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Post by Patrick Coles on Sept 23, 2013 19:55:50 GMT
I know it's strictly out of place here as it is a music CD rather than 'missing episodes' but I thought Id just mention the new six CD set from EMI as a few 'missing' stereo masters are included, most notably that of 'F.B.I.' featured in true stereo on CD 1 which has been released overseas but not on a UK EMI CD before and sounds much better here than the far 'rougher' overseas version anyway.
Also with 2013 technology for the first time new true stereo mixes of 'Blue Shadows' and 'French Dressing' (both 1964) have been prepared and appear on this release on CD 3 - apparently due to technical and mechanical limitations during the sessions back then with these two numbers being recorded on the early EMI Mobile in Blackpool Jubilee Hall in August 1963 as opposed to at Abbey Road, these originally were only ever mixed to mono on producer Norrie Paramor's instructions back in 1964 even those takes included on the original stereo version of the album; 'Dance With The Shadows' and on later CDs.
further rarer stereo takes are those of 'Les Girls' - stereo single version - and 'Foot Tapper' stereo single version - in addition to the alternate 'Summer Holiday' album version (all 1963) plus the French version of 'Some Are Lonely' in addition to the UK version on the second album; 'Out of The Shadows' (1962)
YES it IS the complete with strings and horns true stereo version of their 1962 chart topping hit; 'Wonderful Land' featured this time - unlike on their '50 Golden Greats' 2 CD set when EMI mistakenly included the 'undubbed' stereo version.
'The Boys' appears here in true stereo, unlike on 'Greatest Hits' album , as does 'The Girls' (there's equality), 'Sweet Dreams', and even the jokey; 'What A Lovely Tune' 'B' side (all 1962), also the 1963 'Spanish' flavoured EP appears in full in stereo with even; 'Las Tres Carabelas' (The Three Galleons I think) included here in a true stereo version unlike on other earlier sets, while; 'Theme From The Boys' in a clearer stereo version brings The Shadows out from behind Norrie's strings & heavenly choir a bit more...!
This time EMI have correctly mastered the intro to the stereo; 'Theme For Young Lovers' (1964) as per the original Columbia hit single and stereo 'More Hits !' versions minus the 'double note' mis-mastered intro on the version included on '50 Golden Greats' !
The three 'Thunderbirds' EP Shadows tracks all appear in true stereo, while for the first time 'Lady Penelope' (1966) appears in a freshly mixed true stereo version, the stereo master tape having apparently been mis-filed at EMI when it was returned to them in 1968 and only recently found !
The Shadows first five studio albums plus the two 'Hits' compilations of 1963 and 1965 respectively plus all singles tracks, UK 'B' sides, Shadows tracks featured on Cliff's releases, and EP tracks all put in their original running order with the vast majority in true stereo where versions exist, plus 31 tracks in mono not thought to have been previously available on CD in the UK... comprise this six CD set of a total of 185 tracks, each given a 2013 remaster.
I thought I had pretty much everything from The Shadows, certainly of their halcyon years at EMI - indeed I have much of their later Polydor material too, tho' I feel they were never quite the same band after Aussie guitarist/vocalist John Farrar quit around 1976 to oversee Olivia Newton-John's career in the USA, and thereafter they became essentially a pop hits covers trio...(often, in my opinion, covering awful current 80's pop muzak hits.... !)
EMI do claim this is the 'complete' studio recordings 1959-66', which might strictly not be true however, as I have one or two 'alternate' versions from this period that are not included - there is an alternate mono version of the Greek flavoured; 'All Day' (1962), plus 'John's Rocker' (an early alternate take of; 'I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Arthur' 'B' side from 1964) and most significantly a very rare Acoustic guitar led mono alternate version of; 'Genie With The Light Brown Lamp' (1964) exists and was officially released overseas...
also there is an alternate take of 'Razzamatazz' (1966) plus an alternate original mono 'Benno-San' (1966) which had (I believe) a master tape fault in it that was on early mono copies of the 'Shadow Music' album - now the far rarer LP versions as very quickly the stereo version mixed down to mono was substituted by EMI on subsequent sixties mono copies...but perhaps this is a bit 'nit-picking' (tho' the overseas only rare acoustic mono version of 'Genie...' really ought to be included I feel)
While certainly a decent further collection taking their EMI years from 1967 up to 1980 could be complied too, including some of Hank Marvin's and John Rostill's solo tracks circa 1968-71, plus a couple of later solo Bruce Welch tracks if EMI see fit in the future....
