By Terry Ott

It was difficult, but I did manage to wade my way through an hour's worth of mainly tripe that was the transcript of the interview that Rev. Jesse Jackson had with Michael Jackson over the Easter weekend.

If MJ is to be given any credibility at all-and that is a big if- it appears he is claiming that some of his current legal problems-charged with multiple counts of child molestation-may be the result of what Jackson says is a "conspiracy" against him involving the Beatles back song catalogue.

He told Jesse he could not get into details, but the conspiracy was happening "as we speak."

(Even in the crazy, crazy world of Apple, the above is a bit of a stretch, I'd bet, but you can find the text of the interview on the MJ Website, and decide for yourself.)

Contrary to published reports in MOJO magazine late last year that said Jackson had sold his share of the Fabs' tunes to Sony ATV for about $400 million, Jackson now says-or at least leaves the impression in his inerview with Jesse-that he still has some claim to the catalogue.

Hell, even if Sir Paul McCartney was still totally pissed about losing the song catalogue to Mikey 20 years ago, I don't think even an ex-Beatle would have the power to pull the kind of strings MJ is claiming are being yanked.

So therefore, Jackson's "conspiracy" allegations most likely concern Sony, a company that Jackson has done his best to publicly trash over the past few years.

Still, the issue of the Beatles song catalogue and its ownership would appear to still be in a state of flux, and how the sad, weird, MJ soap opera plays out, may decide just what happens with the long awaited remastering of the Beatles back album CD remastering.

So, have you heard that the new Bruce Springsteen CD, Devils and Dust, coming in late April will released ONLY in the new fangled Dual Disc format which features one side of regular CD music and the other in 5.1?

But more importantly for Beatle fans, could the new DD 5.1 format be the way Apple/EM
will go when it FINALLY gets 'round to remastering and reissuing the Fabs' back catalogue?

Yes, hopefully Apple Corpse and the stale, old, EMI will get it done sometime this decade.

About a year ago, EMI did a seperate DD release for David Bowie's 2003 Reality album, although it appears that EMI will issue Bowie's Stage and Live reissues on DVD-A, rather than DD.

And part of the allure of DD is that they usually sell for only several dollars more than a conventional CD, where as some Dolby Digital and DTS DVD-As can cost more than $10 more than a regular CD, and could also be off putting to consumers who have not upgraded to 5.1 systems.

But with a DD release of the back catalogue, Apple/EMI could have two big selling points. Fans without 5.1 sytems would still get a much improved remastered stereo CD, while those with home theaters would be able to acess the hopefully superb multi-channel mixes.

Although this notion may in fact make too much common sense to appeal to Apple, just remember what Chuck Berry sang: you know, you never can tell.

Boy or girl did I ever take some flak for comapring the commercial exploits of 50 Cent to the beloved memory of the fabulous Beatles.

After all, all I did was mention that the Half Buck or 2 Bits had (evidently) duplicated what the Fabs had done in 1964-have 3 singles from the same album in the top 10 at the same time or something like that-and I got a load of missives saying that I had it wrong.

Some even took my name in vain.

And some writers insisted that since times have changed, as well as the way they track hit records, the Beatles achievments mean much more than anything 50 could ever do.

Well, that notion may be tech right, but the main point is the music of 50 and others like him have captured the youth's imagination SIMILAR to what the Fabs did in 1964.

Rap-hip-hop seems to be the universal youth language today, much like the Beatles music was for us first gen fans. or as one writer to BB said, "rap is the new rock."

I very much doubt that rap will stand the test of time that the Beatles music and legacy has, but hey, that is for history to decide.

But if you would like to contemplate more of the notion, tune into www.900chml.com on Sunday, from 5-6 eastern, when I will be discussing the Fabs, 50, and the new TOUP 5.1 White Album.

Hope you can check it out.

Read a report on the Net the other day about how the narly rapster 50 Cent has done something-placing 3 top charting hits from one album- that only the Beatles had achieved, now some 41 years ago.

Ouch, I thought.

But, you see, everything is relative in pop music.

When the Fabs burst on the scence in '64, many parents-including mine-were aghast.

Yet by the time shortly thereafter the Rolling Stones came into view, the Beatles were suddenly OK with many parents.

And so it goes with the hot music of today's times-rap-continuing the tradition of parent ugly music sells, and hotly.

Many moms and dads thought it could get no worse than the loudmouth, preening-punk Eminem, but sure enough, when 50 Cent came along, suddenly Eminem was not so bad.

And speaking of bad, no matter how rotten Baby Boomers and first Gen Beatle fans consider rap stars like Em and 50 to be, they-like the Beatles in their day-are speaking to a whole generation of young people.

So although the Beatles music usually preached peace and love (with a dose of drugs for good measure) the hit rap music of today extolls the thug and bling bling life.

