In your opinion what are the definitive German Beatles pressings, with the exception of Die Beatles and Magical Mystery Tour? I currently own Something New, Beatles Greatest (blue Odeon label) and 1962-1966 (DMM pressing). I'm not crazy about Something New. I strongly dislike the DMM pressing of 62-66. I find it too bottom heavy for my taste. I think Rubber Soul and Revolver have gotten high marks on this forum, but if I remember the others are hit and miss? I would appreciate your opinions on this matter. Thanks, Tom
Beatles, The white album is the Bomb : Apple Records SMO 2051/2 - the vinyl sounds quiet even after 40 years... The Hör Zu Version of Sgt. Peppers SHZE 401 is among the world's best sounding pressings imho. Let It Be 1C 062-04 433 Y on Apple Records sounds good, too. These are all the first german pressings i listened to so far I also listened to the 1977 german repressings of Help (Hi, Hi, Hilfe) and The Beatles '65 . Both are sounding as good as a Beatles LP should. I stay away from DMM remasters, too. With german pressings you are most of the time on the safe side of quality. Hope this helps.
I have a German Apple 'Revolver' 1st Pressing that sounds incredible! Look for typeset -04097-A1 and -04097-B1 in the deadwax areas.My UK Silver/Black Parlophone LP is an early pressing with YEX 605-2 and YEX 606-2 in the dead but I remember the German sounding obviously better.
I have several on the Apple label that sound very good (Pepper, Help!, MMT, White Album, Let It Be) and also had mixed results with earlier Green Odeon pressings. The DMM White vinyl White Album sounds pretty good, better than the standard black vinyl copy I have. In my experience the Blue Odeons really sucked- I'd stay away from those.
The German Help! is also definitive. The blue label Odeon Beatles For Sale is extremely bass-shy. Evan
Pick up a copy of The Beatles' Beat simply because it is a unique German album. When it was new and for many years thereafter it was the best/only(?) way to get certain singles (From Me To You for one) on LP. It's blue label Odeon. I remember being impressed with the vinyl and the sound in the mid-'70s when I first got my copy. There are undoubtedly better sources for its contents now. But you get a nifty cover as well! Front and back! Oh, and everyone is right about Revolver and Sgt. Peppers.
I finally got a nice C 072 catalog # German Apple of Revolver. Matrices are 040097-A2 / B2. I liked it better than the A1/B1 myself. German Revolver's are a different slab of wax compared to the UK -1 Y/B Parlophone, so a direct comparison is dodgy at best. The -2 UK pressing you mention is a solid state cut, not as warm and cozy as the tube cuts. My experience too. However - the blue label HorZu and EMI Odeon Sgt. Peppers sound great. Important to distinguish that particular title!
So that would be the one with the Matrix numbers : 04177-A-1 / B-2 on Odeon / Hör Zu i guess ? At least that's the one i was referring to, also .
By the way i came across a very useful web-site regarding The Beatles german pressings : http://www.beatlesweb.de/german/lp/help.htm
The German Help is not as good as people say. It was mastered at a WAY TOO LOW volume and the vinyl noise can overpower the music. I bought one and then returned it for this reason. I say stick with a UK for Help.
Theres seems to be 'some' consensus on the German catalog numbering, indicating the period when new lacquers were cut. The later C 072 series Revolver - as opposed to C 062 - seems to be preferred but of course the matrix rules. I believe by the 072 era they were using new Neumann lathes. The 072 Revolver I have has a nice deep low end yet still smooth throughout. My stereo UK -1 has better tone, sound, and balance overall.
Is there a stereo mix of "Thank You Girl" on that album that does not have the echo of the American Capitol version?
Hi . That link takes me directly to listings of the various German "Help!" pressings, but I tried several variations of it but could never find a way to get to a main page from which I could check out other German LPs. Could you please give us the URL for the "home" page? Thanks and Happy New Year!
Here's the link to the LP's, http://www.beatlesweb.de/navi_e.htm then go to "vinyl" at the top left of the page, then you gotta go all the way down to the bottom of the page and click on "Beatles Diskografie über Vinyl-LP's"
There are pretty significant differences between different German pressings of some Beatles albums. I've gotten different pressings of Revolver and Rubber Soul that sound significantly different. The Apple pressings sound very good, but if you can't find those the Odeons that start 072 should sound the same. My Rubber Soul is a green label 072 that sounds VERY nice. The Apple Pepper is great, and is perhaps my favorite on hand. But the Revolver is a singular experience -- I don't honestly know that many would consider it "correct" but it has unreal bass extension and an extremely clean sound. Even if you prefer a UK copy, you have to admit that the German Apple Revolver is a unique listening experience.
Unfortunately I'm not set up to verify your suspicions. My turntable is boxed up in a closet. Could someone else please check Thank You Girl on The Beatles' Beat for non-Dexterized stereo?
I know you said, "with the exception of Die Beatles", but you may be able to find this Die Beatles clone cheaper. Apple EMI Electrola German Please Please Me (see the logo in the top left corner). Same matrix as Die Beatles, side one SHZE-117-A-2 side two SHZE-117-B-2 Same great sound as the Die Beatles -2 (you don't want a -1 matrix)
I have THE BEATLES' BEAT on blue Odeon too. 'I'll get you', 'She loves you' AND 'You can't do that' are all from tape copies of the Duophonic, Dexterised mono masters, just as you hear them on the stereo version of THE BEATLES' SECOND ALBUM. Likewise the true stereo 'Thank you girl'.
Anyone else share this opinion? The reason I ask is there is a NM copy of this at my local store I've had my eye on for the past few weeks. IIRC it's priced at about US$40... Dale
Does it have the original striped inner sleeve? http://yokono.co.uk/collection/beatles/germany/lp/ger_lp2.html