More US BEATLES ALBUM Talk: • "Defending the U.S. Be... Of course I like and respect the original British albums, but I do have a fondness for the US Releases as well...
Having grown up in the US, I too used to think of the US albums as the definitive Beatles collection. Then I found out later that it wasn't. But the US albums still hold a fond place in my heart. It still seems like the right way to listen to those songs (And I will agree with what you said about Revolver)
Love this video Joe! As an Aussie, our releases are identical to the UK. So, I do have a preference to “the way they were intended” but as a collector, I adore the US albums. Different covers, different track listings-it’s like a fresh album. Cheers ~Andrew
@@maxmeister5064 hello Max Meister, yes there are a number of unique sleeves from Australia & New Zealand both LPs and 45s picture sleeves and labels. Greetings from Australia
The modern UK albums are my favorite, meaning the UK albums including Magical Mystery Tour. I'm glad that album has been adopted into the "official" album listings.
Great video! I grew up with the US versions and agree with you. I also agree the "Dexterized" reverb adds a vitaliy and rockin' edge to the songs. I think Meet the Beatles with the one/two punch of I Want to Hold Your Hand and I Saw Her Standing There is just awesome. I think The Beatles Second Album is an accidental rock and roll masterpiece. I agree Beatles '65 is more enjoyable than Beatles for Sale. And I have always like Yesterday and Today with all the rockin' songs on it such as Day Tripper, Drive My Car, And Your Bird Can Sing, Dr. Robert and the dreamy I'm Only Sleeping. It does neuter the US version of Revolver though. Until I knew better I always was wondering why there were only two John songs on the record.
I like having the UK versions -- would like to have been able to afford them in 1968, when they first appeared in one major city record shop. But without the US versions, and the fact that their first several single releases in the US went nowhere, they may never have succeeded in the US. I was 15-16 when the were on the first Ed Sullivan Show. I grew up with them -- and the US LPs. (And the US release of "Sgt. Pepper's," which I'd read about prior to release, did not include the nonsense noise in the run-out groove of side 2: Capitol thought it simply excess noise and cut it.) In short, I'm not a snob about it. The US LPs (I wore out my first mono set, gave them away when replaced with the "stereo") are in my DNA, so the UK versions sound not only sonically different, but also odd. And it remains the fact that what "The Beatles" DID INTEND was MONO; the first several "stereo" were not stereo; they were two-track pre-mixed MONO. MONO because for marketing purposes the intent was to get records played on the radio -- which was MONO. They were not "panned" -- which pseudo-officianados don't understand: "panning" is a deliberate way of mixing. The early recordings themselves were always: all music on one track, all vocals on the other track -- that is not "panning"; it is pre-mixed MONO. In his book "All You Need is Love," George Martin details all of that, and how angry he was when EMI, when "The Beatles" hit, released the UNMIXED two-track MONO, as "stereo," because they sound like CRAP: that's why the "hole in the middle".
@@jnagarya519 - i hear you, but for me, as i first heard the "PPM" & "WTB" Parlophone Stereo versions, i personally prefer them to Mono, in part because you can hear the separation and really pick out what they were doing musically as with those preferring Capitol versions to Parlophone because (in part) that's what they first heard, i prefer Stereo to Mono UK versions although i did hear the Capitol Mono versions first
@@jnagarya519 - i actually like the original hard panned stereo Parlophone UK imports - it's true that the Beatles had nothing to do with their release, but it makes it easier to hear what they were doing musically, which is a cool thing - despite their mono intent
Little nuts my foot. What saddens me with the U.S.A albums is that they were so short weight with 11 tracks, when the U.K. albums tended to go for 14.. I would still like to get a set. With the Please Please Me album. It was hung around the success of the the singles Love Me Do and Please Please Me. That was the standard way the U.K. industry worked at the time. The Beatles abandoned that method immediately afterwards. Thank you for solving the mystery of Thank You Girl with the extra mouth organ which I jumped out of my seat when I heard it a few months ago and letting me know there was an extra verse on I'll Cry Instead. A great video. We all I think prefer what we grew up with wherever we live. Whatever the case, we have all been greatly blessed with The Beatle catalogue
The US LPs MADE "The Beatles" in the US. No UK LPs appeared for sale in the US until circa 1968. US fans grew up EXCLUSIVELY with the US LPs. They are certainly more important than "historically interesting" in view of the fact that that is how US "Beatles" fans KNEW of "The Beatles".
The Beatles are an enigma. They are the only band where you have to purchase not only the UK and US albums to experience both sides of the coin but also the Mono and Stereo versions of the albums because of the different sound. I just recently purchased the box set of The Beatles Capitol Albums and the Dexterized stereo is no longer there. They remastered is to the UK stereo so songs like I Want To Hold Your Hand and I Feel Fine are back to their normal stereo sound and She Loves You and Love Me Do stayed in Mono even on the stereo side. In a way, I like this version better than the original US albums which have that Dexterized aka FAKE stereo sound. I do agree that the US albums are better from a marketing stand point though, minus Revolver which the UK version is better.
I grew up in Australia. We got the UK albums (2 covers were altered..."With The Beatles" and "Beatles For Sale"). BUT we also got the US "Magical Mystery Tour" LP (it came out a year after the double EP) and the "Hey Jude" album. Preferences are highly influenced by nostalgia.
You and I are about the same age and I have also been a Beatles fan since I was a teenager but I never even thought about the fact there are two different releases. I know all the records as they were originally released. Now I’m in the process of purchasing and looking forward to listening to all the American versions. It only took me 40 years to come to this realization
Joe, you mentioned Times Sguare Stores, I remember the day after John was murdered, being in Times Square Store in the TV dept, watching all the footage about John’s death, 40 tv’s all playing the same news channel, with about 50 people, my husband and I had to get something there, and ended up spending time with strangers, all of us crying, some moments in life are forever etched in our memories. Great video, love the content . The Beatles Second album was my first album I ever bought as a young girl...
I was raised in California during the Beatles time. I was in 8th grade. (Don't know way I said that really) I never even heard of the UK versions until I was out of the Air Force in 1970, so I just bought the Capital versions. I always missed not seeing the albums I was raised with, after all, those were the versions I knew from school, dances, hanging out with the other kids from 1964 to when I married. So I understand your deep involvement with the Beatles. Thank you sir, you help those like me, who can't feel that connection with our history without your assistance! Thank you!
I understand the collection "The US albums" have the UK remaster sound...so, even if it is not the original US sound...is this an alternative way of obtaining the mono remasters if you cannot buy the Mono white box?
Yes and no. Some of the US mixes were different from the UK versions for one reason or another. These were: "Long Tall Sally" (mono) "I Call Your Name" (mono) "I'll Cry Instead" (mono) "Any Time at All" (mono) "When I Get Home" (mono) "And I Love Her" (mono) "I'll Be Back" (mono) "She's a Woman" (mono) "I Feel Fine" (mono) "Michelle" (mono) "The Word" (stereo) "I'm Looking Through You" (stereo) "I'm Only Sleeping" (mono) "Doctor Robert" (mono) "And Your Bird Can Sing" (mono) "We Can Work It Out" (stereo) "Day Tripper" (stereo) So yes, you'll get mono versions of all of the US albums, but they're not the same as the UK mono versions. The other thing is that the US albums only differed from the UK albums as far as Revolver, when The Beatles original contract with EMI expired. When they signed a new contract, they were sure to include a new clause forcing Capitol to release their albums exactly as The Beatles intended them to be released. So The US Albums box set does not contain the mono versions of either Sgt Pepper or the White Album.
After watching this video when it came out, I decided to make my own US albums collection. I grew up listening to my mom and dad's LPs: Meet the Beatles, Beatles 65, Beatles VI, Sgt. Pepper, the Blue album, and Love Songs. Then I would get most of the US albums on cassette until the CDs started coming out and been listening to them ever since. But after watching, I made my own albums. I don't have the money for the Capitol Albums sets or the US Box, so I just made them in iTunes. I also don't care about reverb and single vs. double-tracking or duophonic. I did have to purchase the instrumentals from the US AHDN and Help! I enjoy having a different listen. I have my UK albums with the singles tacked on and the US albums. My only complaint is I don't like Hey Jude or the one-off I made of tracks left off. Having I Should Have Known Better on the same CD as The Ballad of John and Yoko doesn't sound right.
I was actually thinking about the American Rubber Soul vs the UK version just the other day. I remember growing up as a teen in the mid eighties and discovering the Beatles albums for the first time. The American Rubber Soul was continously played. Folk masterpiece..especially with the side 1 and side 2 openers. A couple of years later at the time, I found the UK version in a cut out bin at my local record store back then. It was quite a different feeling listening to it and with the Drive My Car opener. I actually was used to hearing drive my car on the Beatles rock n roll music compilation album (vol 2) at the time. Great video!
I have a soft spot for the Capitol Rubber Soul as well. I’ve Just Seen A Face is the perfect opening track for it as was Its Only Love is for side two. The only thing that they did that does not make sense given the albums folk rock theme, was leaving off If I Needed Someone, which was directly inspired by the Byrds.
What a treat! I didn't realize how many Beatles EP's & singles there were. Great work once again Joe! I agree about Rubber Soul; it was among my first Beatles albums and 'I've Just Seen A Face' knocked me out as an opener as a teenager and still does.
I do like the Help and HDN soundtrack instrumentals now (didn’t years ago) because they are charming examples of 60s style kitch. Great to have US and UK versions. More great music. ALL are great
Although I'm a U.S. citizen, I was born in 1993, so my initial introduction to most of the Beatles' discography was via the standardised 1987-1988 CDs of the UK discography (albeit with the Capitol LP release of MMT). But the first volume of the Capitol Records CD set came out and I begged for it, so that was my introduction to the early pre-Help era discography other than 'Please Please Me' which I already had on CD, and I adored Beatles '65 and felt that it was their absolute greatest album for some time. When I purchased the Past Masters Vol. 1 CD later on, I was shocked to hear a version of 'Thank You, Girl' without harmonica and the more anaemic sounding UK versions of 'I Feel Fine' and 'She's A Woman'. I find it strange that the U.S. version of Magical Mystery Tour was released, especially since the UK Double-EP release had a starkly discrepant track sequencing for the songs that comprise the first side of the Capitol Records release. Was that not the order in which George Martin and The Beatles intended the MMT soundtrack songs to appear? They could have simply released the British EP as it was sequenced in the UK and with the UK cover but with the non-album 1967 singles that made up the second side of the Capitol LP included, but it's interesting that the Capitol Records release of MMT was canonized from 1987-onwards over the UK release (it should also be noted that the edited version of 'Old Brown Shoe' from the Capitol 'Hey Jude' LP was initially the 'canonized' version on the 1988 'Past Masters Vol. 2' CD, but the 2009 re-master replaced it with the unedited 45 RPM version). Although I grew up with the British version of 'Rubber Soul', I almost exclusively listen to the North American Capitol Records version now, as I love 'I've Just Seen A Face' as an album opener and the unique mixes of Michelle on the mono release and Girl, as well as the folksy false-start on 'I'm Looking Through You' in the stereo mix. 'Yesterday & Today', 'Beatles VI', and 'The Beatles' Second Album' are wonderfully sequenced, but the Dexterized stereo mixes of the 'Beatles Second Album' release are a bit tasteless, as I see it. To this day, though, I fail to understand why 'Paperback Writer' & 'Rain' weren't included on the Capitol version of 'Revolver', 'From Me To You' on 'The Early Beatles', and 'The Inner Light' or 'You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)' on 'Hey Jude', and I vastly prefer the British 'Please Please Me', 'A Hard Day's Night', 'Revolver', and Double-EP sequencing of the 'Magical Mystery Tour' UK release to the Capitol Records sequencing of the first six tracks to 'The Early Beatles' and 'Introducing The Beatles', or the US version of Revolver, and I largely listen to 'With The Beatles' and Past Masters Vol. 1 over the first two Capitol releases as their mono mixes were generally fold-downs or of lesser sound quality, but I prefer the Capitol Releases for everything else.
