Defending the US Beatles Albums

[@vintagevinylaustralia4344]

Love this video Joe! As an Aussie, our releases are identical to the UK. So, I do have a preference to “the way they were intended” but as a collector, I adore the US albums. Different covers, different track listings-it’s like a fresh album. Cheers ~Andrew

[@maxmeister5064]

@Vintage Vinyl Australia Were there, in the Beatlemania days, distinct Australian/New Zealandish Beatle album releases? Greetings from Krautland 😄

[@vintagevinylaustralia4344]

@@maxmeister5064 hello Max Meister, yes there are a number of unique sleeves from Australia & New Zealand both LPs and 45s picture sleeves and labels. Greetings from Australia

[@alanbrodie1534]

Having grown up in the US, I too used to think of the US albums as the definitive Beatles collection. Then I found out later that it wasn't. But the US albums still hold a fond place in my heart. It still seems like the right way to listen to those songs (And I will agree with what you said about Revolver)

[@leonardoiglesias2394]

A dearly beloved fake….. Childish

[@nicholasperl]

The modern UK albums are my favorite, meaning the UK albums including Magical Mystery Tour. I'm glad that album has been adopted into the "official" album listings.

[@TheDunc1]

Little nuts my foot. What saddens me with the U.S.A albums is that they were so short weight with 11 tracks, when the U.K. albums tended to go for 14.. I would still like to get a set. With the Please Please Me album. It was hung around the success of the the singles Love Me Do and Please Please Me. That was the standard way the U.K. industry worked at the time. The Beatles abandoned that method immediately afterwards. Thank you for solving the mystery of Thank You Girl with the extra mouth organ which I jumped out of my seat when I heard it a few months ago and letting me know there was an extra verse on I'll Cry Instead. A great video. We all I think prefer what we grew up with wherever we live. Whatever the case, we have all been greatly blessed with The Beatle catalogue

[@MeanMrMayo]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@andrewharvey149]

Great video! I grew up with the US versions and agree with you. I also agree the "Dexterized" reverb adds a vitaliy and rockin' edge to the songs. I think Meet the Beatles with the one/two punch of I Want to Hold Your Hand and I Saw Her Standing There is just awesome. I think The Beatles Second Album is an accidental rock and roll masterpiece. I agree Beatles '65 is more enjoyable than Beatles for Sale. And I have always like Yesterday and Today with all the rockin' songs on it such as Day Tripper, Drive My Car, And Your Bird Can Sing, Dr. Robert and the dreamy I'm Only Sleeping. It does neuter the US version of Revolver though. Until I knew better I always was wondering why there were only two John songs on the record.

[@khaotix64]

Rubber soul was always my favorite US album growing up because it included my two favorite Beatles songs back to back to open it

[@ianjames9360]

Incredible review! You make a lot of great points. I love the Capital albums!

[@russellthechemist8291]

The UK albums are canon. US albums historically interesting. MMT an intereseting debate point.

[@jnagarya519]

The US LPs MADE "The Beatles" in the US. No UK LPs appeared for sale in the US until circa 1968. US fans grew up EXCLUSIVELY with the US LPs. They are certainly more important than "historically interesting" in view of the fact that that is how US "Beatles" fans KNEW of "The Beatles".

[@rocky-o]

the only true versions of the albums are the u.k. versions....

[@MeanMrMayo]

@@rocky-o We will have to continue to agree to disagree on this.

[@MeanMrMayo]

@@jnagarya519 Exactly.

[@cr7monster2008]

Magical Mystery Tour is the only American album I like, it sounds like an album, now the others sound like a compilation

[@ederbofete4833]

Good point man, I agree with you the U.S Albuns were a good collection of songs with the focus on the hit singles from that period, the London Label did the same thing with the Rolling Stones U.S Albuns, I like both versions of this artists the U.K and U.S as well(that Beatles U.S Albuns Box Set ia really cool)

[@christined2495]

Joe, you mentioned Times Sguare Stores, I remember the day after John was murdered, being in Times Square Store in the TV dept, watching all the footage about John’s death, 40 tv’s all playing the same news channel, with about 50 people, my husband and I had to get something there, and ended up spending time with strangers, all of us crying, some moments in life are forever etched in our memories. Great video, love the content . The Beatles Second album was my first album I ever bought as a young girl...

[@MeanMrMayo]

Christine Doran...thanks for sharing that experience about John.

[@timothyshannon7490]

The Beatles are an enigma. They are the only band where you have to purchase not only the UK and US albums to experience both sides of the coin but also the Mono and Stereo versions of the albums because of the different sound. I just recently purchased the box set of The Beatles Capitol Albums and the Dexterized stereo is no longer there. They remastered is to the UK stereo so songs like I Want To Hold Your Hand and I Feel Fine are back to their normal stereo sound and She Loves You and Love Me Do stayed in Mono even on the stereo side. In a way, I like this version better than the original US albums which have that Dexterized aka FAKE stereo sound. I do agree that the US albums are better from a marketing stand point though, minus Revolver which the UK version is better.

[@robertmoss3553]

I was actually thinking about the American Rubber Soul vs the UK version just the other day. I remember growing up as a teen in the mid eighties and discovering the Beatles albums for the first time. The American Rubber Soul was continously played. Folk masterpiece..especially with the side 1 and side 2 openers. A couple of years later at the time, I found the UK version in a cut out bin at my local record store back then. It was quite a different feeling listening to it and with the Drive My Car opener. I actually was used to hearing drive my car on the Beatles rock n roll music compilation album (vol 2) at the time. Great video!

[@JustFortheRecord66]

I have a soft spot for the Capitol Rubber Soul as well. I’ve Just Seen A Face is the perfect opening track for it as was Its Only Love is for side two. The only thing that they did that does not make sense given the albums folk rock theme, was leaving off If I Needed Someone, which was directly inspired by the Byrds.

[@MarkTitus420]

You and I are about the same age and I have also been a Beatles fan since I was a teenager but I never even thought about the fact there are two different releases. I know all the records as they were originally released. Now I’m in the process of purchasing and looking forward to listening to all the American versions. It only took me 40 years to come to this realization

[@MeanMrMayo]

Sounds great!

[@colinduff2922]

I grew up in Australia. We got the UK albums (2 covers were altered..."With The Beatles" and "Beatles For Sale"). BUT we also got the US "Magical Mystery Tour" LP (it came out a year after the double EP) and the "Hey Jude" album. Preferences are highly influenced by nostalgia.

[@craigcavaliere6744]

After watching this video when it came out, I decided to make my own US albums collection. I grew up listening to my mom and dad's LPs: Meet the Beatles, Beatles 65, Beatles VI, Sgt. Pepper, the Blue album, and Love Songs. Then I would get most of the US albums on cassette until the CDs started coming out and been listening to them ever since. But after watching, I made my own albums. I don't have the money for the Capitol Albums sets or the US Box, so I just made them in iTunes. I also don't care about reverb and single vs. double-tracking or duophonic. I did have to purchase the instrumentals from the US AHDN and Help! I enjoy having a different listen. I have my UK albums with the singles tacked on and the US albums. My only complaint is I don't like Hey Jude or the one-off I made of tracks left off. Having I Should Have Known Better on the same CD as The Ballad of John and Yoko doesn't sound right.

