AlexdeParis said:

As you'll see I posted above, USSR is definitely an exception, as is Martha and Prudence. But if I had to choose, yeah, I'd do the White Album in stereo. Fortunately, we don't have to!

OK I've made my Decision (a little quicker than I anticipated) re: Stereo V Mono!!!!! And most of you are not going to like it!!!!

But, hear me out!

CONTEXT:
The versions of the first 4 albums I have grown up with have all been mono. So, up until yesterday I had NEVER heard the stereo mix of Beatles For Sale, for example.

STEREO:
I was blown away by the stereo mixes of those 4 albums, particularly A Hard Day's Night. Simply wow. Yes it had some of the hard panning, but a) I was expecting it, and b) it's nowhere near as extreme as say, Rubber Soul (where that extreme panning is at it's worst!).

The sound generally on the stereo remasters is fantastic. There has been gentle, but profound, touchups all over the place. There are toms that you can hear properly on Abbey Road for the first time; vocals and guitars on The White Album are clean and crisp without being trebled to death! And finally, and most importantly, they have NOT compressed them to within an inch of their lives. It's perfect, subtle compression that allows for that extra boost of power, while still maintaining an organic dynamic mix.

MONO:
For me there are two distinct things to talk about here. 1] The sound, generally (i.e. the mastering). 2] The mixes themselves (i.e. the song versions).

I'll start with the 2nd first. In a lot of cases the mono versions are more interesting. As has been pointed out already, listening to She's Leaving Home at the right speed, was fantastic, as was the flanged vox on Lucy. Even subtle things like Ringo hitting some sticks during the Piano intro of Money (not on the stereo mix), makes for an enjoyable experience.
OK, let's deal with # 1]. I'm going to say it straight: I don't think the general sound of the mono remasters is that great. In fact I would go as far as to say that the mono CD versions I already had, have better sound. For some reason a lot of the top end has been lost (particularly on the early albums). Hats, and the top edge of snares are barely keeping their heads above the mix, while some guitars don't have the edge and brightness that they should.

Having said that, mastering a mono mix is not an easy task (I used to do it for a living!!). Particularly if you have millions rabid fans baying for blood if you interfere with the integrity of the mix. To be fair, they have certainly remained true, but perhaps this fear made them a touch too conservative when mastering these mono mixes.


WHO WINS!:
Just as there are many examples of the mono mixes bringing something positive to the table, I would argue that the same is true for the stereo versions. The shear fact that there is stereo separation (however subtle or otherwise), means that there will nearly always be more definition of sound in separated tracks. Clarity was one of the main reasons that stereo caused the death of mono. To put it simply too many things get lost in the mono mixes. I know some will argue the exact opposite, but I'm suggesting that those examples are rare.

As I'm writing this, two examples stick in my head. The guitar riff at the start of Please Please Me. In the stereo mix it sits proudly in it's own space while still allowing the Harmonica to dominate. In the mono mix, it almost gets completely swallowed up.

The second stereo moment, is a recurrent one. John's double tracked vocals. For all the obvious failings of Beatles stereo mixes (i.e. hard panning), they invariably got it right when double tracking vocals. That is the one moment when hard panning, to both sides, can create a stunning effect. Even though I prefer the natural speed on the mono mix of Leaving Home, John's double tracked vocals, L & R, is a breath taking moment on the new remasters.

So all things considered, for me it's stereo. There's no right or wrong (despite what some belligerent fans would have you believe). It comes down to personal taste.

...But clearly going by the posts on this thread, I'm in the minority. But I'm cool with that, 'cause I know what I like.

DAMN IT!! I knew I shouldn't have peeked at this thread! I thought I could try and ignore this set for now, but after reading the comments, now I'm drooling!

I'm on the fence though about which version. Maybe since I have a few of the old stereo CDs and the Love album, I should try the Mono since that's what I grew up with. This is a hard decision!

money is way too tight right now..


all i got so far is white album, abbey and magical


but i've downloaded all the mono's.. I will get purchase them cause there ain't no way i can listen to a beatle mp3.. i need the true audio

has anyone picked apart Strawberry Fields Forever (stereo vs. mono)?


