The Beatles in mono

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The Beatles in mono
Compilation album by The Beatles

Publication
(s)

September 9, 2009

Label (s) Apple / EMI / Universal Music

Format (s)

CD - Boxset , LP -Boxset

Genre (s)

Rock , pop

Title (number)

185/11 albums

occupation

production

Remaster sound engineer:

  • Simon Gibson,
  • Paul Hicks,
  • Sean Magee,
  • Guy Massey,
  • Sam Okell,
  • Steve Rooke,
  • Allan Rouse

Studio (s)

  • Abbey Road Studios,
  • Olympic Studios ,
  • Trident Studios, London,
  • Pathé Marconi Studio, Paris,
  • EMI Studios, Mumbai, India
chronology
The Beatles Stereo Box Set
(2009)
The Beatles in mono Tomorrow Never Knows
(2012)

The Beatles in Mono is a limited box set compilation of the newly remastered mono recordings by the British music group The Beatles . The box contains the nine mono albums that were released between 1963 and 1968, as well as Magical Mystery Tour and the newly compiled Mono Masters album, which includes songs that are not on the regular mono albums. All recordings were remastered and published in this box on September 9th, 2009, using the numerical mystery “09.09.09” as the release date. At the same time, the Beatles Stereo Box Set was released , which contains the stereo recordings of the twelve British studio albums, as well as Magical Mystery Tour and Past Masters .

Emergence

The Mono Box Set was released to document that the entire Beatles discography , apart from Let It Be and Abbey Road , was originally published in mono in addition to the stereo version. For example, at Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the songs were mono-mixed together with the Beatles while the album was being recorded. In contrast, the stereo mixdown was mixed by George Martin , Geoff Emerick and Richard Lush in six days after the album was completed, while neither Beatles were present at the process.

“At that time […] the console was about this big with four faders on it. And there was one speaker right in the middle […] and that was it. When they invented stereo, I remember thinking 'Why? What do you want two speakers for? ', Because it ruined the sound from our point of view. You know, we had everything coming out of one speaker; now it had to come out of two speakers. It sounded like… very… naked . ”

“Back then […] the mixer was about this big, with four sliders on it. And there was a speaker right in the middle […] and that was it. When stereo was invented, I thought, 'Why? Why two speakers? 'Because we thought it ruined the sound. Everything came from one loudspeaker, now it had to come from two loudspeakers. It sounded ... very ... naked . "

- George Harrison : The Beatles Anthology. Bonus DVD, Back at Abbey Road section, May 1995.

A mono mix was therefore easier for the band to do themselves and corresponded to the band's image of how the respective albums should sound. The reason was that the vast majority of record buyers did not have a stereo system until the mid-1960s, so the focus was on mixing the mono tapes.

With the first legal release of the Beatles albums in CD format between February 26 and October 20, 1987, EMI decided that only the twelve British studio albums would be produced worldwide, and the American compilation album Magical Mystery Tour became the core catalog the Beatles added.

As with the first publication of the Beatles albums on CD in 1987/1988, those album versions that had been released in Great Britain were used. The US versions, some of which differed considerably, were not taken into account. The only exception is the album Magical Mystery Tour , for which the US version was used. This concept was also adopted for the box "The Beatles In Mono". In February 1987, the Beatles' first four albums were released exclusively in mono on CD ; further mono versions of Beatles songs did not appear on the boxes until The Capitol Albums Vol. 1 and 2 in 2004 and 2006.

The albums were remastered at Abbey Road Studios by Paul Hicks (sound engineer for the mono albums), Guy Massey (sound engineer), Sean Magee (mastering engineer for the mono albums) and Simon Gibson (audio restoration). The entire project was coordinated by EMI chief sound engineer Allan Rouse.

Pete Nash and Staffan Olander also worked on the revision of the compilation album Mono Masters .

The entire remastering process was operated chronologically from 2005. In addition to cleaning the analog master tapes, the volume was increased, while care was taken to maintain the original dynamics of the recordings, so unwanted noise and background noise were also minimized in only around five minutes of all studio recordings. The Pro Tools software was used to transmit the analog master tapes with a 24-bit 192 kHz resolution. After the transfer, the audio restoration of defective tapes and a final check by Allan Rouse took place.

