The Beatles Japanese LP Compilation

Compilation Album
"The George Martin Orchestra"
(Update: 4th. March 2020)

Odeon 1st. Sleeve

Sir George Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016).
Took to music at an early age, becoming interested in the piano before the age of eight.
He attended the Guildhall School of Music, studying composition, conducting, orchestration, and theory, and taking up the oboe as a second principal instrument. He got into the music industry as assistant to Oscar Preuss, the head of the Parlophone label, at a period when the label was in transition from second-rate classical recordings to "pop" music.
Then in the spring of 1962, Martin happened to interview Brian Epstein, a Liverpool-based manager, about a quartet known as The Beatles. That summer, they were signed to Parlophone. Over the following years, Martin would help to shape The Beatles, getting credit from some as being the "fifth Beatle" for his work with the band. But two years later, Martin split from Parlophone to form AIR (Associated Independent Recording).
The Beatles were produced by George Martin through 1969's Abbey Road, and it wasn't until The Beatles broke up that Martin was completely free from his ties to EMI. In the 1970s, he produced a wide variety of artists and bands, from America and Jimmy Webb to Jeff Beck and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He continued to work with an array of artists, many of whom received critical acclaim.(from Discog)

INDEX

#1-1 Promotional Record
#1-2 F ¥1,800 / Red Vinyl

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Notice* Click the label of each album, so you can see the large picture image.

#1-1 Off The Beatle Track (Promotional Record / Red Vinyl: OP-7149)
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TITLE		off the beatle track The GEORGE MARTIN Orchestra
CATALOG NUMBER		OP 7149
RELEASE DATE		Promotional Record (First Press: 15th. December 1964)
TRACK LISTING		SIDE 1		SIDE 2
		Ringo's Theme (This Boy)		She Loves You
		I Want To Hold Your Hand		Can't Buy Me Love
		Please Please Me		All My Loving
		From Me To You		I Saw Her Standing There
		There's A Place		Don't Bother Me
		Little Child		All I've Got To Do
FRONT --> Click!		BACK --> Click!	SIDE 1 --> Click!	SIDE 2 --> Click!	DISK

INNER SLEEVE				FRONT COVER CLOSE UP
FRONT --> Click!		BACK --> Click!	The original plain white inner bag has a fold-over flap at the top of the bag to prevent the record from falling out.
					Catalogue number "OP 7149" was printed at the upper right corner of the front.
FRONT AND BACK COVER CLOSE UP
					Odeon logo mark was printed at the lower left corner of the front sleeve.
Issues with a "STEREO" banner across the top of the cover.
BACK COVER CLOSE UP
		Toshiba pressed a lot of their records on red, “Everclean” vinyl. The Everclean vinyl was designed to be less prone to collecting static electricity and dust than the more common black vinyl.			Single type. Full laminated soft cover. Twin-flipback cover (round type). "Toshiba Musical Industries Ltd." was printed at the bottom of the back cover.
BACK COVER CLOSE UP
			The sleeve notes on the rear of the album are by John Lennon. "F-¥1,800" was printed at the bottom of the back cover.		The words "PAT." was embossed at the bottom of the back cover.
LABEL CLOSE UP
				Odeon white label (promotional use only). The words "MFD. BY TOSHIBA MUSICAL INDUSTRIES LTD. IN JAPAN" was printed at the perimeter. The release date is in black and appears above and to the left of the title.
LABEL CLOSE UP
		Here is a close-up of the circled text: "Sample under Article 10, Clause 2 of the Commodity Tax Law".			The print in black has unusual "hand lettered" look to it quite unlike the regular commercial version. Catalog number and matrix number were printed at the right side of the center hole.
LABEL CLOSE UP				OBI AND LYRIC SHEET
			The words "LONG PLAYING" was printed at the bottom of the label.	NONE
OTHER ITEM
-

