduction which was later spliced to the single master by Bob Crewe.
“Big Man In Town” is a modified mix with all vocals centered for a more balanced presentation.
“Save It For Me” is clearly a different take or mix as the vocals are slightly different and the organ different than the single version.
“Girl Come Running” is an alternate edit restoring the [final mix] vocal introduction not present on the single.
Sadly “Ronnie” is only in Re-channeled form as no known Stereo master was ever produced.
“Rag Doll” finally appeared in true Stereo. All previous versions were either mono or re-channeled. Even today this version is rarely heard on CD.
“Let’s Hang On” is an alternate edit without the spoken vocal introduction heard on the hit single version.
“Silence is Golden”, the flip side of the Rag Doll single and originally heard on the “Born To Wonder” Album appears for the first time in a true Stereo mix. It is a powerful early message song and could have been a successful single on its own right. In fact it was in 1967 by the British group The Tremeloes.
Eight of the remaining ten songs are updated Stereo versions from previous album releases.
“Watch The Flowers Grow” and “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” make their first true Stereo appearances, having not previously appeared on any albums.”
The benefits of the latter [post 1966] versions of the tracks 'Watch The Flowers Grow', and 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' shows in their overall much superior 'soundstage' as Bob Crewe was able to benefit from the 16 track technology at Mirasound Studio [NYC] and the mixing skills of George Schowerer. We will write more re these days in a future blog post with an interview with George.
By 1968 Bob Crewe was able to review with the engineer at the time Ray Ciccala, six of the surviving Stereo mixes . A note found in the FSP Tape Boxes shows the Takes found and reviewed and selected as UNIQUE mixes.. Here is a tape of that search through the surviving TAKES. The sound file accompanying it lets you hear that audio review. This was uncovered as part of the FSP Archive research. The tracks found in this review of the multi-tracks and mixed to new Stereo mixes were....
Dawn
Silence is Golden
Girl Come Running
Save It For Me
Big Man In Town
The mixes selected are different to any earlier releases and The You Tube video file of this research is below.
The result of our research will, we hope, be by far the Best Ever HITS Collection of the groups 60s successes on CD and a totally essential part of this BOX Set and something fans have been calling for for decades.
I have just lost my friend and collaborator who worked tirelessly with me to compile the tracks for the forthcoming Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons Box Set. Bob Fisher, formerly of Motown Records UK as well as Sequel and Westside, passed away peacefully yesterday following a heart attack.
We embarked in 2018 with a commitment to check every source we could find to assemble an historic and career spanning tribute to Frankie Valli and all of his Four Seasons and say thank you for all the joy they have brought us and the rest of the fans.
We found what we believed was 90% of what has survived and committed to continue in whatever follows this box set to find the rest including the 20+ unreleased tracks still in the Motown Archive, the tracks hidden on 200 plus 5 inch reels[many unmarked]and on the 1970 stored 16 track tapes in the Four Seasons Partnership Storage. I'll keep the searching going Bob and get Bob Gaudio to give us the rest!!!!!.......He and I, have pioneered what we believe will be a resurgence and popularity in Frankie and the group after this 5 decade compilation is released next year to coincide with the NEW Jersey Boys TV Movie and Frankie’s planned UK Tour.
Bob worked at Motown Records UK and was responsible for the release of ‘Life and Breath’ on 45 in the UK in 1975. His Westside 2 CD compilation of ‘Bob Crewe Presents….The Dynavoice Story’ remains legendary.
His great friend Tony Rounce of ACE Records perhaps best sums up the fan he was.
“His first musical love affair - a lifelong one – was with the Four Seasons, ‘Sherry’ being the first record he ever bought. Bob has spent much of the last few years working on a 42 (that’s forty two!) CD boxed set of the Seasons and solo Frankie Valli’s complete recordings. It would have come out by now, had the pandemic not got in the way. It’s due out next year, and it breaks my heart that, having driven it over the finish line, Bob will never own a copy of what he regarded as the most satisfying achievement of his long career as a record man…”
But he was a great man and a music guru for soul, blues and pop music collectors. He will be missed by so many and our thoughts are with his family and friends. I have lost my best ever collaborator who has helped put together the best ever Four Seasons compilation which will change the view of their career for future generations. Thanks Bob….my dear friend.
With the failure of the Genuine Imitation Life Gazette[GILG] album, in early 1969, the direction and recording sessions for Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons of the time were in a state of disarray. But Philips knew they had an ace up their sleeve in the form of the 'Edizione D'Oro' Gold Edition of all the 60s hits in wonderful re-mastered STEREO. I will write separately re this most important release.
But sessions would develop during late 1968 even while GILG was being mastered for January 1969 release which included the song 'Natural Morning' which was found and included on Disc 14. But other Philips session notes revealed three tracks that would gain release on 45. The Master of the superb 'A Face Without A Name' [42858] is not the same as the May 1969 released version [44773] (apparently) but our search of the storage revealed that version [we thought] as listed in the FSP Archive on a 5 inch Reel along with the 'unreleased', 'Alone Again' [42861] and 'I Was A Boy' [42863] and 'You've Got Your Troubles' [42862] and 'To My Father' [re-titled eventually as 'To Make My Father Proud'] both in early versions. All remain unheard. Bill Inglot found the Tape Box and we were so excited, but the tape inside was the damaged MONO tape of 'Timeless' album tracks and not as listed on the Tape Box!!!!!!. With over 200 such reels, many unmarked in the FSP storage facility, there was little chance of finding the tape[in a wrong box!!!]. With the budget spent there was no chance of searching for more potentially 'unreleased' or alternate takes. Time and cost means that someone sometime will have to speculate the Engineers time to review all of these. Could they include lost gems?.......No-one knows till they are played. But other discoveries were made and included both vocal and instrumental. Unheard instrumental versions of 'I'm Gonna Change' and 'C'mon Marianne' being two examples.
Sessions in 1969 would produce superb recordings [all of which were found in MONO and STEREO] of 'The Girl I'll Never Know' [44815], 'A Dream Of Kings' [46111], along with 'And That Reminds Me' and 'The Singles Game', which Bob Crewe released on his Crewe Label[Crewe 333] before Philips took an interest and agreed to an album release which would go into production in March 1970. 'Half and Half' would be an eclectic set again but this time of half Frankie Valli and half Four Seasons. Finding the MONO album mixes in our FSP tape archive search was a brilliant album version to include with details of the session dates and the different 45 versions of the released tracks.
But this albums poor performance reaching just #190 on the Billboard Album Chart was taking the group into dark times. The debt problem that surfaced from Tommy DeVito's gambling also must have had an impact as well as Bob Crewe's alcohol and drugs problems recently revealed by brother Dan. Sessions and Masters and releases were few.
By the middle of 1970 the sound of the group was becoming more progressive with 'You Can't Take It All From A Man'......a precursor to 'One Man' with a different lyric and arrangement.'One Man' was the version discovered in the Mercury Tape Storage and shared with us in 1997. That version is what started our search for unreleased tapes of this period and are examples of 'unreleased' progressive songs, possibly too far from their former traditional sound and left for that reason.
But the group would have some final sessions for an album rumoured to be titled '1970' and the releases that happened showed their quality as a group. 'Where Are My Dreams' remains an amazing song and performance, and if it was to be part of an album and fans had heard it then maybe things could have been better at Philips.? The final single, 'Lay Me Down b/w Heartaches and Raindrops' is still an superb single and we have now heard part of the idea for the planned album. Our research uncovered 3 tapes [27 tracks] from the time of 16 track recordings from the Philips reels. Only two tracks would surface as MONO mixes for this box set, [as surviving vocals] 'The Goose' [a somewhat strange 'Beatlesque' arrangement and song], and the amazing Crewe-Gaudio song 'I Need To Get To Know You' . Along with a version of 'Just How Loud' a 1966 Northern Soul song penned by Artie Schroeck and Jet Loring this Rare Tracks Collection has a quite Northern sound. All of the above tracks are in a STEREO/MONO mixed set of alternative versions and unreleased tracks and they form a cornerstone of this Box Set and of this period of non-hits and experimentation ..........taking us from 'I'm Gonna Change' in 1967 and the discovery of the original DEMO of 'Beggin'........to the rock based 'Whatever You Say b/w Sleeping Man' on their 1971 UK tour.......this period of changing sounds and styles make these Discs collectors gems.
DISC 18 FOUR SEASONS/FRANKIE VALLI – HALF AND HALF(MONO)[PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED]/STEREO)
Philips PHS600341 No. 190 [4/70]
DISC 19 – RARE AND UNRELEASED 1967 TO 1971
These discs contain 29 Bonus Tracks to the released album of which 18 are previously unreleased tracks
Perhaps the most collectible vinyl album of this decade for Four Seasons fans is 'Genuine Imitation Life Gazette' [GILG] and definitely their 'cult' album being so different in style and sound at the time to anything heard from them before. And it included album artwork that was at that time totally original and unique.
It's concept for the group and Philips was a huge gamble but after the Beatles had turned album making on it's head with Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band, Bob Gaudio convinced the group and Philips they had to try something new. It has always been an anomaly to me that on 'Saturday's Father' the closing segment features the group in classic harmony as they had always shown since 1962, and yet apart from a Four Freshman style 'Idaho' later on the album the sound of the group is completely new. They could never escape the 'harmony' sound of Frankie's voice blended with the group. And they never truly did, notwithstanding the 1970s revival.[c/f 'Harmony' in 1976 on the 'WHO LOVES YOU album]
We tell the background to the inspiration, recording and release of the GILG album in the Box Set Collectors Notes but when the initial research of the FSP Tape storage revealed a MONO mix of the album, Snapper immediately decided to make this a vinyl insert and reproduce all of the album artwork and inserts.
Then the concept of two CD Discs for this album emerged and it meant that a number of tracks from MONO and STEREO sources from this period that we wanted to include could be accommodated. We have therefore picked up outstanding tracks from the mid to later 60s as BONUS Tracks.
As well as the MONO mix of the album which is previously unreleased we have included the two instrumentals from 1965, 'Sassy' and 'Night Hawk' plus 8 other MONO versions including the Wonder Who 45 versions and the 'non-album' versions of 'I've Got You Under My Skin' and 'Electric Stories' as the BONUS Tracks are focused on an all MONO Disc.
One other BONUS is the long known track recorded as a DEMO. 'Michael and Peter' was prepared for Frank Sinatra's 'Watertown' album sessions by Bob Gaudio. It features writer Jake Holmes on the intro then Frankie Valli's wonderful interpretation.
The second Disc features the STEREO album with 6 BONUS tracks of hard to find STEREO versions of single releases including the long lost 'Tell It To The Rain' which is the same TAKE as the 45 version. It was surprisingly found on the 25th Anniversary Reel for the 1988 'vinyl' release. 'Raven' is also featured in STEREO and this has only ever appeared on the Rhino 1990 Rarities CD. Four Takes in STEREO were discovered from the session tapes late in April 2021 during our final search. An alternative version will also feature on a later Disc.
Overall these are two exceptional Discs in the Box Set covering an eclectic album and superb BONUS Tracks from the mid to late sixties.
Whilst a critically acclaimed album it was not accepted by fans and was a commercial failure which was a huge blow for Bob Gaudio personally and would almost destroy the group as Philips now had lost faith in them and saw a lost fan base and also the group [particularly Bob Gaudio] saw no return was possible to the old sound. 'Raven' was their last return to that formula. How to go on in 1969 with a new sound was immense as was the debt Tommy DeVito had incurred for them.?
The remaining time at Philips was virtually unknown to many fans back then as the music industry had moved on to 'rock' and 'soul' and these sounds dominated the charts and the Four Seasons would get very little promotion and would become an 'oldies' sound.
These Discs comprise.....