'There's A Place' and 'Misery' weren't included on 'The Early Beatles' either, Oh, and it should also be noted that technically the Capitol release of 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' may arguably constitute a separate regional variation from the UK release as the North American vinyl record pressings didn't include the backwards 'inner-groove'. Also, 'Penny Lane' received an alternate mix with additional piccolo trumpet soloing at the end of the song on a promotional Capitol Records Mono 45 RPM single in the USA, which was included in a stereo version on Rarities and a very poor-quality needledrop on the recent Sgt. Pepper's Super Deluxe Boxed Set. 'From Me To You' was never released by Capitol save for the '1962-1966' Red Album, but it did hit #41 on the Billboard Charts as a Vee-Jay 45 single release.
I'm from Scotland, so the UK versions are canon as far as I am concerned. Nevertheless, I'm very fond of the US Help! instrumentals, but modern tech lets me create a hybrid of the UK and US versions, replacing side one of the UK album with the whole of the US version. It works a treat. It's also not quite true that Beatles singles were not included on albums. Please Please Me, A Hard Day's Night and Help! all included singles. But with only one exception, The Beatles never, ever released a UK single which was already available on a UK album. The exception was Something / Come Together from Abbey Road. In every other instance, the single was released in advance of the album.
I grew up with the UK versions however I couldn't listen to the early albums for years because the stereo is so badly split between the speakers. The songs sound all wrong (CD listener since the 90s). Then on a whim I got the US Albums 2014 (CD version). It contains both stereo and mono versions of all the US albums and was only 60 Euro new. The mono made the early songs sound like how I remembered them again. I was wondering why they didn't sound right for all those years. I was so impressed I got the Beatles in Mono box set for 300 Euro new (CD version). I'm back listening to the first band I loved and I'm converted to the extra reverb on the early US albums. Great video.
I grew up with all of these albums and i do agree with you. You are spot on about "I've just seen a face" opening up Rubber Soul. You know it's funny, i can't remember what i did five minutes ago but do remember the first time listening to these brilliant albums lol The one that really stands out as a kid is me lying on the bed staring at "Revolver" wondering which was the front and which was the back, and what really bugged me is i kelp looking at where it says who sang what and i couldn't figure out why John only had two songs. I was to young to figure out his other 3 songs were the one's on "Yesterday, and Today". Great video Joe.
It was a lie. You dont mess around with masterworks. But americans dont care about such things….they always know better…I love OUR version, they say… Terrible
I appreciate the UK albums but the US albums I enjoy more because they have more of an emotional connection with me and the sentimental value means so much more to me as well when I really want to relax The Beatles and The Beach Boys are my go to bands
Hey Joe, I definitely agree that the US mixes of Beatles albums are definitely ballsier that the UK mixes. When I listen to The Beatles earlier albums on CD I usually go the the two original Capitol Albums boxes. Beatles '65 in Stereo sounds especially nice. Help! is the only one that was mastered poorly. So I'm with you for the most part. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! Take care Joe...
....what a fascinating video Joe...you make some very good points..very persuasive.....however you can never convince me about the opening track of Rubber Soul..it has to be DMC...but then I'm a Brit....its what I grew up with....if I was from your side of the pond I would probably feel differently.....and I much prefer the British released version of Thank You Girl with the more sparing harmonica.....but again its the version you grew up with....
As a novice guitarist I don’t use reverb except if I want to sound like I’m in a cave. It’s an EARLY sixties special effect that by 1968 was used MUCH more tastefully later on, but really makes if used to excess, everything seem old fashioned
None of this matters any more. In the digital age you can arrange songs in any order you want with any mix you want. In effect, we can now make our own albums according to our individual preferences.
I also grew up in the states with the Capitol albums - I moved to England later - after they had broken up. I share very much the same sentiments with you. Especially regarding the soundtrack instrumentals - which I love (and particularly "Ringo's Theme"), "Yesterday & Today" I also really liked and there is certainly something to be said about how one first heard the albums as they were presented to us - the US audience. I now have in my collection all of the US albums and the UK albums - I still love listening to both. I agree totally with your ideas about "Rubber Soul" - everything you say feels true with me too. Thank you, very much for an interesting appraisal of this subject.
Good point man, I agree with you the U.S Albuns were a good collection of songs with the focus on the hit singles from that period, the London Label did the same thing with the Rolling Stones U.S Albuns, I like both versions of this artists the U.K and U.S as well(that Beatles U.S Albuns Box Set ia really cool)
Absolutely in 100% agreement. I'm not a collector of your stature but I, being a young teen in the mid 60s, appreciate much more the sound and arrangements of the US releases. I have all the US capitol releases (not all first press) and since have collected 6 UK releases and much prefer the US releases sound and track arrangements.
Also, the Canadian stereo pressing of With the Beatles (called Beatlemania With the Beatles) is considered either the best or one of the best sounding mixes.
I am in the UK and started collecting Beatles when I was eight years old in 1963. So I grew up listening to the UK albums. One thing you have to remember in Britain in the early 60’s was that the record companies weren’t that interested in albums . They were only concerned about the singles market. Then The Beatles came along. and the Please Please Me album spent most of 1963 at number one in the album chart. It only replaced at number one by With The Beatles. Which is why so many singles were released that were not on albums. Albums were also really expensive and that is why there were a lot of eps released in the UK. I have mixed feelings about the US albums . I love the US version of Rubber Soul., and the second album. The problem with Revolver in the US is that it is unbalanced because the tracks that were on the earlier album were all John’s vocals. Only leaving She Said she said and Tomorrow never knows on the US album. I listen to both the US and UK versions of the albums.
I understand the attraction to the Capitol US versions. In the early seventies, they were my first introduction to the Beatles. They somehow capture & project the Fab Four high energy & fun of the Beatlemania era, capturing the powerful Beatles' influence of the time. The album covers were cool, the hottest songs compiled, so you got the Beatles' biggest hits & best rockin' album filler too. "Meet the Beatles" is probably the best Capitol version. However, I noticed immediately the excessive reverb and distorted compression on the US versions in the mid seventies, by comparison, when I bought a UK import of the "Please Please Me" album on Parlophone. The difference was striking: less reverb, less compression, less distortion on the British version. More dynamic range, though dryer, having less reverb. More songs, albeit many hits not featured on the UK records, noticeable when I got "With the Beatles" next. The UK Parlophone albums are decidedly superior to the US Capitol counterparts generally, and they capture the Beatles' & George Martin's creative intent.
@@MeanMrMayo - i hear you, i DO also love the high energy way that Capitol captured the Fab Four Beatlemania thing sonically - i just like the clearer Parlophone UK mixes better - ironically, i prefer the Stereo ones to the Mono (purists tend to prefer the UK Parlophone Mono to Stereo)
I love this topic. I was born in the ‘90s so i’ve always known and still prefer the modern cd canon (uk albums + us mmt and past masters to fill in the gaps). However, my mom grew up in the ‘60s and listening to her experience has made me appreciate the us albums more than i used to. There are times now when i’m listening to a uk album and my brain forgets for a split second and expects the us sequencing.
Fantastic video! You covered a topic that generates lots of mixed feelings in serious Beatles fans. Hopefully those raised in America can appreciate both American and British versions.
When I was kid in the late '70s - there were three songs you couldn't get on a U.S. album: 1) I'm Down, 2) The Inner Light, and 3) You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)... At least "From Me To You" was on 1962-1966. I hunted down the 45s in record stores. Then, Rarities had them all.
Totally respect your point of view Joe. Beatles is Beatles. We used to listen to Transistor radios but now we have Dolby Atmos for instance. Their music is the best and will live on whichever way it’s received. Thanks again 🙏
Count me in brother Joe! Preach it to me baby! Ha ha! I agree 100, I said 100 percent!! The US Revolver is the only "meh" one for me, because the UK Revolver with 5 Lennon songs is king. But I absolutely adore the US albums...like you, I grew up with those puppies! The US Rubber Soul is arguably the greatest Beatles album of all time! Yeah folks, it's that good! And like you, the Beatles 2nd Album is my favorite pure ROCK N ROLL album of all time!!!! That album is relentless in its ability to kick ass and take names! Take care, Matt Street
Your assessment of the US Rubber Soul is spot on. The 2 tracks that open side one and two fit perfectly to make a fine collection superior to the UK version. I also agree with your take on side 2 of the UK Help album being a "mish mash" sequence. I love all the songs, but the last thing I want to hear is Dizzy Miss Lizzy right after Yesterday. I feel in some ways, that was John's decision to remind fans that The Beatles are rockers.
EMI keeps getting me rebuying this catalogue, Love the Giles Martin remixes, a new experience in listening on a par with the punch of the US albums and the clarity of the songs in my memory. My family wore out our Capitol LPs Beatles '65, Beatles VI and Rubber Soul.
25:13 ....the USA Revolver comes off like an artsy album without the three guitar based tunes from John Lennon. Obviously, it's not as good as the UK version, but it does have it's own vibe. More piano and sitar than electric guitar. One example: "Eleanor Rigby" going straight into "Love You To" sounds more like the Yellow Submarine movie and the flower power era. 27:12 ....One big difference however, the original version on 60's (or 70's) vinyl was... the no break between songs approach (ie. Sgt. Pepper), that has been lost with the current version. That's what I call changing history. Great topic.
Easily the best video you have ever done. I can't agree more with everything you said and yes I almost flipped out when I heard the British version of rubber soul and I just seen a face was not the opening track, blasphemy!!!! I was hoping that they would put out vinyl versions of the US albums I wouldn't buy them all but a few of them like the Beatles second album and Rubber Soul I would definitely pick up what do you think would you like some new US reissue vinyl???😎✌
Frederick Franchi - Glad you liked the video. Actually, I would not really want the old US albums to be reissued on new vinyl, because I am a fan of originals and it's more fun for me to seek out the vintage stuff. But if it makes others happy getting them newly re-released, that's fine too.
The only truly indefensible thing Capitol did was the emasculation of Revolver, where they didn't replace the excised songs with anything. The absurdly obvious thing to do would have been to add Paperback Writer and Rain, given that that was the contemporaneous single, and they'd done that with the previous releases. I'm Down was also probably still fresh enough to be viable. I didn't grow up with the US versions, so I have no emotional attachment to them. But we did have two Beatles albums: Yesterday and Today and Magical Mystery Tour. YaT now seems like a bizarre mashup of three different albums from completely different eras, but at the time it held together seamlessly, and the songs very much felt like they belonged together. And while I now totally follow the UK lineup, this leads me to believe that for the most part these collections really are largely arbitrary, and that our feeling that they belong together mostly comes from our having heard them together. I also kind of like the extra bite that the Yesterday and Today mixes of the Revolver songs have. When I first heard the "real" versions I had the feeling of, something's missing here.
Terrific video and the most in depth and informative run down I've ever seen on the difference between the U.K. and U.S album releases by the greatest band of all time. It has certainly made me look at the U.S albums in a new light and I'm sure that were I a kid growing up in the sixties or seventies in America, then these would obviously be my "go too" releases also. I can remember first seeing albums like 'Hey Jude', 'Beatles '65' and both the movie soundtracks in the early seventies. Obviously they were only available in Britain as, for the time, reasonably expensive imports, and to be honest I did not take them too seriously. What with, what looked like, the random sprinkling of U.K. singles and their B sides all over them, plus orchestrated instrumental versions of Beatles songs from the film soundtracks, they were not particularly attractive items to get. The one glorious exception was the 'Magical Mystery Tour' album. I can remember seeing this in a local record store window and just thinking that I've got to get that. If I remember correctly it cost £4.00 ( US 5.50), laughable today I know, but back in '74 when I bought the thing my bring home pay was £15.00. So it was not cheap. Got it home, played it to death and fell in love with the really thick cardboard gatefold sleeve and array of pictures from the film. The Capitol label and the just general artwork and typography really gave it an exotic quality. The music was, of course, fantastic and I still have the album safely put away in a protective plastic sleeve. Enjoyed your content once again, I was lucky to be a kid in the seventies.