I kindof prefer the stereo version because the split up tracks almost enhances the overall effect. that's just me tho

DiminutiveRocker said:

I think that's a good idea. Damn me, I just ordered the Mono set from Amazon!!

TyphoonTip said:

Absolutely true.

Both sets are magnificent.

Sdldawn said:

Word.
I think in the end, I will purchase the Stereo version. It's just my preference.
Next is White Album, then Sgt.Peppers.

Here's a great review..

A Cheapskate's (Relatively) Guide To The Mono and Stereo Re-Issues, September 10, 2009


By
James N. Perlman -
Introduction: The following is pretty much a full review of both the mono and stereo reissues largely written in real time as a series of e-mails to an old friend who once owned a legendary record store here in Chicago. The story of the reissues really comes down to the technical limitations of two-track, four-track, eight-track, etc. recordings and the relative complexity of the music of the Beatles. Listening occurred on what would be considered an audiophile system with Quad 988's as the speakers.

Please Please Me: The sound on the mono is just amazing. You can hear the echo in the room as John sings Anna. The vocals just soar. Ringo was just so good, even at this early stage and so was Paul. They supported and framed the songs so perfectly. And just think, in twenty-one minutes, or so, Twist And Shout! Stereo can't hold a candle to this, if for no other reason than the left/right "stereo" found later in With The Beatles, Rubber Soul and Revolver.

With The Beatles: As with Please Please Me, the mono sounds so, so, nice. As the stereo has that annoying left/right "stereo," no contest: mono hands down.

A Hard Day's Night: Seems better and more enjoyable in stereo. I think the reason is that they now had four tracks so George Martin could do proper stereo mixes and still have a mostly fresh first generationish sound. Remember, there were only two track available for Please Please Me. However, when they got to Rubber Soul and Revolver, four tracks weren't enough, which required, in some instances, numerous dubs of the four tracks to another four track tape, merging the four tracks to one track, thereby opening up three new tracks. While this degraded the sound somewhat it also made it difficult to back-track and do the after-thought stereo mixes, which is why we have the atrocious "stereo" of Rubber Soul and Revolver. Consequently, the reason the monos of these albums rule has mostly to do with technical limitations. While the mixes on A Hard Day's Night are true stereo mixes, they carry George Martin's idiosyncratic, but really right, decision to put the vocals in the center, the rhythm section to the left and the other instruments to the right. I always have loved how Martin took care to isolate the brilliant work of Ringo and Paul so many times instead of just following the convention of placing the drums in the center. This is why one of Martin's memoirs is entitled: "All You Need Is Ears."

The Beatles For Sale: Comments, preference and reasons for preference similar to A Hard Day's Night.

Help: Well, thank God we have three different versions to compare to make life ever so easy. First, mono is the definitive mix, that's a plus. As a minus, while it sounds richer, it is also a bit muddy compared to the stereo mixes. As for the stereo mixes, the remaster of George Martin's '87 remix does show some limiting in this new incarnation. A bit a hard to dial in the right volume. Sounds fuller, but that's the limiting. Not sure I care for this version too much. As for the `65 stereo version, that comes on the same disc as the mono version, as this album is somewhat acoustic, the absence of the limiting that was done to the new stereo remix/remaster is a plus. The delicacy is there in I Need You. Overall, the "old" stereo is prettier than the "new" stereo. One can argue over whether the "new" stereo or the ""old" stereo is better, I come down on the side of the "old" stereo, I like pretty. But as you get both the mono and the "old" stereo on the single mono disc, the cheapskate in me screams if you had a pistol to your head and only had to purchase one version of Help, it would be the "mono" disc.

Rubber Soul: Mono over stereo, if for no other reason than the left/rt channel mix that plagued Please, Please Me, With The Beatles and Revlover.

Revolver: There is a section of Run For You Life where Ringo is just so muscular and explosive in the mono that is missing in stereo and this is before we get to the issue of the left/right "stereo" of the stereo mix. Plus, there is just this overall richness of sound to the mono that is missing in the stereo. That said, it is a bit cooler to hear Tomorrow Never Knows in stereo. But, overall, mono.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: The things you have heard are correct about the mono mix, the clarity and control over the notes, instruments and vocals is all there. Overall, it just sounds better, fuller and richer than the stereo, plus it is what the boys intended. Oddly, the thing that was most breathtaking was She's Leaving Home; just a full, gorgeous, sound. In stereo, it just sounds relatively wrong; thin compared to the mono. That said, because Day In The Life is such a mind-f the stereo is the definitive version of this song.

