The Best of The Easybeats Volume 2

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The Best of The Easybeats Volume 2
Best of The Easybeats - Volume 2.jpeg
Greatest hits album by
The Easybeats
ReleasedOctober 9, 1969
RecordedBetween 1967 - 1968 at Olympic Studios and Central Sound Studios, London, UK.
Genre Rock, Psychedelic pop
Label Albert Productions (Australia)
Producer Glyn Johns, Harry Vanda and George Young.
The Easybeats Australian albums chronology
Vigil
(1968)		The Best of The Easybeats Volume 2
(1969)		 Friends
(1969)
1975 Drum Records reissue
Best of Easybeats 1975 Vol 2 cover.jpg
The Best of The Easybeats Volume 2 Featuring Stevie Wright
Singles from The Best of The Easybeats Volume 2
  1. "Peculiar Hole In the Sky"/"H.P. Man"
    Released: 25 September 1969

The Best of The Easybeats Volume 2 is the second compilation album by the Australian rock group The Easybeats. The album was first released on October 9, 1969 by the group's Australian label Albert Productions. The compilation album was released to coincide with the band's 1969 Australian tour.

A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hits album or box set. If from several performers, there may be a theme, topic, time period, or genre which links the tracks, or they may have been intended for release as a single work—such as a tribute album. When the tracks are by the same recording artist, the album may be referred to as a retrospective album or an anthology.

The Easybeats Australian rock band

The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney, Australia, in late 1964, and disbanded at the end of 1969. They were the first rock and roll act from Australia to score an international pop hit with the 1966 single "Friday on My Mind".

Albert Productions Australian record label

Albert Productions, a division of music publishing and recording company Albert Music, is one of Australia's longest established independent record labels to specialise in rock and roll music. The label was founded in 1963 by Ted Albert, whose family owned and operated the Sydney music publishing house J. Albert & Son.

Contents

The compilation was later re-issued on the budget Drum label in 1974. It has never been officially issued on compact disc or digitally. However, the songs not released on their original studio albums, can be found on CD throughout the Repertoire reissues of Friday On My Mind , Vigil and the bonus tracks of the Friends CD.

<i>Friday On My Mind</i> (album) 1967 studio album by The Easybeats

Friday On My Mind is the first North American album from The Easybeats. The album was released as Good Friday in Europe, in the same month. This version omitted "Hound Dog" and replaced it with "Women" from the Australian It's 2 Easy album.

<i>Vigil</i> (album) 1968 studio album by The Easybeats

Vigil is the fifth studio album by Australian rock band The Easybeats, released in May 1968. This would be the second and final album by the band released on the United Artists Records label.

<i>Friends</i> (Easybeats album) 1970 studio album by The Easybeats

Friends is the sixth and final studio album by Australian rock band the Easybeats. It was released in late 1969 as part of the group's new recording contract with Polydor Records. It would be the only album Polydor released of the band as they broke up before its release.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Go-Set mixed [1]

On release, the album received mixed reviews from the music press due to its use of "demo" recordings, on the album's first side. In their review, Go-Set commented: "Apart from the dubious production often the Easys are not trying to be themselves but are content to put down the song idea, perhaps even with someone in mind for them". [1] The songs on the first side included songs Harry Vanda and George Young had given to other Australian groups, whose versions were already released before this album. [2] Commercially, the album did poorly.

Go-Set was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. Widely described as a pop music "bible", it became an influential publication, introduced the first national pop record charts and featured many notable contributors including fashion designer Prue Acton, journalist Lily Brett, rock writer / band manager Vince Lovegrove, music commentator Ian Meldrum, rock writer / music historian Ed Nimmervoll and radio DJ Stan Rofe. It spawned the original Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine in late 1972.

1975 re-release

The album was reissued in June 1975 on the budget label Drum records, along with the first volume . The reissue contains the same song listing, but alternate, previously unreleased versions of some titles.

