DCC Archive The Beatles

I'm sure someone here can help me out, or maybe point me to a website dedicated to this?

So... I've been suffering for years with the (mostly) horrid sounding cd releases of the Beatles catalog. The only interesting deviation that I have is the Toshiba/EMI cd pressing of Abbey Road from Japan that was released in '83 or '84 without being properly licensed, and subsequently pulled from distribution.

My currently turntable (which is in a box in the garage) is just a cheapie radio shack model I bought when I went to college (before that I was using my dad's stereo, which had a very nice turntable, however I can't remember the brand).

But I digress...

So my question is: if I want to hear the Beatles at the best, what do I need to do? I would prefer the cd format, but if that's not possible, so be it.

Which of course would lead me to going out and buying the vinyl. But which vinyl? the various MoFi pressings? Since people have been complaining in other threads about the eq-ing mofi did, I'm now hesitant to go there. Not to mention the expense of buying used mofi's off ebay. Blech!

Or should I try and hunt down early original UK pressings?

Also, is there a great turntable/cartridge combi out there that's won't set me back to much, but do the vinyl justice?

thanks for any/all pointers!

jeff

[edited to correct a typo]

[ November 06, 2001: Message edited by: Holy Zoo ]

 

Hi Jeff,

First of all ... you won't hear the Beatles at their best on CD, unless you can find good CD-R rips of the best vinyl.

Generally the best-sounding Beatles issues are the original UK Parlophone LPs (black/yellow labels). There are some albums that sound better in mono ("Please Please Me" and "With the Beatles," especially), and others where you'll have to decide what you want (I have mono black/yellow Parlophones of "Hard Day's Night," "Rubber Soul," "Revolver" and "Pepper," and all sound great and offer interesting variations compared to the stereo). The only album you'd definitely want to avoid in mono, in my opinion, is "Beatles for Sale."

The MoFi's are OK in some ways, but yes as you mention they're marred by some odd EQ. They do offer clarity and quiet vinyl, and the ones I have ("Hard Day's," "For Sale," "White Album," "Abbey Road") each have their own special charm, even if they're not the very best. They are pricey though ... but then again so are the original UKs (getting an original UK in primo condition can set you back roughly as much as a good MoFi, if not more).

If you're not willing to spend that much money to rack 'em all up, a decent alternative is the '70s black/silver label UK Parlophone pressings. They're not as impressive as the originals (which were tube-mastered and offer much more "breath of life"), but they're not bad at all (still WAY better than the CDs), are easier to find in excellent condition, and can be found for well under $20 each if you look around. There's also a "blue box" set that collected all the UK Beatle albums in these pressings, which I found, near mint, on eBay for under $200. I'm very pleased with 'em, especially for the price.

As for turntable/cartridge combos ... try to go belt-drive ... you can get an entry-level Music Hall MMF-2 (cartridge included) for under $300, or its big brother the MMF-5 (also with cart included) for under $500. Regas are great tables with superior arms, but they don't come with cartridges. A Rega Planar 2 or 3 can be found used, often in the $250-$500 range ... new ones will cost a little more. I bought a used Rega Planar 3 and was happy with a $150 Benz-Micro MC20E-II cartridge for a while until I upgraded to a Dynavector 10x4 ($350 list, I got one for $225 shipped). It all depends how much you want to spend ... If that's all a bit much you can spend a LOT less on an older direct-drive turntable (plenty on eBay), but these in my opinion don't sound as good.

Check out the vinyl page on www.audioasylum.com for LOTS of good discussion on entry-level turntables and carts. And best o' luck! It's worth the effort ... after hearing the Beatles on good vinyl, you won't believe what you were missing due to the woeful state of the CDs ...

[ November 06, 2001: Message edited by: Jeff Partyka ]

[ November 06, 2001: Message edited by: Jeff Partyka ]

 

Hmmmm, I just found out a friend has all of the original Parlaphone Beatle LPs in stereo, and they're in MINT condition. As soon as we finish a demo project he is going to allow me to remaster them to CD-R! WoooHooo!

 

What about the US pressings? What are the best sounding north american LPs? I know there's the rainbow label, the red, the purple etc.. Some mono, some stereo. Any opinion?

 

The U.S. LPs are almost uniformly bad. The first Beatles LPs I ever had were '70s orange- and purple-label Capitol issues, and most of those are pretty poor. I've since heard many U.S. originals and the story is the same.

One problem is that many of the cuts on the "stereo" albums are actually rechanneled "fake" stereo, which is very rarely the case on U.K. issues. Also, Capitol added a lot of reverb to many of the early tracks, and albums like "The Beatles' Second Album" sound rather, well, mushy as a result. (The worst case was the single "I Feel Fine" and "She's a Woman," reverb'd for all the world to sound like they were recorded in a huge tin can. They appear that way on the "Beatles '65" LP too.)