Magical Mystery Tour: While Pepper's sounded better in Mono, MMT sounds better in stereo.

The Beatles (The White Album): Both versions have their merits, you need both. If you can only go for one, it's the stereo.

Abbey Road: The defining moment of these reissues, and why it took four years, may be found on AR's I Want You (She's So Heavy). Because they couldn't take the tape hiss out without compromising the sound, they didn't. But when it came to John's final "she's so heavy" which was over saturated and clipped previously, they were able to take the clipping out, and for the first time, you can hear all of John's vocal. Second side now, Here Comes the Sun and now Because. Wonderful sound throughout. Can't wait for Ringo at the end.

Let It Be: It is what it is. I prefer the Naked in vinyl.

Mono Past Masters: Right now, listening to the The Inner Light, which I hate, but it sounds so, so, so good in mono that I may actually like it. And, look out, Paul's bass piano notes in Hey Jude are right there as is Ringo's tambourine. Can't wait for Revolution plus the mono songs from Yellow Submarine. The mono Past Masters would have been perfection if they had added a stereo Let It Be and The Ballad Of John and Yoko. After all, the "stereo" Past Masters is actually a mixture of stereo and mono.


So kids, here's where we end. Your core, oddly enough, should be the mono box set. Augment this with the stereo Hard Day's Night, The Beatles For Sale, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles, Abbey Road, Let It Be and stereo Past Masters.

Addendum: As I live in Chicago, and have access to one of the country's remaining great stereo stores, that also boast three incredibly knowledgeable owners and an original Sgt. Peppers British Stereo pressing, following posting this review I went over there to compare the original vinyl with the two new CD reissues. We listened to the reference system, Naim Audio electronic and Quad speakers. There was total agreement on what we heard. First, Pepper's mono CD had better tonal balance than Peppers stereo CD. Pepper's stereo CD had better coloration than the mono, but this was defeated by the harshness of the sound (more on harshness shortly). Thus, overall, between the two CD's we preferred the mono CD. All that said, the stereo original British vinyl pressing crushed both. It had both tonal correctness and coloration.
Now as to the harshness issue, please be mindful that I have listened to these discs on two audiophile systems. Something like harshness is likely to be more prevalent the higher up you get in the stereo food chain. Thus, someone who doesn't have an audiophile system may not experience the harshness at all, but it really is there. This may render some of the stereo CDs more listenable for these people than they were for me, at least when it comes to Peppers.

aalloca said:

I saw this review on Amazon also - it was pretty thorough and convinced me to get the mono set and supplement with some stereo CDs. Makes total sense

DiminutiveRocker said:

I took the same path my friend... although I am betting I will end up with all the stereo masters by the time I am done. LOL
[Edited 9/15/09 10:43am]

DiminutiveRocker said:

That's the most sensible decision by far.

JamesPerlman said:

"Run For Your Life" is not on Revolver.

aalloca said:

I know - me too!

Just got the White Album and Revolver remasters. All I can say is WOW. It really is like listening to them for the 1st time...I am hearing so much new stuff...esp on the White Album...which in itself is amazing since I have played this record so much over the years it's embedded into my brain. Can't get over how great the drums and bass sound. I'm So Tired just punches out of the speakers. Piggies...that bass!

I have been the biggest Beatles fan since I was a kid but these two remasters are making me fall in love with them all over again.

I am sticking with the Stereo versions for now...but seriously considering that Mono set after hearing the reviews on here. Maybe Santa will be good to me this year!

Tomorrow Never Knows does sound good in Stereo, though!

Okay,I've been enjoying the stereo box all week,but all this talk about the mono versions is driving me crazy I want the mono box set too!

SoulAlive said:

You can go back to the beginning of the thread and see that I was pro-stereo at first. One listen changed my mind completely. Mono is definitely the best way to go for the most part... especially since you can augment it with stereo here and there (not everywhere).

TyphoonTip said:[quote]OK I've made my Decision (a little quicker than I anticipated) re: Stereo V Mono!!!!! And most of you are not going to like it!!!!

