Capitol Beatles Box Set Vol 2 - Continued (Part 2)

Hopefully the Abbey Road tape librarian will let the engineers use the master tapes and not the 1987 CD's

 

This forum is not reflective of the customer base that causes Beatles reissues to go platinum. We tend to confuse our wishes and desires with those of the public at large. I checked out the YouTube TV commercial for this set, and its selling point was "the albums you grew up with!", not "You can hear Ringo cough at the 1:32 mark of 'Norwegian Wood'!" As long as the CDs play the songs that were on the Capitol albums in something resembling CD-quality sound, 99 out of 100 customers simply won't care. It's certainly debatable whether a large portion of the population that grew up with these albums still has enough hearing left to discern the subtle mix variations over which we obsess here.

 

Yeah who cares about that stuff? Btw, that was George coughing, of course.

At the 0:38 mark...

 

Hawkman..you're still missing the point.

The point is, if this set has fold downs for Beatles VI and Rubber soul, it's not a mistake. It is meant to be. Simply because in order for there to be fold downs, they have to be created. Now why would these fold downs been created? Capitol has meant for them to be there? The question would then be...why????

You failed to offer the gorilla a banana..so we don't know the reason "why" yet...

Oh and in order to fix this mistake, it would have to be a total recall..this isn't just one song mistaken here..If this is true, it's on purpose.

Chris

 

Were all four of them smokers?

 

Like chimneys!

 

From Joe Brennan's Beatles Variations web page:

 

I too think Capitol should have used the original mono masters and on that part they screwed the pooch, but "once-again" as far as being clear about what -mono- would be included in this set, Capitol Records can't help it if they issue a press release clearly identifying what the mono mixes will be,(or better said what will not be) and people still refuse to believe it. Sounds like to me that Capitol is delivering exactly what they promised with the mono cuts. If they don't use the word "original" on the individual cd's, that should make it very clear to those in the know what's on that cd. Those not particularly in the know. "the average consumer", don't care anyway and Capitol knows that.


THE EARLY BEATLES
stereo-to-mono mixdown

BEATLES VI
mono debut on CD (doesn't say original)

HELP!
stereo-to-mono mixdown

RUBBER SOUL
mono debut on CD (doesn't say original)


BTW, the only way it could be an April Fools Joke would be if the Press Release were an April Fools Joke.

 

Waxman...I'm including part of the press release from Capitol. Not the listing, but the actual text. They clearly say "original Capitol tapes" were used. What's confusing some people is the wording for the mono Rubber Soul CD. The stereo tracks are called "original 1965 stereo tracks, produced by George Martin" to differentiate between the digital remixes he did in 1987 for the standard EMI CD. There's no need to call the mono mixes, (which have never been issued on CD, the UK mono mixes on the EP Box are different!) "original US masters" because this has been clearly mentioned already.

The set will contain mono and stereo versions of tracks from the U.S. album versions of "The Early Beatles," "Beatles VI," "Help!" and "Rubber Soul." It will be "available for a limited time only." The release date on the brochure is April 11.

The tracks are "24 bit re-mastered from the original U.S. master tapes" with 14 tracks issued for the first time on CD in stereo. A 56-page collector’s booklet will include rare photos.
The American "Rubber Soul" features the CD debut of George Martin’s original stereo mixes of the 12 tracks (these were remixed in ‘86-87 for the UK versions of the CD’s)... and the first time the mono mixes will appear on CD.

From Bruce Spizer's webpage...The Capitol version of Rubber Soul contains the CD debut of twelve songs in their original 1965 George Martin stereo mixes. When these songs first appeared on CD in 1987, they were stereo remixes of the songs prepared by George Martin. The album's twelve songs are also making their mono debut on CD, this time with George Martin's original mono mixes from 1965.

 

If anyone has access to the track timings, maybe they could compare the mono track lengths to the corresponding stereo track lengths. If they are all identical that wouldn't be a good sign.

 

I asked Wollensack this question in the "big" Capitol thread. I asked him to check "Words of Love" and "Kansas City". He said "Words of Love" is the same length.

 

Waxman,

You conveniently left out the part of the press release that said:

"Track Listings: (Stereo Recordings / Original Mono Recordings)"

This is BEFORE any of the album tracks are listed, which means that it applies to ALL of the track listings.


For your edification, I have reprinted the entire press release and highlighted the pertinent part in bold and italics:


Mar 20, 2006 Source: Capitol Records Updated: Mar 31, 2006 07:36 AM

Photo courtesy of Apple Corps Ltd.
Search Now:



CD cover courtesy of Apple Corps Ltd.

