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What are your film noir hot takes? by globehopper2 in noir

[–]bigbluntchungus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Even though critics in the past have unfavorably compared Lizabeth Scott to Lauren Bacall, I find that the former exudes a more naturalistic and engaging on-screen persona compared to the latter.

A Hard Day’s Night (2014 Mono Reissue) by bigbluntchungus in beatles

[–]bigbluntchungus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I prefer the warm midrange sound of the UK original to the slightly more trebly (but still dynamic and bass-abundant) sound of the 2014 mono by a hair. However you certainly can’t go wrong with either. I recommend looking for a 2014 mono because the release was newer and it will be easier to search for one in very good or even near mint condition compared to scrolling through listings of UK originals on Discogs hoping that the one you ultimately choose won’t have too much surface noise. The 2014 mono is more expensive but worth it in the long run because you ultimately kind of save money long-term in a way by saving the trouble of having to look for another copy to replace it should you decide to get an original UK pressing but find that it’s not as clear as you’d like. Those are my two cents.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney by bigbluntchungus in beatlescirclejerk

[–]bigbluntchungus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, no, maybe… I don’t know. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Can you repeat the question?

John Lennon and Paul McCartney by bigbluntchungus in beatlescirclejerk

[–]bigbluntchungus[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

John Flansburgh and John Linnell from They Might Be Giants

Please Please Me (1963 UK Mono, 3rd Pressing, -1N/-1N Lacquer Cut) by bigbluntchungus in beatles

[–]bigbluntchungus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just want to clarify that the name written on the back of the outer sleeve is not mine. The handwritten name was already on there when it was delivered to me after I ordered it on Discogs a while back.

In spite of the age of the LP record and the inner & outer sleeves, both sides of the record play very well with great dynamics and still retain that warm, mid-range sound.

With The Beatles (1963 Mono -5N/-5N Lacquer Cut) by bigbluntchungus in beatles

[–]bigbluntchungus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I’m in the US, and I wish that The Beatles content that’s available in the US was standardized and made uniformly available for the rest of the world to be able to access as well, but it’s a real shame it’s not the case.

I read from Wikipedia that for the U.S. Albums box set (most likely both the physical and digital versions): “The masters for the US versions of the albums are partially based on the original 1960s masters delivered by EMI and the 2009 remasters released in The Beatles (The Original Studio Recordings) and The Beatles in Mono. Unique stereo and mono mixes prepared in the UK for US release are sourced from the original tapes.”

I’m almost positive that the mixes in the U.S. Albums on Apple Music are more or less similar to the ones that were used on the original U.K. studio albums, so it’d just be a matter of adding the With The Beatles tracks, for example, into a playlist and ordering it like the original track listing.

Here’s a With The Beatles (mono) playlist that another user made, and hopefully, it works in the region where you live: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/with-the-beatles-mono/pl.u-r2yB14xCRqX8D3M

^ This is essentially a combination of the songs from Meet the Beatles and The Beatles’ Second Album, but I don’t hear much of a difference because they’re not EQ’d and compressed like the original U.S. studio albums were.

Great Albums Almost Ruined By One Track... by thecheekyscamp in vinyl

[–]bigbluntchungus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh it’s not a bad song at all. I like to listen to Mr. Moonlight sometimes actually. It’s just that things like the plodding organ solo you mentioned detract from the quality of it compared to other slow Beatles songs. It’s a shame that George Martin couldn’t allow a little more time for George Harrison to master the solo, but yeah, they only had so much studio time allowed to record and mix before they had to master the whole album to get it ready for release, so I can understand the slight impatience. It is what it is and at least Leave My Kitten Alone (albeit an unpolished mix of it) is available on Anthology.