[@holmes31100]

Of course when I was younger I could only get the U.S. albums, but now I much prefer the U.K. versions.

[@jnagarya519]

I like having the UK versions -- would like to have been able to afford them in 1968, when they first appeared in one major city record shop. But without the US versions, and the fact that their first several single releases in the US went nowhere, they may never have succeeded in the US. I was 15-16 when the were on the first Ed Sullivan Show. I grew up with them -- and the US LPs. (And the US release of "Sgt. Pepper's," which I'd read about prior to release, did not include the nonsense noise in the run-out groove of side 2: Capitol thought it simply excess noise and cut it.) In short, I'm not a snob about it. The US LPs (I wore out my first mono set, gave them away when replaced with the "stereo") are in my DNA, so the UK versions sound not only sonically different, but also odd. And it remains the fact that what "The Beatles" DID INTEND was MONO; the first several "stereo" were not stereo; they were two-track pre-mixed MONO. MONO because for marketing purposes the intent was to get records played on the radio -- which was MONO. They were not "panned" -- which pseudo-officianados don't understand: "panning" is a deliberate way of mixing. The early recordings themselves were always: all music on one track, all vocals on the other track -- that is not "panning"; it is pre-mixed MONO. In his book "All You Need is Love," George Martin details all of that, and how angry he was when EMI, when "The Beatles" hit, released the UNMIXED two-track MONO, as "stereo," because they sound like CRAP: that's why the "hole in the middle".

[@paulgentile1024]

@@jnagarya519 yes

[@njiuma]

me2

[@njiuma]

@@jnagarya519 - i hear you, but for me, as i first heard the "PPM" & "WTB" Parlophone Stereo versions, i personally prefer them to Mono, in part because you can hear the separation and really pick out what they were doing musically as with those preferring Capitol versions to Parlophone because (in part) that's what they first heard, i prefer Stereo to Mono UK versions although i did hear the Capitol Mono versions first

[@njiuma]

@@jnagarya519 - i actually like the original hard panned stereo Parlophone UK imports - it's true that the Beatles had nothing to do with their release, but it makes it easier to hear what they were doing musically, which is a cool thing - despite their mono intent

[@danielbean868]

What a treat! I didn't realize how many Beatles EP's & singles there were. Great work once again Joe! I agree about Rubber Soul; it was among my first Beatles albums and 'I've Just Seen A Face' knocked me out as an opener as a teenager and still does.

[@elementrypenguin3116]

Daniel Bean keep in mind that the US version of Rubber soul begins with I’ve just seen a face but it was originally a song on the Help album.

[@leonardoiglesias2394]

Any Beatles song is a knock out. Thats NOT THE POINT. You cant change Rubber Soul. Period.

[@aodhwan]

I grew up with the UK versions however I couldn't listen to the early albums for years because the stereo is so badly split between the speakers. The songs sound all wrong (CD listener since the 90s). Then on a whim I got the US Albums 2014 (CD version). It contains both stereo and mono versions of all the US albums and was only 60 Euro new. The mono made the early songs sound like how I remembered them again. I was wondering why they didn't sound right for all those years. I was so impressed I got the Beatles in Mono box set for 300 Euro new (CD version). I'm back listening to the first band I loved and I'm converted to the extra reverb on the early US albums. Great video.

[@dougiemilnephotography756]

I'm from Scotland, so the UK versions are canon as far as I am concerned. Nevertheless, I'm very fond of the US Help! instrumentals, but modern tech lets me create a hybrid of the UK and US versions, replacing side one of the UK album with the whole of the US version. It works a treat. It's also not quite true that Beatles singles were not included on albums. Please Please Me, A Hard Day's Night and Help! all included singles. But with only one exception, The Beatles never, ever released a UK single which was already available on a UK album. The exception was Something / Come Together from Abbey Road. In every other instance, the single was released in advance of the album.

[@davidholiday4494]

I also grew up in the states with the Capitol albums - I moved to England later - after they had broken up. I share very much the same sentiments with you. Especially regarding the soundtrack instrumentals - which I love (and particularly "Ringo's Theme"), "Yesterday & Today" I also really liked and there is certainly something to be said about how one first heard the albums as they were presented to us - the US audience. I now have in my collection all of the US albums and the UK albums - I still love listening to both. I agree totally with your ideas about "Rubber Soul" - everything you say feels true with me too. Thank you, very much for an interesting appraisal of this subject.

[@TailsSpain]

I understand the collection "The US albums" have the UK remaster sound...so, even if it is not the original US sound...is this an alternative way of obtaining the mono remasters if you cannot buy the Mono white box?

[@dougiemilnephotography756]

Yes and no. Some of the US mixes were different from the UK versions for one reason or another. These were: "Long Tall Sally" (mono) "I Call Your Name" (mono) "I'll Cry Instead" (mono) "Any Time at All" (mono) "When I Get Home" (mono) "And I Love Her" (mono) "I'll Be Back" (mono) "She's a Woman" (mono) "I Feel Fine" (mono) "Michelle" (mono) "The Word" (stereo) "I'm Looking Through You" (stereo) "I'm Only Sleeping" (mono) "Doctor Robert" (mono) "And Your Bird Can Sing" (mono) "We Can Work It Out" (stereo) "Day Tripper" (stereo) So yes, you'll get mono versions of all of the US albums, but they're not the same as the UK mono versions. The other thing is that the US albums only differed from the UK albums as far as Revolver, when The Beatles original contract with EMI expired. When they signed a new contract, they were sure to include a new clause forcing Capitol to release their albums exactly as The Beatles intended them to be released. So The US Albums box set does not contain the mono versions of either Sgt Pepper or the White Album.

[@classicrockcafe]

What do you think of the Collectors Items bootleg Beatles album? Tracklist A1 Love Me Do (Mono Alt Take) 2:22 A2 Thank You Girl (Mono Original Mix) 1:59 A3 From Me To You (Mono Original Mix) 1:54 A4 All My Loving (Stereo With Intro Count) 2:06 A5 This Boy (Stereo) 2:11 A6 Sie Liebt Dich (Stereo) 2:16 A7 I Feel Fine (Stereo) 2:15 A8 She's A Woman (Stereo) 2:57 A9 Help! (Mono Single) 2:16 A10 Paperback Writer (Stereo - Unreleased Mix) 2:24 B1 Penny Lane (Stereo Version Of Promotional Single P 5810) 2:57 B2 Baby, You're A Rich Man (Stereo) 2:57 B3 I Am The Walrus ("No You're Not!" Said Little Nicola) (Stereo) 4:34 B4 The Inner Light (Mono single) 2:30 B5 Across The Universe (Stereo) 3:44 B6 You Know My Name (Look Up My Number) (Mono) 4:15 I have two of these.

