Rolling Stones in MONO?

The UK "Buttons" is a dedicated mix. It is obvious from the first track - check out the end of "Yesterday's Papers". The "echoing" backing vocals occur every other time (instead of every time like the stereo) and then an entire extra "call and response" chorus is heard (the stereo fades before the second chorus). Also there are longer fades ("Connection") and a cool effect on Mick's voice during every chorus of "Cool Calm & Collected" (the stereo doesn't have the effect). I've no idea if the US version uses the proper mix, but the UK is worth it!

 

And also, if it is, is it the same as the UK?

 

Obviously, the U.S. Aftermath has a different running order from the U.K., adding "Paint It Black" and dropping several other songs, so it's probably not just a straight duplicate of the UK mono master tapes. I have a U.S. mono and a UK stereo Aftermath - both sound very good. I don't recall any super-obvious mix differences on the mono Aftermath that jump out at you the way the sped-up "She's Leaving Home" jumps out of the mono Sgt. Pepper, though.

 

There's no difference in the mono mix used in the UK and US versions of Aftermath, but the US label chopped off more than a minute of "Out Of Time" which was shelved for the later "Flowers". This also happened to the stereo mix.

 

Yep, I think it was more like 3 minutes or so that got chopped off. I never knew that until I found a copy of the "Rolled Gold" album a few years ago.

 

I too belive that the UK mono Let It Bleed is a fold-down.

And although not requested, the mono promo Sticky Fingers is a fold down too IMO.

 

But, as we have discussed many times, the mono "Sticky Fingers" / "Bitch" 45 absolutely features dedicated mono mixes of both songs.

 

Absolutely. And I thought they would have at least used the mono mixes of these two tracks on the mono promo LP, but nope.

 

The mono UK "Buttons" is expensive and hard to find in good shape but, for my money, blows the stereo mix right out of the water. From the moment "Yesterday's Papers" comes on, the sound is just right. The power that comes through on "My Obsession", the sound of the piano and the drums...it's just too cool.

I think Buttons and Aftermath are must haves in MONO. Under My Thumb, and nearly every one of the rockers on Aftermath is better in mono to my ears.

I switch back and forth between stereo and mono on TSMR. Except for Sympathy for the Devil (which rocks hard in mono and whoever that is on piano--Nicky Hopkins?--sounds great in mono), there's no reason to waste the big money you have to for a mono Beggars Banquet. Ditto LIB...it costs a lot, but what's different over the stereo?

Dale

 

I never really liked Buttons until I found a copy of the US London stereo lp, which really sounds quite good to me. Definitely more powerful than the hybrid SACD of this title.

I prefer my Decca stereo Aftermath to my London mono Aftermath. From memory, the mono "Under My Thumb" doesn't really have that obvious extra mono punch that you would hope it would have.

 

I think the Beggars Banquet mono CD is crap. It's compressed and weak sounding. I'll have to check out the Between the Buttons and Aftermath versions, those might be more suited to mono.

 

My two cents:
The UK TSMR is most definitely a fold-down. One listen to the US mono and it becomes obvious.

Let It Bleed is also a dedicated mono. The sound is punchy and warm, with all the instruments clearly discernible. There's no mud on it at all. It's not a markedly different mix, and I don't hear any real variances between the mixes, but it's too clean and spacious to be anything but mono.

I honestly don't know about Beggars. It, too, is not markedly different. Because there's a lot of space within the songs, particularly the more acoustic numbers, if some of the tracks are fold-downs (which I suspect) they wouldn't necessarily sound overly compacted. Phallumontis, I don't know what copy you have, but mine sounds great.

 

Beggars Banquet was never officially released on CD in mono. What you're hearing may come from an inferior source, and who knows whether any EQ/compression/etc. was applied by the bootlegger.

 

Agreed. I'm a big fan of the UK stereo.

 

It has tremendous mono punch on the UK Decca mono LP. For my money, it's fantastic.

Dale

 

I like your analysis. Makes sense to me. For me, hearing almost no difference between the mono and stereo Bleed made me think the mono was a fold-down. Your reasoning gives me grounds to challenge my "conclusion"?
Thank you.

Now, as for Beggars, the difference between MONO and STEREO is EASY to hear IMHO. The mono has real punch....it's a very driving, forceful and intense mix. I like it a lot. I guess I was expecting that from LIB in mono and it's not there, leading me to "conclude" it was fold-down.

Nice to have new ways to approach these things.

 

I'd like to know this as well (I scanned this thread, but found no definitive answer). The few Aftermath-era tracks that I've been able to compare (Mother's Little Helper, Paint It Black, Stupid Girl, What To Do) are all vastly superior in mono - to my tastes, at least.

I'm trying to hunt down a mono version of this record and - track listing aside - there's a drastic price difference between the US London mono and the UK Decca version.

If the US is a fold-down, however, it would be of no interest to me.

 

I don't think the US mono is a fold down, but whatever the case, unless you can find a mint US MONO Aftermath for about $20.00, there's no real reason to have it, IMHO. I found one about a year ago for $14.00 and got it because it was so cheap. The UK one has 4 cuts not on the US LP. Instead of those 4 cuts, the US adds "Paint It Black." No comparison.

 

This might actually suit me. I already have a mint stereo boxed UK Decca Aftermath, and a mint mono Flowers - The US version would fill the void handily (with "Paint It Black", to boot).

Also - since the US version is significantly shorter than the 50+minutes UK version, I would reckon that it's cut louder.

 

The US mono is definitely not a fold down, it sounds fantastic and I have a UK Decca mono to compare it to, which pales in comparison sonically because the sides are too long on the UK. The mono mix of Paint It Black on the US mono LP is the best mix of that song period.

 

So, I just received a VG+ US Mono Aftermath, and it is definitely a fold down of the stereo mix. Poorly mastered, as well ("Think" is easily 3 dB lower than the preceding tracks).

The search for mono continues...

 

Looks like there's a strong disagreement here on whether or not the US mono Aftermath is a fold down!

 

Here's some needledrops:
DivShare File - aftermathneedledrops.zip
zip file containing 2 mono flac files:

1. "Stupid Girl", first verse
mono US 45, followed by fold-down of stereo Decca LP, followed by mono US London LP.

2. "Flight 505", intro & first verse
needledrop of mono Decca LP (not mine), followed by fold-down of stereo Decca LP, followed by mono US London LP.

It's a bit difficult to ignore the mastering differences (and considerable pitch difference from the 45 clip), but I think you'll get the general idea from this.

 

There is a true mono UK TSMR, you have to know what you're looking for. 1P/P1 in the run out area, not the T2. Another way to tell if it's a true mono copy of that album is to listen to 'The Lantern' and count how many bells it has at the beginning.