[ -- Thanks for the comment. We'd be willing to put up such a list on a page on the BSN web site, but the time it would take to compile such lists are just beyond us at the moment. If anyone would like to make a stab at this one, send the list to us at list@bsnpubs.com -- Mike & Brenda]

[ -- "Don't read Mike's hype?" Gee, we thought it was just explanation.... Seriously, thanks for the kind words. The link to the Tower Records site has now been added. -- Mike & Brenda]

[ -- Thanks for the information. We don't have the 45 of "Question" handy at the moment, so we'll have to check and post an updated answer later. -- Mike & Brenda]

[ -- Thanks for the comment. We think private messages are a handy way to e-mail us, and we promise that we will take them "off the board" after we read them so that others don't have to wade through a pile of "private" messages and wonder what THAT was about. We would hope that this chat board could be used somewhat like a newsgroup for stereo fans, with new finds posted, observations about alternate versions, 45 versions, etc. In short, we hope this chat board will become much like the letters section of the Newsletter. -- Mike & Brenda]

Ok, I heard California Girls by the Beach Boys in true stereo on 94.5 FM here the other day. I also heard 19th Nervous Breakdown in true stereo on 93.7 FM. Anyone know where these are?

[ -- They haven't been officially released, but are probably available through collectors' tapes or radio-only CD services. -- MC]

Where can I get "Baby Let's Wait" by the Royal Guardsmen in true stereo?

[ -- I haven't seen it on CD, but it was stereo on a couple of long-gone vinyl LPs. It was two-track, if I remember correctly. It will probably show up sooner or later. -- MC]

Are there more than one version of "Old Fashioned Love Song" by Three Dog Night?

[ -- Yes. The album version doesn't have the wild part near the end that was spliced onto the 45, so the last few bars of the two versions end differently. -- MC]

Has anyone found "Shambala" in true stereo yet?

[ -- No. It's even rechanneled on the "stereo" side of the M/S DJ 45. Andy McKaie said that when they put the 3DN package out a couple of years ago, they didn't find any stereo version. -- MC]

[ -- Thanks for the warning. The Crystalette and Dot versions of "Pink Shoelaces" sound similar, as Dot just redid the song and tried to make it sound as close as they could to the original. The main difference is in the inflection of her voice on certain words; if you're familiar with the original Crystalette version, the inflections on the Dot version stand out like alarm clocks. The original was mono only, so if you hear it in stereo, it's the Dot remake. Usually, the mono versions on CD are the originals. Actually, I haven't heard the Dot version in mono on CD, so it's almost a stereo/mono thing, although the Dot version was originally out in mono on her Dot LP from 1960. -- MC]

[ -- Thanks. -- MC]

[ -- I understand the true stereo version of Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale" is being worked on now. By the end of the year, there should be a version of it out on a Music Club (UK) package. The original tape runs over 6 minutes and ends cold. At present, an alternate take is on hand (and it sounds mighty like the 45 version), but they're still looking for the 45 take. The tape is clear and clean, ... and in an unmarked box, which is probably why we haven't heard it in stereo all these years. When it does appear in stereo, it will be a revelation (trust me), even if it's "only" the alternate take. -- MC]

[ -- "I'm A Man" was in stereo on a long-ago UK greatest hits compilation, as well as on an LP on the Stone label in Canada. It has not made it to commercial CD to my knowledge yet. I have never heard "Abergavenny" in stereo, either, and know nothing of the stereo content of the LP you mention. Anyone else have the album out there? As for "Asia Minor," it is now in stereo on the mail-order CD 20 More Instrumental Gems, available from Collectors' Choice Music. Their phone number is 1-800-923-1122 (fax is 1-630-775-3355). They don't have a web site yet but they tell me they should have one later this summer. Also available from CCM is a new CD called I Wish I Was A Princess: The Great Lost Female Teen Idols, which has the stereo version of "Let's Get Together", which originally appeared on the impossible-to-find stereo version of The Parent Trap soundtrack LP. There are several other hard-to-find stereo versions on both of these CDs. -- MC]

[ -- Both the Happenings version and the Tempos version of the song have been released in stereo. The Happenings version was first in stereo on the B.T. Puppy LPs of the 1960s. The Tempos version from the late '50s has only recently appeared in stereo, however, first showing up on the American Graffiti soundtrack released in the US a couple of years ago. It's not in stereo on the non-US releases, to my knowledge. -- MC]