[@thevinylbird2269]

One thing that always got on my nerves was why Rain (my favorite Beatles song) was never included on the US Revolver

[@daytripper9222]

I grew up with all of these albums and i do agree with you. You are spot on about "I've just seen a face" opening up Rubber Soul. You know it's funny, i can't remember what i did five minutes ago but do remember the first time listening to these brilliant albums lol The one that really stands out as a kid is me lying on the bed staring at "Revolver" wondering which was the front and which was the back, and what really bugged me is i kelp looking at where it says who sang what and i couldn't figure out why John only had two songs. I was to young to figure out his other 3 songs were the one's on "Yesterday, and Today". Great video Joe.

[@leonardoiglesias2394]

It was a lie. You dont mess around with masterworks. But americans dont care about such things….they always know better…I love OUR version, they say… Terrible

[@scottbracken1284]

I was raised in California during the Beatles time. I was in 8th grade. (Don't know way I said that really) I never even heard of the UK versions until I was out of the Air Force in 1970, so I just bought the Capital versions. I always missed not seeing the albums I was raised with, after all, those were the versions I knew from school, dances, hanging out with the other kids from 1964 to when I married. So I understand your deep involvement with the Beatles. Thank you sir, you help those like me, who can't feel that connection with our history without your assistance! Thank you!

[@MeanMrMayo]

Thank YOU!

[@micolsen8895]

25:13 ....the USA Revolver comes off like an artsy album without the three guitar based tunes from John Lennon. Obviously, it's not as good as the UK version, but it does have it's own vibe. More piano and sitar than electric guitar. One example: "Eleanor Rigby" going straight into "Love You To" sounds more like the Yellow Submarine movie and the flower power era. 27:12 ....One big difference however, the original version on 60's (or 70's) vinyl was... the no break between songs approach (ie. Sgt. Pepper), that has been lost with the current version. That's what I call changing history. Great topic.

[@marty48]

"Artsy", cutting out I'm Only Sleeping? Ha!

[@tterapin]

Glad you did this video as I learned some things I didn't know or didn't pay attention to - Hope to see more like this in the future - Thanks for sharing and Take Care.

[@classic_colin]

Although I'm a U.S. citizen, I was born in 1993, so my initial introduction to most of the Beatles' discography was via the standardised 1987-1988 CDs of the UK discography (albeit with the Capitol LP release of MMT). But the first volume of the Capitol Records CD set came out and I begged for it, so that was my introduction to the early pre-Help era discography other than 'Please Please Me' which I already had on CD, and I adored Beatles '65 and felt that it was their absolute greatest album for some time. When I purchased the Past Masters Vol. 1 CD later on, I was shocked to hear a version of 'Thank You, Girl' without harmonica and the more anaemic sounding UK versions of 'I Feel Fine' and 'She's A Woman'. I find it strange that the U.S. version of Magical Mystery Tour was released, especially since the UK Double-EP release had a starkly discrepant track sequencing for the songs that comprise the first side of the Capitol Records release. Was that not the order in which George Martin and The Beatles intended the MMT soundtrack songs to appear? They could have simply released the British EP as it was sequenced in the UK and with the UK cover but with the non-album 1967 singles that made up the second side of the Capitol LP included, but it's interesting that the Capitol Records release of MMT was canonized from 1987-onwards over the UK release (it should also be noted that the edited version of 'Old Brown Shoe' from the Capitol 'Hey Jude' LP was initially the 'canonized' version on the 1988 'Past Masters Vol. 2' CD, but the 2009 re-master replaced it with the unedited 45 RPM version). Although I grew up with the British version of 'Rubber Soul', I almost exclusively listen to the North American Capitol Records version now, as I love 'I've Just Seen A Face' as an album opener and the unique mixes of Michelle on the mono release and Girl, as well as the folksy false-start on 'I'm Looking Through You' in the stereo mix. 'Yesterday & Today', 'Beatles VI', and 'The Beatles' Second Album' are wonderfully sequenced, but the Dexterized stereo mixes of the 'Beatles Second Album' release are a bit tasteless, as I see it. To this day, though, I fail to understand why 'Paperback Writer' & 'Rain' weren't included on the Capitol version of 'Revolver', 'From Me To You' on 'The Early Beatles', and 'The Inner Light' or 'You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)' on 'Hey Jude', and I vastly prefer the British 'Please Please Me', 'A Hard Day's Night', 'Revolver', and Double-EP sequencing of the 'Magical Mystery Tour' UK release to the Capitol Records sequencing of the first six tracks to 'The Early Beatles' and 'Introducing The Beatles', or the US version of Revolver, and I largely listen to 'With The Beatles' and Past Masters Vol. 1 over the first two Capitol releases as their mono mixes were generally fold-downs or of lesser sound quality, but I prefer the Capitol Releases for everything else.

[@classic_colin]

'There's A Place' and 'Misery' weren't included on 'The Early Beatles' either, Oh, and it should also be noted that technically the Capitol release of 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' may arguably constitute a separate regional variation from the UK release as the North American vinyl record pressings didn't include the backwards 'inner-groove'. Also, 'Penny Lane' received an alternate mix with additional piccolo trumpet soloing at the end of the song on a promotional Capitol Records Mono 45 RPM single in the USA, which was included in a stereo version on Rarities and a very poor-quality needledrop on the recent Sgt. Pepper's Super Deluxe Boxed Set. 'From Me To You' was never released by Capitol save for the '1962-1966' Red Album, but it did hit #41 on the Billboard Charts as a Vee-Jay 45 single release.

[@walesdad]

Terrific video and the most in depth and informative run down I've ever seen on the difference between the U.K. and U.S album releases by the greatest band of all time. It has certainly made me look at the U.S albums in a new light and I'm sure that were I a kid growing up in the sixties or seventies in America, then these would obviously be my "go too" releases also. I can remember first seeing albums like 'Hey Jude', 'Beatles '65' and both the movie soundtracks in the early seventies. Obviously they were only available in Britain as, for the time, reasonably expensive imports, and to be honest I did not take them too seriously. What with, what looked like, the random sprinkling of U.K. singles and their B sides all over them, plus orchestrated instrumental versions of Beatles songs from the film soundtracks, they were not particularly attractive items to get. The one glorious exception was the 'Magical Mystery Tour' album. I can remember seeing this in a local record store window and just thinking that I've got to get that. If I remember correctly it cost £4.00 ( US 5.50), laughable today I know, but back in '74 when I bought the thing my bring home pay was £15.00. So it was not cheap. Got it home, played it to death and fell in love with the really thick cardboard gatefold sleeve and array of pictures from the film. The Capitol label and the just general artwork and typography really gave it an exotic quality. The music was, of course, fantastic and I still have the album safely put away in a protective plastic sleeve. Enjoyed your content once again, I was lucky to be a kid in the seventies.

[@MeanMrMayo]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@tonygatos1]

Fantastic video! You covered a topic that generates lots of mixed feelings in serious Beatles fans. Hopefully those raised in America can appreciate both American and British versions.

[@recordmannj]

Absolutely in 100% agreement. I'm not a collector of your stature but I, being a young teen in the mid 60s, appreciate much more the sound and arrangements of the US releases. I have all the US capitol releases (not all first press) and since have collected 6 UK releases and much prefer the US releases sound and track arrangements.

