Retro Spins: The Jackson 5 - Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5

 

Five brothers, a determined father and the Motown sound would soon create one of the greatest artists of all time. A man who not only released the greatest selling album of all time, a spot held even today, but someone who when he passed would send the entire world into mourning. I'm of course talking about Michael Jackson and the group he fronted, The Jackson 5.

Though many people often attribute Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 as the first recordings from the youth group, there is actually another. One which has only recently seen the light of day. 2009 to be exact. This "album" entitled The Steeltown Recordings, featured a nine year old Michael and his brothers laying down tracks such as Big Boy, Under The Boardwalk and My Girl. However, none of these had the punch that Motown would soon pack.

Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 may give the impression that the female Supreme singer discovered the group. However, this was more so a marketing tactic. Motown knew how to utilize already established acts / stars to promote new talent, and this worked out well for The Jackson 5.

However, this would quickly prove to be unnecessary. Entering the charts at number ninety in November of 1969, I Want You Back rapidly shot up to the number one spot by January of the following year, becoming their first of soon to be many number one hits. Who's Loving You would join the track on the charts, but only make it to number fifty-five. Though they never charted, Standing In The Shadows Of Love, You've Changed, My Cherie Amour and Stand are solid tracks unto themselves.

Admittedly, this is not my first time hearing this album from start to finish, but I wanted to give it one more listen as I wrote this post up. This turned out to be a good thing, as I found out that the latter four tracks mentioned above were no longer in my shuffle list. That was something I definitely needed to rectify and did.

So far, I'm really enjoying going back into the annals of rock history. While I've started with the 60's, I'll definitely be jumping around a bit to the 70's, and even the 50's. I want to hear all those classic debut albums from the likes of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and more. Keep it tuned here to join me for my reviews.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

 

Retro Spins: The Beatles - Please Please Me

 

"1, 2, 3, 4." They're the first words and the count off which started Beatlemania. As a child of the 80's, I like many before me know about the Beatles. I know their music, well, some of it anyway. However, what I don't have is that "wow" factor that those who were there to see it all unfold have. To me it's just music.

To truly appreciate the band, you need to first understand the times. Not only was their musical structure ahead of its time, in terms of sound and production, but they also brought with them a youth movement across the globe. Many cultural movements were purportedly inspired by The Beatles, and inspired many young artists to pursue a career in music.

Despite their very short career together as a band, just a mere seven years, they churned out a total of twenty number one hits. However, more so impressive than this achievement would be on April 4, 1964, when they held all five of the top five slots on Billboard with Can't Buy Me Love (1), Twist And Shout (2), She Loves You (3), I Want To Hold Your Hand (4) and Please Please Me (5). If that weren't impressive enough, they also held seven additional spots on the charts this day, for a total of twelve Billboard hits. Those additional songs, I Saw Her Standing There (31), From Me To You (41), Do You Want To Know A Secret (46), All My Loving (58), You Can't Do That (65), Roll Over Beethoven (68) and Thank You Girl (79).

I don't think even Michael Jackson had that kind of success with his album, Thriller. But, hopefully you get the point I'm trying to make. The band was big. As such, it was only appropriate that they would be selected to launch an all new series here at The Toy Box. Retro Spins: The Classic Years is starting with a listen to The Beatles debut album, Please Please Me.

Fourteen tracks encompass the first album, and yet, due to their short nature, the album only totals around thirty-three minutes. I recognized several of the tracks, but my surprise more so came from finding out that these classic hits, which I had heard from several other artists, were written by the Fab 4.

As I listened to the songs, I could tell exactly what people were saying with their style revolutionizing an era. While some tracks, such as P.S. I Love You, sound very bubblegum style, and in line with the sounds of the era, others sound very different. You could tell The Beatles were on the horizon of something, and while it isn't achieved fully on their debut album, you can see the groundwork it's being built on.