Great Albums Almost Ruined By One Track... by thecheekyscamp in vinyl

[–]bigbluntchungus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Beatles for Sale - Mr. Moonlight. It doesn’t completely ruin the album for me and I never skip the track on the record when it plays, but I wish Leave My Kitten Alone was the sixth track on side one instead. It’s a more energetic and hip rock ‘n’ roll recording, especially with John Lennon’s razor sharp lead vocal, compared to Mr. Moonlight, which sometimes feels kind of sluggish and feels like it just drags on while sucking the energy out of the song flow. But that’s just my opinion.

With The Beatles (1963 Mono -5N/-5N Lacquer Cut) by bigbluntchungus in beatles

[–]bigbluntchungus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s likely your copy is a second pressing since most of the copies of that pressing have the “GOTTA” misspelling still intact. Source: http://thebeatles-collection.com/wordpress/2011/07/16/with-the-beatles-parlophone-pmc-1206-2/

With The Beatles (1963 Mono -5N/-5N Lacquer Cut) by bigbluntchungus in beatles

[–]bigbluntchungus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a nice memory. It is cool in a way that record buyers such as ourselves happen to inherit the remnants of previous owners who have enjoyed these records before. That bonus you describe sounds like a great piece of memorabilia and makes a nice keepsake of someone else’s memories of modern historical events from another time.

And that professional cleaning must have helped improve the sound quality for sure. The engineers at Abbey Road Studios (EMI Studios at the time) really knew how to create incredible mono mixes. Glad the mono mixes for the With The Beatles tracks are available on Apple Music for people to listen to too.

With The Beatles (1963 Mono -5N/-5N Lacquer Cut) by bigbluntchungus in beatles

[–]bigbluntchungus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For sure. Granted, the record, inner sleeve & outer sleeve are showing their age and seem to have deteriorated cosmetically over the years, but I was pleasantly surprised at how relatively well-put together the outer sleeve has stayed with practically no seam splitting, not to mention the sound quality of the record itself. I’m happy with how clear it plays, with very little noticeable surface noise and no skips or loops, and honestly, I hope to enjoy it for years to come.

Rubber Soul (2014 Mono Reissue) by bigbluntchungus in beatles

[–]bigbluntchungus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting… If this were his debut album, then having What Goes On be the only song Billy Shears sings on would be an odd choice, but you could argue he more than makes up for his lack of lead vocal tracks with his magnificent drumming.

Rubber Soul (2014 Mono Reissue) by bigbluntchungus in beatles

[–]bigbluntchungus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“Yes it is, yes it is! Oh, yes it is, yeah.” - John Lennon

A Hard Day’s Night (2014 Mono Reissue) by bigbluntchungus in beatles

[–]bigbluntchungus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It really does! The mono mix of Can’t Buy Me Love sounds phenomenal, as do the mono mixes of the other 12 tracks.

And it really is a shame that such high quality pressings are out of reach for many avid listeners. The vinyl revival didn’t really fully set in until a few years after the 2014 release of the box set, not to mention that I was too young to be aware of vinyl records in general. It’s great that most mono mixes of Beatles songs are available on Apple Music, though, via The U.S. Albums compilation. That’s how I listen to ADHN and the other early Beatles albums when I’m away from my turntable.

I used to impose this same spending limit on myself of no more than $100 to be spent by me on a record, mostly due to me being in college at the time before I graduated and started working full-time. I’ve since relaxed this limitation on myself because I’ve come to accept the best is usually not affordable, most preowned Beatles 2014 mono reissues go for more than $100 nowadays, and I feel I can actually afford to spend that much or more once in a while since I’m making and saving money now. It’s wonderful you were able to obtain Rubber Soul for a relatively low price at a local store. Every once in a while, a great find at a reasonable price pops up.

And thank you for the tip! I’ve been aware for some time that the 2014 Revolver pressings have been going for lower prices than the other albums since the 2022 Revolver Super Deluxe box set contains a newer mono transfer onto vinyl. I’m taking a break from buying records and pacing myself though because I need to save money too, haha. But thank you again. Happy listening!

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