Klaatu – 3:47 E.S.T.

for a debut from a band that seemingly came out of nowhere, my god the production on this is nothing short of astounding. no wonder these dudes were presumed to be a secret beatles reunion for a while.

Back in '76 there was a widespread conspiracy theory that Klaatu were actually the Beatles reunited on the D.L., fueled by a number of factors: their being signed to Capitol Records (the Beatles' American label), the absence of musician/producer credits or photos on the record sleeve, their studio-bound dearth of live performances or public appearances, and the simple fact that their vocal and musical style apparently just straight-up reminded a LOT of people of the Beatles.

Of course, they weren't the Beatles at all: they were three talented multi-instrumentalists from Toronto named John Woloschuk, Terry Draper and Dee Long. If Klaatu's sound is reminiscent of anyone, it's ELO (incidentally, this album came out three months before ELO's own first great pop album, "A New World Record"), with some crunchy Styx moves thrown in on "True Life Hero", while penultimate track "Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby III" basically invents the sound of Dr Teeth & The Electric Mayhem ("The Muppet Show" aired its debut episode shortly after this album dropped).

The track that perhaps warrants the strongest Beatles comparisons is also the album's finest: the psyched-out, addictive power pop gem "Sub-Rosa Subway", with McCartney-esque basslines and vocals by Woloschuk, Draper's extremely Ringoesque drumming, and a grand finale that could've been conducted by Sgt Pepper himself. Incidentally, the album's kitchen-sink production was by Terry Brown, who was also concurrently working wonders with another up-and-coming trio out of Toronto by the name of Rush..

The band is its own worst enemy. All of their reissues have been brick walled, including the one from Convexe Entertainment. Stick with the release from Attic Records.

I remember coming across Sub-Rosa Subway on Spotify (still think its their best song in 3:47 EST) and like being completely obsessed by their sound. Oh my god how did they not ever pick up traction. This album is genuinely like an adventure through sights and sounds. Would have most definetly become a best seller competing with the likes of The Beatles and The Beach Boys. They were even rumored to be The Beatles back in the day!

I haven’t heard any other pressings for comparison but I can say that I’m pretty impressed with this one. Nice mix with a decent soundstage and good clarity and placement.

April, 1976 cover of People Magazine: "The Beatles: Will they sing again for $50 million?" Yep, there was some good hype and a public hunger for a Beatles reunion in the mid-70's. Enter the album "Klaatu"... No names mentioned... "written by Klaatu" "Copyright ... by Klaatu" "Produced by Klaatu" Pretty darn mysterious. Who were these guys? An extremely creative album... listen to Sub Rosa Subway. Pepper & Mystery Tour are all over this wonderful album. Oh, did I mention it was on Capitol?! Add some imagination and it was pretty convincing. Sadly, it wasn't the Fab 4, and knowing what I know now, those are not their voices, but even for "15 minutes" it sure was fun to think that just maybe, it might be them! Enjoy this gem of an LP!

If anyone wants to sell a copy of this, let me know!

Excellent sounding cut by Wally and Gene on this release. There’s a lot more bass and punch with this cut than the more common JAMF version, and the soundstage is absolutely massive. I would highly recommend this Columbia House pressing.

The sound quality on this CD is excellent. Good job to the mastering engineer!

Matrix / Runout (Side 1 Runout Etched): SN-1-16060 G-2 1-1
Matrix / Runout (Side 1 Runout Stamped): MASTERED BY CAPITOL SRC logo
Matrix / Runout (Side 2 Runout Etched): SN-2-16060 G-5
Matrix / Runout (Side 2 Runout Stamped): SRC logo MASTERED BY CAPITOL