The CDs and abbreviations this time around:
- 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.
- CAPITOL (mono) - mono mixes from The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1 from 2004, specifically Beatles VI.
- CAPITOL (fake stereo) - Back in the '60s, if a stereo mix wasn't available for a song, engineers would apply crazy EQ and other effects to simulate stereo, and the result was usually atrocious. The "fake stereo" designation will refer to any tracks from The Capitol Albums from the "stereo" albums but are really processed mono. When I compare "best mono," "best stereo," etc. versions, anything that's actually fake stereo will be considered mono.
- CAPITOL (stereo) - if you can't figure out what I mean by this after reading my explanations for the other two Capitol designations, then you really need to put down the joint and come back after you sober up.
- 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 edition, the two-volume remastered version.
YES IT IS
The B-side of "Ticket To Ride," there's not much more to say about this song other than it was, as Lennon once said, a failed attempt to come up with another "This Boy." There's nothing
wrong with this track, mind you, it's just not the most standout song in the catalog. There are some things, I suppose, I need to mention: three-part harmonies, first time blah blah tone pedal blah blah George still figuring out blah blah, song possibly about a dead girlfriend/wife blah blah...
MONO VERSIONS:SINGLE:Good, full sound; balanced EQ; nice, even mix of vocals and instrumentation.
CAPITOL (mono):The version that ended up on the mono
Beatles VI doesn't really sound much different from the single version. The sound is still nice and full, and the EQ is respectable. There may be a bit more reverb and maybe a bit more on the high-end (unnecessarily), but overall, a pretty good playback. There is a bit more noticeable hiss, though, so either the version in the singles box was noise-reduced, or the American version suffers from the usual generational loss.
CAPITOL (fake stereo):A horrible high-on-the-left, low-on-the-right reverb-laden fake stereo mix. Yes, I listened to this with headphones, and yes, one might have a different experience with speakers, but trust me, no matter how you listen to it, the result is bad. Yes, it
is!
MM:Again, a good, balanced sound with tasteful equalization -- which is a nice surprise, considering how much of the 2009 mono masters are sorely lacking in treble. The sound is slightly brighter than that of the singles box version.
STEREO VERSIONS:PM87:The stereo mix is really nice; it sounds quite ambient, and there isn't much in terms of hard panning. I hear an acoustic guitar in the left channel that I couldn't hear on the mono versions. There are a few dropouts, though. No noticeable hiss. The clarity is surprisingly good -- at the end, you can actually hear George's foot on the volume pedal.
PM09:Even cleaner and brighter than PM87 -- there are only two or three dropouts throughout the whole track. However, I noticed that George's foot isn't as audible as on PM87!
Worst mono version: The Capitol Albums Vol. 1 ["stereo"]Fake stereo at its second-worst. (For its
first-worst, listen to the
Beatles '65 "stereo" mixes of "She's A Woman" and "I Feel Fine."
Best mono version: Mono MastersPlain and simple, a pleasure to listen to.
Worst stereo version: Past Masters Vol. 1 (1987)But despite being "worst" (or should I say, "worse," because there are only two true stereo versions?), it's still not bad.
Best stereo version: Past Masters (2009)Clarity and ambient, tasteful stereo separation -- really nice.
Definitive CD version of "Yes It Is": Past Masters (2009)Yaaay -- the first instance in this little project of having both mono and stereo versions being from the newest set of reissues! Apple did this one right in 2009, especially the stereo version.
I'M DOWN
What do you do when the Little Richard song you've been using as a concert closer gets stale? You write your
own Little Richard song to end with!
MONO VERSIONS:SINGLE:In terms of sound, not bad. Driving rhythm, good vocals, although there might have been a lot of noise reduction used on this version. It seems that through most of the song, though, the only audible instruments are drums, bongos, and bass; even the organ is pretty low-key until Lennon's solo.
MM:A bright recording that once again de-emphasizes the organ. It almost sounds as if this version were mastered from an earlier generation; maybe the single version indeed was noise-reduced on the box set but not so much on MM?
STEREO VERSIONS:PM87:Actually, this isn't a bad recording -- nice, bright feel with an okay stereo balance. I do find myself wishing that the vocals were brighter, though. And that the bass and drums weren't panned hard-left. It's nice, though, how on the stereo version you can actually hear John's fingers (or elbow?) slide up and down the keyboard. I don't like that it fades out earlier, though.
PM09:Wishing that the vocals were brighter? Wish granted! Actually, everything sounds noticeably cleaner: the vocals, the instruments, the overall sound...it sounds so fresh. Really nice. Even heard some laughter in the organ solo that I never heard before. I'm not saying it's not in the 1987 master, but it really jumped out on the 2009 master.
Worst mono version: The CD Singles CollectionI hate to say "worst" as it's still quite good.
Best mono version: Mono MastersJust a tad bit better than the version on the single box.