For me, the clear US winners: Meet the Beatles, The Beatles’ Second Album, Beatles ‘65, Magical Mystery Tour, and Rubber Soul. Being a millennial, the only reason I actually stumbled across the US catalogue was looking for the Capitol mix of The Word with Lennon’s vocals doubled in the verses. And when I heard I’ve Just Seen a Face open the album, I was blown away. Made me check out their other releases, and I’m so glad I did!
to quote Ringo, "forgive the lateness of my reply," but i think Capitol missed an interesting opportunity with Revolver. the more i think about it, the more i feel as though Paperback Writer and Rain "fit" on Revolver a lot better sonically than Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine. not to say those songs shouldn't be on the album, but in terms of suiting the vibe, it's always been funny to me that Paperback Writer and Rain ended up being the non-album single while Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine was the single pulled from Revolver. i've always wanted to hear a sequence of Revolver with the non-album single included, had Capitol done that it would have made a much more worthwhile album in the generations to come. i'm a US fan born post the catalog standardization, so the UK has always been definitive for me. Revolver was actually the first CD i bought with my own $$ and i vividly remember "I'm Only Sleeping" being the song that hooked me, I can't bear to think of the album without that song. I do hold a lot of reverence for the Beatles US catalog though, currently trying to weight whether or not I should have the US CD box.
There's Dexter reverb on "The Early Beatles." Vee-Jay used the un-doctored UK mixes on "Introducing The Beatles." Also "Misery + There's A Place" were not included on "The Early Beatles", keeping the more common 11 song US norm. The two tracks did not appear on a Capitol album until years later, when they were included on the US "Rarities" with added reverb.
I grew up listening to the American versions as well, but I feel you minimized one of the biggest negatives of them, at least to me. If one of the attractions was that you got the singles included in the albums, then there really were too many songs that fell through the cracks on the Capitol albums. Misery, There's A Place, From Me To You (!!), Sie Liebt Dich, I'm Down, Love Me Do (Single Version), The Inner Light, Across The Universe, You Know My Name. I always thought that the Hey Jude album was a lost opportunity to gather all these lost songs, perhaps make it a double album or even spread it out onto another release, which you'd have to include a couple of unreleased songs at the time like maybe Leave My Kitten Alone or If You Got Troubles. I know we got Rarities later on, but that was 10 years after they broke up so it gets lumped in with the other releases of the 80s, which means kind of gimmicky.
MEET THE BEATLES has only one song not composed by the Beatles-“Till There Was You”. The first two Parlophone LPs each had 8 originals and 6 covers. This works out to 92% originals for MEET THE BEATLES compared to 57% for the UK albums.
Nice video Joe. My take on this is it goes beyond personal memories and associations and more to do with what the Beatles themselves wanted put out, i.e. your number 1 point. For that reason I have no problem at all with people saying they prefer the US versions, but I find myself digging in on the issue of them being objectively 'better'. While I would agree that music business people might be better than an artist at identifying which song from a record is going to 'hit' as a single, I'm more sceptical than they have a better idea (i.e. truer to the band's artistic vision than the band itself) than the artist of how the tracks ought to be sequenced into a coherent whole. I speak purely as a British fan here, but to me the US albums are industry-curated compilation albums, using tracks taken from the actual Beatles albums, which are the albums the Beatles signed off on. Maybe if Capitol had liaised with the Beatles and George Martin and done it properly through them, according them ultimate respect and authority, I'd feel differently. Who knows, the Beatles themselves might have agreed to some of the changes, and even approved them. The fact is though, they weren't asked, and this was a symptom of that early to mid sixties situation where 'pop groups' were not accorded much in the way of artistic respect, and their music was viewed by 'the suits' as pure product, to be repackaged and changed around any which way to sell to 'the kids'...a situation which had rightly been transformed (ironically, largely by the sheer top quality of the Beatles' own album-making artistry) by the late sixties. I'm not going to make a video saying that any of that however, as I'll probably lose a third of my subs overnight. I'd never presume to tell US fans they were wrong to love or even prefer the American versions. Cheers, James
James Griffiths - Thanks for your input, James. My main point was that regardless of whether or not the Beatles "intended" this or that, it has absolutely nothing to do with how an album sounds (or it shouldn't, anyway, if one is being objectively honest). For example, does the sequencing and track content on, say, MEET THE BEATLES sound "bad" just because the Beatles themselves did not choose to place "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as the LP opener? It's still a great opener, regardless of who made the decision - and I think George Martin and the Beatles were incredibly short-sighted in not realizing this for themselves (for one example). I think that when enjoyment comes down to pure semantics it's not really fair. I would also ask just how far fans are required to go in order to preserve "the artist's integrity and intent"?... for instance, if the Beatles themselves always preferred Mono for their early first albums, is it required that we never listen to those in Stereo? Should we disregard listening to CDs because the Beatles and Martin took great pains to design their songs for "Side 1" and "Side 2" vinyl openers and closers? ..Shouldn't we all be listening to 45 Singles and B-Sides on individual records, instead of having collections like PAST MASTERS? After all, those B-sides and singles were not originally orchestrated to be thrown together on an "industry curated compilation album". ... And finally, I did not do research in order to find out an answer to a puzzle I'm unsure about: did Capitol always have the normal UK albums and tapes at their disposal each time they set out to make a USA record, or in fact did they need to rely on whatever tapes/masters/tracks they could get their hands on at the time?
@@MeanMrMayo I hear what you're saying, but try a thought experiment involving Capitol releasing a US version of Sgt Pepper in '67, featuring tracks from the UK Pepper along with a smattering of stuff from Magical Mystery Tour (not Strawberry Fields and PL). Presumably, what would have happened is US fans would have got to love that album in the same way they got to love the US Rubber Soul. Some of them would then make the case that the US Sgt Pepper was superior to the UK one, because (for example) Blue Jay Way and Does Your Mother Know worked much better in the track-list than Luck in the Sky and When I'm 64, which got taken off by a Capitol suit.. That perspective would be an utter mystery to UK fans who knew the actual, Beatles-sanctioned Pepper album. Really, that's no different to my feelings when US fans say the US Rubber Soul LP works better than the UK one. I don't deny the sincerity of their view, or their right to hold it, but to me there's the album 'Rubber Soul', then there's a Capitol-sanctioned compilation album that collected together tracks recorded during the Rubber Soul and Help! sessions and put them together on one record which then (unlike on previous occasions) got released using the same cover art and title as a contemporaneous original UK Beatles record. In a slightly different version of events, Capitol might have decided to go with a different title and cover as on previous occasions, so that Help/Rubber Soul hybrid record would have ended up being called 'At Home With The Beatles' or something like that (probably a better title than that!). If at that point a US fan told me 'I prefer At Home With The Beatles to 'Rubber Soul', I would accept that opinion unconditionally. But I tend to find myself rejecting the premise on which the assertion 'The US Rubber Soul is better than the UK Rubber Soul' is built. Perhaps the crux of the issue for me is simply that the US Rubber Soul is not just the UK version with tracks taken off or re-sequenced - it's a mixture of the tracks from Rubber Soul and tracks from a completely different album, recorded during different sessions, and representing the Beatles' artistic development during a slightly earlier, artistically distinct phase.
James Griffiths - It's kind of moot to me to consider what might have occurred if PEPPER had been given the "Capitol treatment", because it wasn't ... however, if we engaged in an experiment there, why would you exclude "Strawberry Fields" and "Penny Lane" from the equation? The ironic thing is, if Capitol HAD included both SFF and PL on their version of PEPPER, it might actually make many fans happy rather than disappointed (I'm playing Devil's Advocate there because so many fans gripe that both SFF and PL "should" have been on the PEPPER album in 1967 - which George Martin himself was always regretful never happened!). But I'm glad PEPPER remained PEPPER in both countries, because it was definitely a true work of art which was arguably their first real "conceptual vision", if you like. ... A reason why the US version of PEPPER you mention with "Blue Jay Way" and "Your Mother Should Know" could NOT exist most likely, is because they're from the film MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR which was not even filmed at the time PEPPER was issued, and came along much later. (You also mention in your scenario that suppose "Lucy" and "When I'm 64" would have been taken OFF by "a Capitol Suit" - yet, as I've asked earlier, do we know if this was in fact what the Capitol people were doing, or did they just have to run with whichever songs they were given to deal with at the time?). ... Regarding RUBBER SOUL . as I said in the video, you need to consider that in the actual 1960s when these US records were first released, fans of that time actually discovered them and grew to love them as soundtracks to their own life's experiences - a part of their youth, if you will - and so they were a very REAL part of the Sixties for them, not just some latter-decade "retro thing". The best example of this is Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys - who grew up adoring RUBBER SOUL - that's the USA Version - which inspired him to create his classic PET SOUNDS album. I still think that hidden tracks from the UK HELP! album such as "I've Just Seen A Face" and "It's Only Love" were given much more attention/exposure/respect by being featured as opening cuts on Side 1 and Side 2 of the US RUBBER SOUL ... they were viewed in a much stronger light, if you will. Even if the Beatles and George Martin did not intend it that way.
The argument that 'Seen A Face' and 'Only Love' were from a different developmental period is actually somewhat valid I guess, but only bc the Beatles were traveling at light speed in terms of growth. ANY other 60s band that included a couple of songs recorded 5-6 months earlier on an album wouldnt even raise an eyebrow. But having said this, its certainly not like side 1 opened with There's A Place and side 2 with Im Down. Even as a 1974 hoarder of the Beatles albums (after getting 62-66 in 73 and seeing the list of albums for the first time and thinking damn, I'll never get those) Rubber Soul was instantly a very accoustic album and I loved it for that reason. Personally Drive My Car (not a favorite) and Nowhere Man ( a favorite) just seem out of place grouped with the rest of the album. Nowhere Man got special treatment here as a (#1) single too
Have to say that I currently only have one Capitol US album, The Beatles Second Album, in its original 1964 mono release. It holds its own with the British catalog, to be honest.
This video was a long time coming Joe. Because I grew up with the U.K. 1987 and 2009 CD remasters, I prefer the U.K. albums. However, I view the U.S. albums today as compilations that I spin from time to time when I want to hear a slightly different mix or running order.
What do you think of the Collectors Items bootleg Beatles album? Tracklist A1 Love Me Do (Mono Alt Take) 2:22 A2 Thank You Girl (Mono Original Mix) 1:59 A3 From Me To You (Mono Original Mix) 1:54 A4 All My Loving (Stereo With Intro Count) 2:06 A5 This Boy (Stereo) 2:11 A6 Sie Liebt Dich (Stereo) 2:16 A7 I Feel Fine (Stereo) 2:15 A8 She's A Woman (Stereo) 2:57 A9 Help! (Mono Single) 2:16 A10 Paperback Writer (Stereo - Unreleased Mix) 2:24 B1 Penny Lane (Stereo Version Of Promotional Single P 5810) 2:57 B2 Baby, You're A Rich Man (Stereo) 2:57 B3 I Am The Walrus ("No You're Not!" Said Little Nicola) (Stereo) 4:34 B4 The Inner Light (Mono single) 2:30 B5 Across The Universe (Stereo) 3:44 B6 You Know My Name (Look Up My Number) (Mono) 4:15 I have two of these.
What is great and smart is that they've released both. If it's what you grew up with and loved, you deserve to have access to it. You were as much a part of the Beatles success as anyone. Give the people what they want. I will say this though, the added reverb on the American releases was a mixed bag. Sometimes they were over the top. Perhaps in the days when audio standards were lower it was less noticeable. With a song like I Feel Fine it's way too much. It sounds like your listening to a record played at full volume out of your neighbor's garage! The UK version is perfect. On the other hand I actually think it improved the sound of the song No Reply. The American version with the reverb sounds livelier. So I have an open mind about it.Also I would never say for example, Hey Jude wasn't a real album. It was the only place in the day where you could have all those songs together on a long playing record. The Beatles value for your money argument is a good one and in a way encouraged the Beatles to produce that much more music, since a single release guaranteed it was out of the running to go on a record. On the other hand putting these songs on a long playing record also meant you didn't have to get up every three minutes to change a record because you were listening to a 45. Hey Jude, btw, was a record I got for Christmas and absolutely loved it. It had one of the coolest cover photos ever, one we never would have seen otherwise. And let's not forget Magical Mystery Tour, an album that didn't exist in the UK that had a terrific gate fold with a a great illustrated version of the movie we Americans didn't get to see with a bunch of super pictures.I ever dig the first real post career collection release, the infamous RED and Blue albums. We loved them growing up. With the Beatles there is no wrong way and you can never get enough!
