Mixology: The Mono/Stereo Mix Differences Podcast

Hollies by The Hollies

Hello Friends! Today we're targeting the second half of 1965, with the 3rd LP from The Hollies, simply titled, "Hollies". This album was very much a case of two steps forward and one step back from their previous LP, with Folk Rock seeping into the formula, and some interesting production techniques popping up across the album. However, the decreased level of original material is certainly disappointing, but of course the entire LP is presented with that classic Hollies polish. With that in mind, upon release the UK only saw a mono copy of this album, with the stereo remaining an export until 1969, when it was reissued with a new title and cover under the budget Starline label. With this in mind, should you be seeking out that original mono pressing, or will this readily available stereo pressing suit your needs, despite it's instruments left and vocals right mixing? Let's move on Down the Line and find out!
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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Sounds of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel

Hello Friends! Today we're returning to Simon & Garfunkel, with their breakout LP "Sounds of Silence". This wonderful hodge-podge collection of Folk and Folk Rock tunes was subject to Mono and Stereo mixes in 1966, along with a faithful 2001 remix of the entire stereo album, as a well as a partially re-recorded single edit of I Am A Rock, giving us plenty here to work with. This has been one of my favourite episodes of Mixology to compile yet, with huge sonic differences between a large number of tracks, with many of the Folk Rock tracks being bathed in echo in mono, and vice versa for the Folk tracks in stereo. So, why sit in silence any longer? Let's get a Groovy Things Goin' and dig right in!
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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Aftermath by The Rolling Stones

Hello Friends! We're jumping to June 1966 today, with The Rolling Stones leap forward into the world of 60s Pop and Swingin' London, and their classic LP 'Aftermath'. Released in both mono and stereo at the time, both these mixes offer us a different flavour for the album, replete with extra echo, longer fades, and just an overall differing vibe between the two. So, with both these mixes, and a copy of Flowers in hand for one more, let's dive in before we're Out of Time!
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears by The Mamas and The Papas

Hello Friends! Today we've got another Patron requested episode, taking a look at the debut LP from The Mamas and The Papas, "If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears". This California pop classic includes hit singles "Monday, Monday" and "California Dreamin'", along with classics like "Go Where You Wanna Go" and "I Call Your Name". The stereo mix of this album is notoriously wonky and unpleasurable compared with the cohesive sound of the mono, and with extended fades and variable balance between the two, we've got another treat for you to enjoy! 
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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The Doors by The Doors

Hello Friends! Today we're making the trip to January 1967, with the debut LP from LA's most renound, The Doors! Classically self titled, 'The Doors' combined the evolving rock, psych, blues, and r'n'b movement at the time, to create a raw yet timeless effort, often heralded as the group's best. As always, the album received mono and stereo mixes upon release, and while there aren't that many explicit differences, the overall sound of the mix is vastly different, with the stereo having the clarity, but the mono having the crunch and the punch. Which is better? Let's take a trip to the Whisky Bar at The End of The Night, and find out...
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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Boots by Nancy Sinatra

Hello Friends! Today we're hanging out in 1966 with Nancy Sinatra's debut LP, 'Boots'. The first in a string of albums produced by Lee Hazlewood, this album was host to smash hit "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'", along with classic tracks such as "So Long, Babe", and many fantastic covers, including my personal favourite, "Run For Your Life". Remaining unissued in mono since 1966, let's see how the in-print stereo mix holds up to the single-channeled punch of the mono. So, get ready to count those Flowers On The Wall, and let's dig right in!
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
P.S. - This episode was voted on by our Graduate Tier Patrons. If you want to control which albums I look at in the future, consider signing up at https://www.patreon.com/backtomono
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The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees by The Monkees

Hello Friends! We're travelling back to 1968 this week with The Monkees, and their slightly unusual LP 'The Birds, The Bees, & The Monkees'. Recorded almost totally separately by each of the members of the group, the album is a bizarre mish-mash of styles that just about manages to come together as one. Released at a time when mono was becoming deeply uncool in the USA, many people have never heard the true mono version of this LP, and today we find out if seeking out this incredibly rare mix is worth your time. So, get back upon your feet and come with me to Auntie's Municipal Court!
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan

Hello Friends, today we're taking it back to 1965 with the second LP in Bob Dylan's iconic electric trilogy, the incomparable 'Highway 61 Revisited'. Release in both Mono & Stereo mixes in 1965, the album has never been subject to a remix, and as such, these are the mixes we still reference today. So, with every track being longer in stereo, is this an easy decision to make? Let's hop in a car down Highway 61 to Desolation Row and find out!
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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The Kinks are The Village Green Preservation Society by The Kinks

