Why do people spend good money collecting Capitol Beatles' albums?

I agree with the opposite of this statement. Let's see, 4 pics of the boys instead of numerous posings. Overly busy writing on the US vs. the simple elegance of the UK cover. The UK cover is more colorful. And, most importantly, actual, intelligent, LINER NOTES on the UK vs. crappy hype on the US. The UK was also able to get all the song titles correct--did UA EVER sort this out?

 

I like the mucked up Capitol sound ONLY because that's what I grew up with. It certainly isn't definitive.

The Beatles Second Album in stereo. It's a weird habbit. I still listen to it.

But I agree... I woulnd't spend a lot of money on Capitol stuff. It's quirky, neat to look at, but it's not anything close to perfect.

But I'll admit; I almost spent $60 recently on a sealed White Vinyl copy of the White Album. JUST for the sake... Nothing else...

 

Good question. Going by memory, I'd say by "Yesterday" the sound tinkering was kept to a minimum; after that I doubt much of anything was done to the 45's.

ED

 

Last one first: I don't think so. I have a '70s repressing that still screws up "I'll Cry Instead." As to the rest, my point was that, as a soundtrack package, AHDN looks like one here, and a Beatles album over there. I like the difference(in a perfect world, the stereo edition is all stereo, too). As for the liner notes, who the hell cares? Liner notes are usually BS anyway, and the only decent '60s liner notes were those rambling stream-of-consciousness things Dylan slapped onto a few albums, or the well thought out kind you'd find on jazz and classical recordings(not sure about folk--they seemed too self-absorbed at times, as if their music was the only genre that mattered).

ED

 

For me it's pure nostalgia...I do not own any of the Original Lp's...Just the Beat Cee Dee's...In reality, we all know the UK versions are superior...We also know that junk foods junk and so on...Now where's that pocket AM radio with the line in jack?...

 

I was 10 when the Hunter Davies authorized Beatles biography came out & I was fascinated by the discography at the end of the book when I saw the differences between the US &UK releases. I realized how deprived I was. Almost 20 years later I picked up the import Beatles Collection box and it was liking hearing the Beatles again for the first time.

On the flipside, there are some things that the are commendable on the US side of things. I much prefer the collection that Capitol put together for "Magical Mystery Tour", including the '67 singles, to the UK EP. There's also the "Hey Jude", aka "The Beatles Again", comp. which included "Rain" which was left off "A Collection Of Oldies" in the UK. The US "Rubber Soul" is worthwhile, but why anyone would want the US "Revolver", minus three Lennon songs, is beyond me.

 

Have you ever actually READ the UK liner notes? They ARE "the well thought out kind you'd find on jazz and classical recordings". That's what's so great about them. Compare the total hype on Meet The Beatles, where the musical credits get just one tiny paragraph, to the intelligently written notes on With The Beatles. UK listeners were treated with much more respect by Parlophone than US listeners were by Capitol

 

I agree 100%. That's why I don't do it.

The Beatles are about songs and fun dammit. Records are for playing. Find the best copy you can get your hands on and play it when necessary. Don't buy stuff that just sits there. You can't take them with you.

 

I always thought liner notes on 60s LPs were a ridiculous way to attempt to sell the record. I'm glad the practice mostly ended in the early 70s. Of course, the emergence of the rock press in the late 60s pretty much took care of the need to put it on the jacket.

Among the worst was the one on the "Let It Be" LP, and MACCA thought so too!

 

Re: Re: Why do people spend good money collecting Capitol Beatles' albums?

I do see the logic, and fun of collecting something just to have it, but I gotta play them too!

 

I think Nostalgia is the only reason why anyone would collect Beatles Capitol albums. I'm grateful that now anyone can purchase The Beatles original UK catalog on cd.

Perhaps this is best debated on another thread, but it's irrelevant to me if The Beatles albums on Capitol ever hit SACD (or DVD-A or some other future high-res format).

Of course this opinion comes from someone who was born ten years after the Beatles broke up.

 

Larry, you seemed confused by Steve's post:

The way I understood this (and Steve's first post re Beatles tapes that Capitol has) is that the copy tapes that EMI UK sent over to Capitol US sound fine (just a generation removed from the actual mixed master of a given song/album/etc.) including the "special" mixes - "special" meaning mixes that were released in the US and not in the UK and sounding like we imagine meaning if we know the quality of the "standard" UK mixes through hearing them on good UK (or German) vinyl, then you have an idea what the "special" US only released mixes should sound like if they came from good "pure" tapes and were mastered properly. BUT when Capitol redubbed these tapes for their releases, they messed around with the sound in a not so nice sounding way, both on mixes common to both the UK and US and also on the "special" US only released mixes. So because of the use by US Capitol of their manipulated masters (and also copies of these masters) and their sometimes "wonky" mastering (Steve, you haven't used that one in a while ), you get the "sound" of the US Beatles vinyl.

