Regardless of The Beatles’ feelings on the matter, there are two historically accurate points to make about Capitol’s releases:
1) Capitol’s late embrace of The Beatles combined with their large output of material between 1963 and 1966 meant that they were able to release 10 albums in the 31 months between January 1964 (Meet The Beatles
) and August 1966 (Revolver
), compared with only 5 released during the same period in the UK. During this period, United Artists also released the soundtrack to A Hard Day's Night
.
2) The Capitol albums were how The Beatles were heard in America until their catalogue was formalised to the UK releases in 1987. America was, and remains, The Beatles’ biggest market.
This article does not seek to criticize or demonize Capitol’s treatment of The Beatles’ early catalogue. Rather it intends to document the differences from their UK output, and place it within a historical context.
The track that opened up the American market to The Beatles was I Want To Hold Your Hand, released 17 days ahead of schedule on 26 December 1963, due to huge radio airplay and subsequent demand. There had been 3 US singles and an album prior to this, but none of them had been released on Capitol, and none of them had made any impact.
Capitol went on to release 13 uniquely American albums of The Beatles’ music, as follows:
The content of the albums was determined by several factors:
First and foremost was the difference between UK and US royalty payment calculations. In the UK, payments were made on a per disc basis, with each publisher receiving a pro-rata payment on royalties based on album sales. In the US, on the other hand, payments were made on a per song basis. Therefore, in the US, each extra song on an album cost the record company money. In order to reduce costs, US albums consisted of fewer songs as a matter of cost.
A second factor was a cultural one. Parlophone, the Beatles' record label in the UK, routinely left singles off albums, so that fans were not being asked to purchase the same recording on two different formats. In the US, it was believed that an album which contained hit singles would sell more than an album which did not. Therefore, singles were routinely included on albums. Related to this was the decline of the EP in the US. The Beatles released two EPs of non-album material in the UK, neither of which was released in the US.
In understanding the difference between The Beatles UK and US releases, it is important to understand a couple of technical terms. These are mixing and mastering. Mixing is the process of combining all of the individual sounds that make up a recording into one mono or stereo recording. Almost all of the music recorded by The Beatles was mixed by George Martin, or in later years, The Beatles themselves, at EMI's Abbey Road studios, in London. This includes all of the music released in the US. Mastering is the process of taking the finished set of recordings and preparing them for release. This means that all of the tracks on a record are of a similar volume, and have a similar frequency response across the audio spectrum. Sometimes reverb may be added as well. Mastering was done separately at Parlophone in the UK and at Capitol in the US.
The Beatles albums up to and including Rubber Soul were compiled for Capitol under the direction of A&R man, Dave Dexter Jr. Dexter felt that George Martin's mixes were too British, dry and lacking in excitement, so in many cases he mastered the tracks supplied to him by Parlophone to beef up the high end of the sound, and added reverb, giving the songs a more American sound. Dexter's sonic decisions have come in for much criticism over the years, not least by The Beatles themselves, but those decisions were made for sound commercial reasons at the time. Dexter's job was to sell The Beatles to America. If that meant making them more palatable to American tastes, then so be it. History tells us that it worked. Whether they would have been as successful in the US without Dexter's mastering decisions can never be known.
A third factor was that some tracks were not available for Capitol to use. Because they had opted not to release The Beatles’ early singles, Epstein had licensed them to a small label called VeeJay, who released them with very limited success, and in the case of the She Loves You single, a label called Swan.
This was all part of Capitol’s marketing strategy to sell as much content to the fans as possible, and there can be no argument that the strategy worked
As was common practice in the 1960s, the albums were released in both mono and stereo formats. Stereo was still a secondary consideration in the UK, and because of Capitol's rushed release schedule, sometimes only a mono mix was available. Similarly, where Capitol wanted to include a UK single on an album, there was usually no stereo mix at all. Where this was the case, a fake stereo mix - known as a "duophonic" mix - was created from the mono mix by running it through two channels, boosting the bass in one channel and the treble in the other, and running the two channels slightly out of sync. Sometimes reverb was added as well.
The reverse was also true. Rather than use the true mono mixes supplied by Parlophone, Capitol created fake mono mixes - known as fold-downs, or Type B mono - from the stereo mixes by combining the left and right channels together, in the belief that it would create a punchier sound.
Each time tweaks were made to the sound, a new copy had to be made, meaning that Capitol's US master tapes were second, third or even fourth generation copies of Parlophone's UK masters.
The demand from the US for new material from The Beatles was such that producer George Martin often had to mix tracks from albums that they were still working on. These would be immediately dispatched to Capitol, where they would be released on an album within a few weeks. Martin would often create newer, better mixes for release in the UK. For this reason, the US albums contained 25 songs where the mixes differed from their UK equivalent. These are:
Additionally, the US A Hard Day's Night and Help! soundtrack albums contained a number of orchestral tracks that were not released in the UK. These were:
The first eight of The Beatles' US albums - those compiled by Dave Dexter - were remastered and released on CD in two box sets:
A complete set of The Beatles' US albums (excluding Magical Mystery Tour, which was incorporated into the core catalogue in 1987, but adding the 1964 documentary album, The Beatles Story) is also available. While maintaining the original tracklistings, in order to provide the best possible sound quality, these versions of the albums dispense with Dexter's fake mono and stereo masters, which were often copies of copies of the UK master tapes. Dexter's work has instead been recreated digitally using the true mono and stereo masters released in 2009 as a basis.[1]
was released in mono (T-2047) and stereo (ST-2047) versions by Capitol on 20 January 1964. It featured the same artwork as The Beatles’ contemporary UK album, With the Beatles
: Robert Freeman’s striking black and white half shadowed faces.
The album contained 12 songs, instead of the 14 on With The Beatles:
Side One
1. I Want to Hold Your Hand
2. I Saw Her Standing There
3. This Boy
4. It Won't Be Long
5. All I've Got to Do
6. All My Loving
Side Two
1. Don't Bother Me
2. Little Child
3. Till There Was You
4. Hold Me Tight
5. I Wanna Be Your Man
6. Not a Second Time
Musically, it kicked off with The Beatles recent hit single, I Want To Hold Your Hand, and its B-side, I Saw Her Standing There. The single’s UK B-side, This Boy, was the third track. Thereafter, it contains all of the Beatles originals from With The Beatles, in the same order as they appear on the UK album, along with the album’s only cover, Till There Was You.
The stereo versions of I Want To Hold Your Hand and This Boy were duophonic (fake stereo) versions created from the UK mono mixes, as stereo versions of these tracks had not been made available to Capitol (although stereo versions of both songs had been made at Abbey Road in October 1963, neither had yet been released in the UK). The remaining stereo tracks are the same mixes as the stereo version of With The Beatles.
The mono album was created using fake mono fold downs of the stereo mixes, except for I Want To Hold Your Hand and This Boy, which used the genuine mono mixes.
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Mono: as per UK single from mono mix of 21 October 1963
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 21 October 1963
I Saw Her Standing There
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 25 February 1963
This Boy
Mono: as per UK single from mono mix of 21 October 1963
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 21 October 1963
It Won't Be Long
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
All I've Got to Do
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
All My Loving
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Don't Bother Me
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Little Child
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Till There Was You
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Hold Me Tight
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
I Wanna Be Your Man
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Not a Second Time
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
was released in mono (T-2080) and stereo (ST-2080) by Capitol on 10 April 1964, just over 2½ months after its predecessor. The artwork was compiled from a collection of publicity photographs.
Side One
1. Roll Over Beethoven
2. Thank You Girl
3. You Really Got a Hold on Me
4. Devil in Her Heart
5. Money (That's What I Want)
6. You Can't Do That
Side Two
1. Long Tall Sally
2. I Call Your Name
3. Please Mister Postman
4. I'll Get You
5. She Loves You
This album has been called the best pure rock’n’roll album The Beatles ever released. In reality, it is Capitol’s first cut and paste job of The Beatles’ material. Side one contains 4 of the remaining 5 cover tracks from With The Beatles, plus the B-sides of the singles From Me To You and Can’t Buy Me Love. Side two contains two tracks from the forthcoming UK Long Tall Sally EP, the remaining cover from With The Beatles, and both sides of The Beatles’ single, She Loves You.
Like its predecessor, the mono version of The Beatles’ Second Album is a hodge-podge of UK mono mixes and fold-down mono. She Loves You and I'll Get You are the UK mono mixes. You Can't Do That, I Call Your Name and Long Tall Sally are also genuine mono, but are different mixes from the UK mono versions, prepared by George Martin specifically for the US. The rest of the songs are folddowns.
The songs on the stereo album have significantly more echo than those on the mono album or the British versions of the songs. Thank-You Girl is a US exclusive stereo mix, as only the mono mix was available in the UK, although it was brought into the core catalogue when it was released on Past Masters
in 2009. I Call Your Name and Long Tall Sally are also genuine stereo, prepared by George Martin specifically for the US. Neither of these mixes are part of the core catalogue - the 1976's Rock and Roll Music used alternative stereo mixes, as did 1988's Past Masters.