Worst stereo version: Past Masters Vol. 1 (1987)Not so much
worst but least-good. (Or less-good...again with the grammar!)
Best stereo version: Past Masters (2009)Brightness all around; to say that listening to this version is a pleasure is an understatement.
Definitive CD version of "I'm Down": Past Masters (2009)Honestly, this was a tough decision, deciding essentially between the new mono and the new stereo masters. I went with the stereo version simply because it leapt out at me a bit more. Truth be told, listen to either, and you're in for a really nice treat. You can't go wrong.
WE CAN WORK IT OUT
If I'm being honest, I don't care for "We Can Work It Out." Too repetitive, too overplayed for me, too "so what?" for me. But it does feature a great example of Paul's songwriting on the topic at hand versus John's songwriting, and of course the earliest use of harmonium on a Beatles recording.
MONO VERSIONS:SINGLE:The sound is bright, but it sounds as if there's something missing. I guess the best way I can explain it is that the sound is bright yet hollow.
MM:Okay, this is better. The treble was taken down a slight notch, but not enough to detract from the EQ. In fact, there's emphasis on the bass that's not on the single version. Very nice.
STEREO VERSIONS:PM87:There's something boring about this version. I don't quite know what it is, but there's something boring here. It might be in the vocals, which are panned hard-right and mixed too loudly.
RED:A noticeable improvement over the 1987 version of
Past Masters Vol. 1. The left channel (with the rhythm track) is potted up a little more, and the overall sound is brighter.
1:Actually, this version doesn't sound too different from the "red album" version. I am noticing that the acoustic guitar in the left channel is easier to hear than on prior versions. Overall a pretty clean master.
PM09:Slightly better than the red album version, but not as bright as the
1 version.
Worst mono version: The CD Singles CollectionAgain, something is missing...
Best mono version: Mono Masters...and it's in this version.
Worst stereo version: Past Masters Vol. 1 (1987)Vocal channel too loud, overall sound too boring.
Best stereo version: 1Best equalization, cleanest sound, and good balance of instruments plus vocals. (Yes, I did just take what I said about "I Feel FIne" and use it here. Got a problem with that?)
Definitive CD version of "We Can Work It Out": Mono MastersThis version has the best equalization. Also, the stereo versions have the vocals isolated to one side of the stereo, which can be distracting to hear.
DAY TRIPPER
When I first heard this song in the late '80s, for some reason I thought the guitar riff was reminiscent of early Kiss material. And of course, as with any other guitar-playing Beatles fan, when I taught myself to play guitar, this was the first riff I learned how to play.
Perhaps the rabid fans' favorite moment is the part on the line "Tried to please her" in which there's a sudden dropout of tambourine in what sounds like might be a bad edit. On stereo versions the dropout sounds to be isolated only to the right channel, with the tambourine, vocals, and lead guitar, so it sounds like this dropout is possibly a technical glitch that either happened during overdubs or is isolated to certain track(s) on the session tape.
MONO VERSIONS:SINGLE:Lots of hiss, and the equalization could use a little more treble. The infamous dropout during the last verse sticks out like a sore thumb.
MM:Lots of hiss in the beginning that quickly goes away. A bit brighter than the single version and with more punch in the bass. The dropout is still there.
STEREO VERSIONS:PM87:While I've been writing about how much I wish there were more treble in the new mono remasters, on this stereo version of "Day Tripper" there's too much treble and not much bass. Overall the balance is pretty bad: too much tambourine, vocals isolated to the right channel, and the basic track on the left channel is too far in the background.
RED:The left channel is mixed a bit louder than on PM87, the bass is slightly more audible, and the hiss at the beginning is virtually gone. As a result, the sound is noticeably better than on the 1987 version. However, the balance is still a little off.
1:Sounds like RED but with less bass. Dropout is fixed with an edit, but if you listen carefully, you can spot said edit.
PM09:Sounds just like RED but with the poor balance of PM87. Very clean and bright sound, though. The dropout is corrected as on
1, but the edit is either inaudible or very difficult to detect.
Worst mono version: The Complete CD Singles CollectionYet another instance of the song not actually sounding
bad, but there is a better version out there.
Best mono version: Mono MastersBetter balance of lows and highs.
Worst stereo version: Past Masters Vol. 1 (1987)Too much treble, very unbalanced mixed.
Best stereo version: 1962-1966Best stereo balance, best EQ, and the most recent stereo version that still has the beloved dropout.
Definitive CD version of "Day Tripper": Mono Masters (2009)I picked the mono version because it's easier on the ears and has the best bass sound -- a driving bass truly helps this song get into its groove. And the dropout that the most fanatical listeners adore is loud and clear on this version. My ideal version of "Day Tripper" actually would be taking the best elements of the stereo mix (reverb on the vocals, which are dry on the mono version; louder vocals during the middle 8 -- the middle-8 vocals are nearly inaudible in mono) and the mono mix (driving bass line and longer fadeout).
