Steve, can you tell us which is the preferred mix for each Beatles album?

+1

The only part of the stereo mix that is better than the mono mix is the final chord of A Day In The Life.

And Revolver in mono...that one packs a real punch, especially as soon as the bass kicks in on Taxman.

 

I've only heard a few of the tracks from A Hard Day's Night in stereo. And for both mixes I've only heard digital versions. I have to say though that I prefer the mono, which has a good punchy sound. The stereo sounds spread too thin to me. I hope to compare the two with better versions in the futre though.

 

Please Please Me - stereo A2/B2 German
With the Beatles - stereo wide Canadian
A Hard Day's Night - stereo
Beatles For Sale - stereo (what other version is there?)
Help! - stereo
Rubber Soul - mono
Revolver - stereo Holland 1A prefix
Sgt. Pepper - stereo (especially A Day In The Life)
Magical Mystery Tour - all true stereo German
White Album - both (a tie, can't decide)

 

I prefer the ORIGINAL mix..no Remix (Well,MAYBE a 5.1 mix...but,that's all!) Michael Boyce

 

All mono here.

 

Not anytime soon.

 

Please Please Me - Stereo/Mono
With the Beatles - Stereo/Mono
A Hard Day's Night -Stereo/Mono
Beatles For Sale - Stereo/Mono
Help! - Stereo/Mono
Rubber Soul - Mono/Stereo
Revolver - Mono/Stereo
Sgt. Pepper - Mono/Stereo
Magical Mystery Tour EP - Mono/Stereo
White Album - Mono/Stereo

 

I do--thanks!

 

Please Please me - Stereo (Die Beatles)
With the Beatles - Both
AHDN - Mono, but love the more acoustic ballads in Stereo
For Sale - Loved this album for years in Mono, love it all over again now I have the stereo
Help! - Both
Rubber Soul - Mono
Revolver - Mono
Sgt Pepper - Loved the stereo version for 25 years, picked up the Mono in the last year and it's fantastic... Bit of both
White - Same story as Pepper really, fantastic to hear a different mix of a favourite album but stereo for me...

 

Quote: [Steve..."Collectors should concentrate on getting the cleanest first press Parlophone LP's, EP's and Singles that they can afford. They are really the only versions that will stand the test of time and never go down in value, only up".]

I agree 100% Steve. It took some time, and money, but I now have a complete Ex+/NM collection of the 1st pressings - Lps, EPs, and 45s - and there really is no other way to listen to the Beatles, IMHO. Just pure listening enjoyment, in mono or stereo.

 

I prefer All You Need Is Love in mono. It's punchier to me. I dislike the opening in stereo.

 

How do you find the Oldies album in stereo? I guess the original Y & B and One-Box pressing use the same lacquers. I agree with you about the mono.

 

Steve,

If you had to compare both mixes of A Hard Day's Night, what in your opinion are the strong and weak points of both?

 

What do you think of the mix on Love?

 

My memory may be off, but I found at least most of it to be an iffy sounding compressed dub. Yes, the black and yellow UK Parlophone stereo LP...

 

i was made hip to the differences in the beatles UK and US discographies after reading The Beatles: An Illustrated Record in the late 70's.

over time, i've been lucky enough to aquire their catalog in stereo and mono versions and, of course, was floored by many of the differences in the mixes.

personally, i enjoy disc one of the white album in mono and disc two in stereo. Revolutions 1 & 9 should only be heard in stereo since the mono's a fold-down.

later, chris

 

having just aquired an original parlophone sinigle last week, i can concur.

and it's the only way to hear the flip, baby, you're a rich man. finally, mccartney's rickenbacker bass sounds like it was meant to, like it's got a pair!

later, chris

 

I've got the mono and stereo mixes of everything. (Beatles For Sale only on CD though and The Beatles mono only on bootleg with less-than-stellar mastering (I used to have a mono vinyl but got rid of it to buy CDs ).

Anyway, here are my choices:

Please Please Me - Right now I think I prefer the mono, even though I have Die Beatles which sounds more dynamic. However, my 1982 mono vinyl has a cohesiveness and bassy sound I like.

With The Beatles- Stereo, 'cos I have the wide-stereo Canadian Beatlemania. Having said that, as Steve has said. "Money" rules in mono. ""Roll Over Beethoven' and "Little Child" are better in mono too. "Not A Second Time" and "Please Mr. Postman" really open up in stereo.

A Hard Day's Night - mono. More care taken with the mixes. "When I Get Home", "You Can't Do That' and "If I Fell" really suffer from their stereo mixes. "I Should Have Known Better" does sound somewhat cool in stereo, despite the halting harmonica.

Beatles For Sale - sounds great in stereo. I still would like to hear a vinyl pre-digital mono. The mono album tracks on the EP don't sound too bad.

Help - mono. I like the dryer "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" and again as Steve mentioned the side 2 songs, not to mention "Ticket to Ride". "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" is probably better in stereo though.

Rubber Soul - mono all the way. Great bass on "If I Needed Someone". The stereo does have the better ending for "What Goes On" though.

Revolver - ditto. The stereo may be a little less compressed though.

Sgt. Pepper ditto again. Better effects and more careful mixes. My favourite difference is the extra ADT on the guitar solo in "Good Morning Good Morning" in mono.

The Beatles Both mixes are neat. The mono has a better "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" guitar solo part and "Happiness is A Warm Gun", as previously mentioned. It's neat to hear the longer guitar solo in 'Honey Pie" too. On the other hand, the mono "Revolution" songs are both fold-downs.

Magical Mystery Tour I prefer the mono, especially the more-Booker T.-and-the-Mg's-sounding mono "Flying". The phasing/flanging on the mono "Your Mother Should Know is cool as is the way Lennon's voice cuts a swath through the wash of sound in the mono "I Am The Walrus". The stereo "Blue Jay Way" does have the extra backwards vocals though.

 

I agree with Steve, why not enjoy both mono and stereo?
I have made 2CD deluxe sets for all albums from PPM to Pepper. CD1 fits both mono and stereo, while CD2 has singles, EPs and alt. takes. The later LPs are a challenge. The White album is a 6CD set, Abbey Road is 1CD, while LIB combines the Spector and the Glyn Johns Get Back on CD1 and alternates on CD2 . YS songs are dispersed among the other alums outtakes.

 

Honestly, I don't remember. I'll have to give it a listen. I have the Love CD but I never listen to it.

 

I do.

 

I was always told that the Japanese "Red Wax" Mono (EAS) and the "Blue Box" Stereo LPs are the way to go for sound...?

 

Er, that's a whole different story altogether, best revealed through a search... Briefly: for mono, try and find the rare original 19060s Y&B Parlophone pressings. For stereo, the BC-13 Collection works for convenience, but is not the end of a completist's struggle.

And as for the topic at hand: here's to hoping the real mono mixes of Yellow Submarine songs will be officially released someday!

 

Great minds sometimes think alike. I first heard "What Goes On" on the same 45. But I guess I heard the stereo mix so often since then that I tend to think of it as the more "complete" mix.