[@skiddlybop8]

EMI keeps getting me rebuying this catalogue, Love the Giles Martin remixes, a new experience in listening on a par with the punch of the US albums and the clarity of the songs in my memory. My family wore out our Capitol LPs Beatles '65, Beatles VI and Rubber Soul.

[@JediMasterMason]

I agree with you about the Full length albums rather than EP’s!

[@billkeon880]

I do like the Help and HDN soundtrack instrumentals now (didn’t years ago) because they are charming examples of 60s style kitch. Great to have US and UK versions. More great music. ALL are great

[@njiuma]

I understand the attraction to the Capitol US versions. In the early seventies, they were my first introduction to the Beatles. They somehow capture & project the Fab Four high energy & fun of the Beatlemania era, capturing the powerful Beatles' influence of the time. The album covers were cool, the hottest songs compiled, so you got the Beatles' biggest hits & best rockin' album filler too. "Meet the Beatles" is probably the best Capitol version. However, I noticed immediately the excessive reverb and distorted compression on the US versions in the mid seventies, by comparison, when I bought a UK import of the "Please Please Me" album on Parlophone. The difference was striking: less reverb, less compression, less distortion on the British version. More dynamic range, though dryer, having less reverb. More songs, albeit many hits not featured on the UK records, noticeable when I got "With the Beatles" next. The UK Parlophone albums are decidedly superior to the US Capitol counterparts generally, and they capture the Beatles' & George Martin's creative intent.

[@MeanMrMayo]

I prefer the US quality these days, believe it or not. There will be a new FAB-GAB show here on my channel about this soon.

[@njiuma]

@@MeanMrMayo - i hear you, i DO also love the high energy way that Capitol captured the Fab Four Beatlemania thing sonically - i just like the clearer Parlophone UK mixes better - ironically, i prefer the Stereo ones to the Mono (purists tend to prefer the UK Parlophone Mono to Stereo)

[@RawKnee1111]

Your assessment of the US Rubber Soul is spot on. The 2 tracks that open side one and two fit perfectly to make a fine collection superior to the UK version. I also agree with your take on side 2 of the UK Help album being a "mish mash" sequence. I love all the songs, but the last thing I want to hear is Dizzy Miss Lizzy right after Yesterday. I feel in some ways, that was John's decision to remind fans that The Beatles are rockers.

[@joelgoldenberg1100]

Also, the Canadian stereo pressing of With the Beatles (called Beatlemania With the Beatles) is considered either the best or one of the best sounding mixes.

[@TheTigersfan20]

One of them also has a bad edit on Don’t Bother Me, where “don’t” is heard twice near the end.

[@kevindeibert3369]

I grew up on the American albums and didn’t know the albums were different until the CDs came out ! In some cases I still prefer the US mixes.

[@timallen2336]

Hey Joe, I definitely agree that the US mixes of Beatles albums are definitely ballsier that the UK mixes. When I listen to The Beatles earlier albums on CD I usually go the the two original Capitol Albums boxes. Beatles '65 in Stereo sounds especially nice. Help! is the only one that was mastered poorly. So I'm with you for the most part. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! Take care Joe...

[@johnalello9233]

Your absolutely right Mr.Mayo i was like you at first i didn't care for U.S. Capitol albums now i like Capital albums I've been listening to them the last 7 days and i think there better or just as good as U.K. versions They sound great i have the 2004 2006 and 2014 versions and now 1964 Capital box set coming out November 22 2024 maybe we need a volume 3 Capitol collection The song selections are more tight and just feel right! So maybe they should concentrate on the Capital albums with upgraded sound quality and your right Rubber soul Capitol is better!!!! MR MAYO WE need you incharge of Apple and Capital to get this rolling and reissue all Beatles Capital albums including Magical mystery tour Beatles Again Hey jude Beatles rarities Beatles Love songs Beatles rock n roll music Beatles ballads and Beatles at Hollywood bowl Beatles real music and get out all these Capitol compilations! Thanks Mr.Mayo enjoyed your presentation!

[@MeanMrMayo]

Thanks, John!

[@BouaphaTheGourdslayer]

I love this topic. I was born in the ‘90s so i’ve always known and still prefer the modern cd canon (uk albums + us mmt and past masters to fill in the gaps). However, my mom grew up in the ‘60s and listening to her experience has made me appreciate the us albums more than i used to. There are times now when i’m listening to a uk album and my brain forgets for a split second and expects the us sequencing.

[@cleftturnip7774]

Alot of the US covers look like bootleg covers to me. I need nowhere man on my rubber soul. Great shirt by the way.

[@enricosanchez894]

I always used to think the Hey Jude album was a bootleg.

[@bubaah]

Great insight on the US albums. I have both collections. Why are the reboot USA 'albums' only on CD? Still waiting for vinyl.

[@mattkilleen7174]

When I was kid in the late '70s - there were three songs you couldn't get on a U.S. album: 1) I'm Down, 2) The Inner Light, and 3) You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)... At least "From Me To You" was on 1962-1966. I hunted down the 45s in record stores. Then, Rarities had them all.

[@davidkornblatt991]

As a novice guitarist I don’t use reverb except if I want to sound like I’m in a cave. It’s an EARLY sixties special effect that by 1968 was used MUCH more tastefully later on, but really makes if used to excess, everything seem old fashioned

[@Nutspittle]

I definitely like the American albums better, especially Rubber Soul and Beatles VI. I’m just biased because I grew up with those.

[@hootenhtn]

And yes, there is also some reverb on the US "Help", not blatantly noticeable, but if you A-B the Stereo US + UK pressings, it will be evident from the start ("Help" + "The Night Before") that there is a bit more punch on the US via the wee reverb added. There were two US Stereo versions of "Rubber Soul." The more common uses the UK mixes, but on the East Coast and in Canada there was a Dave Dexter version out there from the mid to late 60's, using again just the smallest bit of reverb. Lastly: "Ticket To Ride" on the US "Help" is fake Stereo with also a little reverb.

[@tubecrazy65]

I appreciate the UK albums but the US albums I enjoy more because they have more of an emotional connection with me and the sentimental value means so much more to me as well when I really want to relax The Beatles and The Beach Boys are my go to bands

[@matthewstreet1961]

Count me in brother Joe! Preach it to me baby! Ha ha! I agree 100, I said 100 percent!! The US Revolver is the only "meh" one for me, because the UK Revolver with 5 Lennon songs is king. But I absolutely adore the US albums...like you, I grew up with those puppies! The US Rubber Soul is arguably the greatest Beatles album of all time! Yeah folks, it's that good! And like you, the Beatles 2nd Album is my favorite pure ROCK N ROLL album of all time!!!! That album is relentless in its ability to kick ass and take names! Take care, Matt Street

[@hootenhtn]

"The Beatles Second Album" is so highly regarded, that there was a book written about it.

[@childrenofminervaofficial4316]

When it comes to Revolver, only the UK version is valid. 14 songs.

