Beatles in Mono. (1 Viewer)

[Jack Gilvey]

Main problems I'm having are with some of the stereos. They're not little LP sleeves like the mono are where it just slides out.

 

[Ockeghem]

Originally Posted by Jack Gilvey

Main problems I'm having are with some of the stereos. They're not little LP sleeves like the mono are where it just slides out.

Jack,

Ahh, I see. So I have this problem to look forward to when I get the stereo set....

I do wish the two sets had been packaged similarly. But I may still like the stereo set packaging. We'll see.

 

[Carlo_M]

Jack and Scott - I don't have similar problems with the stereo set (as far as getting the discs out), but I do recognize there are variances in production that could account for that.
Scott - I personally love the differences in packaging. They attempt to recreate as faithfully as possible (scaled for size) the LP experience with the mono, and include a more "deluxe" type of packaging, along with retrospective notes, in the stereo set. I think they handled this perfectly as the majority of people who will get the stereo discs will want that type of combination of new/retro packaging vs. the mono diehards who will want the LP reproduction. The great thing is that they don't really repeat anything from one to the other (both in content and packaging) so those of us who outlaid nearly $500 won't feel like we bought the same thing twice.

 

[Ockeghem]

Originally Posted by Carlo Medina

Jack and Scott - I don't have similar problems with the stereo set (as far as getting the discs out), but I do recognize there are variances in production that could account for that.
Scott - I personally love the differences in packaging. They attempt to recreate as faithfully as possible (scaled for size) the LP experience with the mono, and include a more "deluxe" type of packaging, along with retrospective notes, in the stereo set. I think they handled this perfectly as the majority of people who will get the stereo discs will want that type of combination of new/retro packaging vs. the mono diehards who will want the LP reproduction. The great thing is that they don't really repeat anything from one to the other (both in content and packaging) so those of us who outlaid nearly $500 won't feel like we bought the same thing twice.

Carlo,

Your post is very encouraging! I will reserve further judgment until I have both sets in hand.

"The great thing is that they don't really repeat anything from one to the other (both in content and packaging) so those of us who outlaid nearly $500 won't feel like we bought the same thing twice."

Excellent point.

 

[Ockeghem]

[SIZE= larger]I have long thought there might be a discernable quality to The Beatles' songs, especially the early ones, which made them tend to be appreciable on the old AM radios. (A quiddity which earned them quid for their dittities? )

Anyway, these new recordings are very, very good. I'm hearing things I've not heard before, and where their music and my hearing it is concerned, that's saying something. The rhythm guitar in "Baby It's You" and "Chains" is more crisp than ever, and the percussion is subtle and in no way overbearing. The balance seems to be just right, in other words.
[/SIZE]

 

[Jack Gilvey]

I fear the amount of times I've mentioned it is far out of proportion to how much it really bothers me, it's but a small nuisance in contrast to how cool the packaging of both sets is. And I've already admitted to being ham-fisted.

Originally Posted by Carlo Medina

Jack and Scott - I don't have similar problems with the stereo set (as far as getting the discs out), but I do recognize there are variances in production that could account for that.
Scott - I personally love the differences in packaging. They attempt to recreate as faithfully as possible (scaled for size) the LP experience with the mono, and include a more "deluxe" type of packaging, along with retrospective notes, in the stereo set. I think they handled this perfectly as the majority of people who will get the stereo discs will want that type of combination of new/retro packaging vs. the mono diehards who will want the LP reproduction. The great thing is that they don't really repeat anything from one to the other (both in content and packaging) so those of us who outlaid nearly $500 won't feel like we bought the same thing twice.

 

[Carlo_M]

Well Jack, I don't know if you'll be doing the backup rips that a lot of us seem to be doing (just to make sure these last forever, or at least our lifetime), but perhaps doing so would reduce your frustration?

 

[AnthonyC]

The 30th anniversary White Album CD is the exact same master as the '87 discs.

Still waiting on my mono set from BestBuy.com but as far as the stereo packaging, I'm not too crazy about it but the discs themselves I have no trouble getting out.

 

[Ockeghem]

Originally Posted by AnthonyC

The 30th anniversary White Album CD is the exact same master as the '87 discs.

Still waiting on my mono set from BestBuy.com but as far as the stereo packaging, I'm not too crazy about it but the discs themselves I have no trouble getting out.

Yes, thanks. I don't own the 1987 (CD) copy of the White Album. But I do own about six copies in vinyl and other formats. I acquired the 30th Anniversary album to fill in gaps in my Beatles CD collection. It was also a bit rarer to obtain at the time.

I came home tonight, and my family is listening to the soundtrack album from Yellow Submarine. (My daughter is very musical, and has so many questions about what the Beatles are doing harmonically here, melodically there, etc.). But it's a ton of fun seeing them discover the Beatles in this way.
I just got through listening to Drive My Car and Things We Said Today. A very high level of tonal ambiguity and Neopolitans in pop music ca. 1964-65? This is why I love the music of this group so much. There are layers upon layers of great music and some very teachable moments here. When we get to Ticket To Ride in our studies, we'll have one of the only examples I know of in pop music whereby three non-harmonic tones are sung on a triad built on the lowered seventh degree of the key (A major). Astonishing that it works so well, actually. You almost don't hear them as non-harmonic tones.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

I'm just ripping them to my hard drive with EAC and streaming from there. I may grab that Box of Vision, though. Looks cool.