Off hand I can think of about 140 Shadows (& a few solo related) EMI tracks from say the single' 'Maroc 7' (1967) up to the single version of; 'Riders in The Sky' (1980)
I know it's up to EMI, following their recent takeover, but it seems very odd seeing The Shadows on 'Parlophone' however.....!!!
So while strictly not applicable to a 'missing episodes' forum - apologies ! - tho' a few 'missing' stereo masters are included here, plus tracks getting their first release on CD in the UK - so the set claims - which might interest some Shadows fans and the six CD set is not that expensive, so I thought I'd bring it to forum members attention...hope that's o.k. ?
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Post by Richard Marple on Sept 24, 2013 12:59:28 GMT
One of the Fanderson CD's has their very nice version of the Thunderbirds theme.
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Post by chris D on Feb 19, 2014 16:33:34 GMT
A friend of mine bought me the original 1991 version of this box set from a charity shop a couple of years ago for a fiver!!! I returned the compliment by buying him the new version (as discussed above) for his birthday last year! Needless to say, both are absolutely BRILLIANT!!!!
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Post by markboulton on Feb 20, 2014 7:44:41 GMT
Well I'm definitely glad for the heads up! A stunning collection at a bargain price. Strange about being on Parlophone though. That means EMI/Universal don't have the rights anymore. Parlophone is owned by Warner now, remember! The thing is, I thought that all "heritage" recordings were being kept by EMI/Universal, and this indicates they didn't. I wonder if this means all ex-Columbia recordings were sold as part of the Parlophone package (it would make sense since they were both owned by The Gramophone Co. Ltd., EMI's main division, at that period).
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Post by markg on Feb 23, 2014 7:59:14 GMT
I thought it was the "Parlophone" label itself they kept. Along with the heritage music.
That means The Beatles can stay on EMI-Parlophone, and Morrissey can be on Universal/Parlophone.
Also, the Shadows were on Columbia, which was the same name as what CBS records were in the US, so maybe EMI can't (or don't want to) use it so Parlophone it is..
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Post by Patrick Coles on Feb 23, 2014 10:27:23 GMT
The situation appears a bit confusing, but EMI/Warners DO appear to now own the back catalogues of at least some of EMI's famous sixties bands and thus we have the very strange sight of The Shadows now on Parlophone !
A 'Five Original Albums' pack of The Hollies first five sixties studio albums from 1964-66 was recently released by EMI/Warners
- the box states; 'Parlophone Records Ltd, A Warner Music Group Company'
- while I understood it was now EMI/Warners following the takeover, there is in fact NO mention of EMI anywhere on this package (even deleting any mention of 'EMI' from the replica sixties album sleeves housing the compact discs themselves), only 'Parlophone' and 'Warners' are credited.
Re the labels:
EMI closed down it's contemporary pop HMV label (besides just using it later for classical records etc) after 1967 - with ongoing artists such as Paul Jones moved from HMV to Columbia in 1969, and in 1973 they closed down Parlophone and Columbia too for new releases - thus The Shadows, Cliff Richard, & releases by groups such as The Hollies ("History of...") etc, were all from then on put on the parent EMI label for the rest of the seventies onwards....much later reactivating Parlophone while Columbia (UK) label was retained on any still available vintage records (i.e. "The Shadows Greatest Hits", "More Hits - The Shadows" & the Cliff albums etc,) with a cream 'modern' Columbia label replacing the seventies 'silver box' black version.
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Post by markboulton on Feb 23, 2014 22:38:11 GMT
Well, I'll tell you what I *do* know for a fact, which will help explain my surprise.