DISC 16 THE GENUINE IMITATION LIFE GAZETTE – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MONO[PLUS Album tracks only VINYL INSERT]
DISC 17 THE GENUINE IMITATION LIFE GAZETTE – STEREO
Philips PHS600290 No. 85 [1/69]
The Discs include a total of 17 BONUS Tracks, one of which is 'previously unreleased' [plus the MONO mix of the album on vinyl and CD]
In our next bog we scrape the barrel of the FSP Archive for this 'end of the 60s' period finding SOME of the lost classics that Philips paper records show were completed but never released and a wonderful unheard Crewe-Gaudio song.
From mid 1965 Frankie Valli was recording 'solo' tracks and due to a reluctance on the part of Philips to have the Four Seasons sound 'challenged', the 1965 45s appeared on the Smash Label. And whilst it would be 1966 before Philips took over such releases it would not be till mid 1967 that an album would appear with the release of the 'Solo' album in June 1967 after the huge success of 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You'.
Researching the Four Seasons Partnership[FSP] archive proved to be frustrating as not all the single releases had survived on Master Tape.......and the 'Solo' album had never survived as a MONO mix.
The PolyComp Tapes contained what had survived of the MONO mixes but we had to recover from vinyl dubs....
The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore (MONO 45 YW1-36622)
This Is Goodbye (MONO 45 YW1-36623)
You’re Gonna Hurt Yourself (MONO 45 YW1-37523)
The Proud One (MONO 45 1-38789)
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (MONO 45 1-40375)
Surprisingly the last song [a #2 hit] was not found on tape but an acetate of an earlier TAKE with an alternate and very relaxed vocal by Frankie did survive and is included with the above as BONUS Tracks.
In our research of alternate versions and MIXES we did find that This Is Goodbye and Cry For Me had survived on tape ONLY as Pseudo Stereo [or Fake Stereo as marked on the tape box] and these versions are the only ones to appear in the CD era. We also found that the GOLD album on Private Stock [PVLP1006] contained UNIQUE STEREO mixes on the vinyl album from 1975 that were worthy versions as BONUS Tracks. We salvaged four very well mixed STEREO versions here.
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (STEREO Gold 1975 Alternate Mix)
The following album 'Timeless' released in June 1968 attempted to establish Frankie Valli as a singer of 'standards' like his hero Frank Sinatra.
With 16 track recording Philips were moving albums to 'STEREO only' as the mixes were so good and phonographs of the day could play STEREO albums in MONO. Only ever released in STEREO we did not think it had ever been mixed to MONO. But in searching for a tape of 'unreleased' tracks from 1969,[more re these tracks on a later blog] we discovered to our disappointment that the tape was damaged ….and not the songs we had wanted. Further detailed work revealed it as two track and one was distorted and one intact. We salvaged the intact track and found it contained 9 songs in MONO from this album as studio 'out-takes' with intros and outro chat on some songs. A truly amazing and lucky find.
Adding to that we found an unreleased song from the same sessions 'Stranger in Paradise', and an unreleased song from 1968 called 'Natural Morning'. The details are revealed in our Box Set Collectors Notes.
Overall these two Discs give a wonderful snapshot of the the start of Frankie Valli's solo career.
It remains to be seen if the Tape Box scan above actually contains the tracks listed as 'pulled'. Whatever the sound engineer finds on this tape we will have all the STEREO mixes listed from other tape sources.
DISC 13 THE FOUR SEASONS PRESENT FRANKIE VALLI SOLO [STEREO ONLY]
1966 was a great year for music and it appeared to be for the Four Seasons as they toured continually with new member Joe Long. And they still had 45 hits with 6 Top 100 records during the year. But there was no 'original' album and Philips flooded the market with their past hits albums as a result of the return of ownership of the Masters from Vee-Jay's bankruptcy.
The Beach Boys and the Beatles were revolutionising the album market and music with their 'Pet Sounds' and 'Revolver' albums and the lack of an album by The Four Seasons till May 1967 would not help them after the loss of 4 important members of their writing and production team. Nick Massi, Charles Calello, Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell between August 1965 and early 1966 and whilst they kept the hits going this would prove a burden that was too much to maintain or develop a new sound and something would have to change as 1967 developed.
Whilst the very competent Artie Schroeck stepped in in January 1966 with his arranging skills it was still the Frankie Valli's falsetto trademark that Philips were selling and although he and the group wanted to move on they were a 'cash cow' for Philips. Despite the anthem of 'I'm Gonna Change'[which never saw an official 45 release but would become a dance floor classic by 1973 in the UK] it was a case of the more things change the more they remain the same and it would take until 1967 for Bob Gaudio to come up with a new direction which would prove to be pretty disastrous commercially for the group and their career.
The important part of the research of the Tapes for this period was to find the NEW GOLD HITS album in both MONO and STEREO which we did. For decades fans have known that the singles from this period were distinctly different mixes to the albums and the recording studios moved to 16 track from early 1967. They moved in 1966 because of distortion problems at Stea-Philips [Charlie Calello told us] and because the equipment at Mirasound Studios with Sound Engineer George Schowerer facilitated the ability to add dubs without 'bouncing' and sound loss as was necessary in the first half of the 60s and this change also led to much better STEREO mixes.
Some fans regard this album as their favourite of the group during the 60s and it certainly features a diverse set of styles and arrangements.
But the single releases were still MONO and for reasons best known to Bob Crewe and Philips at this time the 45 versions were different mixes and predominantly issued before the album in 1966 and the UNIQUE single mixes of 'Tell It To The Rain/Beggin'/Dody/C'Mon Marrianne' and 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' are featured on this Disc in these versions as BONUS Tracks. The post album 45 versions of 'Watch The Flowers Grow b/w Raven' are also preserved here and did not feature on any original albums at the time. We found all of these preserved on a set of five Mercury Compilation Master Tapes. 'Raven' would not feature ever on a vinyl album and saw it's first release [in STEREO] on the Rhino Rarities Vol 2 in 1990. That mix will feature on a later disc.
This is the MONO tape scan as it has survived.
More versions however from this period were found but space restricted this Disc and we have focused on keeping all the original MONO versions of 45s with the original [but alternate mixed versions on] MONO and STEREO albums. The other versions found will surface on later Discs in the set. The late 60s proved to be a more fertile period for our research as I will document in future blogs.
Whilst these tracks showed the variety of styles and songs the group were capable of, the same formula built around Frankie Valli's falsetto was still the dominant 'hit' sound that the record buyers wanted and moving away from this would bring a classic album but a financial disaster.
By the end of 1963 the Four Seasons were in 'breach of contract'.....but back on the charts.!!
Their dispute with Vee-Jay was in the courts and their earlier material was still being released by that label.
Their decision to record again was made in summer 1964 after over a year of conflict re royalies and ownership of masters. There was a new sound coming from the group and 'Dawn' and 'No Surfin' Today' were recorded at Atlantic Studio with now legendary Sound Engineer Tom Dowd. The story of that is told in the Box Set Collectors Notes and the location of those original 8 track Masters is not known. They may still survive in Bob Crewe's Personal Archive at Crewe Studios in Maine otherwise they are lost apart from the 'underdub' STEREO version mixed on the Edizione D'Oro album.
What our research of the Four Seasons Partnership[FSP] Archive revealed is that MONO versions of these two songs as issued on 45 had made it to the relevant Master Albums and are preserved on the Safety Copy Master Tapes. This faded Tape Box shows just how long ago that was and how time and the typewriters of the times notes have almost faded with the timings and Master Matrix Nrs hand written and some titles and the album Nr. incorrect. However the ANALOGUE MASTERS are intact in both MONO and STEREO of this album and are now re-transferred to Pro-Tools in DIGITAL FORM and will be Re-Mastered for this set. This tape of their first Philips Album is Tape Box titled 'Folk-Album' and PHS200-129 [it should be marked PHM] . It would see release as 'Born To Wander' and in MONO has never before been released on CD. Dated 9th January 1964 this is clearly a copy from the Production Master as the album came out the following month.
There has never been any evidence of other 'unreleased' songs from these sessions but an acetate of 'Millie' was found as an alternative version and the story of this is in the Collectors Notes and it appears as a Bonus Track. Also appearing as a Bonus is the earliest known LIVE Recording of the Four Seasons. Taped out of the Sound Engineers Board and in Tommy DeVito's Archive comes a set of four songs from an early 1964 show shortly after this albums issue[two songs are from this album]. It captures the amazing range of Frankie Valli's vocal falsetto at that time and remains a key find of their history as a top 60s group.
The albums that followed through 1964 and 65 were all found to exist in both MONO and STEREO Safety Copy Tapes but the singles from this period are in several cases different mixes. Also several tracks were only ever MASTERED in MONO. Such examples are 'Big Man's World', 'Only Yesterday' and 'Ronnie'.
We turned to a set of Mercury Compilation Tapes which contained many of the groups single versions preserved as Safety Copies. The clear and Full Frequency and High Dynamic Range copies included the UNIQUE 45 mixes of 'Save It For Me' and 'Silence Is Golden'. The other notable finds from 1965 included 'A Sunday Kind Of Love' in both MONO and STEREO and the distinctively different MONO version of 'Girl Come Running'[which would not surface in STEREO till 1968]
The Final album of 1965 'Working My Way Back To You' did not include the 'Let's Hang On' 45 version and no albums contain the special Mix for 45 of 'Too Many Memories' and of 'Opus 17' [for Spring 1966 release]. All of these have been preserved in this set.
The FSP Archive tapes however did not contain many of Frankie Valli single releases from this period from his first 'solo' studio sessions in mid 1965 on and finding and preserving these proved to be a more difficult task. The Frankie Valli singles that survive were preserved on Polygram Compilation Tapes, but not comprehensively. As we had believed and was proved correct, 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore' and the 'B' side 'This Is Goodbye' did not survive as MONO MASTER's and are preserved in this Box Set from high quality vinyl dubs The latter track from our research only survived on the Tape Copy marked in pen as....'Fake STEREO'..[otherwise known as PSEUDO STEREO].......and a Re-Engineered attempt to replicate TRUE STEREO at the time.
All such tracks are included as dubs where they are missing or as created on the Engineer's Tape copy and are preserved as BONUS TRACKS on the albums for this period. The Frankie Valli SOLO 45 tracks appear on the SOLO Album Disc which I will cover later. Full details will be in the Collectors Notes.
The albums for this period in the Box Set are......
DISC 5 BORN TO WANDER MONO/STEREO
Philips PHM200129/PHS600129 No. 84 [2/64]
DISC 6 DAWN GO AWAY & 11 OTHERS MONO/STEREO
Philips PHM200124/PHS600124 No.6 [3/64]
DISC 7 RAG DOLL MONO/STEREO
Philips PHM200146/PHS600146 No. 7 [7/64]
DISC 8 THE FOUR SEASONS ENTERTAIN YOU [With 'Toy Soldier]MONO/STEREO
Philips PHM200164/PHS600164 No. 77 [3/65]
DISC 10 SING BIG HITS BY BACHARACH/DAVID AND DYLAN
Philips PHM200193/PHS600193 No. 106 [11/65]
DISC 11 WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU AND MORE GREAT NEW HITS MONO/STEREO Philips PHM200201/PHS600201 No.50 [1/66]
When Snapper Music through Bob Gaudio commissioned Bill Inglot to create new DIGITAL MASTERS from the ANALOGUE TAPES back in 2018, it was at at time we had wondered if this would reveal a treasure trove of unheard material?. But label scans of Tape Boxes revealed all sorts of notes, anomalies and background questions re what were the 'original' album and source tapes and if some tracks were even there?. Even the album mix of 'Sherry' is not as the 45 issue.
The story of the groups contract at Vee-Jay as told at the beginning of our Web Site Sessionography page [HERE] showed that the contract dispute led to documentation and storage of Tapes during the 1960s being neither comprehensive or consistent re the highest quality MASTER Tapes. Past recovery of MASTERS for projects for CD issue from 1988 had achieved a SET of STEREO MASTERS......but no focus on the Original MONO Masters had been done. And what about the 'special' mixes done for 45 release which are different to the album? Did they still exist as MASTERS?
