One of the most impressive and praiseworthy objects I have ever beheld, held, and owned, is the RTB Book: Recording The Beatles, by Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew, published under their Curvebender Publishing imprint. As I said a year or so ago, at $100 this book is a bargain.
Curvebender has a new Beatles book coming out, called Kaleidoscope Eyes: A Day In The Life of Sgt. Pepper. It’s a collection of photographs, taken during the day in 1967 when recording began for “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.”
Limited to 1967 copies, it costs a whopping $495, and at that price I would consider this book to be an extravagent indulgence, so I won’t be buying it. Nevertheless, I hope it sells out and goes up in value.
Over at one of the Wired blogs is this item about a Beatles exhibit at the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, CA. The show is curated by Kehew and Ryan, and features original recording and playback equipment that the Beatles used at Abbey Road Studio 2.
You can hear the classic songs coming out of the same speakers used in the sessions, and gawp at the original technology, some never before seen in public.
Gawp indeed! This is almost irresistibly tantalizing. If the exhibit were in New York, I would go.
In other Beatles related doings, we watched Across The Universe with Eric, who commented that The Beatles are “eternally cool.” That’s good to know. Our enjoyment of the movie benefited greatly from watching it with the Panasonic PT-AX200U video projector.
Jengiz
Great name you have there … The book … I am a bad person to pass judgement by the fact that I have been in the publishing business for quite some time and it skews ones objectivity … For the price it is much undervalued …
The typo only adds a bit of humanity to in my opinion … I think I posted somewhere something to the effect that they could/should have marketed it differently … It would have been sold out within a month of publication …
It is our gain … It is one of those books that grows on you … It depends on where you are in your life and what you are feeling … It is romantic in the sense that it captures the night so well … I thought all the photos with everybody smoking up a storm added greatly in making it a period piece …
I also thought the pix of Paul and his dad were the best in the book …
Very much a fly on the wall … It doesnt need any text other than the introduction … You definitely get the feeling of the night … What would have really set it up well would have been a picture of the outside of Abbey Roads doors on that given night in February … London is quite cold and damp that time of year …
I think Ryan and Kehew will do well … They dont know how to market the books they have published ( YET !) … I am looking at it from a fiscal perspective … I think as a read RTB was one of the most fascinating referrence books I have read … You dont have to be a Beatles fan to appreciate the time and research that went into that book …
San Jose huh … That was what three years ago ? Why didnt you go to the Mt View Bridge concert ? Paul was very loose on both nights … It was an acoustic concert for the most part … “I Will ” Paul plays that solo and clips his notes and plays at a faster tempo than the recording … I dont know why he does that,as it is an easy song to pull off live just like the record … Cest la vie …
In closing … I think Kaleidoscope Eyes is great and it feels more comfortable each time you open it …
Kind Regards
Jake Gerber
S.F.CA.
Hello
So Jake, I was mentioning the the typo sort of to you as you said, ” I will hold comment/judgement until I hear from others that have bought the book.” I took that as you had some particular comment about the book but didn’t want to influence other people’s comments. (The only other thing you did was mention the Bridge concert right?)
BTW I had a really nice dream with Paul McCartney in it last night/this morning? He was cool (and I thought so-way-past cool with him and his band last time in San Jose). The dream was excellent. I was about to try to get him interested in some great songs I made up. We were in my childhood home. When I awoke I had wished that I had showed him how I play I Will (I did at my wedding with crowd sing along). And truly I think I play it much nicer than he does on solo acoustic.(I use a capo- he doesn’t in the last live version I saw) Now the recorded version is another story (The acoustic guitar tracks are sublime on that.) and I’m not saying I can sing it so well.
Well that’s my comment. I have been checking back to see what you’d say. How do you like the book?
