Cherry Beat - Recording Sessions (Part Nineteen - The Band's Third Post Reunion Live Concert Tour)

February 2007
Although the band would not be recording any more new music other than the occasional live concerts for a while, they would still continue to re-release an album or two. In this year, the band played a total of 36 songs live in San Francisco. Four of these tracks were originally recorded and released on their recent studio album "Bucket Full of Cherries".

9th March 2007
Another big day to remember for Cherry Beat band members and Cherry Beat fans alike. Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, Milford Ekdahl, and Wilbur Milardo would play live in San Francisco. They would play a total of 36 songs on their own without any participation from session musicians. Four tracks from their recent album "Bucket Full of Cherries" would be played along with 32 tracks from earlier albums.

17th September 2003
Album Release — Live in San Francisco

11th May 2009
Album Reissue — Bucket Full of Cherries

The band's 2006 studio album "Bucket Full of Cherries" was reissued on this day with a bonus disc containing previously unreleased mixes of tracks featured on the original album.

The bonus disc contained three early alternate mixes of "Romance is My Life", and one early alternate mix each of "Blossom of Romance", "Blissful Night", "Bored to Death", "Golden Firewhisky", "Night Life", and "Life-Guard".

The original released version of "Romance is My Life" was two different instrumental recordings cut in two, and then spliced together to make one. The first recording from the 18th December 2004 featured just Peter McDonald on ukulele.

The second recording from the 14th February 2005 featured Peter on Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass Guitar, Sam Whitby on acoustic rhythm guitar, Torquil Dohrn on lead guitar, Devon O'Connell on Ludwig drum kit, Milford Ekdahl on grand piano, and Wilbur Milardo on lowrey organ.

A third recording on the 5th March 2005 for the vocals featured Peter on lead vocals, and Sam, Torquil, and Devon on backing vocals. The final recording on the 12th April 2005 was for the strings, featuring Peter and Sam on cellos, session musicians Leticia Angert, Eleonore Hinojos, and Katy Taranto on violins, and session musician Jeremiah Dibernardo playing a viola.

The band had put together three different early mixes of "Romance is My Life" before putting together the master recording. The first early mix featured Peter's ukulele playing from the 18th December 2004 with his vocal from the 5th March 2005. The second early mix featured the instrumentation from the 14th February 2005 and the vocals from the 5th March 2005. The third early mix was basically the same as the second early mix, but with the strings from the 12th April 2005.

The original released version of "Blossom of Romance" was a combination of three different master takes. The first master take recorded on the 19th January 2005 featured Peter McDonald on lead vocals and lead acoustic guitar, Sam Whitby on backing vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar, and foot tapping, Torquil Dohrn on Peter's Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass Guitar, Devon O'Connell on Ludwig floor tom, Milford Ekdahl on claves, and Wilbur Milardo tapping on an acoustic guitar.

The second master take recorded on the 20th February 2005 featured Devon on Ludwig drum kit, and session musician Margaret Donahoe playing the didgeridoo. The third master take on the 19th August 2005 featured Margaret playing the duduk, which was recorded specifically to replace the original didgeridoo overdub.

However the didgeridoo overdub was not mixed out completely and it was only after the duduk was dubbed over the top that the didgeridoo was obscured underneath, though there have been several claims that faint traces of the didgeridoo can still be picked up in certain parts of the song, if one listens to the instrumentation very closely.

The early mix of "Blossom of Romance" that was released as a bonus track features the original didgeridoo playing before it was largely mixed out and replaced with the duduk. This early mix is completely devoid of any duduk playing.

The original released version of "Blissful Night" was a combination of three different master takes. The first master take from the 3rd February 2005 featured Peter McDonald on backing vocals, Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass Guitar, and foot tapping, Sam Whitby on lead vocals, Devon O'Connell on bongo drums, Milford Ekdahl on claves, and Wilbur Milardo tapping on an acoustic guitar.

The second master take from the 20th February 2005 featured Devon on Ludwig drum kit. The third master take from the 10th August 2005 featured Sam on electric guitar and Torquil Dohrn on rhythm guitar. The song was originally going to be an acoustic ballad, and was only subsequently switched to being an electric one, though the intention was still to keep the electric sound to a minimum.

Two sessions of outtakes for "Blissful Night" existed that featured Sam on lead acoustic guitar and Torquil on acoustic rhythm guitar. The first session of outtakes was on the 20th February 2005, while the second was on the 30th June 2005.

