Twist And Shout

Variation LP.6054.14.1 is the last pressing of Twist and Shout and featured a proper true STEREO mix prepared by Columbia (LP.6054.13.1). This rare pressing is recognized by its scarce 29 mm pressing ring w/ 70 mm recessed plate, and mostly, by its mysterious translucent brown vinyl. The vinyl looks black to the unsuspecting eye, but appears translucent when looked at in direct sunlight. This is the last ever pressing of Twist and Shout to be produced on vinyl.

Availability

This variation was available for a very short time around 1987-1988 (for approximately a few months) and features a unique audiophile translucent brown vinyl compound.

General Information

The origins of the Translucent vinyl remain mysterious to this day, being the only official Beatles album to have been produced in this manner. After thorough research, the authors believe that this was probably an unintended mistake; around the same period, Cinram was pressing copies of U2's Rattle and Hum album, which were pressed with this audiophile grade translucent brown vinyl. It is therefore quite probable that the brown compound was used by mistake (looking like a regular black compound). It is not known how many were made, but to date, only 3-4 copies have been documented.

Pressing Information

LP.6054.14.1 also features the true STEREO mix prepared in 1984 by Columbia for themselves and Cinram pressings. This mix is far superior to previous stereo mixes. Matrix numbers are as follows:

Side A: ST 6054-A 1AZHZDKO
Side B: ST 6054-B 1AZHZDKO

Narrow and Wide stereo mixes

What is the difference?

Still today, there is much talk and confusion about the stereo mixes of the first three Canadian Beatles albums on Capitol Records (Beatlemania, Twist And Shout and Long Tall Sally). Being issued before Capitol USA signed a distribution agreement for the Beatles catalogue, these three albums were assembled and managed solely by Capitol of Canada, and therefore never suffered the "Dexterized" sound that Capitol USA imposed on the British catalogue in order to "Americanize" European material. Therefore, not being managed by the parent company, these albums were the only Beatles albums to remain available in mono until the mid 1970s, unlike the rest of the catalogue that made the normal transition to stereo in 1968.

Unfortunately, the transition of the three Canadian albums seemed a little bit forced, witnessing difficulty choosing a proper sounding mix for these early "new" stereo releases. So, saying the Canadian Beatles albums did not suffer any "Dexterization" is not exactly true as early stereo mixes of these three albums sounded extremely unnatural, and sometimes closer to mono than one would expect from a stereo release.

A true stereo mix?

These first stereo mixes are sometimes so close to mono in fact, that still today, among collectors there remains a certain confusion as to when, and how these three albums made a proper switch to stereo. There is talk in the collecting community about narrow and wide mixes without a clear definition of what they are. To further add to the confusion, many copies are hybrids between the two narrow/wide mixes (or mono/narrow); all of this while some specific tracks remain in mono on official stereo releases until 1987 (like tracks from singles that were never mixed in stereo).

How rechannelled stereo is made

First, one needs to know what some of these "narrow stereo mixes" are in fact rechannelled stereo. Fans and collectors have named it the narrow mix because it sounds exactly like that: narrow, with almost no separation between the right and left sound channels; ultimately adding only a little more "space" to the mix with processed echo and extreme EQ to create an IMPRESSION of stereo.

It is the opinion of the authors that a rechannelled mix is wrongfully called "stereo" because in reality, it is not a true stereo mix created by placing instruments on either side of the sound spectrum. Rechannelled stereo is in fact a processed similar to what Capitol USA called Duophonic stereo. This sound engineering "tour de force" consists of taking a mono track, and by boosting reverb (echo) on one side, and drastically changing the equalization on the other channel, it creates noticeable differences between the two sound channels (echo, brighter sound on one side, while having a boomier bass sound on the other), which creates a subtle ILLUSION of stereophonic sound.

