Beatles in Stereo

The Beatles In Mono Remastered Box Set features The Beatles first 10 albums in their original mono along with the “Mono Masters” double CD compilation which includes the mono versions for all of their non-album songs that were mixed in mono.

The Beatles Mono CD Box Set is a real “revelation” in some cases. A lot of the band’s earlier songs really sound a lot~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 screwed up by modern standards because they pan everything to one side or the other which can be annoying to listen to (especially when listening on headphones.)

It’s fantastic to be able to hear tracks like George Harrison’s “Taxman” & Paul McCartney’s “Eleanor Rigby” without the extreme panning that screws up their stereo mixes.

Panning is not the only differences between the mono & stero mixes. In quite a few 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 great 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” scream at the end.

“I’m Only Sleeping” is a another good example of mixing differences between the two versions beyond simple panning differences. There is more backwards guitar in the mono mix of the song than in the stereo mix.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Mono Masters Non-Album Compilation is that it includes four previously unreleased mono mixes (“All Together Now,” “Hey Bulldog,” “Only a Northern Song and “It’s All Too Much.”) These four songs were never released in mono (in any format) before because when the Yellow Submarine album was originally released in ’69 it was only released in stereo (which is why the album as a whole is not included in the mono box, the George Martin instrumentals were never mixed in mono) so these mono mixes were shelved in Abbey Road Studios for 40 years before finally being heard in 2009.

Beatles Remasters Review #6: MONO

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