The early mix of "Blissful Night" that was released as a bonus track featured Sam on lead acoustic guitar and Torquil on acoustic rhythm guitar, instead of on lead electric guitar and electric rhythm guitar respectively. The selected take for the early mix was the final take from the 30th June 2005 before they'd switched to electric guitars.

The original released version of "Bored to Death" was a combination of three different master takes. The first master take from the 8th April 2005 featured Peter McDonald on lead vocals and Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass Guitar, Sam Whitby and Torquil Dohrn on backing vocals and electric guitars, Devon O'Connell on backing vocals and Ludwig drum kit, Milford Ekdahl on backing vocals and synthesizer, and Wilbur Milardo on backing vocals and mellotron.

The second master take from the 30th June 2005 featured Peter on grand piano and Sam on keyboard. The third master take from the 13th July 2005 featured Peter and Sam on cellos, session musicians Leticia Angert, Eleonore Hinojos, and Katy Taranto on violins, and session musician Jeremiah Dibernardo on viola.

The early mix of "Bored to Death" that was released as a bonus track omitted the strings that were recorded on the 13th July 2005. Although the synthesizer sound effects imitating strings that was recorded on the 8th April 2005 were stripped back significantly, they are nonetheless clearer than on the original released version where they were hard to distinguish from the strings that were recorded on the 13th July 2005.

The original released version of "Golden Firewhisky" was a combination of two different master takes. The first master take from the 28th August 2005 featured Peter McDonald on backing vocals and Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass Guitar, Sam Whitby on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Torquil Dohrn on backing vocals and lead guitar, Devon O'Connell on backing vocals and Ludwig drum kit, Milford Ekdahl on grand piano and Wilbur Milardo on keyboard.

The second master take from the 3rd September 2005 featured Peter on electric guitar, Sam on grand piano, and Torquil, Devon, Milford, and Wilbur on percussion. The early mix of "Golden Firewhisky" that was released as a bonus track omitted the overdubs that were recorded on the 3rd September 2005.

The original released version of "Night Life" was a combination of three different master takes. The first master take from the 8th September 2005 featured Peter McDonald on lead vocals and Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass Guitar, Sam Whitby on backing vocals and rhythm guitar, Torquil Dohrn on backing vocals and lead guitar, and Devon O'Connell on backing vocals and Ludwig drum kit.

The second master take from the 16th September 2005 featured Peter on trumpet, Sam on keyboard, and Torquil on alto-saxophone. The third master take from the 23rd September 2005 featured Torquil on trombone and session musician Clotilde Whiddon on alto-saxophone. The early mix of "Night Life" that was released as a bonus track omitted the trumpet and alto-saxophone from the 16th September 2005 and the trombone and alto-saxophone from the 23rd September 2005. The only remaining overdub found on the early mix was the keyboard from the 16th September 2005.

The original released version of "Life-Guard" was a combination of six different master takes. The first master take from the 1st November 2005 featured Peter McDonald on backing vocals and grand piano, Sam Whitby on backing vocals and Peter's Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass Guitar, Torquil Dohrn on lead vocals and lead guitar, Devon O'Connell on backing vocals and Ludwig drum kit, Milford Ekdahl on keyboard, and Wilbur Milardo on electric piano.

The second master take from the 16th November 2005 featured an overdub guitar solo by Torquil. Various parts of the original guitar solo were mixed out and various parts of the overdub guitar solo were mixed in. The third master take from the 23rd November 2005 featured a second overdub guitar solo by Torquil, though it was stripped back significantly so the listeners could focus more on the first overdub guitar solo.

The fourth master take from the 23rd December 2005 featured Peter and Torquil on trumpets. The fifth master take from the 27th December 2005 featured Torquil and session musician Wilburn Charboneau on trombones. The sixth master take from the 29th December 2005 featured Sam on cello, Torquil on alto-saxophone, Wilbur on maracas, and Peter's teenage daughter Patrice McDonald on backing vocals.

The early mix of "Life-Guard" that was released as a bonus track omitted the instrumentation from the 16th and 23rd November 2005, and 23rd, 27th, and 29th December 2005. This early mix features the original lead guitar solo with none of the parts mixed out.

