Joe Jackson's Night and Day & Body and Soul. Two Outstandingly Epic Albums. Now on SACD!

March 15, 2021

#420

Gentle reader,

I have lived in seven decades and have heard and experienced a LOT of music in my 64 years. 

I have more than 3000 recordings in my collection, more than two-thirds are LP records.

I have owned hundreds of audio components and speakers since getting into the hobby of great sound on a budget starting in the 1970's.

My taste in music is eclectic thanks to parents that listened to a variety of music and both played instruments and sang.

   Joe plays both piano and saxophone, both excellently.

 

If I like an artist or an author, I tend to buy everything they have produced. The latter makes for many filled bookcases.

My tastes have expanded over the years, with Classical music still comprising the largest portion of my collections. I love it and also love film and television scores (the music that builds the scenes, not the commercial songs added to the soundtrack), classic rock and pop, Jazz both traditional and Smooth, some New Age music, some Country, and a few other genres.

Due to a constrained budget in the 1990's I was a late adopter to digital recordings, so I only bought LPs and cassette tapes. That has changed over time. 

The "red book" Compact Disc, as it is called for some reason, while very good, has it's sonic limitations. The co-inventors of the format, PHILIPS and SONY decided to improve on the CD and came up with the Super Audio Compact Disc or SACD for short.

These are scans of the brochure they put out in 2000 about their new invention. How many of these brochures still exist?

They were quite clever, learning from the DVD, which actually stands for Digital Versatile Disc, which uses much smaller "pits" than CDs do to house the billions of zeros and ones. Thus, they and SACDs can hold a LOT more information.

And, they came up with this technology too. To greatly expand the limitations of digital music recording and storage.

There is SO much room on a SACD layer that they can store the ENTIRE recording (including 70+ minutes) in STEREO and five channel surround sound.

AND, it all is readable THROUGH the upper standard CD layer's spaces!

Now, you know a bit more about SACDs than you might have before. Why did they invent it? Mainly to try and match the dynamic range of LP records! Many people complained of CDs lacking warmth. I don't hear that, but you know, audiophiles.

But that is not what this article is about. It's about these two 1980's Joe Jackson albums.

Do you see the differences in the "jewel cases" of the two discs? Many SACD producers, to visually differentiate them from common disc cases and perhaps justify the greater PRICE, gave them this fancier case.

You can more clearly see the differences above. The only sign on the printed papers of this SACD is the tiny SACD symbol at the lower right on the back. There were stickers on the shrinkwrap of the case stating that it is a dual-layer SACD which can also be played on regular CD players, but once it was removed only the keen eyed would notice that tiny logo.

It actually is a stylized: SA over CD.

Here are two websites I found which listed the lyrics of Body and Soul, since there are none included in the "liner notes".

Joe Jackson - Body and Soul Lyrics and Tracklist | Genius  

JOE JACKSON - BODY AND SOUL ALBUM LYRICS  

Here is a link to a YouTube video, audio only, of Cha Cha Loco, the second cut on Body and Soul, to give you a taste of the music:

Cha Cha Loco JOE JACKSON Body And Soul 1984 LP - YouTube  If you open it in a new tab, you can listen to it while reading this.

That song was chosen by Focal Labs, a French High End speaker manufacturer, to be included on their five-CD set of outstanding recordings to demonstrate their speakers. Homepage | Focal

I wrote about downloading that music (enough to fill five CDs) and making my own Test CDs nearly ten years ago here:

The Robb Collections: Adventures in music downloading. OR: It all started with a CD given to me.  

I just tested the link within that article where the files were to be found, and the site was taken down, possibly by order from Focal's attorneys? 

At any rate, they are lossless MPEG4 recordings and believe me, they sounded as close to live as I had heard up to that point from a digital source. I still use them from time to time to test some new speakers.