ALL the stored Tapes in the Four Seasons Partnership Archive of the early albums appeared as 15 ips Safety Copies in some form supplied by the Studios/Label and no 3 or 4 track tapes from the sessions existed. This would prove to be the case for virtually all of the Analogue Tape 'era'[ie 1962 to 1986]. For the previous issues on CD of the Vee-Jay albums full copies of the albums had been difficult to find and a UK Copy of 'Ain't That A Shame' was sourced from EMI as it remains different to the US being substantially the 'Big Girls Don't Cry and 12 Others' album. [for which no tape was found]. It was also necessary for Bill Inglot for previous STEREO issues for CD to 'Re-Construct' the 'Sherry and 11 Others' album from various Tape Sources.
In evaluating the risks to sound quality for this project, it was decided that, via listening tests, the best sounding source MASTER tapes for all the Vee-Jay albums [both MONO and STEREO] where the Tapes handed back to the Four Seasons Partnership when Vee-Jay went bust in 1966. Many of these tracks were subsequently released by Philips on vinyl albums like 'Looking Back' and '2nd Gold Vault Of Hits' in November of that year.
For this Box Set the Masters each album track has been identified and are being sourced from these 'Delivery Tapes' as they were transferred by Ver-Jay They remain the closest generation tapes to the 'original' studio masters and were clearly the best sound sources from listening tests. They will be NEW digital releases for every track recorded at Vee-Jay in both MONO and STEREO album sets, something 'unique' to this Box Set. So each Vee-Jay album is being re-created from the closest source to the studio session versions which [from our research] no longer exist.
Some stunning Bonus Tracks were discovered from this period including previously unreleased acetates of DEMO's, and alternative STEREO and MONO versions as well as the unheard BBC Radio broadcasts from 1963 of 'Big Girls Don't Cry' and 'Ain't That A Shame' whilst on their UK tour. A NEW first time in STEREO mix of 'I've Cried Before' [with the group backing Frankie] as well as the 'special' STEREO Mixes re-engineered for the 'Golden Hits' album of 'Sherry' and 'Peanuts' have been preserved. Perhaps the most surprising find again 'unique' to this Box Set was to discover 3 totally different versions of an 'unreleased' Bob Gaudio penned song 'Like You'. It appears as an original 1961 DEMO and then as versions first a year later with an organ backed arrangement and finally from 1963 with a trumpet backing. Frankie Valli's lead vocal on all 3 is impeccable.
The Box Set Collectors Notes will provide details of all single and album releases and sources for the 'unreleased'.
The Vee-Jay albums in their complete MONO and STEREO Versions included are.....
DISC 1 – SHERRY & 11 OTHERS MONO/STEREO
Vee-Jay VJLP 1053/SR 1053 No. 6 [10/62]
DISC 2 FOUR SEASONS GREETINGS MONO/STEREO
VJ VJLP 1055/SR 1055 No.13 on Xmas Chart in 12/63 [12/62]
DISC 3 BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY & 12 OTHERS MONO/STEREO
Vee-Jay VJLP 1056/SR 1056 No. 8 [2/63]
DISC 4 AIN’T THAT A SHAME & 11 OTHERS MONO/STEREO
Vee-Jay VJLP 1059/SR 1059 No. 47 [5/63]
DISC 9 THE FOUR SEASONS RECORDED LIVE ON-STAGE MONO/STEREO
Back in 2009 Casey Chameleon and Sound Engineer Stefan Wriedt wrote a blog for us re the status of the CD based Four Seasons Catalogue and the sources of some of the Mixes ….what existed still as the original vinyl?.... and what the definition was of a 'Best Mix' on CD?. That blog is still relevant [and can be found here] and as we enter the REMASTERING stage of the Snapper Music Box Set we are revisiting that in terms of what has survived and how it has been gathered from a wide range of sources and what we and Snapper are seeking to achieve in the Box Set. Much investment by Snapper Music goes into the artwork and memorabilia gathering and it's presentation which is their hallmark. But so too is the Mastering by Peter Reynolds and his very wide experience.
Our Mega CD DISCOGRAPHY on our web site[See Here].....attempted to track and assess the quality of the CD's by Frankie Valli and the group released from 1988 to 2010......including most in your collections …...and to take a view of their Collectibility[in terms of originality and sound quality]. Many of the links to purchase sites at the time still apply....some very cheap but others 'super' expensive. But with Stefan passing away and the rise of You Tube and streaming it has not been possible.......or worthwhile....... investing effort in such a difficult revision of the CD catalogue web page on our web site without his sound engineering skills. The CD has also become as rare as vinyl although still a viable music storage medium in 2021.
Our focus is MASTERING TODAY and a NEW reference point in terms of the catalogue. SO in this NEW COLLECTION from Snapper Music we have re-visited the ANALOGUE TAPES checking their 'authenticity' as the production intention of Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio and the other producers involved over the decades. This will probably be the LAST AND DEFINITIVE SET OF MASTERS on CD by Frankie and the group for future generations and for transfer to other media platforms[ie streaming etc].
The variablity of CD quality issues of FV/4S music in terms of MASTERING is so inconsistent since 1988 and of course the 1960s MONO releases have not been properly addressed as we will considered in forthcoming blogs.
Back in 2009 Casey and Stefan set a standard wanted for the catalogue as 'BEST MIXES'
“Firstly the characteristics that make it sound great……
Clarity – that sharp clear shape to each element in the sound
Content – the sound stage and it’s constituent parts
Separation – the difference or space within the sound between the elements
Depth – the position of the sounds in terms of the distance they appear from the listener and each other.
We believe the definitive versions need to be stored in the best digital form for future generations of collectors. As mastering improves and the technology to process the sound, we will be able enjoy the Four Seasons as never before. Their collection is too important to be neglected”
That has happened now thanks to Snapper Music and an 'enlightened' attitude from Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli. The process of finding and reviewing all potential sources for this project has taken 3 years and has been difficult. Over the next 6 months I will outline the search for rare and authentic tracks as recorded by the group with all of their albums and alternate surviving versions worthy of note. Duplication in the set has been avoided as much as possible with the MONO and STEREO versions recovered as they have survived. Acetates and LIVE show recordings have contributed much to the range and importance of the performances over the period and each 'decade' has it's pop/rock music context. Every track included is in the research team's opinion.....'UNIQUE' [ie being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else] The tracks that never made it to STEREO have also been researched too and the original MONO MASTER versions found, along with Pseudo STEREO versions[as produced at the time following MONO only recordings].
In the 2009 Blog Stefan analyzed how no TRUE STEREO version of 'Goodnight My Love' had ever appeared on CD and he tracked the vinyl sources. It took us, as an example, till April 2021 for Bill Inglot to find a tape source deep in the Four Seasons Partnership Archive and allocate it for 're-mastering'. With the delay of the pandemic more time has allowed intense searches such as this to uncover more 'original' hidden gems.
I will start from the beginning in our next blog and work through the very distinctive 'decade focused' sources of the MASTERS and how they have and are stored and what has survived and been 'rescued'. My conclusion overall is that this has been a major 'rescue mission' and but for this project much would probably be lost forever. I will document what we couldn't find or include.......and the 'rescue work' still needed . And although a huge achievement the research for this set has shown there is more to be found and released......some sources we know of whilst others remain rumours.
And one mystery source remains largely unknown......the 'BOB CREWE ARCHIVE' which remains in the hands of Dan and Reid Crewe at Crewe Studios in Maine.
It is all about 'Looking Back'......which was the title of a 1966 album by the group. But that is what we have been doing on your behalf as part of the Snapper Music Project. For the first time it has been a case of fan involvement in asking the Four Seasons Partnership just what still exists of the Four Seasons Master tapes?
It has been a long project for us as researchers in The Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society on behalf of all fans worldwide.....and recently through a long pandemic....and it is deeply sad that we lost some wonderful people due to Covid. But life and music must go on and it is good to announce that through the collaboration we have had with Snapper Music and the research of the sources we were able to make some amazing finds. The research for their planned Box Set release has now been completed. We are advised by Snapper that Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli have agreed the content they can release for the fans almost entirely as we asked for.
The final search of tapes and acetates during April 2021 added greatly to the rare and unreleased and alternative versions that have been found. Bob Gaudio personally checked out 29 of the bonus track finds for the set.
It is now for Snapper to take the project forward into the Re-Mastering and Production stage, after the research of sources for the Masters from the Partnership Tape storage, the Universal Motown Archive in New York State and Collectors Archives. Each CD features Bonus Tracks as closely related to the career timeline of Frankie and the group as was possible and the selection for inclusion has sought to include every important recording both released and unreleased in a comprehensive collection.
This has always been the aim of the UK fan group.
The identification and selection of both original and stereo versions of tracks from the 1960s in particular was considered the most intense area for research. But the inclusion of 13 Unreleased and stunning productions from their time at MoWest/Motown with alternate versions together with ALL the released tracks from that period provides a core achievement that was what we in THE FOUR SEASONS UK APPRECIATION SOCIETY signed up for with Snapper Music of London back on 20th August 2018 . And then to our surprise the research team found the LOST DISCO ALBUM and the STREETFIGHTER album studio Tapes plus lots more. All will be revealed and put into context as the release date arrives.
Two objectives for us since 1997 have been finding the UNRELEASED tracks and getting the 1960s albums in MONO, remastered to modern mastering [now 2021] standards. We wanted confirmation of what had survived on tape and for this to be salvaged and restored. We can say that our objectives are 90% achieved [subject to re-mastering] and in our blogs I will up to its release explain what was found. [and what couldn't be found or included].
We and the Snapper Team believe this to be an awesome collection which fans will love. l will post more on our blog through the summer re the individual albums by the group and their background and will advise also as Snapper prepare their press release plans and pre-ordering arrangements. All of you will want to know the final details we know and with Snapper we will provide final details for the Box contents, price and release as soon as possible.
Ken Charmer and Lynn Boleyn
Next Time we will re-visit Casey Chameleon's search for the 'Best Mixes' in 2009 and what has been found in 2021
Fans and friends will miss the talent and warmth of Joe Long
By Charles Alexander
As a former editor at Time magazine, I generally write about politics and policy—particularly about things I consider wrong with the world. But this story is about something that was right with the world for 88 years—the presence of Joseph LaBracio, better known as Joe Long. Joe, who died from complications of COVID-19 on April 21, was one of the most prominent players in the illustrious history of the Four Seasons, the pop singing group immortalized by their harmony-rich music and the Broadway smash musical Jersey Boys.He is the second Season to lose a battle with the coronavirus, following the death of Tommy DeVito last year.
Those who know the group only from Jersey Boysthink of the Four Seasons as Frankie Valli, the lead singer with the golden falsetto; DeVito, the bad-boy founder of the band and its lead guitarist; Bob Gaudio, the quietly brilliant songwriter and keyboard player; and Nick Massi, the eccentric bass guitarist and vocal arranger. This was the quartet’s lineup when they burst onto the scene in 1962 with three straight No. 1 hits: “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man.” Nearly 60 years later, Frankie and his latest lineup of Seasons are still touring. The music has been ubiquitous for decades: in dozens of movies from The Deer Hunterto Jennifer Lopez’s more recent Hustlers,and in countless TV shows, from The Sopranosto The Crown.
The writers of Jersey Boys, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, did a masterful job (four Tonys! more than 11 years on Broadway!), but they could not possibly cram the entire history of the Four Seasons into two and a half hours on stage. The musical is great as far as it goes, but it focuses mainly on the Seasons’ struggle to achieve their first breakthrough and the early years of their hitmaking. Dramatic necessity and convenience dictated that the play give Joe Long short shrift. But the fact is that Nick Massi stayed with the group only three years after “Sherry” hit the pop charts and was soon replaced as bass player and bass singer by Joe, who remained in the Seasons for 10 years—some of their most successful and creative years.
