BEATLES, Sgt Pepper MONO UK 1st press LP -1/-1 stampers

	£		60
	$		79

UK FIRST PRESSING MONO VINYL LP in Garrod & Lofthouse laminated gatefold sleeve WITH THE ALL-IMPORTANT EARLY SLEEVE ISSUE FOLDED-OVER TOP INNER FLAPS, red wavy inner sleeve and cardboard insert.
There will be debate until the end of time as to whether the stereo Sgt Pepper or the mono is better - the fact is, they are DIFFERENT - the stereo has more seperation and spread, but it sounds somewhat false to our ears, but certain elements of the music, such as the sound effects, do benefit from stereo panning (even though it is a rathre clumsy example of stereo panning). On the other hand, the mono is the ORIGINAL APPROVED BEATLES' MIX, the stereo was made later. So what's so better about it? First off, you really do want to listen to this mono first pressing on a proper MONO STYLUS with your hi fi system set-up to play-back in mono. Just bunging it on your stereo and hearing it in mono will yield an very enjoyable listening experience, but if you really want to hear how good the mono sounds, listen to it in mono, so to speak. Then you will hear McCartney's centred, thick and punchy basslines, the intricate Beatles vocal work, the chime of those Beatle guitars...the whole thing sounds so much more alive and vibrant. We here at Raisedonrecords believe the Beatles' mono UK LPs generally sound better than the stereos for numerous reasons, least of all being that these are the mixes the Beatles' approved after recording had been made, they had very little to do with the stereo versions. And if you don't believe us, then at least know that the Beatles' recording engineer Geoff Emerick has stated on more than one occassion that he thinks the monos sound vastly superior to the stereos...he should know...he was sat behind the board most of the time the music was being recorded.

STAMPERS/LABELS: XEX 637 - 1 [37 @ 9 o'clock, AAH @ 3 o'clock] / XEX 638 - 1 [9 @ 9 o'clock, RHR @ 3 o'clock]. 'Sold In UK subject to resale price conditions...' above the album name, 'The Gramophone Co Ltd' on inner rim.
Regarding Beatles' stampers and mothers: EMI used a code based upon "G R A M O P H L T D" (Gramophone, Ltd.) with "G" being 1, "R" being 2, through "D" which is 0. These letters representing stamper numbers can be found at "3 O clock" in the lead out groove area. So a record with a "G" only is the very first stamper made from a given "mother." The "mother" number can be found at the "9 O clock" position. The codes do give us more information about 'what happened first', though we need to tread with care as there are numerous known oddities and variations. (Information credit to Peter Rice at Beatlesdna)

SLEEVE: EXCELLENT MINUS, JUST LIGHT SHELF AND EDGE WEAR, MINOR CORNER SCUFFS, MINOR CREASES ALONG SPINE, ONE SMALL NICK JUST UDNER INNER FLAP TOP RIGHT (SEE PHOTO) - A VERY DECENT SLEEVE OVERALL. CARD INNER IS EXCELLENT. ORIGINAL RED WAVY INNER SLEEVE IS EXCELLENT MINUS, JUST SOME LIGHT EDGE WEAR AND RING WEAR - DISC HAS BEEN STORED IN SEPERATE POLY-LINED SLEEVE SO THIS HAS HELPED PRESERVE THE ORIGINAL INNER.

DISC: EXCELLENT MINUS. AURALLY THIS DISC PLAYS AND SOUNDS FANTASTIC, ONE OF THE BEST MONO COPIES WE HAVE COME ACROSS, IT IS UNBANDED AND PLAYS WITH NO SKIPS OR JUMPS RIGHT TO THE VERY LAST GROOVE, WHICH, AS BEATLES' FANS KNOW, CONTINUES TO RECITE UNTIL YOU GET OFF YER ARSE AND LIFT THE STYLUS UP. ALL GREAT PSYCHEDELIC FUN IN 1967...THERE ARE A FEW LIGHT HAIRLINES BOTH SIDES, NONE OF WHICH ARE SCRATCHES, THERE ARE A FEW LIGHT SCUFFS ON SIDE TWO WHICH ARE NOT SCRATCHES AND DO NOT SOUND. THIS IS THAT 1960 ERA HIGH QUALITY THICK EMI VINYL THAT OFTEN PLAYS FAR BETTER THAN IT LOOKS, AND IN THIS CASE THIS LP PLAYS EXCELLENT AND LOOKS EXCELLENT MINUS BASED ON THE RECORD COLLECTOR GRADING SYSTEM. THERE IS SOME EVIDENCE OF SPINDLE WEAR, BUT THIS HAS CLEARLY BEEN A WELL-LOOKED AFTER COPY DOWN THE YEARS. IT IS NOT A PERFECT COPY (GOOD LUCK FINDING ONE OF THOSE), BUT IT SHOULD SATISFY MOST BEATLES' FANS IN SEARCH OF A CLEAN, HIGHLY PLAYABLE NICE CONDITION ORIGINAL FIRST PRESSING MONO UK ISSUE OF AN ALBUM FREQUENTLY SITED AS THE BEST ROCK RECORD OF ALL TIME. THE BEST WAY WE CAN PUT THIS IS THAT IN VIEW OFTHE SHODDY CONDITION OF MOST OF THE -1/-1 MONO STAMPER SGT. PEPPERS WE HAVE SEEN DOWN THE YEARS, THIS COPY WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT UPGRADE FOR A VAST MAJORITY OF COLLECTORS.

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