Beach Boys 'Drive-In'/'Don't Back Down' mono mix screw-up?

Has anyone noticed the problem with 'Drive-In' and 'Don't Back Down' in their mono mixes?
I just picked up a wonderful mono reissue of this lp and all but those two cuts sound great. I've been listening to the stereo mix of this great lp for so many years that I'd forgotten noticing the problem from the first time I heard the lp in mono.

All the cuts sound clear and balanced in mono, with correct high end, until 'Drive-In', which sounds muffled like the master tape has been damaged or is being played on a worn tape head or it's out of alignment or something. Ditto for 'Don't Back Down' until I'm guessing 30 seconds or so before the end of the song when the high end pops back and the sound quality returns to par with the previous tracks.

These problems don't show up in the stereo mix, but every mono I've ever heard -- from first press to reissue -- has the same problem. It's really a shame as those are two classic tracks. Especially 'Don't Back Down'-- one of my all time favorite songs and with several seconds more of Brian's beautiful ending falsetto than on the stereo mix.

What could the problem be? I wonder why it was never fixed?

Dale

 

Dale,

That's very interesting....I always assumed that it was just a problem with the UK pressings. I was going to get the US pressing but now I'll wait to see if anyone reports that it has the same problem!

Where were the mono LPs you've heard the problem on pressed?

Malc

 

Hmmmm...did the problems on "Drive in" and "Back Down" exist on the "Spirit of America" LP version??

Or did they use the stereo mixes for those on that Lp, I dont remember.

 

Are you certain about that? It's always seemed to me as if there's an additional Mike Love vocal track on the stereo version ("Forget about the plot, it'll do very well," et cetera).

I've always assumed that the mono "Drive-In" and "Don't Back Down" were just heavily filtered--they don't sound at all "phasey" to me, but you're the expert, and I could easily be wrong!

--Paul Curtis

 

Hi, been away from the computer...but Steve's comments demonstrate that this has been a problem from the first mastering of the album to lp, so the flaw would presumably show up on monos everywhere. I have a first or early US mono (that lists 'Don't Back Down' as 'Don't Break Down') as well a Japanese Toshiba mono reissue vinyl issued in 1992 which advertises on the obi as having used the 'original Capitol master' -- the out-of-phase sound is on both.

 

Steve had mentioned that for a few of the later releases the Capitol people used the stereo versions of these songs but turned them into mono.

On the song Don't Back Down the actual mono version has a much longer fade out. One can tell by the abrupt ending that, even though the song is in mono in a few places, the stereo version was tricked up to play mono.

Confusing?