1. There is *no* EMI in Warners. The EMI name, and the rest of EMI's labels (i.e. non-Parlophone) reside with Universal;
2. There was much publicity about the fact that The Beatles would be excluded in the sale of Parlophone;
...this would lead you to assume that all other vintage Parlophone recordings would be sold too, except...
3. In the 15 years leading up to the takeover, all re-releases of vintage Parlophone recordings (The Hollies being a good example) were moved to 'EMI' (no mention of Parlophone except in the thumbnail sleeve images) - and yet, the Parlophone brand image was strengthened on contemporary releases.
4. Universal set up a 'Capitol Records UK' imprint which is the division that administers The Beatles (not, EMI/Parlophone, or Universal/Parlophone - that doesn't exist).
Remember, what Universal were being forced to sell off, primarily, was the current, contemporary roster of acts that make up today's Parlophone. The "old school" Parlophone acts are no longer around or were no longer with EMI at the time of takeover (all leaving in their droves). Hence, it would have been reasonable to suppose that competition concerns would not have forced Universal to sell off "old school" EMI archive, such as again, The Hollies, Adam Faith, The Shadows, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, Brian Epstein's lot, etc. etc. As any such re-releases have appeared on vanilla 'EMI', you'd think they would have reverted to Capitol Records UK under Universal's ownership of EMI.
It is surprising that either the competition commission considered the bygone archive to be as much of a threat to competition concerns as the likes of Coldplay, Kylie, Radiohead, etc. and without it, it surely leaves Universal with a much weakened EMI 'buy' at the end of the whole process. If I was Universal I would have fought to keep some of the other money-spinning classic recordings. Perhaps keeping The Beatles was enough and they were thence happy enough to jettison all their labelmates. I do still find it surprising though. A nice little earner for Warners both ways (vintage and new).
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Post by markboulton on Feb 23, 2014 22:41:25 GMT
...plus it's nice to see Warners are giving Parlophone the 'rush release' treatment of what is now their back catalogue. I can see myself beginning a nice little collection of these "Five Original Albums" collections.
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Post by Oliver Roemer on Mar 1, 2014 16:11:21 GMT
I think the Hollies themselves may have had a last word in their recordings, at least since 1967, when they were starting licensing their own "A Hollies Recording" to any company they wanted. Although their recordings were still made at EMI / Abbey Road studios and released on Parlophone in the UK, they released their later recordings after 1966 on other non EMI labels worldwide (e.g."HANSA Records" and later "Polydor" in Germany, EPIC in the USA!), so these five albums on Warner could be a one-off as they were released on Parlophone between 1964 and 1966 (in Germany they were originally released on the "Odeon" label, like The Beatles, between 1964 and 1966, after that they were released on "HANSA" a label that was distributed by Ariola Eurodisc at the time.).
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Post by Patrick Coles on Mar 2, 2014 11:20:04 GMT
The Hollies were still with EMI who released their last couple of studio albums in 2006 and 2010. They do own their own back catalogue,indeed their ground breaking 'leasing back' deal of 1966 (hence 'A Hollies Recording' from the time of 'Stop Stop Stop' onwards) was a major reason The Shadows parted from EMI in 1980 as EMI refused to do a similar deal with them...!
The Hollies made considerable wealth out of their 'leasing back' deal, at a time when Lennon-McCartney were picking up a pathetic 25% from that lousy 'Northern Songs' deal they had agreed with Dick James, EMI,& co back in 1962....(one reason Paul is so sharp now)
After their initial EMI (Parlophone) deal expired in 1966 The Hollies 'leased back' to EMI/Parlophone until 1971 (EMI retained some rights tho' & were able to release both; 'Hollies Greatest Vol 2' in early 1972 & later; 'History of The Hollies' in 1975, plus the massive selling 'Twenty Golden Greats' in 1978 which made number 2 in the UK album chart) & in 1972 they signed to Polydor (UK) for new releases up until 1981, then after a 'one off' album deal with WEA(Warners) obtained by Graham Nash in the USA in 1983 (for 'What Goes Around..' album & 'Stop in The Name of Love' single) later they returned to EMI from 1985...
