"Nightflight" Tue Dec 8, 9P-12M ET: Andy and George...Live!

[vgalindo]

Rasputin has carried many of the Expanded Editions in their stores.

[Glenpwood]

Hi John, Andy, & George!

So sorry to have missed the first hour and 15 minutes [[holiday duties beckoned) but it was nice to come in to find you playing those glorious new Flo vocal alternates from the Merry Christmas expanded edition!

Loving both new releases but wondering if theres any chance we might see these or some of your other great vault finds put out by Universal on vinyl.... I would love Blue or even just a disc of rare tracks on the format... I loved that Music On Vinyl put out DRATS Number #1's this year and hope they or Universal does more....

[marybrewster]

Going back to "Merry Christmas", are there any stories or theories as to why "The Children's Christmas Song" was chosen as the lead [[and only) single from the LP when there clearly were stronger alternatives?

[Mark Desjardines]

Hello John George & Andy; I re-read my question and what I meant to say was the sax solo on "My Favourite Things" on the original mono vinyl record release Sorry about the confusion. Loved all your inside stories about how both these releases came to be.

[carole cucumber]

heres a question from davidh from Baltimore...,is this Ross Royal Albert Hall dvd dead in the water???
#2 whats left in the supremes Vaults. I hear everything is gone but live and Disney and &0s

David likely hit a cap for the 7 of 70 making it an ampersand; he was likely asking about the 70's [[post-Diana) Supremes

[RossHolloway]

Follow up question: Who are the artists who have unreleased Christmas songs?
[[Praying that its Martha & The Vandellas, Brenda Holloway or the Velvelettes)

[johnjeb]

I thought she was saying something about her ear or in her ear during the studio chatter in Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

[vgalindo]

Does the rumored Diana Ross Harold Arlen owned by Universal?

[carole cucumber]

From Sal Pinto:
"Keeping with the Hanukkah spirit of the season, I say “Good Evening My “Motown Mishpucha”! I LIVE for these radio podcasts with Andy and George. I “krvell” for 3 hours straight! Let me ask you in regards to “Diana Ross Sings Songs From The Wiz”. Seeing this release has received positive critical media acclaim and has done extraordinary well on all the download charts, 1978 vs. 2015? Do you think in this case “timing is everything” as to why this has become a runaway hit and best seller?
BTW, it’s ironic because it’s true, she REALLY does SING on these tracks, no smoke and mirrors, PURE vocal excellence. Do you agree? You know I have nothing but true love and respect for you both. You do God’s work I tell you! [[ I dare you to read these comment and questions on the air!)"

[Glenpwood]

I have a minty mono copy of Reflections and the mixes are glorious, even an alternate vocal on Love Makes Me Do Foolish Things...

[jobeterob]

Missed the whole show I guess; didn't know this was on. Will there be a podcast or answers posted to some of the questions?

[Methuselah2]

QUESTION:

Will the A' GO-GO release next year include multiple versions of ITCHING? [[Sure hope so.)

[[Sorry if you already addressed this issue this evening. I was very late to the show. But I recall from another show from the past that you mentioned several versions of ITCHING were available.)

[vgalindo]

Thanks Johnny. Great show. Love George and Andy!

[midnight johnny]

Missed the whole show I guess; didn't know this was on. Will there be a podcast or answers posted to some of the questions?

Nope....we did it live!

[midnight johnny]

Thanks Johnny. Great show. Love George and Andy!

Thanks, Victor...much appreciated!

[greg jones]

Thank You to John, George & Andy for an Amazing show!!!!

Hearing all the background on these projects just makes them that much more special to finally have in our possessions. Am so glad to hear that things are going to continue and there is more to come.

I know that things were rushed with all the questions. After thinking about it, this normally would have 2 shows with 2 releases 1 week apart. So 2 shows were being crammed into 1 3 hour show. Not too shabby as there was a lot of great info and new things to go back to listen to and listen for.

Thank You! Merci Beacoup! Gracias! Danke!
greg jones
los angeles, ca

P.S. John, yes Radio is part of the music business and You do a fantastic job keeping all of us from the 60-80's era in step with the reissues of our faves!

