Rolling Stones in MONO?

John Bliss is correct. However, (for once) the London mono TSMR's mastering is a lot punchier (to my ears at least; the Decca seems to be too quiet). Same goes for the US mono London BTB. But that's nothing that a bit of tweaking on your stereo's eq couldn't solve, and as such, as I concur that TSMR and BTB in their US mono mixes besides being dedicated mixes, are also better mastered, I'll keep the London TSMR and in the case of BTB, the Decca version (that record's meant to be heard in its UK tracklisting/order).

 

However there's ONE record I couldn't get my hands on and that's Through The Past Darkly (forget LIB, I don't have paypal nor use credit cards on the net so ebay is a no-go, and the bootleg with the supposed mono LIB is terrible) believe it or not (and that's a record I have the chance of getting my hands on without going through all that internet claptrap) so can anybody tell me, since it was mentioned that She's A Rainbow and 2000 Light Years From Home are the dedicated mono mixes, if Street Fighting Man is the single mono mix on the record or not?

 

Aftermath, Buttons, and Satanic Majesties are very much worth locating in their dedicated mono mixes.

 

Amazed ABCKO haven't jumped on this new revenue stream!
I have from debut to ATSMR in mono UK LPs, loving BTB the most.

 

Old post but wrong info about Satanic Majesties. Two different UK mono versions of this LP exist. Original 1st pressings with '-1P/-P1' matrices contain the true/dedicated mono mix ( turquoise Decca label ). Later copies with matrices ending in '2K' are 'fold-downs' of the stereo mix.

 

You're absolutely right - obviously I didn't know that when I posted but it was great news to find out that a dedicated UK mono does in fact exist!

 

Some thoughts on some Rolling Stones mono LPs:

US Aftermath mono: I had one a few years ago and got rid of it. Didn’t sound very good to me, kind of folded down sound I thought. Weak by comparison to the UK.

UK Aftermath mono: it’s my go to version for most of the tracks on the lp. Wonderful. Still, I tend to like acoustic tracks like Lady Jane in stereo. But rockers rock better in mono to me ears.

UK Between The Buttons mono: so, so good. For me, a superlative listen from start to finish.

UK Their Satanic Majesties Request mono: a true mono mix does exist. It’s ARL-8126-1P, ARL-8126-P1. Only that matrix though. I prefer it to a very slight degree over the US mono, but really you can’t go wrong with either, provided you have the UK true mono and not the many folded-down presses that went out.

http://www.stonesondecca.com/4A10_Satanic.html

"Vinyl versions

Grooved label

Both Mono and Stereo LP's can be found with grooved and non grooved labels. This indicates that mono LP's were pressed up to the end on the 60's. Satanic was the last Stones LP on Decca to have the grooved label

True Mono and fold down from Stereo to Mono, two different mixes existing

The mono LP of Satanic is existing in two different versions. The original master tape was mixed two times, the first one was used for mono records only and the second one was used both for mono and stereo records. The two mixes used for pressing mono records can be identified by the matrix number

The first mix that was used on mono records has the following matrix number:
ARL-8126-1P on side one and ARL-8127-P1 on side two

The second mix that was used on later mono records and on all stereo records has:
Mono: ARL-8126-T2-2K for side one and ARL-8127-T2-2K for side two
Stereo: ZAL-8126-T2-5K for side one and ZAL-8127-T2-5K for side two

The last two digits may change from one record to another, the letter is identifying the person who cut the original Master Laquer, also called acetate. The last number before the letter indicates how many times Mr K has recut a new Master Laquer. The key indicator on Satanic is the T2. Decca used to identify a new mix by adding the code T2 and Satanic is the only LP that has been cut and pressed from two different mixes and where it is possible to confirm this through the matrix numbers. This way of working was common on 7” single records, they had T1 indicated that it was Take 1 of the title. If the producer rejected the take he would remix the track and then it become Take 2.

A LP that do not have the T2 in the full matrix numbers is a true mono mix.

If the LP has the T2 code, then it is basically a stereo mix that has been folded down to one channel for mono sound. You can actually hear the difference in between a “non T2” true mono pressing and a T2 stereo fold down to mono pressing. Take the song “The Lantern” for example, there is a bell tolling in the beginning of the song:

A true mono record has the bell tolling three times before the music starts (matrix ARL-8127-??)
A fold down from stereo to mono AND a real stereo LP has the bell tolling two times before the music starts. (matrix ARL or ZAL-8127-T2-xx)"


UK Beggars Banquet mono: despite all the tracks after Sympathy for the Devil being fold-downs, this album folded down nicely and I think that tonally it’s better than the stereo counterpart. Don’t know why that would be, but I find myself enjoying many of the tracks more on the mono than on the stereo.

UK Let It Bleed mono: some of the tracks sound pretty good folded down, if that's what they are. I like Midnight Rambler better this way. But this is not an essential record in mono, more an interesting artifact.

 

I prefer the UK mono Beggar's Banquet and Let It Bleed. Might be fold-downs but they sound great. I think that the fact that the debate went on so long questioning if these were dedicated mixes or fold-downs attest to how good they sound.

 

I think that's probably true. Some of the typical problems associated with fold-downs don't show up on these, e.g. disappearing instruments, funny phasey sound problems, etc.

 

Exactly. None of those typical problems are present on those two titles. I have no idea why they're not.

 

I seem to remember reading on this forum somewhere about Roy Orbison's sessions at Monument...something about the engineer constantly checking how the stereo session/mix folded to mono so they could do one mix for both stereo or something like that. I'm not expert on these things so apologies if I've gotten it wrong, but if that was the case for those Orbison classics recorded between 1959 and 1964, then that process surely would have been available in the late sixties. So maybe that was the case for Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed (excepting the dedicated mono mix for SFTD, of course).

I forgot to mention the UK mono Decca Through The Past Darkly -- I think it's a good one, too. Honky Tonk Woman sounds great in mono, again, fold-down or not. Not that it's essential, but You'd Better Move On is in fake stereo on the stereo press, so it's naturally better here.

I find myself going back and forth between the mono and stereo on this title -- some tracks I prefer in stereo, some in mono.

 

So were the 1st 3 U.K albums issued only in mono are there stereo versions as well or are they combined stereo / mono?

 

Only mono. Out Of Our Heads was issued in reprocessed (fake) stereo also. There are stereo mixes of some tracks on No. 2 and Out Of Our Heads released in various places.