Your Favorite MONO mix vs. Stereo

Paul McCartney - Ram

 

One more to add to my list...

Frank Zappa - Freak Out

I can't believe I forgot to add that one!

 

The first Beatles album I heard in mono was Revolver. After that, I was hooked on mono.

 

Most of the Dave Clark Five tracks

 

I REALLY want a mono Revolver! I heard a near mint Parlophone and thought it really cooked!

Unfortunately I have never found a quiet, unworn copy. I'm holding out for a 1982 UK or Japanese red wax....

 

Dylan - John Wesley Harding. One of his top 5 albums in mono. One of his bottom 5 in stereo.

 

Love's first album. So thick and crushing in mono, thin in stereo with the three guitars all on one side. "Mushroom Clouds" fades out 20 seconds too early in stereo, missing a major part of the song!

Etta James, Tell Mama

The Young Rascals, Collections.

I bought all three of those LPs at the same garage sale, and they were my first exposure to mono ruling over stereo.

Another vote for the mono Face to Face by the Kinks. I'm a broken record on this one. The stereo is missing overdubs.

I vastly prefer the mono singles of the Rolling Stones' Aftermath cuts. I would love to hear the whole LP. "Stupid Girl" on the revised "Singles" collection is phenomenal.

I must say, most Beatle stereo mixes don't sound nearly as wimpy on LP as they do on CD. The slightly limited stereo separation of much vinyl, plus the tendency to sum the bass info to the middle while cutting, make them sound decent. The stereo Rubber Soul and Sgt Pepper on LP can be more pleasant than their CD counterparts (including the Canadian CD with the vintage Rubber Soul mix.)

"Lovely Rita" has some cool vocals in stereo at the end missing from the mono.

 

Oh! And Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes." and Fats Domino's "I've Been Around." (Which is left off his greatest hits comps too often.)

 

I agree on "Revolution"...don't know about "Rain" though, if you count the fantastic stereo mix available on the UK press of the "Hey Jude" LP. That one is great. It's the one I usually turn to.

No one has mentioned "Sympathy For the Devil" yet? Killer, rockin' track in mono.

Dale

 

All of The Beatles in mono (YS, LIB, and AR excluded), with a few other exceptions...

The stereo version of Beatles for Sale, strangely enough, is pretty good. And seeing as how it was probably the quickest-made of all of The Beatles' stereo mixes, that's amazing. I still prefer the mono mix, but it deserves special mention.

"The Inner Light" always sounded better to me in stereo; the shehnai really gives me goosebumps when it's more piercing. "Hey Jude," too, is pretty muddy in mono, but the stereo mix was very well done. "Get Back" and "Don't Let Me Down" are better in stereo.

Oh, and though I won't say that "Lady Madonna" is better in stereo, it certainly sounds great.

 

Most 60s pop and soul sides...

 

There IS a mono 'Farewell',but not the fourth album.....

 

when "Revolution" 45 mono is mentioned here, is the mix the same whether UK/Apple did it or Capitol/Apple?

are we looking for certain lacquers/stampers as in the lps?

I have a 45rpm Capitol/Apple "Hey Jude/Revolution" and the "Revolution" dead wax is 45-46435-F-9....I assume this is mono, no "stereo" on the label

F-9 .....early lacquer/stamping? if not,what to look for?

Thank you

 

The single was mono.

 

I like the first two Monkee's albums in mono.

All of the Kinks, Zombies, Animals, Yardbirds and most of the British Invasion for that matter.

 

My pick also. An example of an almost "perfect" mono mix of an album, IMO.

 

I wholeheartedly second that! What a glorious mono sound compared to the wimpy out-of-balance stereo LP. The mono Gears jumps at you with tremendous power like a live performance with superb bass and slashing guitars and delicate shimmering cymbals. All this lost is in the stereo version, which is one of the biggest jokes perpetrated on the public. And, I am talking here about the first lacquer British Reaction vinyl pressings! Imagine what the stereo reissues from other countries sound like...

This is the long lost gem: something of a quality of RL Led Zeppelin II, no less.

 

It's a great dedicated mix, but should only be heard on the original UK vinyl to fully appreciate it. Avoid that horrible "remastered" CD that's out there - I still can't figure out what they could have been thinking ("Let's make it as shrill sounding as possible" perhaps?).

And my vote goes to the Bee Gees "Horizontal". Had the UK mono LP for a few years, then got the original stereo CD. It still doesn't sound right in stereo to me - a bit flat. But I usually like to have both.

I agree about the Motown stuff, too. I've got lots of the original (UK) mono LPs and they are "punchier" than the stereo stuff I've heard on greatest hits comps.

 

Are there lots of differences in this mix? Someone made a copy on CD a few years back (unfortunately, I've misplaced it) and I remember being disappointed. It sounded pretty much exactly like the stereo mix, I thought it was possibly even a fold down. Maybe I got burned! Can anyone list the differences in the two mixes?

 

How can there be a dedicated mono of Ram?
It came out in '71

 

Who knows why, but it does exist.

 

Odessey & Oracle and Rubber Soul (UK) (Dr. Ebbets, whoever you are, thank you)...

 

Dr Ebbets did an O&O?

 

It was promo only and EXTREMELY limited.--It was done because the stereo was mixed in such a way you can't do a folddown without parts cancelling out.

 

Yes.It's definatly a dedicated mono mix,but unless you're very familar with the stereo mix,you probally wouldn't notice.The book "Eight Arms To Hold You" details the differences,track-by-track.