At that time, the only Joe Jackson album I owned was Night and Day, and it is superb. Hearing Cha Cha Loco, I naturally had to buy Body and Soul. It did not disappoint!

Here is a line Joe wrote from The Verdict, the first song:

"Some people live so fast
They're so scared of getting old
Some people keep on working
All they do is line their graves with gold
We don't know what happens when we die
We only know we die too soon"

Those lines spoke to me. A coworker who held the same title I did, decided, rather than retiring when he could, to move up into management. That surprised us, knowing him and his work ethic, or lack thereof. Anyway, he moved up a couple times and when he got home one Friday evening, he dropped dead in his kitchen from a heart attack. He never got to retire and enjoy life.

So let that be a lesson to you. I retired at 60, he died in his fifties.

Anyway, someone at A&M Records decided that Body and Soul should be put on SACD last year (2020). This is an expensive proposition since it requires complete remastering of every bit of the music.  Which is one of the reasons SACDs cost many times what CDs do.

I was online looking for a CD of Body and Soul and saw to my surprise that they had put in on SACD. There are many that say SACD, as well as DVD-Audio and HDCD are "failed" formats, but if that were the case, why are they still being made?

Since I love the album so much, I decided to spring for the SACD via Amazon. The ones on eBay were ridiculously priced.

So what is so special about  NIGHT and DAY and Body and Soul? Well, Joe and his mates, after the success of Joe Jackson's Jump and Jive, a redoing of classic Jazz numbers from LONG ago, must have decided to veer from their earlier recordings which did sell well in the UK, but not so much in North America.

NIGHT and DAY excels for the lyrics, compelling and upbeat music and one of my favorites is the different types of instruments providing percussion.

                   Page one of NIGHT and DAY's lyrics.

                                              Page two. 

                                          And page three.

NIGHT and DAY went Platinum in the US and after that he was hired to do the music for the film Mike's Murder in 1983. I have that and Tucker as well in my soundtrack/score collection. In both he wrote orchestral music in addition to what he normally wrote. He therefore had to score traditional instruments and the music is excellent. Here is the story of making Body and Soul.

Since there is no way for me to play copyrighted music on this site, I can only provide links to more YouTube videos for you to check out. Remember, the compression they use the music will sound tinny on whatever you are reading this on. I can assure you the music played via traditional, physical media, will hopefully convince you that these two records are definite keepers.

Here is the opening cut from NIGHT and DAY, Another World. Check out the percussion: Another World - YouTube

And here is Steppin' Out: Steppin' Out - YouTube

Lastly, listen to Joe's wild piano and more on Target: Target - YouTube

A few more from Body and Soul: You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want) - YouTube  The opening brass sound's like a lot more than a sax and trumpet. Great song!

Here is Go For It: Go For It - YouTube And finally, an official Joe Jackson's NIGHT and DAY music video from the days when MTV actually PLAYED music videos!  Joe Jackson - Steppin' Out (Official Video) - YouTube  

I hope you found this article informative and enlightening. These albums were from the days before studios started making music all sound the same. As I said in the title, these albums are EPIC!

Thank you for taking the time to read my humble blog. Please take a moment to click or tap the FOLLOW button which is located by the corner of the white JOE JACKSON NIGHT and DAY image. That way, you will receive notifications of new articles as they come out. Also, feel free to leave a comment below or on Facebook.

Scott 

March 15, 2021

#420

Ford GT40 Chassis Number 1075 1968 AND 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours Winner Soldio Verses UH 1:18th Scale Diecast Models

February 23, 2020

#419

Gentle reader,

There can be no doubt that the development and eventual dominance of the Le Mans 24 Hour endurance sports car racing of the mid to late 1960's is solely as a result of Enzo Ferrari backing out of a deal to sell his car company to the Ford Motor Company.

It is a story that has been told many times. I was born in the mid 1950's and was a car nut from early on. Our parents encouraged my brother and I by buying us an Aurora Model Motoring HO slot car set. One car I had to have was a Ford GT40.