Hello Friends, today we're taking a lazy trip down to the village green, with The Kinks' utterly fantastic 1968 LP, "The Kinks are The Village Green Preservation Society". Released in both mono and stereo mixes at the time, this 15 track collection throws a gratuitous quantity of top quality mix differences at us, with a keen focus on the inclusion/absence of that legendary overdub - the little ol' Tambourine! To top it off, two sneaky alternate mixes leaked out on an alternate 12 Track version of the album in Europe, and of course we couldn't ignore these. So spend your afternoon Sitting By The Riverside with Johnny Thunder & Monica, and let's get in to this utterly scintillating classic.
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite? by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart

Hello Friends! We're staying in 1968 this week with a look at an underrated pop gem from that summer, 'I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite' from Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart. The Monkees songwriters would put together a top tier collection of Monkees styled jams, ranging from top tier pop hooks, riffs on psychedelia and beat, to just an all-out good time. Released to the public in a stereo mix in 1968, the album received a mono promo mix for radio airplay, and somehow this is the mix issued digitally today! Which should you seek out? The answers lie in the lap of The Countess down in Tear Drop City!
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
Email the show at: backtomonoradio@gmail.com
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The Beatles by The Beatles - LP2

Hello Friends! Today we continue our journey with The Beatles in 1968, covering LP2 of The BEATLES (better known as The White Album), and even diving in to the two cuts from the sessions released on 45, Hey Jude & Revolution. In this half, things start to get a bit dark, a bit weird, but who doesn't love it when the Fab Four get weird...? So let's get munching on a Savoy Truffle with Honey Pie in tow, and let us finish off this beast of an album! 
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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The Beatles by The Beatles - LP1

Hello Friends, and welcome to the first Mixology of 2021! We're diving headfirst in to a brand new year with our first double album, the 1968 classic 'The BEATLES'. More commonly known as the White Album, we'll be exploring these notoriously different mixes across two episodes, this week focusing on Disc 1. So join me in discovering just why Happiness is a Warm Gun, where the Handclaps went in Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, and above all, why does the stereo mix of Back in the USSR end in an arctic storm?
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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The Beach Boys' Christmas Album by The Beach Boys

Hello Friends, and welcome to a very festive installment of Mixology! Today we'll be taking a look at the wonderful 1964 Christmas Album from The Beach Boys, simply titled 'The Beach Boys' Christmas Album'. Featuring a number of band originals, and big band arrangements of Christmas classics, the album also brings together a few bizarre mono/stereo mix differences for us to dig our mittens in to. Even better, we've got 6 unique mixes of Little Saint Nick, 5 for Auld Lang Syne, and even a non LP B-side thrown in there too. So grab a hold of Santa's Beard, this is going to be one wild ride!
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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Feelin’ Groovy by Harpers Bizarre

Hello Friends, and this week on Mixology we're going soft with the classic debut from Harpers Bizarre, the wonderful 'Feelin' Groovy'! Released in April of 1967, this soft pop classic featured 10 tracks filled to the brim with glorious Wrecking Crew instrumentals and sumptuous vocal harmonies, all of which received both mono and stereo mixes, as well as 3 unique 45 mono mixes. Today, we'll be covering all 23 of these mixes, and closely comparing the textural differences between the two, as this is our closest match yet!
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies

Hello Friends, today we're taking a journey to London with The Zombies' outstanding LP 'Odessey and Oracle', recorded at Abbey Road Studios in 1967, and released in 1968. Funded by the band themselves, they only initially delivered a mono mix to CBS, who would then demand that they fund and mix a stereo version of the album. These two mixes will be our focus today, as well as the Stereo Remix of 'This Will be Our Year', only originally issued in mono and artificial stereo in 1968. So, don't get Hung Up on A Dream, it truly is the Time of the Season to break down both these mixes, and truly find out which is better.
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys

Hello Friends, and welcome to the one you've all been asking and waiting for, The Beach Boys' 1966 all-time great LP, Pet Sounds. Repeatedly cited as one of the greatest albums of all time, Brian Wilson's baby has won the hearts and souls of listeners for the last 54 years, and was only ever released in mono, until it in 1996 it was finally given the stereo remix treatment as a part of The Pet Sounds Sessions box set. However, there have been a few revisions to this remix since, as well as a few mono oddities to take a look at. Wouldn't It Be Nice if there were four different mixes of said track? Of course it would! So Let's Go Away For Awhile, and see if we can finally settle the mono vs. stereo debate once and for all (spoilers - we don't).
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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The World We Knew by Frank Sinatra