<i>The Best of The Easybeats + Pretty Girl</i> 1967 greatest hits album by The Easybeats

The Best of The Easybeats + Pretty Girl is the first compilation album by The Easybeats featuring a selection of songs recorded by the group between 1965 and 1966. The album was originally released in Australia and New Zealand under the Parlophone label under the then current licensing arrangement by the band's production company Albert Productions.

These versions of "Hello, How Are You" and "Lay Me Down and Die" would also appear on the 1980 compilation album Absolute Anthology . Both these songs can also be found as bonus track on the Repertoire Records CD release of Vigil . The alternate mix of "Land of Make Believe" is exclusive to the 1975 reissue.

Repertoire Records is a German record label from Hamburg, Germany, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 1970s. The chairman is Thomas Neelsen.

Track listing

Side A

All tracks are written by Harry Vanda and George Young except as noted.

Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg, better known his stage name Harry Vanda, is a Dutch Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as lead guitarist of the 1960s Australian rock band The Easybeats who with fellow member George Young formed the 1970s and 1980s songwriting and record production duo Vanda & Young.

George Redburn Young was an Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands the Easybeats and Flash and the Pan, and was one-half of the songwriting and production duo Vanda & Young with his long-time musical collaborator Harry Vanda.

No.TitleOriginally released onLength
1."Peculiar Hole in the Sky"single A-side3:02
2."H.P. Man""Peculiar Hole in the Sky" single2:44
3."My Old Man's a Groovy Old Man"previously unreleased – originally recorded in 1967 for the scrapped second album for United Artists. Previously covered by The Valentines in 1969.2:24
4."Such a Lovely Day"previously unreleased – recorded at Central Sound Studios. Previously covered by Rev Black and the Rockin' Vickers in 19693:16
5."Good Times""Good Times" single and Vigil album3:23
6."Down to the Last 500"previously unreleased – recorded at Central Sound Studios. Previously covered by Rev Black and the Rockin' Vickers in 19682:41

Side B

No.TitleOriginally released onLength
1."Hello, How Are You""Hello, How Are You?" single and the Vigil album3:20
2."Heaven and Hell""Heaven and Hell" single2:43
3."Come In You'll Get Pneumonia" (Vanda, Young, Tony Cahill)The B-side to "The Music Goes 'Round My Head" single and the Vigil album3:46
4."Lay Me Down and Die""Lay Me Down And Die" Australian single. B-side to "Good Times" in the U.K. and U.S. The 1974 featured the vocal version of the song instead.3:02
5."Do You Have a Soul?"The B-side to "Who'll Be the One" single and Good Friday and Friday On My Mind albums2:41
6."Land of Make Believe"B-side to the "Good Times" single in Australia and from the Vigil album3:13

Related Research Articles

Friday on My Mind single

"Friday on My Mind" is a 1966 song by Australian rock group the Easybeats. Written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching no. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, no. 1 on the Dutch Top 40 chart, no. 1 in Australia and no. 6 in the UK, as well as charting in several other countries. In 2001, it was voted "Best Australian Song" of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) as determined by a panel of 100 music industry personalities. In 2007, "Friday on My Mind" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry.

Good Times (The Easybeats song) Easybeats song

"Good Times" is a song by the Easybeats released as a single in Australia 18 July 1968, and which appeared on their Vigil album with guest vocals by Steve Marriott of Small Faces. It was written by George Young and Harry Vanda.

<i>Easy</i> (Easybeats album) 1965 studio album by The Easybeats

Easy is the debut studio album by the Australian rock band the Easybeats, released on 23 September 1965.

<i>Its 2 Easy</i> 1966 studio album by The Easybeats

It's 2 Easy is the second studio album Australian rock band the Easybeats. Released on 24 March 1966, the album featured four hit singles; "Wedding Ring", "Sad and Lonely and Blue", "Women " and "Come And See Her".

