Beatles White Album Mono 1982 Japanese Red Vinyl, Un-played, Near Mint w/OBI

$

214

I purchased this Japanese import new in 1982 from an audiophile record store in Tulsa, OK.   I played one side one time, and the other three sides remain un-played to this day.  It has been carefully stored since that day to prevent warping, and in a plastic dust jacket in a smoke free, humidity controlled environment.  Inserts are all present, including the large poster and four photos seen in the American and UK releases, as well as a double sheet of lyrics and credits in Japanese, and the paper “obi” or sash which slips over the front cover. Everything is in mint or near mint condition.

This Toshiba/EMI/Odeon monophonic  Beatles White Album (EAS-67157-58) is pressed on red colored “virgin” vinyl.  “Virgin” means the vinyl was made specifically for this album and has never been used for anything else before, nor recycled.  This reduces native static electricity and surface irregularities which can distort sound reproduction.  This pressing was mastered directly from the original tapes at EMI. 

This is one of the best sounding  versions of this monophonic  album in existence.  Many think the best version is either the 1968 black vinyl UK version or the red vinyl 1968 Japanese version.  Neither of these can be found in un-played condition  like I am offering here, though, and lightly played copies go for over $400 US on Ebay.  This 1982 version was re-released by Odeon on red vinyl in 1986, but some argue that the ’86 does not sound as good as the ‘82, and, again, is rarely ever found un-played.  A 7.5 ips reel to reel version released 1968 is available on Ebay for (probably) $400 US and has no crackles, pops, or skips, but most magnetic tapes of that age suffer from “drop outs” caused by stray magnetic fields over time and speed problems caused by tape stretching and drying, so the album I’m offering here is probably superior in sound quality.  This album is also available as a CD in the Beatles mono box set, but there are two problems with that:  1) As a CD is only contains a sampling of the lush analog sound produced by this vinyl LP 2) You may have to buy several copies of the CD before you get a decent one as many sets available on line are bootlegs with poor sound, and some are not even in mono.

Kevin Howlett in 1999 wrote, “The (Beatle’s) last album to be released in two distinct mono and stereo mixes was their double-LP The Beatles. Known universally as ‘The White Album’, it has the most obvious mono and stereo variations of the whole catalogue. However, as it was the first Beatles album in the USA not issued in mono, many were unaware of an alternative mix. Some of the differences heard in mono derive from how the sound effects tapes were used during mixing. The aircraft noise is different throughout ‘Back In The USSR’, the chirping on ‘Blackbird’ is heard earlier in the mono version and if you know precisely where every grunt appears in ‘Piggies’, (they are rearranged)in mono. One of the many musical differences is Paul’s ‘sung bass’ part on ‘I Will’, which in mono arrives after the first verse rather than starting right from the beginning. Most startling to the ear are ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ and ‘Helter Skelter’. In stereo, Ringo’s song is heard in its original key and tempo but has been speeded up for the mono version and, as a result, is a semi-tone higher in pitch. That alteration may have been accidental, due to an error during either the mono or stereo mix, but happenstance cannot explain the decision to edit the mono version of ‘Helter Skelter’ in another way. Nobody remembers why but it is (a different length) than the version on the stereo album and we never do hear Ringo announce that he has blisters on this fingers! But overall, neither mix of ‘The White Album’ has a clear advantage over the other or a claim to be the authentic version. Some songs sound better in mono; some benefit from being in stereo.”  Nobody who loves this album should be without both versions.