Beatles Yes It Is – analogue stereo mix on a vinyl single pre Past Masters!

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by edgwareman, Oct 6, 2006.

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  1. edgwareman

    edgwareman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    London, UK
    I have just listened to a Dutch Beatles Singles Collection Box set that I won on eBay recently. At the time I thought that I’d paid a bit too much for it (about £125 or $238), but the seller stated that they were all stereo mixes as opposed to the (mainly) mono mixes found on the green set and the sleeves were orange so it was rather unusual.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSAA:US:11&Item=200029456917

    I began to listen to the first minute or so of each side of each single in the hope that there might be an unusual mix here and there - a stereo She Loves You for example (some hope!). As expected the mixes are not all stereo - there are a few oddities which are highlighted below:

    Mono both sides
    Love Me Do/PS I Love You
    She Loves You/I’ll Get You

    Stereo/ Mono
    I Want to Hold Your Hand (Stereo not the Australian mix though)/This Boy (Mono)
    Lady Madonna (Stereo)/The Inner Light (Mono)
    All You Need is Love (Stereo)/Baby, You’re a Rich Man (Mono)
    From Me to You (Stereo)/Thank You Girl (Mono)
    I Feel Fine (Stereo)/She’s a Woman (Mono)
    Paperback Writer (Stereo)/ Rain (Mono)
    Back In the USSR (Mono!)/Twist and Shout (Stereo)
    Let It Be (Stereo)/You Know My Name (Mono)

    Stereo both sides
    All the rest (14) including ….

    Ticket to Ride/Yes It Is (Stereo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

    I’ve checked and double-checked this and it’s the same version that appears on the 1986 Heineken tape thought to be the first stereo release of this song. I believe that the green Beatles Collection Box set was released in 1976, a full 10 years before the Heineken tape and 12 years before Past Masters. I assume that the Dutch orange set would have been released around the same time. It’s definitely the stereo mix and not the mock stereo version and has the dropout mentioned in Brennan. Could it be an original pre-digital recording?

    I consulted Brennan:

    YES IT IS

    basic recording- 16 Feb 1965
    additional recording- 16 Feb 1965
    master tape- 4 track

    • [a] mono 18 Feb 1965.
    UK: Parlophone R5265 single 1965, Parlophone PSLP 261 and PCM 1001 Rarities 1978-79.
    US: Capitol 5407 single 1965, Capitol T 2358 Beatles VI 1965.
    CD: EMI single 1989.
    • [a1] mock stereo made from [a] 1965, by Capitol.
    US: Capitol ST 2358 Beatles VI 1965.
    • [a2] mock stereo made from [a] 1977.
    UK: Parlophone PCSP 721 Love Songs 1977.
    US: Capitol SKBL 11711 Love Songs 1977.
    stereo 23 Feb 1965.
    UK: Stilletto/Parlophone SMMC-151 (Heineken beer promo, cassette) Only the Beatles 1986.
    CD: EMI CDP 7 90043 2 Past Masters 1 1988.

    The stereo mix must have been well hidden away, not used in 1977 or 1979 for collections. It first appeared on a promotional offer tape from Heineken Beer in 1986, available by mail order for a few weeks. It has a dropout (a tape defect) in verse 1 on the word "I" in "remember what I said tonight", and an extra tone-pedal note under the first word "if".
    Part of this same take was remixed to complete the outtake (see above) for Anthology 2.



    So there it is. Have I made an amazing discovery? Does anyone else out there have the orange box or this particular single? - if they have please check the mix. By the way it sounds amazing with none of the hiss present on the cassette.
     
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  2. John Carsell

    John Carsell Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northwest Illinois
    Hey nice discovery.

    I always wondered if Yes It Is in stereo was ever available in analog other than the Heineken cassette.

    EMI UK must have sent a stereo mix at one point to Holland by accident or design most likely in 1976 when this singles collection was issued.

    Also it's certainly baffling why EMI or Capitol didn't use this stereo version (and This Boy for that matter) on the 1977 Love Songs compilation.

    By the way how's the sound quality of the set overall?
     
    longdist01 likes this.
  3. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Makes one wonder if there was a previous Dutch release.
     
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  4. edgwareman

    edgwareman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    London, UK
    I haven't had time to listen to all of them all the way through but what I have listened to so far sound superb!
     
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  5. mcow1

    mcow1 Sommelier Gort

    Location:
    Orange County, CA
    Heineken is Dutch, too. Coincidence?
     
  6. gibtti

    gibtti Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
    If this is indeed true then it's amazing no-one has spotted this before, unless the Dutch re-pressings of these singles was of a very low quantity.

    I thought the consensus was that it wasn't until all the Beatles tapes were catalogued in the 80s that they found the stereo mix of 'Yes It Is'. Mind you this mid 70s issue would be around the same time that the alternate mix of IWTHYH and the stereo This Boy were dug out for some reason and sent to Australia for a 7".

    I wonder if the single was available separately (as with other countries) or only as part of the box.

    Surely out of all of you Beatles hoarders out there, someone else has a copy of 'Ticket To Ride' with this orange picture sleeve....even if they haven't noticed what mix is used for 'Yes It Is' yet.

