Beatles U.S. versus Beatles U.K.

Many people view Capitol Records' meddling with The Beatles' music back in the 1960s - adding reverb and fake stereo to numerous tracks courtesy of Capitol exec Dave Dexter, Jr. - as sacrilege. Likewise the label's repackaging of the albums. Others, especially those who grew up listening to the American albums and 'Dexterized' mixes, defend them and, in some cases, even prefer them. It's a hot topic - discussed at length on the latest episode of the 'Swinging Through the Sixties' podcast, featuring many comparisons of the UK and and US mixes.

Swinging Through The Sixties - Episode #12: 'Beatles U.S. vs. Beatles U.K.’

 

Two songs unquestionably better in US mix are "I'll Get You" and "Thank You Girl". More prominent harmonica.
As for albums, MEET THE BEATLES is better than WITH THE BEATLES. The two RUBBER SOUL albums are kind of a wash each having good and bad points.
REVOLVER is the absolute worst of the US versions, leaving out 3 Lennon songs and changing the feel of the album.
And unless you like soundtrack music, the US HELP is pretty weak as well.

 

We just went thru this same thread last month and saw it get closed down by management.
Doesn't anyone use the Search Button?

 

Meet The Beatles is better, but I prefer Rubber Soul and Revolver in their US versions.

 

And yet, you couldn't resist commenting!

 

How could the Capitol Revolver possibly be better missing 3 John Songs?












































revolver

 

The latest ‘Swinging Through The Sixties’ podcast deals with the differences between the US & UK Beatles releases.

Podcasts - Swinging Through The Sixties

 

I’m not touching this thread with a 10 foot pole.....

 

You just did.

 

UK rules, US fools........

 

I feel like we've been here before. But this time I'm not going to use the word 'canon'. Oh, hang on...

 

I actually prefer the US Rubber Soul too. The rest are better in the UK versions.

 

Same Richard Buskin formerly of Something About The Beatles? Not the same without ya.

 

He's new here. (Welcome richbuskin. FYI, any Beatles thread you can think of, we've done it already. Many times. Researching before you post is always a good idea. )

 

I prefer the sound on the Stereo Second Album on most of those cuts and of the duophonic I Want To Hold Your Hand. Also think Yesterday and Today is their finest album and prefer the US Rubber Soul.

 

Why do people feel the need to go into other people's sandboxes to tell them they don't like their sandbox?

By the way, I did a search and "Beatles U.S. versus Beatles U.K." only came up once - this thread.

And there are other similar threads but they seem to discuss song differences, not sound differences.

So there's that.

 

Auditioning in case a moderators spot comes up

 

I like them both! Inasmuch as we get two different versions - mono and stereo - of most of their albums, we also get somewhat different mixes/song orders/different albums (as well as their mono and stereo counterparts) for most of the US and UK output. This is great! Maybe it makes it hard to collect them all, but it also adds to the wide variation in mixing and sound that we have available to us. I grew up on the US versions and I suppose I prefer them sound-wise, but I am not too orthodox about it. I guess I sort of like the sound of the UK monos / US stereos up to about 1965 and then pretty much UK stereo after that. Like a previous poster, I also prefer the sound and song order of the US Rubber Soul (stereo).

 

Been there. Done this.

 

All I know is that it was the US Vee-Jay 45 of Do You Want To Know A Secret that inspired Mike Love to create the All Summer Long LP.

 

Are they different?

 

This thread seems so familiar.

 

It’s all good. There are much worse things to spend money on than US Beatles albums. Mono UK, mono US, stereo UK, stereo US. Who cares? It’s the Beatles! Just enjoy the music.

 

"I wouldn't touch it with a plastic one."

 

I'm sure the gorts are thrilled.