Originally Posted by Carlo Medina /forum/thread/284896/beatles-in-mono/300#post_3606967

/forum/thread/284896/beatles-in-mono/300#post_3606967

 

[Ockeghem]

Originally Posted by Jack Gilvey

I'm just ripping them to my hard drive with EAC and streaming from there. I may grab that Box of Vision, though. Looks cool.

Jack,

That sounds like the best of both worlds -- you get to play your backups instead of the collection, and you don't have to fiddle with any difficulty taking them out of the package.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by AnthonyC

The 30th anniversary White Album CD is the exact same master as the '87 discs.

Are you sure? I know it's the exact same mix as the '87 discs, but I'm pretty sure they went back to the analog tapes for the new CD.

 

[Henry Gale]

Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt

Are you sure? I know it's the exact same mix as the '87 discs, but I'm pretty sure they went back to the analog tapes for the new CD.

Hint..the White Album did not come out in 1979.

(I know, there was some better way to put this, I'm totally bereft of "better ways". It's like some sort of handicap).

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt

Are you sure? I know it's the exact same mix as the '87 discs, but I'm pretty sure they went back to the analog tapes for the new CD.

To clear up possible confusion, there was a 30th anniversary limited edition release of the white album put out in 1998. It was numbered and limited, and in a digipak case IIRC (Never owned one, just saw it on the shelves, and it wasn't in a standard jewel case).

This is what they're talking about for the 30th anniversary white album, not the new '09 remasters.

 

[MielR]

The "white album" CDs that came out in '87 (in the jewel cases) were numbered, too (at least the first batch was). What was the difference aside from the packaging compared to the '98 set?

BTW- weren't the Mono sets supposed to be numbered, or was that just speculation?

 

[Carlo_M]

I don't believe the mono sets were supposed to be numbered. It was announced the U.S. allotment would be ten thousand (since revised upwards to meet demand), but I don't recall that the ten thousand would be individually numbered.

 

[Carlo_M]

Another Beatles question (though not related to mono only):

Does anyone else prefer the originally envisioned first side track order for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band? I personally find it flows better that way and have re-numbered the songs on iTunes and subsequently my iPod to hear it in the original order of:

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
With a Little Help From My Friends
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Fixing a Hole
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
Getting Better
She's Leaving Home

 

[Steve Tannehill]

The first press release said that the mono sets would be numbered and limited.

I like the playing order on Sgt. Pepper's as-is. That's how I have been listening to it for over 30 years.

- Steve

 

[Ockeghem]

Originally Posted by The Obsolete Man




To clear up possible confusion, there was a 30th anniversary limited edition release of the white album put out in 1998. It was numbered and limited, and in a digipak case IIRC (Never owned one, just saw it on the shelves, and it wasn't in a standard jewel case).

This is what they're talking about for the 30th anniversary white album, not the new '09 remasters.

Obsolete Man,

Yes, that's the one I own. When I obtained it, I was under the impression that it was (at the time) a relatively rare item. And the price did not come cheaply. And you're right about the casing -- or at least the one you describe above is the edition I own.

Carlo,

I do find this ordering of Pepper to be interesting. (I have some of the background information for this original song ordering on the album inserts/liner notes for a couple of Beatles CDs I recently purchased.) But I have been listening to it the other way for four decades, and at least right now, prefer it that way. The booklet/insert closed by suggesting that listeners could just burn them in this 'original' ordering if they so wished, which is what it seems you have done.

Still, it's informative to learn of the programmatic elements that did not make their way to an official release. Some day, I may have a listen to the album's songs in this order and pay special attention to the key and metrical relationships to see if there is a differing degree of unity and/or variety in that particular iteration.

 

[Ockeghem]

I read an article the other day in which the author asserted that the first usage of a capo by the Beatles was for the track If I Needed Someone (1965). (And yes, he mentioned the Japan concert.) This is what prompted me to want to investigate a bit further. He may be correct, but there are a few questions regarding keys that I have. Perhaps a guitarist or two will be able to offer some suggestions.

http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatlessongs/a/ifineededsomeone.htm

Here is the quote I found interesting:

"The basic track for "If I Needed Someone" was laid down in one take during the third session for Rubber Soul, just after work was completed on the single "Day Tripper." Two days later overdubs were added, just before work began on "In My Life." Though George later described the song as being written in D, he actually plays it in A, using a capo (almost certainly the first time any Beatle had used one)."

How do you suppose the Beatles, ca. 1964 (Beatles For Sale), achieved a G-flat major tonality for Mr. Moonlight without a capo? (The only other tune I know of by the Fabs in this key is Yellow Submarine -- which is obviously later. And the brass players probably were not very happy about having to play in this key. ) I think I will have to pull Everett off of the shelf for this one.

I don't believe that the key used for Mr. Moonlight is the same phenomenon as what we hear in the (specifically) La Scala performances in the film A Hard Day's Night. (I think it was the HTF poster Guido who brought the 'why' of this phenomenon to my attention.)

Curious.