17th August 2009
Album Release — The Very Best of Cherry Beat, Volume One

A new greatest hits album was released on this day. It collected up many of the most popular songs released by Cherry Beat from 1971 to 1977, though several of the band's lesser known songs from that time-span had been handpicked by the band members and included on the album as well. So in true sense, it is also a compilation album.

While the instrumentation on all the mixes on this album are identical to those found on the original singles and albums, most of the mixes found on this album have the lead vocals and drums placed in the middle of the stereo picture, to give the album a more modernised sound and feel.

"Midnight Parade", "Rock It!", and "Magpie" are presented in their 2001 stereo mixes from the band's greatest hits album "Ultimate Singles Collection". These mixes are identical to their original 1971 stereo mixes that were released as singles and on the band's 1971 studio album "Cherry Beat". The only differences are the lead vocals and drums which are placed in the middle of the stereo picture.

"Club Knight" and "The Ballad of Louise Starker" are presented in their 2001 stereo mixes from the "Ultimate Singles Collection". These mixes are identical to their original 1971 stereo mixes that were released as singles and on the band's 1972 studio album "Show Business". The only differences are the lead vocals and drums which are placed in the middle of the stereo picture.

"Shake, Rattle and Die" is presented in its 2001 stereo mix from the "Ultimate Singles Collection". This mix is identical to the song's original 1973 stereo mix that was released as a single and on the band's 1973 studio album "Shake, Rattle and Die". The only differences are the lead vocals and drums which are placed in the middle of the stereo picture.

"Cocoa Star Rookies" is presented in its 2001 stereo mix from the "Ultimate Singles Collection". This mix is identical to the song's original 1973 stereo mix that was released as a single. The only differences are the lead vocals and drums which are placed in the middle of the stereo picture.

"Can't Stop the Jive" and "The Caravan Song" are presented in their 2001 stereo mixes from the "Ultimate Singles Collection". These mixes are identical to their original 1974 stereo mixes that were released as a single. The only differences are the lead vocals and drums which are placed in the middle of the stereo picture.

"Her", "Takin' a Ride for Money", and "Charlotte Wood" are presented in their 2001 stereo mixes from the "Ultimate Singles Collection". These mixes are identical to their original 1974 stereo mixes that were released on singles in 1975 without the sleigh bells which were added to those songs for inclusion on the band's 1974 studio album "Merry Christmas". The only differences are the lead vocals and drums which are placed in the middle of the stereo picture.

"Think", "Jeep", "Chamber of Love", "Daymare", "Sybel Cannibals", "Don't Count on Me", and "Christmas Time (Is Finally Here)" are presented in their 2001 stereo mixes from the "Ultimate Singles Collection". These mixes are identical to their 1976 stereo mixes that were released on their respective singles. The only differences are the lead vocals and drums which are placed in the middle of the stereo picture.

"Gold Digger" and "Waltz of Scotland" are presented in their 2001 stereo mixes from the "Ultimate Singles Collection". These mixes are identical to their original 1977 stereo mixes that were released on their respective singles. The only differences are the lead vocals and drums which are placed in the middle of the stereo picture.

"Vibraphone Tombs" is presented in its original 1977 stereo mix that was released on the band's 1977 studio album "A Girl's Mind", because the vocals and/or instruments frequently switched between channels, so remixing the song would spoil the song's experimental feel.

"Chaos Symphony" is presented in a new 2009 stereo mix which is identical to its original 1973 stereo mix that was released on "Shake, Rattle and Die". The only differences are the lead vocals and drums which are placed in the middle of the stereo picture.

"She's Really Fun" and "Don't Listen to Her" are presented in new 2009 stereo mixes which are identical to their original 1974 stereo mixes that were released as bonus tracks on the 1993 compact disc reissue of "Merry Christmas" without the sleigh bells which were added to those songs for inclusion on the album's original release. The only differences are the lead vocals and drums which are placed in the middle of the stereo picture.

"Ticket to Paris", "Close My Door", "Now We're Getting Along", and "Can't Hear a Word" are presented in new 2009 stereo mixes which are identical to their original 1976 stereo mixes that were released on the band's 1976 studio album "Neapolitan". The only differences are the lead vocals and drums which are placed in the middle of the stereo picture.

"Your Love is Life" and "A Ride in the Country" are presented in new 2009 stereo mixes which are identical to their 1977 stereo mixes that were released on "A Girl's Mind". The only differences are the lead vocals and drums which are placed in the middle of the stereo picture.