I feel more than slightly ridiculous admitting this, but with the release this week of the remastered mono Beatles LPs on vinyl, I now possess eight copies of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Sgt. Pepper was the first album I bought, but I had to buy another one because, being ten years old, I had cut out the inserts and had scratched A Day in the Life just after the words “Albert Hall”. I kept the original, of course, for sentimental reasons. Then there was a Picture Disc, the first ever made, which my uncle sent from America, and which I kept as a collector’s item and haven’t played.
After that came the CD. In 2009 CD remasters were issued in mono and stereo of the entire Beatles catalogue. I had to get both because everyone said mono was better, but I didn’t believe them. In 2012 the stereo remasters on vinyl arrived, which I needed to have, because what if I got a turntable? And this week, I took receipt of the Beatles fanatic’s ultimate possession — the mono vinyl remasters, a glossy box with 11 LPs (the first 10 albums and an album of singles). And, for my birthday, something to play it on.
First things first. The 2009 remasters are a huge improvement. An ordinary listener who isn’t fussy about audio quality will be able to appreciate the difference straight away. They are undoubtedly worth the money to replace the originals.
After that, the differences are much more subtle. The case for mono is simple — authenticity. Until they made the White Album, the Beatles recorded for mono. Few people had stereos in the early 1960s, so the stereo mix was an afterthought. What you get, therefore, is a mono album with what are, effectively, stereo tricks. Pulling the vocals to one side, for instance.
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Listen, for instance, to the stereo Eleanor Rigby on a pair of headphones and this trickery can be quite annoying, with one ear sounding empty and the vocal jumping to the right ear half way through the middle of the first “Eleanor”.
There is no question that the first two albums, Please Please Me and With the Beatles, sound punchier and more concentrated in mono. As the albums progress this difference becomes less noticeable and which is preferable becomes much more a matter of taste.
John Lennon, for example, hated the stereo mix of Revolution, saying that a heavy song had been turned into “ice cream”. And he is right that the stereo separation isolates his vocals, making them weaker. Yet it also makes McCartney’s bass line more prominent, which I like but can see why Lennon did not.
On one or two songs there are quite big differences. The mono version of She’s Leaving Home is significantly faster and higher pitched. Most other differences are tiny — some scat vocals on the Sgt. Pepper reprise are missing from the stereo, bolder horns on Got to Get You into My Life and so on. So I think the choice really comes down to whether you prefer the sound compact (mono) or with greater definition for each instrument (stereo). My own preference is for the latter for all the albums save the first two.
Vinyl or CD? The vinyl albums are beautiful and the box sets a delight, with fantastic books (the stereo maybe marginally better). They are incomparably more satisfying to hold and possess than the CDs. Playing them is a lovely, tactile experience and it is both an advantage and a disadvantage that you end up listening to an entire side on vinyl because you can’t be bothered to get up and change it.
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I’m embarrassed to say I couldn’t hear much of a difference, though, and it is much more expensive on vinyl (£100 or so). If you buy either of the box sets, bear in mind that the stereo box contains three more albums (Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road and Let it Be) for pretty much the same cost.
The vinyls are pricey, but a joy if you can afford them. For just the difference in sound, it’s not worth it. But for the package? It is.
(Apple, out Monday)