Goodbye,
Jengiz
Hi everyone
I too spotted the typo as you apparently did … However,as I am a record collector,any flaw or discrepancy in an original work makes it more valuable if they ever do another edition …
In other words … If Curvebender ever came out with an inexpensive paperback of Kaleidoscope Eyes ,which they legally coild do if the format was different …
It would have a corrected galley and the mistakes would not be there … This in turn would make the original 1967 editions value go up …
Its all marketing … I can’t complain coming from my background in the publishing business … Especially the limited edition formats …
Curvebender could have made a lot of money had they released RTB in a limited edition format and charged $500.00 per book … No one would have complained about paying $500. for RTB … The first 1000 were signed by Ryan and Kehew … They were giving them away …
I think your right in respect to actually looking at and using the book in the conext of a coffee table book and not hoarding it …
Does anybody know how close they are to selling out ?
Kind Regards
Jake
The book, which I haven’t seen yet, may be an indulgence, but as luxuries go it’s inexpensive. The gloves are perhaps a bit much, but they’re also a nice touch. There really is a typo, huh? Well, for a limited edition that won’t be reprinted, that’s simply unforgivable! 😉
Well I am going to comment for Jake. I was pretty irked by the spelling typo on page 1!!! It just doesn’t seem right at all. Plus there was a slight smudge of ink? or something on another page border-not the photo itself. The fellow at Curvebender did promptly reply to my enquiry with what he was godawful sorry for and its explanation…that is the typo.
Yet the book is pretty cool and I am not a perfectionist really. I think the white gloves are almost a joke. Jesus y’all- just look at the book and enjoy it. wear it out! Forget about what it’s “worth.”
I think the gloves are meant only for the protection of the signed prints that you may want to frame. I only like the ones of Ringo and John.
I showed it to a Beatle fan at a bookstore and he just loved it to death. He knew a friend that was definately going to get it after he looked it up on Curvebender’s website.
By the way one of the best things to me sort of spiritually is the number of copies being made -1967. I pretty much started out with the Beatle situation right about then. I also like the number I got for some reason-125.
Jengiz
Oakland
Wow. Thanks for the story, Jake! That’s sure is something special to say the least. I’ve seen Paul McCartney live twice, and he certainly puts on a fantastic show. It’s quite a rush even being way up in the rafters!
I wasn’t going to mention my relationships with two of the former Beatles … I spent quite a bit of time with Paul back in Oct.of 2004 at the Bridge concert and was lucky enough to sing with him and all the other performers on the refrain on Hey Jude in front of 40,000 people over two nights …
Paul has more energy than a twenty year old … He would get to the all day show about noon and go on last at midnight … During the twelve hour interim he was just hanging out back stage … We talked for a long time about mutual friends that we had both played with and all that business …
I will relate a great story here . On the first night ( pouring rain and cold outside for all the people sitting on the lawn ) of the show for some reason about fifteen minutes before he was to go on it was just him and me backstage watching the monitors that were broadcast to the audience on the Jumbotron … We were watching a small monitor … They were playing a black and white clip of the Beatles in 1963 ( Love Me Do and I Want To Hold Your Hand ) the rest of his band were in the dressing room for some reason …
I was standing right next to him and watching him watch him forty years ago … He was tapping his foot and it was like he was watching someone else ,like he too was a fan of this band … A very surreal moment … Then after about five minutes his band came out and they did their rhythmic warmup before they went on stage …
He opened with Drive My Car ( this was all acoustic night ) Paul was the only one of all the acts that was allowed to have an electric instrument onstage ( Hofner ) … He virtually grabbed his bass from someone at the edge of the stage and ran out with his bass and band … Everybody was up and out of their seats as soon as they heard the songs intro …You don’t think that an acoustic Drive My Car can rock ? Think again … He was great …
At the finale Neil and Patti Young brought out all the other performers ( This is a big production in the Bay Area every year for Neils Bridgeschool benefit ) this was a two day and night ordeal starting in the afternoon and ending about one AM … Paul went on last both nights and closed with “Hey Jude … ” You don’t know what an adrenalin rush is until you have sung into a mic with Paul at the other side of the stage … ( I am a session musician and got an invite to the concert both nights )
I cannot believe in hindsight that I never got hold of any of the photographers that shot the finale … I have a couple of pix with me sharing a mic with Brian … But none of the whole stage …
I am still trying to get Paul to do something with me … Long legal story there …
For anyone who cares … Paul McCartney is the most down to earth human being I have ever met … Especially considering what life experiences this man has encountered … The one thing I can note … Paul and George were both beyond gracious … I have been lucky enough to experience what it is like rubbing shoulders with two Beatles and never asking for an autograph …
Kind Regards
Jake Gerber
S.F.CA.