They stopped doing that after a while, but most of the U.S. pressings are still inferior to the U.K.'s. My first mono "Sgt. Pepper" was an original U.S. rainbow-band-label issue, and it SUCKS. The sound is incredibly veiled, almost to a muffled effect. When I got an original U.K. mono the difference was striking.

Some U.S. albums are better than others. I was surprised recently to discover that my purple-label stereo "Meet the Beatles!" isn't too bad (apart from the fake-stereo cuts).

As always, your mileage may vary ...

 

Thanks Jeff

About the sound on the Apple LPs?

 

The only U.S. Apple Beatles LPs I've heard are a "Beatles Second Album" reissue, and an original "Abbey Road."

The "Second Album" is similar to the purple-label copy I have, and to the rainbow-label original I've heard. The "Abbey Road," while not bad, is a bit "flat" and not as detailed or dynamic as the other copies I have: the MoFi, a U.K. '70s reissue, and a Japanese '70s EAS issue, which is my favorite of all of them.

 

Jeff's correct and/or meets my opinion on the SPLHCB Mono LP (rainbow) and the "Meet The Beatles" Lp, which I own in several configs, but I have a really clean purple label, circa 1981. This record doth rock.

People shouldn't really go after many of the newer US pressings, unless you find the US ones cheap, and want to experiement. For the most part, Abbey Road always sounded a tad muddy, Rubber Soul sounded like a basket of snakes, but Sgt Pepper has rarely dissapointed, with the exception of the MONO US 1967.

A real treat is a US "Meet The Beatles" orange or purple label (not the maroon one from recent) and a orange label "Help" soundtrack lp. Both sound really nice.

If you want a better sound, go for the sharp-edged UK pressings of recent. There are better pressings out there, but you'd pay a handsome ransom. Besides, the US pressings aren't very cheaper than the UK, Euro being the way that it is...

The MONO Pepper, Rubber Soul and Revolver have all come out on bootlegs with great additional material that didn't make Anthology. But, we're only talking Lps

 

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the final pressings of the old US catalogue, just before they switched to worldwide uniformity. These pressings have a "C1-" prefix and date from 1985-1986. They were pressed on decent vinyl and in small numbers. The sound is excellent. My copy of Yesterday and Today has the three alternate Revolver stereo mixes and just blows away the CD. I have about half the pressings and they are all good, although the Apple lps are somewhat lackluster compared to the older Rainbow ones. I understand that "The Early Beatles" is the hardest one to find. Check 'em out...

 

Also of note,
The Beatles - US Rarities lp (1980,Grey cover w/photo).

This lp has Misery and There's A Place in Stereo. These can be hard to find elsewhere.

 

Thanks everyone...

Seems like finding the Beatles on vinyl is quite the adventure.

Question: anyone have any opinions on this this vinyl box set printing in Japan:
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1482347100

 

Those are the EAS series, made slightly before the TOJP's, which [they] were mastered from the same source as the Cds. The EAS series is collectable, but common. That box is a mirror of the UK box counterpart. If you want to have it all for convenience, go for it. The price isn't TOO bad, although I think some of those pieces weren't as good (like "Help" and "Rubber Soul" in the EAS).

But if you find any of the Beatles on TOJPs, I strongly suggest getting the White Album and Abbey Road. They both sound fantastic on that series.

He says the box was released in '79, but the UK box was out around 82-83 from memory. I remember in High School I was "ok" friends with the librarian, and he bought the UK box with money from the school. He never let the box out, except to me. Knowing he wanted the vinyl handled with care, I was a bit dissapointed the Rarities volume (was one record then in that box) was cleaned sloppilly, ie: real big scouring with a D4 brush.

Those EAS's are a bit bright, and very noticeable. You might want to play with some EQing....and they'll sound good! My favorite EAS is Revolver. The UK box is also very good, but hard to find in good condition because the box and the jackets were very delicate, as we know the UK'ers use jackets that match the girth of what we use as merely inner sleeves.

 

I don't have much to add, but I'll point out that the yellow/black Parlophone label was revived in the early 80s. They seem to be fairly uncommon, but I have one. Of course, they're not worth as much as the originals.

 

Having spent considerable time and money compiling and listening to my Beatles collection, I have formed some very personal opinions: Even the early Beatles Cds pressed in Germany and the UK are not the best way to experience the energy of the Beatles' music. The best vinyl pressings allow more of this energy to be felt by the listener. I agree that overall the best sound is to be found on the original UK mono and stereo vinyl pressings on Parlophone and Apple, especially Help, The Beatles (White Album), Abbey Road, and also The Beatles Ballads compilation. The other great pressings are the red vinyl Japanese mono LPs, especially Please Please Me, With the Beatles, Beatles For Sale and Rubber Soul. The red vinyl Japanese stereo of Sgt. Pepper is pretty interesting too. As for MFSL, even with the treble boost and stereo, they released some good ones: With the Beatles, Hard Day's Night, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper (UHQR) and Abbey Road (a few UHOR test pressings exist and these are fantastic). Yeah, the MMT MFSL is a joke. Some of the German pressings of Magical Mystery Tour used what sounds like the original master stereo tape - sounds something like what's on the latest Yellow Submarine LP (Baby You're a Rich Man). There is also the German "Beatles in Italy" - cool compilation. Then there's the 45s!