Roll Over Beethoven
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Thank You Girl
You Really Got a Hold on Me
Devil in Her Heart
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Money (That's What I Want)
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 30 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 30 October 1963
You Can't Do That
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 26 February1964
Stereo: fake stereo from US exclusive mono mix of 26 February1964
Long Tall Sally
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 10 March 1964
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 10 March 1964
I Call Your Name
I'll Get You
Side One
1. I'll Cry Instead
2. Things We Said Today
3. Any Time at All
4. When I Get Home
5. Slow Down
6. Matchbox
Side Two
1. Tell Me Why
2. And I Love Her
3. I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
4. If I Fell
5. Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand
It wasn't quite as new as it's title suggested. By this time Capitol were struggling to find new material to release. Five of Something New's eleven songs had already been released the previous month on the A Hard Day's Night soundtrack. Of the remaining six, three were taken from the UK version of A Hard Day's Night
, two from the Long Tall Sally EP, and the last, somewhat inexplicably, was the German language version of I Want To Hold Your Hand.
The mono version of the album uses the same mono tracks previously released by United Artists, including the extended version of I'll Cry Instead and the US version of And I Love Her. Any Time At All and When I Get Home were mixed in mono specifically for Capitol by George Martin. Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand used a mono mix created by Martin for the German market, but which was unreleased in the UK until 1978's Rarities. The remaining mono mixes were identical to the UK releases.
The stereo version of Something New was the first US Beatles album to be released entirely in true stereo. The mixes were identical to the songs used on the UK version of A Hard Day's Night, with the exception of Matchbox and Slow Down, mixed into stereo specifically for Capitol by Martin. These remained unreleased in the UK until 1976's Rock and Roll Music. Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand used a stereo mix created by Martin for the German market and was unreleased in the UK until 1988's Past Masters.
This created an anomaly. I'll Cry Instead was created by editing two different takes together. George Martin had mixed the mono version of I'll Cry Instead on 4 June 1964, and sent it off to Capitol and United Artists the day after. The stereo mix was created on 22 June, and sent off to Capitol very soon after - probably the following day. It wasn't until after this - probably while compiling the mono and stereo versions of the UK version of A Hard Day's Night - that it was discovered that a mistake had been made while editing the stereo mix, and a verse had been inadvertently left out when the two takes were edited together. With the album release imminent, Martin chose to edit the extra verse out of the mono mix instead of remixing a longer stereo version. It was too late to change the US releases, but the UK mixes are both the shorter version. The longer mono mix appears on the US A Hard Day's Night (in both mono and fake stereo versions), and on the mono version of Something New, while the stereo version of Something New contains the shorter stereo mix.
I'll Cry Instead
Mono: US Exclusive mono mix of 4 June 1964.
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Things We Said Today
Mono: mono mix of 4 June 1964.
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Any Time at All
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 22 June 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
When I Get Home
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 22 June 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Slow Down
Mono: mono mix of 4 June 1964.
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Matchbox
Mono: mono mix of 4 June 1964.
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Tell Me Why
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
And I Love Her
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
If I Fell
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand
Mono: mono mix of 10 March 1964.
Stereo: stereo mix of 12 March 1964
Side One
1. No Reply
2. I'm a Loser
3. Baby's in Black
4. Rock and Roll Music
5. I'll Follow the Sun
6. Mr. Moonlight
Side Two
1. Honey Don't
2. I'll Be Back
3. She's a Woman
4. I Feel Fine
5. Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby
It was Capitol's version of the UK Beatles For Sale
album, compiled, as usual, by Dave Dexter Jr. Side one followed the same track listing as side one of the UK album, missing only the final song, to cut the side down to the standard six tracks. Side two was a mish-mash, using two more songs from Beatles For Sale, the final song from the UK version of A Hard Day's Night, and the two sides of The Beatles' latest single.
All the tracks taken from Beatles For Sale used the same mixes as the UK in both mono and stereo versions of the album. I'll Be Back, the one remaining unreleased song from A Hard Day's Night, had received a US mono mix by George Martin while mixing that album, but wasn't released until now. He had also created US specific mono mixes of both sides of The Beatles' latest single, I Feel Fine and She's A Woman.
The UK stereo mix of I'll Be Back was used on the stereo version of the album, but as I Feel Fine and She's A Woman were intended for single release, no stereo mixes had been prepared. Dexter created fake stereo versions of both, but in what is arguably the only time his work was actually detrimental to the Beatles' sound, he drenched both tracks in reverb.
No Reply
Mono: mono mix of 16 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
I'm a Loser
Mono: mono mix of 26 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
Baby's in Black
Mono: mono mix of 26 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
Rock and Roll Music
Mono: mono mix of 26 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
I'll Follow the Sun
Mono: mono mix of 21 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
Mr. Moonlight
Mono: mono mix of 27 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 27 October 1964
Honey Don't
Mono: mono mix of 21 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
I'll Be Back
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 22 June 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
She's a Woman
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 21 October 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 21 October 1964
I Feel Fine
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 21 October 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 21 October 1964
Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby
Mono: mono mix of 21 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
Side One
1. Love Me Do
2. Twist and Shout
3. Anna (Go to Him)
4. Chains
5. Boys
6. Ask Me Why
Side Two
1. Please Please Me
2. P.S. I Love You
3. Baby It's You
4. A Taste of Honey
5. Do You Want to Know a Secret
But this was not a new Beatles album as such. It was simply Capitol's repackaging of The Beatles' two year old UK debut album, Please Please Me
. All of the tracks had been released previously in the US by Chicago-based independent label, VeeJay, who had acquired the rights to 16 of The Beatles early recordings after Capitol declined to release them. These were the fourteen songs on the Please Please Me album, along with From Me To You, and its B side, Thank You Girl. Following a legal dispute (during which Capitol cheekily released I Saw Her Standing There on Meet The Beatles, and Thank You Girl on The Beatles' Second Album), Capitol regained ownership on 15 October 1964.
The Early Beatles was simply a means of keeping The Beatles' early material commercially available, now that VeeJay could no longer distribute it. Nevertheless, this album, compiled again by Dave Dexter Jr., stuck to Capitol's now standard eleven songs per album, rendering three of The Beatles' early recordings commercially unavailable in the US. From Me To You was eventually released in stereo on 1973's 1962-1966 album, and in mono on 1988's Past Masters. Misery and There's A Place were released in stereo on 1980's Rarities and in mono when Please Please Me was released on CD in 1987.
The mono version of the album was simply a fake mono version of the stereo version of the album, which used the same UK stereo mixes as Please Please Me. Interestingly, Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You had never been mixed into true stereo. They were already in fake stereo on Please Please Me, so the versions of these two tracks on the mono The Early Beatles were fake mono mixes of fake stereo mixes of the original UK mono mixes. The true mono and stereo mixes of Please Please Me came from different takes, so the mono performance remained unavailable in the US until 1987's CD release of Please Please Me, along with the true mono mixes of the other tracks on Please Please Me.
Love Me Do
Mono: fake mono from fake stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 11 September 1962 (made 25 February 1963 by Parlophone)
Twist and Shout
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Anna (Go to Him)
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Chains
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Boys
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Ask Me Why
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Please Please Me
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
P.S. I Love You
Mono: fake mono from fake stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 11 September 1962 (made 25 February 1963 by Parlophone)
Baby It's You
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
A Taste of Honey
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Do You Want to Know a Secret
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Side One
1. Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey
2. Eight Days a Week
3. You Like Me Too Much
4. Bad Boy
5. I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
6. Words of Love
Side Two
1. What You're Doing
2. Yes It Is
3. Dizzy Miss Lizzy
4. Tell Me What You See
5. Every Little Thing
Capitol were finding it hard to keep up the momentum of their 1964 Beatles releases. The Early Beatles had plugged a gap, but with The Beatles busy working on their second feature film, new material was not forthcoming. Nevertheless they still had six tracks left over from Beatles For Sale, and Yes It Is, the B-side of The Beatles' recent single. Parlophone were able to supply You Like Me Too Much and Tell Me What You See - both rejects from the film soundtrack - but beyond that had no further new material available. Thus it was at Capitol's request that The Beatles went to Abbey Road on the evening of 10th May 1965, after a hard day's filming, to record their first songs specifically for the American market. For speed, they chose to perform two songs they knew well from their Hamburg days, Larry Williams' Bad Boy and Dizzy Miss Lizzy. For The Beatles, the pressure was beginning to show. Two of the songs from the Help! sessions were rejected as not good enough, and Dizzy Miss Lizzy was used to pad out the UK version of the album.
The mono version of Beatles VI used the same mixes as those that had been on the mono version of Beatles for Sale, that would appear later in the year on the UK mono version of Help!
, or in the case of Bad Boy, would eventually be released on the mono version of 1966's A Collection of Beatles Oldies.
The stereo version of the album used the same stereo mixes as the UK as well, with the exception of Yes It Is, for which Capitol did not have a stereo mix, as it had been released as a single. Although the song had already been mixed into stereo back in the UK, Capitol chose to create a fake stereo version instead.
Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!