For me the US albums weren’t as intended, the Beatles never liked what Capital did to them, mainly to milk the record buying public, after turning the Beatles down like 2-3 times lol changed their minds when they realised what money they were losing
The 3 Revolver tracks on Yesterday & Today are unique mixes in North America, Japan and a few other countries in 66, mono and stereo. Bonus: the band Y&T drew inspiration for their name from the album title.
My personal experience with the Beatles began with I Want To Hold Your Hand. Not, Love Me Do. I first became aware of IWTHYH in 1963, about this time of year, just before Christmas. And then I learned of I Saw Her Standing There, She Loves You, and All My Loving when they were broadcast on the Ed Sullivan Show, after which they got a lot of airplay on the radio. I became aware of Please Please Me and From Me To You, in March or 1964. In April, I became aware of, Twist and Shout, Can't Buy Me Love, Do You Want To Know A Secret, and Thank You Girl. It was not until May when I heard Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You. And at that time I thought that was the order those songs became existence. I did not learn of the true order until the Beatles were disbanded. And that was long after.
I am from Canada and did not have access to the earliest American albums. I had, the Long Tall Sally LP instead of the Beatles Second Album. I did not hear your preferred version of Thank You Girl with the extra harmonica, before The White Album. That is when I started buying secondhand records.
I grew up with the original album releases on cd. I later purchased all of the US albums on vinyl and that's mainly what I listen to now. The reason is I know the tracklist so well on the UK versions and like the surprise of the US tracklist. Some of the mixes aren't as good but I do like that they included singles. I'd say Rubber Soul and Revolver are the only albums where I wish they were untouched. The early stuff isn't as sacred to me.
I grew up with "The Beatles" -- and hearing "fans" make shit up as explanations for whatever -- guesses based on mishearing, ignorance of recording technology, "grievances" about the contents of releases.
I know this is quite an old video but I only bought the vinyl US albums this year and I'm watching a few videos about them. I started collecting Beatles records in the UK in the mid 70's when I reached my teens, but didn't even know the US albums existed. It was only around 1983 when I bought a detailed discography book that I found out about them. I found a Canadian import of The Beatles Story and Help! but they weren't easily obtainable in general. Then in the late 80's I stopped buying vinyl altogether for over 30 years. Long story short. I decided that in my dotage I want to have all the back catalogue of Beatles vinyl from UK reissues and remixes to all the US albums. I bought the CD sets first and then the vinyl. I have to say I love them all. I bought an old style turntable with basic speakers to play them on and you're almost transported back to what the US fans were listening to in the 60's and to a UK dweller they sound really fresh. I doubt that US fans in the 60's got Revolver and were breaking it down into John songs and Paul songs and bemoaning the fact that only two were written by John. They were used to 11 tracks per album and I suspect they were very happy with Revolver at the time. I think the worldwide standardisation on CD was unnecessary and a bit disrespectful. All the US albums should have been released on CD from day one. I would like to be able to buy the albums on new vinyl reissues now either in a box set or separately. I've no idea how big the market would be, but I doubt I'm the only one. Sorry, I rambled on a bit there. 😬 Suffice to say I love them and don't think they need justification or defending. They're a major part of music history and as such should always be available along side the constant remixing and remastering of the UK albums.
I am late in the game commenting on this video but I grew up listening to the Beatles on Capital (Including VeeJay's "Introducing the Beatles"). I listened to them so much that I could probably tell you the song order on each Capital record. Because of that to this day I still have a hard time listening to the British albums and in their song order. Same with the audio...I will always remember the Capital sound. With respect to the singles also being included on US albums. That is the way it was back then and I dont think anyone knew the difference. I bought the single and then l bought the album when it came out. That was the American way 😎. Nice video by the way.
The only thing about the US albums was that they didn't have From Me To You, Misery and and There's A Place. But I grew up with the US albums and loved them. To this day I pass at the English albums. And fact checking I feel Fine and She's A Woman; Martin did add reverb and bass specifically for the US mixes so that Capitol wouldn't need to add it like they did on other songs. Funny thing is Dexter ran it through the mastering adding more reverb and bass regardless thereby doubling it. So it backfired on Martin. You can hear those versions on the mono Beatles '65 of the 2014 Box set but on the stereo they used the 2009 English remasters.
I'm in between generations on this in that I grew up with most of the Capitol albums, but the CDs came out when I was teen and I immediately switched and became acclimated to the British versions. What I miss is the Bond theme start on Help (thought it was part of the song) and the false start on I'm Looking Through You, which I still almost expect to hear.
Excellent video Joe! Overall I prefer the UK albums, but there are lots of things to love about the US ones. The only terrible one is really Revolver....that one is absolutely useless.
Agreed. As I Want to Hold Your Hand and This Boy were recored in the same sessions as other With The Beatles songs, I don't think it is all that wrong to put them on Meet the Beatles. Same with I Feel Fine and She's A Woman.
This was a great video. You make a very convincing argument. You even brought up things I hadn't thought of before. I am just going to continue to love all The Beatles albums no matter where they come from. Thank you Joe!
I think (as U.K listener) you have a point about the U.K. albums being too sterile that’s why I bought the Mono C.D box set I think the mono versions are a lot better especially the earlier albums.
Mr Joe, I don't even know if you're gonna see this comment but that's fine. I watch this video from time to time because it feels like I'm watching myself talk. Total agreement with you. I went through the same period of dismissing the Capital albums but like you, have come full circle This may be my favorite of your videos. Well done Joe. Well done
Thanks! Yes, I see your comment! Have you ever watched my FAB GAB show where three of us discuss the US albums? Check PLAYLISTS under the FAB-GAB section to locate the show.
I'm with you 100%! Rubber soul will forever open with I've just see a face. The British version is lame in my book. I grew up with the US albums and I cannot live without the reverb on the early track. Beatles Second album is also my favorite of the early ones because it rocks big time and it sounds huge with the reverb. When I bought the last CD box set of US albums, I was not a happy camper except for the mono I feel fine which includes the reverb. I made my own stereo version of I feel fine with the reverb, by using the sterile UK version and matching the reverb sound through protools. This is a great video and you explain it perfectly.
Incredible video Joe, incredible. I’ll be watching this one many times. In many aspects, some US albums are superior. MEET THE BEATLES always sounded more energetic than WITH THE BEATLES. The one-two punch of the first two tracks on MEET made all the difference. I Used to own BEATLES ‘65 in the 80s, my favorite track was I FEEL FINE. Loved the heavy reverb on it. When I bought PAST MASTERS VOL 1, it really depressed me the way that song sounded there. Thankfully I have the CAPITOL ALBUMS VOL 1 & 2 set with all that glorious reverb. BEATLES FOR SALE sounds boring compared to ‘65. Great looking design on the jacket, but just never quite made me listen to it a lot. MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR is Capitol’s greatest contribution. In fact, I prefer the B side to the A side, which as we all know is the actual MMT EP. Never owned YESTERDAY AND TODAY, but what a track listing.
Watched this for the first time , I was born in England ( 20 miles south of Liverpool) so you know which I prefer , however I own both sets on CD and vinyl. To be fair U S albums have their merits most notably Magical mystery tour , significantly better than the ep set. Also love Hey Jude but the Inner Light and You know my name should have been included. Always liked Yesterday and Today although it was responsible for ruining the U S Revolver. I now live in Canada so can definitely see both sides of this never ending discussion.
Another great video, Joe! The video where you ranked the US Albums some years ago is how I first discovered your channel. I've been hooked ever since - Haha! Even though I like them all, The US HDN soundtrack is my all-time favorite BEATLES album cover. Take care! - Bob
And yes, there is also some reverb on the US "Help", not blatantly noticeable, but if you A-B the Stereo US + UK pressings, it will be evident from the start ("Help" + "The Night Before") that there is a bit more punch on the US via the wee reverb added. There were two US Stereo versions of "Rubber Soul." The more common uses the UK mixes, but on the East Coast and in Canada there was a Dave Dexter version out there from the mid to late 60's, using again just the smallest bit of reverb. Lastly: "Ticket To Ride" on the US "Help" is fake Stereo with also a little reverb.
Glad you did this video as I learned some things I didn't know or didn't pay attention to - Hope to see more like this in the future - Thanks for sharing and Take Care.
Damn, had no idea the full Magical Mystery Tour was done by the US! I spent forever tracking down a copy of Hey Jude's original title "The Beatles Again".
All but the first two US "Beatles" LPs -- "Introducing the Beatles" and "Meet The Beatles" -- up to and including "Revolver," had only 11 tracks, which is why, with the added 45s, there are more US LPs.
As the saying goes we learn something new every day. I grew up with the UK albums and discovered the US ones through watching you and Beatle Brad. I will in the future look into some of these American releases. Everyone has their own opinion on which they prefer, the Brits are gonna prefer the British releases and the Americans the US ones especially those that were brought up on those in the 60s.
Agree with a lot of what you say about the US albums except the semafore Beatles are not spelling the word HELP on the US cover and imagine what Capitol might have done to Sgt Peppers if they had left out or shuffled up tracks.
I always come back to this one, In My opinion this is one of your top10 reviews! The American Albums are of course what i Bought and played tell i eas in College!
I grew up with the UK versions when they originally came out on CD in 87... so I am used to those track orders - HOWEVER, now collecting the US albums, I have an appreciation for them and it actually made me hear the songs in a new way. Rubber Soul is hands down a better album with the US running order, as is MMT is a stronger album as well.
I prefer the US (United Artists) version of Can't buy me love. The ride symbol is much higher in the mix, and the stereo version has an odd pan to one channel when Paul sings "money can't buy me love". To me it sounds much more lively.
MEET THE BEATLES was almost all Beatles written songs. That alone won me over, at the time. RUBBER SOUL was a more folk style album...big change, for a rock band at that time! Yes, REVOLVER had those 3 tracks missing, but we already had them 2 months prior. MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR was great...pretty much played side 1 but occasionally fipped it over.(remember, you had to do that in those days.) As far as sound quality,most of us teenagers only had cheap "phonographs"! Who cared? It was THE BEATLES!!!
I like 'em both. You can get candy from Hershey's with chocolate centers, or candy from Cadbury's with chocolate centres. Both have chocolate. The Beatles' albums have great fillings, no matter where you get them from.
Other positives about the North American albums: We got stereo mixes of the Long Tall Sally EP tracks 12 years before the UK did, and of We Can Work It Out and Day Tripper before the UK. One negative: The fake stereo Duophonic mix of You Cant Do That sounds very boxy.
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Having grown up in the US, I too used to think of the US albums as the definitive Beatles collection. Then I found out later that it wasn't. But the US albums still hold a fond place in my heart. It still seems like the right way to listen to those songs
(And I will agree with what you said about Revolver)
A dearly beloved fake…..
Childish
Love this video Joe! As an Aussie, our releases are identical to the UK. So, I do have a preference to “the way they were intended” but as a collector, I adore the US albums. Different covers, different track listings-it’s like a fresh album.
Cheers
~Andrew
@Vintage Vinyl Australia Were there, in the Beatlemania days, distinct Australian/New Zealandish Beatle album releases? Greetings from Krautland 😄
@@maxmeister5064 hello Max Meister, yes there are a number of unique sleeves from Australia & New Zealand both LPs and 45s picture sleeves and labels.
Greetings from Australia
The modern UK albums are my favorite, meaning the UK albums including Magical Mystery Tour. I'm glad that album has been adopted into the "official" album listings.
Great video! I grew up with the US versions and agree with you. I also agree the "Dexterized" reverb adds a vitaliy and rockin' edge to the songs. I think Meet the Beatles with the one/two punch of I Want to Hold Your Hand and I Saw Her Standing There is just awesome. I think The Beatles Second Album is an accidental rock and roll masterpiece. I agree Beatles '65 is more enjoyable than Beatles for Sale. And I have always like Yesterday and Today with all the rockin' songs on it such as Day Tripper, Drive My Car, And Your Bird Can Sing, Dr. Robert and the dreamy I'm Only Sleeping. It does neuter the US version of Revolver though. Until I knew better I always was wondering why there were only two John songs on the record.
Rubber soul was always my favorite US album growing up because it included my two favorite Beatles songs back to back to open it
Of course when I was younger I could only get the U.S. albums, but now I much prefer the U.K. versions.
