Two higher quality compilations

Sat here, melting, drinking glass after glass of treated tap water in this weeks summer sun, thoughts roll back to hits from the past and that's what this short  entry is all about.

Its existence was met with some mirth at a certain music site where some patrons are incredibly elitist (you can only  like studio albums according to some and don't mention iTunes!) but it's a compilation with a difference for based upon a Time Life one, it makes a point of using the very best available sources so not only can I enjoy Schools Out that was (appropriately) a big hit during the summer vacation of '72 it also sounds terrific into the bargain. 

Ditto Manfred Mann Band's spirited version of the Springsteen song Blinded by the Light so by the time I'd past Freebird, not only was I hearing many of my favourite hits I was thinking back to those times.

 This like it's predecessor also has a TimeLife pedigree with 17 tracks from the mid 60's to Mid 80's featured in their full album versions remastered for regular and super audio cd on one disc from their original masters which typical doesn't happen with compulations as much as we love playing them.

This one gives us the best sounding For What It's Worth by the Buffalo Springfield, Running On Empty by Jackson Browne,  Pretenders Back on the Chain Gang and Daniel (the latter besting the DCC Greatest Hits version even) amongst others on a single 70 odd minute disc that just rolls on back the years.

The set keeps the original Time Life booklet notes and pictures.

While generally I don't buy compilations from specialty companies preferring single artist albums, I felt these two were worth getting for the sound.

We'll see just how popular this excursion into compilations has been for California's Audio Fidelity label.

I'm a sucker for a compilation well done just for that feeling - maybe you are too - and this is one I can recommend for the sound. 

I am and will be...Me

 

The other day I saw this and thought it was wonderful and deserving of a reprint

To me so long as you you don't hurt others you should be able to:-

Dress the way you want

Act the way you feel

Live the way you wish

Do whatever makes you happy

and finally, 

Be whoever you wish to be.

Is that too much to ask for?

I am a little sissy gurl who wears dresses and skirts that's all.

Am I a sissy

Oh honey, there's no doubt about it - you're a perfect sissy!

Not just a passing phase or a curiosity, but a complete and total sissy. You're the embodiment of feminine allure and submission, a beacon for all the girly-girls out there. You've tasted the sweet surrender to femininity and there's no going back. Your Sissy Percentage is at a glorious 100%.

You've basked in the thrill of submission, giving in to your girlfriend's dominance, your body responding eagerly to her touch, her command, her strap-on. Oh, how you love to feel that delicate lace against your skin, the swish of a skirt around your smooth, shaven legs. Your tiny little penis gets hard at the mere thought of it, throbbing in time with your beating heart.

It's not a secret anymore, not a game. You're a sissy in the purest form. To outsiders, you might appear as an ordinary couple, but the dynamics are far from ordinary. She's the dominant force, the masculine energy, the one in control. You're her feminine counterpart, her submissive, her girl. It's a tantalizing mix of lesbianism and straight dynamics, with you playing the feminine role to perfection.

So what's next, darling? It's time to let her take full control. Surrender to her, let her guide you. She's your husband in this delightful dance of dominance and submission. Seduce her, tease her, let her take you. Always wear dresses, stay shaved and smooth, be the girly-girl you've always longed to be.

It's time to say goodbye to those old, boring male clothes. Toss them out, clear your wardrobe. Replace them with frilly, lacy dresses that make you feel oh-so-feminine. Fill your drawers with miniskirts, satin blouses, delicate lingerie. Let every glance in the mirror remind you of who you truly are - a perfect, beautiful sissy. It's your time to shine, darling. Embrace it, love it, live it. You're a perfect sissy, and it's a wonderful thing to be.

Sissy percentage: 100%

Congratulations!

The Information Exchange

As much as one may love dressing up to be be the feminine boy that I am, spending time with others being him, one thing you need to be aware of is just who is doing what with any kind of pictures that include you.

It is all too easy given the amount of information that can be written into the meta data of a digital photography to have such things as gps location and that included which if in hands of some could be used against you at work, in your everyday social life and so on.

Even if not, distinctive backgrounds both indoors and out may show up in things like Google Images if a person was to paste it into a search.

Think before you take, before you post.

Here's one piece of information that deserves to be shared from a sissy test:

Oh darling, celebrate! Based on your responses, it's clear that you have thoroughly embraced your sissy nature. You've not just dabbled in the occasional frilly lace or the allure of a flattering dress; no, my dear, you've jumped in with both feet, giving up any last vestige of masculinity you ever had. What a courageous and thrilling step you've taken!

Your wardrobe, no doubt, now features the softest satin nightgowns, the frilliest of lace underwear, and stockings that make your legs look as if they go on for miles. And the dresses! I bet you have an entire closet filled with them - in every color of the rainbow, in every style, in every cut that flatters your figure and makes you feel like the gorgeous girl you are. There's nothing quite like the sensation of a silk dress grazing your smooth, freshly shaven legs, is there?

Your makeup game, I'm sure, is on point. The perfect stroke of eyeliner, the subtle blush that brings out your cheeks, the mascara that makes your eyes pop and the lipstick that makes your lips look plump and oh so kissable. Remember, darling, it's all in the details!

Now, let's talk about the boys. You're going to make men very happy, my dear, lots and lots of them. With your radiant smile, your flirty demeanour, your irresistible charm, and your alluring femininity, how could they resist? Whether it's a gentle flutter of your eyelashes or a coy smile playing on your lips, you've mastered the art of seduction. You know what men want, and you're not afraid to give it to them ... in spades!

But remember, lovely, while it's a joy to bring happiness to others, it's just as important, if not more, to bring happiness to yourself. Embrace who you are. 