Mono: from mono mix of 26 October 1964
Stereo: from stereo mix of 26 October 1964
Eight Days a Week
Mono: from mono mix of 27 October 1964
Stereo: from stereo mix of 27 October 1964
You Like Me Too Much
Mono: from mono mix of 18 February 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Bad Boy
Mono: from mono mix of 10 May 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 10 May 1965
I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
Mono: from mono mix of 26 October 1964
Stereo: from stereo mix of 4 November 1964
Words of Love
Mono: from mono mix of 26 October 1964
Stereo: from stereo mix of 4 November 1964
What You're Doing
Mono: from mono mix of 21 October 1964
Stereo: from stereo mix of 4 November 1964
Yes It Is
Mono: from mono mix of 28 February 1965
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 28 February 1965
Dizzy Miss Lizzy
Mono: from mono mix of 10 May 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 10 May 1965
Tell Me What You See
Mono: from mono mix of 20 February 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Every Little Thing
Mono: from mono mix of 27 October 1964
Stereo: from stereo mix of 27 October 1964
Side One
1. Help! (preceded by an uncredited instrumental intro)
2. The Night Before
3. From Me to You Fantasy (instrumental)
4. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
5. I Need You
6. In the Tyrol (instrumental)
Side Two
1. Another Girl
2. Another Hard Day's Night (instrumental)
3. Ticket to Ride
4. Medley: The Bitter End /You Can't Do That (instrumental)
5. You're Going to Lose That Girl
6. The Chase (instrumental)
It featured the seven songs from the film, as featured on side one of the UK version of the album, interspersed with instrumental orchestral pieces from the soundtrack, written by Ken Thorne and conducted by George Martin. These instrumental pieces - notably the unnamed James Bond style intro to Help! and Another Hard Day's Night - inadvertently pointed in a new musical direction for The Beatles, featuring one of the first uses of a sitar on a pop album
The stereo version of the album used true stereo for all of the songs, except Ticket To Ride, which was a fake stereo mix created from the monophonic single.
The mono version of the album was simply a fake mono fold down of the stereo album, including the fake stereo Ticket To Ride.
Help!
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 18 June 1965
The Night Before
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 23 February 1965
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 23 February 1965
I Need You
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Another Girl
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Ticket to Ride
Mono: fake mono from fake stereo from mono mix of 18 February 1965
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 18 February 1965
You're Going to Lose That Girl
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Side One
1. I've Just Seen a Face
2. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
3. You Won't See Me
4. Think for Yourself
5. The Word
6. Michelle
Side Two
1. It's Only Love
2. Girl
3. I'm Looking Through You
4. In My Life
5. Wait
6. Run for Your Life
This is the only one of Dave Dexter's US Beatles compilations which general consensus says equals or betters it's UK version. Dexter still had five songs left over from side two of the UK Help!
album, and he used two of them here, with I've Just Seen A Face kicking off side one, and It's Only Love doing the same on side two. He also chose to drop four of the songs from the UK version of Rubber Soul
, taking the track count to 12. The album had a more acoustic feel than the UK version, and place The Beatles within the American "folk-rock" movement. The album's influence on Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys was such that he created his masterpiece, Pet Sounds
, in order to better it.
The mono version of the album used the same mono mixes as were released in the UK, except for Michelle, which used an earlier mix.
The stereo version of the album used the same stereo mixes as the UK, except for The Word, which again used an earlier mix. Although I'm Looking Through You used the same mix as the UK, it includes a false start. As was his custom, Dexter also added a layer of reverb to the stereo version of the album, but erroneously sent a version without reverb to the pressing plant in LA. So there were two versions of the stereo album released - one with reverb (the "East Coast" version) and one without.
Perhaps because of this error, Rubber Soul was Dave Dexter Jr.'s final work on The Beatles albums.
I've Just Seen a Face
Mono: mono mix of 18 June 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 18 June 1965
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
Mono: mono mix of 25 October 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 26 October 1965
You Won't See Me
Mono: mono mix of 15 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 15 November 1965
Think for Yourself
Mono: mono mix of 9 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 9 November 1965
The Word
Mono: mono mix of 11 November 1965
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 11 November 1965
Michelle
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 9 November 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 9 November 1965
It's Only Love
Mono: mono mix of 18 June 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 18 June 1965
Girl
Mono: mono mix of 15 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 15 November 1965
I'm Looking Through You
Mono: mono mix of 15 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 15 November 1965 (but includes false start)
In My Life
Mono: mono mix of 25 October 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 26 October 1965
Wait
Mono: mono mix of 15 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 15 November 1965
Run for Your Life
Mono: mono mix of 9 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 10 November 1965
Side One
1. Drive My Car
2. I'm Only Sleeping
3. Nowhere Man
4. Doctor Robert
5. Yesterday
6. Act Naturally
Side Two
1. And Your Bird Can Sing
2. If I Needed Someone
3. We Can Work It Out
4. What Goes On
5. Day Tripper
After a brief UK tour to promote Rubber Soul, The Beatles had taken three months off - their longest break since their days as The Quarrymen back in Liverpool - then started work on a new album. Rubber Soul had been a rushed album, recorded quickly in October and November 1965, and released in time for Christmas. The Beatles were determined to take their time over the next album. But as in the previous year, Capitol wanted to release new Beatles material, and with The Beatles spending longer than ever in the studio, there was little forthcoming. There were some singles kicking about that had not yet been released on an album: Yesterday / Act Naturally had been released in September 1965, We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper in December 1965, Nowhere Man / What Goes On in February 1966 and Paperback Writer / Rain in May 1966. Also awaiting an album release was I'm Down, the B-side of Help! back in July 1965. These nine songs, along with the remaining two unreleased tracks from Rubber Soul, Drive My Car and If I Needed Someone, could have been compiled into an eleven track album.
Yesterday and Today (or "Yesterday"...and Today, to give it it's correct title) was compiled by Bill Miller. Deciding that there was little value in releasing an album containing nine songs that fans already owned, Miller opted to drop Paperback Writer, Rain and I'm Down. This left him three songs short, so he contacted George Martin and asked if there was any new material that he could have. Martin agreed, and mixed three tracks from The Beatles work-in-progress into mono and stereo for Miller.
The mono version of Yesterday and Today used the same mono mixes as the UK, with the exception of the three new tracks mixed at Capitol's request, I'm Only Sleeping, Doctor Robert and And Your Bird Can Sing. These would all receive new mono mixes before their UK release. A fake mono version of Drive My Car was also created, even though a true mono mix was available.
The stereo version of the album again uses mostly the UK stereo mixes. Despite being released only as a mono single, We Can Work It Out and Day Tripper had been mixed into stereo during the Rubber Soul sessions, in case The Beatles did not manage enough new material during the hurried recording of that album, and these stereo mixes were supplied to Capitol. New stereo mixes of these two songs would be prepared for their UK stereo release, on 1966's A Collection Of Beatles Oldies. Martin had created true stereo mixes of I'm Only Sleeping, Doctor Robert and And Your Bird Can Sing a week after the mono versions, but by the time they arrived in the US, Miller had already created fake stereo versions. Some, but not all, later reissues of the album (post 1973) used the US exclusive stereo mixes. Stereo 2 below refers to the reissued album.
Drive My Car
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 26 October 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 26 October 1965
I'm Only Sleeping
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 12 May 1966
Stereo 1: fake stereo from mono mix of 12 May 1966
Stereo 2: US exclusive stereo mix of 20 May 1966
Nowhere Man
Mono: mono mix of 25 October 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 26 October 1965
Doctor Robert
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 12 May 1966
Stereo 1: fake stereo from mono mix of 12 May 1966
Stereo 2: US exclusive stereo mix of 20 May 1966
Yesterday
Mono: mono mix of 17 June 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 18 June 1965
Act Naturally
Mono: mono mix of 18 June 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 18 June 1965
And Your Bird Can Sing
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 12 May 1966
Stereo 1: fake stereo from mono mix of 12 May 1966
Stereo 2: US exclusive stereo mix of 20 May 1966
If I Needed Someone
Mono: mono mix of 25 October 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 26 October 1965
We Can Work It Out
Mono: mono mix of 29 October 1965
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 10 November 1965
What Goes On
Mono: mono mix of 9 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 9 November 1965
Day Tripper
Mono: mono mix of 29 October 1965
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 26 October 1965
Side One
1. Taxman
2. Eleanor Rigby
3. Love You To
4. Here, There And Everywhere
5. Yellow Submarine
6. She Said, She Said
Side Two
1. Good Day Sunshine
2. For No One
3. I Want To Tell You
4. Got To Get You Into My Life
5. Tomorrow Never Knows
Both mono and stereo versions of the album were the same as their UK equivalents, although missing the three songs already released on Yesterday and Today.
This was the last occasion on which a UK and US album would differ. The Beatles recording contract with EMI expired after it's release, and while they were happy to sign a new contract, effective from 27 January 1967, they insisted that their albums were released worldwide in the way in which they intended.
