Beatles MONO

You're not the only one. I've run into plenty of adults here in America that think of the US configurations as the real deal. The first time I encountered this was at a music store where this one guy was surprised and pleased to see a younger person like me listening to older music, paricularly stuff he grew up on. We were by the Beatles section and mentioned how he was disappointed that they changed the albums. At first I was a little confused by what he meant by changed, and then he talked about "Meet The Beatles," "Beatles '65" and so forth...

Another time, Bob Greene of the Tribune, who loves to get nostalgic over the golden oldies of his youth, was talking about how he hated the craze of compilations and soundtrack compilations coming these days and how albums had some better karma to them. Then he went on to talk about Rubber Soul, but the one he talked about had "I've Just Seen A Face" on it, and singled it out as one of the songs he has to hear in what he believed to be the real Rubber Soul sequence.

A friend of mine says its just like James Bond; a lot of people prefer Sean Connery, but a lot of people who got familiar with the franchise through the Roger Moore movies prefer Roger Moore. It's just a matter of who or what you were exposed to first.

 

Steve, you're a heretic!

The different orders and such aren't as big of a problem as the duophonic/reverb/etc applied to many cuts. Example: I Feel Fine. Rather than request the true stereo mix from Abbey Road, Capitol took the mono mix, added reverb, then rechanneled it (duophonic - or whatever it was). Result - TERRIBLE sounding recording.

 

Ha ha ha,

I disagree there Luke. I *love* the sound of the US Capitol "Second Album" only because, for me too, I grew up with it that way. I don't listen to it seriously, I listen to the fct that the sound of "Roll Over Beethoven" sounds like a 40-foot Phil Spector!! I don't want to speak for the guy, but I sent a copy of the "Second Album" to Steve and his reaction was that of enjoyment and references to how fun the wacky sound was. I'm almost positive he said something along those lines.

Although I grab the UK import vinyl and the MFSL boots for listening enjoyment, for a trip back, I listen to the Capitol vinyl and CD boots for a wicked rush. It doesn't sound horrible at all (except for the I Feel Fine/She's A Woman single on beatles '65...that makes me ill) it's just...well... as wacky as the 60s' were in America.

...And when I say I "grew up" with that sound, I have a photo of me sitting in my PJ's at 4 years old listening to it. Gasp! I'm the heretic though, I see a Mono AHDN on United Artists in the picture, and I know it's long gone.

 

Well, hmmmm, I didn't grow up with Beatle LPs. All I knew as a child were the cuts played on the radio, and the stations here were BIG on anything Beatle!

I personally prefer the British configurations because that's what the Fab FIVE intended for us to hear FIRST. But I also like the mono Motown stuff because that's what I grew up with. Not always the best sound in the world but it's what brings back the memories.

So, if you are one who prefers the US configurations in all it's rechannelled, whatever glory, so be it!

 

Having grown up with the Beatles and having owned both the Capitol and Parlophone labels, and though I have a fond remembrance for the US butchered versions of the UK lps, I think Apple should reissue and remaster the UK catalog as two-fers: both stereo and mono versions for all titles from Please Please Me to Revolver, plus Magical Mystery Tour.

They should use the Parlophone label as picture discs, have extensive liner notes and photos. Yellow Submarine on the mono version of the UK Revolver has the extra lyrics sung by John (in parenthesis): "As we live a life at ease...(life at ease)..." that were mixed out of the stereo version. The US mono Revolver doesn't have this. They could include bonus tracks: AHDN can tack on And I Love Her with the six bars at the end. I'll Cry Instead with the extra verse. WTB could include All My Loving with the high hat intro, etc.

Sgt Pepper and the White Album should have separate mono editions. Just a thought!

 

Just a thought?? More like a dream. I hope I live long enough to see em though. We talked about this one before, and I'd LOVE to see all of this finally come out legitemately. Dispite what anyone might say, they'd ALL sell. It would be a success no doubt.

 

Quoth Brian

Actually, I'm fairly sure that the US and UK mono LPs both feature the same mix. See:
http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beatles/var-1966.html

Otherwise, yeah, that's pretty much what I'd like to see too.

 

It's batterd, beaten and torn. It shouldn't be subjected to a stylus. But MY copy of Revolver US Capitol mono contains "(a life of ease)".

Edit: the original post refered to the UK YS mono. I have no knowledge of what that lp contained. I should remember "Reading is FUNdamental" - lol.

[ September 18, 2001: Message edited by: Uncle Al ]

 

Luke & Uncle Al,

Thanks for the correction guys! Sorry about the goof. I was basing my comments on something I read a while back. Somebody's bad handwroter as John would say.

Thanks for the link, Luke. Handy info for us Beatlephiles.

Brian

 

Have theses new mono/stereo albums come out yet? Has anyone heard them to give us a review of the quality? Wouldn't it be great if they were done on the right playback machines with tubes and nada NoNoise? Maybe when DCC get's the catalog.

Todd

 

Luke, I know I'm a heretic and I love it. I also know what you mean about the reverb/duophonic crap on "I Feel Fine". It's a little two much there, but, quite honestly, I think it makes "She's a Woman" sound more like the titanic rocker it is.