[@MeanMrMayo]

There was no reason for the U.S. REVOLVER to contain the 3 songs that already appeared on the U.S. YESTERDAY AND TODAY album ahead of the UK.

[@marty48]

@@MeanMrMayo They could have included Paperback writer and Rain, or at least one of them. The way it was released, it was just a truncated version of the original album, with only two Lennon tracks.

[@DEEDSdude808]

Another great video, Joe! The video where you ranked the US Albums some years ago is how I first discovered your channel. I've been hooked ever since - Haha! Even though I like them all, The US HDN soundtrack is my all-time favorite BEATLES album cover. Take care! - Bob

[@MeanMrMayo]

BrotherBob1984 - Thanks, Bob!

[@Mincin17]

This video was a long time coming Joe. Because I grew up with the U.K. 1987 and 2009 CD remasters, I prefer the U.K. albums. However, I view the U.S. albums today as compilations that I spin from time to time when I want to hear a slightly different mix or running order.

[@mikem3382]

I grew up listening to the American versions as well, but I feel you minimized one of the biggest negatives of them, at least to me. If one of the attractions was that you got the singles included in the albums, then there really were too many songs that fell through the cracks on the Capitol albums. Misery, There's A Place, From Me To You (!!), Sie Liebt Dich, I'm Down, Love Me Do (Single Version), The Inner Light, Across The Universe, You Know My Name. I always thought that the Hey Jude album was a lost opportunity to gather all these lost songs, perhaps make it a double album or even spread it out onto another release, which you'd have to include a couple of unreleased songs at the time like maybe Leave My Kitten Alone or If You Got Troubles. I know we got Rarities later on, but that was 10 years after they broke up so it gets lumped in with the other releases of the 80s, which means kind of gimmicky.

[@Thomasgene]

I always come back to this one, In My opinion this is one of your top10 reviews! The American Albums are of course what i Bought and played tell i eas in College!

[@josephmantineo1376]

Great info on the American albums I have a few of these and love them thanks for showing and going over them!!

[@classicrockcafe]

My personal experience with the Beatles began with I Want To Hold Your Hand. Not, Love Me Do. I first became aware of IWTHYH in 1963, about this time of year, just before Christmas. And then I learned of I Saw Her Standing There, She Loves You, and All My Loving when they were broadcast on the Ed Sullivan Show, after which they got a lot of airplay on the radio. I became aware of Please Please Me and From Me To You, in March or 1964. In April, I became aware of, Twist and Shout, Can't Buy Me Love, Do You Want To Know A Secret, and Thank You Girl. It was not until May when I heard Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You. And at that time I thought that was the order those songs became existence. I did not learn of the true order until the Beatles were disbanded. And that was long after.

[@classicrockcafe]

I am from Canada and did not have access to the earliest American albums. I had, the Long Tall Sally LP instead of the Beatles Second Album. I did not hear your preferred version of Thank You Girl with the extra harmonica, before The White Album. That is when I started buying secondhand records.

[@es330]

The only thing about the US albums was that they didn't have From Me To You, Misery and and There's A Place. But I grew up with the US albums and loved them. To this day I pass at the English albums. And fact checking I feel Fine and She's A Woman; Martin did add reverb and bass specifically for the US mixes so that Capitol wouldn't need to add it like they did on other songs. Funny thing is Dexter ran it through the mastering adding more reverb and bass regardless thereby doubling it. So it backfired on Martin. You can hear those versions on the mono Beatles '65 of the 2014 Box set but on the stereo they used the 2009 English remasters.

[@willowsparks4576]

Just a heads up you can stream all of the US albums on services under the compilation section with 'The US Albums'

[@chatham43]

....what a fascinating video Joe...you make some very good points..very persuasive.....however you can never convince me about the opening track of Rubber Soul..it has to be DMC...but then I'm a Brit....its what I grew up with....if I was from your side of the pond I would probably feel differently.....and I much prefer the British released version of Thank You Girl with the more sparing harmonica.....but again its the version you grew up with....

[@richardjarrell3585]

28:45 One glaring problem with the Capitol version is that the run-out groove from the UK SGT PEPPER is not in the run-out groove so one can’t experience it correctly as a continuous track till one lifts the tone arm (from a high-end hifi manual turntable). The CD gives the better presentation.

[@MeanMrMayo]

Except I've always disliked that chattering in the inner groove. Always prefer PEPPER ending with the long last chord of A Day In The Life.

[@casperguylkn]

The 3 Revolver tracks on Yesterday & Today are unique mixes in North America, Japan and a few other countries in 66, mono and stereo. Bonus: the band Y&T drew inspiration for their name from the album title.

[@robbalboni4179]

hi joe, great presentation on this subject! I learned a lot about the british releases versus the American ones. I always preferred the u.s. releases myself as I liked their content and album designs. I guess they both have their place but the good old usa had the upper hand I thought. thanks for sharing this interesting and fun information, always good to learn something about the beatles catalog. rob

[@hootenhtn]

There's Dexter reverb on "The Early Beatles." Vee-Jay used the un-doctored UK mixes on "Introducing The Beatles." Also "Misery + There's A Place" were not included on "The Early Beatles", keeping the more common 11 song US norm. The two tracks did not appear on a Capitol album until years later, when they were included on the US "Rarities" with added reverb.

[@stevelang6727]

Being from the UK I am still not that familiar with the US albums with the exception of Magical Mystery Tour (which became canon with the '87 CDs), Hey Jude which I have on purple label vinyl (sounds great!) and Yesterday and Today (which I got on CD cos I love the peel off 'Butcher' cover).

[@beatlejames5745]

Nice video Joe. My take on this is it goes beyond personal memories and associations and more to do with what the Beatles themselves wanted put out, i.e. your number 1 point. For that reason I have no problem at all with people saying they prefer the US versions, but I find myself digging in on the issue of them being objectively 'better'. While I would agree that music business people might be better than an artist at identifying which song from a record is going to 'hit' as a single, I'm more sceptical than they have a better idea (i.e. truer to the band's artistic vision than the band itself) than the artist of how the tracks ought to be sequenced into a coherent whole. I speak purely as a British fan here, but to me the US albums are industry-curated compilation albums, using tracks taken from the actual Beatles albums, which are the albums the Beatles signed off on. Maybe if Capitol had liaised with the Beatles and George Martin and done it properly through them, according them ultimate respect and authority, I'd feel differently. Who knows, the Beatles themselves might have agreed to some of the changes, and even approved them. The fact is though, they weren't asked, and this was a symptom of that early to mid sixties situation where 'pop groups' were not accorded much in the way of artistic respect, and their music was viewed by 'the suits' as pure product, to be repackaged and changed around any which way to sell to 'the kids'...a situation which had rightly been transformed (ironically, largely by the sheer top quality of the Beatles' own album-making artistry) by the late sixties. I'm not going to make a video saying that any of that however, as I'll probably lose a third of my subs overnight. I'd never presume to tell US fans they were wrong to love or even prefer the American versions. Cheers, James

[@MeanMrMayo]

