Beatles Remasters: Mono vs. Stereo Debate Thread

Thanks Map - can you be a little more specific about where you heard what you describe in the second paragraph?

Seditious,

More so the "Rubber SOul" stereo tracks in the mono box set, but in the "Help" stereo tracks as well.

"Run For Your Life" as well as the cuts I mentioned, "The Word" and "Norwegian Wood" were places where I recall things sounded a lot different than I recall from the older stereo versions I am familiar with. I believe "The Night BEfore" is another.

I was listening with all tracks from the box set plus all tracks from the earlier "Live at the BBC" release cued up in "juke box" mode randomly for comparisons and these are a few of the cuts that came up where I recall noticing these things in particular. I have not yet listened start/finish to any single disk from the mono set and have not yet heard every song on each new mono album.

Hello mapman, I wasn't sure if you knew the stereo albums contained in the mono box set are the original 60's mixes. It is like stepping back in time.

Rick,

My understanding is that none of the new remasters (including the new stereo remasters) are remixed, so the music content is the same even though the sound is different.

So are the stereo versions of "Rubber Soul" and "Help" included in the mono box set the same as the new separately issued stereo remasters or something still even different from those?

Also, I wonder why only those two albums in the mono box set include stereo versions of the individual tracks?

BTW, though the final verdict on all the box set albums is still out, the one album where I think the monos may be lacking so far in comparison to older stereo versions I am familiar with is "Revolver", which so far my impression is that at least some tracks miss some of the life that stereo helped breathe into the various studio tricks the Beatles cracked open for that particular album. I'm not finding this to be the case so far in general with either Rubber Soul or Pepper, the two albums that preceeded and came after it where the BEatles were most into innovation within the recording studio.

I'm reading that the stereo cuts in the mono box set are the original experimental stereo mixes from when those albums came out but now on CD.

From this I'm inferring then that the new stereo remasters outside the mono box set are of latter standard stereo mixes of those two albums that the original CD versions from the 80's were based on as well, however now remastered to the nth degree as well, so probably better sounding than the stereo cuts in the mono box set as well.

Clear as mud???

The stereo cuts in the mono box are certainly not bad and I suppose do sound somewhat experimental given that this is supposedly what they were, but I'm actually happy to find out that these are different from the real, new, stereo remastered versions because there were definitely some rough edges listening under the headphone microscope.

I suppose once I get a feel for the weaker recordings in the mono issues, I will have to then buy at least a few new stereo remaster versions as well in order to sate my desire to have the most rewarding version of each album. Revolver will be top of the list at present.

Hell, maybe I'll just buy the whole stereo set as well and cover all the bases, for better or worse.

Boy, those marketing guys at Apple Corps. sure got me pegged....

Still gotta compare with my old standby vinyl albums I have also, which includes MFSL recordings of Pepper and Abbey Road.

Beatles, anyone?