<i>Volume 3</i> (Easybeats album) 1966 studio album by The Easybeats

Volume 3 is a studio album by the Australian rock band The Easybeats, released on 3 November 1966. It was the third and final album from the group recorded in Australia before relocating to England.

<i>The Shame Just Drained</i> 1977 compilation album by The Easybeats

The Shame Just Drained or The Shame Just Drained: The Vanda & Young Collection Vol. 1 is a compilation album consisting of studio outtakes, songs from the scrapped 2nd album for United Artist Records, demos and rarities by Australian rock band The Easybeats.

<i>Absolute Anthology 1965 to 1969</i> 1980 compilation album by The Easybeats

Absolute Anthology 1965 to 1969 is a compilation album by Australian rock band The Easybeats, released on November 17, 1980. The album was compiled by Australian rock journalist Glenn A. Baker. It features singles, EP, album tracks, unreleased studio & demo recordings and other rarities spanning the group's recording career. It reached #37 on the Australian albums charts. This album was re-released in 1986 on compact disc.

Vanda & Young were an Australian songwriting and producing duo composed of Harry Vanda and George Young. They performed as members of 1960s Australian rock group the Easybeats where Vanda was their lead guitarist and backing singer and Young was their rhythm guitarist and backing singer. Vanda & Young co-wrote most of the Easybeats' later hits including their international hit "Friday on My Mind" and they were the record producers for the group from 1967. Young was the older brother of Malcolm and Angus Young of the hard rock band AC/DC and also the record producer behind several of the band's biggest albums. The "Guitar George" and "Harry" who are mentioned in the Dire Straits hit song "Sultans of Swing" are George Young and Harry Vanda.

<i>Good Friday</i> (album) 1967 studio album by The Easybeats

Good Friday is the fourth studio album by The Easybeats, released in May 1967. It was the first album released after the band signed an international recording deal with United Artists Records. The original UK album was released in May 1967. Although "Friday on My Mind" was a big single in the UK, the album failed to make the top 40.

Peculiar Hole in the Sky 1968 song performed by The Valentines

"Peculiar Hole in the Sky" is a song written by Harry Vanda and George Young. It was originally recorded by the Australian rock group the Easybeats in 1967, but left unreleased until 1969. The song would later be given to Australian rock group, The Valentines. The Valentines version would be released in August 1968.

Hello, How Are You

"Hello, How Are You" is a 1968 song and single by Australian rock group the Easybeats, which was written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda.

<i>Easyfever</i> 1966 EP by The Easybeats


Easyfever by The Easybeats was their fourth official EP release in Australia. It was released to coincide with the band's departure to the U.K. It reached number one on the Australian singles charts, something that had only been achieved once before by an EP.

Land of Make Believe (Easybeats song)

"Land of Make Believe" is a 1968 song and single by Australian rock group the Easybeats, which was written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda. It was also released on the band's fifth album Vigil.

Lay Me Down and Die

"Lay Me Down and Die" is an instrumental song by The Easybeats released as a single in Australia November 1968. It was written by George Young and Harry Vanda. It was first released in September 1968 in the UK as the B-side to the Good Times single.

<i>Falling Off the Edge of the World</i> (album) 1968 studio album by The Easybeats

Falling Off the Edge of the World was the North American version of The Easybeats album Vigil. It was issued in October 1968 with a different album cover and running order from the UK release. This version was pared down to 12 songs from 14, omitting "Sha La La" and "We All Live Happily Together". A different recording of the title track replaced the more common version from the Australian and UK/European releases. This version of the album has also been released on CD, paired with Friday On My Mind on the Collectables label.

References

  1. 1 2 "Ideas from Easys - The Best of The Easybeats Vol. 2". Go-Set. Australia: Go-Set Publications. Nov 1969.
  2. ↑ Tait, John (2010). Vanda & Young: Inside Australia's Hit Factory. New South. ISBN   978 1 74223 217 1.
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