mono collections

[onosideboards]

i'm an avid beatles bootlegs collector/fan, but i don't understand the fascination with mono. i know the difference between mono and stereo technically, but why would i want to hear something in mono?

i just bought three old capitol LPs, all in mono, and i think i noticed some things musically that i hadn't noticed before. like certain parts stuck out more on the mono version. is that the kind of thing i'm supposed to look for?

[Jerry]

You always hear people say how the first several albums were meant to be heard in mono, and how they spent most of their time making the mono mixes while just doing the stereo mixes because they had to. That might be true, but the first 4 albums in stereo are definitely a must if you want to appreciate the sound. And there are selected tracks from the 'Help!' LP and on that should be heard in mono, especially the White Album.

But to me, it's all about actual musical differences in the songs. I don't really care about the sound really. Hearing the exact same thing in mono and then stereo isn't special. I dig hearing extra notes, different backing vocals, etc. There are tons and tons of instances where the songs are different. You can find books and sites out there that give all the details for the differences between mono and stereo versions.

Which Capitol mono LPs did you buy? If they were too early, you can probably hear the exact same thing on the first 4 official CDs.

[Tim]

Like that in the mono Pepper you really hear the crowd noises etc,whereas in the stereo they seem to be buried to the point of being mixed almost out.

[onosideboards]

Originally Posted By Jerry:


Which Capitol mono LPs did you buy? If they were too early, you can probably hear the exact same thing on the first 4 official CDs.<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">Ooops, I'm home now and noticed that only one is mono. Still, I got:

* mono "Meet the Beatles" with a Capitol label...i think i've determined that it's a 2nd printing US version...er something

* "Something New" with an Apple label

* "The Early Beatles" with an Apple label

I didn't even look at the records before I bought them cuz I only had 2 US Capitol albums before these and was just looking to beef up my collection. In the past I've mainly collected outtakes so I'm not really much of an expert on the US albums even.

[joelcrowservo]

Not that I want to plug my site, but if you go to the link below, then go to the Reading Room, theres an article I wrote on the whole mono/stereo debate. Cant think of the name of it..I think its "You Cant Do That". Personally, I dig the mono mixes of some stuff,some is better in stereo.

[Beatle Neil]

Personally for me the definitive version of 'I'm only sleeping' has to be the MONO - the only version I play now. Note the extra backwards guitar notes over the line
'Lying there and staring at the ceiling....'
just before the main backwards solo starts.
MONO is the way it should be - fuller sound, fuller picture. If you ask me, 'true stereo' means 'fake sound'...these modern day remixes are a waste of time half the time. Er...
I disowned the red & blue albums years ago, as I wait now to disown this LP of 'Let it be' soon as the Spector-free version comes out...I swear, I'll never play it again.
Great to finally at last erase the only stain on The Beatles recorded legacy. For those who've heard John's WNEW 28/09/74 guest spot, you'll know only too well John's embarrassment at the annoying remixes on the red & blue albums - "Revolution#1 - the fast version was a heavy record but that lp turned it into a piece of ice-cream".....yup.
The records are in my attic, the sleeves cut up and on my wall - the two 'looking down from EMI balcony' pix always look great right next to another. Best use for 'em. Similarly, this month I received the cd live 9/11/69 Rolling Stones "Liver than you'll ever be" and will now never touch "Get yer ya-ya's out" again.
I know you can get MONO CD's of The Beatles lp's now, I just I knew where....does anyone know?
If so please tell me.....
Was there ever a MONO 'Wonderwall music'?
That would be amazing if so.....
Oh yeah - Where the hell can I get J.lomax's "sour milk sea"???
been searching for years - literally..
must be hiding from me.

Er...I seem to have strayed somewhat...so easy to do with this subject, heh heh...

And from Wiltshire....

[joelcrowservo]

Well, I know that a version of Sour Milk Sea with Georges Esher vocal superimposed is on the Beatleg CD "Men and Horses Hoops and Garters", and I'm sure if you can find out about the many "Apple Singles Collection" boots, that may have "SMS"...that WAS a single wasnt it?

[heybulldog03]

Wonderwall was released in mono in the UK and is available on a bootleg CD. I have never heard it and it's quite possible that the mono version is just the stereo version mixed into mono.
I have mono versions of all the Beatles LP's UK and US...If anyone would like CDRs,tapes or minidiscs just let me know!

[onosideboards]

Originally Posted By Beatle Neil:
Personally for me the definitive version of 'I'm only sleeping' has to be the MONO - the only version I play now. Note the extra backwards guitar notes over the line
'Lying there and staring at the ceiling....'
just before the main backwards solo starts.
MONO is the way it should be - fuller sound, fuller picture. If you ask me, 'true stereo' means 'fake sound'...these modern day remixes are a waste of time half the time. Er...
I disowned the red & blue albums years ago, as I wait now to disown this LP of 'Let it be' soon as the Spector-free version comes out...I swear, I'll never play it again.
Great to finally at last erase the only stain on The Beatles recorded legacy. For those who've heard John's WNEW 28/09/74 guest spot, you'll know only too well John's embarrassment at the annoying remixes on the red & blue albums - "Revolution#1 - the fast version was a heavy record but that lp turned it into a piece of ice-cream".....yup.
The records are in my attic, the sleeves cut up and on my wall - the two 'looking down from EMI balcony' pix always look great right next to another. Best use for 'em. Similarly, this month I received the cd live 9/11/69 Rolling Stones "Liver than you'll ever be" and will now never touch "Get yer ya-ya's out" again.
I know you can get MONO CD's of The Beatles lp's now, I just I knew where....does anyone know?
If so please tell me.....
Was there ever a MONO 'Wonderwall music'?
That would be amazing if so.....
Oh yeah - Where the hell can I get J.lomax's "sour milk sea"???
been searching for years - literally..
must be hiding from me.