Although I do not know the chassis number of this particular car, it IS a Mark I Ford GT, dubbed "GT40" by the press because the top of the roof was only forty inches high.

Note the wire wheels, narrow tires and chrome "wing" mirrors. Many Ford GTs were bought to be driven on the street by wealthy and daring men. There was even a Mark III GT.

Seven were built starting in 1967. Chassis numbers M3/1101 through 1107. 

As you can see, they are QUITE different. Four round headlights, bumperettes front and rear, large hinged side windows, wing mirrors, lockable doors, F O R D lettering on the front and a much longer tail to provide an actual trunk, and of course exhaust mufflers. 

I show you these, and especially this photo to highlight an engine difference between the two 1:18th scale models I will be discussing.

I have owned the bottom car, made by Universal Hobbies for MANY years. 

The new Solido model which just arrived yesterday, was a surprise to me in that I had not seen them before. I had been desiring a better model but the ones I had seen were quite expensive. These Solido models are not.

In researching this article, I looked through many of my books on the Ford GT.

"The American Challenge" is a Ford Motor Company press office release from the 1960's.

The red light in the center of the radiator opening on the Solido model surprised me. While I could have scanned countless photos from these books for this article, I chose instead to find some online since the US Supreme Court had ruled that any photo put online does not have a copyright. A lot of very unhappy photographers out there upon finding that out.

Yet, there it is on the very same chassis #1075 during the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hour race.

The photo below shows the Porsche 908 which battled this GT40 swapping the lead many times in the final hours of the race.

I have not determined the reason for that light nor the one on the right quarter panel you will see shortly. Both models have that, but only on the Solido is it obvious. 

You can see that light behind the rear wheel/tire on both, above and below, but the Solido's is a separate part.

Another thing I had not noticed were the openings in the body above the taillights. I have seen photos of people carrying the rear bodywork with their hands in those holes.

 

The rear bodywork on the UH model (right) opens, but it is not made to be opened on the Solido model. Which is a shame.

 

But, the 1970 Porsche 917K, number two does not have ANYTHING that opens.

Let's talk about color. Here are all four of my 1:18th scale Gulf liveried racers. Note that all three blues are slightly different. The #2 Porsche 917K is also a UH model, so it is closest to the GT40. The #20 917K is an AUTOart model and it is slightly different shade. 

But let's face it, the Solido GT40 is too green. Do I care? Not really. Does it bother the OCD part of my brain. YES. But, I will keep it nonetheless.

I had actually ordered the model of THIS car, the 1968 winner. In case you did not know it, it is the SAME car. The ONLY car to win Le Mans outright twice. Note how the orange nose paint rises towards the wheel opening on it. 

Another thing I like about it is the two orange horseshoe stickers on it. That was part of Gulf Oil advertising in 1968. Plus, Pedro Rodriguez was one of the drivers in 1968 and I married a Rodriguez. She's Puerto Rican and Pedro was Mexican. But she also LOVES diecast cars and racing and collecting them.

I just LOVE cutaway technical drawings! This is a Mark II car so it has the BIG block 427 Ford NASCAR engine with one Holley four barrel carburetor verses the 1968/69 JW Engineering Mark I cars which used Ford small block 302 (five liter) engines with four two-barrel Webber carburetors. 

 

Note also how NARROW the rear tires are compared to the later raced GT40s which had widened rear bodywork to house the much wider tires.

See how WIDE the tires are and you can see the Webber carbs underneath a shield.

The Solido, as I said, does not have an opening engine cover chose to use the cover.

The UH model, since it does open, shows the four two-barrel Webber carbs.

Here is a good view of the cover which is angled by a crease in the center. Note the aluminum cover/shield below the carbs which can also been seen below on another car.

THIS photo explains to me why UH made the openings of the Webber carbs look like they did. See the central tubes in the venturies of the carbs? The were apparently trying to replicate that. IMHO. 