My favorite CDs, BAR NONE, (sorry Steve H., even though I do love DCC) are my "Capitol Versions" boots from the early 90s.

In fact, I returned my ****ty-sounding Parlophone CDs after I got these boots. (It's sad when a bootleg beats a legitimate release in sound quality.)

God, it feels good to hear the James Bond intro to "Help!" and the false start to "Im Looking Through You."

Wanna get rich quick? Legitimately release the Capital Versions as two-fers on CD....

 

I guess you aren't too familiar with The Who...

 

That would be correct. Not my favorite band.

I wish everyone could hear the difference b/w the legitimate mono "Beatles For Sale" and my stereo Capitol Versions "Beatles '65".

We'd have a riot on our hands.

 

just to add my $.02 - playing the 2nd Album (with all that reverb) thru the home theater surround sound setup is good for a giggle...

 

Hi, first time poster here. One question. Are the Capitol mono albums any better than the stereo mixes or were those messed with a lot also? You have a great board here. I only wish I could access the archives.

 

Yes and no. This would be up for a lot of argument, but if you listen to the mono and stereo mixes, there's interesting things about both, and occasionally, the mixes themselves are VERY different, not just a missing instrument here or there.

Sgt Pepper Mono - One of my favorites. "Getting Better" from Paul's guitar and vocal are DRY and very up forward. "Sgt Pepper Reprise" has some interesting things mixed in...etc..

Rubber Soul Mono - 2nd fave in Mono. I LOVE "Drive My Car" in mono because the vocals are dead simple in the mix and VERY dry, no echo or phony tricks.

White Album - Mono - Yeah, "Ob La Di" is kinda the same as the rest of the monos, and some of the album does have its differences.

Itssss still arguable which is "better" but if a lot of people concentrated on what the Mono's were like (past AHDN) they might take my side, they might not. There's a lot of variety of sounds in the Beatles collection throughout time and countries too! You might prefer em, but I like em all, as each is special and "neato" in its own way.

Too many to list here, go search for yourself!

 

Hey Scott, he's asking about *Capitol* mono vs. Capitol stereo...not just mono v. stereo mix differences. His question was if the mono Capitol stuff is monkeyed with as much as the Capitol stereo stuff.

 

Ahh... Sorry then. My apologies.

The Mono Sgt Pepper counts in the example though. The rest, yes and no to varying degree. I do love those wacky Capitol Stereo versions. Yes, it does do nutty things if you play it into Dolby Pro Logic.

[ September 20, 2001: Message edited by: Sckott ]

 

After getting the mono Sgt Pepper I can't even go back to the stereo version. The mono is the ****, the real deal.

Whatever you think of the stereo mixes, the MONO singles mixes are always the real deal.

 

Usually the mono mixes have more testicular fortitude, tho it's interesting to hear both Steve and Luke preferring the stereo mixes of a lot of this stuff.

One thing's for sure - there are NO mono mixes that make you stop and say "what the hell is WRONG with that?" like the fake-stereo "I Am The Walrus"...

P.S. Having said that, I prefer the stereo "Strawberry Fields", "Within You Without You", and "It's Getting Better".

 

To me these Mono recordings would be THE LAST thing EMI/Capitol would release...even on vinyl! But then, THEY wouldn't have the final decision on it, would they ?

They, and the Beatle Partnership, just don't care about collector's things, just mid-stream general releases that generate lots of cash, like you have a license to print it...see "Beatle's 1" for a good example of that.

They left it to the bootlegger's to release this esoteric collectors stuff, and until some definitive Mono reissue set is released from Them...and that pleases EVERYONE... that's all we are going to get.

 

Well, I'm not so sure it would never happen from EMI. In fact, I believe EMI had a deluxe edition of Pepper in the works a few years back, using the mono mix. Apple nixed it. Hell, Bill Levenson put out both mono and stereo versions of Traffic's first album - the Beatles are a lot bigger than Traffic.

As I've said before, there are very few cases where I prefer the mono. I pull out the mono Pepper every now and then, but I don't find it overly interesting, and it seems too rough in certain spots for me. I used to quite like the mono Drive My Car due to the pushing of the piano during the chorus, but then I realized the original stereo mix has that too (to an extent). It's not on the remix...

The mono Help is cool, but I don't necessarily prefer it over the stereo.

 

I've always had a love-hate relationship between mono and stereo Beatles mixes.

Take the White Album. Sure, the mono version has its intricacies and differences, which are nice to have. But while some tracks excell in mono (Back in the USSR, Happiness is a Warm Gun), some of the stereo versions kicj the hell out of the mono (Yer Blues, Helter Skelter).

IMHO, of course.

 

Luke, a few years back EMI was on the verge of releasing a deluxe CD of "Sgt Pepper" in MONO but Apple pulled it at the very last moment without comment. They even had very limited numbers of advance copies made and distributed on a limited basis, so there are people out there with it.

 

I'm not nuts about the mono Pepper either.