Twist And Shout

Variation 2.1.1 is the very first pressing of Twist And Shout and was released only in MONO.

This pressing is recognized by its jacket’s curved inner seams and the omission of a dash in the catalog number on the top right of the front cover. This very first cover also does not feature the printer (Parr's) logo on the bottom right side (a mistake that was almost immediately corrected on variation 2.1.2). This pressing features a “no dash” matrix numbers (XEX-455 and XEX-456). Some early copies were sold with a bright orange hype sticker as well as a black and white promo photo of the band.

Availability

This first variation was available on February 3, 1964 (for possibly only a few weeks) and was quickly replaced with the corrected cover featuring the printer's logo (Parr's) (see entry 2.1.2). It is quite possible that the mistake was caught before release and that both variations 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 were available simultaneously. Both of these variations featured a cover with markers of an early cover (no dash in the catalog number on the top seam, curved inner seams, were sold with the hype sticker and photo).

General Information

This second Canadian album was in fact a local reconfiguration of the Beatles' first album (Please Please Me), but was released AFTER Beatlemania! (which was the Canadian equivalent of the Beatles' second UK album, With The Beatle). Twist and Shout was released a 6 days before the band's appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, when Beatlemania literally shook North America for good. Sales were not spectacular in the first week of its release, but sold very well after the TV appearance, selling 325 000 copies in the first four weeks. Demand was high, so Capitol pushed out as many copies of the album as they possibly could, correcting a few details along the way (see entries 2.1.2, 2.1.3 and 2.1.4). The cover design for this LP was strongly inspired by the British EP of the same name. (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 2)

Twist and Shout was the first Beatles album to be customized for Canadian fans, changing the tracklisting to avoid repeating releases that had already appeared as singles. Beatlemania! had a different cover than the UK, but the tracklisting (and tape source) were directly transposed from the UK album (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 2).

This pressing was only available in Mono, and remained as such even when Mono was phased out in 1968. In fact, no stereo release of the LP was prepared in Canada until 1976.

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 4” (XEX 456-4). This first pressing has “no dash” matrix numbers (XEX-455 and XEX-456).

These copies also 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 early runs of pressings, but the original stampers were quickly replaced by a second set of stampers (“-2”). These first “no dash” stampers seem to have been used fairly quickly since it is not rare to find early curved inner seam copies (i.e.pre-April 64) with a "-2", "-3" or even "-4" stampers. This being said, it is the opinion of the authors that variation 2.1.1 was only made as a "no dash" copy (in the etched dead wax) since they were the first copies to be produced.

Cover

The jacket for this very first pressing used a curved inner seam type of construction for its cardboard frame. These 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. This indicates that variation 2.1.1, 2.1.2 and 2.1.3 were all manufactured within 2 months, before April 1964.

Covers up until 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 and sent to Modern Album for assembly, although this first variation omitted the printer's logo (that was added almost immediately afterwards). Some collectors have claimed that the logo was simply trimmed off during assembly (this does happen often -and has been verified- since there was a lot of variation in the process), but many side-by-side comparisons of copies that were trimmed at the same distance from the edge indicate clearly that an early batch of copies indeed never had a logo printed on the jacket.

The rear of the jacket features a presentation text as well as individual fun facts about their lives, with a small promo vignette of their first release (Beatlemania!). The bottom presents "monophonic" information in a square box.

Original covers featured the words PRINTED IN CANADA above the box at the bottom of the back cover, as well as the original release date and manufacturing information.

The top right features the T-6054 catalog number and a full dot denoting the Mono pressing placed just over the 6000 series logo. This very first pressing has no dash in the catalog number, and no printer's logo.

As stated earlier, the original release of this album used the "front slick" assembly method. 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.

Packaging

This variation from February 1964 was shipped in loose poly bag wrap, with or without a red and white Capitol / Pathe paper LP inner sleeve (apparently designed by Paul White).

Very early copies (2.1.1 and 2.1.2) also featured a bright orange hype sticker, and were sold with a black and white promotional picture.

The black and white promotional picture provided with the album was prepared by Capitol, where the band was identified as "Exclusive Capitol Recording Stars". This particular picture was apparently available in two different sizes. It is not known if both were sent with the album, or if the larger picture was meant for other promotional channels.

Capitol of Canada also prepared similar official photos for some of their other 6000 series artists (notably for the Dave Clark Five).

In the end, that black and white promotional picture format was used by different promoters, notably a Dairy Queen promo add and for the CKEY radio station.

Sales

The album is said, from promotional communications, to have sold 350 000 copies in one month (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 2). Then again, more official numbers state 231 523 copies were sold in all of 1964; and closer to 265 000 in total between 1964 and 1967 (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 3)

In this manner, it is not known how many early no dash / curved inner seam copies (2.1.1 and 2.1.2) were made, but the corrected covers were introduced very early, if not simultaneously.

Variation 2.1.1 then, along with variations 2.1.2, 2.1.3 and 2.1.4 most likely constitute the core of these high sales numbers for 1964, making all versions with the hype sticker and the promotional photo much scarcer today, being the very first incarnations of the album.