Thanks for the review, the track "Don't let me down" which version sounds better to you?

LondonStyle said:[quote]

TyphoonTip said:

I'll let you know.

....Off to get some sleep.

AlexdeParis said:

Nice subtle Beatles reference there.

Sales

http://www.examiner.com/x...-Billboard



Beatlemania takes over charts for first week of remaster sales, reports Billboard
September 15, 10:37 PMBeatles ExaminerSteve Marinucci


The initial SoundScan report is out for the first week of sales of the Beatles remasters. And as expected, the Beatles are all over the charts.

The Beatles have 13 of the top 14 albums and 15 of the total top 20 in the Top Album Chart, reports Billboard. The biggest seller was "Abbey Road," which moved 89,000 copies.

The massive Beatles sales also provided the trigger for the return of the Beatles "1" album to the top 20.

The Beatles' albums that placed in the top 20 in the Top Album Chart for the week of Sept. 13 with sales figures for the remastered CDs: 1, "Abbey Road," 89,000 copies; 2, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," 74,000; 3. "The Beatles" (White Album),60,000; 4. "Rubber Soul," 58,000; 5. "Revolver", 46,000; 6. (non-Beatles); 7. "Help!", 39,000; 8. "Let It Be", 32,000; 9. "Past Masters 1 and 2," 31,000; 10. "Magical Mystery Tour," 31,000; 11. "A Hard Day's Night," 29,000; 12. "Please Please Me," 29,000; 13. "With the Beatles," 22,000; 14. "Beatles For Sale," 22,000; 15.-16. (non,-Beatles); 17. "Yellow Submarine," 14,000; 18. "1"; 19.-20. (non-Beatles).

Five Beatles albums will place in the top 10 of the Comprehensive Albums chart, "Abbey Road" is No 3, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is No. 5, The Beatles "White Album" is No. 7, "Rubber Soul" is No. 8 and "Revolver" No. 10.

Billboard also notes "The Beatles in Stereo" box set sold 26,000 copies, placing it at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, while "The Beatles in Mono" sold 12,000, putting it at No. 40.

Until this year's Beatles explosion, the Beatles' biggest recent year was 2000 -- when the surprisingly successful "1" was released.

I'm going to order the mono box as that's what I really want. But I just know in the meantime, I'm going to end up with all of the stereo discs as well.

I'd picked up Abbey Road, Let It Be, Past Masters and Yellow Submarine the night they were released.

But then yesterday, I ended up going to get the White Album and Magical Mystery Tour after reading some people say that in some cases those sound better than the mono.

Doesn't help that Borders has currently got them on sale and also a deal with ALL of their CD's. Buy one, get one half off, including sale items. (half-off is off the list price, not the sale price, but it's still even cheaper than the sale price). And also, if you buy 2, you get to buy an Abbey Road album cover tin thing for $7.99. Shit. I'm a sucker.

errant said:

I'm a total sucker. Before these remasters, the only Beatles albums I owned were Sgt Pepper's through Abbey Road (minus Yellow Submarine) and the red and blue comps. Now once my mono box arrives, I'll own everything!

sextonseven said:

I mean, since when was I such a big Beatles fan?

TOTAL sucker.

sextonseven said:

Yeah, see I got into them hardcore around 1999 or early 2000 before "1" came out. My roommate at the time had all of the CD's and I intentionally did not buy them for the last 10 years because I just knew that as soon as I did, they'd be remastered.

So after all that time NOT buying them all that resolve, look at me, I'm going to end up buying them twice anyway

Does anyone have more insight into the differences in the Help mixes? I see that George Martin remixed the stereo version for the original cd's in 1987, and that's the basis for the one used on the new remasters.

That's an interesting tidbit, seems just a bit out of tune with the spirit of all these remasters being based on the original masters.

However, I wonder if that also means it's a better stereo mix?

errant said:

I bought Sgt Pepper's and Past Masters twice this month. If you had told me five years ago that I would be owning doubles of Beatles albums, I would have laughed in your face.

sextonseven said:

I know, there's not a single girl in the band

sextonseven said:

But my drummer is the same. He has never talked about the Beatles except to say he respects them despite not being his favorite band, and he has been buying these things one after the other.