Beatles' White Album US pressings?

Hi
I was wondering if I should get one. I read somewhere that the original UK mix was filtered and compressed by Capitol and George Harrison had them do it all over again.
Did Capitol eventually release the UK mixes or did they apply some sort of treatment to them? And if so, how does the result sound?
Thanks.

 

I think that the pressings that George rejected were the US ones, which he vetoed on the eve of the release. The story was that the versions that George nixed were stopped, but recent reports are that some got out.

 

No.

 

Based on .... ?

 

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=1736850&postcount=12

 

Based on my own listening experiences. Every US pressing of the White Album I've ever heard sounded absolutely horrid. I have a couple original Apple copies, a mid-70's orange Capitol label, one with a Purple Capitol label. I don't have stamper numbers handy (sorry) but if there is a good sounding US White Album out there, I've not heard it. The same goes for Abbey Road for that matter.


You asked.

But...don't just take my word for it though. Feel free to try one out for yourself. Enjoy.

 

Don't take Hoffman's word for it. Trust your ears. If you like the US pressings, then enjoy!

 

Well since our threadstarter was asking if he should get it, my guess is he wants input from others, a little beyond "trust your ears".

 

I know, but for everyone to dis the US pressings just kind-of rubbed me the wrong way. They don't sound THAT bad. Then again, I'm not an audiophile so what do I know?

 

If you're not an audiophile, why would you give advice on what pressing to buy?

I'm just relaying my experience. In my experience, every US vinyl pressing of The White Album that I've heard or owned sucked the big one. Sorry if that rubs you the wrong way.

For the record, I don't think all Beatles US pressings are bad. I think my stereo pressings of Beatles VI, Yesterday and Today, The Early Beatles, and the mono MMT sound just fine. Not as good as their UK counterparts, but pretty darn good nonetheless. I even like The Second Album sound.

 

I have no problems with anyone here. Let's just get that out of the way.

I've always liked the US White Album pressings. I almost certainly like it better than the CD. Admittedly I've never heard the UK pressing, but I don't really think the US pressings sound that bad at all.

I agree about Second Album. The stereo pressing of that is awesome. I also like the mono and stereo US Rubber Soul.

 

You need to hear the UK presses....really...you will be throwing out your US presses....

 

Have you heard the 80's capitol rainbow pressing, which at least 1 respected vinyl guy from this forum has praised?

 

I thought, since George had Capitol re-cut the whole thing, they might as well have respected the UK settings in EQ and compression.
I've only ever heard French pressings, the MoFi and the CD version of the White Album. UK copies are very hard to find here, so I thought maybe I'd pick a US copy to hear it for myself.
I'm not an audiophile either, so what the hell. But if it's that bad, then I'll pass.
Or maybe not... Geez, you guys are tough customers!

 

We are pretty easy actually and that's one of the beautiful things about this Forum. Members can discuss music but also care about sound quality and the collective wisdom of the Forum can give great advice on which version of a particular album to buy. Why spend money on a bad sounding pressing when you can get a good one? My original stereo UK pressing is awesome. I'd recommend getting one of these or the mono version or both!

 

I agree with this. I'm no audiophile, so I stay out of "best pressings" topics. But I also know that the people who do have these debates care about one thing above all: what sounds best. And I've learned a heck of a lot about sound issues from hangin' around here.

 

This forum got me to buy the Blue Box and not bother with the Capitol (except what I already owned), which saved me money, actually, and I'm cheap.

I defer to the judgment of people who, in a lot of cases here, have been comparing these pressings since day one. I can't play catch up with that kind of experience. I will, however, now compare my Blue Box White Album with my purple label Capitol to see what the fuss is about.

 

Let me get this straight...
Even after George nixed the US mixes, the US pressings are still bad?
How are the the Japanese and mofi pressings?

 

How 'bout a sample file? I'd like to hear how different it sounds.

 

Various sources have claimed that George "worked on" or "remixed" the Capitol White Album tapes, which always sounded far fetched to me. Does anyone know with certainty exactly what (if anything) he did?

 

How can he remix a 2 track stereo tape?