The box contains 185 songs.

The cover design of the CDs is based on the original LP versions, while the CD cardboard covers have reproduced inner sleeves. The albums Beatles for Sale , Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , Magical Mystery Tour and The Beatles have, like the original British releases, gatefold covers. The albums, which were originally produced with inserts, also contain these in mini format, for example the so-called white album , which contains the enclosed pictures and the poster. The CDs were printed with the labels of the respective British LP first pressings, the CD Magical Mystery Tour had a label from Capitol Records .

In September 2009, the box was awarded platinum in the USA for one million units sold (each CD in the box counts individually).

Cover design

The CDs / DVDs are in a white square cardboard box on the front and back of which “The Beatles In Mono” is printed in black and the green apple of the Apple logo is printed (a cut apple is printed on the back) on the long side is also written in white "The Beatles In Mono". The CDs are located in a closed slipcase . The box contains a 44-page illustrated booklet containing extensive information from Kevin Howlett. The box was designed by Drew Lorimer.

limited edition

The limited edition was advertised by amazon.com in the USA and less than a month before it was released it was announced that the limited edition was already sold out. Less than two weeks before September 9th, the day the box sets were released, many other online retailers announced that their stocks were already sold out.

EMI announced on September 3, 2009 that more mono box sets would have to be produced due to the high demand from online pre-orderers . This version will remain limited, but not to 10,000 copies, as originally announced.

content

The collection contains 13 CDs of the newly mastered mono versions of all Beatles albums in real mono. The original versions of the Help! and Rubber Soul (both released in 1965) are included in the box as a bonus with the respective albums. Both albums were digitally remixed by George Martin in 1986 for the first release of all albums on CD. The box contains the new compilation Mono Masters , which consists of two CDs and contains all mono mixes of the singles, B-sides and tracks from EPs that have never appeared on any of the original albums (the British versions).

The albums Yellow Submarine , Abbey Road and Let It Be are not included in this compilation because no separate mono versions were mixed for them. A mono version of Yellow Submarine was released in the UK , but it was only a downmixed stereo version and not a separate mono version of its own. A mono mix of the albums Abbey Road and Let It Be was released on vinyl LP in Brazil and other countries - but only as a downmix of the respective stereo version.

A DVD with short documentations about the creation of the individual newly mastered albums was omitted from this release and only added to the stereo box .

The album The Beatles included in this monobox was originally released only in mono in the UK and some other countries. In 1968 it was only released in stereo in the USA, because the technology was catching on there faster. However, the mono mixes of the songs Helter Skelter and Don't Pass Me By were released in 1980 in the USA on the compilation Rarities on Capitol Records .

In Germany, only the Beatles' first three albums were also released in a mono version; all other albums were only released in stereo.

Mono Masters

Mono Masters (2009)

Mono Masters , a mono compilation, was included as part of The Beatles in Mono . The prerequisite for this box set was that it only contained sound material that was released as its own mono mix or mixed in this way (the set does not include the later albums that were only mixed and released in stereo). As a result, the Mono Masters track list differs from that of the Past Masters , but only on the second CD. Later songs without their own mono mix were not included. For this purpose, some songs that were released on stereo-only albums and of which unreleased mono mixes exist, have been added. The songs Only a Northern Song , All Together Now , Hey Bulldog and It's All Too Much were originally planned for their own release as a mono EP. A mono-mix of Across the Universe would also have been included on this EP, which was scheduled for release in March 1969 as the 7 ″ EP Yellow Submarine . Due to bad reviews of the Yellow Submarine album, this project was given up on a mono EP. As a result, the songs were only released in stereo and a mono downmix of the stereo mix, while the real mono mixes remained unreleased. Get Back with Don't Let Me Down as the b-side was the last single to be released in mono, it was released in mono in the UK and only in stereo in the US. The singles that were only released in stereo and for which no mono mixes were made were left out on The Beatles in mono .

