Beatles

Best Ever "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band"?

Michael Fremer | Nov 22, 2012

Back in 1996 EMI contemplated a newly-remastered 30th anniversary CD edition of "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. While the company later issued a 30th anniversary edition of The Beatles (The "White" Album) complete with a transparent slip case, black inner sleeves and the poster and photos originally included in the vinyl version, the 30th anniversary Sgt. Peppers... was never released. I know about it because I was peripherally involved.

The album had been remastered at Abbey Road but it was felt that another version should be mastered elsewhere, in America. A mastering engineer friend called and asked if I knew where to get ahold of the particular model Studer machine used to originally master the album and I did!

Geoff Emerick arrived in New York with the master tape housed in a lead container under his arm and my reward was to get to hear it and meet Geoff. Not bad!

I took the opportunity to play for him Mobile Fidelity's stereo version and a red Japanese Odeon mono edition. Emmerick listened to the Mo-Fi for a few minutes and then insisted I take it off the turntable: "That's rubbish!" he exclaimed angrily. "They tipped up the top end." I recall him calling the EQ "grotesque" but my memory might be embellishing.

In any case the playback was memorable as you can imagine though at this point my system is much better than what was in that mastering suite. However, I wouldn't try to tell you that my sonic memory is good enough for me to remember what I heard so I could compare that to this new reissue or to the original pressing for that matter.

As I was about to leave the mastering suite I was given another "reward" for my efforts and that would be an unmastered CD copy of the master tape! And no, you can't have a copy. My understanding is that the 30th anniversary reissue was never released because no one could agree on which mastering was better on a track by track basis and so they just gave up.

Honestly, that CD sounds quite good for a CD as you might imagine, but I never took the time to compare it to my original UK pressing. Nor did I immediately think to pull it out for this review until I had a chance to listen to this vinyl reissue and compare it to the original.

Forget about analog vs. digital: this reissue sounds not at all like the original pressing. It has been completely re-imagined via EQ or whatever to sound like a completely different album. It's almost like what happens when a great work or art is "restored" and the patina that has accumulated through the ages is removed revealing a more colorful, three-dimensional vibrant edition.

Not everyone likes when that happens and there's no real way to know what the picture actually looked like when it was first painted though art historians have a good idea. Still, fans of fine art and of certain painters seem never to be happy about these restorations.

Once I'd listened to this reissue and compared it to the original I realized I had that CD so I excitedly retrieved it from the dusty CD rack and compared. Very interesting!

But first, let's talk about the reissue. If your brain synapses are arranged around the original pressing, as mine is, the opening few tunes are an absolute mind blower. I remember buying the American original at an E.J. Korvette's in Douglaston, NY. back in the spring of 1967. I had gone there just to see what was new, not knowing Sgt. Peppers... had been released. In fact I walked past the big display not knowing it even was a Beatles album! Like the cover itself, the store, perhaps at Capitol's behest had no signage!

Once I realized what it was, of course I bought it. I drove home too quickly, pulled out my little vial of bad weed, put some in a tobacco pipe and took a few tokes in the backyard of my parent's home (I had returned from college), ripped off the shrink wrap, slipped the record on my parents' Dual 1009SK, put on my Koss Pro4A headphones, flipped out the lights and had a listen.

For most of it I just sat there mouth hanging open but when the hounds and the fox hunters crossed between my ears I lost it and started laughing far louder than I thought because suddenly my mother was shaking me and asking what was going on? Talk about quick downers!

But enough about me! Here's what I think is going on here: when this album was originally mastered in 1967 the monitoring gear was not nearly as good as it is now. Abbey Road now uses B&W 800D speakers for that. This reissue features a totally new EQ compared to the original pressing.

It's a far more transparent sounding record. Instrumental separation is maxxed out almost like a 3D movie can be generated from one shot in 2D. You hear it immediately in the audience sound effect at the beginning. The audience is further back in space and more individual details emerge.

At first, the sound is startling. In some ways it sound like the album has been repainted on black velvet with each individual element now separated from what had previously been a carefully woven tapestry. It's as if the mix has been picked apart to give each element more to say.

Yes, the original sounds somewhat hazy by comparison as if on the reissue the proverbial veils have been lifted (an audiophile cliché) I try to avoid. Bass is deeper and fuller, the midrange is far clearer and transparent. "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" has always been a sonic painting suggesting neon but now the tape loop effects are neon against a black velvet background. I'm not going to do a track by track "walkthrough" as in the Revolver review because the EQ differences are remarkably consistent throughout.

The only negatives here are that the voices appear to have been EQed to a prominence that creates excessive and very mechanical sibilants. There's a sameness about the sibilants that's suspicious: do all four Beatles really have the same sibilant signature? Or is it either the microphone or effects characteristics that we can now hear with greater clarity?

