Beatlemania!
With The Beatles

This is the very first Beatles album released in North America. LP.6051.1.1 is the first pressing and was released only in MONO. This very first pressing is recognized by its jacket’s curved inner seams and its “no dash” matrix numbers (XEX 447 and XEX 448).

Availability

This first variation was available between November 25, 1963, and early April 1964 (for approximately 4 months) when the cover construction used for the frame of the jacket changed - (see LP.6051.1.2).

General Information

This first North American Beatles album was in fact the band’s second album, and was identical to its UK counterpart (except for additional news quotes on the front cover) released 3 days prior. The Canadian album was also made from master tapes sent from the UK head office, so it features the exact same audio as the UK mono pressing of "With The Beatles" (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 2)

This Canadian first pressing was only available in Mono. Actually, no stereo release of the LP was prepared in Canada until 1975.

Pressing Information

Capitol of Canada subcontracted the RCA pressing plant in Smith Falls (Ontario) to manufacture the records. RCA Toronto cut a set of lacquers from mono master tapes sent from EMI’s UK head office (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 2). These lacquers were then used to create many different generations of stampers in the years to come (until 1975), with matrix numbers up to “dash 6” (XEX 447-6).
LP.6051.1.1 has only “no dash” matrix numbers:

Side 1: XEX-447
Side 2: XEX-448

Some copies of LP.6051.1.1 were also found with the odd RCA "single ring" (see FORMATS page for details).

These copies feature the"no brackets" rainbow label (see perimeter print at the bottom of the label: "Manufactured in Canada by Capitol Records of Canada" with no brackets around the word CANADA). It is not known exactly how many copies were prepared for this first run, but the original stampers being still good after this limited first run were recommissioned in early 1964 when Beatlemania officially skyrocketed, until a second set of stampers was needed. These first “no dash” stampers seem to have been used until later in 1964, where “-2, -3, -4, -5 and -6” stampers were then used instead.

Cover

The jacket for this very first pressing is unique, in the sense that it is the only variation that used this type of construction for its cardboard frame. Up until early April 1964, the inner seams (the inside fold of the cardboard jacket) have a curved indentation in the centre. Modern Album used this jacket template until April 1964, at which point the inner seams were then straight. This original curved inner seam measured 10 mm high.

Covers up to the mid 70s used a “front slick” construction (a larger back slick, usually printed in black and white that wrapped around the front of the cardboard cover, onto which a smaller color front slick was glued, creating a white frame effect all around the front image).

Both front and rear slicks were printed by Parr’s Litho in Toronto (see the printer’s logo on the bottom right of the cover) and sent to Modern Album for assembly.

The front cover added news quotes to the original UK cover design, but the back cover remained identical, except for added Canadian legal and manufacturing information. The top right features the T-6051 catalogue number and a full dot denoting the Mono pressing placed just over the 6000 series logo.

The rear of the jacket was identical, complete with sleeve notes by Tony Barrow.

Original covers featured the words PRINTED IN CANADA inside a box at the bottom of the back cover, alongside the monophonic playing instructions.

First pressings are distinguishable by the cover frame construction that featured 10 mm wide CURVED inner seams.

As stated earlier, the original release of this album used the "front slick" assembly method, meaning that the black and white back slick is larger and wraps around the front, over which the smaller color front slick is pasted, making a noticeable white frame around the front cover. The proper "high quality" construction would have been the Back Slick construction to have the front slick wrap around the back, ensuring the front image would cover the whole surface of the jacket.

Using the front slick approach was a way for Capitol to save money since producing smaller color front slicks cost less than producing the larger slicks that would wrap around the back.

Slicks were printed by Parr's Litho in Toronto and assembled onto the cardboard frame by Modern albums. The distinctive Canadian Parr's logo appears at the bottom right corner of the front cover.

Packaging

Early editions from late 1963 were shipped in loose poly bag wrap.

These were sold with / without a red and white Capitol / Pathe paper LP inner sleeve (apparently designed by Paul White).

Sales

Sales records show that 182 396 copies of Beatlemania! With The Beatles sold in Canada in 1963-1964 (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 3). These numbers including both 1963 and 1964 sales would indicate that most of these 182 000 copies were in fact sold in 1964 after Beatlemania really took off, around the time they played the Ed Sullivan Show in February.

In this manner, it could be assumed that these very first pressings (LP.6051.1.1) with the curved inner seams were made in much smaller quantities than LP.6051.1.2, and that most of them were most likely sold BEFORE the Beatlemania phenomenon took off. Remaining unsold copies of LP.6051.1.1 would have found a home sometime in the early part of 1964 until the next variation (LP.6051.1.2 appearing in April) was used to restock the shelves under high profile demand.

Variation LP.6051.1.2 then, is most likely the one that constitutes the core of these high sales numbers, making LP.6051.1.1 much scarcer today.