APRIL 11, 2006 -- CAPITOL RECORDS TO RELEASE VOLUME 2
OF BEATLES U.S. RECORDINGS IN A BOX SET
FEATURING THE EARLY BEATLES, BEATLES VI, HELP! AND RUBBER SOUL
FIRST TIME EVER ON CD


On April 11, 2006, Capitol Records will release The Beatles Capitol Albums Volume 2, a collection of the four Capitol albums by The Beatles from 1965. The box set marks the CD debut of The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, the Help! soundtrack and the American version of Rubber Soul.
This is the much anticipated companion set to the Capitol Albums Volume 1 which brought together for the first time on CD the albums that began it all - Meet The Beatles, The Beatles Second Album, Something New and Beatles '65.

"It has been an ambition of mine to see the release of these CDs in the form we grew up with in the U.S.," says Andrew Slater, President and CEO, Capitol Records. "The remastering should ensure that the sound quality lives up to the expectations of our memories."

The Early Beatles marks the stereo debut on CD of nine early Beatles classics, including Please, Please Me and Twist And Shout.

Beatles VI marks the stereo debut on CD of five Beatles recordings, including cover versions of Kansas City and Words Of Love, as well as Lennon and McCartney’s What You’re Doing and Every Little Thing. The album also marks the CD debut of four Beatles songs in their original 1965 George Martin mono mixes.

The Help! soundtrack album contains five instrumental tracks from the film making their CD debut, including From Me To You Fantasy and Another Hard Day’s Night. When the British Help! LP was issued on CD in 1987, it contained George Martin stereo remixes of the songs. The Capitol soundtrack album marks the CD debut of five songs in their original 1965 George Martin stereo mixes.

The Capitol version of Rubber Soul contains, for the first time on CD, the original 1965 George Martin stereo mixes. When these songs appeared on CD in 1987, they were stereo remixes of the songs prepared by George Martin.

The Capitol Albums Volumes 1 & 2 have been carefully mastered from the original master tapes, taken from the vaults of Capitol Records, to ensure that they sound as they did when first released in 1964 and 1965. Each disc in the box sets presents each album in stereo and then in mono.

In the Sixties, American record labels often chose to reformat British records to suit the needs of the U.S. market. In America, singles were generally included on current albums, where as in the UK, albums and singles were most often separate releases.

Higher music publishing costs in the U.S. also made it impractical to include as many songs on American albums. In addition, in the case of The Beatles, some of the recordings on the American albums were given more echo than the British versions, to 'Americanize' their sound.

In Volume 2, all but four of the tracks on the stereo albums are actual stereo mixes, with two being unique Capitol duophonic mixes. Capitol's engineers created duophonic mixes from mono masters by emphasizing the treble in one channel, boosting the bass in the other, and running the two channels slightly out-of-sync to simulate a stereo sound. In addition, five of the mono tracks are unique Capitol stereo-to-mono mixdowns with added echo and reverb.

Because the 46 songs included in Volume 2 are presented in both stereo and mono mixes, there are 92 tracks in the box set. Out of this number, 82 tracks appear in versions not previously available on CD.

When The Beatles catalog appeared on CD for the first time in 1987, releases were standardized on a worldwide basis. A short time later, the U.S. albums, which had last appeared on vinyl and cassette, were deleted from the Capitol catalog.

Since that time there has been increasing demand for these original U.S. albums to make their CD debut, which they now do as part of this specially priced and uniquely packaged 4 CD boxed set.

The Capitol Albums Volume 2 includes all 4 of the group's 1965 Capitol album releases. Each of the discs is housed in a miniature replica of the original album cover. The box set contains a colorful 60-page booklet featuring a scrap book effect of rare photos and clippings from that amazing year.

Track Listings: (Stereo Recordings / Original Mono Recordings)

THE EARLY BEATLES (Released March 22, 1965)

Love Me Do $
Twist And Shout *‡
Anna *‡
Chains *‡
Boys *‡
Ask Me Why *‡
Please Please Me *‡
P.S. I Love You $
Baby It’s You *‡
A Taste Of Honey *‡
Do You Want To Know A Secret *‡

* Stereo debut on CD (9)

$ First CD appearance of 1963 simulated stereo mix from first U.K. LP (2)
‡ First CD appearance of unique Capitol stereo-to-mono mixdown (9)

BEATLES VI (Released June 14, 1965)

Kansas City *@
Eight Days A Week
You Like Me Too Much †
Bad Boy †
I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party *@
Words Of Love *@
What You’re Doing *@
Yes It Is ¤
Dizzy Miss Lizzie †
Tell Me What You See †
Every Little Thing *@

* Stereo debut on CD (5)

† Mono debut on CD (4)

