The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees mono source for the Rhino deluxe?

Readr: Yes, you are likely right. Altho, I believe they have the backing track from "Theme From", as I'm pretty sure I've heard it.

"Clarksville", yes, I think youre right about them not having the multi. What a shame, one of their biggest hits, too.

The thing is with The Monkees project, so many different corporate entities were involved that needed tapes , like Colgems, Screen Gems Productions, RCA Records, etc that tapes were likely sent all over the place. It a miracle that they have found the amount of tapes they have. Thanks to Ron Furmanek, they have all the multis for "I'm A Believer". I'm really looking to the true stereo remix of that with the instruments spread out like on the alternate take.

Luckily, "Clarksville" sounds pretty good with the remastering that its has received. I think Boyce and Hart were really careful when they mixed that, as it going to be "the big one" and so they spent enough time on it to make sure it sounded good. And the stereo mix is pretty good, MUCH better than the released stereo mix of "I'm a Believer".

Hopefully, there will be a single CD re-release of "The Monkees" where everyting that can be remixed is, and the rest remastered in high def audio for SACD or Blu-Ray.

 

I listened to the mono version of "MOTM" from the deluxe edition, and I couldn't hear any difference at all: "Auntie Grizelda" sounded like the same take/version used on the stereo disc... Some have said that some of Peter's "noises" from the middle of the song were/are missing-they were all there on my CD.

I'll give it another spin some other time, but as I said, I couldn't tell any difference, other than it being mono of course. Anything that sticks out that I should listen for?

 

He says "Ah ah" after all the gibberish, and that is mixed out of the substitute mono mix (it should be around 1:40 in the clip I am linking). The alternate mix also has a longer fade with slightly more "Grizel Da, Grizelda, Grizzle Grizzle" or whatever at the end, but not quite as much extra as the stereo remix on the Listen To The Band box set released in 1991.

 

I notice the subtle difference(s) now: Thanks for clearing that up.

 

A pretty brilliant job done too.

Nowadays they'd just take a digital photograph of a faded LP jacket and muck with it in Photoshop or similar until it looks darker and softer than the original.

 

Bees Around the World … Monkees Birds Recordings in Mono/Stereo

 

Too bad the mono mix on the box is a lousy needledrop.

(And before the white knights arrive...yes, I have heard (and own) a far better one.)

 

I really hope to get a hold of the whole album in true mono. The mono mixes on the Mexican e.p. are crazy good sounding!

 

I wonder if any of the other B & B's mono master copies still exist that were sent out to other countries to use.
The ones with the dedicated mono mixes, Like the ones used for the Australian pressings.

I guess it would be hard to obtain surviving tapes from any other countries? Still would be cool to know that somewhere they still exist.

 

Yes I'd like to know what happened to the mono masters that they sent to Mexico and Australia. I wonder if they'd still be in the RCA vaults in those countries? I'm guessing that Andrew tried to contact them but who knows?

 

They didn't send tapes...they sent lacquers. That's why these countries got the true mono mix. Countries capable of cutting their own discs just folded the stereo.

 

Very interesting, and makes sense.

 

Yes, Very interesting.
I'm not very tech savy when it comes down to the manufactering of Vinyl LP's, But i'm guessing that if that was the case..Then those lacquer masters are long trashed?

Would they still be of any use today if they were found in good shape?

 

Here’s an interesting mix. Sounds like it was created with the stereo master using Out Of Phase technology. Most of the vocals are panned left.

 

Sure, but it really wouldn't make much of a difference since vinyl would have to be used for mastering a digital version anyway.

Reportedly, Rhino used a clean US LP for the box, though they didn't do a particularly good job of transferring it. It's grainy and wooly sounding...the original LP doesn't sound like that. There is a transfer floating around that sounds about as good as the tape-sourced tracks. But on the box, you can clearly hear the difference.

 

There is a guy out there somewhere who loves to do this. He always takes the stereo mix and pans the vocals left for some reason. It's an abomination.

 

I’m glad I acquired the mp3s since the process already degrades the sound. It makes for interesting listening.

 

One could potentially do this themselves by extracting the center with a channel extractor and panning it left. Very easy to do. To make it sound like this guy's work, encode it to MP3 a couple of times afterwards.

 

Here is a brief reveiw of the Record store day release from Friday music of the Monkees Mono boxed vinyl set. Any truth to this? The mono master tapes to Pisces, Aquarius & The Birds & Bees have been located?

I have the mono cd of Pisces, & Don't notice much differance between the original vinyl & Cd, So maby they already used that as the cd source. But i thought the B&B's tape was still missing?


Both Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. & The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees are two of the rarest mono albums from the band, as stereo was the format of choice by 1968 and mono albums were soon discontinued. We have now gone back to the Colgems mono tapes and have put these back in circulation on vinyl for the first time in 46 years!

The Monkees In Mono [Limited Edition Box Set]

 

You're reading too much into it. It's typical Friday Music double-talk. I'm willing to bet that they have never even seen a Monkees mono master let alone used one.

 

It's not that i'm buying into the article, But never hearing any of the Friday vinyl reissues ..I really didn't know.
So it sounds like Friday music can be full of themselves from time to time?

It's been a few years between the Rhino box & that Friday mono set, So you never know if those tapes were to turn up.
If they still exist.

Wether true or Hype The article was a fun read.

 

It’s not a perfect set, but it’s a nice set for anyone who would like a complete set of mono records. They use the same mastering as the Rhino deluxe CD’s adjusted to Friday Music’s liking. I compared my Australian Mono pressing of The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees to the Friday Music Mono pressing and noticed that the songs that are sourced from vinyl play back a little bit faster and have a faint tape like hiss in the background compared to my Australian copy which is dead quiet. The songs that are sourced from a master tape are very good and play at the right speed. I didn’t think the Friday Music copy was that bad until I did a side by side comparison. It did sound better when I slowed down the vinyl sourced tracks to match the Australian pressing.