UK Beatles IV - Q 4 Steve

Steve,

A copy of UK Parlophone export edition Beatles IV was recently sold at eBay for quite a fortune. I have never knew this animal was ever pressed. It can still be found at eBay archive (here is the link).

I'm very much curious what master tape was used for this LP. Did they use Capitol copy or Parlophone original master tapes?

May be you can pour some light on this puzzle?

Thanks in advance.

 

Sorry, guys!

Surely it's Beatles VI, not Beatles IV. But the answer doesn't become less desirable .

 

It looks and sounds phony! I highly doubt EMI/Parlaphone ever marketed such a thing. Whoever bought this is an idiot.

 

I'm glad you have such a strong opinion on the matter.

However, these *were* made; some countries issued the US versions of the albums, and for whatever reason, Parlophone produced them. They were, as the auction states, intended "for export only."

Rarebeatles.com lists quite a few of them.

-D

 

http://www.yokono.com/collection/beatles/uk/lp/uk_lp_export.html##1

BTW, it's "Parlophone."

 

Thanks, Steve. Exactly what I think about this rare item. But we still don't know what tapes were used and how this LP sounds. I've asked both seller and buyer to provide their comments. Hopefully we'll have more info soon.

 

According to the Rarebeatles.com site, either the US masters themselves or copies thereof were used (i.e. everything's Dexterized). Don't expect something audiophile!

-D

 

I used to have a copy of this. Nice, and since then, I've been looking for another. Yes, it's specifically an export LP from UK=>US. From what I remember, they did use the same tapes Capitol used.

Why this album is going for a fortune, I have NO idea.

 

I have a copy of this. CPCS 104.

Side 1's dead wax says : YEEX 112-A15
Side 2 says : YEEX 113-A15
(also has something scratched out--it looks like ST2-2451--on side 2 only)

When I can get at my stereo I'll let yez know about "Yes It Is".



the other Wes

 

Check again, are you sure it doesn't say ST-2-2358?

 

Hey All,
I finally got to the stereo and fake stereo it is on "Yes It Is". Double checked the scratched out stuff in side 2's dead wax and it still looks like ST2-2451 to me.

the other Wes

 

OK, OK guys! I got the message! I still never heard of it, it sounded suspicious because of the Parlophone label, and I know how Martin and co. were very unhappy with what Capitol Records did to their albums.

BTW, It was late and I was trying to remember how it was spelled. I thought I typed "Parlophone" but I guess I made a slip anyway and didn't proofread the post first.

 

Why would Parlophone press LPs for a country that had its own pressing facilities?

These export LPs were made for the European market -- specifically, countries which could not press their own LPs. Purportedly, many of the Beatles VI 'export' LPs wound up in Scandinavian countries.

 

Did this come out before or after Beatles Oldies...But Goldies? If it came out before, it may have been the only way to get "Bad Boy" on a non-imported lp...


the other Wes

 

Good question. There were others, but obviously not the full complement of American titles.

I found a usenet posting that listed these as the "export" items:

Singles:
DP 562 "If I Fell"/"Ask Me Why"
DP 563 "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"/"Yesterday"
DP 564 "Michelle"/"Drive My Car"
DP 570 "Hey Jude"/"Revolution"
BCSP 1 THE BEATLES SINGLES COLLECTION--As BCS 1 but also includes "Love Me
Do" picture disc.

Long Play
CPCS 101 SOMETHING NEW--As American album.
CPCS 103 THE BEATLES' SECOND ALBUM--As American album.
CPCS 104 BEATLES VI--As American album.
CPCS 106 HEY JUDE--With Apple label instead of Parlophone label.
PCS 7067-8 THE BEATLES (aka White Album) With Parlophone label instead of
Apple label.

 

Patrick,

RareBeatles.com gives slightly different info about Beatles VI and other UK export releases (http://www.rarebeatles.com/photospg/bea6lp.htm):

"This is one of five U.S. album titles manufactured in Great Britain specifically for export to other European countries. The albums were Something New (CPCS 101), Beatles '65 (CPCS 102), The Beatles' Second Album (CPCS 103), Hey Jude (CPCS 106), and shown, Beatles VI (CPCS 104). Except for the different catalog numbers and the logo boxes, the U.S. versions were faithfully reproduced. "PCS" is a common Parlophone stereo prefix, but "C" before it stands for Capitol, who mastered the
albums. All five titles are hard to find, especially in near-mint condition. Hey Jude is the most common."

Hope to come back soon with the info from the buyer.

 

I can clear this up since I have the Parlophone export copies of both "Beatles VI" and "Something New" (I paid about $80 each for them at a record sale here in Detroit a few years ago).

Both of these are identical copies of the U.S. albums, including the miserable reverb on "Something New" and the fake stereo on "Beatles VI". I would guess that they just used a tape copy of the U.S. master when producing these Parlophone exports.

If there are any record runout groove gurus here, I can look on the records and post any runout groove information that I can see.

 

BTW: These were intended for distribution in Scandanavia. My copy of the export "Beatles VI" has a sticker on it that has some reference to EMI-Finland.

 

Steve, so does the 1979 PCS "official" UK issue. All true stereo on
all tracks. I have two copies, one is a 1979 2 EMI box original (1979 original obviously) and one pressed in 1990, with a unique Parlophone
logo on it--matte black, with PARLOPHONE in big silver type. I say its from 1990, because that's when I bought it new and the inner sleeve is dated 11/90. It sounds AMAZING too. And, NOT digital, either. Interestingly, there's script on the back cover that says "Available on tape."