Well, Jake and Dave certainly are making “Kaleidoscope Eyes” sound like a tempting purchase! White gloves are included? As Jake says, Curvebender is doing it right.
I did a little Web snooping, and it seems Jake Gerber deserves special mention as a Beatles fan. Click here for more about Jake.
This book is incredible … It has a “feeling” very much a fly on the wall kind of presence … I maintain that the photos of Paul with his father are the best in the book … Cigarettes everywhere … The thing about the book is the date and time “stamp” as it were … The opening of a deluge at 8:15 in the evening is great …
You have to absorb this book … The obvious first impression is the slick content and packaging … The white gloves are a nice touch and it does make a difference when you handle the book … Curvebenders Ryan and Kehew are to be commended … I hope they have a long and successful career in the publishing business … They are doing it right the first time around …
I will repeat this for anyone that didn’t read one of my other blogs … If you were to go into an art gallery that deals in photography and see a book like this and the FOUR SIGNED prints with the deluxe clamshell case and SIGNED book it would not be affordable …
I just went to a show here in San Francisco last month, I can’t mention the galleries name …However they were selling signed prints of pictures Patti Boyd took of George and Eric and a few others … These started at $1500 for a SINGLE PRINT … That is the way fine art galleries work …
I was curious if there were any art collectors out there …This is a work suitable for fine art photo galleries ( New Orleans Gallery for Photography on Royal Street )
Good luck guys … Great period piece of reality/surreality …
Kind Regards
Jake Gerber
S.F.CA.
Thanks for the compliment. I’d be tempted to post “Live At the Hollywood Bowl,” but I think that would be pushing my luck. I’d very much like to see (well, hear) a CD of that great 1977 release.
Kaleidoscope Eyes does indeed sound impressive. Interesting comparison between the book and a guitar! And I, for one, do not consider owning three copies of Recording The Beatles to be excessive, although I think I’m going to get by with two.
I too just received my copy of Kaleidoscope Eyes and I think it’s absolutely phenomenal. I’m amazed that these photos could have gone unpublished all these decades, as they are simply superb. My hat is off to the Curvebender guys for getting them out there. Grossman somehow managed to capture the session in such a way that the band appears completely unaware of him. So there’s a real sense of “being there” when you look at them. They are so relaxed and natural. They really are working and they look so fantastic at the same time. He did an amazing job capturing the session. I love the pictures of Mal and John messing with the controls on John’s amplifier, trying to dial in the right sound. John tries a couple of different guitars, Paul starts on the piano and moves to the organ. You can see them trying things out and working together. Lots of great shots of the equipment all over the studio that make guys like me drool. Paul’s dad was even there! And John is wearing a cape! (btw, Listening to the Anthology version of Lucy is the perfect companion to the book.) Like RTB (of which I own three copies!) the presentation is gorgeous and extremely classy and the photo reproduction is amazing. The whole thing oozes quality.
I’ve got a dozen or so high end collectible Beatle photography books and this tops the list for me. RTB is probably my all-around favorite Beatles book of all time, but you can’t really compare it and this book. It’s chalk and cheese. Yes, they’re both about the Beatles in the studio, but RTB is a technical reference book. This is a gorgeous limited edition photo book with (literally) hundreds of pictures I’ve never seen. I can’t really compare them, as they’re so different. In a way, they’re good companions. It did cost a lot, but I justify it by reminding myself that it’s a lot cheaper than buying another guitar, and unlike some (most) of my guitars, it is guaranteed to go up in value! If you are a guy like me that is mesmerised by shots of the Beatles in the studio, then this book is heaven. I can’t imagine it should be available for long, with only 1,967 copies. If they keep it up, I have a feeling I’ll be buying everything Curvebender releases in the future.
BTW, Doug, this site is fantastic. Many thanks for upping the Beatles Story. Haven’t heard that in years! Cheers
What you have will undoubtedly go up in value, because I think the intent is to not have any more printings. Not like that one, anyway.
