KUM BACK (from matrix S-1/S-2)
Company: no manufacturer indicated
Matrix Number: S-1/S-2
Release Date: late January 1970
Country: USA and UK
Side A
1. GET BACK 2:30
2. THE WALK :51
3. count-in LET IT BE 3:48
4. ONE AFTER 909 dialogue 2:49
5. TEDDY BOY dialogue (incomplete) 5:39
6. TWO OF US 3:08
Side B
7. DON'T LET ME DOWN dialogue 3:30
8. I'VE GOT A FEELING dialogue 2:39
9. THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD 3:30
10. DIG IT (edited) 2:33
11. FOR YOU BLUE (incomplete) 1:42
12. count-in DIG A PONY (with false start) 3:31
13. GET BACK 2:28
Sound quality: EX-stereo
Source:
1, 2: Apple studios, January 27, 1969
3, 9, 10: Apple studios, January 26, 1969 (mono)
4: Apple rooftop performance, January 30, 1969
5, 6, 8, 12: Apple studios, January 24, 1969
7: Apple studios, January 22, 1969
11: Apple studios, January 25, 1969
13: Apple studios, January 23, 1969
COMMENTS
The "Get back" tape (see KUM BACK) appears in stereo for the second time, this time including One After 909 and Dig It; the songs are sequenced similarly to KUM BACK, and For You Blue is equally faded at the end; this could imply that these two records were derived from the same tape; most of the chatter, count-ins, and riffs in-between the songs have been edited out. The sound quality has an excess of high frequencies, the pressing is slightly noisy and the mastering is too fast.
This version of Dig It, compared with the complete version available on various more recent CDs, starts at 1'56'', ends at 4'56'' and is edited from 2'18'' to 2'57''.
RELEASES FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTERS
1a. late January 1970 (photo below the title). Plain white untitled cover, usually folder-type; white or black blank labels of a smaller size, 75 mm in diameter (normal labels are 100 mm in diameter). These were old labels for 78 rpm records, glued on the reverse, as indicated by an extremely faint trace of the original label writing, written specular, barely visible on some copies with the white labels. This version was mainly distributed in the U.K.
1b. Same as 1a, with an additional yellow or red day-glo sticker titled KUM BACK. The labels are small white, sometimes with very tiny, barely visible, orange lines.
2. Early 1970. Same as 1a, with an additional GET BACK rubber stamp on the cover; small black or white labels.
3. 1970. Red labels saying MAK and FAB FOUR (hence this issue was also reported with the title FAB FOUR). This LP was distributed in Europe with a black-and-white printed jacket (of comparatively thin cardboard), depicting a crying girl and titled KUM BACK. Some copies had the labels of a Rolling Stones release, which were used by mistake. Some of the copies with the printed jacket had the disc with the small labels.
INTEREST. The copies with small labels are very interesting releases, the one with the day-glo sticker being particularly rare (****/***). The European version, with the crying girl, is relatively more common, yet interesting (***).
LATER REISSUES FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTERS
After several years, the original S-1 / S-2 masters resurfaced and new pressings were realized from newly cut stampers with the letters DAB (= Dig A Beatle) added to the left of the original numbers.
1. late seventies. Blue Great Live Concerts label, written in italics; the cover derives from Renaissance Minstrels.
2. 1979. The insert is a replica of one of the TMOQ inserts for GET BACK SESSIONS, complete with TMOQ 71024 number, track listing, and other notes; black Slipped Disc labels.
3. 1979. This version had the same insert as #2, but smaller, with the TMOQ references removed and the titles and track listings rewritten by hand. Labels for other records were used, placed on the disc on the reverse side.
4. 1980. New insert, partly folded over the back of the sleeve. Black Canyon labels.
5. 1981-1982. Same insert as #3, Raring Records labels in various colors, blue and yellow were seen, black as well as colored vinyl.
INTEREST. These repressings have limited collectible interest. **/*
COPIES
Soon after the first release of the S-1 / S-2 record, copies were produced.
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Early 1970. A mono copy was distributed in a sleeve with a rubber-stamped cover titled LET IT BE and blank white labels; it was pressed from MG 202520 TI / MG 202521 TII machine-stamped matrix.
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INTEREST. A very rare record. ****
April 1970. Immaculate Conception Records copied the original S-1/S-2 LP on matrix VAR-101, with the title GET BACK. The slipsheet, which featured a photograph of a nude pregnant woman, was subsequently reproduced in Rolling Stone magazine's review of LET IT BE in early June 1970. The record has a blue label with the song titles printed in black. It has stereo channels reversed and is mastered slightly slow; tracks 5 and 8 have an early fade-out.
INTEREST. Not common, but not as rare as the previous record. ***