Caropop

Mastering engineer Chris Bellman returns to Caropop with many recent high-profile projects under his belt: the Interscope DSS One Steps of R.E.M.’s Reckoning and Murmur and more; Rhino Reserve titles such as the Cars’ Shake It Up, Warren Zevon’s Excitable Boy and Allen Toussaint’s Southern Nights; Tom Petty’s new Origins 1971-1978 box; Neil Young’s archives series; and the long-awaited reissue of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks’ Buckingham Nicks, though Rhino also hired fellow mastering engineer Kevin Gray to do his own version. How does Bellman feel about that overlap and the duplication of so many titles? How is making a One-Step is more labor-intensive than a standard pressing, and what’s his response to Gray’s criticism of the process? How did he approach the Beach Boys Pet Sounds One-Step sourced from a 1970s Artisan master? Did he do additional work on Analogue Productions’ UHQR releases of the Who’s Tommy and Who’s Next, which used the metal parts from his 2005 Classic Records mastering? Do name-on-the-sticker mastering engineers like him get their due?

It’s time to talk about the new five-LP, four-CD deluxe box set dedicated to the Beatles’ 1965 masterwork Rubber Soul, so we enlisted Phil Angotti, a Chicago musician who not only performs Beatles songs but whose own songs are inspired by such smart, tuneful music. Angotti and I dig into the new Giles Martin/Sam Okell mix, the all-analog masters of the mono mix and the original U.S. stereo version, and the two-record collection of sessions, demos and studio chatter. Is the new mix the definitive one or unwelcome revisionism? Which is superior, the UK or U.S. sequence? Which Rubber Soul track is Angotti’s favorite Beatles song of all? What do we think of the previously undiscovered Lennon demo “Little Girl”? Angotti also discusses his own impressive discography, including 2023’s Once Around Again; his work with Material Issue and whether that band will ever record new material; his vintage guitar collection and love of Rickenbackers; and what’s next.

In Part 2 of our conversation with John Murphy, the Shoes singer-songwriter-bassist tells what happened after MTV started playing this Zion, Ill., power-pop band’s videos amid Elektra’s disappointment that they hadn’t turned into the next Cars or Queen. What was life like while the band was self-producing and releasing such acclaimed albums as Stolen Wishes, Propeller and Ignition? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the band’s three singer-songwriters—John and Jeff Murphy and Gary Klebe—each being guaranteed four or five songs per album? What were John’s and Jeff’s reactions to Gary Klebe’s solo album Out Loud, which was released earlier this year? Did they know Gary was making a solo album? Did they think some of those songs should have been on a Shoes album instead? Is the band on the same page now? Will there be another Shoes album? The next Shoes drop here…

Shoes, the now-legendary power-pop band from Zion, Ill., is the most democratic of groups, with each album presenting equal servings of smart, hooky songs from brothers John and Jeff Murphy and their childhood friend Gary Klebe. In Part 1 of a two-parter, John Murphy revisits the band’s formation—when none of them played an instrument and he had to learn bass—and tells how Shoes recorded three DIY albums before its first official release, 1977’s Black Vinyl Shoes. For that one John designed the original (and soon to be replaced) cover art and wrote the first Shoes song to gain wide attention, “Boys Don’t Lie.” Then came the band’s signing with Elektra, which hoped Shoes would follow in the footsteps of its breakthrough artists Queen and the Cars. Confusion over the first singles, “Too Late” and “Tomorrow Night,” didn’t help, though. How did that all shake out? Also covered: the John song featured prominently in Mannequin Two: On the Move.

Palmyra Delran was a veteran East Coast pop-punk rocker when Stevie Van Zandt (a previous Caropop guest) offered her a hosting gig on his Little Steven’s Underground Garage Sirius XM channel. His instinct was dead on, as she turned out to be a natural, super-lively storyteller and record-spinner, especially when she’s dusting off her Trash Pop Treasures. She traces her love of 45s back to her aunt’s corner-store jukebox in New Jersey. She also developed a passion for drumming—and later would excel as a guitarist and singer as well. She recalls her stints in the bands Pink Slip Daddy and the Friggs and her solo work with the Doppel Gang, including their new cover of Joey Ramone’s “Spirit in My House.” She also discusses forming the Coolies with the late Kim Shattuck and tells how she puts together her Underground Garage shows. Is she playing her own records? Does Van Zandt have to approve her playlists? How did Nancy Sinatra come to record the “Trash Pop Treasures” intro?