I like having the UK versions -- would like to have been able to afford them in 1968, when they first appeared in one major city record shop. But without the US versions, and the fact that their first several single releases in the US went nowhere, they may never have succeeded in the US.
I was 15-16 when the were on the first Ed Sullivan Show. I grew up with them -- and the US LPs. (And the US release of "Sgt. Pepper's," which I'd read about prior to release, did not include the nonsense noise in the run-out groove of side 2: Capitol thought it simply excess noise and cut it.)
In short, I'm not a snob about it. The US LPs (I wore out my first mono set, gave them away when replaced with the "stereo") are in my DNA, so the UK versions sound not only sonically different, but also odd.
And it remains the fact that what "The Beatles" DID INTEND was MONO; the first several "stereo" were not stereo; they were two-track pre-mixed MONO. MONO because for marketing purposes the intent was to get records played on the radio -- which was MONO.
They were not "panned" -- which pseudo-officianados don't understand: "panning" is a deliberate way of mixing. The early recordings themselves were always: all music on one track, all vocals on the other track -- that is not "panning"; it is pre-mixed MONO. In his book "All You Need is Love," George Martin details all of that, and how angry he was when EMI, when "The Beatles" hit, released the UNMIXED two-track MONO, as "stereo," because they sound like CRAP: that's why the "hole in the middle".
@@jnagarya519 yes
me2
@@jnagarya519 - i hear you, but for me, as i first heard the "PPM" & "WTB" Parlophone Stereo versions, i personally prefer them to Mono, in part because you can hear the separation and really pick out what they were doing musically
as with those preferring Capitol versions to Parlophone because (in part) that's what they first heard, i prefer Stereo to Mono UK versions
although i did hear the Capitol Mono versions first
@@jnagarya519 - i actually like the original hard panned stereo Parlophone UK imports - it's true that the Beatles had nothing to do with their release, but it makes it easier to hear what they were doing musically, which is a cool thing - despite their mono intent
Little nuts my foot. What saddens me with the U.S.A albums is that they were so short weight with 11 tracks, when the U.K. albums tended to go for 14.. I would still like to get a set. With the Please Please Me album. It was hung around the success of the the singles Love Me Do and Please Please Me. That was the standard way the U.K. industry worked at the time. The Beatles abandoned that method immediately afterwards. Thank you for solving the mystery of Thank You Girl with the extra mouth organ which I jumped out of my seat when I heard it a few months ago and letting me know there was an extra verse on I'll Cry Instead. A great video. We all I think prefer what we grew up with wherever we live. Whatever the case, we have all been greatly blessed with The Beatle catalogue
Thanks for watching and commenting.
The UK albums are canon. US albums historically interesting. MMT an intereseting debate point.
The US LPs MADE "The Beatles" in the US. No UK LPs appeared for sale in the US until circa 1968.
US fans grew up EXCLUSIVELY with the US LPs. They are certainly more important than "historically interesting" in view of the fact that that is how US "Beatles" fans KNEW of "The Beatles".
the only true versions of the albums are the u.k. versions....
@@rocky-o We will have to continue to agree to disagree on this.
@@jnagarya519 Exactly.
Magical Mystery Tour is the only American album I like, it sounds like an album, now the others sound like a compilation
The Beatles are an enigma. They are the only band where you have to purchase not only the UK and US albums to experience both sides of the coin but also the Mono and Stereo versions of the albums because of the different sound. I just recently purchased the box set of The Beatles Capitol Albums and the Dexterized stereo is no longer there. They remastered is to the UK stereo so songs like I Want To Hold Your Hand and I Feel Fine are back to their normal stereo sound and She Loves You and Love Me Do stayed in Mono even on the stereo side. In a way, I like this version better than the original US albums which have that Dexterized aka FAKE stereo sound. I do agree that the US albums are better from a marketing stand point though, minus Revolver which the UK version is better.
I grew up in Australia. We got the UK albums (2 covers were altered..."With The Beatles" and "Beatles For Sale"). BUT we also got the US "Magical Mystery Tour" LP (it came out a year after the double EP) and the "Hey Jude" album. Preferences are highly influenced by nostalgia.
You and I are about the same age and I have also been a Beatles fan since I was a teenager but I never even thought about the fact there are two different releases. I know all the records as they were originally released. Now I’m in the process of purchasing and looking forward to listening to all the American versions. It only took me 40 years to come to this realization
Sounds great!
Joe, you mentioned Times Sguare Stores, I remember the day after John was murdered, being in Times Square Store in the TV dept, watching all the footage about John’s death, 40 tv’s all playing the same news channel, with about 50 people, my husband and I had to get something there, and ended up spending time with strangers, all of us crying, some moments in life are forever etched in our memories.
Great video, love the content . The Beatles Second album was my first album I ever bought as a young girl...
Christine Doran...thanks for sharing that experience about John.
I was raised in California during the Beatles time. I was in 8th grade. (Don't know way I said that really) I never even heard of the UK versions until I was out of the Air Force in 1970, so I just bought the Capital versions. I always missed not seeing the albums I was raised with, after all, those were the versions I knew from school, dances, hanging out with the other kids from 1964 to when I married. So I understand your deep involvement with the Beatles. Thank you sir, you help those like me, who can't feel that connection with our history without your assistance! Thank you!
Thank YOU!
One thing that always got on my nerves was why Rain (my favorite Beatles song) was never included on the US Revolver
I understand the collection "The US albums" have the UK remaster sound...so, even if it is not the original US sound...is this an alternative way of obtaining the mono remasters if you cannot buy the Mono white box?
Yes and no. Some of the US mixes were different from the UK versions for one reason or another. These were:
"Long Tall Sally" (mono)
"I Call Your Name" (mono)
"I'll Cry Instead" (mono)
"Any Time at All" (mono)
"When I Get Home" (mono)
"And I Love Her" (mono)
"I'll Be Back" (mono)
"She's a Woman" (mono)
"I Feel Fine" (mono)
"Michelle" (mono)
"The Word" (stereo)
"I'm Looking Through You" (stereo)
"I'm Only Sleeping" (mono)
"Doctor Robert" (mono)
"And Your Bird Can Sing" (mono)
"We Can Work It Out" (stereo)
"Day Tripper" (stereo)
So yes, you'll get mono versions of all of the US albums, but they're not the same as the UK mono versions.
The other thing is that the US albums only differed from the UK albums as far as Revolver, when The Beatles original contract with EMI expired. When they signed a new contract, they were sure to include a new clause forcing Capitol to release their albums exactly as The Beatles intended them to be released.
So The US Albums box set does not contain the mono versions of either Sgt Pepper or the White Album.
After watching this video when it came out, I decided to make my own US albums collection. I grew up listening to my mom and dad's LPs: Meet the Beatles, Beatles 65, Beatles VI, Sgt. Pepper, the Blue album, and Love Songs. Then I would get most of the US albums on cassette until the CDs started coming out and been listening to them ever since.
But after watching, I made my own albums. I don't have the money for the Capitol Albums sets or the US Box, so I just made them in iTunes. I also don't care about reverb and single vs. double-tracking or duophonic. I did have to purchase the instrumentals from the US AHDN and Help!
I enjoy having a different listen. I have my UK albums with the singles tacked on and the US albums. My only complaint is I don't like Hey Jude or the one-off I made of tracks left off. Having I Should Have Known Better on the same CD as The Ballad of John and Yoko doesn't sound right.
Incredible review! You make a lot of great points. I love the Capital albums!
I was actually thinking about the American Rubber Soul vs the UK version just the other day. I remember growing up as a teen in the mid eighties and discovering the Beatles albums for the first time. The American Rubber Soul was continously played. Folk masterpiece..especially with the side 1 and side 2 openers. A couple of years later at the time, I found the UK version in a cut out bin at my local record store back then. It was quite a different feeling listening to it and with the Drive My Car opener. I actually was used to hearing drive my car on the Beatles rock n roll music compilation album (vol 2) at the time. Great video!
I have a soft spot for the Capitol Rubber Soul as well. I’ve Just Seen A Face is the perfect opening track for it as was Its Only Love is for side two. The only thing that they did that does not make sense given the albums folk rock theme, was leaving off If I Needed Someone, which was directly inspired by the Byrds.
What a treat! I didn't realize how many Beatles EP's & singles there were. Great work once again Joe! I agree about Rubber Soul; it was among my first Beatles albums and 'I've Just Seen A Face' knocked me out as an opener as a teenager and still does.
Daniel Bean keep in mind that the US version of Rubber soul begins with I’ve just seen a face but it was originally a song on the Help album.
Any Beatles song is a knock out. Thats NOT THE POINT.
You cant change Rubber Soul. Period.
I do like the Help and HDN soundtrack instrumentals now (didn’t years ago) because they are charming examples of 60s style kitch. Great to have US and UK versions. More great music. ALL are great
Although I'm a U.S. citizen, I was born in 1993, so my initial introduction to most of the Beatles' discography was via the standardised 1987-1988 CDs of the UK discography (albeit with the Capitol LP release of MMT). But the first volume of the Capitol Records CD set came out and I begged for it, so that was my introduction to the early pre-Help era discography other than 'Please Please Me' which I already had on CD, and I adored Beatles '65 and felt that it was their absolute greatest album for some time. When I purchased the Past Masters Vol. 1 CD later on, I was shocked to hear a version of 'Thank You, Girl' without harmonica and the more anaemic sounding UK versions of 'I Feel Fine' and 'She's A Woman'. I find it strange that the U.S. version of Magical Mystery Tour was released, especially since the UK Double-EP release had a starkly discrepant track sequencing for the songs that comprise the first side of the Capitol Records release. Was that not the order in which George Martin and The Beatles intended the MMT soundtrack songs to appear? They could have simply released the British EP as it was sequenced in the UK and with the UK cover but with the non-album 1967 singles that made up the second side of the Capitol LP included, but it's interesting that the Capitol Records release of MMT was canonized from 1987-onwards over the UK release (it should also be noted that the edited version of 'Old Brown Shoe' from the Capitol 'Hey Jude' LP was initially the 'canonized' version on the 1988 'Past Masters Vol. 2' CD, but the 2009 re-master replaced it with the unedited 45 RPM version). Although I grew up with the British version of 'Rubber Soul', I almost exclusively listen to the North American Capitol Records version now, as I love 'I've Just Seen A Face' as an album opener and the unique mixes of Michelle on the mono release and Girl, as well as the folksy false-start on 'I'm Looking Through You' in the stereo mix. 'Yesterday & Today', 'Beatles VI', and 'The Beatles' Second Album' are wonderfully sequenced, but the Dexterized stereo mixes of the 'Beatles Second Album' release are a bit tasteless, as I see it. To this day, though, I fail to understand why 'Paperback Writer' & 'Rain' weren't included on the Capitol version of 'Revolver', 'From Me To You' on 'The Early Beatles', and 'The Inner Light' or 'You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)' on 'Hey Jude', and I vastly prefer the British 'Please Please Me', 'A Hard Day's Night', 'Revolver', and Double-EP sequencing of the 'Magical Mystery Tour' UK release to the Capitol Records sequencing of the first six tracks to 'The Early Beatles' and 'Introducing The Beatles', or the US version of Revolver, and I largely listen to 'With The Beatles' and Past Masters Vol. 1 over the first two Capitol releases as their mono mixes were generally fold-downs or of lesser sound quality, but I prefer the Capitol Releases for everything else.
'There's A Place' and 'Misery' weren't included on 'The Early Beatles' either, Oh, and it should also be noted that technically the Capitol release of 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' may arguably constitute a separate regional variation from the UK release as the North American vinyl record pressings didn't include the backwards 'inner-groove'. Also, 'Penny Lane' received an alternate mix with additional piccolo trumpet soloing at the end of the song on a promotional Capitol Records Mono 45 RPM single in the USA, which was included in a stereo version on Rarities and a very poor-quality needledrop on the recent Sgt. Pepper's Super Deluxe Boxed Set. 'From Me To You' was never released by Capitol save for the '1962-1966' Red Album, but it did hit #41 on the Billboard Charts as a Vee-Jay 45 single release.
I'm from Scotland, so the UK versions are canon as far as I am concerned. Nevertheless, I'm very fond of the US Help! instrumentals, but modern tech lets me create a hybrid of the UK and US versions, replacing side one of the UK album with the whole of the US version. It works a treat.
