Beatles US albums

No such thing as a Beatles song "remixed" by Capitol. Never has been. Not ever.

You need the original multi-track tapes that the songs were recorded on if you want to mix the songs. These tapes are and always have been overseas; Capitol has never had them.

The only tapes Capitol has ever had are mono and stereo mixes. These can be manipulated all you want, but nothing you can do to them would be called "remixing."

If you "duophonic-ize" a mono mix it's not a "remix."

If you fold-down a stereo mix it's not a "remix."

If you add reverb, echo, additional EQ or anything else, it's not a "remix."

 

The different 1963 Beatles mixes: http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beatles/var-1963.html

 

Not sure about Introducing the Beatles being true mono

 

Any "Beatles pages" that claim that Capitol remixed Beatle songs are definitely NOT reputable because they don't know what they're talking about.

 

Every question that has ever been asked on this forum about what's on the Beatles Capitol LPs has been answered in the Bruce Spizer books. Highly recommended.

 

Well the version of Please Please Me (on later pressings) is definitely the true mono version. Admittedly the other songs are harder to tell.

 

I realized recently that I have a Capitol Albums Vol. 2, still sealed, and was wondering how to contact Apple(?) for a replacement as I am sure it's the sort with the incorrect versions.

Anyone here know what I can do?

 

Michael asked earlier how they could drop their series of re-issues of the actual U.S. albums and issue the bogus "U.S. Albums" box. I wish I knew. As someone posted on this board, 209 million copies of The Beatles' albums were sold in the U.S., compared to 7.5 million in the U.K. (in other words, VASTLY more), yet the sound and sequence of OUR records is first ignored (the 1987 CDs), then issued in an incomplete, over-priced, poorly designed and loudified collection (the "Capitol Albums" sets) and THEN replaced in a wretched sounding boxed set which is an insult to anyone who ever grew up with these records.

To the original poster... I wouldn't pick and choose. The Capitol albums (the real ones, that is!) are their own listening experience, whether or not reverb has been added. The songs often sound better (thanks to better engineers at Capitol), and minor adjustments to the EQ make them different to the "approved" 2009 versions. Unfortunately, because the "Capitol Albums" series was never completed, there's always going to be a gap in gathering together a genuine U.S. collection on legitimate CD.

 

I consider myself a first gen Beatles fan. Your first mistake is feeling insulted by anything a record company does. This is really easy: you don't like what they give you, don't buy it. The idea that we "made" the Beatles implies that they didn't have the talent to make it on their own -- which further implies that we're idiots for loving them in the first place.

 

This is interesting to me. So if Capitol never remixed anything, were all the "unique US mixes" actually done by George Martin then? If so, why? Why wouldn't he just send them the UK mixes? Doesn't make all that much sense to me.

Also interesting that you say it's possibly just compression that makes the Meet The Beatles! album sound wetter. So it seems that really the only truly different things I'd want in my library would be the stereo mixes of The Beatles' Second Album and then also the "unique mixes" that you pointed out in your list.

 

For all intents and purposes, Capitol treated the tapes that EMI sent them as work parts, free to do as they pleased and take as many sonic liberties as they deemed appropriate.

 

A band can be talented but not "make it". The fans were largely responsible for The Beatles' success. Fans watch bands on tv, buy concert tickets, records, and merchandise. If none of that had happened, they wouldn't have lasted nearly as long as they did.

 

So, by using that reasoning, you feel they owe you? That is an argument that is seriously flawed and comes with its own set of issues. Besides all of THAT, it's reasoning that is bound to leave you in a state of constant disappointment going forward. D'ya really want that?

 

Please Please Me and Ask Me Why sound like the dedicated mono mixes. I'm not sure about the others. Misery has the complete intro and Baby It's You sounds like the stereo mix folded down. I think the remainder other than PPM and Ask Me Why are fold downs

 

I bought the Capitol Albums volumes 1 and 2 plus this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00MDKQTVO/ref=mp_s_a_1_17?qid=1409325230&sr=8-17&pi=SY200_QL40

It's the 45th anniversary edition released in Japan and it has the unique stereo and mono mixes along with butcher cover sticker.

 

Yes the true alternate US mixes were done at EMI by George Martin. The US often got earlier mixes sent over, before GM made 'better' mixes for UK release. Other factors too.

After those alternate mixes and the reverbed stereo Second Album, the next most different US versions are the Duophonic tracks.

 

Could be, I'll have to check sometime. That Misery intro rings a bell.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I'm aware, a lot of the unique US mixes were rough versions that were sent over because Capitol were wanting them to hurry up with the goods and the final mixes (that showed up on the UK releases) hadn't been completed.

 

Yes, many of the US mixes benefited from being sent before being over-thought, micromanaged and sanitized like their UK counterparts.

 

JETman. Did I say they owe me? I never even remotely implied that. Your line of reasoning has you assuming way to much about what I think. I think you're off the rails a bit. You don''t even have a remote clue about what I think. Absolutely NO band that I like/love (Beatles are in my "like" category), do I feel they owe me anything. The music released officially and otherwise is what I've been treated to and I'm 100% satisfied. End of discussion.

Now, back to the topic already in progress.

 

You: The fans were largely responsible for The Beatles' success. Fans watch bands on tv, buy concert tickets, records, and merchandise. If none of that had happened, they wouldn't have lasted nearly as long as they did.

Me: If this doesn't imply that you believe they owe you (us), what exactly is the point of saying this?

 

You may've already deciphered this, but just to be safe and clarify, you would want the stereo mixes of "The Beatles' Second Album" from the older 2004 "The Capitol Albums Volume 1" box set, not the new 2014 "The U.S. Albums" box set. Only the Capitol Box has the versions with the added reverb. The new 2014 U.S. Box Set re-uses the 2009 UK versions, but rearranged in the U.S. running order. So if you already have all the 2009 material in your library and download the 2014 "Second Album" stereo tracks, you wouldn't have anything different, just duplicates of the same songs.

Like I said you may've already picked up on that nuance, but the thread's going off on some tangents so I wanted to make sure.

Mark

 

As a kid growing up in the 1960's with Meet The Beatles and Beatles Second, I really like those albums (never had heard the UK albums). In the early 1980's I got my first UK Blue Box and found I really liked the UK albums much better. Personal preference for me - your mileage may vary.

If all you're into is mix variations - put 'em all in (what the heck). There are very few US mixes that are wildly different from their UK counterparts (apart from the US seasoning). "I Am The Walrus" may be the biggest mix variation, perhaps "I'm Only Sleeping" and a couple more ... . The seasoning is mostly on a song-by-song basis, and not really that many of them.

Slane says there isn't any added reverb on MTB stereo (I think there is, but I will defer to Slane - he's proven me wrong before). Whenever you hear specifically a duophonic fake stereo song - it is purely Capitol (don't get confused - not all fake stereo is duophonic and some fake stereo came from George Martin that way).

Until Brennan is completely updated - it is still the holy document of original mix variations (yes, there are some minor problems with it that are well documented here on the forum, but it will be impossible to track all that info down).

 

Just fyi:
There are some minor issues with the Spizer info. I know, I got into a lengthy debate over the mono "Ticket to Ride" defending Spizer and Spizer was proven wrong. Good news - Spizer is aware of it and if those books ever go into reprint he has promised to fix it. There may still be others that I am not recalling. Still, those books are very HIGHLY recommended!

 

Bruce also said in one book that Spector overdubbed acoustic guitars on Across The Universe. I'm confident that this is not the case.