I became a Seasons fan at age 12, from the moment Sherry came out with her red dress on. Yet, growing up on a farm in rural Tennessee, I never saw Nick Massi in person. By the time I first saw the group in Nashville in 1967, Joe was as familiar as any of the Four, always smiling as he sang and played his unusual left-handed bass. I can’t make a personal comparison with the brief Massi era, but by all accounts from old-timers, Joe helped lift the Seasons’ live performances to a higher level, giving them a new personality and warmth. With a gift for stage banter, Joe became the group’s unofficial MC, introducing songs and kidding around with the other Seasons, especially Tommy. Joe was just as warm and vibrant offstage. While all the Seasons sometimes greeted fans after concerts and signed autographs, only Joe took a real interest in the fans and became friends with hundreds of them. He was the least pretentious and most approachable rock star you could ever meet. Without a doubt, Joe was the Season most beloved by the most loyal fans.
Joe helped make some of the Seasons’ best records, including “Opus 17,” “Tell It to the Rain,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “C’mon Marianne” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” In particular, he was on one of the Seasons’ most enduring classics, a Gaudio composition called “Beggin’.” With its emo lyrics and distinctive interplay of drums, bass and piano, the song was a modest hit in 1967 and apparently way ahead of its time. It became by far the Seasons’ biggest hit in the 21st Century, when a remix of the original version topped the British dance chart in 2007, a hip-hop treatment by a duo called Madcon became a sensation on several continents, and American Idolwinner Phillip Phillips sang the song on that must-see TV show. One of many anachronisms in Jersey Boysis that it shows Massi singing on “Beggin’,” even though he had already been replaced by Joe when that song was recorded.
The talented Mr. Long also helped create two of the very best Seasons albums. The first was an imaginative, musically diverse album of social commentary encased in a satirical newspaper called The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette. So different from the Seasons usual fare, it was not immediately successful, but it has aged well and been repeatedly rereleased on CD, minus most of the newspaper. The Rock Snob’s Dictionarylists Gazette as one of “Ten Lost Masterpieces.” A couple of years later the Seasons signed with Motown and produced the magnificent Chameleonalbum. It also started slow, but one of its tracks, “The Night,” later became a monster hit in Europe. English fans admired that Motown album so much that, when the Internet arrived, they created a website called Chameleon. Neither The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette nor Chameleon, showcases for Joe’s singing and bass playing, are mentioned in Jersey Boys.
In fact, in the first version of Jersey Boys, produced in California in 2004 by the La Jolla Playhouse, the name Joe Long did not come up at all. When Valli and Gaudio went to La Jolla to check on this pre-Broadway tryout, one of the changes they demanded was that the writers insert the names Joe Long and Charlie Calello, who was the group’s musical arranger and briefly filled in for the departing Massi before Joe came on board. So, when the play opened on Broadway in 2005, the Frankie Valli character let the audience know when Joe Long joined the group, and you can see him singing and playing on three songs toward the end of the play. But he has no spoken lines—not exactly a complete portrayal of the most talkative Season ever.
Jersey Boys was not the first time that history was unfair to Joe Long. In 1990, the Four Seasons were invited to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in only its fifth year of existence. Valli and Gaudio requested that both 1960s bass players, Nick and Joe, be inducted with the other three original Seasons, but the Hall didn’t want Five Seasons and flatly refused. So, as accurately shown in the climax of Jersey Boys, it was Frankie, Bob, Tommy and Nick who were inducted. Seasons fans were absolutely outraged at Joe’s being left out and they remain so to this day. Decades of protests and petitions to the Hall have been fruitless. It’s an injustice that has never been corrected.
But Joe was not at all forgotten. He may not have had a big role in Jersey Boys, but the huge success of the play focused attention on the Seasons’ legacy, and the resulting spotlight could not possibly miss the giant contribution made by Joe Long. In the last decade of his life, Joe racked up as many honors as the rest of the Seasons. He finally began to get the credit he had always deserved. And maybe this tribute of mine will help a bit to give Joe his due.
Joseph LaBracio was born on Sept. 5 in the tough Depression year of 1932 in densely populated Northern New Jersey just across the harbor from New York City—also home turf to all the other early Four Seasons except for Gaudio, who was born in the Bronx and moved to Jersey as a teenager. Joe’s birthplace was Elizabeth, just south of Newark. Unlike Massi and DeVito, who did stretches in jail for stick-ups and other petty crimes, young Joe never got into trouble with the law. As was the case with many kids of Italian heritage, Joe loved music, and he was classically trained on the piano. But his father fell ill when Joe had just finished high school, and he had to get a job to help support the family. While working in a factory, he had a run-in with a milling machine that badly damaged his left hand.
This accident would have a major impact on his future musical career. Playing keyboards was now out of the question, and the electric bass became his instrument of choice. It may seem counterintuitive, but the injury to his left hand led him to take up playing the left-handed bass. That’s because he needed his more nimble right hand to play the neck of the bass.
Thus it was that Joe would eventually became the American counterpart of Paul McCartney, the left-handed bass player for the Beatles. McCartney has been a big fan of the Seasons since the 1960s and even owns some of the publishing rights to several of the group’s earliest hits. When McCartney first met Joe, he declared, “It’s Joe Long, the second best left-handed bass player in rock and roll.” Always quick with a comeback, Joe replied, “What do you mean second best? C’mon now!”
Joe didn’t originally see himself as a rock star. The bands he played for in the early ’60s were more into jazz and blues. He had of course heard of New Jersey’s very popular Four Seasons, but wasn’t much of a fan. That changed soon after Massi abruptly quit the group in 1965. A search for the best possible Jersey-born replacement bass player turned up Joe Long, and it was an offer he couldn’t refuse. Charlie Calello, the group’s musical arranger, had taken Massi’s place in concerts and on one hit single, but he was more interested in producing records for a variety of artists. Although he agreed to teach Joe all he needed to know to be Massi’s permanent replacement, Calello was so busy that the lessons never happened. Here’s how Calello described the sudden transition in his memoir Another Season: “The Seasons took a job in North Carolina, and I just couldn’t make it. On that night, Joe was called to fill in for me cold. He had never had a full-scale rehearsal with the group and didn’t feel at all comfortable with all his bass and vocal parts. Fortunately, his talent and experience got him through, and the performance went smoothly. Anyway, the crowd was screaming so loudly that no one could hear mistakes. Joe says that, feeling greatly relieved, he approached Frankie after the show, expecting a pat on the back. ‘How’d I do?’ Joe asked. Frankie said simply, ‘You could have sung louder’.”
However shaky Joe may have felt at the start, he fit right in and became a mainstay of the group for the next decade. He was a star in the recording studio, a star on stage and a star in TV appearances. During his tenure, the Seasons enjoyed heights that few rock and rollers ever achieve. They headlined several sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden, and played the Los Angeles Coliseum, Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall and the London Palladium. Their TV credits ranged from Dick Clark’s Where the Action Is to England’s Top of the Pops.
But success never lasts forever, and the 1970s brought a period of turmoil and change. After the lukewarm reception of The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette, radio stations stopped playing new Seasons records. Tommy’s gambling debts caused a financial crisis, and he was bought out of the group by Frankie and Bob, who years earlier had agreed with their famous “Jersey handshake” to be partners for life. Tommy’s departure meant that Valli and Gaudio were sole owners of almost all the group’s recordings, and their enterprise was ultimately reorganized under the name of The Four Seasons Partnership. Gaudio stopped performing with the group, but kept on writing many of the songs and producing some of the records. Joe had never been offered a share of the business. He and all subsequent Seasons were just employees.
Through it all, Joe stayed loyal to Frankie and the group, but his future was increasingly uncertain. Frankie had always harbored an ambition to grow old gracefully, not as a rock and roller, but as a solo singer of American standards in the mold of Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett. Back in 1967 he had begun recording solo albums and had a few hit singles, most notably “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” But he kept recording with the group also.
After a dry spell Frankie suddenly topped the charts again with his 1974 solo hit “My Eyes Adored You.” And in 1975 the Four Seasons returned to the Top Ten with “Who Loves You.” It would be the last Seasons hit that Joe Long sang on. The plan was for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons to go their separate ways and produce two separate income streams. Frankie would be the sophisticated solo singer he always wanted to be, and the Seasons would keep rocking and rolling, appealing to teenagers. The only problem was that Joe was much older than the other newer, younger Seasons. He was already in his 40s after all—seemingly an appropriate age for a rocker to retire—and thus Joe got a pink slip. Frankie continued to appear on some of the Seasons’ recordings, but, increasingly, they recorded separately. At concerts, Frankie would leave the stage part of the time, and let the Seasons do their own thing. The formal separation and “Farewell Tour” of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons came in 1977.
History shows that getting rid of Joe was probably not such a good idea. The fountain-of-youth plan didn’t work. The fabulous Four Seasons, one of the greatest groups in rock history, had only one more big hit, “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night),” after Joe left. The young post-Joe Seasons—Gerry Polci, Don Ciccone, Lee Shapiro and John Paiva—were very talented and recorded lots of songs without Frankie, many of them written by Gaudio. But they never had a big American hit on their own, and only one Top Ten record in Britain.
Meanwhile, Frankie’s solo career had another brief revival with the No. 1 hit “Grease,” but then went nowhere. He needed the name “Four Seasons.” After two years of faltering fortunes, Frankie and Bob assembled a new Four Seasons, including some former band members and some new ones, for a “Reunited” tour. “Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons” have been successfully touring ever since, singing the golden oldies. But you could argue that after Joe left, it was not a real group any more. It was a brand name and a business. It was Frankie Valli and an ever-changing supporting cast of employee Seasons. The only constants over the last four decades have been Frankie’s still-magical singing, Bob Gaudio’s behind-the-scenes business acumen, and fresh new arrangements of old songs by Robby Robinson, the enterprise’s keyboard player and musical director.
Joe was hurt, of course, but leaving the Seasons was hardly the end of the world for him, and he never talked much about his exit. He had a parallel real life to return to. He married twice and had two children, Joey and Kimberly, whom he loved dearly. And he continued to create music. Joe put together his own bands, making several excellent recordings with a pop group he whimsically called Joe Long and LaBracio and a jazz ensemble named Jersey Bounce. He also took day jobs, including doing computer work for Dun & Bradstreet, to support his family. He was fine with being an ordinary Joe LaBracio. He almost never told his co-workers that they were sitting next to a former rock star.
I didn’t get to meet any of the idols of my teenage years until 1986, when I interviewed Valli and Gaudio for a story in Time magazine about their enduring partnership. We kept in touch, and after I left Time and Jersey Boys was mounted, I did freelance work for the Four Seasons Partnership on several projects, helping to produce CD collections, and writing liner notes and publicity material.
I met Joe Long in an entirely different way. Until he died a few years ago, my best friend in the world was Frank Rovello, whom I met on an online Four Seasons message board. Frank was the ultimate fan, and in the early 1970s he often talked his way backstage to hang with the Seasons. Everybody liked Frank, and many Seasons—especially Joe Long—remained his friends after they left the group. Frank was proud and happy to introduce me to Joe and cut me in on the benefits of knowing the former Season. He would give us copies of rare on-stage recordings made by the Seasons themselves and demo records that no one outside the group had ever heard. He was so humble, so generous, so much fun to be around. Thanks to Frank Rovello, Joe was the only Season I could call a friend. Valli and Gaudio talked to me when they needed something, and they usually responded to my requests. But Joe was the only ’60s Season to ever call me just to say “hi” and ask how I was doing.
Joe was kind enough to attend several Four Seasons fan confabs—sort of like Star Trek conventions without the weird costumes. Sometimes an adventurous trio of fans would gather around Joe, and together they would try to recreate the four-part harmonies of their favorite Seasons classics.
The arrival of Jersey Boys on Broadway in 2005 was an exciting time for us Seasons fans. Gaudio gave me and Frank and our wives Opening Night tickets on the second row! The Partnership invited Joe, but because his whole family couldn’t be there that night, he decided to skip the event. During the curtain call the real Seasons joined the cast to take their bows. But there were only Three Seasons because Massi had died in 2000. Valli and Gaudio had not been on the same stage with DeVito in 15 years, since the Hall of Fame induction. It was a thrill to see them together, but not quite ideal—because of the missing Season.