Taxman
Mono: from mono mix of 21 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 21 June 1966
Eleanor Rigby
Mono: from mono mix of 22 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 22 June 1966
Love You To
Mono: from mono mix of 13 April 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 21 June 1966
Here, There and Everywhere
Mono: from mono mix of 21 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 21 June 1966
Yellow Submarine
Mono: from mono mix of 3 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 21 June 1966
She Said She Said
Mono: from mono mix of 22 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 22 June 1966
Good Day Sunshine
Mono: from mono mix of 22 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 22 June 1966
For No One
Mono: from mono mix of 21 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 21 June 1966
I Want to Tell You
Mono: from mono mix of 3 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 21 June 1966
Got to Get You into My Life
Mono: from mono mix of 20th June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 22 June 1966
Tomorrow Never Knows
Mono: from mono mix of 6 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 22 June 1966
Side 1
1. Magical Mystery Tour
2. The Fool on the Hill
3. Flying
4. Blue Jay Way
5. Your Mother Should Know
6. I Am the Walrus
Side 2
1. Hello, Goodbye
2. Strawberry Fields Forever
3. Penny Lane
4. Baby, You're a Rich Man
5. All You Need Is Love
The soundtrack to The Beatles third film, Magical Mystery Tour
, had been released in the UK as a mono and stereo double EP set. However, the EP was not a popular format in the US, so Capitol decided to add The Beatles 1967 singles and release an album instead. The album was compiled by Voyle Gilmore.
The mono version of the album used the same mono mixes as the UK singles and mono EP, although a slightly longer version of I Am The Walrus had appeared as the B-side to Hello Goodbye in the US. This had then been edited in the US to match the UK version before being released on the album.
The stereo version of the album used the same stereo mixes as the UK stereo Magical Mystery Tour EP, again with the exception of I Am The Walrus, which used an earlier stereo mix. Strawberry Fields Forever had been mixed to stereo for inclusion on Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but had been issued as a single. It made its stereo debut here. This version would later appear on 1973's 1967-1970 album. Hello Goodbye was also mixed to stereo specifically for the American market, and would also not appear in the UK until 1973's 1967-1970 album. No stereo mixes of Penny Lane, Baby, You're A Rich Man or All You Need Is Love were available, so Capitol created fake stereo versions of these tracks.
The stereo Magical Mystery Tour LP was released in the UK in 1976. Newer stereo mixes were used for both I Am The Walrus and Strawberry Fields Forever. This has been the standard version since then, including the CD releases of the album.
Magical Mystery Tour
Mono: mono mix of 7 November 1967
Stereo: stereo mix of 7 November 1967
The Fool on the Hill
Mono: mono mix of 25 October 1967
Stereo: stereo mix of 1 November 1967
Flying
Mono: mono mix of 28 September 1967
Stereo: stereo mix of 7 November 1967
Blue Jay Way
Mono: mono mix of 7 November 1967
Stereo: stereo mix of 7 November 1967
Your Mother Should Know
Mono: mono mix of 2 October 1967
Stereo: stereo mix of 6 November 1967
I Am the Walrus
Mono: mono mix of 29 September 1967
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 6 November 1967
Hello, Goodbye
Mono: mono mix of 6 November 1967
Stereo: stereo mix of 6 November 1967
Strawberry Fields Forever
Mono: mono mix of 22 December 1966
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 29 December 1966
Penny Lane
Mono: mono mix of 25 January 1967
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 25 January 1967
Baby, You're a Rich Man
Mono: mono mix of 11 May 1967
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 11 May 1967
All You Need Is Love
Mono: mono mix of 26 June 1967
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 26 June 1967
Side 1
1. Can't Buy Me Love
2. I Should Have Known Better
3. Paperback Writer
4. Rain
5. Lady Madonna
6. Revolution
Side 2
1. Hey Jude
2. Old Brown Shoe
3. Don't Let Me Down
4. The Ballad of John and Yoko
Although a US release, Hey Jude album was not compiled by Capitol, but by Allan Steckler of Bell Sounds, New York, working directly for Apple, The Beatles' own record label, under the direction of Allan Klien, The Beatles' manager.
Steckler chose to include songs which had so far not been released on an album by Capitol. As a consequence of The Beatles' 1967 contract with EMI forbidding Capitol from carving up their albums, there was plenty to choose from. Their 1967 output had already been compiled into the Magical Mystery Tour album, but there had been no such compilation since. There were also a number of earlier tracks which had fallen by the wayside.
By this criteria, Steckler could have made a double album by including:
At the time of release, all of the 1969 mixes were US exclusives, but they have since become the standard stereo mixes for these tracks, and have been released, for example, on Past Masters.
Can't Buy Me Love
Stereo: stereo mix of 26 February 1964
I Should Have Known Better
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Paperback Writer
Stereo: stereo mix of 31 October 1966
Rain
Stereo: stereo mix of 2 December 1969
Lady Madonna
Stereo: stereo mix of 2 December 1969
Revolution
Stereo: stereo mix of 5 December 1969
Hey Jude
Stereo: stereo mix of 5 December 1969
Old Brown Shoe
Stereo: stereo mix of 18 April 1969
Don't Let Me Down
Stereo: stereo mix of 7 April 1969
The Ballad of John and Yoko
Stereo: stereo mix of 14 April 1969
This article does not seek to criticize or demonize Capitol’s treatment of The Beatles’ early catalogue. Rather it intends to document the differences from their UK output, and place it within a historical context.
 |
| The original picture sleeve for Capitol's first Beatles single, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (Capitol 5112, 26 December 1963) |
The track that opened up the American market to The Beatles was I Want To Hold Your Hand, released 17 days ahead of schedule on 26 December 1963, due to huge radio airplay and subsequent demand. There had been 3 US singles and an album prior to this, but none of them had been released on Capitol, and none of them had made any impact.
Capitol went on to release 13 uniquely American albums of The Beatles’ music, as follows:
- Meet The Beatles
- The Beatles' Second Album
- Something New
(20 July 1964)
- Beatles '65
(15 December 1964)
- The Early Beatles
(22 March 1965)
- Beatles VI
(14 June 1965)
- Help! [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
(13 August 1965)
- Rubber Soul
(6 December 1965)
- Yesterday And Today
(20 June 1966)
- Revolver
- Magical Mystery Tour
(27 November 1967)
- Hey Jude
(26 February 1970)
- A Hard Day's Night [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
The content of the albums was determined by several factors:
First and foremost was the difference between UK and US royalty payment calculations. In the UK, payments were made on a per disc basis, with each publisher receiving a pro-rata payment on royalties based on album sales. In the US, on the other hand, payments were made on a per song basis. Therefore, in the US, each extra song on an album cost the record company money. In order to reduce costs, US albums consisted of fewer songs as a matter of cost.
 |
| Dave Dexter Jr. |
In understanding the difference between The Beatles UK and US releases, it is important to understand a couple of technical terms. These are mixing and mastering. Mixing is the process of combining all of the individual sounds that make up a recording into one mono or stereo recording. Almost all of the music recorded by The Beatles was mixed by George Martin, or in later years, The Beatles themselves, at EMI's Abbey Road studios, in London. This includes all of the music released in the US. Mastering is the process of taking the finished set of recordings and preparing them for release. This means that all of the tracks on a record are of a similar volume, and have a similar frequency response across the audio spectrum. Sometimes reverb may be added as well. Mastering was done separately at Parlophone in the UK and at Capitol in the US.
The Beatles albums up to and including Rubber Soul were compiled for Capitol under the direction of A&R man, Dave Dexter Jr. Dexter felt that George Martin's mixes were too British, dry and lacking in excitement, so in many cases he mastered the tracks supplied to him by Parlophone to beef up the high end of the sound, and added reverb, giving the songs a more American sound. Dexter's sonic decisions have come in for much criticism over the years, not least by The Beatles themselves, but those decisions were made for sound commercial reasons at the time. Dexter's job was to sell The Beatles to America. If that meant making them more palatable to American tastes, then so be it. History tells us that it worked. Whether they would have been as successful in the US without Dexter's mastering decisions can never be known.
A third factor was that some tracks were not available for Capitol to use. Because they had opted not to release The Beatles’ early singles, Epstein had licensed them to a small label called VeeJay, who released them with very limited success, and in the case of the She Loves You single, a label called Swan.
This was all part of Capitol’s marketing strategy to sell as much content to the fans as possible, and there can be no argument that the strategy worked
As was common practice in the 1960s, the albums were released in both mono and stereo formats. Stereo was still a secondary consideration in the UK, and because of Capitol's rushed release schedule, sometimes only a mono mix was available. Similarly, where Capitol wanted to include a UK single on an album, there was usually no stereo mix at all. Where this was the case, a fake stereo mix - known as a "duophonic" mix - was created from the mono mix by running it through two channels, boosting the bass in one channel and the treble in the other, and running the two channels slightly out of sync. Sometimes reverb was added as well.
The reverse was also true. Rather than use the true mono mixes supplied by Parlophone, Capitol created fake mono mixes - known as fold-downs, or Type B mono - from the stereo mixes by combining the left and right channels together, in the belief that it would create a punchier sound.
Each time tweaks were made to the sound, a new copy had to be made, meaning that Capitol's US master tapes were second, third or even fourth generation copies of Parlophone's UK masters.
