Beatles UK Black & Silver ‘One EMI Box’ pressings questions...

Ditto for me on ditching the collecting bug....Was a massive collector in the glory day's of Beatles vinyl...British, Japanese, German..etc..every variation imaginable...

 

I'd like to know what that's all about myself!!! I wonder if there's any truth in it. I have to say I doubt if EMI-Toshiba in Japan is going to re-press the Beatles catalogue on vinyl again now. Then again, they just might. The last set of LP's to come from Japan were the TOJP series from 1992. These were marketed by EMI-Toshiba as being "Final Vinyl" issues. They were DMM versions (like the current British LP's), matching the CD configurations, ie first four in stereo.

I guess there is a very slim *and I mean VERY* slim chance that somebody has stumbled across a batch of unsold Beatles LP stock in a warehouse in Japan somewhere. We can hope and pray that somebody has found a big batch of earlier Japanese pressings (such as EAS series from the 70s) but I think that would be a little too optimistic!!! The 'finding unsold stock in a warehouse' scenario is my best guess at this but if you can get further clarification from the store owner in Toronto that would be a good starting point.

 

What's the catalogue no. of your German Rubber Soul? Does it have a SMO prefix? Or the EEC numbering system? (beginning with 1C). The Blue Odeon label appeared circa 1970 apparently so you probably have a 70s reissue.

Regarding your stereo UK PPL & WTB LP's - when you say "Made In Gt Britain" are you referring to the words at the end of rim copy around the label?? If so - and the text begins with "EMI Records Ltd..." - the pressings you have date from between about 1976 and 1980. If the rim text begins with "The Gramophone Co..." they date from about 1973 to 1976. Look at the labels when you get a minute and let me know!

 

More Black and Yellow Parlophone label info- from early '64 to mid '69 all Parlophone and Apple labels had a "sold in the UK..." statement close to the center hole. in mid '69 EMI removed that statement and for about 6 months pressed everything on original labels without that statement (but they still mention "Gramophone" on the rim copy). Those copies are highly collectable (Some copies of Sgt Pepper on that label run omit "Day In The Life"). After that EMI changed to the one box. Most of the one box pressings have stamper numbers consistent with first pressings. My Please Please Me one box still has a "-1" matrix.

 

That may also explain why my '73 original Red/Blue LP's from Germany also sound so darn good! They're even better than the UK equivalents!

 

This seems correct to me. I understand that all the 60's mono Y/B Parlophone LP's didn't say anything on the label with regard to mono/stereo content (and that's how ones I have look), but the stereo Y/B label LP's say STEREO on the label (at appx. 1 o'clock). When they did the early 80's mono reissues with the reproduction of the Y/B Parlophone label, they put MONO on the label in the location where STEREO was on the Y/B label stereo pressings.

 

Those black/silver two EMI box LP's from the mid/late 70s are good pressings. As it happens, I've just purchased an earlier set of nine Parlophone one EMI box and early 70s ("Gramophone Co" rim text) two EMI box LP's - Please Please Me through to Sgt Pepper - from a private collection. All in very nice condition too. Can't wait to spin them over the weekend

The German Blue Odeon 1C-062 series was first issued in 1969. Later, in about 1975/76, they were reissued on the German Apple label.

I couldn't really put a date on your UK Abbey Road without more info about the label though.

 

Beatles matrix numbers help

I have the Silver and Black UK pressings w/ the matrix numbers has follows

WTB YEX 126 -1 /127 -1
BFS YEX 142 -3 /143 -5
HELP YEX 168 -2 /169 -1
REVOLVER YEX 605 -2 /606 -1

Are these tube cut pressings? I'm educating myself about these pressings from this great forum for future acquisitions of the Beatles great catalog.

 

As some may remember, I am a major big-time Beatles German LP enthusiast. The Japanese cuttings are excellent, too, but nothing matches virtually any label German pressing for me. My preferred mode of listening. The German Apple Beatles For Sale and Revolver just kick ass.

 

Here's a link to a Web page on The Beatles - British LP Releases
Identification and Price Guide.
http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/kirkland/266/btls/uk/uklp.htm

 

Re: Beatles matrix numbers help

Hey trip1, do a search of the archives for the thread entitled "Beatles German LP". There's quite a bit of good information there. There's some issues in this old thread that have already been addressed. Folks reading this and not checking the dates of the posts are gonna be confused at first. Read through that "Beatles German LP" thread first, and if you have any more questions, start a new thread where we can get you fixed up.