The play took off like a rocket, and several of us fans were determined to get Joe to the August Wilson Theater, where every night was a sellout. We consulted with Joe, and eventually figured out a date when he, his children and a close friend of his could come to New York for the evening. Frankie Valli made his house seats available to Joe and his family. Before the show a dozen or so fans and Joe’s group gathered for dinner—at an Italian restaurant naturally. Toasts and tributes were offered, and greetings to Joe from Valli, Gaudio and other Seasons were read. But the high point of the event was when Joe’s son Joey stood up to give a toast. He said he had always loved his father and knew he was in the Four Seasons and had hit records and all that. But he had never understood how important his Dad was to so many people. Seeing the admiration and love and devotion displayed in that room that night, he said he was now even more impressed by his Dad than he had ever been before. It was an emotional moment for Joe and everyone around the big table.
After dinner, we escorted Joe to the theater and from our seats in the back tried to gauge Joe’s reaction in the fifth-row house seats. When the show was over, he seemed uncharacteristically at a loss for words, as if he had seen his life flash before his eyes. He finally summed up his response in one word: “Powerful.” Joe then took his family backstage to meet the actor who played Joe Long and the rest of the cast. Oh, what a night indeed.
Our Joe Long Night on Broadway went so well that our little fan group asked if we could get together with him regularly, and he readily agreed. After a few years of gatherings, we called ourselves the Elders, since we had all passed 60, except for a guy in his 40s or 50s whom Joe dubbed The Brat. We called Joe the Chairman of our Board. In the early days we would meet Joe near his home on the Jersey shore for a Saturday or Sunday brunch at a seaside restaurant. Joe could tell Seasons stories for hours, and we never tired of them. Over the years, our group expanded geographically, including members who lived as far away as Louisiana and South Carolina, and our “meetings” became more elaborate affairs, lasting a whole weekend. Yes, there were fans who regularly traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles to spend a couple of days with Joe. On one of the weekends Frankie Valli and the latest Seasons were playing Atlantic City, and I asked the guys if I should get them tickets to see Frankie. No, they all replied—it would cut into their time with Joe.
In 2007, a few of us fans brought about something we had been hoping for ever since the Opening Night of Jersey Boys—a full reunion of FourSeasons. A big party at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS gave us our chance. The four main Jersey Boys cast members would be there, and we lobbied hard for the real Seasons, including Joe, to be there too. It worked! They all showed. How fantastic it was to see the four of them together again for the first time in 37 years—smiling and laughing as cellphones flashed and fans crowded around for autographs. The picture above is from that great night. The credit for it goes to David Cace, who later became a member of Joe’s Elders and was also a personal friend of Tommy DeVito.
The next big tribute to Joe came in 2014, when the city of Elizabeth decided that part of High Street, where Joe grew up, would be renamed Joe Long Way. Hundreds of fans lined the streets to see Joe unveil the new street sign and then joined him for a gala dinner in his honor. All the luminaries in Seasons World sent their congratulations. Tommy DeVito concluded his message this way: “The City of Elizabeth could not have chosen a finer man to honor this day than Joe Long.” Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio’s joint message began: “Joe, we are extremely happy this day has come. It is a wonderful honor from a city in a state that we all love. You are a musician who has contributed to the legacy, and, more important, a man with integrity and a great heart.”
None of this adulation ever went to Joe’s head, though. If you looked at his email address or Facebook page, he was still happy being just Joe LaBracio. One time I asked him how it felt knowing that the name Joe Long was spoken eight times a week on Broadway. “But that’s not my name,” he replied.
Yet his Joe Long persona kept providing new opportunities. In 2019, his close friend Al Nittoli, with whom he played in bands both before and after his time in the Four Seasons, made a movie called “Does The Band Eat” in which Joe plays himself. Available on Amazon Prime Video, the movie features Joe, Al and several of their old bandmates sitting around a lunch table reminiscing about the old days when they were trying to make it big (Joe was the only one who actually did make it big). Flashbacks with younger actors show their youthful adventures. It didn’t win an Oscar, but it took a certain boldness for Joe to start a movie career at age 86.
More successfully in recent years, Joe was the musical director of a Four Seasons tribute band called The Jersey Four. They play just about every Seasons hit, and toward the end of their show, Joe would join the group for a few numbers. What a treat it was, after all those years of missing Joe’s performances, to see Joe on stage again singing songs like “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Stay.”
Joe even took the Jersey Four into a studio to record a new version of “I Wonder Why.” This was the only Seasons song co-written by Joe—during the Motown years—with other band members. They recorded it with Frankie singing the lead as usual, but Motown somehow lost the master, and it was never released. All we fans had for decades was a rough copy from a cassette tape. Now, thanks to Joe, we have a beautiful new rendition by the Jersey Four. They will sorely miss Joe, but their shows will go on. If you ever want to see how much Jersey people love the music of the Four Seasons, head down to one of the night clubs on the Jersey Shore when the Jersey Four are playing. To quote a line from Jersey Boys: “The crowd goes wild!”
I’ve left the best of Joe’s late-life highlights for last. On a glorious night in 2018 at the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park, Joe, along with the rest of the Four Seasons, was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. I was there, and, believe me, it was a big deal because this Hall of Fame is not limited to musicians and includes some pretty impressive people, from Thomas Edison to Frank Sinatra to Meryl Streep. At the 2018 ceremony, the people introducing the inductees, often already Hall of Famers themselves, were as famous as the new inductees. Bill Bradley inducted novelist Anna Quindlen. Buzz Aldrin and Whoopi Goldberg inducted the twin astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly, Mariano Rivera inducted Buddy Valastro of TV’s Cake Boss. Steven Van Zandt was inducted by, yes, his pal and band leader Bruce Springsteen. I could keep going on with my list of inductees, but you get my point. What an assemblage. In all my years as a journalist I had never seen so much human accomplishment represented in one room at one time. For me, without a doubt, the high point was the induction of the Four Seasons by Tommy James and Mark Ballas, the last person to play Frankie Valli on Broadway. Joe was there alongside Bob and Frankie, and Tommy was represented by his daughter Darcel Collins and his grandsons (“I ain’t flying thousands of miles for no statue,” Tommy reportedly said from his home in Las Vegas.) Frankie made a brief bow to Nick Massi. As always, Joe was the most eloquent Season. “To be honored by your home state,” Joe said, “is the greatest honor that can be bestowed upon someone, and for that I thank the New Jersey Hall of Fame. I left New Jersey to move out West for a number of years, but I kept feeling that Jersey tug, ordering me home. And I finally gave in and moved back. It was the best thing I could have done. So I guess, officially, I’m a Jersey boy once again! Thank you.” Here’s what I was thinking: Joe didn’t need to be in that Rock Hall of Fame in Cleveland, sometimes referred to as “the mistake on the lake!”
To sum up Joe Long and his place in the Four Seasons, I’ll quote my late friend Frank Rovello, who wrote the following in the liner notes for the group’s Jersey Beatbox set: “If Frankie Valli was the frontman and soul of the Seasons, and Bob Gaudio the songwriting genius, Joe became the heart of the group, especially on the road. Laying down the essential bass groove, creating the perfect vocal harmony, and forever trading hilarious quips with his good buddy Tommy DeVito, Joe had an unmatched stage presence that radiated warmth all the way to the last row.”
The Four Seasons Partnership will keep thriving as before. Frankie’s latest tour of the United Kingdom, postponed twice by the pandemic, has been rescheduled for 2022. As his partner, Bob will get half of whatever Frankie earns on tour. Jersey Boys is already slated to reopen in London, and other revivals won’t be far behind. Meanwhile, “Bobby Businessman” Gaudio, as he is called in the play, is producing a Neil Diamond musical for Broadway.
But the virus has taken Tommy, the Four Seasons’ founder. And now the virus has taken Joe, the Four Seasons’ heart. So the Four Seasons are no more. There will be no more glorious reunions.
Joe’s friends and fans can rejoice that he lived 88 very rich years and brought us so much joy, and that he was showered with so much honor in his final years. We just wish it could have gone on for a few years more.
Charles Alexander
Many thanks to Charles Alexander for this moving tribute to Joe Long.
Check out this wonderful tribute to Joe Long by Robby Robinson and Friends which includes interviews with Joe on Reach Out with Ray & Steve, remembering Tommy DeVito, and some really great pictures of Joe with the Four Seasons. Check out Warren Ham singing "Humble Heart" and Travis Cloer singing "Walk". Warren, a former Four Season, is now with Ringo Starr's band.
Charlie Calello also sent this message: "Our candles are lite for a very short period of time. If we have had an opportunity to live our lives making music and found joy in doing it, when we finally close our eyes, we will have known we left behind a smile for people to enjoy forever. We will miss you Joe!" - Charlie Calello
Such sad, sad news to report that Joe Long passed away on the morning of 21 April age 88 and I know everyone reading this will be devastated by this news.
Frankie Valli told us “I spoke with Joe Tuesday and he sounded terrific. His passing is a big shock. He was a good friend and truly great addition to the Four Seasons family. I will really miss him”.
Joe had been in hospital with Covid and had been quite poorly but it did look like he was turning the corner and we were all optimistic that he would pull through. He was delighted to receive so many get well messages that were sent to him by his friends and fans and they really cheered him up.
Our sincere condolences and prayers go out to Joey, Kimberley, his family, friends and fans across the world.
He will be very much missed by everyone whose lives he touched.
Bob Gaudio sent this message:
“Joe personified a great musician and a loyal friend. His bass playing on “Who Loves You” is as memorable as he was. Rock on, Mr. Joe Long.” Bob Gaudio
This message was sent from Des McAnuff and Rick Elice:
"Joe Long made an extraordinary contribution to the Four Seasons during the group’s heyday. He is a huge part of their story and his loss is felt by the many fans of the Seasons and all of us who love rock n’ roll. Those of us who worked on Jersey Boys thought very highly of Joe and did our best to portray him in a respectful, loving way. In addition to being very talented, he was a truly nice guy. That means a great deal in Jersey and beyond. We miss you, Joe.” Des McAnuff and Rick Elice.
A message from Charlie Calello: "Our candles are lite for a very short period of time. If we have had an opportunity to live our lives making music and found joy in doing it, when we finally close our eyes, we will have known we left behind a smile for people to enjoy forever. We will miss you Joe!" - Charlie Calello
Joseph LaBracio – Everyone’s Favourite Season
Joe was born Joseph LaBracio on 5 September 1932 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the son of Joe Labracio and Mary Picaro. They were born in America but Joe’s grandparents were born in Italy. He went to Thomas Jefferson High School in Elizabeth. He got involved in music when he was 6 years old after his father bought him an accordion and he also played piano. His father fell ill when Joe was 17 and so he had to forego college and go to work to support the family. He suffered a severe accident to his left hand when working at Singer Sewing Machines when a machine malfunctioned and his hand got caught in the machine. He spent 2 weeks in hospital waiting to see if the reconstruction surgery got back the circulation otherwise his hand would have to be amputated. Fortunately, he was able to keep his hand but with very limited use meaning he could no longer play the piano. So he bought himself a double bass and started formal lessons with Alfonse Strazza, the first bassist for the New York Philharmonic. However, his hand was not strong enough to play classical music and he switched to fender bass playing in his first band The Rockets and then The Accents.
He worked with Al and Jet Loring in 1965 in Vegas and it was then that he got a call from Tommy DeVito saying they were looking for a replacement for Nick Massi. Tommy had been told Joe played bass and had a gruff voice like Nick’s and “sounds like he has a cold all the time”! They met up in Belleville, New Jersey and the following week met up with Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio and they offered him the job.