Either way, what sound like real people on the other side of the microphone, though somewhat obscured, now sound very, very clear but somewhat artificial. You believe each Beatle is singing in front of you, as their voices exhibit a continuousness that the reissue seems to fracture slightly. For instance on "She's Leaving Home," Paul is "right there" on the original, though somewhat shrouded in a haze. On the reissue he's more transparent but slightly granular. Is that "the digits" as in an art restoration artifact? Or just a revelation of what's been hidden in the EQ haze?

It's also as if the haze might have been purposeful to obscure the tricks and to help produce a wholeness about the proceedings that tries to hide the individual elements.

Well, all I had to do to get some of the answers was to play that CD!

I can tell you this: the original pressing sounds much more like the unmastered CD than the new reissue sounds like the unmastered CD! That tells me the original pressing is a closer replication of the master tape than is the new reissue.

But that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the reissue. Quite the contrary. It's a modern restoration based upon better monitoring gear at best, or 'modern' ears at worst. You can either hear it as a restoration or a correction or as blasphemy.

I hear it as both a restoration and a legitimate correction. However it is so different than the original that it cannot possibly be a replacement. It's a valuable addition. I think every fan of the record needs both, any old one will do (except for the Mo-Fi, which is a 'rubbish' re-imagining), even the Capitol original, which while not great, is not a 're-imagining', just a less than satisfactory facsimile.

So, is this "the best Sgt. Pepper... ever? Your call but it's the first "must have" in the box in my opinion. I still prefer the original because I'm wired to prefer it but that's just me. The reissue includes the original insert and an additional, very worthwhile one, much of which is about the cover art. Both the cover art and pressing quality on my copy were very, very good. The stars aligned on this one!

COMMENTS

Once again, a very cool review

Submitted by Martin on Thu, 2012-11-22 12:11

As usual, reviewed on the merits of the thing. Nice to know that it sounds as good as it does.

It sounds good, but I'll be sticking with my Mono and Stereo originals.

At least until someone does an all analog reissue.

It's really interesting to hear that the original sounds more like the unmastered flat transfer CD than the reissue. One more reason I guess to stick with the originals.

Reminds me of some Rolling Stones stuff, the "Black Box" CD set. Some of that sounds like a flat transfer from tape to CD and it sounds better than the same tracks, at the same studio on the official CD releases. More open and dynamic.

pepper

Submitted by julio on Thu, 2012-11-22 19:55

How can this be the one to get, when the quality control is so bad? When I listened to a Day in the Life, the surface noise was so distracting. Bottom line on these pressings is that the sound is really interesting on all of these (except Help, and Rubber Soul). You will hear things you have not heard before but I can't get passed the poor pressing quality. Please tell me that the mono lps will be done by someone else and that they will take the time to put them in heavy jackets. Do we reallt need a definintive stereo copy of this? It always sounds so naked and thin.

Not "the" one to get, but one to get!

Submitted by Michael Fremer on Fri, 2012-11-23 07:26

I cannot get straight answers on why Rainbo was chosen. No one wants to speak "on the record" about the records. I believe RTI did do the plating, which is critical, but I think the issue for RTI was tying up the plant for so long on one project.

Who will press the mono box is anyone's guess. In part it will depend upon just how bad the ratio was of good to bad records pressed at Rainbo.

Chad Kassem's QRP will have 10 presses up and running by the time the mono box goes into production so maybe they can get the contract.

I would return defectives and demand replacements.

Totally Unrelated Question

Submitted by StickMan451 on Fri, 2012-11-23 18:18

Mr. Fremer,

A friend of mine just let me borrow his EAR 912; I am impressed so far. Just Listened to SPLHCB several times and was pleasantly surprised; sounds much better to me than the copy of Abbey Road in the box set (as you indicated by your review grade). Just wondering why you have never reciewed the EAR 912? Have you tried this pre/phono?

EAR 912

Submitted by Michael Fremer on Sun, 2012-11-25 12:07

There's no particular reason why I haven't reviewed it other than that it's impossible to review everything! I have reviewed (very positively) two EAR phon preamps..

Thanks for another fine Beatles review Michael

Submitted by JC1957 on Thu, 2012-11-22 14:16

My question is, did they tame the treble on With A Little Help From My Friends?

That song always had way more treble than any other song on Pepper.

Tame the Treble?

Submitted by Michael Fremer on Fri, 2012-11-23 07:22

No. That is what's on the master tape too. And clearly for whatever reasons that's what was wanted... I guess in that case they chose to not "re-imagine" the record...