The demand from the US for new material from The Beatles was such that producer George Martin often had to mix tracks from albums that they were still working on. These would be immediately dispatched to Capitol, where they would be released on an album within a few weeks. Martin would often create newer, better mixes for release in the UK. For this reason, the US albums contained 25 songs where the mixes differed from their UK equivalent. These are:
- You Can't Do That (mono)
- Long Tall Sally (mono)
- Long Tall Sally (stereo)
- I Call Your Name (mono)
- I Call Your Name (stereo)
- And I Love Her (mono)
- I'll Cry Instead (mono)
- Any Time At All (mono)
- When I Get Home (mono)
- I'll Be Back (mono)
- I'll Be Back (stereo)
- Komm, Gibb Mir Deine Hand (stereo)
- I Feel Fine (mono)
- She's A Woman (mono)
- Day Tripper (stereo)
- We Can Work It Out (stereo)
- The Word (stereo)
- Michelle (mono)
- I'm Looking Through You (stereo)
- I'm Only Sleeping (mono)
- I'm Only Sleeping (stereo)
- And Your Bird Can Sing (mono)
- And Your Bird Can Sing (stereo)
- Dr. Robert (mono)
- Dr. Robert (stereo)
Additionally, the US A Hard Day's Night and Help! soundtrack albums contained a number of orchestral tracks that were not released in the UK. These were:
- I Should Have Known Better
- And I Love Her
- Ringo's Theme (This Boy)
- A Hard Day's Night
- Help! (intro)
- From Me to You Fantasy
- In the Tyrol
- Another Hard Day's Night
- Medley: The Bitter End /You Can't Do That
- The Chase
The first eight of The Beatles' US albums - those compiled by Dave Dexter - were remastered and released on CD in two box sets:
- The Capitol Albums Vol. 1
(15 November 2004)
- The Capitol Albums Vol. 2 (11 April 2006)
 |
| The image used in the promotion of The Beatles' US Albums box set |
A complete set of The Beatles' US albums (excluding Magical Mystery Tour, which was incorporated into the core catalogue in 1987, but adding the 1964 documentary album, The Beatles Story) is also available. While maintaining the original tracklistings, in order to provide the best possible sound quality, these versions of the albums dispense with Dexter's fake mono and stereo masters, which were often copies of copies of the UK master tapes. Dexter's work has instead been recreated digitally using the true mono and stereo masters released in 2009 as a basis.[1]
- The U.S. Albums
(21 January 2014)
A Guide to the Mono and Stereo Editions of The Beatles US Albums
The information below is taken from:- The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions
by Mark Lewisohn
- That Magic Feeling
by John C Winn
- Way Beyond Compare
by John C Winn
Index
Meet The Beatles
Meet The Beatles was released in mono (T-2047) and stereo (ST-2047) versions by Capitol on 20 January 1964. It featured the same artwork as The Beatles’ contemporary UK album, With the Beatles: Robert Freeman’s striking black and white half shadowed faces.The album contained 12 songs, instead of the 14 on With The Beatles:
1. I Want to Hold Your Hand
2. I Saw Her Standing There
3. This Boy
4. It Won't Be Long
5. All I've Got to Do
6. All My Loving
Side Two
1. Don't Bother Me
2. Little Child
3. Till There Was You
4. Hold Me Tight
5. I Wanna Be Your Man
6. Not a Second Time
Musically, it kicked off with The Beatles recent hit single, I Want To Hold Your Hand, and its B-side, I Saw Her Standing There. The single’s UK B-side, This Boy, was the third track. Thereafter, it contains all of the Beatles originals from With The Beatles, in the same order as they appear on the UK album, along with the album’s only cover, Till There Was You.
The stereo versions of I Want To Hold Your Hand and This Boy were duophonic (fake stereo) versions created from the UK mono mixes, as stereo versions of these tracks had not been made available to Capitol (although stereo versions of both songs had been made at Abbey Road in October 1963, neither had yet been released in the UK). The remaining stereo tracks are the same mixes as the stereo version of With The Beatles.
The mono album was created using fake mono fold downs of the stereo mixes, except for I Want To Hold Your Hand and This Boy, which used the genuine mono mixes.
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Mono: as per UK single from mono mix of 21 October 1963
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 21 October 1963
I Saw Her Standing There
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 25 February 1963
This Boy
Mono: as per UK single from mono mix of 21 October 1963
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 21 October 1963
It Won't Be Long
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
All I've Got to Do
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
All My Loving
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Don't Bother Me
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Little Child
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Till There Was You
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Hold Me Tight
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
I Wanna Be Your Man
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Not a Second Time
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
The Beatles’ Second Album
The Beatles' Second Album was released in mono (T-2080) and stereo (ST-2080) by Capitol on 10 April 1964, just over 2½ months after its predecessor. The artwork was compiled from a collection of publicity photographs.
1. Roll Over Beethoven
2. Thank You Girl
3. You Really Got a Hold on Me
4. Devil in Her Heart
5. Money (That's What I Want)
6. You Can't Do That
Side Two
1. Long Tall Sally
2. I Call Your Name
3. Please Mister Postman
4. I'll Get You
5. She Loves You
This album has been called the best pure rock’n’roll album The Beatles ever released. In reality, it is Capitol’s first cut and paste job of The Beatles’ material. Side one contains 4 of the remaining 5 cover tracks from With The Beatles, plus the B-sides of the singles From Me To You and Can’t Buy Me Love. Side two contains two tracks from the forthcoming UK Long Tall Sally EP, the remaining cover from With The Beatles, and both sides of The Beatles’ single, She Loves You.
Like its predecessor, the mono version of The Beatles’ Second Album is a hodge-podge of UK mono mixes and fold-down mono. She Loves You and I'll Get You are the UK mono mixes. You Can't Do That, I Call Your Name and Long Tall Sally are also genuine mono, but are different mixes from the UK mono versions, prepared by George Martin specifically for the US. The rest of the songs are folddowns.
The songs on the stereo album have significantly more echo than those on the mono album or the British versions of the songs. Thank-You Girl is a US exclusive stereo mix, as only the mono mix was available in the UK, although it was brought into the core catalogue when it was released on Past Masters
in 2009. I Call Your Name and Long Tall Sally are also genuine stereo, prepared by George Martin specifically for the US. Neither of these mixes are part of the core catalogue - the 1976's Rock and Roll Music used alternative stereo mixes, as did 1988's Past Masters.Roll Over Beethoven
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Thank You Girl
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 13 March 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 13 March 1963You Really Got a Hold on Me
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963Devil in Her Heart
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Money (That's What I Want)
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 30 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 30 October 1963
You Can't Do That
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 26 February1964
Stereo: fake stereo from US exclusive mono mix of 26 February1964
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 10 March 1964
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 10 March 1964
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 4 March 1964
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 10 March 1964
Please Mister PostmanStereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 10 March 1964
Mono: fake mono from UK stereo mix of 29 October 1963
Stereo: as per stereo mix of 29 October 1963I'll Get You
Mono: as per UK single from mono mix of 4 July 1963
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 4 July 1963
She Loves YouStereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 4 July 1963
Mono: as per UK single from mono mix of 4 July 1963
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 4 July 1963
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 4 July 1963
A Hard Day's Night [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
The soundtrack album to The Beatles' first film, A Hard Day's Night, was released in mono (UA 6366) and stereo (UAS 6366) by United Artists on 26 June 1964. The album was reissued by Capitol on 17 August 1980 (SW-11921) after EMI acquired United Artists Records.
Side one
1. A Hard Day's Night
2. Tell Me Why
3. I'll Cry Instead
4. I Should Have Known Better (Instrumental)
5. I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
6. And I Love Her (Instrumental)
Side two
1. I Should Have Known Better
2. If I Fell
3. And I Love Her
4. Ringo's Theme (This Boy) (Instrumental)
5. Can't Buy Me Love
6. A Hard Day's Night (Instrumental)
As this album was not released by Capitol, it was not compiled by Dave Dexter. It consists of the seven songs from side 1 of the UK album, plus a US exclusive extended version of I'll Cry Instead. Interspersed with these are four orchestral versions of Beatles songs, scored by George Martin, taken from the film's soundtrack.
All of the tracks on the mono version of the album are in genuine mono, and are the same as the UK mono release, with the exception of I'll Cry Instead, which includes an extra verse, and And I Love Her; an earlier mono mix, distinguishable by McCartney's vocal, which is mostly single tracked.
While the stereo version of the album contains genuine stereo mixes of George Martin's instrumental tracks, The Beatles' songs are in fake stereo. Most of the songs would get a genuine stereo release on the band's next Capitol album, Something New, but I Should Have Known Better and Can't Buy Me Love would not be released in stereo in the US until 1970's Hey Jude, and A Hard Day's Night itself remained unreleased in stereo until 1982's Reel Music.
The same fake stereo master tape was used when the album was reissued by Capitol in 1980.
A Hard Day's Night
Mono: mono mix of 23 April 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 23 April 1964
Tell Me Why
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 3 March 1964
I'll Cry Instead
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 4 June 1964.
Stereo: fake stereo from US exclusive mono mix of 4 June 1964
I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 3 March 1964
I Should Have Known Better
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 3 March 1964
If I Fell
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 3 March 1964
And I Love Her
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 3 March 1964
Can't Buy Me Love
Mono: mono mix of 26 February 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 26 February 1964
As this album was not released by Capitol, it was not compiled by Dave Dexter. It consists of the seven songs from side 1 of the UK album, plus a US exclusive extended version of I'll Cry Instead. Interspersed with these are four orchestral versions of Beatles songs, scored by George Martin, taken from the film's soundtrack.
All of the tracks on the mono version of the album are in genuine mono, and are the same as the UK mono release, with the exception of I'll Cry Instead, which includes an extra verse, and And I Love Her; an earlier mono mix, distinguishable by McCartney's vocal, which is mostly single tracked.