Hello Friends, and welcome to a slightly different Mixology today, as we tackle Frank Sinatra's wonderful LP 'The World We Knew' from 1967. Also known simply as 'Frank Sinatra', this LP was my introduction to Frank, and it features a mono mix that has remained unissued since 1967! From the gritty fuzz bass of the title track, to the serene lounge scene of 'Drinking Again', this album features some classic Frank performances, and some even more classic mono/stereo differences. So grab a Jack like Ol' Blue Eyes, and kick back with one of the greatest voices to grace turntables world wide.
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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Aerial Ballet by Nilsson

Hello Friends! We're spending today in 1968, with Nilsson's 2nd LP 'Aerial Ballet', a wonderful collection of Baroque Pop with Beatle-esque melodies, some utterly classic tunes, and of course, two wonderfully different mono and stereo mixes. We're also going to be looking at the overhaul remixes done by Nilsson in 1971 for 'Aerial Pandemonium Ballet', and break down exactly what he did to each song, beyond the short notes provided on the original LP. Everybody's Talkin' about this album, so let's find out why Together!
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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Face to Face by The Kinks

Hello Friends! Today we're taking another Kinky trip back into the world of Ray and his glorious band, with what is often seen as The Kinks' first truly great LP, 'Face to Face', from 1966. Featuring a greater emphasis on Ray's Personal life, and a growth of his social commentary, this is arguably their quintessential album, and luckily for us, it was their first to get both a Mono & Stereo Mix since their first album in 1964... though not as one might expect. So come all, whether you're a Little Miss Queen of Darkness, or you live in a House in The Country, and take a ride through probably the narrowest Stereo album of 1966.
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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A Hard Day's Night + Long Tall Sally EP by The Beatles

Hello Friends, and once again we're back with the Fab Four, at their utmost Fabbest! Today we're looking at the 1964 Beat classic (and soundtrack to the classic film) ' A Hard Day's Night' from none other than The Beatles, an album absolutely littered with both mono and stereo mixing differences big and small, as well as a multitude of mixes made exclusively for the USA (some of which made their way to Germany too...). To top it off, we'll also be looking at the Long Tall Sally EP, as all 4 of it's short tracks came from the same sessions, and boy, did the USA get some crazy mixes here! This is one you certainly won't want to miss.
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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Wild Honey by The Beach Boys

Hello Friends! Today we're breaking tradition on Mixology by looking at an album that didn't get a complete stereo mix until 2017, and that is 1967's Wild Honey by The Beach Boys. One of the first Back-to-Basics LPs of the post-Psych era, Wild Honey has a deceptively simple sound, which the 2017 Stereo Remix on Sunshine Tomorrow blows wide open for exploration. However, even better than that, is the ripe opportunity presented for mix differences to arise, given the 50 year gap between mixes, and the multiple revisions of a select few tracks since 2001. So, Let the Wind Blow these sweets sounds on the Country Air, from Brian's home to yours, and hopefully we can learn A Thing or Two together!
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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RAM by Paul & Linda McCartney

Hello Friends! This episode of Mixology is 'Brung To Ewe By' Paul & Linda McCartney, where we're going to be taking a look at one of the last mono mixes issued in the original monophonic era - 1971's RAM, a classic album by any definition! This mono mix, only originally issued as a radio promo, features some tasty mixing differences across all 12 tracks, so Ram On, and enjoy! 
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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Between The Buttons by The Rolling Stones

Hello Friends! In today's show, we're going to be taking a look at The Rolling Stones' 1967 LP "Between The Buttons", without a doubt the most British sounding LP in their catalog. We'll be comparing the UK Mono & Stereo Mixes, a couple of stray mixes, and both non LP tracks "Ruby Tuesday" and "Let's Spend the Night Together" too! So put away Yesterday's Papers, and get your Connection to every little detail on this album! 
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel

Hello Friends! One of the most sought after mono mixes from the sixties, Simon & Garfunkel's Bookends is full of tasty treats for us to digest in both the mono and stereo mixes of the album, as well as 2 unique mono single mixes, including the classic Mrs. Robinson! So join us as we board a Greyhound for Pittsburgh on the hunt for Joe Di'maggio, and dig in! 
Happy Listening, 
Frederick 
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