The story goes a little back, during the 'pre-production' days of 'L.A.M.F.T.M.J.B.' when along my buddy Jean Philippe tried our best to come up with a cassette copy of the album but as you maybe already know, failed entirely. Like a Deus x machina somewhere in there and out of a sudden, Brian makes his appearance volunteering but the sensibly tight schedule of the Jets doesn't let him feed our hunger on time. And you know what, some times in life something's not happening for the best. I know this now may sound like some soft-boiled crap to you all, but I do believe it.
Anyway, on our subject and the verdict says clearly this: Yes, the cassette has the original U.K. mix as most of us know for ages like the back of our hands - minus the mud! Yes, it sounds GREAT! Yes, it was a fuckin' bad pressing issue that caused the whole trouble (and legend). Yes, you still NEED to hear this if you consider yourself a serious rock & roll fan. What still mess ups my mind though are those two "why"s?
1. OK, obviously something went wrong with the pressings and the disbanding of Track Records a little later hold up things for a while maybe, BUT... when the bloody tapes (all those!) came to Leee Black Childers' possession or Jungle's afterwards, why not anyone thought to release properly the original mix instead of the 'Lost '77 Mixes'? We live at the digital age goddammit, we were able to hear in the past years without any sound difficulties for instance Slim Harpo kicking the shit out in a 1961 concert or the Link Wray's lost Cadence album for half a century but we can't do the same for the Heartbreakers original mix!!?
2. And what was Track's possible thinking for sending different tapes/mixes to other countries for their own L.A.M.F. releases (not to mention the singles...)? Anyone?
The cassette proves in the end that the 'breakers were right chatter up about it. From the first two concluded plays I'm able to say that it sounds powerful, dirty and furious as we hoped or better, fantasized! The vocals of Johnny and Waldo for the first time have BALLS (if you think already had, listen up to this baby, ha!), and Billy's bass lines are audible and fat like Bon Scott's Rosie's ass! Oh, and somehow Jerry's drums sound louder. It's not THAT different from the 'Lost 77 Mixes' but in a way it is (I don't know how to put it right, you have to listen for yourself).
So where the mix issue lies? Perhaps on the surviving tapes Alan Hauser got from Childers, don't know. But that's not the answer to my own question No.1. If we're able here at WTS to track down a decent cassette copy, I'm definitely sure that the Heartbreakers rights keepers have (a lot) more chances to find a better one and master from it, if actually the reason why for all these, is a possible loss of the original mix tapes... Shit, I know I'm sounding like I'm bitching now and Brian told me that Alan's an OK guy, but I got through so much trouble finding this after 15 years or something... you know what I mean?
Anyway, I came home from the office quite late the day Brian's package arrived and I waited for kids to go to bed first. I made the rip and gave a quick shot... I was blown! The first hour of the new day was running its first steps but I couldn't wait till the next morning's arrival to deal with again... I started the upload immediately and mailed Jean Philippe:
"I'm putting up this moment Side 2 of the Cassette Mix, it's 1:30 in the morning I can barely keep my eyes open but you NEED to hear this buddy! I gave a quick (about one minute of each song sliding the bar of the player and all this through my laptop's speakers) listening and it's definitely different! It's the UK mix indeed but with no fuckin' mud around it. A little bit speed-ed up also, don't know if it's because of the tape recorder or Brian's copy, but for a quickie attempt it sounded like the real thing. I need to hear this tomorrow with less wine running through my vains and through my stereo's speakers but don't know man, I don't think it sounds like the Italian, French or any other pressing. "
A few days later came my buddy's answer:
"Well, well, well, you were right, I was wrong! The cassette mix is definitely different from other mixes. I reduced speed by 3% (but it seems faster still), cut the wav files into individual tracks and uploaded it to our account. There's some (expected) hiss on the tape, which could have been easily removed, but I left it as is. I noticed L&R channel are reversed on some tracks (eg. 'Pirate Love' has guitar inro on the left vs. on the right on other pressings), but not all of them (so that's not Brian's mistake in plugin' his gear). What's not easy to tell is 'how much' this mix is different from others. A good part of the difference might be due to the media (tape vs. vinyl) and rig (tape player vs. turntable). The cassette is not muddy, but it doesn't have much bottom end, and sound is quite midrangey. Is it because of the mix or the media/rig? Some tracks are very different though: 'Baby Talk' and 'Going Steady' for example. 'Baby Talk' seems to be what the UK LP would be if it wasn't muddy. 'Going Steady' drums intro is different from other versions (including UK LP). It would have been a blast if we didn't have France/Italy LP already. Anyway, it's nice to finally hear it and know the truth. "
Indeed, 'Baby Talk' cassette take is by far the best we have heard (at least me)! If we had it during the creation of 'T.M.J.B.' would have kicked 'Lost 77' s ass without second thoughts! But as I said, it was meant to be this way. A full post dedicated to the 'media' a couple of thousand lunatics around the world for ages are/were looking for! There's really no need from our side to bull more. You all going to have in a while your own point of view. Just to complete WTS stuff's blurbs I'm adding the one Brian wrote me for the tape had sent me (the old fashioned way, on paper with a cool Sabrejets logo up left and a signature at the bottom- I dig you man!):
"I have heard lots of different stories about LAMF mixes. Some people insist that the French or Italian albums are much better sounding. It's not something I've ever worried too much about. When I bought LAMF (when it came out) I played it to death anyway. I think the problem isn't that it sounded THAT bad - but it does sound pretty feeble in comparison to the records which bands like the Pistols released which cost thousands and thousands of pounds... and took months to record.
It must have been really disheartening for them though - as some of my pals saw The Heartbreakers on the Anarchy tour and everyone (even if they didn't like the band!) told me they blew the Pistols/Clash etc offstage every night...
So if whoever was recording the band could have captured that live sound then it really would have been a killer album...
But there are too many buts and ifs... for sure Track were a waste of space compared to some of the other labels BUT in fairness they DID advertise the first singles and the album a lot. Perhaps the Heartbreakers should have chosen a less controversial topic for their first 45 too... not gonna get much airplay with a song about smack!
Certainly a different producer would have helped - but you can't rewrite history - and even though the reviews at the time mentioned the muddy mix, most people who bought the album couldn't care less. At the end of the day the in fighting and bickering over the album destoyed the band - but that was their own fault. "
What's left now is the hope Jungle to create a box with deep care for all those rumored different mixes that stayed in the can. I mean, who doesn't want to hear 'L.A.M.F.' in a sixties girl pop sounding mix?
Keep the rocks rollin'!