Screwed up, but hey,different strokes for different folks.

Event hough I doubt rap music will be as fondly remembered and or mythologized in 40 years, we have no right to take away the buzz of the "Beatlemania" of the 21st century.

I have a bit of bad news, but a whole lot of good (news).

First the bad.

The boys at TOUP may be music/producing/computer/ geniusmeisters, but marketing wizards, they are not.

So instead of springing for about $10 to courier me their new White Album 5.1 mix so I could review it ASAP, the TOUP mad scientists cheap out and send it via "priority mail," and the sucker takes a week to make it up to the Great White North. Can't figure this one out-just about begged them not to mail it- unless the boys don't want any paper trail of where their wares go, and if that's the case, they ain't so "mad" at all.

All right, enough of the wanking, now on to the good news

This latest TOUP release has taken about 2-3 months to become a reality.

Was it worth the wait?

YES!

And until Apple/EMI finally get their act together, THIS will be the way I will be listening to the White Album for the forseeable future.

Now, before you wet your pants, you have to realize that this set is far from "perfect." But once again given the limitations that TOUP laboured under-non-discreet track extractions from various audio sources-this release does come close to the Anthology mixes, as least as far as my ears can tell.

First of all, the soundstage is very expansive, filling the room with music from top to bottom. And speaking of bottom (end) there is lots of bass here. As with most TOUP releases, this DTS 5.1 mix had a nice chunky mid range, so one never gets the feeling that the music sounds too "different," or thin and isolated. (Although there are a few fairly minor overall balance issues if one wants to be picky.)

The only obvious flaws that I can hear come when background and harmony vocals tend to jump out and overshadow lead vocals, as in Happiness Is A Warm Gun, but I guess that is ajustable by tweaking your individual channel controls. (Although one should ideally not have to do that playing the same recording.) And I detected a hint of harshness/distortion on some of the lead vocals. (However, your system may produce different and or better/worse results.)

Standout tracks include Blackbird,Piggies,Yer Blues, Mother Nature's Son and believe it or not, Revolution Number 9.

Bounus tracks include a very nicely tarted up What's The New Mary Jane, and a fine sounding Not Guilty.

And I am predicting that this will instantly become a "must have," for Beatle fans the world over, and I just hope the boys from TOUP have blocked off a couple of months worth of time, to meet the demand. (Oh, and can you say "cease and desist" boys and girls?)

On a scale of 1-10? This TOUP Beatles White Album rates at least a solid 8.5

Well done, lads.

AbbeyRd may have been the first to announce to the world way back in 2000, that there would be a sequel to the hilarious Rutles All You Need Is Cash mockumentary.

I had the good fortune to interview Rutle maker Eric Idle for the National Post that year, and he told me then that he had been looking at archival footage of the original Rutles movie, first broadcast in 1978, with an eye to a new Rutles flick.

However, for whatever reasons, Rutles 2, Can't Buy Me Lunch never quite made it as a film release, and has taken until this week to be released on DVD.

And despite what you may have heard from some idiot Internet critics, R2CBML, is funny, although at only 55 minutes in length, with few extras, perhaps not all it could have been.

Some have taken issue with the loads of new celeb interviews. But as far as I'm concerned, most of the new interviews-including laugh out load hysterical bits by Robin Williams and Billy Connolly-are worthwhile, and certainly provoke at least a chuckle. Even author Salman Rushdie gets in on the gag, as does David Bowie.

Yes, some of the Eric Idle interviewer scenes become a bit tedious and corny, but for the most part, this thing is decent with nice 5.1 sound.

And yes, there is plenty of outtake footage from the original Rutles, stuff that one wonders how it was cut in the first place.

But in any event, do not let any BS about R2 stop you from picking up this new release, as it is a must have for any serious Rutle/Beatle fan.

Then you too, can re-live the (in)famous The Summer of Lunch, and the words to live by: All You Need Is Lunch.

Some PBS stations across the USA are featuring this week performances from the mega 1985 Live Aid shows, held in London and Philadelphia.

Of course, most Beatle fans know that Paul McCartney closed the show at Wembly Stadium, with a rousing Let it Be.

But here's a thought: what if George Harrison and Ringo Starr had joined him?

George was (in)famous for once stating that there would not be a Beatle reunion "as long as John Lennon remains dead."

Perhaps George and John have spoken recently about how true it is that you only go around once, and it's not the things you do that you regret, but those things you don't.

After all, the Eagles-who at one time hated each other's guts- said that they would get back together "when hell freezes over," and yet we all know that it did.

Do you think that if George ever dreamed that he would die so young that he would have put old differences behind and pitched in for a good cause?

You just gotta know that Paul and Ringo would have been up for it, despite denials from their respective camps at the time.

I can just imagine how great it would have been.