Beatles Abbey Road mega-rare 1st issue Japanese CD

Before anyone asks..NO I don't have one to give away

If anyone is interested, UK dealer eil.com has a copy of this CD for sale. Issued in 1983 in Japan and hastily withdrawn (due to legal issues) it was the first Beatles CD rarity and apparently one of the first truly collectable CD's.

Well I know I can't afford one!...£350 (approx US $540) is the asking price. Don't know if it's worth that much and I've no idea what it sounds like it. I seem to recall reading somewhere a few years back that it trounces the later '87 edition. Anyone heard it?

Here's the link

http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=224372

 

I own this CD. I also own the '87 edition. To tell you the truth, I haven't compared the two since I bought the official release in '87. (Even then, I knew better than to get rid of the Japanese copy.) IIRC, the Japanese copy had more tape hiss than the official release. Now, of course, I know that that may be a good thing.

I'll try to do some listening over the next couple of days and report back when I've got some notes together.

 

Is it Sealed?
Here is NM one on Ebay for less than $100
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=908375258
I own this and it sounds great!
Thanks,
Aaron

 

I own it too and will have to listen again.

The Japanese cd was mastered from a 30ips copy of the Abbey Road master tape. No-noise was used on the domestic release but not by the Japanese so a listen with "forumized" ears would be in order.

 

Fascinating information. Where did you get it? A 30 ips copy can sound pretty darn good--very little extra hiss, in fact--so I can't wait to put my forumized ears to work on this one....

 

Looks like they have a Hey Jude export LP too (3rd issue)

http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=164626

And a couple of POB Japanese pressings (the Japanese is supposed to be the best sounding version of this album)

http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=224696

http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=184169

 

I also own one....
It came out right at the beginning of CDs...

 

Mark Lewisohn refers to no-noising on the domestic release in his recording sessions book. Apparently the white noise on "I Want You" caused the no-noise team additional problems.
The MFSL cover of Abbey Road shows a record of the master tape being copied in the early eighties by Toshiba (if memory serves) EMI Japan at 30ips. I'll double check when I get home.

 

Never heard it (would like to) but I hear the Toshiba EMI CD is superior compared with the futzed around with 1987 version, being an honest 'warts and all' transfer of their LP master.

 

I've got that book too, but I'd forgotten that ML said anything about no-noise. Wow--more fun with the Beatles when I get home tonight. Wouldn't you know it that tonight's choir practice night. Oh well, I'll just keep the kids up with a little "I Want You" A/B session....

Thanks for that info, John. I love this forum.

 

You're welcome Gardo, I love it too. I also have tormented the family with A/B listening sessions. Ever hear "Can't you play one song all the way through?"

 

There were a bunch of messages way back on this Japanese CD. Steve Hoffman indicated that it was the best sounding Abbey Road CD out there and it was simply a flat-transfer from the Toshiba EMI copy of the master tape.

 

Oh, man, all the time. Last heard Friday night when doing an A/B of the Geffen "Skylarking" with the MFSL version. (That one didn't take too long, I might add--the MFSL sounds MUCH better.) The only thing that bothers the kids more is when I'm listening to commentary on DVDs. "Can't we watch the movie?" they ask plaintively. I tell 'em how lucky they are to have such an obsessive for a dad. Just think how well that'll fit them for adult life.

 

They also have DCC Gold Eagles;

http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=8535

http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=91319

 

Just looked myself. There's an entry for 16-1-78, Japan, 30 ips. I wonder if they used this tape for the Nautilus LP of Abbey Road?

I found a used copy of the cd awhile ago on Amazon. $50! Scuffed but plays (and copies) perfectly. Great CD.

 

I presume you are are referring to the "Pro-Use" LP version of Abbey Road that came out it 1979?

 

Yes I am. I goofed, brain fart

 

I remember the buzz about the first AR issue being "flat" and hissy! The reviewers praising the current re-issue. Just proves anything remotely hissy is "Bad". Hiss is good a good thing.

 

Agreed. Side two of Abbey Road is among the hissiest of all the Beatles records. It was the first time I noticed hiss on a record as a teenager. I thought something was wrong - I know better now but most people don't
As you say hissy is "Bad". Long live the hiss!

 

A forum regular provided me with a CD-R of this Japanese CD issue. I feel the strength of this version is it's "un-futzed" natural sound. Dynamic range is extended, mid-range is nice and warm. This is no sonic revelation, but there is nothing to distract either.

Bottom line: you can crank up the volume and not get fatigued. This disc made me realize that the standard issue of AR isn't a sonic disater. Yes it is louder and uses a bit more compression, but it is true to the sound of the lp. The Japanese issue has not replaced the standard version in my collection - BUT...

At lower or moderate volume (or on a portable - or in the car), the stock issue is fine. I would be surprised if you preffered either one in those settings. When you really want to turn it up, and feel the dynamics, without the associated distortion of "over peaking" - the Japanese issue is my choice.

 

Another example of more noise is not a bad thing is the new All things Must Pass.

I had a chance in 1985 to buy that Abbey Road, but I was on a budget and had no CD player at the time (what a mistake). I did make up for it by buying Macca's first CD single My Brave Face. It's still sealed, and to my surprise worth quite a bit more than I paid for it.

 

Well, hiss isn't "good", but removing it *is* bad. Given the choice between a CD with little hiss and one with a lot of hiss, and the difference was because of different sources, I'll take the one with less hiss.

Example - Beggars Banquet. The new CD has a *lot* less hiss than the old versions. But it isn't because of noise reduction, it's because they found and used a better tape. In that case, hiss *is* bad...

 

Ran across a review of the first AR in on old Audio magazine I have and they complained about just that! Something about hiss being bad!

 

Did I mention anything about the level of HISS? Some hiss is good lots of hiss is bad.

 

I put in my Japanese Abbey Road last night for some A/B listening against the domestic release. After about 30 seconds, I gave up that idea. I was so captivated by the sound of the Japanese CD that I just had to listen to it all the way through (ok, I skipped "Octopus's Garden," but only because I was so keen to get to "I Want You (She's So Heavy)").

I'll try to do some A/B tonight, but I am very, very impressed by the Japanese pressing. Now that I've got a receiver (Denon 3802) that can really make my speakers sing, and a hi-res digital front end (Sony DVP-NS500V), I can hear into the recording much more than ever before. And I found that the Japanese Abbey Road was indeed warm, full, VERY dynamic, and at times had a near-holographic presence in my listening room. (Examples: "Because," "Her Majesty," "Come Together," "Golden Slumbers.) I had no idea that the mix played with level so much as a dramatic device. Sometimes voices seemed farther back, sometimes closer in, as if the singer had leaned in to the mike for emphasis and intimacy. All the vocals were a treat to listen to. Ringo's drums were highly resonant--I'd never heard the floor tom sound so tight and deep before. I could hear many more distinct guitar tones. I could hear John switching his tones during "I Want You" more clearly. Etc.

There was some audible hiss at times, less evident on speakers than on headphones, but it was never a problem. I noticed it most on "Maxwell's Silver Hammer." The "hiss" at the outset of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" seems to be primarily guitar amp hiss, not tape hiss at all.

For me, it was like hearing the album for the first time.

I see from Lewissohn's "Recording Sessions" book that the "hiss" on "I Want You" posed a problem for the 1987 CD release. There's no mention of No-Noise, but I take it that's the clue that the process was indeed applied to the 1987 CD. Right?