James Griffiths - Thanks for your input, James. My main point was that regardless of whether or not the Beatles "intended" this or that, it has absolutely nothing to do with how an album sounds (or it shouldn't, anyway, if one is being objectively honest). For example, does the sequencing and track content on, say, MEET THE BEATLES sound "bad" just because the Beatles themselves did not choose to place "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as the LP opener? It's still a great opener, regardless of who made the decision - and I think George Martin and the Beatles were incredibly short-sighted in not realizing this for themselves (for one example). I think that when enjoyment comes down to pure semantics it's not really fair. I would also ask just how far fans are required to go in order to preserve "the artist's integrity and intent"?... for instance, if the Beatles themselves always preferred Mono for their early first albums, is it required that we never listen to those in Stereo? Should we disregard listening to CDs because the Beatles and Martin took great pains to design their songs for "Side 1" and "Side 2" vinyl openers and closers? ..Shouldn't we all be listening to 45 Singles and B-Sides on individual records, instead of having collections like PAST MASTERS? After all, those B-sides and singles were not originally orchestrated to be thrown together on an "industry curated compilation album". ... And finally, I did not do research in order to find out an answer to a puzzle I'm unsure about: did Capitol always have the normal UK albums and tapes at their disposal each time they set out to make a USA record, or in fact did they need to rely on whatever tapes/masters/tracks they could get their hands on at the time?

[@beatlejames5745]

​@@MeanMrMayo I hear what you're saying, but try a thought experiment involving Capitol releasing a US version of Sgt Pepper in '67, featuring tracks from the UK Pepper along with a smattering of stuff from Magical Mystery Tour (not Strawberry Fields and PL). Presumably, what would have happened is US fans would have got to love that album in the same way they got to love the US Rubber Soul. Some of them would then make the case that the US Sgt Pepper was superior to the UK one, because (for example) Blue Jay Way and Does Your Mother Know worked much better in the track-list than Luck in the Sky and When I'm 64, which got taken off by a Capitol suit.. That perspective would be an utter mystery to UK fans who knew the actual, Beatles-sanctioned Pepper album. Really, that's no different to my feelings when US fans say the US Rubber Soul LP works better than the UK one. I don't deny the sincerity of their view, or their right to hold it, but to me there's the album 'Rubber Soul', then there's a Capitol-sanctioned compilation album that collected together tracks recorded during the Rubber Soul and Help! sessions and put them together on one record which then (unlike on previous occasions) got released using the same cover art and title as a contemporaneous original UK Beatles record. In a slightly different version of events, Capitol might have decided to go with a different title and cover as on previous occasions, so that Help/Rubber Soul hybrid record would have ended up being called 'At Home With The Beatles' or something like that (probably a better title than that!). If at that point a US fan told me 'I prefer At Home With The Beatles to 'Rubber Soul', I would accept that opinion unconditionally. But I tend to find myself rejecting the premise on which the assertion 'The US Rubber Soul is better than the UK Rubber Soul' is built. Perhaps the crux of the issue for me is simply that the US Rubber Soul is not just the UK version with tracks taken off or re-sequenced - it's a mixture of the tracks from Rubber Soul and tracks from a completely different album, recorded during different sessions, and representing the Beatles' artistic development during a slightly earlier, artistically distinct phase.

[@MeanMrMayo]

James Griffiths - It's kind of moot to me to consider what might have occurred if PEPPER had been given the "Capitol treatment", because it wasn't ... however, if we engaged in an experiment there, why would you exclude "Strawberry Fields" and "Penny Lane" from the equation? The ironic thing is, if Capitol HAD included both SFF and PL on their version of PEPPER, it might actually make many fans happy rather than disappointed (I'm playing Devil's Advocate there because so many fans gripe that both SFF and PL "should" have been on the PEPPER album in 1967 - which George Martin himself was always regretful never happened!). But I'm glad PEPPER remained PEPPER in both countries, because it was definitely a true work of art which was arguably their first real "conceptual vision", if you like. ... A reason why the US version of PEPPER you mention with "Blue Jay Way" and "Your Mother Should Know" could NOT exist most likely, is because they're from the film MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR which was not even filmed at the time PEPPER was issued, and came along much later. (You also mention in your scenario that suppose "Lucy" and "When I'm 64" would have been taken OFF by "a Capitol Suit" - yet, as I've asked earlier, do we know if this was in fact what the Capitol people were doing, or did they just have to run with whichever songs they were given to deal with at the time?). ... Regarding RUBBER SOUL . as I said in the video, you need to consider that in the actual 1960s when these US records were first released, fans of that time actually discovered them and grew to love them as soundtracks to their own life's experiences - a part of their youth, if you will - and so they were a very REAL part of the Sixties for them, not just some latter-decade "retro thing". The best example of this is Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys - who grew up adoring RUBBER SOUL - that's the USA Version - which inspired him to create his classic PET SOUNDS album. I still think that hidden tracks from the UK HELP! album such as "I've Just Seen A Face" and "It's Only Love" were given much more attention/exposure/respect by being featured as opening cuts on Side 1 and Side 2 of the US RUBBER SOUL ... they were viewed in a much stronger light, if you will. Even if the Beatles and George Martin did not intend it that way.

[@larryhill7286]

The argument that 'Seen A Face' and 'Only Love' were from a different developmental period is actually somewhat valid I guess, but only bc the Beatles were traveling at light speed in terms of growth. ANY other 60s band that included a couple of songs recorded 5-6 months earlier on an album wouldnt even raise an eyebrow. But having said this, its certainly not like side 1 opened with There's A Place and side 2 with Im Down. Even as a 1974 hoarder of the Beatles albums (after getting 62-66 in 73 and seeing the list of albums for the first time and thinking damn, I'll never get those) Rubber Soul was instantly a very accoustic album and I loved it for that reason. Personally Drive My Car (not a favorite) and Nowhere Man ( a favorite) just seem out of place grouped with the rest of the album. Nowhere Man got special treatment here as a (#1) single too

[@reylopez4050]

3M, I played my old Help album movie sountrack album, and the James Bond intro took me back instantly, I forgot about that. Love that album.

[@tonythebologna4790]

The one thing I like about the US stuff it's generally more easier/cheaper to get compared to the UK ones from the same era

[@paulperigo721]

Totally respect your point of view Joe. Beatles is Beatles. We used to listen to Transistor radios but now we have Dolby Atmos for instance. Their music is the best and will live on whichever way it’s received. Thanks again 🙏

[@Konngeman]

I'll cry instead has an extra verse only on the US soundtrack album, but on the Something New it is as long as UK version. Check it out.

[@MeanMrMayo]

Konngeman - Slight correction: One of the versions of SOMETHING NEW does contain the song with the extra verse. It is either the Mono or the Stereo one. It's not only the US soundtrack LP.

[@Konngeman]

Now we're talking. i do have the stereo version, so it means that the mono has longer version.

[@colinbaker3916]

Slight correction. On the Magical Mystery Tour double EP set, Blue Jay Way also took up one side.

[@MeanMrMayo]

Coln Baker - Even worse! Thanks ... wish I had noticed that when I made the video!

