The Beatles - Capitol Albums Vol 1 & 2 v The US albums box sets.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by sunspot, Jul 14, 2017.

  1. A well respected man

    A well respected man Some Mother's Son

    Location:
    Madrid, Spain
    You are right about the Help!/ RS remixes, and we have the same issue in the UK remasters (even the original 87 CDs). That's one of the blunders in the box, I agree.

    As for Y&T, it includes all the unique mono mixes, and the unique stereo mixes of Day Tripper/WCWIO. The missing unique mixes are the stereo Dr. Robert and I'm Only Sleeping. Apparently, AYBCS stereo mix was made specially for the US, but it's identical to the UK one.

    Since the original album had duophonics for the three Revolver tracks, it's possible they just applied the box approach (replace duophonics with the real stereo versions) without realising later editions had unique mixes.
     
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  2. MarkTheShark

    MarkTheShark Senior Member

    The US Albums set clearly was not aimed at "us." (Those of us who populate this forum and even know there are differences between mono and stereo, let alone Duophonic and that there were 16 different mixes -- or however many -- of "I'm Only Sleeping" with backwards guitar in different places.) Outside of our "bubble," the average "target demographic consumer" probably saw it and said, "Yeah! It has MEET THE BEATLES!"
     
  3. dlokazip

    dlokazip Forum Transient

    Location:
    Austin, TX, USA
    Mono IOS, DR, and AYBCS: Yes
    Stereo DT and WCWIO: Yes
    Stereo IOS and DR: No
     
  4. Sidewinder43

    Sidewinder43 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lavaca County, TX
    On Doctor Robert, the "Ok Herb" quote from Lennon is not there.
     
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  5. A well respected man

    A well respected man Some Mother's Son

    Location:
    Madrid, Spain
    That's not part of the song. The unique mix is there, it just fades before the studio chatter (one second or two) is heard.
     
  6. dlokazip

    dlokazip Forum Transient

    Location:
    Austin, TX, USA
    True. They faded it out early. A faux pas on their part.
     
  7. Sidewinder43

    Sidewinder43 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lavaca County, TX
    I know that. Just sayin'...how hard would it have been to get it completely right?
     
  8. A well respected man

    A well respected man Some Mother's Son

    Location:
    Madrid, Spain
    I guess it depends on how much it means to you. I don't think one second or two of almost inaudible talk is really important, but I understand it can be for someone else.
     
  9. Sidewinder43

    Sidewinder43 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lavaca County, TX
    It does if something that you are used to hearing for almost 50 years is not there.
     
  10. owsley

    owsley Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston
    Can anyone tell me if the masters on the US Albums box generally are a significant sonic improvement over the Capitol Albums sets from 2006? I am aware that many tracks on the early lp's have been substituted with UK mixes, etc but was wondering in general if the 2014 box is an overall improvement.
     
  11. dlokazip

    dlokazip Forum Transient

    Location:
    Austin, TX, USA
    When I had the 1993 MCA CD of Hendrix's Electric Ladyland, I noticed that "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" faded out about a second early, so I didn't hear the little guitar shuffle at the end like I did on the LP.

    The EH CD may be compressed, but it has that shuffle in the fade out.

    Didn't realize I'd miss it until I didn't have it. To some, it matters.
     
    Sidewinder43 likes this.
  12. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    The UK versions do leave something to be desired in many cases. AHDN is great, however. PPM.

    And the White Album is quite excellent. :agree:
     
  13. A well respected man

    A well respected man Some Mother's Son

    Location:
    Madrid, Spain
    As I said, I can understand that. However, I would also say a guitar sound, however brief, is music, so it's not the same as an almost inaudible word of studio chatter which probably the technicians didn't notice it was there. In fact, I only know it was there because I read about it. The first time I heard Y&T I didn't notice it.
     
  14. sunspot

    sunspot Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    London
    I'm seeing a lot of copies on eBay etc for around £52. Amazon UK have one for the same price but it is from a secondary seller. I'm just not so sure that these are legit for this price, considering Universal/Beatles store have them for sale at £145.
     
  15. Doug Sulpy

    Doug Sulpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Which is exactly what makes the product so despicable. The very same consumer, by the way, is apt to pick up the new "Sgt. Pepper" and be completely oblivious that it's not the original, either.
     
  16. A well respected man

    A well respected man Some Mother's Son

    Location:
    Madrid, Spain
    It's clearly stated in the stickers that the new Pepper is a new remix. If one consumer doesn't know this, it's his/her fault. As for the US box, there's also information in the booklet for those who want to know.
     
  17. ibanez_ax

    ibanez_ax Forum Resident

    I have the same box. I was able to rip to iTunes and JRiver and burn copies for the car.
     
  18. MarkTheShark

    MarkTheShark Senior Member

    Of course, this is entirely subjective. But considering that (for instance) there is no "fake stereo" on it, I would say yes, it's an improvement, sonically.

    The issues many have with the set is exactly that: it sounds better than the 1960s US masters, therefore it is not true to the US masters.

    I can see the point. They already released a set of remasters in 2009. If you want the "Capitol experience," crappy sound kinda goes along with it.
     
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  19. A well respected man

    A well respected man Some Mother's Son

    Location:
    Madrid, Spain
    And not only does it sound better because of the absence of fake stereo (even fake stereo folded down in mono...:wtf:), the source for the common mixes is much better, 1st generation from the master tapes (while in the Capitol boxes, those came from the Capitol tapes, 2 or 3 generations away from the masters).
     
    Shaker Steve, owsley and darbelob like this.
  20. Hokeyboy

    Hokeyboy Nudnik of Dinobots

    The whole point of wanting the US Albums is not to experience "the best possible sound".
     
  21. Jose Jones

    Jose Jones Outstanding Forum Member

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
    Exactly. It is to experience joys like the false starts to "I'm Looking Through You"
     
  22. Dinstun

    Dinstun Forum Resident

    Location:
    Middle Tennessee
    There is copy protection on the Japanese Volume 1 CDs, with "Copy Control CD" on the label, but I believe this is circumvented on most modern computers and operating systems. The ripped audio will be identical to the non copy protected discs.
     
  23. NumberEight

    NumberEight Came too late and stayed too long

    Yes:
    • If the box has an SK1 sticker, then it contains the corrected versions.
    • If the box is unopened and has a non-SK1 sticker, then it probably contains the mono fold-downs.
    • If the box is opened and has a non-SK1 sticker, then - depending on whether the original purchaser elected to have the faulty CDs replaced by Capitol at no charge - it may or may not contain the corrected versions.
    • If the box is opened and the sticker has been thrown away, you're on your own.
     
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  24. Price.pittsburgh

    Price.pittsburgh Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    Yeah I think wiki says something about Microsoft
     
  25. A well respected man

    A well respected man Some Mother's Son

    Location:
    Madrid, Spain
    Not the whole point, but why not offer an option with the best possible sound? Best of both worlds.
     
    billnunan likes this.

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