The Hollies are now with Warners and are back on the Parlophone label once more...per 'The Clarke-Hicks-Nash Years' CD set release (2011) & the latest 'Five Originals' set this year.
In the USA they were first on Imperial Records then Epic Records from 1966, while in Europe besides Hansa (Germany) have also had records released on the Fontana label, and elsewhere on various labels (like Coconut Records !)
curiously some later singles were put out on Parlophone overseas such as 'The Day That Curly Billy...' (1973) (a UK Polydor single) in New Zealand probably as The Hollies owned their own rights.
The 'Five Originals' CD set has nice 'yellow' Parlophone sixties replica labels and is entirely in mono - which is o.k. as three of the albums had that cheap 'vocals one channel' / 'instruments the other' stereo anyway, thus sound better in mono !
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Post by markboulton on Mar 2, 2014 17:54:52 GMT
The 'Five Originals' CD set has nice 'yellow' Parlophone sixties replica labels and is entirely in mono - which is o.k. as three of the albums had that cheap 'vocals one channel' / 'instruments the other' stereo anyway, thus sound better in mono ! Really? I've yet to be convinced by the pro-Mono brigade, as I grew up with mono 45s and since obtaining stereo copies have never looked back, no matter how much I try - many people say the recordings sound wimpy with instruments in one side and vocals on the other, but on my system one speaker on its own is capable of delivering adequate punch, so it really doesn't matter if the two are projecting different things, because each channel has its own presence. And they're only Dell computer speakers (but they knock the spots off the old full-size Pioneer CS-161s I used to have). Incidentally, in the last round of Hollies remasters, all were available as Mono/Stereo except, it seems "Hollies" (aka Reflection), and I play said album ("Reflection" from 8-track cartridge, 8X-EXE 106, and the sound quality is phenomenal. Sadly a previous owner wiped the left channel of Programme 4 accidentally - either that or it suffered a duplication fault - but other than that, it sounds like you're standing in the control room of Abbey Road Studio 2). |
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Post by Patrick Coles on Mar 2, 2014 18:58:00 GMT
I have a mono/stereo remastered 'Hollies' (1965) CD, the problem I feel was that this very primitive stereo was a totally false sound just cutting away the vocals & putting them on the other channel - often with nothing in mid-position, and maybe a lone instrument is taken away from the rest of the instrumentation & put on the channel with the vocals which sounds very strange (especially through stereo headphones)
I understand EMI felt the same way later 'centralising' vocals where they could, and using mono rather than odd stereo versions on later Hollies CD collections...
Besides the odd early track, with an occasional exception, almost NO Beatles songs suffer from this - yet, as a prime example, have a listen to Cliff Richard/Shadows 'On The Beach' in stereo - Cliff has both mid position & an entire channel all to himself....while the Shads all 'squeeze up' instruments & backing vocals on the other channel....creating a totally false (& and rather absurd) sound - not helped by poor Cliff's 'coughing fit' during the song mid way through....which in stereo is loud & clear, but is almost hidden away in mono...
stereo mixes were sometimes not even issued at the time...two Hollies albums and a Manfred Mann album were only issued in mono originally with stereo versions put out later...
Mono tracks normally got any mistakes carefully 'repaired' where the much quicker prepared stereo mixes had scant attention paid to them too in comparison ...The stereo mixes were often done later - The Beatles apparently never bothered to listen to the stereo mixes when they were being prepared 'working in mono' right up to 'Abbey Road' as late as 1969 - apparently (I have read) George only heard 'Sgt Pepper' in stereo in the seventies, and was NOT impressed by it...'Help !' had a very rushed 'muddy' mix George Martin has admitted, and the stereo version was weaker than the mono again.
Look at John getting his own lyrics WRONG on 'Please Please Me' at the end in stereo (& out of time harmonica) duly 'fixed' on the mono version...