¤ First CD appearance of unique Capitol duophonic mix (1)

@ First CD appearance of unique Capitol remixes with echo and reverb (5)

HELP! (Released August 13, 1965)

Help! •‡
The Night Before †‡%
From Me To You Fantasy (Instrumental) •‡
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away †‡%
I Need You †‡%
In The Tyrol (Instrumental) •‡
Another Girl †‡%
Another Hard Day’s Night (Instrumental) •‡
Ticket To Ride ¤
The Bitter End/You Can’t Do That (Instrumental) •‡
You’re Gonna Lose That Girl †‡%
The Chase (Instrumental) •‡

• First CD appearance in any version (6)
† Mono debut on CD (5)
% First CD appearance of original 1965 George Martin stereo mix (5)
¤ First CD appearance of unique Capitol duophonic mix (1)
‡ First CD appearance of unique Capitol stereo-to-mono mixdown (11)

RUBBER SOUL (Released December 6, 1965)

I’ve Just Seen A Face %†
Norwegian Wood %†
You Won’t See Me %†
Think For Yourself %†
The Word %†
Michelle %†
It’s Only Love %†
Girl %†
I’m Looking Through You %†
In My Life %†
Wait %†
Run For Your Life %†
% First CD appearance of original 1965 George Martin stereo mix (12)
† Mono debut on CD (12)

 

Well I think it's clear that the set Wollensack has contains fold downs. What isn't clear is whether or not, his set is the actual set.

Unfortunately, a big opportunity to ask Bruce Spizer point blank last night at Beatlefest didn't happen.

 

I'm sorry -- I find all this very hard to believe. And I doubt Spizer would have any part of it.

 

Oh but Spizer was playing stereo cuts from his advance copy and showing it off at his table. A quick question as to whether or not Beatles VI and Rubber Soul featured original mono mixes isn't too much to ask....LOL!

 

Sorry, Hawkman, you let us down. But, heck, I forgive ya.

The fact that BOTH Wollensack's box set and Hawkman's sampler have fold downs is not good news, whatever the explanation . . . and Hawkman did us quite a favor by picking up the sampler, listening to it, and reporting his observations here.

 

Billy, at least we know how thick the cardboard is and that the sleeves are a little smaller so the damn CDs don't fall out now

 

That's good, then they won't go flying when people throw their boxes out the window...

 

I've actually used (Stereo Recordings / Original Mono Recordings) as "the point" in previous posts.

No, it is before the "CD BOX SET", to simplify it...that generic heading is the car commercial, the individual descriptions below each album are the disclaimers, and they make it abundantly clear. Capitol IMO made a mistake not going with the original mono masters but they are not at fault in any way with releasing it this way based upon what they stated would be released.

 

I don't agree at all with the two of you that 99% of people who buy this set won't care or know about how the mono mixes should sound. This is a specialty item for Beatlemaniacs. Most of the people who own all the 1987 CDs and are perfectly happy with them all won't buy this because they'll look at the contents and say "I already own these songs, I don't need this". I believe that a majority of people who buy this will know at least some of the differences. Of course, it's impossible to know the actual percentages but I strongly believe quite a few more than 1 in 100 will know the differences!

 

That's why Capitol made different versions and are widely publicizing them as being "different", "never before", "first time on CD"..so they will buy them. The fold-downs are new and different and that's the pitch that Capitol will milk until the cow has gone dry. What a marketing department, absolute genius, really. Remember the bottom line, $. I look for Vol 2 to meet or exceed the sales of Vol 1. It's "THE BEATLES". And the fold-downs might be sound really good, I think Ted Jensen did them, didn't he? Not sure.

 

Sorry guys, but I just don't believe we're going to get short-changed, I really don't.

I cannot believe that Capitol would try and sneak newly created fold-down mono mixes onto this set and no-one at Capitol, not Bruce Spizer, not Ted Jensen, NO-ONE, says a word about it. The backlash would be too great and people's credibility put on the line (especially Capitol's) if they mis-led Beatles fans in this way.

There will be an answer...to coin a phrase

I also find it VERY intriguing that we've had some interesting posts here from people claiming to know that the fold-downs are for real but have either gone quiet on us or been vague about what they've found out. I'm not questioning anyone's integrity for a minute but I just think it's all rather odd. In fact, I think it's really, really weird. All of it.

If I was at Beatlefest in NJ, I would NOT hang about...straight over to Bruce at the earliest opportunity and ask the question outright! Unfortunately there's about 3,000 miles of ocean between me and the event...oh well...

Off to bed now...I'm physically and mentally exhausted

 

Can you preorder the box from the Beatlefest website and get the sampler from there ?