His first show was at a University for around 6,500 people in West Virginia and on the day of the show Joe said he hadn’t had one rehearsal with Charlie Calello who was going to teach him all the parts and the songs but was told to “do the best you can”! Joe said he went out there “practically wetting my pants and did the show”! From that point they went into very serious rehearsing. There was always a lot of fun in the shows and Joe and Tommy formed an astounding relationship bouncing off each other with their ad-lib routines and the comedy in the shows got enhanced from that point on. Opus 17 was his first recording with the group followed by many more hits. He recorded four albums with the group “New Gold Hits” in 1967; “Genuine Imitation Life Gazette” in 1969; “Half & Half” in 1970 and “Chameleon” in 1972.
Joe played the UK for the first time in 1971 and said “The UK audiences are great. I just can't remember when I felt so much warmth coming up from an audience. I love the people, I love the country, I love the accent. I love the UK and if the weather wasn't so bloody awful, I'd probably be living there!”
Joe replaced Nick Massi in 1965 and sang and played bass guitar with the Four Seasons until 1975. After he left the Seasons he formed his own band LaBracio and also went to work as a programmer for Dunne & Bradstreet. He remained close friends with his former bandmates including Frankie Valli, Demetri Callas, Tommy DeVito and Bill DeLoach.
Joe was inducted into the New Jersey Hall Of Fame in 2018 and in 2014 was honoured at a street dedication ceremony where he grew up with High Street, Elizabeth being re-named Joe Long Way. On the day Joe said “You can take the boy out of Elizabeth but you can’t take Elizabeth out of the boy”. He lived at 230 High Street. A true Jersey Boy.
In recent years he was the Music Director for The Jersey Four, a Four Seasons tribute band.
Joe married twice, Laura in 1967 and Pam in 1978. He leaves two children Joey and Kimberley.
A life well lived by a man so loved. RIP Joe Long. Thank you for the music and thank you for the wonderful memories.
Who Loves You Live 1975:
Best Story Of Being With The Four Seasons By Joe Long "Come Fly With Me":
Tributes
“Joe was a total class act. This is a sad day in the Four Seasons Family.
Brilliant gentleman, class act, super talented, those are some of the words that come to mind when I think of my friend Joe Long. Truly one of the good guys in the music business, truly one of the icons in the history of the Four Seasons. I had been in touch with him the last few days, it looked like he was turning the corner and we were all optimistic. My sympathies and my prayers go out to his family, friends and fans. He will be missed”.
Robby Robinson
“I was saddened to hear of the passing of Joe Long. He was one of the earlier members of the group and his passing represents a big loss to the legacy of the Four Seasons. Condolences to his friends and family. Rest in peace, Joe”.
Lynn Hammann
“Sorry to hear about Joe’s passing. My condolences to your family”.
Richie Gajate
“He was the most gracious and kind man there was to us younger guys. A true gentleman and wonderful musician. RIP to Mr Joe Long and prayers go out to his family and loved ones”.
The Modern Gentlemen
“I wrote Joe when you wrote a few days ago that he was ill. He immediately answered saying he was good and sent his love. This is awful”.
John Paiva (former 4 Season)
There have been so many lovely messages for Joe’s family posted on the Facebook pages. You can read and leave messages here:
“It is with great sadness that we learned that our dear bandmate, Joe Long, has passed away. We send our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and fans. We will miss Joe”.
Frankie Valli & Bob Gaudio
“Joe Long left us today.....time will show what he was and what he meant to us all. Without doubt our favourite Four Season for reasons that will become evident as we move forward. I have plans to celebrate aspects of how he was the man he was this summer. I feared such a happening and was glad I shared with him his first Motown recording with the Four Seasons “My Heart Cries Out For You” on which he performed. The forthcoming Box Set will feature his bass guitar lines like never before in both MONO and STEREO. A dear friend lost.
RIP Joe”.
Ken Charmer (UK Appreciation Society)
“So sad to learn of Joe Long’s recent passing. That virus is very bad and we all had hoped that Joe would survive but not to be. I recall seeing Joe once at the Sheffield Fiesta Club back in 1972 with his on-stage banter and jokes; the fans loved it. He was a key member of the group for 10 years and was associated with many of the group’s recordings and hits from 1965-75. May Jackie and I express our deep sympathy and condolences to Joe’s family. May he rest in peace”.
George and Jackie Ingram (U.K. Appreciation Society)
“I received this very sad news by my Facebook friend Lee Shapiro. This is really so sad, say goodbye to one of the great “Seasons”, wonderful musician, a true gentleman, class act, kind and sweet person. God bless him and his family and friends”.
Carlos Etzberger (Brazil)
“Further news in a sad day for the music world. Joe Long (born Labracio), who was the bassist in the Four Seasons from 1965-1975, passed away after a time in the hospital. He was with the Seasons throughout the final years of their first period of success and then through their Motown years and through the time they started to record the "Who Loves You" album. Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio decided to reshape the band during that period and Joe was squeezed out. He was a great musician. Listen to the bass line on tracks like "The Night" to see what I mean -- and a very nice guy with lots of time for those who enjoyed the music. Again, alongside Jim Steinman (who died two days before Joe did) we mourn a favourite musician’s passing.
Darren Hirst
“How sad is this news, a great man and a great guitarist. A posthumous induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame would be a fitting tribute to a man who played such an intricate part in the Four Seasons’ legacy”.
Peter Williams
“It's hard to find the words to say how one feels on Joe's passing. I always found him very obliging in any correspondence I had with him and will never forget the warmth and kindness he showed towards us at the Raleigh convention. May he Rest In Peace”.
Ray Nichol (UK Appreciation Society)
“I only saw Joe Long on the front cover of the ‘Genuine Imitation Life’ Album. Covid-19 is now catching people, in music I love. My condolences to Joe’s family. I have just learnt the Joe was a classically trained musician. Amazing”.
Keith Stevenson in Cornwall UK.
“Joe’s wonderful contribution to the Four Seasons’ story will always be treasured. A great musician and a fine human being. When I asked to meet him in Las Vegas in 2011 he not only agreed but insisted on coming to the hotel where Barbara and I were staying as we were strangers to the area. How thoughtful. We stayed in touch and never failed to exchange Christmas greetings. Truly a big man in town. Cherished memories. RIP”.
Philip Elms (England)
Happy memories of the times Joe spent with his fans in Raleigh and Las Vegas:
As some of you will know Joe Long has been in hospital with Covid and has been quite poorly. However, we understand that he appears to be over the worst and is feeling a little better today. Joe advised that his son Joey also had been diagnosed with Covid and he has been in quarantine at his home but now waiting to visit his Father in hospital.
Robby Robinson is in touch with Joe’s very close friend Vinnie who is keeping in touch with Joe via text. Robby sent this email this morning (Saturday)
“GOOD NEWS!! Good morning ☀️ everyone! Sorry for the early text, but I couldn’t wait to let you all know. I got a text from Joe at 5:49 am saying he had a good night and all his vitals seem normal, and to pass the news on. Let’s pray that maybe he finally is getting well”!!
Thank you for that really good news Robby.
Joe has also been in touch with Demetri Callas’s sister, Maria, who tells us that:
“Joe texted me twice this evening (Friday). Short texts and I told him that so many friends in the U.K. are praying for him so he had both sides of the Pond covered for positive thoughts and prayer. He is such a special and lovable guy. To my mind, he is a "Miracle Man," as I told Vinnie. He has had his own illnesses over the years and soldiers on. We all hope that he continues to soldier on yet another time. As I previously wrote to you, his doctor said because Joe had received his second Moderna shot (unlike poor Tommy, who had no opportunity for a shot last year), he should survive”.
Thank you for the update Maria and let’s hope he pulls through this OK.
And Now For Some Personal Messages For You, Joe
Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli have sent this very special message to you Joe:
“Just heard about this and we're wishing you a faster than light recovery. We hear you are in good spirits, but that’s normal for you. A bright spirit always surrounded you and it won’t leave you now. You’ll be up and out soon.
Who loves you!”
Bob and Frankie
Joe -Brilliant gentleman, class act, super-talented…those are some of the adjectives that come to mind when I think of my friend JOE LONG. Truly one of the good guys in the music business, truly one of the icons in the history of the FOUR SEASONS.
I had the great pleasure of chatting with him a couple of days ago in the hospital…he was his usual humble and witty self, though I know that he was struggling. My prayers for healing continue.
Robby Robinson
Hey Joe, Rex Robinson here. Hey buddy, heard the news, wishing you the best. God bless you and lifting up prayers for you to get better. You got this!
I was fortunate to have worked with Joe in the very early 70s. Back then we were still billed as The Four Seasons at many venues. One of the most amazing shows we played was at the LA Coliseum where we shared the stage with Stevie Wonder, The Bee Gees, and Sly & The Family Stone among others. Joe and Frankie had a great chemistry on stage and the timing of their back and forth banter was always spot on. So glad that Joe and I got to spend time together while he lived here in Las Vegas and we have continued staying in touch. We texted yesterday and I’m very much looking forward to our next conversation.
Bill DeLoach
JOE LONG took Nick Massi's place as the bass player and bass singer in the FOUR SEASONS in the 60's and made a lot of the classic records we all love. The FOUR SEASONS SOUND lives on, thanks in great part to his style of playing. Praying for God's healing touch over Joe!
Richie Gajate Garcia
So Joe we send hugs and much, much love to you for a speedy recovery and all your fans on both sides of the Pond and across the world are keeping you and Joey in their thoughts and prayers at this difficult time. Let's Hang On.
Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus, as expected the Summer 2021 UK Tour will now be moved to 2022.
The new dates are as follows:
Liverpool will now be on Tuesday 28 June 2022
Nottingham will now be on Wednesday 29 June 2022
Royal Albert Hall shows will be on Friday 1 July and Saturday 2 July 2022.
If you had tickets for the Friday show this year they will be valid for the Friday show next year; if you had tickets for the Saturday show this year they will be valid for the Saturday show next year.
Unfortunately Kennedy Street have been unable to get a 3rd date at the RAH and so if you booked tickets for the Thursday evening you will be contacted directly by Ticketline and be offered tickets for the Friday or Saturday (subject to availability) or a full refund.
An additional show at Birmingham has been added on Sunday 26 June at Birmingham Resorts World Arena and special fan club tickets for the front arena seats are available via this special link:
General tickets for all shows are available here: https://www.ticketline.co.uk/frankie-valli-and-the-four-seasons#bio
Shows, I am sure, well worth waiting for.
Frankie told us:
“I’m so disappointed I’m not able to perform in the UK this summer…for obvious reasons it was neither safe nor practical. But I’m looking forward to seeing you all in 2022. Stay safe, be well and go get your jab.”
Thanks once again to Danny and Flick at Kennedy Street Enterprises and to Dean Egnator for arranging the special front arena fan club tickets for us and for sending us the great photograph of Frankie (above) at the Royal Albert Hall in June 2012. Stay safe.
Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, as we expected, the UK tour scheduled for July 2021 is being re-scheduled for next year.
Frankie has sent us this message:
“I’m so disappointed I’m not able to perform in the UK this summer…for obvious reasons it was neither safe nor practical. But I’m looking forward to seeing you all in 2022. Stay safe, be well and go get your jab.”
We are in close contact with Dean Egnator and Kennedy Street Enterprises and as soon as we have the new re-scheduled dates we will let you know.
We are so sorry to bring you this news but know you will understand the reasons why. Things are now really starting to look much brighter and we can look forward to seeing Frankie and all the gang next year.
VIRTUAL CONCERTS
Whilst Franke has not been able to tour we would like to say a massive thank you to Frankie, Robby and all the guys for coming together virtually to record some wonderful videos for the fans which have been greatly appreciated during the pandemic and the various lockdowns. With all shows having been cancelled these virtual ‘concerts’ have kept us going and kept us all smiling, being able to see everyone if only virtually.
If you missed any of these videos check them out here:
Silence Is Golden
Let’s Hang On
Grease
Harmony
Hopefully there are more of these great videos coming our way soon.