Paul's voice cracks up vocally on 'If I Fell' in stereo on the high note at the line; 'Was in VAIN' but it's fixed in mono....(I think they later 'fixed' this on the last batch of Beatles CDs but listen to the original stereo albums on vinyl released in the sixties and thereafter, and first CD stereo versions to spot it...)
The Hollies version of 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy' on that 'Hollies' (1965) (aka 'Reflection') has an error by Allan Clarke where his harmonica comes in too early during the instrumental break...in stereo it's noticeable with 'Not Yet !' shouted out in the background and the harmonica abruptly cuts out....reappearing moments later at the correct point in the track, but in mono the error is completely mixed out...while some tracks fade out faster in stereo compared to mono (notably 'Down The Line' on that 'Hollies' album),
Manfred Mann's version of 'You're For Me' on 'Mann Made' (1965) has a 'jump' on the track right at the end of the fade in stereo that is not there in mono...
The entire intro to 'Some Kind of Wonderful' (1965) by The Fourmost on the album 'First And Fourmost' is missing in stereo...but is duly present & correct in mono...!
Freddie & The Dreamers version of 'Some Other Guy' (1963) on their first album features the rhythm guitar stop briefly during the opening ('what you stopped for ?' can be heard spoken in stereo, then it recommences) but in mono the comments can't be heard and the pause is virtually unnoticeable
so EMI clearly were taking more care over those mono mixes (often more powerful too with more dramatic depth added to The Beatles 'Yesterday' & The Hollies 'Clown' etc)
.... then you get all the 'variations' from mono to stereo to tracks (by bands like The Beatles, Hollies, also Cliff/Shadows, Shadows, Manfred Mann, The Fourmost, The Bee Gees, Traffic, etc....) plus far more powerful mixes appeared on original singles by these artists (which is notable on The Stones, Who, Cream singles & others too...)
I have only ever heard the powering mono singles mixes of The Who's 'Magic Bus' & Cream's 'I Feel Free', 'Strange Brew' & 'Tales of Brave Ulysses' on the original singles...NONE of the album or CD versions are the same (or anywhere near as powerful)
listen to The Rolling Stones songs; 'Lady Jane' and 'Paint it Black' in stereo...then the mono versions !
plus 'Their Satanic Majesties Request' in stereo...then mono !
The Shadows early green label mono Columbia singles are FAR more powerful than the LP or later CD mono or stereo versions too...
you need full mono & stereo collections, plus any later quadro mixes that were done too, and the singles besides the vinyl albums & CD versions (as all do differ)
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Post by markboulton on Mar 2, 2014 20:59:12 GMT
Well, I've been aware of many (although not quite all) of those mono/stereo variations, plus I'm aware that the mono mixes were the ones the artists heard if they hung around the studio at that point (apart from The Beatles and The Hollies though, I think it's fair to say most didn't even hang about for that or, if they did, it was a rough mix they heard anyway - not that much could be changed though).
That said, I just simply prefer to have the music delivered in two-channel - I said this on the Steve Hoffman Forum once - not because I want to hear things separately left and right, and I don't, because there's natural spill between the speakers - but it provides more than one point at which sound is projected and it lets more 'air' around the instrumental track and the vocal track that the mono mixes just seem to bathe in cloudy murk.
The stereo mixes almost always have better EQ, and even if slight hiccups or other untoward happenings can just about be made out, for me it adds to the excitement of capturing a band pretty much live, in a raw but energetic performance. I don't really care if I hear a slight cough or click that shouldn't be there. But of course, I recognize many people want to hear a flawless production on a record, and that's fair enough.
For me it's not the spatial positioning, but the general improvement in sound quality in 60s stereo mixes. Of course, it would be nice if the mono balances and editing could have been perfectly replicated in the stereo mixes, but in just as many cases where problems were fixed in mono vs. stereo, there are just as many cases where things were fixed in the stereo mixes that weren't in the mono, simply because they learned lessons from the mono mix and avoided the pitfalls the next time around.