The following later songs - originally only published in stereo - were added to the box on CD 2:

  • 09. Only a Northern Song (Harrison) - 3:26 (April 1967 mono mix, previously unreleased)
  • 10. All Together Now - 2:12 (mono mix from May 1967, previously unreleased)
  • 11. Hey Bulldog - 3:15 (February 1968 mono mix, previously unreleased)
  • 12. It's All Too Much (Harrison) - 6:22 (mono mix October 1968, previously unreleased)
  • 15. Across the Universe (Wildlife Version) - 3:50 (mono mix from 1969, previously unreleased)

CD 1

  1. Love Me Do - 2:25
  2. From Me to You - 1:57
  3. Thank You Girl - 2:04
  4. She Loves You - 2:21
  5. I'll Get You - 2:06
  6. I Want to Hold Your Hand - 2:26
  7. This Boy - 2:16
  8. Come on, give me your hand - 2:26
  9. She loves you - 2:19
  10. Long Tall Sally - 2:03
  11. I Call Your Name - 2:11
  12. Slow Down - 2:57
  13. Matchbox - 1:59
  14. I Feel Fine - 2:23
  15. She's a Woman - 3:04
  16. Bad Boy - 2:20
  17. Yes It Is - 2:42
  18. I'm Down - 2:38

CD 2

  1. Day Tripper - 2:52
  2. We Can Work It Out - 2:15
  3. Paperback Writer - 2:26
  4. Rain - 3:01
  5. Lady Madonna - 2:17
  6. The Inner Light - 2:36
  7. Hey Jude - 7:09 am
  8. Revolution - 3:25
  9. Only a Northern Song - 3:26
  10. All Together Now - 2:11
  11. Hey Bulldog - 3:14
  12. It's All Too Much - 6:28
  13. Get Back - 3:11
  14. Don't Let Me Down - 3:33
  15. Across the Universe - 3:50
  16. You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) - 4:24

Vinyl version

The Beatles In Mono was released on September 8, 2014. It contains the remastered mono vinyl long-playing records and is identical to the content of The Beatles in a mono CD box. The 12 ″ vinyl long-playing records weigh 180 grams each. The worldwide limited box also contains a 108-page hardcover book. The analog master tapes were remastered again for release. The record covers correspond to those of the original releases

Mixing the songs

The mix of some songs in the mono versions differed significantly from the stereo versions:

Please Please Me (different vocals by John Lennon)
Misery (the stereo version is a little shorter)
Money (That's What I Want) (different guitar and piano mix)
Hold Me Tight (partially missing background vocals at the end of the song)
I Should Have Known Better (other harmonica introduction)
Tell Me Why (John Lennon's vocals were doubled in the stereo version, not so in the mono version)
If I Fell (partly different vocals by John Lennon and Paul McCartney)
Words of Love (disappears ten seconds later in the mono version)
I'm a Loser , I Don't Want to Spoil the Party (different guitar mix),
I'll Follow the Sun (use less reverb)
What You're Doing (no clapping hands at the beginning)
Help! (contains a different vocals by John Lennon and no tambourine accompaniment like the stereo version)
Ticket to Ride (more reverb was used in mixing)
What Goes On? (contains less guitar playing than the stereo version at the end of the song)
Drive My Car (the cowbell is mixed into the background)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (the audible cough after the line "to sit anywhere" has been removed from the stereo version)
Taxman (the cowbell starts earlier in the mono version)
Eleanor Rigby and For No One (the vocals have more dominance on both songs)
I'm Only Sleeping (the guitar runs played backwards sound different)
Love You To (longer end of the song)
Here, There and Everywhere (different mix of background vocals)
Yellow Submarine (different mix of sound effects, background vocals and guitar)
I Want to Tell You (the piano has been mixed more into the foreground)
Got to Get You into My Life (the mono version is eight seconds longer and the closing vocals by Paul McCartney are different from the stereo version)
Tomorrow Never Knows (the first pressing of the UK mono version contains a different mix)
Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (lead guitar and audience noises are louder in the mono version)
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (the singing sounds "more psychedelic" in the mono version)
She's Leaving Home (the running speed of the mono version is significantly higher)
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (the organ sounds are louder in the mono version)
Within You Without You (other laughter at the end of the song)
Good Morning Good Morning (the mix of lead guitar and animal noises are different)
Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (at the beginning of the mono version you can hear four extra drum beats and the audience noises are different from the stereo version)
The mono version of the album contains longer versions of the songs All You Need Is Love (15 seconds) and Baby You're a Rich Man (nine seconds), the mono mixes of the British single were taken over.
Back in the USSR , Piggies and Blackbird (the three songs have different sound effects, the first different airplane sounds, the other two have different animal sounds)
Wild Honey Pie (different volume of singing)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (different mix of lead guitar by Eric Clapton )
Happiness Is a Warm Gun (different mix of organ and bass)
Don't Pass Me By (the mono version is much faster and the violin solo is longer and different)
Yer Blues (the mono version is ten seconds longer)
Sexy Sadie (the bass was faded in later at the beginning of the song)
Helter Skelter (the mono version is 53 seconds shorter and has a different instrumentation)
Long, Long, Long (different mix of rhythm and lead guitar)
Honey Pie (the guitar solo varies from the stereo version)
Savoy Truffle (different guitar game)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da and Why Don't We Do It in the Road (the clapping of hands at the beginning of the song was mixed up in the mono version)