It's also not quite true that Beatles singles were not included on albums. Please Please Me, A Hard Day's Night and Help! all included singles. But with only one exception, The Beatles never, ever released a UK single which was already available on a UK album. The exception was Something / Come Together from Abbey Road. In every other instance, the single was released in advance of the album.
I agree with you about the Full length albums rather than EP’s!
I grew up with the UK versions however I couldn't listen to the early albums for years because the stereo is so badly split between the speakers. The songs sound all wrong (CD listener since the 90s). Then on a whim I got the US Albums 2014 (CD version). It contains both stereo and mono versions of all the US albums and was only 60 Euro new. The mono made the early songs sound like how I remembered them again. I was wondering why they didn't sound right for all those years. I was so impressed I got the Beatles in Mono box set for 300 Euro new (CD version). I'm back listening to the first band I loved and I'm converted to the extra reverb on the early US albums. Great video.
I grew up on the American albums and didn’t know the albums were different until the CDs came out ! In some cases I still prefer the US mixes.
I grew up with all of these albums and i do agree with you. You are spot on about "I've just seen a face" opening up Rubber Soul. You know it's funny, i can't remember what i did five minutes ago but do remember the first time listening to these brilliant albums lol The one that really stands out as a kid is me lying on the bed staring at "Revolver" wondering which was the front and which was the back, and what really bugged me is i kelp looking at where it says who sang what and i couldn't figure out why John only had two songs. I was to young to figure out his other 3 songs were the one's on "Yesterday, and Today". Great video Joe.
It was a lie. You dont mess around with masterworks. But americans dont care about such things….they always know better…I love OUR version, they say…
Terrible
I appreciate the UK albums but the US albums I enjoy more because they have more of an emotional connection with me and the sentimental value means so much more to me as well when I really want to relax The Beatles and The Beach Boys are my go to bands
The one thing I like about the US stuff it's generally more easier/cheaper to get compared to the UK ones from the same era
Hey Joe, I definitely agree that the US mixes of Beatles albums are definitely ballsier that the UK mixes. When I listen to The Beatles earlier albums on CD I usually go the the two original Capitol Albums boxes. Beatles '65 in Stereo sounds especially nice. Help! is the only one that was mastered poorly. So I'm with you for the most part. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! Take care Joe...
....what a fascinating video Joe...you make some very good points..very persuasive.....however you can never convince me about the opening track of Rubber Soul..it has to be DMC...but then I'm a Brit....its what I grew up with....if I was from your side of the pond I would probably feel differently.....and I much prefer the British released version of Thank You Girl with the more sparing harmonica.....but again its the version you grew up with....
As a novice guitarist I don’t use reverb except if I want to sound like I’m in a cave. It’s an EARLY sixties special effect that by 1968 was used MUCH more tastefully later on, but really makes if used to excess, everything seem old fashioned
Alot of the US covers look like bootleg covers to me. I need nowhere man on my rubber soul. Great shirt by the way.
I always used to think the Hey Jude album was a bootleg.
None of this matters any more. In the digital age you can arrange songs in any order you want with any mix you want. In effect, we can now make our own albums according to our individual preferences.
Doesn't matter to YOU.
@@MeanMrMayo Fair enough :)
I also grew up in the states with the Capitol albums - I moved to England later - after they had broken up. I share very much the same sentiments with you. Especially regarding the soundtrack instrumentals - which I love (and particularly "Ringo's Theme"), "Yesterday & Today" I also really liked and there is certainly something to be said about how one first heard the albums as they were presented to us - the US audience. I now have in my collection all of the US albums and the UK albums - I still love listening to both. I agree totally with your ideas about "Rubber Soul" - everything you say feels true with me too. Thank you, very much for an interesting appraisal of this subject.
Good point man, I agree with you the U.S Albuns were a good collection of songs with the focus on the hit singles from that period, the London Label did the same thing with the Rolling Stones U.S Albuns, I like both versions of this artists the U.K and U.S as well(that Beatles U.S Albuns Box Set ia really cool)
Absolutely in 100% agreement. I'm not a collector of your stature but I, being a young teen in the mid 60s, appreciate much more the sound and arrangements of the US releases. I have all the US capitol releases (not all first press) and since have collected 6 UK releases and much prefer the US releases sound and track arrangements.
Also, the Canadian stereo pressing of With the Beatles (called Beatlemania With the Beatles) is considered either the best or one of the best sounding mixes.
One of them also has a bad edit on Don’t Bother Me, where “don’t” is heard twice near the end.
I am in the UK and started collecting Beatles when I was eight years old in 1963. So I grew up listening to the UK albums. One thing you have to remember in Britain in the early 60’s was that the record companies weren’t that interested in albums . They were only concerned about the singles market. Then The Beatles came along. and the Please Please Me album spent most of 1963 at number one in the album chart. It only replaced at number one by With The Beatles. Which is why so many singles were released that were not on albums. Albums were also really expensive and that is why there were a lot of eps released in the UK. I have mixed feelings about the US albums . I love the US version of Rubber Soul., and the second album. The problem with Revolver in the US is that it is unbalanced because the tracks that were on the earlier album were all John’s vocals. Only leaving She Said she said and Tomorrow never knows on the US album. I listen to both the US and UK versions of the albums.
I understand the attraction to the Capitol US versions.
In the early seventies, they were my first introduction to the Beatles. They somehow capture & project the Fab Four high energy & fun of the Beatlemania era, capturing the powerful Beatles' influence of the time. The album covers were cool, the hottest songs compiled, so you got the Beatles' biggest hits & best rockin' album filler too. "Meet the Beatles" is probably the best Capitol version.
However, I noticed immediately the excessive reverb and distorted compression on the US versions in the mid seventies, by comparison, when I bought a UK import of the "Please Please Me" album on Parlophone.
The difference was striking: less reverb, less compression, less distortion on the British version. More dynamic range, though dryer, having less reverb. More songs, albeit many hits not featured on the UK records, noticeable when I got "With the Beatles" next.
The UK Parlophone albums are decidedly superior to the US Capitol counterparts generally, and they capture the Beatles' & George Martin's creative intent.
I prefer the US quality these days, believe it or not. There will be a new FAB-GAB show here on my channel about this soon.
@@MeanMrMayo - i hear you, i DO also love the high energy way that Capitol captured the Fab Four Beatlemania thing sonically - i just like the clearer Parlophone UK mixes better - ironically, i prefer the Stereo ones to the Mono (purists tend to prefer the UK Parlophone Mono to Stereo)
I love this topic. I was born in the ‘90s so i’ve always known and still prefer the modern cd canon (uk albums + us mmt and past masters to fill in the gaps). However, my mom grew up in the ‘60s and listening to her experience has made me appreciate the us albums more than i used to. There are times now when i’m listening to a uk album and my brain forgets for a split second and expects the us sequencing.
Fantastic video! You covered a topic that generates lots of mixed feelings in serious Beatles fans. Hopefully those raised in America can appreciate both American and British versions.
"The Beatles" made more royalties by the US repetitions of 45s also being on LPs.
When I was kid in the late '70s - there were three songs you couldn't get on a U.S. album: 1) I'm Down, 2) The Inner Light, and 3) You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)... At least "From Me To You" was on 1962-1966. I hunted down the 45s in record stores. Then, Rarities had them all.
Totally respect your point of view Joe. Beatles is Beatles. We used to listen to Transistor radios but now we have Dolby Atmos for instance. Their music is the best and will live on whichever way it’s received. Thanks again 🙏
Count me in brother Joe! Preach it to me baby! Ha ha! I agree 100, I said 100 percent!! The US Revolver is the only "meh" one for me, because the UK Revolver with 5 Lennon songs is king. But I absolutely adore the US albums...like you, I grew up with those puppies! The US Rubber Soul is arguably the greatest Beatles album of all time! Yeah folks, it's that good! And like you, the Beatles 2nd Album is my favorite pure ROCK N ROLL album of all time!!!! That album is relentless in its ability to kick ass and take names! Take care, Matt Street
"The Beatles Second Album" is so highly regarded, that there was a book written about it.
Your assessment of the US Rubber Soul is spot on. The 2 tracks that open side one and two fit perfectly to make a fine collection superior to the UK version. I also agree with your take on side 2 of the UK Help album being a "mish mash" sequence. I love all the songs, but the last thing I want to hear is Dizzy Miss Lizzy right after Yesterday. I feel in some ways, that was John's decision to remind fans that The Beatles are rockers.
EMI keeps getting me rebuying this catalogue, Love the Giles Martin remixes, a new experience in listening on a par with the punch of the US albums and the clarity of the songs in my memory. My family wore out our Capitol LPs Beatles '65, Beatles VI and Rubber Soul.
25:13 ....the USA Revolver comes off like an artsy album without the three guitar based tunes from John Lennon. Obviously, it's not as good as the UK version, but it does have it's own vibe. More piano and sitar than electric guitar. One example: "Eleanor Rigby" going straight into "Love You To" sounds more like the Yellow Submarine movie and the flower power era.
27:12 ....One big difference however, the original version on 60's (or 70's) vinyl was... the no break between songs approach (ie. Sgt. Pepper), that has been lost with the current version. That's what I call changing history.
Great topic.
"Artsy", cutting out I'm Only Sleeping? Ha!
Easily the best video you have ever done. I can't agree more with everything you said and yes I almost flipped out when I heard the British version of rubber soul and I just seen a face was not the opening track, blasphemy!!!! I was hoping that they would put out vinyl versions of the US albums I wouldn't buy them all but a few of them like the Beatles second album and Rubber Soul I would definitely pick up what do you think would you like some new US reissue vinyl???😎✌
Frederick Franchi - Glad you liked the video. Actually, I would not really want the old US albums to be reissued on new vinyl, because I am a fan of originals and it's more fun for me to seek out the vintage stuff. But if it makes others happy getting them newly re-released, that's fine too.
The only truly indefensible thing Capitol did was the emasculation of Revolver, where they didn't replace the excised songs with anything. The absurdly obvious thing to do would have been to add Paperback Writer and Rain, given that that was the contemporaneous single, and they'd done that with the previous releases. I'm Down was also probably still fresh enough to be viable.
I didn't grow up with the US versions, so I have no emotional attachment to them. But we did have two Beatles albums: Yesterday and Today and Magical Mystery Tour. YaT now seems like a bizarre mashup of three different albums from completely different eras, but at the time it held together seamlessly, and the songs very much felt like they belonged together. And while I now totally follow the UK lineup, this leads me to believe that for the most part these collections really are largely arbitrary, and that our feeling that they belong together mostly comes from our having heard them together.
I also kind of like the extra bite that the Yesterday and Today mixes of the Revolver songs have. When I first heard the "real" versions I had the feeling of, something's missing here.
I defended the U S. REVOLVER. 😎
Terrific video and the most in depth and informative run down I've ever seen on the difference between the U.K. and U.S album releases by the greatest band of all time. It has certainly made me look at the U.S albums in a new light and I'm sure that were I a kid growing up in the sixties or seventies in America, then these would obviously be my "go too" releases also. I can remember first seeing albums like 'Hey Jude', 'Beatles '65' and both the movie soundtracks in the early seventies. Obviously they were only available in Britain as, for the time, reasonably expensive imports, and to be honest I did not take them too seriously. What with, what looked like, the random sprinkling of U.K. singles and their B sides all over them, plus orchestrated instrumental versions of Beatles songs from the film soundtracks, they were not particularly attractive items to get. The one glorious exception was the 'Magical Mystery Tour' album. I can remember seeing this in a local record store window and just thinking that I've got to get that. If I remember correctly it cost £4.00 ( US 5.50), laughable today I know, but back in '74 when I bought the thing my bring home pay was £15.00. So it was not cheap. Got it home, played it to death and fell in love with the really thick cardboard gatefold sleeve and array of pictures from the film. The Capitol label and the just general artwork and typography really gave it an exotic quality. The music was, of course, fantastic and I still have the album safely put away in a protective plastic sleeve. Enjoyed your content once again, I was lucky to be a kid in the seventies.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
For me, the clear US winners: Meet the Beatles, The Beatles’ Second Album, Beatles ‘65, Magical Mystery Tour, and Rubber Soul. Being a millennial, the only reason I actually stumbled across the US catalogue was looking for the Capitol mix of The Word with Lennon’s vocals doubled in the verses. And when I heard I’ve Just Seen a Face open the album, I was blown away. Made me check out their other releases, and I’m so glad I did!
filmandstage13...Good album choices!
to quote Ringo, "forgive the lateness of my reply," but i think Capitol missed an interesting opportunity with Revolver. the more i think about it, the more i feel as though Paperback Writer and Rain "fit" on Revolver a lot better sonically than Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine. not to say those songs shouldn't be on the album, but in terms of suiting the vibe, it's always been funny to me that Paperback Writer and Rain ended up being the non-album single while Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine was the single pulled from Revolver. i've always wanted to hear a sequence of Revolver with the non-album single included, had Capitol done that it would have made a much more worthwhile album in the generations to come. i'm a US fan born post the catalog standardization, so the UK has always been definitive for me. Revolver was actually the first CD i bought with my own $$ and i vividly remember "I'm Only Sleeping" being the song that hooked me, I can't bear to think of the album without that song. I do hold a lot of reverence for the Beatles US catalog though, currently trying to weight whether or not I should have the US CD box.