My favorite 'Pepper'

Submitted by thomoz on Thu, 2012-11-22 17:13

Michael, you should hear my Apple German pressing - it had a clarity not on the MFSL, UK, AP- Japanese, or even the Nimbus. It is so natural and relaxed sounding . . . Not at all like most of the German pressings with the steely edges and pronounced midrange.

A big disappointment

Submitted by topnews on Thu, 2012-11-22 17:31

My copy is clearly a defective pressing. Side 1 is badly distorted -- I thought at first my stylus had picked up a clump of dirt, or was mistracking. Sadly, not so. Side 2 is fine. My copy is going to be returned. I'm not sure I want another, as my original U.S. Capitol pressing is ok.

Thanks again...

Submitted by gettingintovinyl on Fri, 2012-11-23 07:22

Thanks again for these reviews! It's great to read the take of someone who really knows their stuff. I am from the generation who's parents had a cheap Sears turntable and decided in 1988 at age 18 to go the cd route. I never looked back and have amassed over 1500 cds over the past 20+ years. Music is my life. So all of my Beatles collecting has been on cd until now. I'm probably the exact demographic they are trying to capitalize on - people who don't have (and can barely afford) the original UK vinyl. Just getting into vinyl after hearing a friend's nice set up. I am converted - like a BORN AGAIN vinyl lover! So in the last four months I have bought a pair of vintage Klipsch KG4s, a customized/restored vintage Thorens TD 166 Mark II, and I just bought a hand-wired tube preamp by Mark Voigt of Magi electronics (he is putting it together in the next 2 weeks). This guy has a bit of a cult following and I can't wait to hear what it does for my system. I just have a $50 Rolls from Amazon.com right now. Anyway, back to The Beatles. On cd I have always preferred the mono, but just barely. I love the stereo version too. Back in the 90s I found a "Capitol Versions" bootleg of the mono and preferred it over the stereo. Then when I got the mono box, everything else went to the sidelines. However, the way you describe it, I am going to have to give this stereo version a chance - and save up for a UK original if I can find one on ebay. It's such a shame that we're stuck going "across the pond" to get more reliable EU pressings, but in the end it only costs about $10 more per title to do it. After my ABBEY ROAD sounded so loud and scratchy I feel like the EU pressing is my only reliable choice. So - thanks again for what you do to keep vinyl alive. You are helping convert all of us cd people one by one.

Hand to Hand Combat!

Submitted by Michael Fremer on Fri, 2012-11-23 07:29

Thanks for your comments. I have always described saving vinyl and gaining converts a case of "hand to hand" combat! I started fighting in 1983 and haven't looked back!

Mikey, You would have been

Submitted by Tullman on Sun, 2012-11-25 09:34

Mikey,

You would have been happy to see the two young sisters waiting in line with me on record store day. I asked how old they were and they told me 14 and 15! They told me about the the TT their aunt gave them and how much they love vinyl. Also, my daughter and her husband are now avid vinyl enthusiasts.

Hunt the bins of your local

Submitted by mikeyt on Sat, 2012-11-24 19:07

Hunt the bins of your local record store! Every now and then I see UK issues of Beatles records for sweet prices and in good shape. And two boxed EMI issues from the late 70s are no slouches in sound. Excellent value.

locked groove at the end of the record?

Submitted by tbromgard on Fri, 2012-11-23 07:34

Just curious if the locked groove at the end of the record is present on the reissue?

locked groove in the house!

Submitted by MicallefK on Sun, 2012-11-25 14:45

Yes, it is and what a delightful surprise.

Bad bad Rainbo

Submitted by Alex on Fri, 2012-11-23 17:47

Hi Michael,

Thanks for a superb review. Your story with Emerick is cool. I read his book and found it very illuminating. As for Pepper, like another member here (Topnews), I had to return mine and will wait perhaps for another batch (I'm superstitious). Mine was distorted from beginning to end, and not just on one side. Furthermore, the volume was about 4 to 6db's louder than others in this series Ironically, visually, it had the nicest surface. So far, I now have 5 albums, two of which I had to return (didn't somebody tell these guys that gas is not free?). Crossing my fingers for the other ones...

The EU vinyl is quieter

Submitted by Dpoggenburg on Sat, 2012-11-24 00:57

I ordered a handful of individual titles from Amazon UK (Abbey Road, Pepper, MMT, Let it Be, Past Masters, and Revolver -- the White Album was out of stock).

Each lp was cleaned (using the Audio Desk Systeme - thank you Michael for bringing this LIFE CHANGING accessory to my attention!), as were the lps in my U.S. boxed set.

The EU vinyl was all uniformly DEAD quiet. I've found the Rainbo pressings have been generally decent, but, to give one example, my comparison of Here Comes the Sun and Because. Both these tracks start with no sound on one channel, so they're sort of "torture" tracks for vinyl quality.