BOB'S NEW BOOK
Published on the 26 March 2021 Bob’s new book is dominated by his artworks which in themselves are quite stunning, and it gives a window into his flamboyant nature as well as his life and the highs and lows of being a top producer and a bisexual man during the less accepted times of homosexuality in society during his career. It documents his personal love of art and how he developed that which is well explained and illustrated in beautiful plates of his best work. Andrew Loog Oldham's recollections are perceptive and sum up the relationships and respect Bob achieved in the music business over the years and his major hit productions are documented.
The Snapper Box Set will hopefully be released in the Autumn, having been delayed due to the Coronavirus resulting in Motown Universal in the USA being closed for many months. However, work is well advanced and Ken Charmer has recently completed the notes on the music to be included in the box set. Paul Sexton has also completed the story/history to be included in the coffee table book along with rare memorabilia.
RARE & SCRATCHY ROCK 'N ROLL_130 – "THE COMPLETE HIT SINGLES HISTORY OF THE FOUR SEASONS – PARTS ONE AND TWO
It is not often that we come across programmes so well researched and told by top DJ's in an entertaining and engaging podcast that you can enjoy or download.
It is not often that we come across a programme well researched and told by top DJ's in an entertaining and engaging podcast that you can enjoy or download. Last week Part One of this two Part Series hit the internet and it is highly recommended to all Four Seasons fans. This is their introduction.
“This is part one of our two-part salute to a group whose incredible career has been celebrated on stage and screen in “The Jersey Boys.” They’re the Four Seasons. We’ll chronicle all of their hit singles, as we track their tunes – collectively as a group – and individually as soloists from the 1953 to 2020.
On this episode, we’ll cover their music through the year 1966. We’re joined by one of our frequent guest experts – Nay Nassar – a leading authority on 1950s and 1960s vocal groups. And our resident Rockologist, Ken Deutsch, has sage perspectives on how the Four Seasons developed their distinctive sound. Plus, more of Ken’s customary factoids, including the Four Seasons unique connections with the Beatles and the Beach Boys. And Radio Dave will have more of the greatest rock and roll stories on record. Including some truly rare and scratchy answer songs by other artists who pressed platters in response to some of the Four Seasons greatest hits. Then there’s also the genesis of Frankie Valli’s solo career while simultaneously serving as the lead singer on almost all Four Seasons hit singles.”
The punchy DJ and Factoid experts fire facts from the early years of their career and feature all the hits in context as well as elements of the backing work pre Four Seasons and the key work of the members. The Unusual Instruments feature focused on Bob Crewe production style is really good
The Guys who research produce and deliver it have good credentials. "Radio Dave” Milberg is the host according to his biography, since 1965 he has worked as a DJ at stations 9n Detroit, Ann Arbor, Cincinnati (hence the reference to WLW-AM on this podcast), Chicago, Sarasota and Bradenton. He is also a lawyer. Ken Deutsch is a former disc jockey, former TV director and former owner of a recording studio that specialized in radio jingles.
As Music Detectives and collectors ourselves we have our own observations that are not criticisms, but just observation of the sound and factoids presented. It is not easy to assemble so much specialty knowledge in such a format and get everything right. We found only one error and that is that the Four Seasons-Beach Boys 'Duet' of 'East Meets West was a 1984 release and not 1980.
The presentation of so many works they backed artists on in Bob Crewe's collection of artists is really well summarised with great tracks as is the well presented 'road from 1953 to The Four Seasons birth' [but not in it's timeline in the presentation]
And it would have been good to have had the Four Seasons 'HITS” samples in MONO instead of STEREO [as they were heard in MONO on radio at the time]. But as these are not generally available except on the Jersey Beat Box Set from 2007[and these are poor quality MONO versions]......so STEREO was probably the only choice possible until the Snapper Box Set comes out later this year.
The only major factual error is that Tommy's debt problems with the Mafia did not arise in 1965 . They were uncovered in 1968/69. Frankie Valli going solo and creating the Wonder Who to pay the bills is not correct. Frankie always wanted a solo career and Philips were reluctant......so he and Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio started recording him solo on Smash Records. Also the Wonder Who concept was an accidental novelty track during recording and Philips wanted it released but not to compete with 'Let's Hang On' in 1965 when it was flying high into the charts. Hence The Wonder Who.
Don't miss this, it is highly recommended. Click this link.
We have for many years researched the musical work of Bob Crewe with all of his musical recording artists but more intensely with The Four Seasons and Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Charles Calello and Artie Schroeck. The fact that Bob never got the biography done he was planning was always a disappointment to me. His fall in 2012 and subsequent deeply sad passing in 2014 prevented that from happening, and the lack of a portrayal of his music production career apart from the long deleted 'The DynaVoice Story' was simply criminal.
So the news of the forthcoming Monograph book, Bob Crewe – Sight And Sound [Compositions In Art and Music] is very welcome.
Published on 26th March 2021 [see the Press Release above] it is dominated by his artworks which in themselves are quite stunning, and it gives a window into his flamboyant nature as well as his life and the highs and lows of being a top producer and a bisexual man during the less accepted times of homosexuality in society during his career. Donald Albrecht's essay particularly shows the life of a 'queer' [as he is described] as this was how society generally in mid 20th Century times identified his sexuality and labelled him, and others. His rise above this is well portrayed whilst his sensitivity to it stayed inside. He worked and mixed in 'gay' communities and was accepted and respected by singers and musicians he worked and associated. He made careers for many artists throughout the 60s. His battle with personal crises is documented as is his sobriety as he turned to art again in his post 1980 years.
The books documentation of his personal love of art and how he developed that is well explained and illustrated in beautiful plates of his best work. Andrew Loog Oldham's recollections are perceptive and sum up the relationships and respect Bob achieved in the music business over the years and his major hit productions are documented. It gives a more rounded view of a very special man and corrects the perception portrayed of the 'gay' producer in Jersey Boys. Bob's reaction to that is also made clear.
Of course as long-term fans of Frankie Valli and the group we have always known Bob's unique talent in delivering the groups hit sounds, and our in-depth research has published many aspects that made his contribution a cornerstone of their success. Much in the past has focused on the relationship between Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio and perhaps a lesser role Bob Crewe had in that partnership. As the essays point out it was a perfect match. Opposites attract they say, but it was Bob Crewe's perception that facilitated it much of the time as producer as well as co-writer on many songs. I had learned this from an interview with arranger Charles Calello some years ago.....
“Bob Crewe was more then capable and was a brilliant producer. Not to minimize my involvement, I just made his ideas work! Later on, with experience under my belt, I was able to do more and more and eventually became "Charlie Calello."(i.e. As arranger and producer on hundreds of pop records). In the beginning we needed Bob Crewe because he knew how to make "Hits." He taught us well and the records tell the story. Also, the songs were much simpler to record and there were usually a few people around that would help Crewe if he ran into trouble.......... a lot of things took place after the arrangements were written. When we went into the studio and we recorded the music, a lot of the things that would happen, would happen as a result of Bob Crewe, who would hear something, where somebody made a mistake, or somebody hit the wrong chord, or while they were tuning up they got a funny sound, and he would create something from it. And he added the element of the bizarre. What he taught us was not to be afraid of going beyond what was normal. And some of the things that took place on the record, although we all had our dominant part within the process, in the studio you never knew where that ingredient was going to come from that created the thing that caught the attention of people. It’s been well chronicled over the years that the creative process in the studio, certainly between the two Bob's was often volatile, there was a lot of arguing....it’s a very interesting subject in itself because if you understood the personalities, the differences between the two Bob's. Bob Gaudio was very mechanical and methodical and Bob Crewe was being off the cuff. You put those two elements together and there was always going to be some kind of friction. Very early on, I learnt from this from Bob Crewe. Bob asked me to do something and I said, "You can’t do that Bob". [It was not musically correct!] He said, "Charles; if you can’t, someone else will". So we did it and it worked. There was no musical thought that Bob ever had that I didn’t try to create to give him what he wanted in a particular area. So if I went into the studio and he said, "Charles, the strings should go down" , and I thought he was going to make a mistake, we tried it anyway. But eventually after making a lot of records with him, I realized that he really had a direction and I would try to help him accomplish what he was hearing. And whilst doing so and watching Gaudio and Crewe work together as I said, : [Gaudio being extremely inflexible and Crewe being somewhat flexible], Gaudio (also knowing that this was primarily his 'melody' brain child) if he thought the idea was working he’d let it go. Bob Gaudio did not have the most positive outlook on any kind of change. So it took him a while before he’d settle into an idea and if he thought the idea was working then he’d back off.“
These essays capture this essence of Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio and this quote by Charles helps show how they became arguably the most consistent and successful songwriters of the 1960s, after Lennon-McCartney, creating a lifetime result for both men and their talents that they may not have achieved on their own.
Jersey Boys did not portray Bob Crewe as we the long-term fans see him and this book is we hope the first of several projects to portray his superb talents as it focuses on his art and it's context in his remarkable life. Our own forthcoming Box Set with Snapper Records of London will illustrate even more his superb musical creations in the form of unreleased gems from the 1970s and 80s written and produced by him and matching in quality his best released work. And as we have maintained in The Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign – on Facebook, there is more of Bob Crewe's work still to be uncovered and heard. Much of his work remains unpublicised in music collections/playlists/releases and is little known....and often hard to licence.
“When my love touches me and takes me to her skin, she melts my soul in her and loves away my sin, my very own Madonna I love to lean upon her and feel the glory of the reason of my own existence.”
My own tribute to Bob Crew on You Tube is the Next Generation medley never released but sent to his friends as part of a Celebration CD as a Christmas gift. It seems an apt complement to this book review.
There are so many reasons to play this album in 2020 as we in the Snapper team review the Tape Transfers from the Four Seasons Partnership to Final Mastering. A No.13 hit on the Christmas Chart in December 63 it had been released a year earlier. It resonates and warms the heart and we need that in our socially distanced lives this year more than ever. Held together by friendships and social media we are determined to fight the invisible enemy and get the BEST EVER release of Frankie and the group out next year.
As we send best wishes out from the UK Fan Club to all of you, we are working hard to get you the Snapper Box Set as soon as possible next year.
The set now runs to 44 CDs. Genuine Imitation Life Gazette needed another CD to accommodate the MONO and STEREO versions[whilst the MONO version will still also be in the vinyl insert.] We have checked all the Bonus Tracks and have been able to locate and include alternative MONO 45 versions in both the 1960s and 70s like the DJ PROMO version of 'I've Got You Under My Skin' and a TRUE STEREO version of Frankie and the group on the lost 'B' side to 'Sherry'.......'I've Cried Before'.
We have located ALL the original VJ Masters in MONO and STEREO for all their albums at that label[rather than the album Safety Tapes] and Master Tapes of the Philips albums are mostly in both too. Rare versions and Unreleased gems sprinkle the CD's as Bonus Tracks to the albums and the 13 Motown Unreleased are brilliant songs and performances.
As 2021 begins we will have all tracks located and ready for re-mastering. This is the first time since 1988 that a comprehensive analogue to digital transfer has been done of the FSP vault and the whole catalogue included here will be everything that has survived.
The MONO Tracks from the 1960s are a revelation and on CD in album and single form for the first time. All the UNIQUE Bob Crewe 45 mixes appear as many are different to the album versions and whilst no STUDIO Master Tape multi-tracks have survived it was nice to discover the STEREO of the 45 version of 'Tell It To The Rain' was there all the time.....so now we have 4 versions of the song. And of course we have the specially collected Edizione D'Oro 29 Hits selection with the UNIQUE STEREO versions of 10 of their hits.
We have tried to make the set everything both fans and collectors would want and with the help of Bill Inglot and Bob and Frankie it will be. More in 2021. Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year
Ken Charmer and Lynn Boleyn for The Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society – December 2020
We have recently been informed that all Yahoo Groups will be closing down, including ValliSeasons and FrankieValliAndTheFourSeasons, and so Dean Egnator has set up a brand new Official ‘Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons Fans’ Facebook page to replace these two groups so that fans can keep in touch and be kept up to date.