RECORD LABEL		Odeon White Label (for promotional use only)
MIX		STEREO
MATRIX No.	SIDE 1	YEX 125-J 1
	SIDE 2	YEX 124-J 1
PRESS MARK		None
VINYL COLOR		RED
RECORD COMPANY'S NAME	SLEEVE	Toshiba Ongaku kogyo Kabusikigaisha
	LABEL	MFD. BY TOSHIBA MUSICAL INDUSTRIES LTD. IN JAPAN
SYMBOL/PRICE		F - ¥1,800
LYRIC SHEET STYLE		-
COVER FORM		Single type. Full laminated soft cover. Twin-flipback cover (round type)
INNER SLEEVE		Plain White Inner bag
OBI		-
COVER DESIGN/ PHOTO/ NOTES		PHOTOS BY ROBERT FREEMAN Sleeve notes: John Lennon Translation: Junichi Takahashi
COMMENTS		Odeon white label (promotional use only). The words "MFD. BY TOSHIBA MUSICAL INDUSTRIES LTD. IN JAPAN" was printed at the perimeter. Odeon promo LPs feature the perimeter print, Odeon logo, and circled text in red and all other printing in "hand lettered" black. Note the release date above the Odeon logo. The label design is similar to that used for the regular commercial Odeon LPs. These are most commonly found on red vinyl. In Japan, promotional records have traditionally been provided at no charge to radio stations, record shops, and the mass media to increase the sales of a record or in some cases to promote a tour. There are two types of promotional releases. Type-1: This type is called the white label promo for which a unique label has been made. The label design of Odeon white label singles is very similar to that of regular commercial Odeon singles. The promo version, however, features the perimeter print, Odeon logo, and circled text in red and all other printing in black. The print in black has an unusual "hand lettered" look to it quite unlike the regular commercial version. The release date is in black and appears above and to the left of the title. Most usually, the regular cover is used with appropriate alterations to prohibit commercial sale. Type-2: The second type of promo record is less elaborate and is called a sticker promo. It is simply a regular commercial release that has a promo sticker affixed to the cover. This type of promo is occasionally found on post-1975 releases. Off the Beatle Track is a 1964 album by George Martin & His Orchestra, released 10 July by United Artists Records in the United States and 3 August by Parlophone in the United Kingdom. It is the first of a series of albums by Martin featuring instrumental arrangements of Beatles songs. It is also the first LP Martin released under his own name. Whilst trying to think of a title for the first Beatles album, George Martin came up with "Off The Beatle Track". Although this idea was rejected, clearly Mr. Martin liked the title and used it himself in 1964 for this outing. One single was released from this L.P. - "Ringo's Theme (This Boy) / And I Love Her" (OR-1142). The sleeve notes on the rear of the album are by John Lennon. Here are some quotes from it : "George Martin is a tall man, he is also a musician with short hair." "Us Beatles are genuinely flattered that a 'real musician' as we call him should turn his talents to arranging an L.P. of our songs." "Some of the sounds on the album may be new to you, like a jews harp and a twelve stringed finger, but the results are great and I think he should get a raise." "Good George Martin is our friend Buddy, Pal and Mate. Buy this record and he'll send A dog for your front gate." Sung to the tune of OLD MACDONALD HAD AN ARM by the Beatles a band. JOHN LENNON The Japanese version looks similar to the U.K. version but has a different song order.

#1-2 Off The Beatle Track (1st. Press "F ¥1,800 / Red Vinyl": OP-7149)
Back to the top of the line

TITLE		off the beatle track The GEORGE MARTIN Orchestra
CATALOG NUMBER		OP 7149
RELEASE DATE		15th. December 1964 / First Press
TRACK LISTING		SIDE 1		SIDE 2
		Ringo's Theme (This Boy)		She Loves You
		I Want To Hold Your Hand		Can't Buy Me Love
		Please Please Me		All My Loving
		From Me To You		I Saw Her Standing There
		There's A Place		Don't Bother Me
		Little Child		All I've Got To Do
FRONT --> Click!		BACK --> Click!	SIDE 1 --> Click!	SIDE 2 --> Click!	DISK

INNER SLEEVE					FRONT COVER CLOSE UP
FRONT --> Click!		BACK --> Click!	INNER SLEEVE: CLOSE UP

FRONT AND BACK COVER CLOSE UP
					Odeon logo mark was printed at the lower left corner of the front sleeve.
Issues with a "STEREO" banner across the top of the cover.
BACK COVER CLOSE UP
		Toshiba pressed a lot of their records on red, “Everclean” vinyl. The Everclean vinyl was designed to be less prone to collecting static electricity and dust than the more common black vinyl.			Single type. Full laminated soft cover. Twin-flipback cover (round type). "Toshiba Musical Industries Ltd." was printed at the bottom of the back cover.
BACK COVER CLOSE UP
			The sleeve notes on the rear of the album are by John Lennon. "F-¥1,800" was printed at the bottom of the back cover.		The words "PAT." was embossed at the bottom of the back cover.
OBI: DARK GREEN OBI
FRONT --> Click!		OBI: FRONT		OBI: BACK	1st. pressing had a dark green / white OBI and priced ¥1,800 on obi strip. Odeon logo mark and catalog number were printed on the front. There is no order sheet on the back side of the Obi. (Sorry, I don't have it.)