[copley]

Andy, don't forget my BLINKY question please. Stayed up just to make sure that my PC was actually recording as last time it went AOWL. Thanks. Hi to John, Andy & George from Bonnie Scotland

Thanks Andy

[Mark Desjardines]

What a treat to listen in on John's radio show last evening and hear George Solomon and and Skurow share fascinating revelations such as archival tapes that need "baking," Diana Ross owning outright the much talked about Harold Arlen tape masters, Jimmy Webb's first composition being recorded by The Supremes, and the interesting fact that some Motown music archives tapes are stored in a secondary, unrevealed location. Evidently these tapes are the large bulky ones that need "baking."

I did some digging on the net and found several articles on "Baking a Tape." Motown/Universal has to undergo this delicate time taking procedure from time to time, and sometimes the process has to be repeated if the tape isn't handled within a few days time span. For those here interested I have shared a Billboard article from 1999 on this process on the Soulful Detroit topic thread.

I apologize for not framing my question better regarding the funkier to my ears, sax break on "My Favourite Things" that appeared on the "Merry Christmas" album. I have the original mono VINYL record version, and wasn't referring to the mono digital download, but assume that they would be the same. Perhaps the session players were giving John Coltrane a "nod" for his 1959 Atlantic recording of this, which was released in 45 rpm format , very rare for a jazz recording, and made a big impact on AM radio when first released.

[johnjeb]

... and the interesting fact that some Motown music archives tapes are stored in a secondary, unrevealed location.

Since Andy said he was on the train 4 hours a day I wanted to ask if the vaults were located in Diana's mansion in Greenwich Connecticut!!! hmmm, I wonder lol

[Jimi LaLumia]

Johnny, that was "Song Remains The Same" by Led Zeppelin, NOT "Trampled Underfoot" as I originally stated..great show last night

[greg jones]

What a treat to listen in on John's radio show last evening and hear George Solomon and and Skurow share fascinating revelations such as archival tapes that need "baking," Diana Ross owning outright the much talked about Harold Arlen tape masters, Jimmy Webb's first composition being recorded by The Supremes, and the interesting fact that some Motown music archives tapes are stored in a secondary, unrevealed location. Evidently these tapes are the large bulky ones that need "baking."

I did some digging on the net and found several articles on "Baking a Tape." Motown/Universal has to undergo this delicate time taking procedure from time to time, and sometimes the process has to be repeated if the tape isn't handled within a few days time span. For those here interested I have shared a Billboard article from 1999 on this process on the Soulful Detroit topic thread.

I apologize for not framing my question better regarding the funkier to my ears, sax break on "My Favourite Things" that appeared on the "Merry Christmas" album. I have the original mono VINYL record version, and wasn't referring to the mono digital download, but assume that they would be the same. Perhaps the session players were giving John Coltrane a "nod" for his 1959 Atlantic recording of this, which was released in 45 rpm format , very rare for a jazz recording, and made a big impact on AM radio when first released.

My 4th cousin was Allen Zentz who originally mastered Diana's Baby It's Me album. I remember hearing from Allen in the early to mid '80's how original multitrack tapes were beginning to change formulation and how upset the industry was that they might be losing what was on some of the multi tracked masters.

I remember hearing that i believe it might have been one of Columbia's engineers stumbled upon the solution of baking the tapes. I remember hearing a lot about it when record companies started reissuing back catalogue on cd in the late '80's. There was a big story on it when Barbra Streisand put together her Just For The Record career history compilation.

It was also around that time of the early '90's that record companies started paying closer attention to how tapes had to be archived and controlled. Billboard and the RIAA did a big research project on master tapes in 1993 that was really fascinating.

The late '90's when the recording industry really started to consolidate is when they started to make big changes to keep these tapes properly. I know that it was big issue for both Universal and Sony and it took many years to implement all these procedures and considering Andy been with Universal for 17 years, he's been right in the middle of it.

Universal is extremely lucky to have Andy to take such good care of their product. I remember hearing horror stories here in Los Angeles when EMI was making the changes here because many people handling their tapes in their department didn't even know who the artists were on the Master Tapes that they were handling. The fact that Andy has such great musical knowledge is why Janie Bradford bestowed that wonderful Heroes and Legends Award on Andy.

One last thing that Andy didn't mention last night besides the baking of tapes is that it also very time consuming to transfer to digital means the multi tracks because the tape machines that play the tapes back are no longer manufactured and they have to resort to special technicians to repair and keep up the original tape machines. The industry readily buys up old machines just to get the parts to keep these tape recorders going.