Er...I seem to have strayed somewhat...so easy to do with this subject, heh heh...

And from Wiltshire....<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">i think i agree with you mostly, but i don't see how stereo is fake sound. if you have more than 8 tracks for recording, you're losing so much information by only producing mono. besides, who listens to a radio with only 1 speaker? even mono sounds like crap like that, which is why stereo works. and think about all the cool effects you can do with stereo...going from channel to channel. for example, revolution #9.

i've been looking for years for jackie lomax's version of SMS as well.
as for mono versions of all the albums, there's some site with an orange-ish background that sells TONS of bootlegs and mono type stuff. anybody remember what i'm talking about? they also sell those double russian albums.

[EasternBird]

Originally Posted By Beatle Neil:
Oh yeah - Where the hell can I get J.lomax's "sour milk sea"???
been searching for years - literally..
must be hiding from me.
<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">graemlins/lightbulb.gif I've got an MP3 of this song, believe it or not! graemlins/teeth1.gif I got it from a friend who has a disc of "songs they gave away." I can make it available to download, if anyone's interested.

[Legs]

I have the song to, but I am having troubles uploading mp3's longer then 3 minutes, while I know I've got space left on my homepage.
What do you use to upload your files Easternbird?

[EasternBird]

Usually, I just use the upload program available on the web site - uploading an MP3 takes a while, but it works pretty well. I do use WS-FTP sometimes - it's faster, but it sometimes disconnects before the file is finished! graemlins/angry9.gif

[sleepybomb]

according to lewisohn's 'recording sessions', the beatles themselves attended only the mono mixing sessions, leaving the stereo mixes to martin and emerick up to the white lp. richard lush (the 2nd engineer), sez that the only real version of pepper was the mono, because not one beatle attended the stereo mixes!
i, too, like the mono ver much better, now if i can only find a mono white lp . . . that is about all i need to finish my vinyl beatle collection as i have all the others in both formats, (been doing this for awhile!)

[Jim]

Originally Posted By sleepybomb:
according to lewisohn's 'recording sessions', the beatles themselves attended only the mono mixing sessions, leaving the stereo mixes to martin and emerick up to the white lp. richard lush (the 2nd engineer), sez that the only real version of pepper was the mono, because not one beatle attended the stereo mixes!
i, too, like the mono ver much better, now if i can only find a mono white lp . . . that is about all i need to finish my vinyl beatle collection as i have all the others in both formats, (been doing this for awhile!)<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">Try E-bay if you are interested in looking for a Mono White album.

[Jim]

Has anyone ever heard the Mono version of Two Virgins? I know it exsists and there are very few of them that have survived over the years.

[Harbidge]

The mono Two Virgins was only available via mail order back when it was originally released, and therefore only a handful were ever pressed, making their value in the region of several thousand dollars.

America never issued the white album in mono. The last album they released in that format was MMT

The only way to get a mono white album is to buy the UK pressing (PMC 6067/8). These are very rare though and can cost over £300 for a complete copy in great condition.

[sleepybomb]

Originally Posted By Harbidge:

The only way to get a mono white album is to buy the UK pressing (PMC 6067/8). These are very rare though and can cost over £300 for a complete copy in great condition.<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">yeah, i have noticed they are very rare, i have found a few on ebay that were priced a lil outta my league. . . i'll just keep downing the songs in mp3 until i stumble on a deal for the real thing. . .

[Tim]

All 4 pressings of mono White are hard to find:

The 1968 original UK pressing
The 1982 UK reissued limited mono series
The 1982 Japanese 20th Anniversary limited mono
The 1986 jaopanese reisuue of 2000 for the 20th Anniversary of the Tokyo concerts.

I have heard that the copies of the tapes given to Toshiba for the 1982 issue are the sources of all the boots of the mono LPs from Help! through Yellow Submarine.

Magical Mystery Tour in mono is usually cobbled together from using the mono EP CD and the mono CD singles (or if can be gotten hold of,the US 45 mono mix of I Am The Walrus).

[ Apr 23, 2003, 08:38 AM: Message Edited By: Tim ]

[Tim]

techie stuff

The Beatles from Sept 1962 thru the With The Beatles session recorded in 2-track (very iffy stereo possible--1 channel vocal,1 channel instrumentals)

Starting with I Want To Hold Your Hand and thru the early White Album session,4-track,and in a lot of cases reduction mixes were needed (i.e. mixing the track down to one of four tracks.)note: Yellow Submarine was recorded in 1967 and early 1968.

The bulk of the White Album,Get Back,and Abbey Road were 8-track.

[Legs]

If no-one minds, while there has been talk of bootleg recordings, and ofcourse the mono mixes of the later albums and the stereo mixes of the early albums on bootlegs, this topic is mostly about the diferences between the mixes and about different album presings so I move it to, and your bird can sing.