Beatle Reissues on CD

[sterling]

The NPR website has a neat interview concerning the newly released Capitol CDs of the Beatles american albums from 1965.

Question for Eric,

They talk in hear about the difference between the HELP album as far as the mono vs stereo version. They also talk about how they had different intros on them. Also, on the stereo one since it was recorded on two tracks you had left side instruments and right side voices.

Did you use to listen to the left and right sides to try to discern the words and harmonies on one side and the different instruments on the left side? Did you ever do it to the Beatles recordings?

Thanks,

Phil

[pierson]

Does it mention how Capitol "F'ed up" the pressing of "Rubber Soul"???

Instead of using the real mono master for the mono mix they used the stereo master & made it mono- thusly leaving out the real mono mixes which included "I'm Looking Through You" WITHOUT the false start & the cough on "Norwegian Wood"

small things BUT just the stuff purists who buy such things are looking for... & it's a blatant oversight...

[seattlesteve]

I'm not sure but I think I remember Eric writing once he did the left side right thing to break down Brian Wilson's arrangements, maybe Pet Sounds?

[Eric Carmen]

I spent half of my life between the ages of 15 and 25 doing it to every record I loved. I wanted to take each track apart and see what made them tick. I wanted to learn every trick, every sound, every reverb and delay, every eq. When you go back and listen to Phil Spector's records, they sound totally different from Quincy Jones' records and those sounded different from George Martin's records and on and on. Some records sounded good ONLY in mono. Some sounded better in stereo. I wanted to know WHY? Why you ask? The devil is in the details. ec

[Poor4Life]

Years ago I attended Columbia College to become a recording engineer. The same reasons Eric stated above was the exact same reasons I wanted to become one. I was fascinated by how a record ended up sounding like it did. When I saw McCartney's recent PBS special and him demonstrating how different tracks are put together, I was glued to the TV. I just LOVE that type of stuff...

Jeff

[When I'm Cool]

I can't tell you how much I love and appreciate Eric's input on stuff like this. Man, it's like a clinic here. I'm not musical at all, but I work on systems and application development. I think 60's and 70's artists/producers were early computer programers (with musical talent, of course) but the skills to imagine something and then make it happen. Scott

[darlene]

And in spite of the fact that technology has evolved to the point where one can do almost anything, everything depends upon the talent and vision of the person putting it together.

Mischa Elman was always my favorite violinist because he had this gorgeous gorgeous sound, and when someone asked him how he does it, he smiled and said, "It isn't in here (he pointed to his fingers), it's in HERE (he pointed to his head).

Everything still depends upon the conception of what the person in charge wants it to sound like, and if you have someone with real talent and the vision to do it, you're golden. If you don't, all the technology in the world won't help.

--Darlene

[Brian Mac]

I've been holding off buying the new Beatles Box until I can be sure to get one with the proper mixes. It's been said that the Beatles spent weeks making the mono mixes and only days on the stereo ones.

On the recent Mccartney Doc Jeff mentioned, Paul talked about how the Beatles would bounce tracks over and over to create the 4 track masters. He said the bouncing was the secret to the great "crunchy" guitar sound the Beatles always got.

A great pair of headphones is another great way to "take apart" a recording. Overnight Sensation is a great headphone listen. So much going on. The drums are thunderous on the solo at the end and reveal a lot about the production. No wonder John Lennon was impressed...