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I know that most people in the know say that the capitol beatles recordings are generally poor. Unfortunately that's mostly what I got. I notice that there are different prices in record guides for the same LP. Do this simply reflect jacket differences and collectability, or are there any audible differences in the pressings? Are the monos better than the stereos. I ask because I see so many posts about high quality Beatle's albums but they all seem to cost big bucks and I'm a yard sale guy. Thanks Norm
Follow Ups:
The only original UK versions I have had the means to acquire so far are the singles and EP singles. These are all monos only, up to The Ballad of John & Yoko, and a relatively cheap way for a North American in 2005 to get to discover how sweet, warm and punchy these sound compared to that Capitol catalogue we had been raised upon.
Here in Montreal you can find some of these as reissues (mostly from the mid-70s) in collectors shop for around 5 to 10$US (15 to 20$ for the EPs) in very decent shape.
Try one of these once and you'll see. You may be surprised by comparing them with their CD counterparts (the first four titles of the CD album catalogue are in mono actually).
I have sold quite a few of the rarer versions of the Beatles records over the years, like a 2nd state (peeled) stereo Butcher Boy cover in NM condition for $1,000 and a special pressing of a Parlophone lp for $750 to a buyer in Japan.Mostly, the price differences are because of some rare variations in the record jacket or label. Usually these will be the earlier pressings, but not always. Beatles records were reissued many, many times, so there are some variations that are less common and those will command higher prices from collectors that have to have every variation.
There probably will be some audible differences between some of the pressings, but I am not knowledgeable about this to know which ones would be better. From my experience in buying them when they first came out in the 1960's, the mono's are much better sounding than the stereo, especially for the earlier albums. Some of the mono versions are also rarer and therefore more valuable.
I have found that some of the mono Capitols sound pretty good to my ears, but the Parlophones I have heard seem to sound better.
There are certainly much more experienced Beatle collectors around here that hopefully will give you some better information.
Dick Schneiders
An unpeeled Butcher Boy in NM condition? It might interest you to know that I saw one on Monday for sale in one of the UK's biggest used record stores, Beanos. It was on sale for 2,000 g.b.p ( that's, what these days, 3,500 U.S ?).
rips or tears from the excellent peel job. I sold it about 10 years or so ago.
I had purchased 4 NM Beatles Parlophone lp's at a local estate auction for $50. This was about 10 years ago and I was buying and selling records in Goldmine magazine, as eBay, etc. were not yet available. I listed the 4 Parlophones, and three of them got some minimal responses, but one was getting some high bids from all over the world.I did some quick research in my old Goldmine mags and found a dealer in England that had a huge 4 page ad with lots of pictures. He had the very same lp and was offering it for sale at $1,000. I called him on the phone to ask him about it, and found out that this lp had some special label variation that identified it as an export only Parlophone to Denmark or Scandanavia. It was a very rare record.
The price guides back then didn't address such small variations, and I had no idea I had a rare one.
Dick Schneiders
The guides list variations that seem quite minute and over the years I have picked up several capitol versions of the same record and other than preferring mono I couldn't tell any difference. I do have one of those covered, unpeeled butcher covers, It doesn't sound any different than the other regular jacket presssings. Norm
And, while there are occassionally lable variants, the easiest way to tell is by which label was used. Capitol's Black w/ rainbow boarder = 1st pressing through the White Album, which was on Apple. Let it Be used a red, instead of green label.The black with boarder label was brought back in the late 80s, but should be easy to tell, as the jackets have bar codes, and the vinyl is thinner (among other differences).
Prior to Sgt. Peppers, the US albums were truncated versions of their UK counterparts, and Capitol engineers added obnoxious echo to make the blokes sound less British. This is less pronounced on the mono versions. Mono versions of Sgt. P and MMT are just plain scarce, as mono pressings stopped in late 67.
Also, several US only compilations were cobbled together from the deleted tracks and non lp singles.
If your actually picking up Beatles albums at yard sale prices, you're doing better than most. Even purple label versions have some value, as long as they're not trashed.
PS, The vast majority of "Introducing the Beatles" (their first US album, on Vee Jay) are phonies, so know what you're doing before paying more than a couple of bucks for a copy of this one.
HiIt's not correct to say " Capitol's Black w/ rainbow boarder = 1st pressing " ...
When, I beleive, all Capitol releases of the early Beatles titles, be they first or thirty-first pressings, had the black label with the rainbow border.
I recall picking up 'Meet The Beatles' & 'Beatles '65' as cut-outs at a supermarket in the seventies and they still had the black / rainbow label.
Cost was $1.99, I think. First pressings they were not.
The black with rainbow border label was in production through 1969. With the exception of the olive vs. brown cover variety on Meet The Beatles there is nothing I know of to tell whether a version was pressed in the year of its issue or 1969. Therefore, according to the Goldmine guides they are all first pressings until they switched to the lime green label, which was used until 1972. Then there was the red label. orange label, purple label and new black w/ colorband version.If you know of trailoff wax clues that can better pinpoint the date of pressing, or of some other means I'll defer.
Also, all mono albums were black with colorband, and I bet all remaining copies were remaindered when mono was dropped. Do you recall if yours was mono or stereo?
Hi,Sorry, cannot recall on the mono issue. These were at the time replacement copies for me, so none of those "I remember exactly" braincells kick in, the way they do for the orig purchases. (I remember riding my bicycle with a copy of the new Rubber Soul in it's Sears Roebuck bag..... )
My only point re the 'first pressing' designation was, that a given example of 'Beatles 65' could be the first record pressed by capitol or the millionth, regardless of it's black & rainbow label, which as you point out, didn't change for years.
Here's a link which has some info on Stamper # etc --- scroll all the way down the page to 'Matrix Numbers'.
J.
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