There's Dexter reverb on "The Early Beatles." Vee-Jay used the un-doctored UK mixes on "Introducing The Beatles." Also "Misery + There's A Place" were not included on "The Early Beatles", keeping the more common 11 song US norm. The two tracks did not appear on a Capitol album until years later, when they were included on the US "Rarities" with added reverb.
I grew up listening to the American versions as well, but I feel you minimized one of the biggest negatives of them, at least to me. If one of the attractions was that you got the singles included in the albums, then there really were too many songs that fell through the cracks on the Capitol albums. Misery, There's A Place, From Me To You (!!), Sie Liebt Dich, I'm Down, Love Me Do (Single Version), The Inner Light, Across The Universe, You Know My Name. I always thought that the Hey Jude album was a lost opportunity to gather all these lost songs, perhaps make it a double album or even spread it out onto another release, which you'd have to include a couple of unreleased songs at the time like maybe Leave My Kitten Alone or If You Got Troubles. I know we got Rarities later on, but that was 10 years after they broke up so it gets lumped in with the other releases of the 80s, which means kind of gimmicky.
MEET THE BEATLES has only one song not composed by the Beatles-“Till There Was You”. The first two Parlophone LPs each had 8 originals and 6 covers. This works out to 92% originals for MEET THE BEATLES compared to 57% for the UK albums.
Nice video Joe. My take on this is it goes beyond personal memories and associations and more to do with what the Beatles themselves wanted put out, i.e. your number 1 point. For that reason I have no problem at all with people saying they prefer the US versions, but I find myself digging in on the issue of them being objectively 'better'. While I would agree that music business people might be better than an artist at identifying which song from a record is going to 'hit' as a single, I'm more sceptical than they have a better idea (i.e. truer to the band's artistic vision than the band itself) than the artist of how the tracks ought to be sequenced into a coherent whole. I speak purely as a British fan here, but to me the US albums are industry-curated compilation albums, using tracks taken from the actual Beatles albums, which are the albums the Beatles signed off on. Maybe if Capitol had liaised with the Beatles and George Martin and done it properly through them, according them ultimate respect and authority, I'd feel differently. Who knows, the Beatles themselves might have agreed to some of the changes, and even approved them. The fact is though, they weren't asked, and this was a symptom of that early to mid sixties situation where 'pop groups' were not accorded much in the way of artistic respect, and their music was viewed by 'the suits' as pure product, to be repackaged and changed around any which way to sell to 'the kids'...a situation which had rightly been transformed (ironically, largely by the sheer top quality of the Beatles' own album-making artistry) by the late sixties. I'm not going to make a video saying that any of that however, as I'll probably lose a third of my subs overnight. I'd never presume to tell US fans they were wrong to love or even prefer the American versions. Cheers, James
James Griffiths - Thanks for your input, James. My main point was that regardless of whether or not the Beatles "intended" this or that, it has absolutely nothing to do with how an album sounds (or it shouldn't, anyway, if one is being objectively honest). For example, does the sequencing and track content on, say, MEET THE BEATLES sound "bad" just because the Beatles themselves did not choose to place "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as the LP opener? It's still a great opener, regardless of who made the decision - and I think George Martin and the Beatles were incredibly short-sighted in not realizing this for themselves (for one example). I think that when enjoyment comes down to pure semantics it's not really fair. I would also ask just how far fans are required to go in order to preserve "the artist's integrity and intent"?... for instance, if the Beatles themselves always preferred Mono for their early first albums, is it required that we never listen to those in Stereo? Should we disregard listening to CDs because the Beatles and Martin took great pains to design their songs for "Side 1" and "Side 2" vinyl openers and closers? ..Shouldn't we all be listening to 45 Singles and B-Sides on individual records, instead of having collections like PAST MASTERS? After all, those B-sides and singles were not originally orchestrated to be thrown together on an "industry curated compilation album". ... And finally, I did not do research in order to find out an answer to a puzzle I'm unsure about: did Capitol always have the normal UK albums and tapes at their disposal each time they set out to make a USA record, or in fact did they need to rely on whatever tapes/masters/tracks they could get their hands on at the time?
@@MeanMrMayo I hear what you're saying, but try a thought experiment involving Capitol releasing a US version of Sgt Pepper in '67, featuring tracks from the UK Pepper along with a smattering of stuff from Magical Mystery Tour (not Strawberry Fields and PL). Presumably, what would have happened is US fans would have got to love that album in the same way they got to love the US Rubber Soul. Some of them would then make the case that the US Sgt Pepper was superior to the UK one, because (for example) Blue Jay Way and Does Your Mother Know worked much better in the track-list than Luck in the Sky and When I'm 64, which got taken off by a Capitol suit.. That perspective would be an utter mystery to UK fans who knew the actual, Beatles-sanctioned Pepper album. Really, that's no different to my feelings when US fans say the US Rubber Soul LP works better than the UK one. I don't deny the sincerity of their view, or their right to hold it, but to me there's the album 'Rubber Soul', then there's a Capitol-sanctioned compilation album that collected together tracks recorded during the Rubber Soul and Help! sessions and put them together on one record which then (unlike on previous occasions) got released using the same cover art and title as a contemporaneous original UK Beatles record. In a slightly different version of events, Capitol might have decided to go with a different title and cover as on previous occasions, so that Help/Rubber Soul hybrid record would have ended up being called 'At Home With The Beatles' or something like that (probably a better title than that!). If at that point a US fan told me 'I prefer At Home With The Beatles to 'Rubber Soul', I would accept that opinion unconditionally. But I tend to find myself rejecting the premise on which the assertion 'The US Rubber Soul is better than the UK Rubber Soul' is built. Perhaps the crux of the issue for me is simply that the US Rubber Soul is not just the UK version with tracks taken off or re-sequenced - it's a mixture of the tracks from Rubber Soul and tracks from a completely different album, recorded during different sessions, and representing the Beatles' artistic development during a slightly earlier, artistically distinct phase.
James Griffiths - It's kind of moot to me to consider what might have occurred if PEPPER had been given the "Capitol treatment", because it wasn't ... however, if we engaged in an experiment there, why would you exclude "Strawberry Fields" and "Penny Lane" from the equation? The ironic thing is, if Capitol HAD included both SFF and PL on their version of PEPPER, it might actually make many fans happy rather than disappointed (I'm playing Devil's Advocate there because so many fans gripe that both SFF and PL "should" have been on the PEPPER album in 1967 - which George Martin himself was always regretful never happened!). But I'm glad PEPPER remained PEPPER in both countries, because it was definitely a true work of art which was arguably their first real "conceptual vision", if you like. ... A reason why the US version of PEPPER you mention with "Blue Jay Way" and "Your Mother Should Know" could NOT exist most likely, is because they're from the film MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR which was not even filmed at the time PEPPER was issued, and came along much later. (You also mention in your scenario that suppose "Lucy" and "When I'm 64" would have been taken OFF by "a Capitol Suit" - yet, as I've asked earlier, do we know if this was in fact what the Capitol people were doing, or did they just have to run with whichever songs they were given to deal with at the time?). ... Regarding RUBBER SOUL . as I said in the video, you need to consider that in the actual 1960s when these US records were first released, fans of that time actually discovered them and grew to love them as soundtracks to their own life's experiences - a part of their youth, if you will - and so they were a very REAL part of the Sixties for them, not just some latter-decade "retro thing". The best example of this is Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys - who grew up adoring RUBBER SOUL - that's the USA Version - which inspired him to create his classic PET SOUNDS album. I still think that hidden tracks from the UK HELP! album such as "I've Just Seen A Face" and "It's Only Love" were given much more attention/exposure/respect by being featured as opening cuts on Side 1 and Side 2 of the US RUBBER SOUL ... they were viewed in a much stronger light, if you will. Even if the Beatles and George Martin did not intend it that way.
The argument that 'Seen A Face' and 'Only Love' were from a different developmental period is actually somewhat valid I guess, but only bc the Beatles were traveling at light speed in terms of growth. ANY other 60s band that included a couple of songs recorded 5-6 months earlier on an album wouldnt even raise an eyebrow. But having said this, its certainly not like side 1 opened with There's A Place and side 2 with Im Down. Even as a 1974 hoarder of the Beatles albums (after getting 62-66 in 73 and seeing the list of albums for the first time and thinking damn, I'll never get those) Rubber Soul was instantly a very accoustic album and I loved it for that reason. Personally Drive My Car (not a favorite) and Nowhere Man ( a favorite) just seem out of place grouped with the rest of the album. Nowhere Man got special treatment here as a (#1) single too
Great insight on the US albums. I have both collections. Why are the reboot USA 'albums' only on CD? Still waiting for vinyl.
Have to say that I currently only have one Capitol US album, The Beatles Second Album, in its original 1964 mono release. It holds its own with the British catalog, to be honest.
The only one I can get behind is magical mystery tour
This video was a long time coming Joe. Because I grew up with the U.K. 1987 and 2009 CD remasters, I prefer the U.K. albums. However, I view the U.S. albums today as compilations that I spin from time to time when I want to hear a slightly different mix or running order.
3M, I played my old Help album movie sountrack album, and the James Bond intro took me back instantly, I forgot about that. Love that album.
What do you think of the Collectors Items bootleg Beatles album?
Tracklist
A1 Love Me Do (Mono Alt Take) 2:22
A2 Thank You Girl (Mono Original Mix) 1:59
A3 From Me To You (Mono Original Mix) 1:54
A4 All My Loving (Stereo With Intro Count) 2:06
A5 This Boy (Stereo) 2:11
A6 Sie Liebt Dich (Stereo) 2:16
A7 I Feel Fine (Stereo) 2:15
A8 She's A Woman (Stereo) 2:57
A9 Help! (Mono Single) 2:16
A10 Paperback Writer (Stereo - Unreleased Mix) 2:24
B1 Penny Lane (Stereo Version Of Promotional Single P 5810) 2:57
B2 Baby, You're A Rich Man (Stereo) 2:57
B3 I Am The Walrus ("No You're Not!" Said Little Nicola) (Stereo) 4:34
B4 The Inner Light (Mono single) 2:30
B5 Across The Universe (Stereo) 3:44
B6 You Know My Name (Look Up My Number) (Mono) 4:15
I have two of these.
The U.S. versions of Help! and "A Hard Day's Night" are great in their own right, they're more like film soundtrack albums than the UK versions.
What is great and smart is that they've released both. If it's what you grew up with and loved, you deserve to have access to it. You were as much a part of the Beatles success as anyone. Give the people what they want. I will say this though, the added reverb on the American releases was a mixed bag. Sometimes they were over the top. Perhaps in the days when audio standards were lower it was less noticeable. With a song like I Feel Fine it's way too much. It sounds like your listening to a record played at full volume out of your neighbor's garage! The UK version is perfect. On the other hand I actually think it improved the sound of the song No Reply. The American version with the reverb sounds livelier. So I have an open mind about it.Also I would never say for example, Hey Jude wasn't a real album. It was the only place in the day where you could have all those songs together on a long playing record. The Beatles value for your money argument is a good one and in a way encouraged the Beatles to produce that much more music, since a single release guaranteed it was out of the running to go on a record. On the other hand putting these songs on a long playing record also meant you didn't have to get up every three minutes to change a record because you were listening to a 45. Hey Jude, btw, was a record I got for Christmas and absolutely loved it. It had one of the coolest cover photos ever, one we never would have seen otherwise. And let's not forget Magical Mystery Tour, an album that didn't exist in the UK that had a terrific gate fold with a a great illustrated version of the movie we Americans didn't get to see with a bunch of super pictures.I ever dig the first real post career collection release, the infamous RED and Blue albums. We loved them growing up. With the Beatles there is no wrong way and you can never get enough!