Now, let's look at the shape of each car's body. For quite a while, I suspected the UH model was not quite right. Remember it was made before there was laser scanning that is often used nowadays. Back then, model designers simply used photographs to make their molds. OH, and the UH model NOT having door glass has always bothered me too.

Here is a real Mark I which was modified to house the wider rear tires. Look at it and compare it to the two above. 

 

NOTE: Clicking or tapping on ANY picture will open another window OVER this one where one can examine the photos without the distraction of text. 

A different view of the cars from above. Note the difference in the width of the orange stripes and the white number's circles.

These two photos clearly show the stripe AND diameter of the white circles are more accurate on the Solido model.

Notice how back in those days the the cars always had DIFFERENT numbers from race to race?

That is because each racing venue assigned the numbers to the cars. Often by, but not always by their order in qualifying. 

In 1967, at Le Mans, they numbered the new Mark IV racers one through five. But come to think of it, the then new Mark II cars were numbered that way in 1966 as well.

Note, the lack of a number above.

These three photos are from Canada's Legendary Motorsports. They restored this Mark I and painted it to match the 1969 winner.

Note the shape of the knock-off nuts that secure the wheels on this car. 

See the difference between the two model's knockoffs? Well, both types are correct. I saw simple almost triangular ones and ones with long "arms". To tighten or loosen them required a heavy brass headed hammer and strong arms. In 1970, racers switched to large hexagonal nuts and used large air powered impact guns instead. That greatly sped up tire changes.

For it's price point, the UM model's engine and what surrounds it is pretty accurate.

For comparison, here are photos of my 1966 Mark II and 1967 Mark IV models, both from Shelby Collectibles.

This is number five which finished third in 1966. I chose it because I like it's color. Note the two luggage boxes on each side of the exhaust. The spare tire is under the "frunk" or front trunk.

In 1967, they only require one smaller luggage space so the spare was moved to the rear as you can see. I chose number four Mark IV for the same reason and I like to be different. Which is one of the reasons I drive a turbo Volvo wagon with a six-speed manual transmission and not a SUV. 

I do not know why Solido cut off one side of the rear number circle. That number was angled in some races.

The bottoms of the cars. Solido on the left, UH on the right. Note that the UH chassis angled upward from behind the rear axles whereas the Solido is flat all the way. I do not know which is correct. 

These are two recently made superb digital renderings of the same car. I'm not sure what the one above is for, but the one below is for Sony's Gran Turismo racing simulation game.

Remember the wheel knockoffs I mentioned? Note the different shape each artist made them.

And finally. three photos from the 1969 race. Did you know that by 1968 Ford GT40's were no longer considered prototype racers. They were simply sports cars to the ACO, since so many had been sold and many were street driven.

 

The JW Engineering (and every other Ford GT40) were considered as field fillers and not contenders for the overall win at any race.

 

Porsche was the up-and-comer at Le Mans and other races in 1968 and 1969. Ferrari was trying to make a comeback also by 1969.

 

Yet, in 1968 and 1969, those "little Ford GTs" kept winning races here in the US and overseas. At the 1969 Le Mans race there was only 100 yards between this winning car and Hans Herrmann's Porsche 980 after 3,123.75 MILES. The closest race finish in Le Mans history! 

If you enjoyed this article, please take a look at this one I wrote back in 2016:

The Robb Collections: Ford GT-40s, Mark II, Mark IV and Porsche 917s at Le Mans 1965-1970

 

Here is an excellent video from six years ago at the Goodwood Festival of Speed:

The Ford GT40 at Goodwood Revival - YouTube

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my humble blog. Please take a moment to click or tap the FOLLOW button which is located by the engine photo right below the cutaway drawing, way up from here. That way, you will receive notifications of new articles as they come out. Also, feel free to leave a comment below or on Facebook.

Scott 

February 23, 2021

#419