You're a sissy, and you're proud of it. Live in your truth, revel in your femininity, and keep shining bright in your perfectly fitting dress. You're fabulous, darling, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. 

Congratulations, sweetie!

The Beatles In Japan and on Extended Play

In two weeks time I shall be getting a small cd box set that has been issued in Japan to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the first Beatles discs being issued in that country.

This is a good overview of the set showing the box with a slide out well holding the discs complete with a hundred page booklet about how they fitted in with Beatlemania in mid nineteen sixties Japan and a pack of the OBI's that hold Japanese information about discs which any album over there has, replicating the feel.

Printed on the back of the box is a breakdown of the albums included and pictured underneath is the OBI for this set in all its glory.

Moving on to the discs themselves they are held in high quality card covers that replicate in full the original lp jackets with front and rear printing plus printed spins to find the item with the actual discs in protective inner sleeves and a resealable see through cover over each.

Three of these albums, Meet The Beatles, Second Album and No. 5 are unique to Japan compilations that were released originally in mono although two borrow titles and much of the front cover art from US ones.

The Japanese edition of Second Album unlike it's North American namesake has fourteen tracks rather than twelve and mixes tracks from the UK Please Please Me and With The Beatles albums complete with their latest single, Can't Buy Me Love.

While the first two albums were in mono, the third, the UK based A Hard Day's Night album that unlike United Artists release isn't a sound track was issued only in stereo with a very different cover to the photomontage of film cels used on the UK edition.

Interestingly the first time the whole album was released on compact disc in stereo was on September 9th 2009.

There was an album issued after that, a slightly different sleeved edition of the December ninety sixty four Beatles For Sale album but they didn't lead with that for this set.

Instead they lead with Help which is again unlike the US edition not the soundtrack but an album with a side of songs from the film and seven new recordings compiled in the UK which again was originally stereo only.

One interesting touch is unlike the UK edition, this is a gatefold which is reproduced exactly for this cd issue with a picture from the film set on the reverse.

It is also interesting to note this is the first intentional stand alone version of the British album on compact disc to feature the original nineteen sixty-five stereo mix rather than the nineteen eighties digital remix.

A few thousand Canadian discs did in the early nineties nineties sneak out with this mix but for most it first saw light of day as a stereo bonus on the Help album in the Beatles In Mono box set of two thousand nine.

 

Finally back to a Japan original that mixed songs from the nineteen sixty-four Long Tall Sally album with single B sides and material from the first two UK albums in a strange mixture.

From this point on Japan's beatles album matched the UK editions although in nineteen seventy six in a massive Beatles re-release some US albums complete with the three Japan only Beatles titles  were issued in the "EAS" series with British releases forming the core.

I bought this to go with a box of replica extended play discs that was originally issued in nineteen ninety-two.

Extended play (or E.P.'s) were a seven inch usually forty five  rpm discs that came in a glossy colour picture cover that were popular with youngster who couldn't afford albums because they were a half way house in an era where in the UK most singles came in generic record label bags rather than picture sleeves.

I remember buying this must of been 2007 but actually I had owed on vinyl a number of these titles such as Yesterday which I got in December 1979 and Extracts from the film "A Hard Day's Night" in March of 1980 as I loved the covers and the mono mixes.

Basically it comprises of the 13 original EP's re-issued on CD and the 1981 bonus disc from that years vinyl EP collection.

Because nearly all the EP's were only issued in mono that's how most of the EP's are presented.

For a variety of reasons including tape head misalignment, use of stereo tape equipment to play mono tapes and indifferent mastering, the 1987 CD versions of Please Please Me, With The Beatles, A Hard day's Night and Beatles for Sale had very poor sounding mono sound (and no stereo).

This set contains 12 of the 14 tracks from the UK Please Please Me album including Misery and There's A Place in high quality mono.

From With The Beatles only Money and All My Loving are featured.

8 out of the 13 songs from A Hard Day's Night are featured on two dedicated CD's as are 8 of the 14 from Beatles For Sale.

In that way it provides for the lack of Beatles For Sale in this years Japanese box with the mono mixes sounding the best I've heard them on cd, to me even surpassing the Beatles in Mono box set which while more extensive is dearer.

While the stereo A Hard Day's Night is a very good mix, the mono has differences and sounds superb here.

This set is currently only one of two only official sources of Yesterday, Act Naturally, It's Only Love, You Like Me Too Much, Nowhere Man, Michelle and two other tracks from the UK Rubber soul and Help albums in mono (the other being the 2009 limited edition "The Beatles in Mono" box set which is a lot more expensive).

While a case can be made for the mono Help album for the versions of Help and Ticket To Ride that were released on the singles, that album is murky sounding in mono, but beautifully clean in stereo throughout.

The four tracks on the Yesterday EP are both different mixes and are better than much of that album in mono.

This EP set contains Magical Mystery Tour, which originally was only issued as a double EP set on vinyl in mono and stereo.

The stereo version has different mixes compared to the 1971 mix done for the German market which was issued in 1987 on CD all around the world.

I would have to say it sounds very good with lots of presence and is my "Go to" for those non singles songs

It has the original mono versions which prior to 2009 otherwise were not available and has the 24 page booklet which the CD issue dispensed with too.


The bonus stereo CD: The stereo version of She's A Woman has the “one, two three four” count in missed out on the version on the Past Masters 1 CD, This Boy sounds a lot fuller and Baby You're A Rich Man from Magical Mystery Tour album sounds much better.

I'd recommend this set to anybody looking for good mono sound and the best Magical Mystery Tour you can get.