Moggology Vol. 1

Moggology Vol. 1 - Front Cover	Moggology Vol. 1 - Back Cover

Label	Medusa
Catalogue No.	MD 001/002
Release Date	2012
Total Time	Disc 1 - 60:44 Disc 2 - 51:14
Comments:	Moggs are a version of .ogg (ogg vorbis)....specifically; multichannel ogg vorbis most commonly found within the Rockband game for Xbox etc. They are a little like a zip file too, because they can contain more than one sound file. The following comments originate from the excellent Collectors Music Reviews website. JPGR read the CMR write-up, agreed wholeheartedly, and realised it couldn't be bettered, so ...... The new Beatles series "Moggology" or, as it might be termed, "Not Another Bloody Beatles Rockband release !!?!", is yet another division of release from this infamous source of Beatles multitracks that continues to enthrall / upset Beatle fans. Medusa’s inaugural release features a whole bunch of "Rubber Soul" tracks split between each channel rather than mixing the tracks together to create a new mix like the HMC Uncovered series did. From the first track of the first disk you know you’re in a different territory as John’s guitar line spars with Paul’s bass lines and Ringo’s tambourine and drums for a bare bones take on "Drive My Car". The second track is akin being stood at the side of Abbey Road studios watching the Fabs surround a microphone while listening to "Drive My Car" on a transistor radio. If that doesn’t do it for you, track three certainly won’t as we pass through cowbell, piano and then George’s lead guitar – all in separate stages so it almost sounds like listening to the song in negative. While the best parts stick in your ear and gel on the released version you’ll hear the parts that generally gave the song it’s back bone on this track. Interesting to hear how the track sounds without it’s clothes on but maybe it should have been left as an instructional piece in a guitar magazine. Not all of the set is like this of course – the various takes of "Norwegian Wood" are rather splendid. A spare version (track 5 – Vocals and acoustic guitar) of the song sounds like we’re so close to hearing John’s pick hit the strings of his guitar it’s like he’s here or we’re there. Even the mono mix with John’s two false starts (track 7) sound like a revelation as the dual vocals spring from their background and the guitars sound out strongly unadorned by the sitar. "You Won’t See Me"‘s rhythm track (track 8) eaks out Ringo’s shuffling drum track perfectly while Bass, Backing Vocals, Organ (track 10) highlights the comical backing vocals to the track as if the boys just don’t care as much as, lets face it, they’re only there to shadow the lead. The single tracked vocals for "Nowhere Man" (track 13) are what John never intended you to hear. While not greatly revelatory (they are underpinned by the backing vocals after all) they do feature John’s vocals stripped of the layering that he insisted were put there. "Michelle"‘s Rhythm track (track 16) is just as beautiful without the vocals and we hear the guitar lines that Paul and George twisted from the classical tunes to impress the girls before the band plays along with a previously unheard unending. Paul’s vocals (track 17) show how much he pushed himself for the finished article as much as the harmonies (track 18), while Beach Boys in style, show how far the band were coming in catching up with their recording techniques. The two merged together (track 20) are fantastic to hear while the music ticks along quietly behind them. On to disk two and a continuation of the separations of "What Goes On" that started on disk one. Track one is Guitar track only, interesting enough, but it really gets going on track two with Ringo’s vocals and the harmonies. The dourness of his Liverpudlian tones given a whole new lift as you can hear that he really is trying to do his best and not just goofing off. We also get to hear a few McCartney ad-libs where in the released version they were almost buried by the instrumentation. Ringo’s solo vocal without harmonies (track 5) is another revelation as, after hearing the album version so many times, your head will automatically sing the harmonies but step away from this and it’s a whole new experience. On to the next set of tracks and it’s slow going for a short while, neither the Rhythm Track (track 6) or Bass Track (track 7) of "I'm Looking Through You" offer much excitement. The vocals in mono (track 8) and single tracked (track 10) are nice as Paul is pushing against the music and really rips sometimes. George’s "If I Needed Someone" is another highlight for me. As we know, he was already being pushed in to a corner by his fellow musicians but this only made him try a little harder. The various separations of the rhythm track, the vocals and other instruments work perfectly and the jangling Byrds-iness of the track is really given chance to shine through. The set ends with six differing takes of "Run For Your Life". The mono bass track (track 16) shows off Paul’s melodic bass line while the bass enhanced, vocal mix (track 17) teams the two but unfortunately sounds like it has been recorded off of an old medium wave radio. The all vocals mix (track 18) brings John’s vocals to the edge and were it not for the harmonies at the chorus we’d have a perfect single-tracked Lennon vocal the whole way through. Other titles in the series: Moggology Vol. 2 Moggology Vol. 3 Moggology Vol. 4 Moggology Vol. 5 Moggology Vol. 6

C.D. One

C.D. Two

Other titles in the series:

Moggology Vol. 2

Moggology Vol. 3

Moggology Vol. 4

Moggology Vol. 5

Moggology Vol. 6