Beatlemania!
With The Beatles

This variation was released on the retro rainbow label, pressed by Cinram (a Capitol subcontractor) around 1987. This pressing is the scarcest of the retro rainbow pressing variations, and features a completely new and high quality Columbia-made true stereo mix (the same as the one featured on the Columbia pressing - see previous variation LP.6051.12.2). These pressings can be recognized by the 29 mm pressing ring with a 70 mm recessed plate.

Availability

This variation was available around 1987 (for only one batch, maybe a few months). This pressing is relatively scarce, and possibly the rarest of verified retro rainbow pressings of Beatlemania!. This was the very last pressing of Beatlemania!.

General Information

Cinram was subcontracted by Capitol to press Beatles records around 1987. They did not press all the Beatles albums (unlike Columbia), but the ones that were pressed were made from the Columbia masters. These pressings are pretty rare since very few copies were made. Cinram was to be used later in 1987 to press Beatles CDs, although to this date, the three unique Canadian Beatles albums were never pressed on CD.

Pressing Information

This pressing was manufactured at another of Capitol's subcontractor's pressing plant: Cinram. For these 1987 retro rainbow pressings, Cinram used lacquer cuts prepared by Columbia who had prepared new masters for every Beatles title on LP in 1984. These pressings can be identified by the 29 mm pressing ring with a 70 mm recessed plate.

Matrix numbers feature the new Columbia-made stereo mix and matrix number:

ST 6051-1 1A 2HDKO
ST 6051-2 1A 2HDKO).

Narrow vs. 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 understand what the Narrow stereo mix is about. 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.

The authors tend to be careful before naming the narrow mix "stereo" because in reality, it is often not a true stereo mix created by placing instruments on either side of the sound spectrum. The narrow mix is in some cases a processed or rechannelled mono mix, 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 took place in the 70s, in the Canadian mastering studio, and have nothing to do with original mixes created by EMI in England. These narrow 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 used from the start, instead of trying to dupe listeners by forcing a stereo mix out of a mono track.

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 of 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 reminder of the average transition 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:

Beatlemania! stereo mixes

• • Mono until circa 1975

• • Orange label 2nd, 1975 : Narrow stereo (JAMF Lacquer)

• • Orange label 3rd, 1976 : Narrow stereo (new different JAMF lacquer)

• • Purple label 1st, 1977 : Hybrid between Narrow (JAMF) and true stereo (TLC)

• • Purple label 2nd, 1978 : Narrow stereo (JAMF lacquers from 1976)

• • Purple label 3rd, 1980 : True Stereo (TLC lacquers)

• • Retro Rainbow, 1984 (CBS & Cinram): True "wide" stereo, (New Columbia master)

Cover

The cover of this variation features the "ST-6051" catalogue number back on the top right of the back cover, and the Modern Graphics printer logo found on the spine. The information on the back cover also features the same legal information as well as the target logo.

Packaging

This edition was shipped in tight shrink wrap, with 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).