There's a subset of Beatles fans who eagerly seek out the band's "rarities" - the various edits of "Christmas Time Is Here Again," for instance, or The Beatles' version of "Come and Get It," etc. But few of these enthusiasts, to my experience, have paid adequate attention to the original mono mixes, especially of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour. I myself haven't heard either one since they inexplicably vanished from my record collection twenty-ish years ago after a party I threw.
Stereo home systems had been growing in popularity for about ten years when The Beatles started putting out records, but most people still owned mono systems at home. All their output up to The Beatles (or "the white album," as it is commonly referred to) was released in both formats, but the lads themselves actually sat in during the mono mixes and were very attentive to them. The most startling differences, to my mind, were to be heard on the two aforementioned records, and the departure that really sticks in my memory was the mono version of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)." Sadly, I don't have it to share with you; I have only the version you're likely already familiar with.
But that "live recording" sense that song is given in stereo? The way it feels so excited and peppy; The Beatles love you all so much, are so sorry it's coming to an end, etc.? It takes on a surprisingly sarcastic, nasty edge in the mono. The sound of an audience is still mixed in, but the premise is deliberately subverted: you actually hear the taped cheering engage and catch speed, flatly announcing that the audience isn't real; they're thanking a tape recording. You kind of have to hear it to get the effect of it; it's quite unsettling.
So anyway, if you still listen to vinyl, and occasionally go hunting in used record stores, check the spines of Beatles records and snatch up mono copies if you see them. A lot of record stores aren't aware there's such a thing at all, and file them in with the stereo copies at the same prices. Dazzle your Beatles collector friends.
My Trusted MOGs
Oh great, Have a party..throw on some rare Beatles mono outtakes..Hang the DJ I say. What a fun party, We'll play Dungeons and Dragons, drink mulled cider, light candles, and listen to rare mono versions of Beatles records.
Of course, I keed, I would want to be at this party, because I enjoy the arcana of rock, sound design, and (in the past) a little D&D.
Quick story- My number one record collector friend had to give a talk before a group of professors and friends to complete his History dissertation on The History Of Hip Hop (this was in '86 mind you). He walked into the talk with a boom box on his shoulder, playing a loop of the first few bars of the song you posted here..I dunno if he used the mono version.
Nice post.
My Trusted MOGs
Would that I could find a mono version in a thrift shop! The only ones I ever see are in collector shops and have very healthy prices attached. I must go and look in the usual pirate coves and see if mono exists.....
My Trusted MOGs
Nice. Love beatle rarities.
My Trusted MOGs
Interesting post ... but I've a question for you.
Would there be an appreicable audible difference between playing a stereo recording on a monoral setting and an actual mono disk?
On the one hand you cancel the left and right signal from their intended target and pass them thru to both channels. Whereas on the mono disc both sides of the groove cary identical signals.
I suppose it might be argued that invoking an electronic tweak yeilds distortion but I have bit of a hard time beliving there would be much difference.
While on the topic of rare Beatles discs would anyone know an aproximate value for a mint Meet the Beatles on the VeeJay label should fetch?
Caw
My Trusted MOGs
The player can only play what's on the disc. Nothing more, nothing less.
My Trusted MOGs
Ohm51, the title of the VeeJay LP was Introducing not Meet, which was the Capitol title. There are many versions of this LP, the rarest of which just went for $6,000. Yes, the holes in my vinyl collection seem to stem from records either stolen or "loaned" to friends. I'm not sure which - after all, it WAS the sixties...
My Trusted MOGs
Well then it must be a copy of "Introducing the Beatles" on VeeJay that I have.
Its on VeeJay and has all of the earliest songs, but I'll need to look for it to be certain.
Caw
My Trusted MOGs
Mono Pepper tracks are indeed a treat. Ever hear of the Dr. Ebbetts versions of the mono (bootleg) mixes on CD? They are hard to find but if you can they are well worth the cost (that is unless it's an Ebay bidding war which sometimes gets out of hand). The mono Pepper and MMT, the White Album and even Yellow Sub soundtrack mono versions are all available this way. The mono White Album is very different from the stereo, btw.