The Beatles' Definitive CD Versions: The 1966 Single

When you consider all that happened, 1966 was a pretty dark year for The Beatles and their fans. The "more popular than Jesus" comment was taken out of context. The trip to The Philippines proved to be disastrous, to say the least. Exhausted from touring, The Beatles as a touring unit threw in the towel, ending after John allegedly played the opening riff of "In My Life" at the end of the Candlestick Park concert that August. Unless you count the Capitol compilation Yesterday And Today and the U.S. singles taken from various releases, The Beatles' only audio releases of 1966 were Revolver and the single "Paperback Writer" b/w "Rain." Fans and the media were wondering if this meant the end of The Beatles. In a way it was, but in another way it was the rebirth of The Beatles.

The CDs and abbreviations used this time around for the whopping two songs:

• PM87 - Past Masters, Vol. 1, compiled in 1987 and released in 1988 to include Beatles tracks that didn't appear on the canonical album catalog.


• SINGLE - The Complete Singles Collection, a box set from 1992 that compiled all the Beatles' singles on mini-CDs, complete with reproductions of the picture sleeves.


• RED - the "red album," officially called 1962-1966 and sold as a two-CD set in 1993 despite the ability to easily fit the entire contents on one CD.


• 1 - the 2000 album that compiled the officially-recognized #1 hits from The Beatles in both the U.S. and U.K. Beatles fans the world over knew this album would be a huge flop (case in point: 1982's 20 Greatest Hits). Check the RIAA site to see what a flop it was.


• MM - Mono Masters, the mono equivalent to Past Masters found in the box set The Beatles In Mono.


• PM09 - Past Masters, 2009 remastered edition.

PAPERBACK WRITER

MONO VERSIONS:
SINGLE:
Good punchy sound, good equalization.

MM:
Still good, but the drums and bass have some extra punch that give the track more energy.


STEREO VERSIONS:
PM87:
Why were so many of the Beatles' single tracks given poor stereo mixes? The sound is pretty unbalanced.

RED:
Still not a great sound balance (why pan the drums hard-left and the bass hard-right?), but the sound is a marked improvement over PM87. It even sounds like this version was sourced from an earlier master.

1:
Sounds a lot like RED but more bassy. The vocals sound more sibilant, though, so the treble is just a skosh too high.

PM09:
I can't really tell the difference between this version and RED. Definitely brighter than PM87 without the vocal sibilance of 1.

Worst mono version: CD Singles Collection
Really tough decision -- yet another instance of picking the "less good" version.

Best mono version: Mono Masters
Overall a great sound on both mono versions, but the extra punch in the drums and bass push the latest mono version slightly over the edge.

Worst stereo version: Past Masters Vol. 1 (1987)
A relatively primitive mastering emphasizes the lack of balance among the instruments and vocals.

Best stereo version: 1
In terms of overall cleanliness and brightness, all the stereo versions after 1987 are good, but the emphasis on the bass wins me over on 1; also, the uneven balance doesn't sound as bad.

Definitive CD version of "Paperback Writer": Mono Masters
The mono version easily wins out. You can hear every instrument very nicely and cleanly. It's nice to hear the taps at the end of the second verse, mixed out in the stereo version. Also, the song is several seconds longer in mono, giving the fans more music to enjoy. Finally, you gotta love the echo effect at the end of each verse, which you just don't get on the stereo version. Classic!

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RAIN

Anybody who calls Ringo "the least talented Beatle" obviously hasn't heard his drumming on this track. His style here is almost robotic. "Rain" is basically John's "Paperback Writer:" Lennon says the same thing McCartney says with "Paperback Writer" but in his own unique way, both musically and lyrically.

MONO VERSIONS:
SINGLE:
Good sound balance, but could use better equalization. Needs more treble!

MM:
Unfortunately, we don't have good EQ here, either. But as is typical with most of the mono tracks in the 2009 reissues, the bass has some extra emphasis yet without overpowering the rest of the sound.

STEREO VERSIONS:
PM87:
Just seconds into this track, you'll learn who the true star of the stereo version of "Rain" is: the tambourine. Eep...

PM09:
The only noticeable difference with this version is that John's vocal sounds a tiny bit brighter; everything else is the same.

Worst mono version: The CD Singles Collection
Truth be told, both mono versions are kind of...blah...but this one more so.

Best mono version: Mono Masters
Just a tad bit better than the version on the single box, with the stronger bass line.

Worst stereo version: Past Masters Vol. 1 (1987)
But not much worse than...

Best stereo version: Past Masters (2009)
The slightly cleaner sound on John's voice made me pick this version.

Definitive CD version of "Rain": Mono Masters
I hate to say it, but the stereo versions of "Rain" are just terrible. Once the vocals come in, the backing track is almost inaudible. The mix is very poorly balanced -- the backing track and lead vocals on the left, backing vocals and tambourine on the right...who does that?! The mono mix isn't anything to write home about, either, with its desperately-needed equalization. It's a shame that one of Lennon's finest moments doesn't get more respect.

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