The Rolling Stones in Mono

They don't have as much bass as the albums in the 2010 ABKCO box. I haven't compared them to any UK or US pressings yet. I don't have many US albums left, as I sold most of them off.

The pressing of Decembers Children from this series is interesting. The sound is decent but since the tracks seem like they were flat transfers the SQ is all over the place. Decembers Children is a sort of a hodgepodge collection anyway, so it's no surprise. The songs that were recorded at RCA Studios probably could used a touch of EQ, as a few of them sounded too flat. In addition, two extra tracks are on this LP: Heart of Stone and Oh Baby We've Got a Good Thing Goin.

The version of High Tide and Green Grass is pretty good. It's a mixture of stereo and mono, like the LP in the ABKCO box. No fake stereo like its U.K. counterpart.

There are issues with the Around and Around LP - balance and volume issues. In spite of this, the SQ is very good.

Rolling Stones No. 2 which is titled Everybody Needs Someone to Love in this series is really good. Very nice SQ. My 1980s Australian pressing is comparable.

The Chess tracks in general sound excellent. The bass on a few of them is somewhat deep. It's All Over Now comes to mind. Additionally, as James mentioned the Regent Sound tracks are nicely mastered.

I'm impressed.

 

I think the channel imbalance is a pressing error. It's not slight either, it's Major. It's a big ****-up that for some reason no-one picked up.
It's not a fake stereo issue, because a couple of the tracks show up on other LeBlanc compilations and they are fine there.
I mailed Jacques Leblanc about this and he said he didn't know about it.... Either the test pressings he got were ok or he's ********ting me. I don't know.
What I do know is I have picked up five copies of this record so far and they all have the same pressing error.
It's incredibly frustrating, the one to get in this series, the one with the most Chess stereo tracks on it, nice, clear flat transfers, happens to be the one they ****ed up. You couldn't make this up....
I'm guessing there are a few good pressings out there, maybe one day I find one....

 

Exactly, the bass isn't as pronounced because - it ain't on the tape. The bass was boosted during mastering - I'm guessing - with some EQ and the fold-down process boosts the bass. It's artificial. You play these records and go "Wow".

Decembers Children - exactly. Like I said upstairs somewhere, the sound quality is literally all over the place. I think the only thing they did was match the levels for mastering. Otherwise, I think what was on the tape is what you get.
To me though, on my system, it's a very nice listen.
I agree with you too about the RCA tracks, I'm guessing on the UK Deccas, the top end was boosted during mastering, because, well, the RCA engineer filtered out everything from about 10K on up.... Idiot.

High Tide and Green Grass - exactly. Nice, not as exciting as the Deccas, which are boosted, but a nicer listen. Plus you don't have to keep switching between UK mono and stereo. This one gives it to you as it was recorded.

As you say, Rolling Stones No. 2 is excellent. It's the one I picked up first and got me getting the others.

The Regent Sound stuff I think is what was on the tape. I think the English engineers just set things up nicely and captured a nice sound. Which is what you hear here.

You're right about the bass on It's all over now. I like it, you hear how good Bill Wyman really was.

Have you got the later compilations yet?
Collectors only?

 

I've mentioned this set a few times over the years.
I'm always surprised no-one seems to know about them.

 

I'd love to hear transfers of them done on a really nice rig

 

This is what I have received thus Far:

Everybody Needs Someone to Love (No.2)
Around and Around
Got Live If You Want It (haven't listened to it yet, not dying to do so either.
Decembers Children
Big Hits, High Tide, Green Grass

I'm expecting the following over the next few weeks:

S/T
Out of Our Heads
Aftermath
Between the Buttons
Majesties
Through The Past Darkly
Collectors Only
No Stone Unturned
Stone Age

I didn't order Let It Bleed or Beggars. I couldn't find a copy of Flowers

 

One more comment...

After listening to December's Children, I spun the copy of Out of Our Heads from the ABKCO box. I've been a big proponent of the ABKCO box, but after hearing some of the LeBlanc versions, I prefer them. So far, these pressings sound more natural to me. No futzing around with EQ (although I must admit, I know nothing about EQ). They sound just right to my ears. Additionally, Around and Around with all of its pressing problems, still sounds damn good.

 

You've been busy. Really busy.

Some of those are not easy to find either.
You'll like the three compilations:
Collectors Only
No Stone Unturned
Stone Age

 

Exactly, mostly, these discs just sound "right". "Natural"
To my ears, there is no dicking around with the sound, little or no EQ, they sound like flat transfers.
With a good, revealing system, I think they sound great.

This is the project that ABKCO box should have been.

 

I'll be interested to hear what you think of the LeBlanc "Out of our Heads".
I have various pressings of it. I like the LeBlanc, but my favourite is still my U.K. pressed export pressing...

