-------------------------------------
A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO BEATLE BOOTLEGS
Text (C) 1989, 1990 By Doug Sulpy
[Editorial notes by saki (saki@evolution.bchs.uh.edu) March 1993]
[! updates by Ed "<ESC>" Chen (edc@evolution.bchs.uh.edu) December 1994]
------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you're new to collecting unreleased Beatles recordings, these are a number 
of questions which may have crossed your mind: 

1. What are the best ones to get? 

   - I'll give you my answer to that one in a minute.

2. How many are there? 

   - About a thousand different albums, counting solo stuff, but not counting
   label and cover variations of records produced from the same master. 

3. Where do I get them? 

   - Depends on where you live. If you're on the East Coast, you probably won't
   have to ask this question. If you're around civilization, check out smaller
   record stores and flea markets. Buy "Goldmine", and look for ads for record
   conventions which may be in your area. All of these sources MAY lead to
   bootlegs. 

4. Is it illegal to buy bootlegs? 

   - No. It's not illegal to buy bootlegs.* It's illegal to manufacture them, 
   and illegal to deal in them (which is why you shouldn't post your sources to
   USENET). 
   
   *[Editor's note: please check the appendix at the end of this note. Current
     legal interpretations regarding bootleg ownership may change answer 
     number 4, as far as purchasers are concerned.] 

5. Is it immoral to buy bootlegs? 

   - Hell, yes. Right up there with murder, crack-dealing and genocide. If it
   makes you feel better, remember that it's YOU against those
   Fascist-anti-American-record-company-lackie-Elliot-Ness-wannabe
   feeble-minded dweebs at the RIAA. 

6. How much should I have to pay? 

   - There are MANY bootlegs. Some are very common. Some are very rare.
   Still, here's a general guide: 

   $ 8.00 - $30.00 - Pre-1980 U.S. 
   $10.00 - Current U.S. 
   $20.00 - $25.00 - Current European 
   $25.00 - Current CD 
   $30.00 - $100.00 Out of print CD, depending on title. 

7. What's the difference between the above? 

   - Pre-'80 titles generally have paper insert covers, and consist of material
   which is very often available in much better quality on bootlegs of a more
   recent vintage. Some collectors (like me!) go for the "old ones". European
   titles are not necessarily of better quality (although many of them ARE), 
   but are harder to find, and cost more when you can find them. CDs are a
   worthwhile purchase ONLY if they're mastered from TAPE. Watch out for
   "Made in Italy" CDs. Many are mastered from old vinyl bootlegs, and sound
   terrible. Beware of CDs on the Condor label, as well. They're all off speed
   slightly, and several have been known to physically CRACK! 

8. Why should I pay good money for bootlegs when I can trade tapes? 

   - Unlike tape trading circles for other artists, there's VERY little Beatles
   stuff around on tape that HASN'T been bootlegged. And a tape taken from a
   bootleg will never be as clear as the bootleg itself. If you're on a tight 
   budget, however... 

9. Yeah, but which are the best ones to get? 

   - Okay, Okay, here goes, in no particular order: 

a. The Quarrymen At Home (BHH1/2) (European bootleg, 1987. Re-released in the
United States as "Quarrymen Rehearse With Stu Sutcliffe". Also available on
Compact Disc.) 

   - This bootleg gives us a fascinating and unique glimpse into the 
   repertoire of the Pre-Beatles, including TWO early versions of 
   "One After 909", and slew of songs available nowhere else. For those 
   who can get past the mediocre and "artificially enhanced" sound quality 
   and occasionally loose performances, this album is a treasure. Just don't 
   mix it up with "Liverpool 1960", a double album of inferior Quarrymen 
   rehearsals. 
   
   [! A supposedly legitimate issue of this material has been spotted
    in the cut-out bins of many stores]

b. The Decca Tapes (Circuit Records, LK4438)(Vinyl) 

   - The Decca Audition tapes first surfaced in the Mid-1970's in a series of
   45's. Since then, they've entered "grey market" status, and have been 
   reissued many times (usually re-edited to elongate the songs). The 
   collector, however, will want to stick with the Circuit Records original, 
   since it contains three Lennon/McCartney originals ("Like Dreamers Do", 
   "Hello Little Girl" and "Love Of The Loved") omitted from the pseudo-legal 
   releases. The songs themselves are excellent quality mono, and feature 
   The Beatles performing a number of tracks unavailable anywhere else, like 
   "September In The Rain" and "Sheik Of Araby". The performances, however, 
   leave much to be desired. 

