Supermallet

It's also missing "Old Brown Shoe" and the single version of "Let It Be."

As far as "The Long And Winding Road," I don't understand why McCartney felt so strongly about it as to initiate the LIBN project. The stringless master is available on Anthology 3. And the keyboards that they added to the Naked version sound so lame. Uch, that whole project puts a bad taste in my mouth. All that album needed to be was Let It Be without overdubs. Add in Don't Let Me Down because there's extra space on the CD and you're done. I didn't need new mixes or alternate takes.

TomOpus

Got my shipping notice for both boxsets. They will arrive tomorrow.

whaaat

Almost correct. Early Canadian CDs of Help! and Rubber Soul (pressed by Disque Americ or Cinram) do have the '65 stereo mixes for reasons unknown.

BuckNaked2k

Indeed. These were available for a short window before they were pulled.

They have commanded a handsome price on eBay, but that should be waning once the new releases are out.

Rocketdog2000

I am most excited. The local Walmart broke street date on the new re-issues, and because of that, all the area music stores put theirs out early, too - so I got my Stereo Box today. Thanks Walmart, for inadvertently making my day!

Don't know if this happened anywhere else, but it may be worth looking into for anyone else so inclined to find out.

slop101

How many sets did it look like they had? and did they have the mono set?

The Valeyard

Did Wal-Mart have the stereo set or just the single CDs?

JayDerek

looks like my Wal-Mart broke street date as well.

They just had the single releases...I couldn't find any boxsets

Rocketdog2000

I didn't get it at Walmart - so I don't know if they had the Box sets. As I said, because of Walmart's mistake, the other area stores were able to put theirs out early - and I got mine at one of them. (Newburry Comics, if you must know, and yes, they had Stereo and Mono boxes, but far fewer of the Mono sets) As far as I know, Walmart only had the single discs - but since I didn't actually go there, I can't say.

ctyankee

I'm been listening and comparing both mono and stereo versions of songs. It really doesn't matter what my opinion is just that I'm sure I will be making my own sets containing the combined best of both versions (when available). I wouldn't be shocked if some fans find that earlier album versions (Canadian, Brazilian, German) still have ongoing merit for some songs.

Truffaut Fan

Yet, when he plays it live these days, there are strings.

Matthew Chmiel

Long story short and going into little-to-no detail. I may be wrong on some of the details as my mind is trying to collect the details from the History of the Beatles class I took during college.

The first four Beatles albums were recorded on two-track tapes meaning mono is the original and preferred sound mix.

The Beatles then upgrade to four-track tapes.

Help and Rubber Soul were their first two albums with both mono and stereo releases. Mono still being the original and preferred sound mix; the stereo being a mixdown.

While Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour also had stereo album releases; our friends still preferred mono as more time was prepared for the mono mix whereas the stereo was more of a "rush job."

The Beatles ("The White Album") was recorded with both mono and stereo mixes in mind. The mono release was limited compared to their past albums.

Abbey Road and Let It Be were stereo only.

Two decades later, George Martin remixed all of the albums into stereo for the compact disc release (the 1987 mixes).

The 2009 remastered stereo albums are remastered from the 1987 mixes.

The 2009 remastered mono albums are remastered from the original mono mixes.

I may be completely wrong in that, but I did get an A in the class.

I've spent the past two nights importing both the mono and stereo discs into iTunes (using the MPEG-4 encoder at 320 kbps).

If you're a completionist, get both the mono and stereo sets.

If you just want the best, get the mono set and snag Abbey Road and Let It Be separately. The Beatles ("The White Album") is one of my least favorite albums from the band, so you can go either way.

Supermallet

IIRC, it was actually only the first two albums that were recorded on two track. A Hard Day's Night through The White Album I think were all four track.

Rypro 525

i was wondering, from anyone who has heard these early, are the vocals on the stereo mix in the center of the mix, or are they still on either the left or right side depending on the song. Only reason i ask is because the old 87 mixes give me a headache on headphones, and i was going to go to target tomorrow to pick up sgt peppers and rubber soul for now.

Matt

This is very helpful. Thank you.

I'm leaning toward doing this, when the mono box becomes available again. May pick up Abbey Road and something else tomorrow at Target.

Lipid

Those of you buying the albums from Target, can you PLEASE post what the prices are for the rest of the albums?

The ad only really says the prices for two of them, then says "14 more available." I imagine The White Album is not $11.99, and I would not be surprised to see the other albums more expensive either. I plan on going around noon, so hopefully someone who gets there as soon as the store opens can post by the time I head out.

Kavalier

The Mono and the Stereo Box Sets are back in stock at Amazon...

Darknite39

Yes, I just saw that, too. I would totally get the mono set, if not for a lack of funds.

Matthew Chmiel

I think you're correct on that.

I've listened to the first five albums completely in both mono and stereo, and based off personal preference so far:

Mono wins: Please Please Me, With the Beatles, Help
Stereo wins: A Hard Day's Night, Beatles for Sale

The stereo mixes on Hard Day's Night and Beatles for Sale sound more enriching and expansive than their mono counterparts; yet Please Please Me, With the Beatles and Help just sound more natural and just right in mono rather than stereo.

Supermallet

I prefer mono pretty much all the way up until The White Album, but I do think that both the mono and stereo versions of A Hard Day's Night sound equally good in different ways. The open space of stereo expands the buoyancy of the music, while the mono makes it feel more focused. Both are great listening, and probably the only one I would recommend equally in both versions.

kstublen

Glad to see the Mono set is back in stock on Amazon. I'm still gonna check my Best Buy today since I was told they have 'em in and I could use the RewardZone Points, but if I can't get it from there hopefully Amazon will still have it for sale.

Pillowhead

Just pulled the trigger on Amazon. Not messing around with this one again.

auto

The Target albums are $11.98 each with the exception of the The White Album and Past Masters which are $16.98. My Target only had 4-5 copies of each on display.

auto

Aw fuck it, just did the same thing.

Ceege

Same as mine. I snagged Past Masters,Revolver, Hard Day's Night, & Rubber Soul. Could only use one of the two gift cards to knock off $5.