 

Have you actually heard this UHQR test pressing of Abbey Road? It's not floating around in a digital format anywhere, by chance?

I have one of those German "Hor Zu" MMT LPs. My copy doesn't play that well. It used to be a hot item for being in true stereo.

 

Yeah, I have one of the heavy MFSL test pressings of Abbey Road. The amazing detail resolution (apparant even on the tape hiss) is the main difference from the regular pressing. I made a cassette copy once to demo tape players and the salesmen always asked me how I got such a great sounding tape! I'm not aware of a CD of this.

[ November 07, 2001: Message edited by: Randy W ]

 

Randy, sounds like you have a holy grail on your hands. Do you have the ability to make a CDR of it? I'm sure myself and several other people on this board could it make it worth your while.

 

Holy Grail, indeed! Is there some way to get a copy of the Abbey Road UHQR on cd-r? I would be willing to trade or buy a copy. While we're at it, does anyone have a cd-r of the Sgt. Pepper UHQR? I have wanted one for some time. I keep looking on ebay but never find a UHQR LP at decent prices. All I really want is a good cd-r of it anyway. Anyone that has one, please email me at [email protected]

 

Of course, none of that would be necessary if Apple would just put out friggen' discs from the (un-EQ'd) two-track mixdowns on a tube desk! C'mon Neil, you've got the pull, just do it!

 

I do have a UHQR of Sgt Pepper (and Tea and DSOTM) as well - yeah, I have been an audiophile/music collector for awhile. I do not have a music CD burner, though it's a good idea! I'll let you guys know when I do. I forgot to mention the Japanese Pro-Use (1/2 speed) pressing of Abbey Road in my first post which is excellent and in some ways better than the MFSL version. The white vinyl UK copy of the white album is also excellent! The only Beatles CD I have that I like the sound of is the white album - still a long way to go....

 

Another great lp pressing of the Beatles catalog appears on some japanese pressings. These were a numbered series back in the 70's/80/s which can be identified by having a british flag printed on the obi and a number (I beleive it was 1 to 20 something)and the record catalog numbers starting with "EAS". They released all the Beatles albums and the sound is very good. Unfortunately, these too are expensive and will run you the same as the MOFI versions.

Be careful though as there are other japanese pressing that don't sound very good that were made after these and I think use a digital remaster and should be avoided. They have a different obi design and don't start with EAS. Good luck.

 

A UHQR OF ABBEY ROAD! Please tell us how you came to receive this collector's gem! (This may be a better story than a Penthouse forum story).

 

Not much to tell, Sam, but I suppose it is interesting. A local import CD/audiophile store bought a collection from a guy who was an early follower of MFSL. Seems he knew somebody associated with MFSL and purchased the heavy test pressing of Abbey Road from him, reportedly one of 15 of what were UHQR samples. The LP has a thicker edge like the UHQRs but is not as heavy, although it is heavier than a regular MFSL Abbey Road LP. It has a white label with JVC, Sample LP and Not For Sale in red letters.

Other LPs in this collection that I purchased included a DSOTM UHQR, a MFSL test pressing of Rikki Lee Jones S/T (not as heavy as the Abbey Road), several other regular MFSL titles I've forgotten, and all the Steely Dan albums on Japanese vinyl. I left behind a ratty looking MFSL copy of Jazz for $80 and haven't found one since! That was a big purchase, but it doesn't compare to the time I wandered into a record store and bought some poor guy's incredible collection of mint original UK LP pressings that his ex brought in after a divorce! Included in that purchase were all the Beatles LPs in stereo, all the Who LPs including a perfect copy of the Who's My Generation on Brunswick, Rod Stewart's Every Picture on black label Mercury, all the Jethro Tulls on Island (including a pink label This Was and Stand Up), all the Mooody Blues on Deram, all the early Elton Johns on DJM, and numerous others from McCartney, Lennon, Van Morrison, Fairport Convention (great pink label Islands), Pink Floyd, Yes, and the Rolling Stones. That day I also bought my white label promo of Astral Weeks. The sound on those original UK pressings was so good that I became an instant believer. I used to really hunt down rare vinyl - I think the thrill of finding some of these items was as much fun as anything else!

[ November 07, 2001: Message edited by: Randy W ]