More of the Music of The Beatles
Play it against your MoFi or Heavy Vinyl pressing and you will quickly see why those lifeless LPs bore us to tears. Who in his right mind would want to suffer through a boring Beatles record?
Drop the needle on any song on the first side to see why we went crazy over a recent Shootout Winner on side one. The emotional quality of the boys’ performances really comes through on this copy.
They aren’t just singing — they’re really beltin’ it out. Can you imagine what that sounds like on the title track? We didn’t have to imagine it, we heard it!
Side One
A Hard Day’s Night
I Should Have Known Better
If I Fell
This is a wonderful example of The Beatles’ harmonies at their best. Toward the end of the song, during one of their harmonic excursions, you can hear John’s voice drop out when something apparently catches in his throat, and I could swear that you can hear Paul McCartney react to it with a little laugh.
If their voices sound warm, sweet, and transparent on this track, at the very least you have a contender, and possibly a winner. Not many pressings are going to bring out all the timbral qualities of their voices.
I’m Happy Just to Dance With You
And I Love Her
Tell Me Why
Can’t Buy Me Love
Always starts with a bit of grit and grain, but usually sounds better by the second verse.
Side Two
Any Time at All
I’ll Cry Instead
This track has a tendency to sound a bit aggressive on even the best copies. The copies with extended highs and a tonally correct midrange are the ones that tend to do well in our shootouts.
Things We Said Today
On the best copies this track is really rich and full-bodied. It’s got the kind of ’60s Tubey Magic that we find positively intoxicating.
When I Get Home
Another one with a lot of potentially aggressive qualities. If you can play this song good and loud, you must have an excellent pressing. (More cowbell!)
You Can’t Do That
I’ll Be Back
It’s (Almost) All About The Midrange
There are two important traits that all the best copies have in common. Tonally they aren’t bright and aggressive (which eliminates 80 percent of the AHDN pressings you find), and they have a wonderful midrange warmth and sweetness that brings out the unique quality of the Beatles’ individual voices and harmonies.
When comparing pressings of this record, the copies that get their voices to sound present, while at the same time warm, smooth, and sweet, especially during the harmonies and in the loudest choruses are always the best. All the other instruments seem to fall in line when the vocals are correct. This is an old truism — it’s all about the midrange — but in this case it really is true.
This music has a HUGE amount of upper midrange and high frequency information. (Just note how present the tambourines are in the mixes.) If the record isn’t cut properly, or pressed properly, the sound can be quite unpleasant. (One of our good customers made an astute comment in an email to us — the typical copy of this album makes you want to turn DOWN the volume.)
Further Reading
I’m very happy to have found the site and I’m learning about records. Is there any other site you can recommend where I can find more details about the production of all the albums featured here? Thank you for your time!
Dear Leo,
There are scores, even hundreds, of sites that talk about the background of the records we sell. I don’t have any that I consider more reliable than most.
The one thing that cannot be relied upon is any information from any site that centers on the sound quality of any recording. These you can be sure are more than likely to be mistaken in whatever judgments they are making — at least all the ones I have seen have been mistaken. If you find one that agrees with our findings, please let me know!
Best, TP