While the stereo version of the album contains genuine stereo mixes of George Martin's instrumental tracks, The Beatles' songs are in fake stereo. Most of the songs would get a genuine stereo release on the band's next Capitol album, Something New, but I Should Have Known Better and Can't Buy Me Love would not be released in stereo in the US until 1970's Hey Jude, and A Hard Day's Night itself remained unreleased in stereo until 1982's Reel Music.
The same fake stereo master tape was used when the album was reissued by Capitol in 1980.
A Hard Day's Night
Mono: mono mix of 23 April 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 23 April 1964
Tell Me Why
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 3 March 1964
I'll Cry Instead
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 4 June 1964.
Stereo: fake stereo from US exclusive mono mix of 4 June 1964
I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 3 March 1964
I Should Have Known Better
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 3 March 1964
If I Fell
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 3 March 1964
And I Love Her
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 3 March 1964
Can't Buy Me Love
Mono: mono mix of 26 February 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 26 February 1964
Something New
The Beatles' third Capitol album, Something New, was released in mono (T-2108) and stereo (ST-2108) on 20 July 1964, just over three months since it's predecessor, and only one month after United Artists released the A Hard Day's Night soundtrack.
1. I'll Cry Instead
2. Things We Said Today
3. Any Time at All
4. When I Get Home
5. Slow Down
6. Matchbox
Side Two
1. Tell Me Why
2. And I Love Her
3. I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
4. If I Fell
5. Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand
It wasn't quite as new as it's title suggested. By this time Capitol were struggling to find new material to release. Five of Something New's eleven songs had already been released the previous month on the A Hard Day's Night soundtrack. Of the remaining six, three were taken from the UK version of A Hard Day's Night
, two from the Long Tall Sally EP, and the last, somewhat inexplicably, was the German language version of I Want To Hold Your Hand.The mono version of the album uses the same mono tracks previously released by United Artists, including the extended version of I'll Cry Instead and the US version of And I Love Her. Any Time At All and When I Get Home were mixed in mono specifically for Capitol by George Martin. Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand used a mono mix created by Martin for the German market, but which was unreleased in the UK until 1978's Rarities. The remaining mono mixes were identical to the UK releases.
The stereo version of Something New was the first US Beatles album to be released entirely in true stereo. The mixes were identical to the songs used on the UK version of A Hard Day's Night, with the exception of Matchbox and Slow Down, mixed into stereo specifically for Capitol by Martin. These remained unreleased in the UK until 1976's Rock and Roll Music. Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand used a stereo mix created by Martin for the German market and was unreleased in the UK until 1988's Past Masters.
This created an anomaly. I'll Cry Instead was created by editing two different takes together. George Martin had mixed the mono version of I'll Cry Instead on 4 June 1964, and sent it off to Capitol and United Artists the day after. The stereo mix was created on 22 June, and sent off to Capitol very soon after - probably the following day. It wasn't until after this - probably while compiling the mono and stereo versions of the UK version of A Hard Day's Night - that it was discovered that a mistake had been made while editing the stereo mix, and a verse had been inadvertently left out when the two takes were edited together. With the album release imminent, Martin chose to edit the extra verse out of the mono mix instead of remixing a longer stereo version. It was too late to change the US releases, but the UK mixes are both the shorter version. The longer mono mix appears on the US A Hard Day's Night (in both mono and fake stereo versions), and on the mono version of Something New, while the stereo version of Something New contains the shorter stereo mix.
I'll Cry Instead
Mono: US Exclusive mono mix of 4 June 1964.
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Things We Said Today
Mono: mono mix of 4 June 1964.
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Any Time at All
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 22 June 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
When I Get Home
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 22 June 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Slow Down
Mono: mono mix of 4 June 1964.
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Matchbox
Mono: mono mix of 4 June 1964.
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Tell Me Why
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
And I Love Her
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
If I Fell
Mono: mono mix of 3 March 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand
Mono: mono mix of 10 March 1964.
Stereo: stereo mix of 12 March 1964
Beatles '65
Beatles '65 was released in mono (T-2228) and stereo (ST-2228) by Capitol on 15 December 1964.
1. No Reply
2. I'm a Loser
3. Baby's in Black
4. Rock and Roll Music
5. I'll Follow the Sun
6. Mr. Moonlight
Side Two
1. Honey Don't
2. I'll Be Back
3. She's a Woman
4. I Feel Fine
5. Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby
It was Capitol's version of the UK Beatles For Sale
album, compiled, as usual, by Dave Dexter Jr. Side one followed the same track listing as side one of the UK album, missing only the final song, to cut the side down to the standard six tracks. Side two was a mish-mash, using two more songs from Beatles For Sale, the final song from the UK version of A Hard Day's Night, and the two sides of The Beatles' latest single.All the tracks taken from Beatles For Sale used the same mixes as the UK in both mono and stereo versions of the album. I'll Be Back, the one remaining unreleased song from A Hard Day's Night, had received a US mono mix by George Martin while mixing that album, but wasn't released until now. He had also created US specific mono mixes of both sides of The Beatles' latest single, I Feel Fine and She's A Woman.
The UK stereo mix of I'll Be Back was used on the stereo version of the album, but as I Feel Fine and She's A Woman were intended for single release, no stereo mixes had been prepared. Dexter created fake stereo versions of both, but in what is arguably the only time his work was actually detrimental to the Beatles' sound, he drenched both tracks in reverb.
No Reply
Mono: mono mix of 16 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
I'm a Loser
Mono: mono mix of 26 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
Baby's in Black
Mono: mono mix of 26 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
Rock and Roll Music
Mono: mono mix of 26 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
I'll Follow the Sun
Mono: mono mix of 21 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
Mr. Moonlight
Mono: mono mix of 27 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 27 October 1964
Honey Don't
Mono: mono mix of 21 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
I'll Be Back
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 22 June 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
She's a Woman
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 21 October 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 21 October 1964
I Feel Fine
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 21 October 1964
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 21 October 1964
Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby
Mono: mono mix of 21 October 1964
Stereo: stereo mix of 4 November 1964
The Early Beatles
The Early Beatles was released by Capitol in Mono (T-2309) and stereo (ST-2309) on 22 March 1965. The artwork was a picture previously used on the rear cover of The Beatles most recent UK album, Beatles For Sale.
1. Love Me Do
2. Twist and Shout
3. Anna (Go to Him)
4. Chains
5. Boys
6. Ask Me Why
Side Two
1. Please Please Me
2. P.S. I Love You
3. Baby It's You
4. A Taste of Honey
5. Do You Want to Know a Secret
But this was not a new Beatles album as such. It was simply Capitol's repackaging of The Beatles' two year old UK debut album, Please Please Me
. All of the tracks had been released previously in the US by Chicago-based independent label, VeeJay, who had acquired the rights to 16 of The Beatles early recordings after Capitol declined to release them. These were the fourteen songs on the Please Please Me album, along with From Me To You, and its B side, Thank You Girl. Following a legal dispute (during which Capitol cheekily released I Saw Her Standing There on Meet The Beatles, and Thank You Girl on The Beatles' Second Album), Capitol regained ownership on 15 October 1964.The Early Beatles was simply a means of keeping The Beatles' early material commercially available, now that VeeJay could no longer distribute it. Nevertheless, this album, compiled again by Dave Dexter Jr., stuck to Capitol's now standard eleven songs per album, rendering three of The Beatles' early recordings commercially unavailable in the US. From Me To You was eventually released in stereo on 1973's 1962-1966 album, and in mono on 1988's Past Masters. Misery and There's A Place were released in stereo on 1980's Rarities and in mono when Please Please Me was released on CD in 1987.
The mono version of the album was simply a fake mono version of the stereo version of the album, which used the same UK stereo mixes as Please Please Me. Interestingly, Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You had never been mixed into true stereo. They were already in fake stereo on Please Please Me, so the versions of these two tracks on the mono The Early Beatles were fake mono mixes of fake stereo mixes of the original UK mono mixes. The true mono and stereo mixes of Please Please Me came from different takes, so the mono performance remained unavailable in the US until 1987's CD release of Please Please Me, along with the true mono mixes of the other tracks on Please Please Me.
Love Me Do
Mono: fake mono from fake stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 11 September 1962 (made 25 February 1963 by Parlophone)
Twist and Shout
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Anna (Go to Him)
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Chains
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Boys
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Ask Me Why
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Please Please Me
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
P.S. I Love You
Mono: fake mono from fake stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 11 September 1962 (made 25 February 1963 by Parlophone)
Baby It's You
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
A Taste of Honey
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Do You Want to Know a Secret
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Stereo: stereo mix of 25 February 1963
Beatles VI
Beatles VI was released by Capitol in mono (T-2358) and stereo (ST-2358) on 14 June 1965.
1. Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey
2. Eight Days a Week
3. You Like Me Too Much
4. Bad Boy
5. I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
6. Words of Love
Side Two
1. What You're Doing
2. Yes It Is
3. Dizzy Miss Lizzy
4. Tell Me What You See
5. Every Little Thing
Capitol were finding it hard to keep up the momentum of their 1964 Beatles releases. The Early Beatles had plugged a gap, but with The Beatles busy working on their second feature film, new material was not forthcoming. Nevertheless they still had six tracks left over from Beatles For Sale, and Yes It Is, the B-side of The Beatles' recent single. Parlophone were able to supply You Like Me Too Much and Tell Me What You See - both rejects from the film soundtrack - but beyond that had no further new material available. Thus it was at Capitol's request that The Beatles went to Abbey Road on the evening of 10th May 1965, after a hard day's filming, to record their first songs specifically for the American market. For speed, they chose to perform two songs they knew well from their Hamburg days, Larry Williams' Bad Boy and Dizzy Miss Lizzy. For The Beatles, the pressure was beginning to show. Two of the songs from the Help! sessions were rejected as not good enough, and Dizzy Miss Lizzy was used to pad out the UK version of the album.
The mono version of Beatles VI used the same mixes as those that had been on the mono version of Beatles for Sale, that would appear later in the year on the UK mono version of Help!
, or in the case of Bad Boy, would eventually be released on the mono version of 1966's A Collection of Beatles Oldies.The stereo version of the album used the same stereo mixes as the UK as well, with the exception of Yes It Is, for which Capitol did not have a stereo mix, as it had been released as a single. Although the song had already been mixed into stereo back in the UK, Capitol chose to create a fake stereo version instead.
Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!
Mono: from mono mix of 26 October 1964
Stereo: from stereo mix of 26 October 1964
Eight Days a Week
Mono: from mono mix of 27 October 1964
Stereo: from stereo mix of 27 October 1964
You Like Me Too Much
Mono: from mono mix of 18 February 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Bad Boy
Mono: from mono mix of 10 May 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 10 May 1965
I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
Mono: from mono mix of 26 October 1964
Stereo: from stereo mix of 4 November 1964
Words of Love
Mono: from mono mix of 26 October 1964
Stereo: from stereo mix of 4 November 1964
What You're Doing
Mono: from mono mix of 21 October 1964
Stereo: from stereo mix of 4 November 1964
Yes It Is
Mono: from mono mix of 28 February 1965
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 28 February 1965
Dizzy Miss Lizzy
Mono: from mono mix of 10 May 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 10 May 1965
Tell Me What You See
Mono: from mono mix of 20 February 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Every Little Thing
Mono: from mono mix of 27 October 1964
Stereo: from stereo mix of 27 October 1964
Help! Original Soundtrack
Help!, the soundtrack to The Beatles' second feature film, was released by Capitol in mono (MAS-2386) and stereo (SMAS-2386) on 13 August 1965.
1. Help! (preceded by an uncredited instrumental intro)
2. The Night Before
3. From Me to You Fantasy (instrumental)
4. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
5. I Need You
6. In the Tyrol (instrumental)
Side Two
1. Another Girl
2. Another Hard Day's Night (instrumental)
3. Ticket to Ride
4. Medley: The Bitter End /You Can't Do That (instrumental)
5. You're Going to Lose That Girl
6. The Chase (instrumental)
It featured the seven songs from the film, as featured on side one of the UK version of the album, interspersed with instrumental orchestral pieces from the soundtrack, written by Ken Thorne and conducted by George Martin. These instrumental pieces - notably the unnamed James Bond style intro to Help! and Another Hard Day's Night - inadvertently pointed in a new musical direction for The Beatles, featuring one of the first uses of a sitar on a pop album
The stereo version of the album used true stereo for all of the songs, except Ticket To Ride, which was a fake stereo mix created from the monophonic single.
The mono version of the album was simply a fake mono fold down of the stereo album, including the fake stereo Ticket To Ride.
Help!
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 18 June 1965
The Night Before
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 23 February 1965
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 23 February 1965
I Need You
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Another Girl
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Ticket to Ride
Mono: fake mono from fake stereo from mono mix of 18 February 1965
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 18 February 1965
You're Going to Lose That Girl
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 23 February 1965
Rubber Soul
The US version of Rubber Soul was released by Capitol in mono (T-2442) and stereo (ST-2442) on 6 December 1965.
was released by Capitol in mono (T-2442) and stereo (ST-2442) on 6 December 1965.
1. I've Just Seen a Face
2. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
3. You Won't See Me
4. Think for Yourself
5. The Word
6. Michelle
Side Two
1. It's Only Love
2. Girl
3. I'm Looking Through You
4. In My Life
5. Wait
6. Run for Your Life
This is the only one of Dave Dexter's US Beatles compilations which general consensus says equals or betters it's UK version. Dexter still had five songs left over from side two of the UK Help!
album, and he used two of them here, with I've Just Seen A Face kicking off side one, and It's Only Love doing the same on side two. He also chose to drop four of the songs from the UK version of Rubber Soul
, taking the track count to 12. The album had a more acoustic feel than the UK version, and place The Beatles within the American "folk-rock" movement. The album's influence on Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys was such that he created his masterpiece, Pet Sounds
, in order to better it.The mono version of the album used the same mono mixes as were released in the UK, except for Michelle, which used an earlier mix.
The stereo version of the album used the same stereo mixes as the UK, except for The Word, which again used an earlier mix. Although I'm Looking Through You used the same mix as the UK, it includes a false start. As was his custom, Dexter also added a layer of reverb to the stereo version of the album, but erroneously sent a version without reverb to the pressing plant in LA. So there were two versions of the stereo album released - one with reverb (the "East Coast" version) and one without.
Perhaps because of this error, Rubber Soul was Dave Dexter Jr.'s final work on The Beatles albums.
I've Just Seen a Face
Mono: mono mix of 18 June 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 18 June 1965
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
Mono: mono mix of 25 October 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 26 October 1965
You Won't See Me
Mono: mono mix of 15 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 15 November 1965
Think for Yourself
Mono: mono mix of 9 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 9 November 1965
The Word
Mono: mono mix of 11 November 1965
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 11 November 1965
Michelle
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 9 November 1965
Stereo: from stereo mix of 9 November 1965
It's Only Love
Mono: mono mix of 18 June 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 18 June 1965
Girl
Mono: mono mix of 15 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 15 November 1965
I'm Looking Through You
Mono: mono mix of 15 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 15 November 1965 (but includes false start)
In My Life
Mono: mono mix of 25 October 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 26 October 1965
Wait
Mono: mono mix of 15 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 15 November 1965
Run for Your Life
Mono: mono mix of 9 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 10 November 1965
Yesterday and Today
Yesterday And Today was issued by Capitol in mono (T-2553) and stereo (ST-2553) on 15 June 1966, with artwork from a photo by Bob Whitaker. The photo showed The Beatles dressed as butchers, surrounded by raw meat and dismembered dolls, and many retailers refused point blank to stock it. The album was quickly withdrawn, and reissued hurriedly on 20 June 1966, with a much safer photo, also by Whitaker.
1. Drive My Car
2. I'm Only Sleeping
3. Nowhere Man
4. Doctor Robert
5. Yesterday
6. Act Naturally
Side Two
1. And Your Bird Can Sing
2. If I Needed Someone
3. We Can Work It Out
4. What Goes On
5. Day Tripper
After a brief UK tour to promote Rubber Soul, The Beatles had taken three months off - their longest break since their days as The Quarrymen back in Liverpool - then started work on a new album. Rubber Soul had been a rushed album, recorded quickly in October and November 1965, and released in time for Christmas. The Beatles were determined to take their time over the next album. But as in the previous year, Capitol wanted to release new Beatles material, and with The Beatles spending longer than ever in the studio, there was little forthcoming. There were some singles kicking about that had not yet been released on an album: Yesterday / Act Naturally had been released in September 1965, We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper in December 1965, Nowhere Man / What Goes On in February 1966 and Paperback Writer / Rain in May 1966. Also awaiting an album release was I'm Down, the B-side of Help! back in July 1965. These nine songs, along with the remaining two unreleased tracks from Rubber Soul, Drive My Car and If I Needed Someone, could have been compiled into an eleven track album.
Yesterday and Today (or "Yesterday"...and Today, to give it it's correct title) was compiled by Bill Miller. Deciding that there was little value in releasing an album containing nine songs that fans already owned, Miller opted to drop Paperback Writer, Rain and I'm Down. This left him three songs short, so he contacted George Martin and asked if there was any new material that he could have. Martin agreed, and mixed three tracks from The Beatles work-in-progress into mono and stereo for Miller.
The mono version of Yesterday and Today used the same mono mixes as the UK, with the exception of the three new tracks mixed at Capitol's request, I'm Only Sleeping, Doctor Robert and And Your Bird Can Sing. These would all receive new mono mixes before their UK release. A fake mono version of Drive My Car was also created, even though a true mono mix was available.
The stereo version of the album again uses mostly the UK stereo mixes. Despite being released only as a mono single, We Can Work It Out and Day Tripper had been mixed into stereo during the Rubber Soul sessions, in case The Beatles did not manage enough new material during the hurried recording of that album, and these stereo mixes were supplied to Capitol. New stereo mixes of these two songs would be prepared for their UK stereo release, on 1966's A Collection Of Beatles Oldies. Martin had created true stereo mixes of I'm Only Sleeping, Doctor Robert and And Your Bird Can Sing a week after the mono versions, but by the time they arrived in the US, Miller had already created fake stereo versions. Some, but not all, later reissues of the album (post 1973) used the US exclusive stereo mixes. Stereo 2 below refers to the reissued album.