   [! This tape has been speed corrected, and the entire tape is included as 
   "bonus tracks" to the Vigotone "March 5, 1963" bootleg CD. All previous 
   releases of the material had some songs which sounded up to a semitone off] 

c. The Beatles At The BEEB (BEEB Transcription Records) - SERIES 

   - Between 1962 and 1965 The Beatles performed hundreds of songs for the
   BBC. Most of the best of these have been gathered together in an excellent
   series (on CD as well). Care to hear John Lennon singing "Honey Don't"?
   Fantastic live performances of "Some Other Guy" and "Thank You Girl"?
   Unreleased gems like "Soldier Of Love", "Youngblood" and "Lucille"? This is
   the place. Be warned, however, that these are vintage mono radio broadcasts,
   and include between song chatter and an announcer. If you want a compilation
   of BBC performances, perhaps it would be better to search out "Broadcasts"
   (Circuit Records LK4450), or "From Us To You" (Swingin' Pig double CD). 

   [! The preferred method of purchasing this material is now the official 
   "Live at the BBC" compilation, and a 9-CD set from Great Dane in Italy, 
   covering every known-to-exist appearance of the Beatles at the Beeb] 

d. Stars Of '63 (Swingin' Pig TSP-CD-005) (Compact Disc) 

   - If you're looking for some early live Beatles with a kick to it, look no
   further than this set recorded for the Swedish radio program "Pop '63" in
   October of 1963. This concert has been around since the 1970's, and was one
   of John Lennon's favorites. Since that time, it has appeared in excellent 
   quality on the vinyl bootleg "Airtime" (Subway Records MX4729), and in 
   superb quality on this CD from Swingin' Pig. 

e. Ultra Rare Trax Volumes 1-6 (Swingin' Pig / Condor) - SERIES 
   (Vinyl / Compact Disc) 

   - Paydirt. Studio outtakes in Master Tape quality. If you're a newcomer to
   unreleased Beatles, this is probably the material you've been reading about
   in the media, and hearing on the radio. Unique, fascinating working 
   versions of some of The Beatles' greatest songs, including radically 
   different versions of "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Norwegian Wood". These were 
   originally released as two single CDs on the Swingin' Pig label, and later 
   copied as a single CD named "Back Track". There is NO difference in sound 
   quality between the two, but "Back Track" is now hard to find. The quality 
   and rarity of the selections dips dramatically after Volumes 1 and 2, and 
   the VINYL versions (Vols. 3/4 and 5/6) on "Beeb Transcription Records" 
   offer a much better selection than the later Swingin' Pig CDs. 

   [Editor's note: Material from Ultra Rare Trax, a series which is now out 
    of print, is often found in almost as good quality, if not identical 
    pristinity, on the Unsurpassed Masters series, Volumes 1-7. These should 
    be widely available from most dealers of this type of material.] 

f. Live in Paris 1965 (Swingin' Pig TSP-CD-008) (Compact Disc) 

   - Two excellent concerts from 1965, together on one CD, in excellent sound
   quality. This is the best representative of post 1963 live performances and,
   with 23 songs, it's not a bad deal for the money. 

g. 1967 ("Parlophone" PCS1967) 

   - Unlike the other titles on this list, "1967" is a compilation album of 
   material previously available on other bootlegs (A bootleg of a bootleg, if
   you would).  However, it's probably the easiest way for a new collector to 
   get a sample of material available from this era, and includes several 
   demos from "Magical Mystery Tour", as well as an amazing early acetate of 
   "A Day In The Life". 

h. "Get Back" 

   - The original album that later became "Let It Be". This has been bootlegged
   many times over the years. The best one is a European version from '83 that
   comes with a printed slipsheet containing Mal Evan's notes about the songs
   (lifted from 'Beatles Monthly'). Second best is the first "Get Back" CD,
   skillfully lifted from a clean copy of this vinyl pressing. Beware the
   "Extended" CD that has the "Let It Be" rooftop concert appended to it, and
   the latest CD release on "Chameleon". They're both awful. 

