Ironically as The Beach Boys plan a mega release for November of the ‘Smile’ sessions from 1967 (see here), Four Seasons fans are forced to continue to tolerate the paucity of quality of the groups back-catalogue (it simply isn’t available on vinyl or in a re-mastered HQ sound)
And this is so much more frustrating when we know that at least 40 unreleased tracks lie in the Motown vault and we know of around 10 tracks from the last Philips sessions and a full album of material from the ‘Helicon’ sessions still remain unreleased and unlikely to see the light of day. Equally so no biographies from key people who where part of the Four Seasons Story are emerging and there is amongst some of us a disturbing but not unsurprising ‘conspiracy theory’ as to why this is.
Perhaps the executives behind ‘Jersey Boys’ – The Show and possibly The Movie are suppressing any attempts at an alternative story line emerging as they continue to rake in mega-profits from this production.
Having read ‘Dirty Little Secret’s of the Record Business’ and ‘Appetite For Self-Destruction’: excuse us for once again fearing the dominance of financial objectives over artistic preservation.
In a week when we lost iconic people from the 60s music industry in Jack Ashford(of Ashford and Simpson), Jerry Leiber and Motown Matriach Esther Gordy Edwards it remains depressing that there is evidence of a lack of open-ness re the back catalogue from both the Four Seasons Partnership and Motown Universal. It continues to be a surprise why Record Companies remain so secretive about what they have and their potential projects and releases. They may argue it is about ‘managing expectations’ and the complex and costly legal and production costs of bringing original masters from the vaults today. Even Capitol issued a hasty denial when Al Jardine ‘leaked’ the news of the project for ‘Smile’ earlier this year. Surely someone somewhere cares about the true story of 60s and 70s music and that of the Four Seasons (apart from us)? For 40 years Motown Universal have hidden the history they have in their vaults and they still wont speak about it even when Frankie Valli has admitted recently that he and Bob have no ownership rights to the material and he can see no reason why a record company couldn’t release it.
At least Capitol found a way to get the Beach Boys to acknowledge the importance of the ‘Smile’ sessions but perhaps it was the lucrative financial rewards from the spectacularly packaged box sets for collectors : and with master engineer Mark Linnet doing the re-mixing the result will be a collectors dream. Unlike the Jazz scene where an artists history is honoured, it seems things only happen in the ‘pop’ market when there is ‘big money’ to be made. And if that means promoting a fictional history, so be it!
Whatever the actions of The Four Seasons Partnership or the JB Executives, we will continue to campaign to dispel the myths of Jersey Boys and to get the truthful story out to the world. In fact much of this can be found in the Melcher Media – The Jersey Boys Book and in our series of article ‘The Rise and Fall Of The New Four Seasons”.
OK I hear you say but “you ask four guys and you get four different stories” as the Jersey Boys script argues. Well we would rather believe Esther Gordy Edwards approach as told to us by Motown Alumni President Billy Wilson in his recollections of this great lady….”. Though few fans knew of her, historically she became one of the primary driving forces in the Motown camp. The eldest sister of Berry Gordy, Edwards worked part time with Berry Gordy in the early years of Motown's development, until in 1962 she decided to work full time with the label. She was one of the original corporate board members of Motown Record Company along with Raynoma Gordy (Berry's second wife). She was the manager for virtually all of the Motown stars through the formation of the companies booking agency, Senior VP of Motown, and held numerous other jobs. She was also the founder of the Motown Historical Museum which she created in the 80's”…….He continues…”. "When I started moving with the alumni association she gave me so much insight on what the company was all about, I had to adjust my frame of thinking on what was true about the company and what was fiction; it was that conversation that still holds true to this day on how I look at Motown Record Company back in the day" said Billy Wilson President of the Motown Alumni Association. He went on to say ...The greatest advice she gave me was to quit reading the fiction that was put out, and ask the people that were there, then blend the stories, she said two people can be in the same room and see two different stories, the truth will come through the wash. I've held on to that advice like the gospel, and found it to be absolute; nobody could have given me better advice,”
So watch out for our research publications as the year closes as we publish our list of myths in Jersey Boys…..more on the Motown Tape vaults and the response to our plea for the digital preservation of the unreleased tapes. Plus we hope to unearth the story of how the Four Seasons nearly ended as a hit making machine in 1966. Taken from interviews with ‘the people who were there….the truth will wash through’ …believe me…and as for what is in the vaults…well if the ‘conflicted’ Beach Boys can be brought together to see the light and preserve their sessions, then maybe Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli can do a deal with Motown Universal?
Casey Chameleon.
Check out the unreleased below:
– 16 Track Master Tape 2664
You’ve Got to Make Your Tomorrow Tonite!
Plus…..their own master….
Recent Comments