I doubt very much whether Miss Ross stores her tapes underground at home. I do know that Ms. Streisand has her tapes that she owns stored with the same company that Sony uses and has the people and companies who are well qualified take care of these tapes. These same companies now also do the same thing for the film and television industries heritage as well.

greg jones
los angeles, ca

[Mark Desjardines]

Greg. thank you for the information you shared above. Fascinating reading! I have a story to share. It was the fall of 1979 and I was living ii L.A. for an extended period. I made my sway to AAA #! Record Finders that used go be located near Melrose and Vine. This company leased a huge warehouse and was basically where you could find almost any record imaginable. It was open to the public and I went in for a look see. Everything was alphabetical and I discovered a first pressing [[thought I didn't know it at the time) of Meet The Supremes with the stool cover that had "The Boy That Got Away" listed. on the back jacket. I was shocked at the $75 price tag! A bargain at that price today.

The place was very crowded with floor to ceiling industrial shelving filled to the brim with vinyl records. The office was close by and the door was open and I overheard two conversations while I was there. The first was a frantic request from A&M Records , A&R Department who had just signed Ethel Merman, and having no idea of what material she had previously recorded wanted a batch of her albums sent over. I now know that was for her "Disco" album that they released with gussied up versions of her hits. LOL!

After all this long preamble Greg, and relating to your post, I also overheard a conversation regarding someone at a small jazz label who had discovered that tapes they had were not usable and asking if AAA had any mint copies of that artist's [[ I forgot who is was) albums in either mono or stereo for a new compilation they were planning. I'll bet many small labels who hadn't given archiving serious thought were shocked to discover the state of their tapes.

[greg jones]

OK guys, I went through and made a list of all the version and formats:

1965 Original Mono Vinyl
1865 Original Stereo Vinyl
1965 Original Stereo Open Reel [[Ampex)
196? Original Stereo 8-Track [[RCA, then Ampex)
196? Original Steve Cassette [[Ampex)

1978 Natural Resources Vinyl Reissue

1981 Vinyl Reissue [[5000 series)

1986 2-for-1 CD reissue w/Someday At Christmas
1986 CD Remaster
1986 Cassette Remaster

1987 Japanese CD Reissue

1994 PolyGram Special Markets CD w/the Temptations
1994 PolyGram Special Markets Cassette w/the Temptations

1999 Remaster Expanded CD
1999 Spectrum UK Budget CD

2003 Millenium Collection CD

2009 Spectrum UK Budget CD Reissue

2015 Expanded Edition Download

[daviddh]

yes thank you

[daviddh]

Johnny, hello I faded out around 11 pm asi I had to get up at 5 am for work, is there a way to hear the last hour????
also thanks for these shows. I love the insight to these shows and the music. I always think 3 hours is too long but it seems we run out of time each time. maybe we could just do a Q and A with Andy one day with out any special release ......thank you

[carlo]

I missed the show Sounds like it was a good one. It looks like someone asked earlier in the thread about the booklets for high definition digital downloads. Was this addressed?

[greg jones]

I missed the show Sounds like it was a good one. It looks like someone asked earlier in the thread about the booklets for high definition digital downloads. Was this addressed?

Yes it was and Andy answered it. His answer was that most of the hi-def services do not offer booklets or it would be there. He also said if You want it with the hi-ref is to ask for it through the hi-res service. Until they think there's a desire for it, they will then request for them.

[jobeterob]

John you are a superstar in your own right for these shows!

A shame there is no podcast of this one! So many of us missed it.

Could those of you that listened give us some more highlights?

[carlo]

Yes it was and Andy answered it. His answer was that most of the hi-def services do not offer booklets or it would be there. He also said if You want it with the hi-ref is to ask for it through the hi-res service. Until they think there's a desire for it, they will then request for them.

Thanks Greg! I use 7Digital and many of the releases on their site do come with PDF booklets, so I guess I will just request it.

[midnight johnny]

Thank You to John, George & Andy for an Amazing show!!!!

Hearing all the background on these projects just makes them that much more special to finally have in our possessions. Am so glad to hear that things are going to continue and there is more to come.

I know that things were rushed with all the questions. After thinking about it, this normally would have 2 shows with 2 releases 1 week apart. So 2 shows were being crammed into 1 3 hour show. Not too shabby as there was a lot of great info and new things to go back to listen to and listen for.

Thank You! Merci Beacoup! Gracias! Danke!
greg jones
los angeles, ca

P.S. John, yes Radio is part of the music business and You do a fantastic job keeping all of us from the 60-80's era in step with the reissues of our faves!