I've always challenged anybody to find a way of explaining how the 'chicken cluck' edit between The Beatles' "Good Morning Good Morning" and "...Pepper... (Reprise)" could possibly be said to be better in mono, when in mono, you hear what sounds like a tape splice falling apart and the guitar note 'wowing' from a standing start in a very sloppy manner, whereas in the stereo mix, the edit is clean, crisp with no pitch wowing. Also, in mono you hear the audience SFX cut in straight, again with no fade-in to clean it up - you just hear the tape starting up from a standing start, which again sounds sloppy. In stereo they remember they've got those things called faders.
There are many other cases where in mono the faders were simply left where they were all the way through or simply knocked up to full then knocked down to almost nothing, and when any given instrument is to be given prominence, you HEAR the fader on the appropriate mic go up and the other channels hurriedly faded down, and it all sounds so rushed. Yet in stereo, you don't even *notice* the faders moving, because it's done so much more smoothly.
The other issue, of mono mixes having instruments or voices not present in stereo mixes is another issue altogether - that's an issue of parts being recorded during mixing, and not a vindication of mono=better, stereo=worse. If those extra parts had been recorded live over a stereo mix, then people would think the stereo better because it contained parts the mono didn't.
For me in the end, it's not about assessing an encyclopedic breakdown of what went on which track however, or how many hours were spent on one mix versus another - for me, all that matters is the sound, as after all it's the entertainment value in the energy communicated by that collage of sound that matters - and for me, the stereo mixes sound more like a band in my room, and the mono versions like an old Dansette standing in the middle of my lounge trying its best.
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Post by markboulton on Mar 2, 2014 21:11:58 GMT
...incidentally, it's worth mentioning that EMI *could* have mixed decent stereo from 1965-1968. They did, from around 1958-1964 (wherever 4-track recording was available - in late 1963 in Studio 2 but for some time earlier than that in Studio 1). Witness A Hard Day's Night and Beatles For Sale, and by The Hollies, Stay With... . All of which are not "instruments left/vocals right". The decision to move away from "true stereo" mixes and "binaural" ones was a deliberate one sometime in 1965 - and not one I agree with by any means, I think it's a pity - but it was done for what seemed to be technically valid reasons at the time - to ensure left and right channels didn't sum up on centered sounds and dwarf the panned sounds.
There are stereo mixes of Adam Faith recordings from 1958 onwards that all sound perfectly balanced. On the earliest ones this is no doubt because they were recorded as-live and mixed straight to stereo with no worry about being able to balance instruments vs. voices later, because it was just orchestra and Adam. But with his beat backing in 1963 he recorded "We Are In Love" which no doubt would have followed Beatle-style production lines, more than likely on 4-track, and the stereo is very well-balanced indeed.
But look at it this way - even without the luxury of a decent stereo spread, and you've got instruments one side and vocals on another, just think of it as two mono mixes - a mono instrumental mix coming out of one speaker - like hearing the mono mix without the vocals, and from the right speaker, the vocal track, in mono, adding to the mono of the instruments, but delivered from a slightly different angle in your room so your room gives natural ambience between the two and allows the two not to interfere with one another - or to look at it another way, doesn't fill the room with exactly the same instrumental spread all the way across, which just makes the sound seem to hit you in an unfocused mess (and again, one that for some reason lacks sparkle, air around the bass, too much mid-range harshness, etc. etc.)
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Post by Patrick Coles on Mar 3, 2014 13:21:08 GMT
I find that primitive vocals one channel/instruments the other creates a totally false sound as the groups never sounded like that (EMI certainly later felt that way too hence the revised stereo sound on CDs like; 'The Hollies Greatest Hits' CD & including mono over very basic stereo tracks in alot of cases on 'The Clarke, Hicks, Nash Years' CD set...