Overall, I liked what I heard, and I want to hear more. Good thing I already own their entire UK catalog. As I type this, I feel like it may also be time to track down the US released albums. I may just have to do that.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

 

The Beatles (Remco)

The Beatles
Remco
1964

Truly horrifying, or awesome vintage collectible? You be the judge.

In the 1960's Remco began producing a line of toys based on the various television and music icons of the era. Though never officially entitled as such, fans came to know it as the Big Head series. One of the first items produced were four figures based on the British rock group, The Beatles.

Featuring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, there's not much we can say about the band that we honestly haven't covered in our prior posts about Beatlemania type toys - Nor could we honestly say anything that hasn't been said a hundred times over by so many others - Or that isn't common knowledge at this point.

Each doll was approximately five inches tall, with the head taking up approximately two inches of that encompassing measurement. The series featured real hair, which many people oddly enough cut when they opened them. As a result, opened ones are difficult to find with a full mop top.

The packaging was big on using the "Yeah, yeah, yeah" from the Beatles 1963 single, She Loves You - Which was actually never used for a full Beatles album (with the exception of greatest hits/collections). It featured a small window in the box for the figure to be displayed, and shared half the front of the package with photographs of each member's head. The back of the package was reserved for more photographs of the band, as well as an advertisement of sorts for the series.

John Lennon

Paul McCartney

Oddly enough, the packages themselves don't tell you which figure is inside. Rather, the name of each member of the group is painted on the instrument the actual figure holds.

George Harrison

Ringo Starr

Remco continued their Big Head series with other notable characters, but never came back to The Beatles for updated looks.

These days the figures are fairly common, but still rather pricey. An entire set typically sells for around $400.00 to $500.00 - Mint in the box. Loose ones sell for about fifty dollars each - Pending they have a full head of hair.

Join us next time when we take a look at Samurai X!

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John Lennon - The New York Years (NECA)

John Lennon - The New York Years
NECA
2006


John Lennon - Beatle, rock icon, legendary song writer, and plastic NECA toy. Does that about sum it up?

John Lennon was one of the key founding members of the Beatles, the UK band that went on to revolutionize rock and roll music, and have a legion of fans following them every step of the way. The band produced hit after hit between 1960 and 1970, and when they disbanded suddenly, many people were left wondering where to turn next. To many, The Beatles were everything.

Lennon continued to write and perform music, but did so as a solo act, or in accompaniment of his wife Yoko Ono. Unfortunately his life was cut short in 1980 when he was murdered in the streets by Mark David Chapman.

Though Lennon has been honored many times over since his career started, action figure fans were excited to do so in their own way when NECA released the six and eighteen inch versions of John Lennon The New York Years. The detail in the sculpt captured Lennon perfectly from the infamous photo of the same name.

John Lennon

 

John Lennon (Black and White Variant)

 

18" John Lennon

It's always tragic when someone's life is cut short by a cold blooded murderer, but for those few individuals who achieve public status such as John Lennon, their loss impacts an entire world. Though a great loss, we are fortunate that he left behind his music.

 

Join us next time when we take a look at Kung Fu!

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The Beatles Saturday Morning Cartoon (McFarlane Toys)

The Beatles Saturday Morning Cartoon
McFarlane Toys
2004 - 2005

We were very surprised by the reception of our post on The Beatles: Yellow Submarine figures. We knew the group was popular, but we didn't know so many "hits" would amass from one single obscure toy line.

Forty-eight episodes encompass what is known as The Beatles Saturday Morning Cartoon series. While all four Beatles are represented in the series, oddly enough just two people provided all the voice overs; Paul Frees (John and George) and Lance Percival (Paul and Ringo).

Several shorts encompassed each full episode, and each was designed to set up a visual illustration of the full song featured in the skit. Though during this time the band moved on in both look and style in their personal lives, the show insisted on depicting them in their clean suited mop top look. The producers did however incorporate real photos of the band during the intro which showcased their more contemporary looks.