 

Purely nostalgia. Besides the different song order, there were also different covers with different pictures.

 

If you're (ahem) stuck with a US Revolver, is it better to have mono or stereo?

I will say that somehow Capitol managed to put bass on my dad's copy, while all his stereo Beatles have none!

 

Another reason to get these US records: it's fun! I'm having a blast, especially considering I've set a limit to how much I can spend on each record.

(I too am curious about which Revolver, mono or stereo, is better to have... the answer usually makes me laugh. "The mono is a fold down of the fake stereo with less bass, more 1kHz, and reverb" or something silly like that).

 

Not always!

 

No no no no No NO NOOO!!!!!

I *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *hated* *HATED!* those reverb drenched I Feel Fine/She's a Woman mixes.

Ugh. Bleagh! Yuk.

Not that I have a strong opinion or anything....

 

(OK, wrong STeve. WHat the hey.)

Even when the mixes are the same, the US singles sound warmer but muddier and perhaps more compressed, and sometimes have a lot more distortion/less bass (Ballad of John/Yoko for example). They always sounded like they were bout 6 generations down from the U.K. singles to me.

 

The UK mono Revolver is the "definitive" one in the sense that it's what The Beatles would have thought was The Album. The mono LPs have real mono mixes on both US and UK pressings, not just fold downs.

 

Ya think they were a bit much?

 

For the 3 unique Canadian LPs:
"Beatlemania! With The Beatles" (same as UK "With The Beatles"), "Twist And Shout" (contains most of the songs from UK "Please Please Me")and "Long Tall Sally" they used UK master tapes. I read an article on the Web sometime ago where the writer interviewed one of the two main guys who pressed the Canadian 45s and LPs of the Beatles for Capitol. I believe the RCA Toronto pressing plant was doing it. The writer also got permission to look at the tapes in Capitol Canada's vaults. He mentioned in the article that the "Beatlemania! With The Beatles" master tape was in fact a direct flat copy from the UK "With The Beatles" master tape. If you don't have an original Captiol Canada, black rainbow mono copy of "Beatlemania!..." you should grab one on eBay. It is considered one of the finest early pressings of that album.

You can read an interesting article written by Paul White who was in charge of A&R for Capitol Canada in 1963, here. He explains how Capitol Canada had total automony from Capitol U.S. until 2 Canadian singles charted on Billboard in 1964. Then Alan Livingston, president of Capitol America, put the hammer down and stopped Capitol Canada from releasing their own Beatles albums and singles. The White article also confirms the existance of the Canadian "Butcher" cover as well.

BTW, "Beatlemania! With The Beatles" LP holds the distinction of being the first Beatles LP released in North America, mid-November or early December 1963, preceding Vee Jay Records' "Introducing The Beatles", January 10, 1964 and Capitol U.S.' "Meet The Beatles", January 20, 1964.

Some forum members have mentioned they prefer some of the Canadian Beatles LPs to their U.S. counterparts. The early Candian "White Album" is a good example.

 

Oh that horrible Capitol FAKE STEREO...BLEECCCHHHHH

After I bought the BEat Records Cds of the first four Lps in stereo, those are the ONLY versions I listened to until I recently got the Mirror Spock versions. I actually like both a lot, the Mirror spock is def nice sounding, the BEAT eq'd in the midrange for more "punch". on some songs I like one, on some the other.

 

The Beat First 4 double Cee Dee was pressed twice...The first pressing had a dropout in No Reply, although corrected in the second pressing...Beat screwed up A Hard Day's Night! I like the FSL Cee Dee version of AHDN the best!

 

Thanks Mike for answering my question about the Canadian Capitols. I recently picked up old rainbow pressings of "Beatlemania..." and "Twist And Shout" for $3 each. Although these used copies show some wear, they're still very listenable. I haven't had a chance to compare them with other versions and wasn't sure of how they were sourced.

 

I have the old Capitol LP's(mostly on the Apple label), and while they can be interesting listening for historical purposes, the actual best sounding recordings are the English, German, or Japanese pressings. No doubt.