The Beatles Mono Box Set
By Marvin Marks on Jul 14, 2009 in Features
December 2009 Note: I’m updating this post because The Beatles in Mono Box Set is back in stock at Amazon after they had said it was “discontinued by the manufacturer” so that’s great news for anyone who was worried they weren’t going to be able to find it because it’s back in stock - for now. CLICK HERE to order.
On 9/9/9 The Beatles Mono Box Set will be released. You can order it online on Amazon. This is a limited edition run of 10,000 copies (which are numbered.)
So what’s in this mono box set? All 10 UK Beatles studio albums which were originally mixed in mono (1963’s Please Please Me through 1968’s The Beatles, which is better known as The White Album.) It also includes a collection titled Mono Masters which includes the mono mixes for all of The Beatles non-album tracks during this period.
Mono Masters contains many of The Beatles most famous songs (”We Can Work It Out,” “Day Tripper,” “Hey Jude,” & “Paperback Writer” for example) because they would often not include their hit singles in their studio albums (feeling that would be ripping off their fans since they had already bought those singles.)
The Beatles Mono Box Set also includes the original stereo mixes for the 1965 albums Help! & Rubber Soul. Stereo mixing was in it’s infancy at this time and these original stereo mixes were quite experimental. These mixes they were scrapped when The Beatles albums were first released on CD in the 1980s, and new stereo mixes were made for these albums. This new release will be the first time that these original stereo mixes are available on CD.
So what’s the big deal about mono mixes? This is the first time that these mono mixes have ever been released on CD. When The Beatles were recording these albums in the 1960s mono was the standard and thus they spent a lot more time on the mono mixes than they did on the stereo mixes.
In fact, Geoff Emerick (Beatles engineer) said that the band was very involved with the mono mixes but not at all with the stereo mixes. The stereo mixes were basically “thrown together” without a whole lot of thought, while the mono mixes were worked on until they were “perfect.”
Some consider these mono mixes to be the “real” versions of The Beatles albums up through The White Album and I’ve heard a lot of people say that the mono mixes are of superior quality to the stereo mixes, in particularly for the 1967 classic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
What’s the deal with a limited edition with only 10,000 copies being made? I’m not sure if they’re saying this initial run is 10,000 copies or if they’re saying only 10,000 copies will be made total. It seems to me that the demand will be far higher than just 10,000 and that they will end up making more copies. But just in case they do not, I would recommend ordering your mono box set right now: CLICK HERE.
Mono mixes only available as a part of the box set? You cannot purchase the mono albums individually (on the other hand the new remastered stereo versions of the albums can be purchased individually or as a part of the stereo box set.) As of right now the only way to get any one album (for example if you want the mono version of Sgt. Pepper) is to buy the entire box set.
Those of you in the UK should go to the Amazon.co.uk Beatles Store.
In Canada: Amazon.ca Beatles Store.
2009, Box Set, The BeatlesBecome A MusicByDay.com Music Blogger.
Nice article but a couple of innacuracies. You state that these albums have never been released in mono on CD. This false. Please, Please Me, With the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night and Beatles for Sale were all released on CD in Mono. In fact, there are no original Stereo tracks for the first two albums. They were recorded and mixed in two track mono. The new Stereo remixes are accomplished using Pro Tools and other software to extract all the instruments and vocals to allow for stereo mixes. The other two albums were recorded in four track mono and achieving a stereo mix is easier as the instruments and vocals are divided between four tracks, albeit with a good deal of digital help. Also, Hey Jude was released as a Stereo single on Apple. It was one of the first( if not the first) stereo 45.
Sal Salerno | Jul 29, 2009 | Reply
Sal, You’re right. Good catches!
BrainFace | Jul 29, 2009 | Reply
Wrong again. There is no way to extract instruments out of mono tracks in pro-tools. One could try to notch elements out with EQ filters, but that would be insane. Stereo mixes were made and issued of the first 4 UK albums. They were even issued on LP and Cassette in 1987 in conjunction with the first the CD’s. (I bought and still own a new stereo LP of A Hard Days Night in the late 80’s in the US.) Yes, some of these early albums were made on 2-track tape, so those two tracks are simply panned into stereo. As further proof, the consensus amongst audiophiles has been that the best stereo issue of Please Please Me was the German LP ‘Die[The] Beatles’. Besides being the same stereo mix as the UK Parlaphone label, it has less compression; it is assumed the unprocessed tape was sent as a mistake to the German label.
