They couldn't be. The Beatles first recorded the song then Martin added the piano. The band was panned hard left, vocals to the center and then Martin could add his new piano hard right. This is why the mono and stereo mix have different piano performances.
Maybe we will be able to better decide when the Beatles albums mixed with the hard panning left or right are remixed with modern mixes where the mix is more distributed. It is hard to argue that the earlier albums sound better in mono. The remixes may help settle the argument.
They did follow the cutting notes for the mono box set. What they didn't do was castrate the bass like the originals. The original vinyl was 70 - 10 000 hz. There is no issue with bass on the new mono vinyl or the CD box.
Mmmm. The mono mix of Help! Is just flat. Not much top end on that album. I wouldn't call it crap but it is pretty boring. I perfer the new remix done in 1987. And I don't care if it has digital reverb.
Proof the missing guitar on the mono mix of “What Goes On” is correct does not exist for the simple reason it isn’t.
Revolver is such a mixed bag in terms of which is better, mono or stereo. Some songs sound more powerful in mono (Taxman, And Your Bird Can Sing, Dr. Robert), a couple of others sound "cleaner" (SSSS, here, There and Everywhere) while others sound flat and muddy (I'm Only Sleeping, I Want To Tell You). I admire and am greatful to Geoff Emerick for the many innovations he brought about during this period in terms of The Beatles' recorded sound (especially the drums)...but lots of inconsistencies on Revolver which I'd say are more due to equipment limitations which couldn't live up to his set of visionary ears. Too bad he had walked out for The White Album..two years( of technical advancement) made quite a bit of difference in those days.
I know you're being funny laughbut-for better or worse- we actually DO have mono Pepper in stereo now thanks to Giles.
I will take a definitive stance as a huge fan, but someone who did not grow up at the time and say that the stereo mixes are completely unlistenable. The group is completely de-fanged in stereo. They actually rock HARD in mono. The natural distortion goes a long way in making them sound more "in your face". That said, I do enjoy the new 50th mixes of Sgt. Peppers and White Album, but really just as novelties.
"**Completely**" unlistenable..?? Wow, that stings. But it's all good. ANY passionate opinion (in a good way) from a younger fan is very cool, indeed.
Mmmmm....I don't know if I would go that far. The new stereo mix is nothing like the mono mix. The phasing in Lucy is weak and doesn't sound like the old mono mix. With the exception of the rhythm track being loud in reprise, phasing in Lucy, and the speed of She's Leaving Home the new mix is nothing like the mono mix. And Steve agrees with me. But at least the mono mites can no longer complain about it anymore.
Haha, maybe in hindsight. Given that the stereo versions are the only ones available streaming, I'll still listen to tracks from them occasionally when they pop up in playlists, but I always keep the mono mixes with me. I enjoyed the band before in stereo, when I heard them in mono they completely took over my world for nearly 18 months. They'll still be the only thing I'll listen to every few months.
You wanna see some hard-panning for the under-30 crowd...just ask them what they think of their dad's Beatles collection.
If the remixes sounded like the original mixes there would be no point IN A NEW stereo mix. But I see your point.
Agree with you or not, you're one of the most technically minded people around here...so this is a question I've always wondered about (and please talk to me like I'm 11, at most...try to explain without the use of numbers and hertzes). We have a recording...it has not been remixed but only remastered. How, exactly, is the stereo image "narrowed" (or "widened" for that matter) if the same mix is being used? i can only assume it's an illusionary thing achieved by increasing or decreasing highs and lows (and inbetweens) as one would (sort of) on a graphic equalizer. Am I close? I'm always hearing of the "wide-stereo" Canadian pressing of With The Beatles...how is this done?
I love the mono mixes up to Pepper. After that the mono mixes fail to move me. They are good but they are not the cat's whiskers.....O.k., maybe the cat's tail.
For the Beatles, Kinks and most of the Stones records, (Let It Bleed I can go either way on) it's pretty much mono or bust for me. A few other 60's artists I actually prefer the stereo mixes for (Dylan, Velvets)
He should be remixing in a way that doesn't lose definition; this is my biggest overall complaint about all three of his Beatle-album remixes. Best example as I've said before, is Everybody's Got Something To Hide from The White Album. On the original mix, the bass has a plunkity grind which gives the song a very cool, driving texture. On the remix, he beefs the bass up but makes it more of a constant bottom-heaviness while losing tone.
I always find it interesting how people (Martin Sr., included) always pick on Rubber Soul for hard panning...but isn't much of With The Beatles guilty of the same thing?
If someone only familiar with Beatles songs in stereo was wondering where to start with mono, I would suggest Rubber Soul. George Martin and Norman Smith did a great job recording and producing that one.
That's true. And hard panning in stereo continued with other recordings later if memory services. And yet, I have stereo poprock mixes on some records as far back as 1960 that are nicely balanced. Hard panning might not have been the sin modern audiophiles think it is back in the day when people listened through console stereos and little sets with the speakers set fairly close together. Also, if you run speakers that have wide dispersion, even if they're some distance apart, it doesn't always sound that bad, especially if there is some bleed between the channels on the original recording. Sometimes you just have to take it like it is. Maybe it's not so hard for the elderly set who grew up hearing these mixes. It's the way they always sounded. Now where's my cane.