   [! Yellow Dog has also released nice ("albeit NoNoised") versions of both 
    this incarnation of "Get Back," and the alternate "Kum Back" tape played 
    on the radio in both Buffalo and Boston. The latter is worth obtaining for
    the "Posters, Incense, and Strobe Candles" DJ chatter] 

i. No. 3 Abbey Road NW8 (Vinyl - horweite stereophonie AR-8-69) 

   - Just about the only thing to emerge on bootleg from The Beatles' final
   period. Luckily, the quality on these handful of Abbey Road Demos is
   generally excellent, and it's quite interesting to hear the rough mix of
   "Something", with the extended minimalist jam at the end (omitted
   completely from the legitimate version), and the longer version of "You 
   Never Give Me Your Money", which runs into an improvisation of "At The Hop"
   (of all things). This material has been bootlegged a number of times. It's 
   listed here as it's first vinyl incarnation, where we find the Abbey Road 
   demos on the A-Side, and some McCartney / Donovan jam sessions on the 
   B-Side. A new collector might find one of the more recent issues more 
   enjoyable, which presents the Abbey Road material with other studio 
   material from that era. 

   [! This has become widely available on CD, with the Adam VIII release among
   the best. Yellow Dog also incorporated most of this material, along with 
   other "Abbey Road" demos as part of their "Unsurpassed Masters" series] 

j. Sessions (European vinyl: ST221) 

   - "Sessions" is actually a copy of Capitol's attempt at compiling an album 
   of unreleased Beatles tracks, from the early 1980's. As such, it's superb 
   sound quality places it above every other bootleg, except "Ultra Rare Trax".
   The highlights of "Sessions" include Paul's demo for "Come And Get It" 
   (later given to Badfinger), "Besame Mucho", from The Beatles very first 
   Parlophone session, and the fantastic acoustic version of "While My Guitar 
   Gently Weeps". The original European vinyl pressing sounds better than the 
   U.S. CD, although several of the "Sessions" cuts appear on various other 
   bootleg CDs in better quality (such as "Ultra Rare"). The first compact 
   disc issue of "Sessions" features a different song line-up than the vinyl, 
   omitting several of the best songs, but including a fantastically clear 
   version of "That Means A Lot". This CD, however, was pressed in a limited 
   edition of 500, and is probably too obscure and expensive for the average 
   collector. 

   [! Since reproduced several times on CD. Several recent re-issues (notably 
    one on "Spank") claim to be from the original master tapes, and are indeed
    better sounding than their vinyl counterparts ] 

   [! Another recent development in the world of bootleg CD's is the prevelance
   of box sets. In addition to the aforementioned 9-CD "BBC" box set, look for
   the 5-CD "Artifacts" set (a nice overview of Illegal Beatles), the 
   tremendous "Get Back Tapes" set (complete with a miniature reproduction of 
   the original "Get Back" book), and three sets from Yellow Dog.] 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doug Sulpy (me) has been collecting these things since 1973, and, since 1986,
has put out a fanzine for bootleg collectors which shall be forever unnamed
on THESE phone lines :-). He is currently writing a book with Ray Schweighardt
on the 'Get Back Sessions'. He is always looking for pre-1980 titles. Feel
free to call him at (201) 949-1922. 

[! _Drugs, Divorce, and a Slipping Image_ came out in late 1994, and is
   an entertaining and very well-researched look at the "Get Back" era]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------



APPENDIX (provided for your edification by saki [saki@evolution.bchs.uh.edu]: 

----
THE LAW AND BOOTLEGS
An informational appendix by
saki (saki@evolution.bchs.uh.edu)
----

[Note: the following is a condensation of an article that recently appeared in
rec.music.beatles. It is intended to supplement, not to detract from, the 
information presented in Doug Sulpy's article, which you may have received in 
a separate mailing. Its sole intent is to further inform the interested 
reader.] 

U.S. federal law states that it is illegal to buy, sell, manufacture, play, 
broadcast, transmit or trade bootleg or counterfeit recordings (the citation 
is in 17 CFR, Vol. 17 of "Codes Of Federal Regulations," for those of you 
keeping score.) Possession of bootleg or counterfeit recordings is considered
by the courts to be intent to commit all or part of the above. Thus, although 
ownership per se is not mentioned, ownership for all but strictly regulated 
purposes is forbidden by law. 

This goes for the seventeenth-generation tape copy of Ultra Rare Trax Vol.4 as
well. Legal sources state that the generational distance of the bootlegged or 
counterfeit music from the original source in no way alters its illegal 
status. 

It's not, at the moment, considered cost-effective to pursue the bootleg 
consumer; rather the focus is, as it has been, on the seller and distributor. 
Some legal experts believe that possession is almost impossible to enforce. 
You may own the bootleg, it appears, if you are ready to prove that you have 
no intention of ever listening to it.  Otherwise possession is tantamount to 
intent to listen, play, broadcast, etc. And that's illegal. Though in 
practical terms, it's possible---nay, even probable--- that some guy named 
Moe will never be caught, unless he does something really foolish, like
selling, or becoming too public about his buying habits. 

