Hi all. This might not be a thread that works but we have some very knowledgeable people on this site so i was thinking that, should you have a query about an album which deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected (i.e. the entry on this site) you can ask the question, as i have done below.
Thought that I'd give in a go and see if anyone is interested in engaging
Everywhere I look, including on BEA, the track listing goes from Holy Holy to Both Sides Now however, on my copy of the album, the track straight after Holy Holy is Sweet Caroline. The cover is also different with Sweet Caroline listed on the front below Until It's Time For You To Go
Does anyone have any explanations for this? Why is this pressing different?
Everywhere I look, including on BEA, the track listing goes from Holy Holy to Both Sides Now however, on my copy of the album, the track straight after Holy Holy is Sweet Caroline. The cover is also different with Sweet Caroline listed on the front below Until It's Time For You To Go
Does anyone have any explanations for this? Why is this pressing different?
The catalogue number tells the story — you've presumably got a UNI Records version, meaning it's probably a US import (UNI was one of the precursor labels for the Universal Music Group). It's probably one of these three pressings. As to why they added it in, that's the standard answer, namely "money." Back in 1969-70 it was still fairly common for people to release songs as as singles only, and "Sweet Caroline" was originally just a single, but because it was a hit the UNI guys figured they could sell more of that album after its initial sales "window" by throwing it on as a bonus track. They even did the exact same with UNI pressings of his previous LP, Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show — this pressing for example has "Sweet Caroline" tacked on at the very end.
It actually wasn't until the mid-70s that it became common for recording artists to have language in their contracts that gave them right-of-approval/refusal when foreign and secondary licensees wanted to monkey around with their albums' track-listings. I think the Beatles might even have been the first band to demand that right and actually get it, starting with Rubber Soul and Revolver — all their previous LPs had been monkeyed with pretty badly by Capitol Records in the US, and that's supposedly one of the reasons they approved the "butcher babies" cover photo for Yesterday and Today — that was their way of showing their displeasure about this very issue.
Everywhere I look, including on BEA, the track listing goes from Holy Holy to Both Sides Now however, on my copy of the album, the track straight after Holy Holy is Sweet Caroline. The cover is also different with Sweet Caroline listed on the front below Until It's Time For You To Go
Does anyone have any explanations for this? Why is this pressing different?
The catalogue number tells the story — you've presumably got a UNI Records version, meaning it's probably a US import (UNI was one of the precursor labels for the Universal Music Group). It's probably one of these three pressings. As to why they added it in, that's the standard answer, namely "money." Back in 1969-70 it was still fairly common for people to release songs as as singles only, and "Sweet Caroline" was originally just a single, but because it was a hit the UNI guys figured they could sell more of that album after its initial sales "window" by throwing it on as a bonus track. They even did the exact same with UNI pressings of his previous LP, Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show — this pressing for example has "Sweet Caroline" tacked on at the very end.
It actually wasn't until the mid-70s that it became common for recording artists to have language in their contracts that gave them right-of-approval/refusal when foreign and secondary licensees wanted to monkey around with their albums' track-listings. I think the Beatles might even have been the first band to demand that right and actually get it, starting with Rubber Soul and Revolver — all their previous LPs had been monkeyed with pretty badly by Capitol Records in the US, and that's supposedly one of the reasons they approved the "butcher babies" cover photo for Yesterday and Today — that was their way of showing their displeasure about this very issue.
Thanks for that MJ. Very interesting.
It's the 1969 UK release that I have and thanks for the link. I Hadn't appreciated that Sweet Caroline was originally only released as a single. It's such a quintessentially Diamond track that I just assumed that it was from an album. I don't own the Brother's Love album. Just wonder how many Diamond albums (excluding Greatest Hits) have Sweet Caroline on it? Thanks again for the feedback
The first one I’m sure must have happened on other albums where a track is not listed on the sleeve but is listed on the paper circle.
The other anomaly, which I think is probably rarer is that, on the paper circle it is listed as track 0. Now I understand why but does any other album have a track 0 either on the circle or sleeve.
The first one I’m sure must have happened on other albums where a track is not listed on the sleeve but is listed on the paper circle.
The other anomaly, which I think is probably rarer is that, on the paper circle it is listed as track 0. Now I understand why but does any other album have a track 0 either on the circle or sleeve.
In both cases the track is Henry
No big mystery here - "Henry" (or "Henry's Time") is simply the brief Martin Quittenton acoustic guitar piece that appears in front of "Maggie May" (track 1 on side 2 of the vinyl). It's often considered part of "MM" itself.
The first one I’m sure must have happened on other albums where a track is not listed on the sleeve but is listed on the paper circle.
The other anomaly, which I think is probably rarer is that, on the paper circle it is listed as track 0. Now I understand why but does any other album have a track 0 either on the circle or sleeve.
In both cases the track is Henry
No big mystery here - "Henry" (or "Henry's Time") is simply the brief Martin Quittenton acoustic guitar piece that appears in front of "Maggie May" (track 1 on side 2 of the vinyl). It's often considered part of "MM" itself.
Yep, I absolutely understand how Henry fits into Maggie May, my query was that it is track 0 that I thought was quite rare. I've not seen another album with a track 0.
Yep, I absolutely understand how Henry fits into Maggie May, my query was that it is track 0 that I thought was quite rare. I've not seen another album with a track 0.
There's no question that it's rare — it basically never happens. In this case you had a confluence of blundering A&R, bad time estimates, panic-driven solution-making, and personal generosity, and in the music business you basically never get personal generosity. (The most complete version of the story online is probably this one.) The bigger question probably isn't how rare it is, it's why the rareness doesn't translate into higher prices on the used market for that version of the album... I guess they just pressed too many of them.
There's no question that it's rare — it basically never happens. In this case you had a confluence of blundering A&R, bad time estimates, panic-driven solution-making, and personal generosity, and in the music business you basically never get personal generosity. (The most complete version of the story online is probably this one.) The bigger question probably isn't how rare it is, it's why the rareness doesn't translate into higher prices on the used market for that version of the album... I guess they just pressed too many of them.
Thanks MJ. Really interesting points. I might never have spotted the 0 if I hadn't had this album as a features album last month and I've owned the album for more years than I care to admit. Just shows how little attention I paid to the paper circle.
Never thought of the value side of it. Never selling the album but as you say, the rareness doesn't translate into higher prices on the used market. Interesting
Thanks for taking the time to post. Great feedback
One of the most famous album covers of all time but, neither the album title nor the band name appear on the album cover.
Can anyone thing of another album where both were not included on the cover?
NB - Led Zeppelin left their name and album title off the 1971 release to prove that their music could stand on its own without industry marketing or media hype
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
MadhattanJack
