Not sure if this topic has come up. If it has, excuse my bringing it up again. Do you think the Stones will ever do a mono vinyl reissue like The Beatles? Hearing the Beatles in the new mono reissues is fantastic listening. I wonder if my mono Stones and Beatles albums from back in the day will sound this good.

I think the Stones mono thing is a bit more tricky...some of the songs in the mid 60s were actually recorded in true stereo.

I have the vinyl box set of 64-69 and the first several albums are in glorious mono...I think they switch to stereo around Aftermath.

I agree though, it would be great to get TSMR through Let It Bleed in mono. In the numbers that the stones sell these catalog releases though, I'm not sure they'd consider it 'worth it'.

Conversely, I wish they would release some of their 60's songs in stereo like The Last Time and As Tears Go By! I have the Euro Hot Rocks from 85 that has Play With Fire, Satisfaction and Get Off Of My Cloud in stereo.

Get Off Of My Cloud is awful in stereo. Brian's guitar on it's own in one channel - did the rest of the band make him sit on his own in the corner even in 1965 ?!! That 45 mix busts your brains out. One of the best things they ever did.
I'd love to see a mono set complimented by a good stereo set including all the Chess stuff. Maybe one day ABKCO will see the light and do super deluxe boxes with mono/stereo plus outtakes...god knows how much they'd charge for them though.
Given that the fabs and Stones were the best of their era it's surprising that their record companies haven't done more with the extensive "out of catalogue" stuff that's available.

If not a box set I think a few titles in mono with replica packaging would be great. I saw a Turtles LP in this style. Almost bought it because of it's beauty. The old records are great.

As stated above I think some of the early tracks were recorded in true stereo (even tho there were mono mixes made too) but The Stones (also as stated above before Aftermath) recorded all over the place. There has been much argument here if anything after around "Beggars" are just fold downs on the MONO releases as "Satanic" (last MONO release in the US) thru "Bleed" were released in MONO in the UK and elsewhere. All I know is the MONO Beggars, Bleed and Promo Only "SF" MONO kick ass!! Just like the Mono 45 release of "Tumbling Dice" has a "hot" sound to it that the LP just can't match....all my opinion of course...



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014-10-31 15:44 by scottkeef.

Interesting discussion on the Hoffman forum:
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scottkeef
As stated above I think some of the early tracks were recorded in true stereo (even tho there were mono mixes made too) but The Stones (also as stated above before Aftermath) recorded all over the place. There has been much argument here if anything after around "Beggars" are just fold downs on the MONO releases as "Satanic" (last MONO release in the US) thru "Bleed" were released in MONO in the UK and elsewhere. All I know is the MONO Beggars, Bleed and Promo Only "SF" MONO kick ass!! Just like the Mono 45 release of "Tumbling Dice" has a "hot" sound to it that the LP just can't match....all my opinion of course...

Apparently the first TSMR's in UK on Decca were true mono, but later were stereo fold downs to MONO. Don't know why that was, but that's where knowing the deadwax numbers are important!

I think the art of doing a good mono mix is somewhat lost in these days of 5.1 surround mixes. Folding down a stereo mix is not the same thing. I LOVE a good mono mix and agree with scottkeef. Good mono records kick ass! peace

I don't like mono at all!

That stereo version of Get Off of My Cloud gets my vote for WORST EVER remix EVER. They took the balls off the great '65 mix; just neutered it, somehow trying to, what?, improve it (???) with that thin echo-y guitar on the channel out there all by itself. It went from driving pre-punk rock to something more like...Cher.

Seriously, who was responsible for that?

I'm reading the new book below that says the only song on ABBEY ROAD mixed into mono was Octopus's Garden, and the mono version has never been released. I wonder if it ever will.

TSMR needs to be completely remixed from scratch. In many ways I feel like that record failed due to terrible production. Certain songs should be drenched in reverb, others are just very unbalanced. 2000 Light Years From Home, for example, has constant moving levels on things that are not needed. Example, on the breakdown Charlies drums go from being in the background to suddenly loud, then quiet, then vocals come back in way too loud. The thing is so unbalanced, even in mono, that it is painful.

They don't need to re-record anything, I'd just love to have someone (yes, even Don Was) go in and bring to life TSMR.

As for the rest of the early catalog, I don't think we are really gaining much through mono releases. Certain singles/songs are great in mono and don't we already have all of those in our collective bootleg archives? I am not sure what an official mono release would really do for me.

Unlike the Beatles and Beach Boys, the Stones were not super incredibly involved in the technical aspects of production. Mind you I am not saying that they were absent, just that its not like we have epic albums with two different mixes. The Beatles were present for the Sgt Pepper's mono mixing session. Brian Wilson, who had no hearing in one ear, supervised mixing on Pet Sounds in mono. We don't really have Stones albums that were produced like that, to my knowledge.

I am sure someone far more knowledgeable than me will likely chime in and prove that last paragraph wrong though!

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slew
I don't like mono at all!

do you like stereo?

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rocker1
That stereo version of Get Off of My Cloud gets my vote for WORST EVER remix EVER. They took the balls off the great '65 mix; just neutered it, somehow trying to, what?, improve it (???) with that thin echo-y guitar on the channel out there all by itself. It went from driving pre-punk rock to something more like...Cher.

Seriously, who was responsible for that?

i mentioned this earlier in the thread and i completely agree with you. Just goes to show how important a mix can be. A bad mix can destroy a masterpiece.