Mixology: The Mono/Stereo Mix Differences Podcast

Hello Friends! Well, it's finally time for the big one - and not just that today marks Episode 100 of the show. After 6 months of planning, work, and research, we have arrived at what will surely be the peak of the Mixology format, our extensive look at Bob Dylan's 1966 classic Blonde on Blonde. Issued in both mono and stereo as a 14-track double LP, the album was subject to a partially revised stereo mix, issued as soon as 1966 in some countries (Australia never got the initial stereo mix for example), while the UK & Canada got a stack of exclusive mono mixes (more in the latter), and even France got a handful too. Many of the singles from the album were also heavily edited, and in the case of one, remixed too. This gives us a total of 52 vintage mixes and edits from the 60s period for this album - but the fun doesn't stop there...

From the dawn of the CD era, this album has only been issued in remixed form, with new mixes being issued in 1987, 1992, and 1999, the latter of which is the mix you'll find available today. A number of the original and revised mixes have thankfully slipped out on compilations through the years, but for the most part these remain exclusive to the vinyl issues of these albums. Regardless, these remixed albums increase our mix look to a whopping 94 unique mixes and edits for this episode.

As a result, our extensive run-time today comes as no surprise, and is well deserving of placement as episode 100 of Mixology. I hope you're sitting comfortably, with your Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat on tight, because we're in for one heck of a ride.

I also want to give a huge thank you to two people whose assistance proved invaluable in the research of this episode. When it came to CD sources for the vintage mixes, James Messina came to me having done the majority of the dirty work, locating discs from all over the world as reference to ensure we had the best sources at hand for comparison. Without him this episode could not be as analytically sound as it is.

Even moreso though I must thank Roger Ford from electricdylan.net, an essential resource for the 1965-66 period of Dylan's career. Much of what you'll hear me cover today comes from the extensive notes present on Roger’s website, and I certainly could never have known the true extent of the mix mountain for the album without his research. Roger has also kindly been extremely helpful along the way in pointing me in the correct direction of sources I needed to pickup for the episode, and without him, this episode could not have been as comprehensive and complete as the final result has become.

And now, it's time for you to all become a part of it. The world - not the album - that is the Thin, Wild, Mercury Sound of Blonde on Blonde.

Happy Listening,

Frederick

Patreon

Hello Friends! Here we are, at episode 99, and what better way to hit the end of double digits with than The Kinks curio of a live album from 1967/68 [US/UK], Live at Kelvin Hall. Notorious for its overbearing loop of screams edited into the mixdown, the album is nothing if not an exciting listen. But what of the two mixes available for this sonic experience? Well, between the Stage Front of the Mono and the Hall Rear of the stereo, they couldn't be more different, including heavy echo usage in stereo only, entirely different guitar overdubs throughout in each mix, and a generally different balance and track edits in each. All-in-all, a vastly different experience that can be hard to initially quantify. So come on now - Batman wants answers!

Happy Listening,

Frederick

Patreon

Hello Friends! It's Beatle time here on the show again, as we finally round out our look at all the catalog LPs in the Beatles canon with a look at 1963's With the Beatles. Originally issued in mono and stereo, this twin-track recording seems like a simple comparison on the surface - and yes, many of the tracks are - but there's some real hidden secrets in these mixes that demand your attention, including unique overdubs in each mix, alternate edit pieces used, and a couple of odd balance moments independent of each other. We also have a couple of curious international variations, one with some extraneous session sounds, and the other the fault of a tape machine. Of course, MONEY makes a completely worthy climax to this knock-out programme. Hope it doesn't leave you too breathless to flip back to Side One for a repeat-play session WITH THE BEATLES.

Happy Listening,

Frederick

Patreon

Hello Cabbages! This week on the show we're taking our first full-length look at Chad & Jeremy, addressed here by their full names, and their 1967 statement piece Of Cabbages and Kings. A tale of two sides, this takes an already very progressive baroque-folk set of songs on Side 1 and pairs it with The Progress Suite on Side 2 - a 5 part, most instrumental look at the rise and fall of society and the politics surrounding it. It's a grand, Gary Usher produced statement of an album that lands for the most part, but how do it's two mixes stand up? Well, for the most part the mono and the stereo are equally strong, especially over speakers, and I never truly feel left wanting from the mixes, but there's plenty of little details that make each unique. So with these two LPs in hand, and a 45 edit/mix of opening cut 'Rest in Piece' trailing behind, let's dig into this album to deep which is the Cabbage, and which is the King.

I've also got to once again give a huge thanks to Ethan Alexanian from the Fans on the Run podcast for his work on the flatlay artwork for today's episode.

Oh, and I want a word with whoever decided to put my name on a gravestone at the start of the album. I'm a little suss now...