LABEL CLOSE UP
				Toshiba pressed a lot of their records on red, "Everclean" vinyl from 1958 through 1974 (maybe). The Everclean vinyl was designed to be less prone to collecting static electricity and dust than the more common black vinyl. The words "MFD. BY TOSHIBA MUSICAL INDUSTRIES LTD. IN JAPAN" was printed at the perimeter.
LABEL CLOSE UP

Catalog number and matrix number were printed at the right side of the center hole.				The words "LONG PLAYING" was printed at the bottom of the label.
OTHER ITEM
-

RECORD LABEL		Odeon Label Type-1 (with the words "LONG PLAYING")
MIX		STEREO
MATRIX No.	SIDE 1	YEX 125-J 1
	SIDE 2	YEX 124-J 2
PRESS MARK		L4
VINYL COLOR		RED
RECORD COMPANY'S NAME	SLEEVE	Toshiba Ongaku kogyo Kabusikigaisha
	LABEL	MFD. BY TOSHIBA MUSICAL INDUSTRIES LTD. IN JAPAN
SYMBOL/PRICE		F - ¥1,800
LYRIC SHEET STYLE		-
COVER FORM		Single type. Full laminated soft cover. Twin-flipback cover (round type)
INNER SLEEVE		The original colour "advert" inner bag Type-3
OBI		Dark green Obi / without Order sheet (Sorry, I don't have it.)
COVER DESIGN/ PHOTO/ NOTES		PHOTOS BY ROBERT FREEMAN Sleeve notes: John Lennon Translation: Junichi Takahashi
COMMENTS		Black Odeon label with silver print. The words "LONG PLAYING" was printed at the bottom of the label. Toshiba released the first Japanese record featuring the Beatles. When this record was released in 1964, Toshiba's official name was "Toshiba Musical Industries Ltd." and they used the Odeon label for this and subsequent Beatles releases. Red vinyl: Besides good sound and quality printing, Japanese records also offered some other things of interest to the collector. One of the primary manufacturing companies in Japan, Toshiba, pressed a lot of their records on red, “Everclean” vinyl from 1958 through 1974 (maybe). While not pressed as collectors’ items, these red vinyl pressings are more sought out by collectors than their black vinyl counterparts. The Everclean vinyl was designed to be less prone to collecting static electricity and dust than the more common black vinyl. The obi: "Dark green" Obi It is light dark green / white in design with light blue Japanese text. It also features an Odeon logo, catalogue number and price information. While most Japanese records feature local music, a lot of music fans there like foreign music, as well. The language barrier in Japan presented a problem – should foreign album covers be changed for Japanese albums? The solution was the obi, which means “belt” or “sash”. The obi is a strip of paper, usually about two inches wide, that wraps vertically around the album cover, containing information about the artist and album in Japanese. As these strips of paper were fragile and easily torn, they are often missing, especially since consumers in the 1950s and 1960s attached little significance to them. Finding Japanese records made prior to 1970 that still have the obi intact can be quite difficult, and for some albums, nearly impossible. The inclusion of the obi can dramatically affect the price of some Japanese records, sometimes increasing the price by a factor of ten. While usually found in a wraparound strip, there are other versions of the obi that have occasionally been used. In the early 1960s, a short-lived hankake obi, or “half obi” was used. These were small strips of paper that simply folded over the top of the cover. These were problematic for retailers, as they tended to easily fall off of the record. Off the Beatle Track is a 1964 album by George Martin & His Orchestra, released 10 July by United Artists Records in the United States and 3 August by Parlophone in the United Kingdom. It is the first of a series of albums by Martin featuring instrumental arrangements of Beatles songs. It is also the first LP Martin released under his own name. Whilst trying to think of a title for the first Beatles album, George Martin came up with "Off The Beatle Track". Although this idea was rejected, clearly Mr. Martin liked the title and used it himself in 1964 for this outing. One single was released from this L.P. - "Ringo's Theme (This Boy) / And I Love Her" (OR-1142). The sleeve notes on the rear of the album are by John Lennon. Here are some quotes from it : "George Martin is a tall man, he is also a musician with short hair." "Us Beatles are genuinely flattered that a 'real musician' as we call him should turn his talents to arranging an L.P. of our songs." "Some of the sounds on the album may be new to you, like a jews harp and a twelve stringed finger, but the results are great and I think he should get a raise." "Good George Martin is our friend Buddy, Pal and Mate. Buy this record and he'll send A dog for your front gate." Sung to the tune of OLD MACDONALD HAD AN ARM by the Beatles a band. JOHN LENNON The Japanese version looks similar to the U.K. version but has a different song order.