When the series original aired the band voice their dislike of it, and refused any involvement beyond their music being utilized. It was because of this series that when the feature film "Yellow Submarine" was produced that the band declined to be involved in that as well. It wasn't until seeing the finished product of the film that they agreed to provide a live action epilogue.

Much like the Yellow Submarine figures, these Saturday Morning Cartoon renditions are incredibly difficult to track down, especially at a reasonable price. Individual figures can sell upwards of $45.00 a piece, though if you act fast, on occasion you can find them for about $25.00 a piece.

Even rarer is finding someone selling a complete set. If you do manage to find a complete set being sold by one person, a lot of times they seem to think that having said set deems double the asking price.

Paul

John

George

Ringo

Those looking for a cheaper alternative to tracking down all four figures may instead want to focus on this multipack which was released in 2005. It will probably still set you back over a hundred dollars, but in the long run could end up being cheaper than the individual figures, and even includes an alligator.

Below is a fun little video which showcases all three of the different intros utilized for the series from season one through three.

Join us next time when we take a look at Star Wars - Attack of the Clones!

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The Beatles: Yellow Submarine (McFarlane Toys)

The Beatles: Yellow Submarine
McFarlane Toys
1999-2004

Ah, The Beatles.  One of the worlds most influential bands, and leaders of the "British Invasion" of the US in the 1960's.  "1, 2, 3, 4..." were the first lines spoken on The Beatles debut album Please Please Me, and with it history was made.  From 1963 to 1970, The Beatles topped the charts of numerous countries bringing with them a new wave of rock and roll music, love, joy, controversy, and Beatlemania.  They were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr - The Fab Four, and for over a decade they dominated the rock and roll scene, bringing drastic change and evolution to the genre.

When the band broke up in 1970 with their final album, "Let It Be", the world of music was turned upside down.  Many fans didn't know what to do with themselves.  They couldn't believe that such a group of amazing artists could go their separate ways.  Several facets came under fire for the break up of The Beatles, but none more than Tokyo born Yoko Ono.

Its impossible to say if The Beatles would have ever reformed.  They sadly never got the chance to.  John Lennon was fatally shot outside of his home, The Dakota, on December 8, 1980 by Mark David Chapman.  His former band mate, George Harrison, passed away on November 29, 2001 from lung cancer.  All during this time Paul McCartney has enjoyed the spoils of a successful solo career as well as a career with his new band, Wings.  Meanwhile Ringo Starr enjoyed a subtle solo career, and is in fact credited with having the first hit post the band's breakup with "It Don't Come Easy."

All throughout the past five decades The Beatles have also been immortalized in numerous collectibles.  Books, posters, plates, statues, toys and more.  We speculate they will continue to be honored in such a manner long after the remaining members, and many of us are long gone.

McFarlane Toys was one of the many companies to give a nod of appreciation to The Beatles with the 1999-2004 series of figures based on the animated film "Yellow Submarine".  Two series of figures and a re-release of the first series encompass the collection.

What's unique to series one is that Paul McCartney was released with a variant.  To date the version with Old Fred is the most difficult and expensive to obtain.

SERIES ONE (1999)

John Lennon with Jeremy*Paul McCartney with Old Fred*George Harrison with Yellow Submarine*Ringo Starr with Blue Meanie*Paul McCartney with Blue Glove and "Love" Base

 

SERIES TWO (2000)

John Lennon with The Bulldog*Paul McCartney with Sucking Monster*George Harrison with Snapping Turk*Ringo Starr with Apple Bonker

 

BOX SET (2004)

Fab Four with Yellow Submarine

 

RE-RELEASE (2004)

John Lennon with Blue Glove and "Love" Base*Paul McCartney with Jeremy*George Harrison with Blue Meanie*Ringo Starr with Yellow Submarine

 



Join us next time when we take a look at Battlestar Galactica!

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