Drive My Car
Mono: fake mono from stereo mix of 26 October 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 26 October 1965
I'm Only Sleeping
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 12 May 1966
Stereo 1: fake stereo from mono mix of 12 May 1966
Stereo 2: US exclusive stereo mix of 20 May 1966
Nowhere Man
Mono: mono mix of 25 October 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 26 October 1965
Doctor Robert
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 12 May 1966
Stereo 1: fake stereo from mono mix of 12 May 1966
Stereo 2: US exclusive stereo mix of 20 May 1966
Yesterday
Mono: mono mix of 17 June 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 18 June 1965
Act Naturally
Mono: mono mix of 18 June 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 18 June 1965
And Your Bird Can Sing
Mono: US exclusive mono mix of 12 May 1966
Stereo 1: fake stereo from mono mix of 12 May 1966
Stereo 2: US exclusive stereo mix of 20 May 1966
If I Needed Someone
Mono: mono mix of 25 October 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 26 October 1965
We Can Work It Out
Mono: mono mix of 29 October 1965
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 10 November 1965
What Goes On
Mono: mono mix of 9 November 1965
Stereo: stereo mix of 9 November 1965
Day Tripper
Mono: mono mix of 29 October 1965
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 26 October 1965
Revolver
Revolver was issued by Capitol in mono (T-2576) and stereo (ST-2576) on 8 August 1966. Artwork was from a black and white drawing and photo collage by The Beatles' old friend from their Hamburg days, Klaus Voormann.
was issued by Capitol in mono (T-2576) and stereo (ST-2576) on 8 August 1966. Artwork was from a black and white drawing and photo collage by The Beatles' old friend from their Hamburg days, Klaus Voormann.
1. Taxman
2. Eleanor Rigby
3. Love You To
4. Here, There And Everywhere
5. Yellow Submarine
6. She Said, She Said
Side Two
1. Good Day Sunshine
2. For No One
3. I Want To Tell You
4. Got To Get You Into My Life
5. Tomorrow Never Knows
Both mono and stereo versions of the album were the same as their UK equivalents, although missing the three songs already released on Yesterday and Today.
This was the last occasion on which a UK and US album would differ. The Beatles recording contract with EMI expired after it's release, and while they were happy to sign a new contract, effective from 27 January 1967, they insisted that their albums were released worldwide in the way in which they intended.
Taxman
Mono: from mono mix of 21 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 21 June 1966
Eleanor Rigby
Mono: from mono mix of 22 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 22 June 1966
Love You To
Mono: from mono mix of 13 April 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 21 June 1966
Here, There and Everywhere
Mono: from mono mix of 21 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 21 June 1966
Yellow Submarine
Mono: from mono mix of 3 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 21 June 1966
She Said She Said
Mono: from mono mix of 22 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 22 June 1966
Good Day Sunshine
Mono: from mono mix of 22 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 22 June 1966
For No One
Mono: from mono mix of 21 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 21 June 1966
I Want to Tell You
Mono: from mono mix of 3 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 21 June 1966
Got to Get You into My Life
Mono: from mono mix of 20th June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 22 June 1966
Tomorrow Never Knows
Mono: from mono mix of 6 June 1966
Stereo: from stereo mix of 22 June 1966
Magical Mystery Tour
Magical Mystery Tour was released by Capitol in mono (MAL-2835) and stereo (SMAL-2835) on 27 November 1967.
1. Magical Mystery Tour
2. The Fool on the Hill
3. Flying
4. Blue Jay Way
5. Your Mother Should Know
6. I Am the Walrus
Side 2
1. Hello, Goodbye
2. Strawberry Fields Forever
3. Penny Lane
4. Baby, You're a Rich Man
5. All You Need Is Love
The soundtrack to The Beatles third film, Magical Mystery Tour
, had been released in the UK as a mono and stereo double EP set. However, the EP was not a popular format in the US, so Capitol decided to add The Beatles 1967 singles and release an album instead. The album was compiled by Voyle Gilmore.The mono version of the album used the same mono mixes as the UK singles and mono EP, although a slightly longer version of I Am The Walrus had appeared as the B-side to Hello Goodbye in the US. This had then been edited in the US to match the UK version before being released on the album.
The stereo version of the album used the same stereo mixes as the UK stereo Magical Mystery Tour EP, again with the exception of I Am The Walrus, which used an earlier stereo mix. Strawberry Fields Forever had been mixed to stereo for inclusion on Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but had been issued as a single. It made its stereo debut here. This version would later appear on 1973's 1967-1970 album. Hello Goodbye was also mixed to stereo specifically for the American market, and would also not appear in the UK until 1973's 1967-1970 album. No stereo mixes of Penny Lane, Baby, You're A Rich Man or All You Need Is Love were available, so Capitol created fake stereo versions of these tracks.
The stereo Magical Mystery Tour LP was released in the UK in 1976. Newer stereo mixes were used for both I Am The Walrus and Strawberry Fields Forever. This has been the standard version since then, including the CD releases of the album.
Magical Mystery Tour
Mono: mono mix of 7 November 1967
Stereo: stereo mix of 7 November 1967
The Fool on the Hill
Mono: mono mix of 25 October 1967
Stereo: stereo mix of 1 November 1967
Flying
Mono: mono mix of 28 September 1967
Stereo: stereo mix of 7 November 1967
Blue Jay Way
Mono: mono mix of 7 November 1967
Stereo: stereo mix of 7 November 1967
Your Mother Should Know
Mono: mono mix of 2 October 1967
Stereo: stereo mix of 6 November 1967
I Am the Walrus
Mono: mono mix of 29 September 1967
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 6 November 1967
Hello, Goodbye
Mono: mono mix of 6 November 1967
Stereo: stereo mix of 6 November 1967
Strawberry Fields Forever
Mono: mono mix of 22 December 1966
Stereo: US exclusive stereo mix of 29 December 1966
Penny Lane
Mono: mono mix of 25 January 1967
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 25 January 1967
Baby, You're a Rich Man
Mono: mono mix of 11 May 1967
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 11 May 1967
All You Need Is Love
Mono: mono mix of 26 June 1967
Stereo: fake stereo from mono mix of 26 June 1967
Hey Jude
Hey Jude was released by Capitol in stereo only (SW-385) on 26 February 1970.
1. Can't Buy Me Love
2. I Should Have Known Better
3. Paperback Writer
4. Rain
5. Lady Madonna
6. Revolution
Side 2
1. Hey Jude
2. Old Brown Shoe
3. Don't Let Me Down
4. The Ballad of John and Yoko
Although a US release, Hey Jude album was not compiled by Capitol, but by Allan Steckler of Bell Sounds, New York, working directly for Apple, The Beatles' own record label, under the direction of Allan Klien, The Beatles' manager.
Steckler chose to include songs which had so far not been released on an album by Capitol. As a consequence of The Beatles' 1967 contract with EMI forbidding Capitol from carving up their albums, there was plenty to choose from. Their 1967 output had already been compiled into the Magical Mystery Tour album, but there had been no such compilation since. There were also a number of earlier tracks which had fallen by the wayside.
By this criteria, Steckler could have made a double album by including:
- Misery
- There's a Place
- From Me to You
- Sie Liebt Dich
- A Hard Day's Night
- I'm Down
- The Inner Light
- Across The Universe (Our World mix)
- Get Back (single mix)
At the time of release, all of the 1969 mixes were US exclusives, but they have since become the standard stereo mixes for these tracks, and have been released, for example, on Past Masters.
Can't Buy Me Love
Stereo: stereo mix of 26 February 1964
I Should Have Known Better
Stereo: stereo mix of 22 June 1964
Paperback Writer
Stereo: stereo mix of 31 October 1966
Rain
Stereo: stereo mix of 2 December 1969
Lady Madonna
Stereo: stereo mix of 2 December 1969
Revolution
Stereo: stereo mix of 5 December 1969
Hey Jude
Stereo: stereo mix of 5 December 1969
Old Brown Shoe
Stereo: stereo mix of 18 April 1969
Don't Let Me Down
Stereo: stereo mix of 7 April 1969
The Ballad of John and Yoko
Stereo: stereo mix of 14 April 1969
[1] Box Set Alert: Meet The Beatles! (Again): The US Albums Box Set Super Deluxe Edition ?
, EMI paperwork shows that George Martin had offered The Beatles a contract following a meeting with Brian Epstein on Wednesday 9th May 1962 without first seeing them play, and without having met them. His decision was allegedly based only on hearing their failed Decca audition, and Epstein's insistence that his band were going to be "bigger than Elvis". The Beatles contract, dated 4th June 1962, still exists.
, George Martin with William Pearson, Macmillan London Ltd., 1994, p32)+record+sleeve.jpg)
David Pritchard & Alan Lysaght,Stoddart Publishing Co., 1998, pp72-73)
, he had never heard of The Beatles before Jones asked for the record. This is not entirely true. Like Bob Wooler, Epstein wrote for Mersey Beat, in this case a record review column called “Stop The World – And Listen To Everything In It”.
Spencer Leigh, Omnibus Press, 2012 (p76))
Philip Norman - p125 
Bill Harry - p762 