[@colinbaker3916]

MeanMrMayo That’s fine. It’s a brilliant video, and a delightful way to have a difference of opinion. By the way, aged 10, I received that double EP as a Christmas present from my sister in 1967. I still have it, though the middle pages with the lyrics no longer stays in place. The night of Boxing Day, we were watching the film round my uncle’s in black and white. We never made it to the end!

[@richardjarrell3585]

21:24 Another plus to the HELP! instrumentals is the introduction of Indian sounds prior to the George Harrison sitar on RUBBER SOUL.

[@sause123]

With the extra harmonica in thank you girl in the middle and at the end the stereo version has the extra harmonica during the bridge and at the end but they don’t include that on the mono version and I also don’t know why you don’t get the added harmonica in the middle and at the end on the mono version

[@frederickfranchi6408]

Easily the best video you have ever done. I can't agree more with everything you said and yes I almost flipped out when I heard the British version of rubber soul and I just seen a face was not the opening track, blasphemy!!!! I was hoping that they would put out vinyl versions of the US albums I wouldn't buy them all but a few of them like the Beatles second album and Rubber Soul I would definitely pick up what do you think would you like some new US reissue vinyl???😎✌

[@MeanMrMayo]

Frederick Franchi - Glad you liked the video. Actually, I would not really want the old US albums to be reissued on new vinyl, because I am a fan of originals and it's more fun for me to seek out the vintage stuff. But if it makes others happy getting them newly re-released, that's fine too.

[@karenjones8899]

I am in the UK and started collecting Beatles when I was eight years old in 1963. So I grew up listening to the UK albums. One thing you have to remember in Britain in the early 60’s was that the record companies weren’t that interested in albums . They were only concerned about the singles market. Then The Beatles came along. and the Please Please Me album spent most of 1963 at number one in the album chart. It only replaced at number one by With The Beatles. Which is why so many singles were released that were not on albums. Albums were also really expensive and that is why there were a lot of eps released in the UK. I have mixed feelings about the US albums . I love the US version of Rubber Soul., and the second album. The problem with Revolver in the US is that it is unbalanced because the tracks that were on the earlier album were all John’s vocals. Only leaving She Said she said and Tomorrow never knows on the US album. I listen to both the US and UK versions of the albums.

[@glass_oni0n]

to quote Ringo, "forgive the lateness of my reply," but i think Capitol missed an interesting opportunity with Revolver. the more i think about it, the more i feel as though Paperback Writer and Rain "fit" on Revolver a lot better sonically than Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine. not to say those songs shouldn't be on the album, but in terms of suiting the vibe, it's always been funny to me that Paperback Writer and Rain ended up being the non-album single while Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine was the single pulled from Revolver. i've always wanted to hear a sequence of Revolver with the non-album single included, had Capitol done that it would have made a much more worthwhile album in the generations to come. i'm a US fan born post the catalog standardization, so the UK has always been definitive for me. Revolver was actually the first CD i bought with my own $$ and i vividly remember "I'm Only Sleeping" being the song that hooked me, I can't bear to think of the album without that song. I do hold a lot of reverence for the Beatles US catalog though, currently trying to weight whether or not I should have the US CD box.

[@harveycan5820]

This was an excellent presentation! I was just 6 when the Beatles hit Ed Sullivan. I had one of those crappy plastic kiddie record players but the Beatles still sounded great on the US Capitol records. I had them all. That was how tens of millions in the US heard them, and I didn't learn about the UK records until the early 80s. I bought them as "imports" and then those versions became the ones used for CD releases in the later 80s. Until the Capitol Albums came out the UK versions were what I heard for 20 years. When I first put on Meet the Beatles from the Capitol box my brain exploded - - THIS was how the Beatles "really sounded" to me! Capitol really nailed it on the CDs, they sounded exactly as they had in the 60s. The energy and brightness from the compression, the reverb, the running orders... I loved it! Like many, I agree that the packaging sucked for the Capitol Albums release. There were bootleg versions I found that copied the Capitol records AND the ordinal packaging with the inner sleeves showing all the other Capitol artists. That was a nice touch! I wish there had been a Capitol Vol 3 that would have had Revolver, Yesterday & Today, Beatles Story, MMT and maybe Hollywood Bowl. My only critiques for your show are: Just as with Help! MMT was a gatefold with a killer booklet about 35 pages that showed the story of the movie. It was on very high quality paper, too. It would have been nice to have mentioned and shown that. You didn't mention Beatles Story which, though not an album of music, was still very important to us as far as learning the mythology of the Beatles. It was a double album and also a gatefold! Those were my only observations on an otherwise well-presented case! I very much agree with you that the USA Help! with the film music and James Bond intro is superb! I hated the movie music when I was a kid but now I love it. And Rubber Soul USA version is a totally great record, especially due to I've Just Seen a Face as the first track. Spot on! I did not buy the the official US Albums box in 2010s as they subbed in many UK mixes, which I thought was a crime against history and just not necessary. Let people hear the differences. Bad move by the Beatles Industry. You could do a show on the Capitol reel-to-reel versions which had variant mastering, and also the 8-track versions which had different running orders due to time considerations. The 8-tracks also switched tracks mid-song sometimes, and faded as they hit the transition then faded up as they came back for the continued track. I don't recall about cassettes but maybe they had variations, too. Thanks again for tackling this problem in a fresh and spirited way!

[@Jack_The_Ladd]

I think (as U.K listener) you have a point about the U.K. albums being too sterile that’s why I bought the Mono C.D box set I think the mono versions are a lot better especially the earlier albums.

[@THectOrtiz]

I like the U.S. mixes. As a kid, I had The Beatles 20 Greatest Hits cassette which I listened to over and over from beginning to end. If I’m not mistaken, those were U.S. mixes of the songs.

[@Beatlecat1]

Great video, Joe. I enjoyed it very much, as I do all your videos. Take care.

[@thegoodsgone1965]

The U.S. versions of Help! and "A Hard Day's Night" are great in their own right, they're more like film soundtrack albums than the UK versions.

[@EmmanuelGoldstein3]

The only truly indefensible thing Capitol did was the emasculation of Revolver, where they didn't replace the excised songs with anything. The absurdly obvious thing to do would have been to add Paperback Writer and Rain, given that that was the contemporaneous single, and they'd done that with the previous releases. I'm Down was also probably still fresh enough to be viable. I didn't grow up with the US versions, so I have no emotional attachment to them. But we did have two Beatles albums: Yesterday and Today and Magical Mystery Tour. YaT now seems like a bizarre mashup of three different albums from completely different eras, but at the time it held together seamlessly, and the songs very much felt like they belonged together. And while I now totally follow the UK lineup, this leads me to believe that for the most part these collections really are largely arbitrary, and that our feeling that they belong together mostly comes from our having heard them together. I also kind of like the extra bite that the Yesterday and Today mixes of the Revolver songs have. When I first heard the "real" versions I had the feeling of, something's missing here.

[@MeanMrMayo]

I defended the U S. REVOLVER. 😎

[@georgeprice4212]

Have to say that I currently only have one Capitol US album, The Beatles Second Album, in its original 1964 mono release. It holds its own with the British catalog, to be honest.

