Here's an interesting and long time question that's I've discussed with my friends for many years and is quite timely with the recent release of the Beatles remastered CD's.
If I had to choose between the stereo or mono box sets, which one would I choose?
When the Beatles mixed their albums, up until "The Beatles (White Album)", they only though in mono terms. That's because it was not only common in England, it was also the only method available during their tenure at EMI. EMI had the capabilities for 8 track recording but didn't feel that "Pop" music needed all those tracks or was as "sophisticated" as classical music. (This argument was also the main reason the Beatles started to build their own recording studio in the basement of their Saville Row offices in 1968.)
The mono versions have been long thought of as the "definitive" mixes because they were supervised by the Beatles and George Martin. When it cam time for the stereo mixes in the USA, Capital Records had their own producers and engineers remix for stereo. (Americans has better stereo equipment and multi-track recording capabilities as is evident with most of the recordings in that era. Listen to the Motown and Stax recordings and listen for the richness in the recordings--especially the bass...)
So my vote is with mono for 2 reasons.
The first is that's the way they were intended to be heard. The second is because of the limited edition nature of the box set and the fact that the mono recordings won't be available individually. With the stereo versions you can be more selective and choose your favorite record of ones that sound better in the stereo realm (i.e.; Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour, The White Album, and Abby Road)
If you've got an opinion, please let me know!
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