A number of John Lennon fans and vinyl collectors were irked recently when the copy of his solo album Rock 'N' Roll that was included in a box set was defective. Universal Records has announced intentions to replace all of the faulty copies.
Lennon was released as the first box set to feature all eight of the former Beatle's solo albums in one vinyl collection (not including his work with wife Yoko Ono). Those who jumped right in quickly found that Rock 'N' Roll,
his 1975 LP, was flawed. It wasn't just that the disc was damaged but
that it had been pressed incorrectly: The track "Sweet Little Sixteen"
was played twice on the album, which meant that "You Can't Catch Me"
wasn't included at all.
Universal Music set up a website for fans to switch-out the faulty version with a working one.
"We're sorry that you're experiencing a problem with your John Lennon
Vinyl Box set," it wrote. "We have been made aware of some issues
surrounding the audio on the Rock 'N' Roll LP. The good news is
that corrected discs are on their way, and we will happily send these
out to anybody that can provide proof of purchase!"
If you want a more conspiracy-theory-approach to the
erroneously-pressed records, consider this: Lennon recorded "You Can't
Catch Me," a Chuck Berry cover, as part of a settlement with the iconic guitarist for the similarities between that song and The Beatles' "Come Together." Berry's publisher sued Lennon,
the primary songwriter behind "Come Together," suggesting that the
cover of Berry's original track was meant to deliver royalties to Berry
via its placement on Rock 'N' Roll (an album of covers anyway).
Of course, even if Berry's estate were denied royalties from "You Can't
Catch Me" being left off the tracklist, he also wrote "Sweet Little
Sixteen," so he gets double the credit for that song due to the mistake.
The individual albums from the Lennon box set will become available during August.
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