[@mrbeatlespro]

Didn’t need to change my mind,I’ve been partial to the u.s. versions for a long time. It took me awhile to get used to the u.k. Versions after the cds came out. Nice thing was when capitol released the US albums on cd it was like listening to them new all over again. Great video joe

[@fanboy2015]

Incredible video Joe, incredible. I’ll be watching this one many times. In many aspects, some US albums are superior. MEET THE BEATLES always sounded more energetic than WITH THE BEATLES. The one-two punch of the first two tracks on MEET made all the difference. I Used to own BEATLES ‘65 in the 80s, my favorite track was I FEEL FINE. Loved the heavy reverb on it. When I bought PAST MASTERS VOL 1, it really depressed me the way that song sounded there. Thankfully I have the CAPITOL ALBUMS VOL 1 & 2 set with all that glorious reverb. BEATLES FOR SALE sounds boring compared to ‘65. Great looking design on the jacket, but just never quite made me listen to it a lot. MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR is Capitol’s greatest contribution. In fact, I prefer the B side to the A side, which as we all know is the actual MMT EP. Never owned YESTERDAY AND TODAY, but what a track listing.

[@DAYHOMEONE]

What is great and smart is that they've released both. If it's what you grew up with and loved, you deserve to have access to it. You were as much a part of the Beatles success as anyone. Give the people what they want. I will say this though, the added reverb on the American releases was a mixed bag. Sometimes they were over the top. Perhaps in the days when audio standards were lower it was less noticeable. With a song like I Feel Fine it's way too much. It sounds like your listening to a record played at full volume out of your neighbor's garage! The UK version is perfect. On the other hand I actually think it improved the sound of the song No Reply. The American version with the reverb sounds livelier. So I have an open mind about it.Also I would never say for example, Hey Jude wasn't a real album. It was the only place in the day where you could have all those songs together on a long playing record. The Beatles value for your money argument is a good one and in a way encouraged the Beatles to produce that much more music, since a single release guaranteed it was out of the running to go on a record. On the other hand putting these songs on a long playing record also meant you didn't have to get up every three minutes to change a record because you were listening to a 45. Hey Jude, btw, was a record I got for Christmas and absolutely loved it. It had one of the coolest cover photos ever, one we never would have seen otherwise. And let's not forget Magical Mystery Tour, an album that didn't exist in the UK that had a terrific gate fold with a a great illustrated version of the movie we Americans didn't get to see with a bunch of super pictures.I ever dig the first real post career collection release, the infamous RED and Blue albums. We loved them growing up. With the Beatles there is no wrong way and you can never get enough!

[@filmandstage13]

For me, the clear US winners: Meet the Beatles, The Beatles’ Second Album, Beatles ‘65, Magical Mystery Tour, and Rubber Soul. Being a millennial, the only reason I actually stumbled across the US catalogue was looking for the Capitol mix of The Word with Lennon’s vocals doubled in the verses. And when I heard I’ve Just Seen a Face open the album, I was blown away. Made me check out their other releases, and I’m so glad I did!

[@MeanMrMayo]

filmandstage13...Good album choices!

[@WhitneyHouston4eva1]

As the saying goes we learn something new every day. I grew up with the UK albums and discovered the US ones through watching you and Beatle Brad. I will in the future look into some of these American releases. Everyone has their own opinion on which they prefer, the Brits are gonna prefer the British releases and the Americans the US ones especially those that were brought up on those in the 60s.

[@tellemstevedave5559]

I grew up with the original album releases on cd. I later purchased all of the US albums on vinyl and that's mainly what I listen to now. The reason is I know the tracklist so well on the UK versions and like the surprise of the US tracklist. Some of the mixes aren't as good but I do like that they included singles. I'd say Rubber Soul and Revolver are the only albums where I wish they were untouched. The early stuff isn't as sacred to me.

[@joebloggs8636]

i love my MEET THE BEATLES. i have a second pressing MONO, only "problm" is...its still sealed!...i love it

[@thomastimlin1724]

Don't get me started on the remixes....

[@casperguylkn]

Great video. I have a fondness for some of those American LPs, especially Rubber Soul. I am an early 2nd Gen Beatles fan, born right after breakup by about a year or so. I have had most of them at one time or another, in all sorts of conditions. From poor to mint. I'd say anyone who wants to enjoy the vinyl and is looking for used originals, condition will dictate price and they won't be cheap. I would search out late 70s to 80s reissues, where they will show up usually in much better shape and the quality overall is much better. Specialty, Allied and even sometimes Columbia did the vinyl work. Some are on virgin vinyl. 83 Capitol Rainbow issues are my personal faves.

[@brads2362]

I'm in between generations on this in that I grew up with most of the Capitol albums, but the CDs came out when I was teen and I immediately switched and became acclimated to the British versions. What I miss is the Bond theme start on Help (thought it was part of the song) and the false start on I'm Looking Through You, which I still almost expect to hear.

[@Nazz1967]

Great video . I grew up on the uk versions myself , having said that here in Australia we had different covers for Beatles for sale & With the Beatles . I love the US albums , I love the covers & the song choices .

[@paulkazakoff9231]

yes I have a copy of the Australian Beatles for sale and quite cool ! I'm glad Capitol didn't screw around with those last five or so albums. Amazing they got a licence of sorts to change any of their albums !

[@MelindaMurphy]

This was a great video. You make a very convincing argument. You even brought up things I hadn't thought of before. I am just going to continue to love all The Beatles albums no matter where they come from. Thank you Joe!

[@MeanMrMayo]

Melinda Murphy - Glad you enjoyed the video, Melinda. Well said too about enjoying all various Beatles albums. Just subbed to your channel.

[@pegasus5547]

The only one I can get behind is magical mystery tour

[@tommytorres5825]

Great information and video!

[@enricosanchez894]

You made a good point that the UK LP Please Please Me was designed to cash in on the success of the Please Please Me single, while on this side of the Atlantic, Meet The Beatles cashed in on the success of the I Wanna Hold Your Hand single. EMI, by the way, owned Capitol Records, so apparently the Apple didn't fall too far from the tree.

[@H20WarBabies]

Hi Joe! Thanks so much for this video! My favorite of yours to date. To me, the U.S. version of Rubber Soul is the definitive version.

[@thechuckster6838]

I'm with you 100%! Rubber soul will forever open with I've just see a face. The British version is lame in my book. I grew up with the US albums and I cannot live without the reverb on the early track. Beatles Second album is also my favorite of the early ones because it rocks big time and it sounds huge with the reverb. When I bought the last CD box set of US albums, I was not a happy camper except for the mono I feel fine which includes the reverb. I made my own stereo version of I feel fine with the reverb, by using the sterile UK version and matching the reverb sound through protools. This is a great video and you explain it perfectly.

[@closetkrishna]

For me the US albums weren’t as intended, the Beatles never liked what Capital did to them, mainly to milk the record buying public, after turning the Beatles down like 2-3 times lol changed their minds when they realised what money they were losing