Apple Records recently announced the September release of the Beatles‘ mono catalog reissued on vinyl. This came as welcome news to a relatively small, but passionate subsection of the Fab Four’s enduring fanbase that have been waiting for the 14 mono LPs since the group’s catalog was remastered in 2009. But seriously, what’s all the fuss about mono?
Well, a mono recording has all of the sound mixed in a single channel and was intended to be listened to on a sound system with one speaker — such as a turntable with a built-in speaker. Until the late ’60s, most rock and pop albums were mixed for mono, since most young people didn’t have access to stereo systems.
Stereo recordings use two, or sometimes more, independent audio channels to create the impression of sound heard from various directions. In stereo, vocals and guitars may be mixed in the right speaker while the rest of the instruments are mixed in the left. “When the early Beatles albums were recorded in 1963 through 1967, mono was by far the dominant format in the UK. Beatles producer George Martin recorded these albums with mono in mind from the start,” Bruce Spizer, a noted Beatles expert who has written eight books on the band, told Radio.com. “The stereo mixes were an afterthought, with the Beatles rarely present for the stereo mixing sessions. For these reasons, the early mono albums represent the Beatles music as the Beatles and George Martin intended it be heard.”
And between the release, real surprises: in few weeks will come out a box with recordings of John Coltrane for the Atlantic in September,Rolling Stones are about to shot out a 15 CD box, or sixteen with the works of the band of Jagger and Richards recorded between 1964 and 1969, have a simple and clear subtitle in mono: set, due out this fall, that will compile mono versions of some of their most famous recordings. The Rolling Stones in Mono will collect the group’s U.K. and U.S. releases from 1964’s The Rolling Stones through 1969’s Let It Bleed alongside a collection of singles and EP tracks dubbed Stray Cats. In total, the set will contain 186 songs, 56 of which have never been made available in mono since the digitalization of music. Record label ABKCO will issue several versions of the release on September 30th. When the group made its first recordings, mono was still the predominant format as stereo equipment was not yet widely available. As with the Beatles, who reissued the mono versions of their catalogue in 2009, the Rolling Stones’ stereo mixes were often made later. In a 1968 interview with Rolling Stone, Mick Jagger once even slagged off the stereo mix of Their Satanic Majesties Request. When discussing his lyrics, he offhandedly said, “‘2000 Light Years’ … is my favorite [song]but it’s lousy in stereo.”
