Parlophone/Apple vs Capitol

[DeRick]

I definitly prefer U.K.Parlophone albums over U.S. Capitol albums. they could just remaster the U.K. Parlophone albums Although im a bit tempted to get the Capitol box sets. the British albums just flows alot better. Agree?

[mervap]

I prefer the UK versions, but there will always be a nostalgic place in my ears for the Capitol LPs. Those were the first Beatles albums I ever had. Kinda like a first girlfriend...memories of her are pleasant(for the most part), but there were greater things in store later.

[Harrythebannister]

There are some who say that Capitol butchered the Beatles albums by decreasing the number of tracks from 14 to 11, adding none album single A & B' sides etc. The result was more US albums than UK ones and a track listing which wasn't what the Beatles had originally intended.
You're right when you say the British albums had more flow particularly when many of the Capitol albums had tracks recorded for different albums included on one (ie the Capitol version of Rubber Soul which had songs from Help).
However that aside, as a completist, I have bought these box sets purely for the different mixes and to hear their songs in mono on CD, many for the first time, and their earlier material in stereo on CD for the first time.
I would sooner see the British albums remastered in mono & stereo but that would appear to be some way off, possibly next year I understand!

[michaelk]

I was amazed to hear how different the 'American Beatles' sounded and why, years ago, people in the UK were always paying to get the American imports. (exact opposite phenomenon to the States obviously)
The 'Capitol sound' (different EQ, compression,extra reverb/duophonic and all that) gives the early stuff a super-futuristic 'Beatlemania' feel and, in a way, creates this parallel band that The Beatles were quite shocked to find themselves having to become a couple of times a year when they went to tour in the US.
'The Beatles' was a monster beyond the band from the beginning in the USA. They had to wear the suits of what American Beatlemania and Capitol had done with their stuff and all of this probably went into the frame of Paul's eventual Sgt. Pepper alter-ego idea.
Compared to the bright sound of the Capitol stuff, the Parlophone stuff is more studied, has 'northernness' written all over it and is more focussed, less hysterical.
Around 'Paperback Writer', the two sounds fuse as the band begin to expand to fill their US image and the Capitol sound and then go further beyond anybody's take on technology and anything else.

The 'English Beatles' are primitives and experimentalists, the 'American Beatles' are sugared up, hyped up ultra-commercialised uber-versions of themselves which they eventually surpass.

The difference in feel and sound between the two is surprisingly immense at times, with the same source recordings and hearing the Capitol boxed sets in the last couple of years finally gave me access to a whole other Beatles I hadn't really known about.

[DeRick]

I recently bought the rematstered early beegees albums, and i must say, theres disnct differance in mono & stereo. so i can only imagine the Beatles set, but i just love the flow of the U.K. albums. Id LOVE to have the U.K. albums like that!
(BTW Im not gonna get persecutd for mentioning "Bee Gees, am i, i mean there actualy were Bee Gees before disco, in the 60's too. Check out "1st". "Horizontal". "Idea" & "Odessa", they're awsome!)

[mervap]

Don't worry, DeRick, you are among friends here...Paul fans have a very wide-ranging musical tolerance. Besides, some cat in another thread said he liked KC & the Sunshine Band as a kid.....oh...waitaminnit...that was me!

[DeRick]

i try notto label music either, i dont think even the former-Beatles everwent on that "disco sux" rampage. In fact was it Ringo who put out disco album called "Ringo the 4th" was voted as one of the worst, ithink i probly even had the LP. In fact, there was ajoke about the album cover, "it looks like hes thrustng the sword into himself for even bothering to put out this mess".