Greg....thank you a whole lot! Glad you get to listen to the show. You are a wonderful Motown advocate and resource! These shows that I get to do with Andy, George and previously with Harry are some of the most enjoyable things to me. Playing Motown on my show is such a pleasure, but getting to talk about the "real stuff'...the background of the music...what Motown is really made of...is a dream come true. Haaaa....yes, we did end up doing 2 shows of music in one...I didn't even think about that until you mentioned it. I'll be airing more of the "Merry Christmas -The Supremes Expanded" during the next 2 weeks with the Christmas/Holiday shows I'll be doing. Hope you can listen in. I'll be playing one of my favorites...a song about Christmas in L.A. by another favorite...Jeffrey Osborne. And once more, Greg...thanks for your kind words...it means a lot!

[midnight johnny]

What a treat to listen in on John's radio show last evening and hear George Solomon and and Skurow share fascinating revelations such as archival tapes that need "baking," Diana Ross owning outright the much talked about Harold Arlen tape masters, Jimmy Webb's first composition being recorded by The Supremes, and the interesting fact that some Motown music archives tapes are stored in a secondary, unrevealed location. Evidently these tapes are the large bulky ones that need "baking."

I did some digging on the net and found several articles on "Baking a Tape." Motown/Universal has to undergo this delicate time taking procedure from time to time, and sometimes the process has to be repeated if the tape isn't handled within a few days time span. For those here interested I have shared a Billboard article from 1999 on this process on the Soulful Detroit topic thread.

I apologize for not framing my question better regarding the funkier to my ears, sax break on "My Favourite Things" that appeared on the "Merry Christmas" album. I have the original mono VINYL record version, and wasn't referring to the mono digital download, but assume that they would be the same. Perhaps the session players were giving John Coltrane a "nod" for his 1959 Atlantic recording of this, which was released in 45 rpm format , very rare for a jazz recording, and made a big impact on AM radio when first released.

Mark...thanks so much, my friend! I really enjoyed that "Baking a Tape" segment, too! I love that stuff! No problem about the sax question...glad you brought it up!

[midnight johnny]

OK guys, I went through and made a list of all the version and formats:

1965 Original Mono Vinyl
1865 Original Stereo Vinyl
1965 Original Stereo Open Reel [[Ampex)
196? Original Stereo 8-Track [[RCA, then Ampex)
196? Original Steve Cassette [[Ampex)

1978 Natural Resources Vinyl Reissue

1981 Vinyl Reissue [[5000 series)

1986 2-for-1 CD reissue w/Someday At Christmas
1986 CD Remaster
1986 Cassette Remaster

1987 Japanese CD Reissue

1994 PolyGram Special Markets CD w/the Temptations
1994 PolyGram Special Markets Cassette w/the Temptations

1999 Remaster Expanded CD
1999 Spectrum UK Budget CD

2003 Millenium Collection CD

2009 Spectrum UK Budget CD Reissue

2015 Expanded Edition Download

Greg....EIGHTEEN VERSIONS of "Merry Christmas....."!?!" Damnnnnn! You are Super Sleuth!!! I hope Andy saw this!

[midnight johnny]

Johnny, hello I faded out around 11 pm asi I had to get up at 5 am for work, is there a way to hear the last hour????
also thanks for these shows. I love the insight to these shows and the music. I always think 3 hours is too long but it seems we run out of time each time. maybe we could just do a Q and A with Andy one day with out any special release ......thank you

So we bored you, huh? Hahahah. There's no way to hear the re-airing any time soon, but I will pull it out at some point. I would love to have Andy on just to talk about the music...he knows the show is his anytime he has the time!

[midnight johnny]

John you are a superstar in your own right for these shows!

A shame there is no podcast of this one! So many of us missed it.

Could those of you that listened give us some more highlights?

Well, thanks, Rob! I do try to post the promo for the show early enough so that folks can know what's coming, and I post it on Facebook too. Sad to not be able to podcast the show...music isn't allowed on the podcasts...which doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

[midnight johnny]

Johnny, that was "Song Remains The Same" by Led Zeppelin, NOT "Trampled Underfoot" as I originally stated..great show last night

Thanks, Jimi....MUCH appreciated...and glad you enjoyed the show!!

[midnight johnny]

Hi John. What a fabulous show!! Unfortunately, I caught a case of the whisky flu at Happy Hour and will have to miss the show, but I'm recording it so I won't miss it. Catch you next week. Have a great show!!

Hey there, Mike....glad you enjoyed the show!!