Happy Listening,

Frederick

P.S. If you want more Chad & Jeremy, we looked at 'Paxton Quigley...' b/w/ 'You Need Feet: last month over at the Patreon on Mixology on 45. 

Hello Friends! We're moving into the land down under this month on the show, with a look at the fantastic 2nd LP from Australia's own The Twilight, Once Upon a Twilight. Issued in 1968 in mono and stereo exclusively in Oz, the album has since been reissued on CD, including a Mono/Stereo issue by Aztec. Sadly, this uses a fold-down of the stereo for the mono presentation, while the original LP is wonderfully a dedicated mono affair, complete with drier vocals, and some wildly different use of effects throughout this very 'studio' production. This is a wonderful piece of late 60s Pop-Psych, and if you're a fan of The Beatles' 1967 efforts, or The Hollies' Butterfly, you'll love this album. Not convinced? What a silly thing to do! Be Mr. Nice and Take Action - the Blue Roundabout is waiting!

Happy Listening,

Frederick

Patreon

Hello Friends! Today we're completing our look at the Bee Gees' catalog* here on the show, with their first international release Bee Gees 1st from 1967. Issued originally in both mono and stereo mixes, I was shocked at how much stronger the stereo mix here was than the rather poor showing on Horizontal, generally being comparable to the mono, with a couple of exceptions. But what are these exceptions, and what makes some of the stereo mixes stand out above their mono mixes? Well send those vocals to the echo chamber and turn up those orchestration overdubs, as we head down to Cucumber Castle for the Turn of the Century.

Happy Listening,

Frederick

*Remember, non-LP tracks such as 'Words' & 'I've Gotta Get a Message to You' can be found on Mixology on 45 over at the Patreon

Hello Friends! It's time to hop back on the Beach Boys train this month with a look at the group's 2nd LP of 1965, the commercial smash Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!). Containing huge hits 'Help Me, Rhonda' and 'California Girls', the album was only initially issued in mono and Duophonic stereo back in 1965, but once the late 90s hit, the album steadily gained true stereo mixes of it's tracks, until in 2012 the whole album received it's first true stereo edition, using many of the previously issued mixes, and some additional ones created for this issue. However, those stereo mixes had been changed multiple times prior - not always with notice - giving us a perplexing bevy of mixes to look into, along with an alternate fade on the single version of 'California Girls', and a unique 2003 DVD-A mix of 'Summer Means New Love'. In short, you'll need an entire summer day and night to digest it all!

A huge thanks to @vinylbenjy on instagram for his second flatlay artwork to grace the show while my collection makes it's way between countries!

Happy Listening,

Frederick

Hello Friends! As promised, it's finally time to blaze it up, with the 1967 LP from the much derided Herman's Hermits, Blaze. Issued in October of that year, the album was not issued at the time in the UK (though formed popular on the import market), the album comprised of 10 tracks produced by the ardent lover of mono, one Mickie Most. This overall leads to a generally simple stereo presentation, including two reprocessed stereo tracks (though not necessarily of the same mono mixes), but this does not mean these don't feature some significant differences.

Things get more interesting when we bring in Ron Furmanek remixes from 1991 of the first 7 tracks for the album. If one hasn’t heard a Ron Furmanek remix before, it’s important to understand his sound for the period. These are very clean and open mixes, and compared to the often heavy compression and EQ used on ‘60s mixdowns, Ron prefers to keep it dynamic and dry, heavily aided by his very ahead-of-the-curve syncing of stage tapes, albeit with some minor sync issues sadly. I personally find them more fascinating insights than actual preferred listening experiences, and the tracks as presented on the Bear Family set also appear to have a bloated sounding EQ, especially apparent when moving from the ‘60s mixes, so do keep all these pointers in mind as we compare.

As a little bonus, I’m going to be including the song ‘Mum & Dad’, which was recently brought to my attention by Andrew Sandoval as excised from the LP late in the production, present in the tracklist (but not audio) for the US reel-to-reel release, as the second to last track on the LP. Of course, this eventually saw release on The Best of Herman’s Hermits Volume III in the US only, which gave us true mono and stereo mixes of the track, and we were treated to a remix from Ron again for this one.

All in all, this makes for an episode that was far more fun to make than I was expecting, and it was very much one initially done out of the love for the album over anything else. And hopefully you learn a lot too! 

Hello Friends! We're back with our first proper Mixology breakdown of 2024, taking our first look on the show at The Searchers, and their fantastic 1965 LP Take Me For What I'm Worth. The last LP issued by the group until their late 70s renaissance, the album sees the group moving in a Folk Rock direction, and deep in the throws of a love affair with the echo chamber, giving us some wonderful differing echo levels between the two mixes, along with a few other tidbits. An album deeply worth your time, it's time to see which mix you should be after - if you don't just take either for what they're worth!

Happy Listening, 

Fans on the Run Podcast (feat. Frederick French-Pounce)