Ken Charmer and I are still working closely with Ian Crockett at Snapper Records in London on the massive 42 disk box set to include some of the Motown unreleased material which has been approved by Bob Gaudio. We have incurred some delays due to the Coronavirus as Motown Universal in the USA is closed until January and the box set is now scheduled for release in August 2021 which will tie in nicely with the UK tour which is scheduled for July next year – we are still keeping our fingers crossed that the tour will go ahead which we are told is still 50/50 at the moment. All contracts are in place and the transfers from the Four Seasons analogue tapes and collector sources are with the engineer. The Partnerships recent deal with Primary Wave re publishing doesn't impact the Box Set release process and shortly we expect re-mastering to start and the quality checking of final versions for the previously published draft CD listings will begin. We continue to review versions on the analogue tapes to ensure accuracy in terms of the original albums and singles mixes particularly those from the 1960s. An enquiry re the Sigma Sound tapes donated to Drexel University is being pursued re potentially unreleased tracks left on the Studio tapes in 1979 and we will advise further re any opportunity in due course. We also have the option of including new stereo re-mix masters of the Bachelors III Live concert [from 1974] which the engineer will review.
You can keep up to date with the Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign here:
And to finish with, some good news that Jersey Boys is to return to London’s West End in April 2021 at the Trafalgar Theatre. Cast still to be confirmed. Details here:
There comes a time when you have to ask …...'Is it enough?' A time to reflect on the process of how we got this far and how much we have missed out on.....particularly in such dreadful times when our very existence is at risk from an invisible enemy.
The excitement of the opportunity to review all of the Four Seasons Partnerships[FSP] Archive has been the driving force for the design and preparation of the forthcoming Snapper Box Set. All the released and unreleased by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons from 1962 to 2010. BUT not quite!!
A project over 3 years old but one that really started back in the 'noughties' when collectors like me and sound engineer Stefan Wriedt questioned what has been given to the fans to date as we dreamed of the ultimate collection based on access to the 'Archives' and modern technology sound engineering. Stefan himself organised the bootleg issue of 'The Night/Inside You' because neither the FSP nor Universal Motown would look back and issue on CD what had been released on vinyl by the label in the early 1970s.
I started to research the Motown vault information and the list started......and grew......
Could there be up to 30 unreleased tracks in the Motown vault? [as that was what was indicated] The evidence built and we found acetates of some of what had been done and left behind when they left the label in 1974. We put them on You Tube as proof. The case for a project of the 'Unreleased' at Motown was made. BUT that was never going to be enough. Ask Paul Nixon about getting 'approvals' for tracks known to be in the Motown Vault and he will tell you how it took 5 years after his highly successful 'Cellarfull Of Motown Series Volumes 1 to 4' and this week sees the release of Volume 5. ….....5 years on!!!!!! He found it was like trying to move mountains.....but persistence and belief prevailed.
Then with the concept of the Snapper Box set and the amazing news that Bob Gaudio would review and approve unreleased tracks from every decade ????......we believed a change of heart was happening to set down a 'library' of the career so many of us have supported since the 1970s fan clubs . Many of you have helped and searched for lost recordings and live shows. That contribution was as much part of the exercise of research that resulted in the LIST. BUT Bob Gaudio only approved 13 tracks from the 29 multi-track tapes supplied by Motown. Even though Motown's Tape Library Manager Andy Skurow admitted that at least another 15 could have been added being complete and of a similar quality. Such news is somewhat disillusioning to fans and makes us doubt the FSP commitment.
And what about Frankie and Bob's personal collection? No contributions were offered or made. And so much remains missing or not researched.
It is from the fans work over the years that I have pushed to Snapper to include unique finds.....and most of them have been accepted.......some could not be licensed but if anyone says 'This is NOT ENOUGH' I will agree. The FSP vault did not reveal the expected 'unreleased' and much of what was 'rumoured' to exist was left behind in Recording Studios. How could the music owners do this you may ask?......a good question. Take for example the superb 'Killing Time' , a superb left-over from the 'Streetfighter ' album sessions.......despite 3 years of searching the original studio tape has not surfaced......only a Larry Lingle cassette copy. And of the LIVE shows......only group members copies on cassette have survived of 3 shows.....plus a few tracks Tommy De Vito had from 1964.
Of around 818 track included around 60 could be classed as 'Unreleased' and around 40% are fan/former Four Season contributions. Why didn't Frankie's Tour Manager record more shows???
The UNIQUE Motown Vaults Mult-track Tapes could have contributed at least 20 more tacks with alternative mixes of tracks like the extended version of 'Hickory'. I have done all I can to get them but will never stop asking[Snapper, FSP, Motown Universal] for more. But as Lynn Boleyn and I have continuously supported this project we have had to be realistic!!!!!
Whilst there have previously been reasons for suppressing such releases by the FSP we had hoped this could be the ultimate collection. I started working with compiler Paul Nixon back in 2005 to try to get some of the then 1990s list of unreleased tracks at Motown released. Frankie Valli's lawyer stopped that saying any work was 'incomplete demos'. Of course at the time the build up of Jersey Boys was the main attraction.......and back in 1975 of course the Warner-Curb album 'Who Loves You' was the main focus. The FSP didn't want 'old material' competing....no matter what the quality!!!
This time with the Box Set research we had limitations to sources and time for contract approvals and Bob Gaudio assessed the Motown Tapes....NOT US!!!!! We are maybe 90% happy that the catalogue will move to its next Stage of NEW and SALVAGED Masters of great 'art' by August next year......that will make it a 4 year project due in large part to the pandemic.
Some fans have been questioning the value of this Box Set and Snapper tell me their artwork and collectible photos and picture sleeves will be superb......but it is the music that counts for most of us.......Fans will rightly ask.....'Is it all about the money the music can make? Or is there a genuine appreciation at all of the work as 'art' that should be preserved?' I can't ask Frankie or Bob but I can pass on the message that this ISN'T ENOUGH. In reality it is only us fans that care 100% about the art. But we still want this project and it will be good value for money. We will work with Snapper to bring the best sounding set of Four Seasons and Frankie Valli music to the fans.
It can't happen soon enough as we fight this pandemic and get some solace in the music we love.
We will keep pushing for more and will be calling for a Box Set based on a review of ALL the Motown Tapes.......give us the access to assess to review the material and we ask you to look in to your personal archives [Bob and Frankie]. You need to work with us to maximise your catalogue value for future generations. We are best equipped through our 'network' to achieve that....We are already planning fan based release of material not included in this package......this is how we see at present it will have to go.......Digitally Extracted Stereo[DES] is coming too and our aim is to develop NEW TRUE 21stCentury STEREO Masters.
…........so STAY SAFE and LIVE LONG........the Box Set is coming......but it shouldn't have taken this long. However we are getting nearly as much as we wanted/hoped for in 2005, when Stefan and I said.......'it has to be preserved'. But it remains 'bittersweet'. As such close friends [like Stefan and Frank Rovello] have passed away and wont experience it. It also comes at a price that is known 'true' collectors will pay but which will unfortunately put some fans off.
Other projects will follow. There will be more..........Ken Charmer
We were very saddened to hear the news that Tommy passed away on Monday 21 September 2020 at 9.45 p.m. in Las Vegas. He had recently been admitted to hospital after contracting Covid 19 and was making a slow recovery but died from complications of the Coronavirus. Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio have expressed great sadness over the death of their former bandmate. We understand that a service will be held in Tommy’s native New Jersey. We send our sincerest condolences to Tommy’s daughter, Darcel, all his family and friends from all his fans here in the UK. A truly sad time for everyone who knew and loved him.
Born Gaetano DeVito, 19 June 1928, the original Jersey Boy was one of the founding members of the Four Seasons who had great talent and taught himself to play the guitar and he became a baritone vocalist and lead guitarist in the group. He grew up in Belleville, New Jersey, the youngest of nine children. He formed The Four Lovers with Frankie Valli in 1956 and, after various other names changes, became one of the original Four Seasons along with Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi. Nick sadly passed away Christmas Eve 2000 age 73. Tommy left the Four Seasons in 1971 but was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 along with Frankie, Bob and Nick.
Certainly a larger than life character and full of fun, Tommy was a very important part of the Four Seasons as depicted in the musical Jersey Boys, telling the rags to riches story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons which became a massive hit following its Broadway debut in 2005 and then went onto be played in many parts of the world including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and the UK. It was made into a film in 2014 directed by Clint Eastwood.
A true music legend, Tommy will be greatly missed by everyone who’s lives he touched. Thanks for the wonderful music and treasured memories.
Many thanks to George Ingram for this further information about Tommy:
After being a dealer at the now-defunct Sahara hotel in Las Vegas, backers of Tommy enabled him to do about 4 records in 1973 and slowly built up over the next 6 -7 years. Tommy formed and became president of Gold Sound Productions based in Las Vegas in late 1979/early1980 as a mainly C&W label for independents and producers. He signed and recorded local Las Vegas artists such as Dolly Coulter, Patti Shelton, Tommy Bell, Terry Richards and the R&R funk group Shauntee and produced several albums and promoted various singles over the years. In the spring of 1982 Tommy opened the labels new distribution division headed by experienced veteran performer Ciro Graziano (producer of Bridge Records and had hits with The Dovells and Chic) who had toured with such artists as Billy Joel and The Drifters. Tom thus aided new writers to publish new songs and acted as a distributor and enabled full service promotion and distribution from coast to coast, and indeed overseas over the years. Tommy also produced an album by Joe Pesci (for whom he became a chauffeur later on).
By Lynn E Boleyn MBE for George Ingram, Ray Nichol and Ken Charmer UK Appreciation Society
It is a difficult time with the UK Press announcing that the Government is effectively putting 'Life On Hold' as winter approaches as we all seek to stay safe and get through these unprecedented times. The sad loss of 92 year old founder 4 Season Tommy DeVito to Covid related problems only reinforces the dangers for older people in life as many Four Seasons fans feel the strain and increasingly turn back on Facebook and You Tube to the music for support. It is a sad time for his family and the fanbase who love the backstory. We have a separate blog re his contribution to our music and our lives.
As UK Fan Group managers Lynn Boleyn and I have been striving to give all fans the set of music that will completely 're-connect' the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons with their history and their fans and it would have been good to have done that at this time. It was just over 3 years ago we met Ian Crocket and Bob Fisher at Snapper Records in London and talked about what the fans wanted in a Mega Box Set.........we both said without hesitation......the MOTOWN UNRELEASED.....and an update from the Partnership vaults of the MONO Catalogue from the 1960s which has NEVER been released on CD. For 3 years now Ian, us and his team have been investing the time and effort to bring this to fruition.....something we see as intensely important during these pandemic times.
I spoke to Ian Crocket yesterday re progress in these challenging times and the inevitable delays to projects he is getting. Whilst we have gathered and are working on the huge artwork parts of the project, the continued closure of Curb Records and Universal Motown [until January] has put back re-mastering and quality checks so we are now looking at the set being complete and available next August. Snapper continue to invest in the project and contracts are in place. So it is a case of hanging in there and seeing the crisis through.
As all lament the sad passing of Tommy DeVito it is thanks to him that we have some awesome Unreleased Songs going into the Box Set as a result of getting hold of his 1960s Archive cassette. This has contributed 6 tracks to the compilation from the earliest days of the Four Seasons. Four are terrific good quality soundboard tracks from a Live 1964 show featuring 'Stay/Since I Don't Have You/Cry Myself To Sleep/Dawn' and two early Demos of 'I Still Care' and 'Like You' with Nick Massi's excellent vocal arrangements. Thanks Tommy!!!!
I will be featuring some other excerpts from Tommy's Archive Tape in our Facebook Group[ The Four Seasons Motown Unreleased Campaign] and some date back to the days of The Four Lovers.
So hang on in and we will keep you posted as the Re-Mastering re-commences as we start to hear the MONO albums reproduced again for the 21st century and we continue to push this 2500 limited edition through to delivery and ordering dates. More news and rarities as and when we can.
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