ES | Aug 6, 2009 | Reply
Right now it’s sold out on Amazon but try this instead: http://www.musicbyday.com/the-beatles-mono-box-set-available-at-collectors-choice-music/559/
Marvin Marks | Aug 17, 2009 | Reply
The stereo box set is now sold out too!
http://www.musicbyday.com/the-beatles-stereo-box-set-now-sold-out-on-amazon-too/586/
Marvin Marks | Aug 27, 2009 | Reply
Collector’s Choice Music is now sold out of the mono box set too… Hopefully more copies will be made because I know there are a lot more people out there looking to buy it.
Marvin Marks | Aug 28, 2009 | Reply
http://www.musicbyday.com/the-box-sets-stereo-mono-are-back-in-stock-at-amazoncom-for-now/606/
Marvin Marks | Sep 9, 2009 | Reply
The Mono Set is the standard for me.
I have a set.
Bill | Sep 10, 2009 | Reply
If you have two-track, you have a potential for Stereo. I have NEVER seen Please Please Me, With The Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night or Beatles For Sale in stereo on CD before 09/09/09 But I have owned the entire Beatles catalog in UK LPs in Stereo, and the Stereo German label of MMT. In the first two LPs were actually Binaural, rather than Stereo, as they lacked a center channel. In fact the Beatles often mixed their stereo as merely Binarual (instruments on one channel, vocals on the other channel) rather than have a full panned stereo soundstage.
Rod | Sep 12, 2009 | Reply
If you want to hear GREAT Stereo, listen to Elvis Presley’s “Elvis is Back” “Something for Everybody” “His Hand in Mine” or “Pot Luck” You can here Elvis in binaural on “Stereo 57″
Rod | Sep 12, 2009 | Reply
Hello all you Beatle people,
I received my Beatles in mono box set from Barnes and Noble on Wednesday (9/9/09) and
I had 2 observations to throw out there. The first one is that the slipcase was difficult to open i.e the part containing the cd’s was tough to slide out. Also I don’t see any indication of a serial number i.e. 2500/10000. Has anyone else experienced this? Your input would be greatly appreciated.
Jay Elias | Sep 13, 2009 | Reply
Mine was not numbered either. From the sales totals it’s clear that a lot more than 10,000 were made… So who knows?
Marvin Marks | Sep 21, 2009 | Reply
THE BEATLES IN MONO BOX SET MELTS CHICKENS.
Marvin Marks | Sep 22, 2009 | Reply
So where’s the serial number? Was the “limited edition” just a hoax? Class action lawsuit anyone?
BN | Sep 26, 2009 | Reply
BN - a lot more than 10,000 were actually made.. i know this because over 12,000 were sold in the first week in the US alone… so what that means is that maybe there were 10,000 copies made with numbers on them (maybe…) but that many of us did not get such copies.
As far as a class action law suit… I don’t really think it’s worth suing over… It’s not that big of a deal, is it?
BrainFace | Sep 27, 2009 | Reply
The sound in this mono box set cds is great is a really pleasure to listen them…
Alvaro | Sep 30, 2009 | Reply
The Beatles in Mono Box Set is such a treat. It’s great for people like me who never heard the mono mixes before… it’s exciting how much different some of the mixes sound from the stereo mixes I was used to.
Jonny Feelgood | Nov 18, 2009 | Reply
The Hey Jude singe was only released in mono. The first Beatles single released in stereo is Get Back.
Jeff Gordon | Nov 27, 2009 | Reply
What an idiocy!
So what these albums were “originally released and intended” to be listened in mono? It is 21st century already, and if someone claims to make better mono recording (than stereo) he is either deaf, or simply his producers and sound engineers were deaf, or very bad.
Assuming studios had all the original recording tracks, it is a no-brainer even for a students to mix them in stereo and master a stereo CD with all the same levels for each instrument and vocal as it was originally in mono - but now in stereo.
So, again, what is the freaking deal with all these remasters… LOL
It should have been done already in the end og 60’s when pretty good analog professional was already available.
I say bollocks to your recommendation of mono archaisms. Get a brain (and ears!)
888 | Jan 5, 2010 | Reply
888 - I don’t think I really need to respond to you because it’s clear from your comment that you are a moron.
Marvin Marks | Jan 5, 2010 | Reply
It is obvious that 888 has neither the aptitude for the available technology and intent of the original recordings, nor any real knowledge of the mono vs stereo mix. He is, indeed, a complete and utter moron.
666 | Feb 6, 2010 | Reply