"STONE FREE" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was never mixed in stereo!

Has the mono mix of Stone Free ever been released on CD?
I'm tired of the stupid fake stereo mix...

 

Polydor 825 255-2 made in W. Germany has it in mono.

 

Well, it sounds exactly the same on speakers or headphones whether my mono button on my amp is engaged or not.

 

I have it on cd...a needledrop of the Track 45.

Steve, I wish Marshall (Audio Fidelity) could license a reissue of the mono mix of Are You Experienced on cd, plus the three Track 45's. Would be fantastic.

 

The first time I heard this, I could not believe how much better the mono sounds. The fake stereo is an abomination.

Dan

 

Another question is, why was this song never mixed in stereo in the first place?

 

Well, that sucks.

 

I've always loved this tune and 6 or 7 years ago I went on Ebay and won an original Polydor UK 45 pressing. I thought it would be banged up (you can't ever truly trust the reports on condition, I've found) but this one was legit - it's actually one of the more pristine singles I own. The true mono kicks a** and is one of my most prized 7" slabs.

Aaron

 

We have the track listed as mono on the singles box set, The Singles Collection MCA / Experience Hendrix 0602498145036, released 2003. This version is listed as mono, I have never checked. I'll have a listen to it against the Polydor 45 later today and report back. Just to add to this. Though this is listed as mono the disc itself clearly is marked up as stereo.
The disc contains two tracks, Hey Joe b/w? Stone Free so stereo may simply be the reference for the initial track, HJ.

 

A quick listen thru' the phones as it's still early here.

Whatever this is on the CD single, it is not the original mono mix that's for sure.
It sounds ok until you spin the original mono 45 and then it pales in comparison.

So it looks like your gonna have to hook up a TT and grab an original Polydor 45 Ringo.

 

I've always wondered if it's sat lingering in the UK "Smash Hits" Mono master reel which probably hasn't been touched since the original LP release.
I'm guessing that album contains true mono mixes and not fold downs so I could be very wrong.

 

Many, many thanks for this! I have d/l'd it from YouTube and now have it in my collection.

 

A bit off topic here, but this thread made me realize that I have a bunch of 45s still sitting in a box somewhere in my garage. Been there ever since I moved here 19 years ago. And it should have a copy of Stone Free that I purchased in 1970, which has a little story that goes with it.

In the summer of 1969, I went to Europe with a student tour group. While in some city in Italy, the tour bus we were on stopped for a dinner break. I happened to come across a record store and was delighted to find two Hendrix songs that I hadn't heard of before (keep in mind that I was pretty much an album guy). These were Stone Free and Highway Chile on two different 45s. I remember being quite excited by this find and purchased them. But what was almost as cool was that the tour bus had a built-in record player, AND the bus driver was cool enough to play them through the bus's PA. Instant gratification!

Anyway, I've got to get into the garage and find that box (if you saw my garage, you'd know this will be no small feat).

 

Get the Track 45 w/ Hey Joe.

 

Not on CD (yet...)!

 

RSD 20-13 "Hey Joe b/w Stone Free" mono 45 was releasED from EH [have no idea what the source for either track was/however/people posted back then it was a "true" mono "SF" as well as "HJ"].
Still hoping for an official release on CD.
["SF" on "The Singles Collection" Disc One is indeed fake]

 

This record explicitly states that both sides are from the mono mixes. "Hey Joe" certainly is as the background vocals are more prominent than on the stereo mix. "Stone Free" sounds significantly better than my fake stereo sources and sounds like the original single.

 

I have a rip of the Polydor* SF here now, I'll check it when I have time but a quick run through says its mono.
If, and I stress IF, that is the case then it is possibly / probably the only digital copy of the true mono on official release.

here's the rub, there appears to be NO true stereo copy of this track / take on either vinyl or CD.

something to listen out for: At about the 19 second mark and runs a second or two, there is a "weird" noise. It appears the engineer was a little heavy handed when applying the fake stereo [or at least that's my guess for this odd sound].

*Polydor 825 255-2 made in W. Germany

 

Narcissistic Douche Nozzle.

 

Good deal. Will be sure to check back for the scoop. Would absolutely love to get my mitts on a digital copy, then determine if I should later pull the trigger on a 45.

The search for a true stereo SF has probably been exhausted a long time ago.