I would strongly recommend reading Geoff Emerick’s account of the recording of Sgt. Pepper in his memoir “Here, There and Everywhere.” I think it would add to the appreciation of the book.
Also, you’ll probably want to post something on some of the widely read Beatles sites about the book, and by its very nature relatively few fans will be able to see it.
Hi everyone …I received the book Kaleidoscope Eyes … I will hold comment/judgement until I hear from others that have bought the book … It is hard to be objective when you paid $100. for RTB and $500. for this work …
I do have a comment,but feel I should wait to hear what others have to say … This is a limited edition book that sold PRE-PUBLICATION for $495. that would imply that when the book was actually in print and available that the opening price would be more money … That is the whole concept of limited edition prints … Sell as many as possible before the book is released at a discounted PRE-PUB price and then when it is available you have an OPENING PRICE which of course is higher …
I hope that is what the publishers do …
I will say this …The images are great …
Anyone else that bought the book ,please make a posting … I am curious about something …
Kind Regards
Jake Gerber
S.F.CA.
I’m sure the book will be worth the wait, however long it may be. These guys are integrity incarnate. They should have called their publishing enterprise “Labor of Love Books,” because that’s obviously what they’re doing. But the thing is, there are plenty labors of love in various forms out there that aren’t very good. What Curvebender is doing is beyond good, beyond excellent, into the realm of the truly superb. And if anybody who hasn’t seen the RTB book thinks I’m exaggerating, well, that’s only because you haven’t seen the book!
Hi
I am still waiting for Kaleidoscope eyes … I was hoping to have it by the 10th and I received a letter that they had just received them and the books were in the warehouse waiting to be shipped … That was two weeks ago… I received a follow up saying something to the effect that something was holding up the shipment of the books.
I will most definitely write a posting when I receive the book,hopefully this coming week … For $500. it should be on par with a Genesis book and I am quite sure it will be … I cant for the life of me understand why they sold the RTB for $100. when they could have got at least $250. and still sold out … It is my understanding they only printed 3000 of the first edition,that is a very small run of a first edition of a book of this stature … I am glad a bought two of them . I have a feeling a lot of people bought two after they had seen the book …
Until I get my read … All the best to everyone that has this obsession with the four guys and their producer/engineers that changed the world of music as we know it.
Regards
Jake Gerber
S.F.CA.
Honestly, I would have paid $250 for the RTB book. I’m just throwing out that number, but it really is a superb accomplishment. I am, however, glad it’s $100 and remaining in print, because it deserves the widest possible circulation. I’m seriously considering buying a second copy, so I can handle the copy I have without concern about wear-and-tear. I’m very interested in knowing your reaction to Kaleidoscope Eyes.
I bought two of Curvebenders Recording the Beatles books… The first one was supposed to be signed,but when it arrived it was not signed …However the book was good enough to warrant me buying another copy … I know that the first edition of this book is selling for over $1500. I know someone that bought one on the secondary market for $1700. as he wanted a first edition of the book …
The book is easily as good as any Genesis book about the Beatles … Now Curvebender is aware of how popular their book was and their new book Kaleidoscope Eyes is selling for $500. PRE PUBLICATION … It should be one hell of a book … it is five times that of RTB . The publisher was giving Recording The Beatles away at $100. that book should have been $500. it is the best written and researched book about how the Beatles did it imaginable …Buy the second edition,it is well worth $100. I have yet to see the new book … However I have paid for it … $500. is a lot of money …I bought it on good faith …
Damitol! I wish I could hear my own daughter say: “The Beatles are eternally cool!” No such luck. Perhaps it’s because her father never got into them, even though he’s exactly the right age for it (57). However, she IS now into the arcane Nick Drake, the English singer/songwriter who died of an overdose of Elavil way back in the 60s, and became an obsession with the late Heath Ledger. She also likes a lot of the current country/western. Go figure!
I will say that of the entire Beatles library, Molly does like all the “weird” songs, like “I Am the Walrus,” “Glass Onion,” and “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Translate: Lennon stuff.