Re the Hollies their sixties stereo versions can be rather odd
'Stay With...'(1964) largely had a strong stereo mix bar the odd song with the vocals placed central or on both channels
'In The Hollies Style' (1964) & 'Hollies' (1965) were the two albums that were only issued in mono at the time and both stereo versions later released are the vocals one channel/instruments the other (with a lone instrument sometimes put on the vocal channel)
Then 'Would You Believe ?' PMC/PCS 7008 (1966) also had the primitive stereo version too...but The Beatles 'Revolver' (the very next EMI Parlophone release PMC/PCS 7009) had a proper stereo mix
'For Certain Because..' bar the odd track ('It's You') has a splendid stereo mix with vocals central & instruments put on either channel...
yet 'Evolution' (1967 - issued the same week as 'Sgt Pepper') goes back to the primitive 'vocals one channel/instruments the other' stereo of 1964-66
Most Hollies singles ('Just one look', 'Here I Go Again','We're Through' all 1964) had better stereo mixes, yet; 'I'm Alive', 'Look Through Any Window'(both 1965) & 'I Can't Let Go' and 'Bus Stop'(1966) & even 'Carrie Anne' (1967) are the primitive stereo - tho' 'Stop Stop Stop'(1966), 'On A Carousel' & King Midas..' (1967) are better stereo.
'Even 'Sorry Suzanne' as late as 1969 had a primitive stereo version.
Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and even John Lennon each later asked WHY was that ? re EMI's very primitive sixties stereo (Lennon asks that in his Andy Peebles interviews just before his death)
- so the artists themselves, even higher profile ones like Beatle & Hollie band members were not sure why it was being done....
I'd suspect it was really all down to time & costs....back then few regarded this 'pop music' thing of beat groups as likely to last very long... (even Ringo envisaged becoming a hair dresser next year...!) and that stereo, proper stereo, was for the more 'serious' artists such as Mantovani, Classical music, film & stage soundtracks, and The Black & White Minstrels etc...
Most Decca acts including The Rolling Stones albums never even got a proper (if at all) stereo release until 1966....'Aftermath' being the first 'proper' stereo sound Stones UK album.
While PYE did record The Searchers in stereo only 'Sugar & Spice' LP got a stereo release out of their five PYE albums up to 1965, while after the first Kinks album in 1964 their next couple were put out in mono only until 'Face To Face' in 1966....
EMI putting Cliff Richard's voice in mid position AND on one channel...while four Shadows instruments & backing vocals all 'squeeze up' on the other channel losing definition, clarity, and power, in the stereo 'On The Beach' album version (and on some other Cliff/Shadows tracks) was just absurd...NO WAY does that ever sound superior to the mono hit single version...!
undoubtedly some mono versions are more powerful than their stereo counterparts - especially noticeable re The Who's 'Magic Bus', Cream's 'I Feel Free' and the other two Cream songs I mentioned, plus The Shadows Columbia singles...and The Dave Clark Five's 'Glad All Over' and 'Bits & Pieces'...
Manfred Mann's 'My Name is Jack' & 'Semi detached Suburban Mr. James' are more powerful in mono too..as was 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy' which in mono blasts out of the speakers, yet loses much power and 'assertiveness' in stereo, as Manfred's keyboards, so powerful and up front in mono, gets reduced in power in the stereo version, while in mono the pause towards the end is emphatic and total ...yet in stereo sounds less so with an extra percussive beat for a second left in....
this 'lack of power' can occur alot re sixties stereo versions - listen to The Hollies 'All The World is Love' (1967) in the mono 'b' side single version Hicks' guitar is mesmerising and 'envelops' the sound ....but Hicks guitar has nowhere near the power in the inspid stereo mix, being pushed virtually into the background while Nash's back up acoustic 'twangs' are put up front loud and clear on a separate channel and made far louder than Hicks pulsating electric guitar...surely that stereo instrumentation balance isn't right and was NOT as the band had intended the song to sound...?
likewise Cream's 'I Feel Free' in stereo on 'Best of Cream' features a tambourine far LOUDER than Ginger Baker's powering drums and Eric Clapton's guitar ! - NO WAY is that an accurate sound !...the original mono Reaction single 'blows your speakers apart' as Clapton, Baker, and Bruce vastly outdo the supporting tambourine part...!
so some sixties stereo versions are so oddly mixed they ended up giving a very lop sided or uneven sound, often nothing like the way a group could possibly actually sound....
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