Chart positions of the box

album Release Date Best placement in the charts Label catalog no.
Type title GB United KingdomUnited Kingdom US United StatesUnited States DE GermanyGermany GB United KingdomUnited Kingdom US United StatesUnited States DE GermanyGermany GB United KingdomUnited Kingdom US United StatesUnited States DE GermanyGermany
box The Beatles in mono 0Sep 9 2009 0Sep 9 2009 0Sep 9 2009 - 40 - Apple / EMI
5099969945120
Apple / Capitol
5099969945120
Apple / EMI
5099969945120

The box set entered the US charts at position 40 ( Billboard Top 200 ) and the magazine announced that 12,000 copies of the box set were sold in the first week after its release. In Japan , the box set entered the charts (Oricon Album Charts) at position 10. More than 20,000 copies were sold in the first week after entering the chart.

literature

  • CD box booklet
  • Richie Unterberger: The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film. ISBN 0-87930-892-3 , p. 168
  • Holger Schoeler, Thorsten Schmidt: The Beatles Mixes , ISBN 3-933851-00-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Steve Marinucci: Beatles 101 - SPECIAL - Beatles engineer Allan Rouse gives a preview of the Beatles remastered CDs . Beatles Examiner . August 5, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  2. Mark Lewisohn : The Beatles Recording Sessions (English). The Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd., London 1988, ISBN 0-600-55798-7 , p. 108.
  3. Platinum award
  4. Beatles Mono Box Set Limited Edition , accessed July 11, 2009
  5. Dave Haber: Beatles Remastered Mono Box sold out at Amazon US ( English ), accessed August 28, 2009
  6. Dave Haber: Update: Beatles Mono Box sold-out at more retailers now , accessed on August 28, 2009
  7. Christopher Morris: EMI to press more 'Beatles in Mono' (English). In: Variety , accessed October 5, 2012
  8. Original Beatles Albums to Be Reissued (English). In: The New York Times , April 7, 2009
  9. vinyl box
  10. Differences in the mixes of Please Please Me
  11. Differences in the mixes of the Beatles songs in 1963
  12. Differences in the mixes of the Beatles songs in 1963
  13. Differences in the mixes of the Beatles songs 1964
  14. Differences in the mixes of the Beatles songs 1964
  15. Differences in the mixes of the Beatles songs in 1965
  16. Differences in the mixes of the Beatles songs in 1965
  17. Differences in the mixes of the Beatles songs in 1966
  18. Differences in the mixes of the Beatles songs in 1967
  19. Holger Schoeler & Thorsten Schmidt: The Beatles Mixes, ISBN 3-933851-00-9 , pp. 14/16.
  20. Differences in the mixes of the Beatles songs 1968
  21. Billboard 200 Charts (accessed September 17, 2009)
  22. ^ The Beatles turn US charts back to 1960s , accessed September 17, 2009
  23. Oricon Weekly Album Charts for the third week of September 2009 , accessed October 1, 2009