    Chris
     
  7. posieflump

    posieflump New Member

    Location:
    .
    Nice find, edgwareman.

    I had the Dutch 45 of "Hello Goodbye" / "I Am The Walrus" (original issue, not the reissue), in which "I Am The Walrus" was a fold-down of the stereo mix. Do you know if that's the case here, too?
     
  8. PMC7027

    PMC7027 Forum Hall Of Fame


    If possible, would you please post a picture of the orange picture sleeve?
     
  9. gibtti

    gibtti Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
    Here's some of the pics from the ebay auction as linked to by edgwareman.

    Chris
     

    Attached Files:

  10. Robert Lan

    Robert Lan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Taipei
    Great find ! Another item on my want list.
     
  11. edgwareman

    edgwareman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    London, UK
    It is stereo like most of the discs. In fact all the A sides are stereo except Love Me Do, She Loves You and strangely enough Back in the USSR. I'm not sure if this is a fold-down or original mono, it's hard to tell. Does anybody know how to tell the difference?
     
  12. Joe Koz

    Joe Koz Prodigal Bone Brother™ In Memoriam

    Location:
    Chicagoland
    Tell me about it! :sigh:

    It never, ever ends!!! :D
     
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  13. PMC7027

    PMC7027 Forum Hall Of Fame

    Thanks for the pictures. The sleeves are the same design but green in the UK set.
     
  14. posieflump

    posieflump New Member

    Location:
    .
    Just out of interest, I checked the status of "Yes It Is" on my Dutch copy of the UK "Rarities" LP.

    It's mono.
     
  15. peter

    peter Senior Member

    Location:
    Paradise
    This is MAJOR in my opinion. An analogue true stereo "Yes It Is"?

    WOW!
     
  16. badfingerjoe

    badfingerjoe Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey
    This is major...Interesting how the design is the same as the green UK series,but the pics on each sleeve are different(at least the one shown)...are they all different or grouped like the green set to match certain years. Also are the sleeves a cardboard or a paper sleeve?

    JF
     
  17. edgwareman

    edgwareman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    London, UK
    The sleeves are paper not card and the picture is the same on every sleeve. I saw the orange set once before on eBay a couple of years ago. It is possible that the singles from this box were sold separately as were the green ones in the UK. Also this mix could have appeared on re-issued singles in other countries (1976 and after?) so there could be some in circulation on eBay for example. The problem of course that most sellers probably cannot play them due to the lack of a turntable. I was truly amazed when I played this for the first time - I thought I was hearing things!
     
  18. shnaggletooth

    shnaggletooth Senior Member

    Location:
    NJ
    So, is this stereo "Yes It Is" a different stereo mix than what's on Past Masters, or just notable because it was thought to have never been released on vinyl prior Past Masters?
     
  19. posieflump

    posieflump New Member

    Location:
    .
    I've seen them sold individually in those sleeves while visiting Dutch second-hand record shops, edgwareman, so I'd guess they probably were sold separately. Apart from that, I've never paid them much attention.
     
  20. peter

    peter Senior Member

    Location:
    Paradise
    The significance of this Dutch 45 release is that it is all analogue. No digital mastering in the chain (too early for that).

    The version on Past Masters, albeit in true stereo as well, is taken from a digital master and sounds horrid, as does all of Past Masters IMHO, at least the UK vinyl I have.
     
  21. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    What sounds "horrid" about it?
     
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  22. Robert Lan

    Robert Lan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Taipei
    I had thought the Japanese EAR-202XX singles re-issue series from 1977—also touted as a "stereo" set—would have had 'Yes It Is' and 'This Boy' in stereo. But no, those two tracks are in mono (with the A-sides in stereo). I don't have the whole set, so i can't be more precise. There might be more mono tracks mixed in with the stereo (almost certainly LMD/PSILY and SLY/IGY, unless they decided to go with the duophonic 'mixes').

    I see that 'Thank You Girl' from the Dutch set is in mono. How great it would have been to get a dry stereo mix of that along with the stereo pressing of 'Yes It Is' !

    I believe at the moment, the only place to find the dry stereo mix of 'Thank You Girl'—besides the vaults—is the John Barrett tapes.
     
  23. edgwareman

    edgwareman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    London, UK
    That was actually the first thing I looked for on this set to see if it was the stereo version with the added echo. I then listened to the other 'B' sides like This Boy, She's a Woman, I'm Down and then Yes It Is which I thought might be duophonic. Imagine my surprise ......

    I've got the Barrett CD with the true stereo Thank You Girl, but how nice it would have been to have had a stereo digital version on Past Masters (maybe on the forthcoming remasters?). You never know, somebody out there may discover an stereo analogue vinyl version like I did with Yes It Is.

    As another forum member said, it never ends. ever!
     
  24. John Carsell

    John Carsell Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northwest Illinois
    :agree:
     
  25. edgwareman

    edgwareman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    London, UK
    Can anyone tell me how to tell the difference between a true mono Back In the USSR and a fold-down? :confused:
     
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