[ -- A lot of people are looking for this set. If anybody can find a cache of them, let me know. I think "Last Plane" should be stereo on this set, since the master was on Atco (also owned by Warners), and it was stereo on the original LP. -- MC]

[ -- When CDs first came out in the 1980s, the German versions had some direct-from-session-tape stereo versions that were previously unreleased. The Japan disc is sort of a copy of the German disc, except the Japanese discs fade in on a couple of songs while the German CDs have the full beginnings. Abkco here, apparently with the Stones' concurrence, decided that from now on, most of the London singles should be mono, and from what I've heard, "pulled" the okay to issue the songs in stereo. They never did get to be stereo here in the US. This is a unique situation as far as '60s groups. Other groups have a lot of multitracks "in the can," however, they've never been out in stereo someplace like the Stones material. -- MC]

[ -- Several of the Mamas & Papas 45s were different from the album versions. I suspect the version you're talking about was in mono on the 45. -- MC]

[ -- I've never found "Ronnie" or the DC5 tracks you mention in true stereo anywhere. They undoubtedly were recorded using multitrack equipment, but nobody has sat down and mixed them into stereo yet. Maybe someday? I believe "Barefootin'" was not in stereo on the stereo version of the original LP. Although I don't have the stereo LP, evidently Collectables used a copy for their Robert Parker reissue, and "Barefootin'" was not stereo. Also, I would think somebody in the stereo collectors community would have known about it by now if it had been real stereo. -- MC]

The Quill Records Story [Collectables CD 0662; 1-800-446-8426] is a killer retrospective of the Chicago rock scene from 1965 to 1969. 25 tracks including garage hits, psychedelic rarities & first-time stereo. Compiled with the full cooperation of Quill label owner, Peter Wright, this amazing CD also features authoritative liner notes, detailed recording information & previously unpublished photos.

"Among the gems on 'The Quill Records Story' are two lush Beach Boys-inflected tracks by the Exceptions, a Chicago unit that included a pre-Chicago Peter Cetera; snarling garage punk by the Exterminators, the Delights, and the Riddles; and lots of derivative but entertaining folk-rock, pop, and power punk." -- Billboard, July 5, 1997.

*** (Three Stars) "...essential Windy City nuggets, which generally alternate between raw rave-ups and harmony-soaked crooning. For example, the Exterminators' 'Voo-Doo' bashes out a nasty trash-rock rumble, while the Skunks' 'Don't Ask Why' wobbles with a memorable case of psychedelia... Chicago rock historians should note that a number of the bands represented here (Ronnie Rice & the Gents, the Night Flight) eventually contributed members and tunes to the New Colony Six, while the Exceptions boasted future Chicago bassist Peter Cetera." -- Chicago Tribune, June 6, 1997.

"...for any Chicago completist--Chicago the band, that is--the CD is a must just for the raucous sides by the Exceptions, featuring a pre-slow jam Peter Cetera." -- Chicago Reader, May 23, 1997.

Track lineup [first-time stereo is marked with an asterisk (*)]: The Exceptions (with Peter Cetera, later of the band Chicago, Marty Grebb, later of the Buckinghams & Billy Herman, later of the New Colony Six): "As Far As I Can See*", "Business As Usual;" The Skunks: "Don't Ask Why;" The Exterminators: "Voo-Doo," "Declaration Of Independence '65;" Ronnie Rice & The Gents: "Warm Baby*," "La-Do-Da-Da*;" The Night Flight: "Without You*," "To Color Turn*;" The Prophets: "Yes I Know," "Sad On Me;" The Riddles: "It's One Thing To Say;" Jimmy Watson & The Original Royals: "A Heart Is Made Of Many Things," "I Wanna Do It;" The Ricochetts: "Losing You;" Chances R: "I'll Have You Cryin';" The High-Schoolers: "The Graduation Song;" The Proper Strangers: "Joyce," "One In A Million;" The Commons LTD: "I'm Going To Change The World;" The Delights: "Every Minute, Every Hour, Every Moment*," "Just Out Of Reach;" and The Rooks: "Ice and Fire," "Turquoise," "Free Sunday Paper."

[ -- Capitol/EMI has been very, very slow in releasing the CD packages they have that are done and not released yet, much less reissuing ones they've deleted. Hopefully, with the recent reorganization at Capitol, the reissue Division will look to get some of these packages out. Otherwise, it's just going to be catching them on Collectables, One Way, or another reissue label, or finding them in the used CD stores. -- MC]