 

One last comment, when I Emailed him, Jacques Leblanc told me he got the masters to work with.
Personally, I think that's unlikely. What I think he got were second or at most third generation tape copies.
If I listen carefully to some of the ABKCO box tracks from the 60's albums, it sounds in many (most) cases, trying to listen through the digital flatness, that Bob Ludwig got first gen. tapes in most cases.

 

Okay, I will let you know. I have a UK mono Decca as well as a US London copy (different track lineup as you know...), that was pressed by Decca.

 

Well, if they are 2nd or 3rd generation copies, which I have no reason to doubt or disagree with you, imagine what the 1st generation tapes would sound like if a new set was cut, all analog, using the same methodology as Leblanc did.

Even the Regent sound recordings sounded nice. Smoother than I've ever heard them.

 

Yeah, I know. All the tracks sound nice. Wait till you get Rolling Stones No 1, the self titled. And the Collectors Only.
It's just possible, unlikely but possible that Decca at that time was indeed storing all the Stones masters at the Sofrason facility in Paris and that Jacques, because of his connections as a former French Decca exec, managed to sneak out the masters. I just don't know. What I do know is this series sounds great.

I think, like you do, a reissue series cut with a minimum of compression and EQ, all analog would sound great.
Remember, when Bob Ludwig cut the DSD masters, he referenced the Deccas, to get that sound. Because that's what people wanted. So I think he boosted the top end and the bass.
Me, I prefer the way the Leblanc series was done.

 

Aftermath arrived yesterday. I did an A/B with my UK stereo copy. The UK copy is a tad bit sharper, leading me to believe the Leblanc pressing is from a copy tape, possibly. The Leblanc pressing is flatter sounding. I find that there's more bass than the UK pressing and the midrange is more pleasing to my ears. Again, the phrase "natural sounding" comes to mind.

 

What do both sound like compared to the London CD?

 

I'll pull out the London CD and give it a listen and let you know. I haven't listened to the London CD in quite a while . I bought it in 1987 and was my go to copy for Aftermath for years.

 

It's still the best I've heard. I find the SACD to be a mess in a number of ways, and while I haven't heard much in terms of LPs, I've never heard anything else that's blown me away.

Presumably the stereo separation on the CD is much more extreme compared to either LP.

 

Prior to the West German London CD my only point of reference for Aftermath was the U.S. stereo vinyl pressing. That was relegated to the trash bin after hearing Mother's Little Helper.

 

Exactly. The Leblanc is still more natural sounding though. Overall, I actually prefer the UK pressing and it's also this slight flatness is one thing that lead me to think that these are all 2nd and third gen copies.

 

Exactly. The Leblanc is still more natural sounding though. Overall, I actually prefer the UK pressing and it's also this slight flatness is one thing that lead me to think that these are all 2nd and third gen copies.

 

Though it may just be EQ choices. The Deccas are all to my understanding tweaked on top to make them abit more exciting.
There is certainly a chance these were done with the masters, just no tweaking at all, transferred flat.

 

I'll have to pull out my UK and Leblanc copies of Aftermath and play them again.
It's been a long time... So little time, so much vinyl...

 

On one hand, it seems unlikely the masters would be in France.

On the other hand, I'm not aware of other stereo releases of most of the Five By Five tracks beyond the stereo mispressing of that EP. Which seems to indicate that the various copy tapes were mono.

It seems possible that when Decca had the masters (i.e., the Chess material) they were used, but some masters may have been stored elsewhere (Beggars Banquet for example).

 

Yeah, it's a funny one.
I think though that hte current Stones storage facility for all their tapes is in France. In Paris or a suburb of Paris. I remember somehow seeing a film from one of their documentary/concert box sets showing some footage of tape boxes, 30 years worth of tape boxes in a big storage facility, in Paris...

Then there is the next point, when all official releases of the Chess material were mono, and all foreign releases too - ie., the l'Age d'Or series, the early LPs all have the Chess stuff in mono, plus all the early french releases have the stuff in mono. Also the first, second presses, both french and German of "Around and Around" have all the Chess stuff in mono - why would the Paris facility have stereo tapes. They wouldn't be production copies, because they would not be used - no records were being pressed from the stereo tapes.
Which is why, in more optimistic moments, I sometimes think that Decca stored the stereo masters in the Paris facility. And Jacques Leblanc managed to sneak them out.
The natural sound and the slight softness of the sound being the flat transfer and the way they were done - no bumping the bass and tweaking the top end to make them more exciting as was done with most of the Deccas.
In any case, Rolling Stones No. 2 of this series is the best sounding No. 2 I have heard.