DCC Archive For Steve - Stereo Remixes?

Here are a few old notes from Andy McKaie regarding Chess stereo...:

"As far as mono versus stereo goes, it seems that if they recorded something specifically for an album in the '60s it was recorded and mixed in stereo. If recorded for a single, it's a toss-up, and for extended periods of time, they never bothered to do anything but mono mixes. The '63 sessions you refer to were recorded and assembled for an album, but only a mono assembly was done and the multi-tracks are either unmarked in our vault or missing. The running masters from those sessions are even only in mono, whereas I have found running masters from 1959 Howlin' Wolf that are in stereo. Then again, nothing but mono exists from Wolf's Red Rooster in '61, though there's a stereo master for Shake for Me from same session. The inconsistancy drives me nuts, too, but I can only issue what we have available to me to issue. Sometimes life is like that."

AND

"Chess used to keep a two track running for sessions, even when they were doing multi-track sessions. Sometimes the two track seemed to be in mono, sometimes stereo. Before he died, Ron Malo told me that Chess really didn't care about or understand stereo, so if an engineer or a producer didn't dwell on it, what you got was a tossup. Leonard did the Muddy sessions, except for the concept albums, and according to Ron, he really wasn't interested in stereo - his notion was that he was making a single to sell..."

 

Are you sure? The single or the album? I find it a bit hard to believe that Atlantic wouldn't have issued the mono and stereo albums at the same time, by that time.

Also, as far as the Rhino reissue goes, it seems like it would have made more sense to issue the stereo version of the album, then use the mono single mixes as bonus tracks. *Not* the other way around (which is how they did it).

 

Joel, This sounds like an "urban legend." Are you suggesting that parts of the 'official' EMI SPLHCB CD were/are remixed? This seems... unlikely.

 

Joel,

"Sgt. Pepper (or Dr. Pepper)" is the original stereo mix from a copy of the master (as said before because the original at the time was MIA). George Martin said during the releases that he was extremely dissatisfied with 60's mixes of "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" (they wouldn't translate well to CD in his opinion) and remixed them from the 4-track masters (digital echo et al). He also stated that from "Revolver" onwards it would be too complicated to re-mix and capture the correct nuances of the albums and he stuck with the originals...

In regard to original mixees or new re-mixes... If it ain't broke then don't call a plumber...

Todd

 

Well, I don't know if you heard them both but the mono mixes sound superior over the stereo. THAT's why they issued the mono. Besides, there are overdubs in some of the mono mixes that are missing from the stereo mixes.

Not *everyone* prefers stereo, Luke.

 

Joel,

I hope someday soon we can hear a Steve Hoffman mastered 'Revolver' (mono and stereo). "Sgt. Ripple" is a great album but the sonics suffer a bit because of all the track bouncing they needed to do but that's part of it's charm and accomplishment.

If you want to get a taste of the "Hoffman touch" on another early 60's George Martin produced Abbey Road Studio band then check out the Razor & Tie CD of "Gerry (and the Pacemakers) Cross the Mersey". It sounds fab! I think Steve said that he didn't have the time luxury of DCC to do this project and sans tube mastering but the music has the breath of life. If this is a very slight indication of what Steve can do with the Beatles catalog then keep spreading the word "Let DCC do the job, let DCC do the job..."

Todd

 

Wasn't the mono "I Never Loved A Man" the first Aretha Franklin music ever released by Atlantic? I could've sworn it came out on a mono 45 rpm before the Lp, the stereo 45 rpm, or any other singles from the same album came out.

Maybe that's why there was a mono version first. Just wondering...

[ October 09, 2001: Message edited by: Camarillo ]

 

The Mono singles hung around for a long time (for its time) before Aretha actually could get her personal life gathered to record the rest of "....Love A Man..", the LP. In fact, after she did the ST single, Aretha had a real big fight with her man at the time, in the studio. So, they had no B side, so they had to hunt Aretha down to do "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" (using my memory here) very quickly to issue a radio single to DJs and it was, as Jerry Wexler said "A TITLEWAVE response".

That album WAS a debut for Aretha for the reasons that it was a departure from Gospel music by definition, and Columbia Records.

The Men w/4 Beards vinyl is highly reccomended.

[ October 09, 2001: Message edited by: Sckott ]

 

In 1967, particularly for soul music, it was still customary to release singles only. An LP only came about if the single was a hit, and even that depended on the record company.

Her first Atlantic single "I Never Loved A Man The Way That I Loved You"/"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" was mono and was recorded in Muscle Shoals, AL. She completed the "A" side but during the taping of the other track her husband, Ted White, and one of the White trombone players got drunk off the same bottle and got into a racial argument. The next day Ted ordered Aretha to leave with him. Jerry Wexler spent weeks tracking down Aretha to finish the other song so they could release the single. INLAM did quite well on the pop and soul charts. Then they released "Respect"/"Dr Feelgood" and the rest is history.

BTW, the mono mix of "Dr. Feelgood" has a sax overdub at the end that is missing on the stereo mix.