The Beatles In Mono Review
The Beatles In Mono Box Set features The Beatles first 10 albums in their original mono along with the “Mono Masters” two CD compilation which includes the mono mixes for all of their non-album tracks which were mixed in mono.
The Beatles In Mono Box Set is a real “surprise” in some cases. A lot of the band’s earlier songs really sound far~better in mono than they do in stereo because they were originally mixed in mono and the stereo mixes were often done as an “afterthought” (because stereo wasn’t taken very seriously at the time.) Many of The Beatles stereo mixes are totally “wrong” by the standards of today because they pan everything to one side or the other which can be annoying to listen to (particularly when listening on headphones.)
It’s fantastic to be able to hear songs like George Harrison’s “Taxman” & Paul McCartney’s “Eleanor Rigby” without the ridiculous panning that screws up the stereo mixes.
But there’s more differences to these mono mixes than just the panning. In some cases there are actually different takes and different effects used! And in many more cases different instruments/parts are highlighted in the mono mix vs. the stereo mix.
A good example of a different mix in mono vs. stereo is “Helter Skelter” because it’s almost a full minute shorter in mono than in stereo and it doesn’t include the “blisters on my fingers” yell at the end.
Another good example is all of the extra vocal effects on the mono mix of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” But really a lot of the songs on the mono Sgt. Pepper have a lot more vocal effects than do their stereo brothers.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Beatles Mono Masters is that it includes four previously unreleased mono mixes (”Hey Bulldog,” “All Together Now,” “It’s All Too Much,” and “Only a Northern Song.”) These four mono versions have never been released before in any format (not LP, CD, or tape!)
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Tags: Beatles in Mono, Beatles Mono Box Set, Beatles Remastered, Remastered Beatles, The Beatles