These manipulations would have taken place in the 70s, in the Canadian mastering studio, and have nothing to do with original mixes created by EMI in England. These rechannelled mixes seem a little bit inappropriate today, because of the odd audio result of course, but mostly because these techniques were often used when stereo mixes were unavailable or did not exist. In the case of these three unique Canadian albums, original stereo mixes already did exist at EMI because Please Please Me and With The Beatles had originally been prepared in stereo at Abbey Road in 1963. Collectors today can’t help but wonder why these original stereo masters were not always used from the start when the true stereo mixes were available.

What does it mean for collectors today?

The result is definitely not unanimous, and although it technically is not mono anymore, these are not regarded as true stereo mixes by collectors, even though the label states it is a stereo release. The authors therefore prefer to talk about a "rechannelled stereo mix" than a narrow mix. Theses mixes usually have matrix numbers that bear both the new stereo number and the old mono matrix ("ST 6054 XEX-455-2" vs XEX-455 for example). Later true stereo mixes only have the new stereo number .

True stereo mixes then, do not consist in creating an illusion of stereophonic sound from a mono mix, but are instead tracks that were mixed in stereo directly from the multi-track recording session tapes, allowing engineers to place different parts of the recording from left to right in the sound spectrum. Although true stereo mixes could be made years after tracks were recorded (like it was the case with Anthology material, Love, or the recent series of remixes), these were usually made at the same time as mono mixes, prior to the record’s original release. Most Beatles tracks were prepared in both mono and stereo, although some rare singles that never made it on an album were only mixed in mono. The authors therefore prefer to talk about wide mixes as "true stereo mixes".

Capitol eventually got it right a few years later, offering fantastic sounding true stereo mixes of Beatlemania, Twist And Shout and Long Tall Sally. The later standardized Beatles catalogue (US versions of the Beatles catalogue) was made from US master tapes sent from Scranton or L.A., but these three unique Canadian albums were prepared from tapes sent directly from the UK head office, ensuring our versions of songs like All My Loving sound much more like the UK mixes.

Making sense of the evolution of these different stereo mixes

Making sense of the different stereo mixes is a challenge, but the real challenge lies more in the identification of when they appeared, and when they were replaced by a newer mix. Capitol and their pressing subcontractors never wasted any production material and used pressing plates until they were worn out. Plates for both sides of an LP did not necessarily wear out simultaneously, causing many copies pressed during a transition period between new masters to be hybrids between two mixes. It seems that a clear desire to produce a uniform series of reissues only happened with the retro rainbow label in 1984. Indeed, only then was a completely new master made from a proper true stereo mix finally introduced. This new master is quite apparent when comparing the width of the dead wax on each side.

Below is a list of an average of transitions between mixes. As noted previously, there is no definite change between versions, and many copies offer a hybrid transition coupling of mixes. But this list below provides a good idea of what was available and approximately when they can be found:

Twist and Shout stereo mixes

• • Mono until 1976 (RCA)

• • Orange label 3rd, 1976 (Capitol) : rechannelled stereo (RCA lacquers)

• • Purple label 1st, 1977 (Cinram): Hybrid rechannelled / true stereo (RCA lacquers)

• • Purple label 2nd, 1978 (Capitol) : Hybrid rechannelled / true stereo (RCA lacquers)

• • Purple label 3rd, 1980 (Capitol) : True "wider" stereo (TLC Lacquers)

• • Retro Rainbow, 1983 (Capitol) : True "wider" stereo (TLC Lacquers)

• • Retro Rainbow, 1984 (CBS & Cinram) : Proper new true "wide" stereo (CBS Lacquers)

Cover

LP.6054.14.1 used the posterboard construction. Posterboards covers are much thinner, with no visible frame around the front image, As was the case with front slick construction covers.

The legal information on the back cover remains identical to previous recent variations, but the Capitol logo was changed to the DOME logo. These covers remain unmarked, but were most likely printed by Modern Graphics.

Packaging

This edition was shipped in tight shrink wrap, with or without a square polyethylene inner sleeve. These Columbia (CBS) sleeves are square and have a straight cut opening with UNEVEN sides (making it easier to open to manipulate the record inside).