For me the US albums weren’t as intended, the Beatles never liked what Capital did to them, mainly to milk the record buying public, after turning the Beatles down like 2-3 times lol changed their minds when they realised what money they were losing
Just a heads up you can stream all of the US albums on services under the compilation section with 'The US Albums'
The 3 Revolver tracks on Yesterday & Today are unique mixes in North America, Japan and a few other countries in 66, mono and stereo. Bonus: the band Y&T drew inspiration for their name from the album title.
My personal experience with the Beatles began with I Want To Hold Your Hand. Not, Love Me Do. I first became aware of IWTHYH in 1963, about this time of year, just before Christmas. And then I learned of I Saw Her Standing There, She Loves You, and All My Loving when they were broadcast on the Ed Sullivan Show, after which they got a lot of airplay on the radio. I became aware of Please Please Me and From Me To You, in March or 1964. In April, I became aware of, Twist and Shout, Can't Buy Me Love, Do You Want To Know A Secret, and Thank You Girl. It was not until May when I heard Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You. And at that time I thought that was the order those songs became existence. I did not learn of the true order until the Beatles were disbanded. And that was long after.
I am from Canada and did not have access to the earliest American albums. I had, the Long Tall Sally LP instead of the Beatles Second Album. I did not hear your preferred version of Thank You Girl with the extra harmonica, before The White Album. That is when I started buying secondhand records.
I grew up with the original album releases on cd. I later purchased all of the US albums on vinyl and that's mainly what I listen to now.
The reason is I know the tracklist so well on the UK versions and like the surprise of the US tracklist. Some of the mixes aren't as good but I do like that they included singles. I'd say Rubber Soul and Revolver are the only albums where I wish they were untouched. The early stuff isn't as sacred to me.
I grew up with "The Beatles" -- and hearing "fans" make shit up as explanations for whatever -- guesses based on mishearing, ignorance of recording technology, "grievances" about the contents of releases.
I know this is quite an old video but I only bought the vinyl US albums this year and I'm watching a few videos about them. I started collecting Beatles records in the UK in the mid 70's when I reached my teens, but didn't even know the US albums existed. It was only around 1983 when I bought a detailed discography book that I found out about them. I found a Canadian import of The Beatles Story and Help! but they weren't easily obtainable in general. Then in the late 80's I stopped buying vinyl altogether for over 30 years. Long story short. I decided that in my dotage I want to have all the back catalogue of Beatles vinyl from UK reissues and remixes to all the US albums. I bought the CD sets first and then the vinyl. I have to say I love them all. I bought an old style turntable with basic speakers to play them on and you're almost transported back to what the US fans were listening to in the 60's and to a UK dweller they sound really fresh. I doubt that US fans in the 60's got Revolver and were breaking it down into John songs and Paul songs and bemoaning the fact that only two were written by John. They were used to 11 tracks per album and I suspect they were very happy with Revolver at the time. I think the worldwide standardisation on CD was unnecessary and a bit disrespectful. All the US albums should have been released on CD from day one. I would like to be able to buy the albums on new vinyl reissues now either in a box set or separately. I've no idea how big the market would be, but I doubt I'm the only one. Sorry, I rambled on a bit there. 😬 Suffice to say I love them and don't think they need justification or defending. They're a major part of music history and as such should always be available along side the constant remixing and remastering of the UK albums.
Well said. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I am late in the game commenting on this video but I grew up listening to the Beatles on Capital (Including VeeJay's "Introducing the Beatles"). I listened to them so much that I could probably tell you the song order on each Capital record. Because of that to this day I still have a hard time listening to the British albums and in their song order. Same with the audio...I will always remember the Capital sound. With respect to the singles also being included on US albums. That is the way it was back then and I dont think anyone knew the difference. I bought the single and then l bought the album when it came out. That was the American way 😎. Nice video by the way.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
The only thing about the US albums was that they didn't have From Me To You, Misery and and There's A Place. But I grew up with the US albums and loved them. To this day I pass at the English albums. And fact checking I feel Fine and She's A Woman; Martin did add reverb and bass specifically for the US mixes so that Capitol wouldn't need to add it like they did on other songs. Funny thing is Dexter ran it through the mastering adding more reverb and bass regardless thereby doubling it. So it backfired on Martin. You can hear those versions on the mono Beatles '65 of the 2014 Box set but on the stereo they used the 2009 English remasters.
I'm in between generations on this in that I grew up with most of the Capitol albums, but the CDs came out when I was teen and I immediately switched and became acclimated to the British versions. What I miss is the Bond theme start on Help (thought it was part of the song) and the false start on I'm Looking Through You, which I still almost expect to hear.
Excellent video Joe! Overall I prefer the UK albums, but there are lots of things to love about the US ones. The only terrible one is really Revolver....that one is absolutely useless.
Best things about the US albums is they included many of the best singles
Agreed. As I Want to Hold Your Hand and This Boy were recored in the same sessions as other With The Beatles songs, I don't think it is all that wrong to put them on Meet the Beatles. Same with I Feel Fine and She's A Woman.
true, the biggest hits in one collection are cool
This was a great video. You make a very convincing argument. You even brought up things I hadn't thought of before. I am just going to continue to love all The Beatles albums no matter where they come from. Thank you Joe!
Melinda Murphy - Glad you enjoyed the video, Melinda. Well said too about enjoying all various Beatles albums. Just subbed to your channel.
I think (as U.K listener) you have a point about the U.K. albums being too sterile that’s why I bought the Mono C.D box set I think the mono versions are a lot better especially the earlier albums.
Mr Joe, I don't even know if you're gonna see this comment but that's fine. I watch this video from time to time because it feels like I'm watching myself talk. Total agreement with you. I went through the same period of dismissing the Capital albums but like you, have come full circle
This may be my favorite of your videos. Well done Joe. Well done
Thanks! Yes, I see your comment! Have you ever watched my FAB GAB show where three of us discuss the US albums? Check PLAYLISTS under the FAB-GAB section to locate the show.
@@MeanMrMayo Yes Joe, and I will watch that one again as well. Keep up the great videos, with the various topics. You're awesome! 👍
I definitely like the American albums better, especially Rubber Soul and Beatles VI. I’m just biased because I grew up with those.
I'm with you 100%! Rubber soul will forever open with I've just see a face. The British version is lame in my book. I grew up with the US albums and I cannot live without the reverb on the early track. Beatles Second album is also my favorite of the early ones because it rocks big time and it sounds huge with the reverb. When I bought the last CD box set of US albums, I was not a happy camper except for the mono I feel fine which includes the reverb. I made my own stereo version of I feel fine with the reverb, by using the sterile UK version and matching the reverb sound through protools. This is a great video and you explain it perfectly.
Incredible video Joe, incredible. I’ll be watching this one many times. In many aspects, some US albums are superior. MEET THE BEATLES always sounded more energetic than WITH THE BEATLES. The one-two punch of the first two tracks on MEET made all the difference. I Used to own BEATLES ‘65 in the 80s, my favorite track was I FEEL FINE. Loved the heavy reverb on it. When I bought PAST MASTERS VOL 1, it really depressed me the way that song sounded there. Thankfully I have the CAPITOL ALBUMS VOL 1 & 2 set with all that glorious reverb. BEATLES FOR SALE sounds boring compared to ‘65. Great looking design on the jacket, but just never quite made me listen to it a lot. MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR is Capitol’s greatest contribution. In fact, I prefer the B side to the A side, which as we all know is the actual MMT EP. Never owned YESTERDAY AND TODAY, but what a track listing.
Watched this for the first time , I was born in England ( 20 miles south of Liverpool) so you know which I prefer , however I own both sets on CD and vinyl. To be fair U S albums have their merits most notably Magical mystery tour , significantly better than the ep set. Also love Hey Jude but the Inner Light and You know my name should have been included. Always liked Yesterday and Today although it was responsible for ruining the U S Revolver. I now live in Canada so can definitely see both sides of this never ending discussion.
my understanding has always been that mono recordings is what they intended....
Another great video, Joe! The video where you ranked the US Albums some years ago is how I first discovered your channel. I've been hooked ever since - Haha! Even though I like them all, The US HDN soundtrack is my all-time favorite BEATLES album cover. Take care! - Bob
BrotherBob1984 - Thanks, Bob!
And yes, there is also some reverb on the US "Help", not blatantly noticeable, but if you A-B the Stereo US + UK pressings, it will be evident from the start ("Help" + "The Night Before") that there is a bit more punch on the US via the wee reverb added. There were two US Stereo versions of "Rubber Soul." The more common uses the UK mixes, but on the East Coast and in Canada there was a Dave Dexter version out there from the mid to late 60's, using again just the smallest bit of reverb. Lastly: "Ticket To Ride" on the US "Help" is fake Stereo with also a little reverb.
Glad you did this video as I learned some things I didn't know or didn't pay attention to - Hope to see more like this in the future - Thanks for sharing and Take Care.
Damn, had no idea the full Magical Mystery Tour was done by the US! I spent forever tracking down a copy of Hey Jude's original title "The Beatles Again".
All but the first two US "Beatles" LPs -- "Introducing the Beatles" and "Meet The Beatles" -- up to and including "Revolver," had only 11 tracks, which is why, with the added 45s, there are more US LPs.
As the saying goes we learn something new every day. I grew up with the UK albums and discovered the US ones through watching you and Beatle Brad. I will in the future look into some of these American releases. Everyone has their own opinion on which they prefer, the Brits are gonna prefer the British releases and the Americans the US ones especially those that were brought up on those in the 60s.
i love my MEET THE BEATLES. i have a second pressing MONO, only "problm" is...its still sealed!...i love it
Agree with a lot of what you say about the US albums except the semafore Beatles are not spelling the word HELP on the US cover and imagine what Capitol might have done to Sgt Peppers if they had left out or shuffled up tracks.
I always come back to this one, In My opinion this is one of your top10 reviews! The American Albums are of course what i Bought and played tell i eas in College!
I grew up with the UK versions when they originally came out on CD in 87... so I am used to those track orders - HOWEVER, now collecting the US albums, I have an appreciation for them and it actually made me hear the songs in a new way. Rubber Soul is hands down a better album with the US running order, as is MMT is a stronger album as well.
I prefer the US (United Artists) version of Can't buy me love. The ride symbol is much higher in the mix, and the stereo version has an odd pan to one channel when Paul sings "money can't buy me love". To me it sounds much more lively.
When it comes to their early stuff, I agree that nothing beats the "second album".
@Jim McCracken With the Beatles dosen’t have She Loves You.
@Jim McCracken I mean that With The Beatles doesn’t have the hit single She Loves You.
MEET THE BEATLES was almost all Beatles written songs. That alone won me over, at the time. RUBBER SOUL was a more folk style album...big change, for a rock band at that time! Yes, REVOLVER had those 3 tracks missing, but we already had them 2 months prior. MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR was great...pretty much played side 1 but occasionally fipped it over.(remember, you had to do that in those days.) As far as sound quality,most of us teenagers only had cheap "phonographs"! Who cared? It was THE BEATLES!!!
I like 'em both. You can get candy from Hershey's with chocolate centers, or candy from Cadbury's with chocolate centres. Both have chocolate. The Beatles' albums have great fillings, no matter where you get them from.
Too much of either brand, and you'll need to get fillings.
Or you'll have to have them all pulled out after the Savoy Truffle.
Other positives about the North American albums: We got stereo mixes of the Long Tall Sally EP tracks 12 years before the UK did, and of We Can Work It Out and Day Tripper before the UK. One negative: The fake stereo Duophonic mix of You Cant Do That sounds very boxy.