On the intro of HCTS, the Rainbo pressing made a quiet "shooshing" sound in the right channel. The EU pressing was dead quiet. On Because, the Rainbo pressing had a few (very few) low level pops. The EU pressing was dead quiet.

Though my sample of 7 lps is far from statistically adequate, given that all the EU titles were pristine, while all the US titles were generally "very good," I have to assume that the EU pressings are uniformly superior.

While I found the LPs sonically identical, one can't deny a sonic improvement exists when, all things being equal, one pressing is quieter than another.

Here's hoping the mono box gets a pressing plant upgrade!

Optimal Versus Rainbo

Submitted by Michael Fremer on Sun, 2012-11-25 11:48

Thank you so much for that great information!

Checked on UK shipping to US

Submitted by Jim Tavegia on Sat, 2012-11-24 10:08

Each LP would be $33 with shipping. I'll be sticking with my cd Remasters for now and hope QRP might get the next US pressing.

Hello.

Submitted by spin33.3 on Sun, 2012-11-25 09:05

While I agree with your sentiments, I would encourage folks to check their local record stores for pricing. Particularly while there is a bit of time left during 'Black Friday weekend', you just might find some much better deals on these than the 'list price + shipping' through traditional and audiophile mail order venues. The day they were released my local shop here in Wisconsin was selling at $19.99 for the single LPs and $28.99 for the double. Since that time they have marked them down even further [BF w/e price $13.99 per single, $23.99 per double]. I realize that not everyone is fortunate enough to have a brick and mortar shop to patronize but, for those who do, there are deals out there.

I bought a US copy at a

Submitted by Tullman on Sun, 2012-11-25 09:27

I bought a US copy at a record store and it was dead quiet and flat, but just a bit off center. I see no need to order from Europe. The record store here does have a good return policy.

Unique Mixes Yesterday And Today

Submitted by vinyldaze on Sun, 2012-11-25 13:25

Michael:

Capitol asked George Martin for 3 songs to pad out Yesterday And Today and was provided Dr Robert, And Your Bird Can Sing and I'm Only Sleeping with early mixes. These are unique mixes as Revolver was not yet released and Martin remixed them before Revolver was released.

Labels flipped!

Submitted by MicallefK on Sun, 2012-11-25 14:44

Thanks for another excellent (and fun) review. I bought the box last week and have had a blast comparing your reviews to my own findings.

Oddly enough, I seem to have a mislabeled Sgt. Peppers. Side One has the track listing for Side Two; Side Two has Side One's listing.

Has anyone else received or seen a similar defectiove labeling scheme?

Does this add or detract from the LP's value I wonder..

John Lennon is Robin Gibb

Submitted by 2_channel_ears on Sun, 2012-11-25 21:49

Opted out of buying the box after buying both CD sets and having the MoFi set, which is unplayed. Picked up instead Sgt. Peppers... and Abbey Rd. After reading Michael's review I had to have a listen.

Plopped "Twenty Years Ago Today..." on the LP-12. The sound is rich, heard things I never heard before even after what, 45 years? (had an original once back in the day). But...

Was bothered by a few things. I'll try my best to describe this, not exactly an "afficiando". There was a great deal of imbalance in the panning in the opening track. Paul was prominent to the extreme on one side and almost nothing from the other speaker. I thought, let me see what the mono CD version is like. Too flat, no dimension. Then I put in the stereo CD. Ah, a more full sound, alas, not as warm or rich as the LP. My experience was repeated on Getting Better.

The most bothersome thing came on LSD. (yeah, that too back in the day) I heard this sort of modulation in the singing, especially Lennon's voice. He sounded unnatural, higher pitched and a very nasal quality. I had none of this on the CD's.

So I put the LP on and it was there again. Then it dawned on me: Lennon sounds f'in like Robin Gibb on this track. Reminded me of Massachusetts. I didn't play any more after that.

Unfortunately I am SPLHCB LP deprived to make a comparison right off. I do have the MoFi set and a picture LP but both have never been played. Cold be my system is contributing something. Hopefully I'll try it on a friend's system soon and we'll see.

Sgt. Pepper 'EQ'

Submitted by Don Roderick on Sun, 2012-11-25 23:45

Re: Michael's comment "This reissue features a totally new EQ compared to the original pressing" - In Geoff Emerick's book "Here, There, and Everywhere: Recording the Beatles" he very pointedly recalls the objections the Abbey Road mastering engineers had at being told (ordered) to cut Sgt. Pepper flat, meaning use no arbitrary EQ of their own. So in theory, Michael, if you hear extensive EQ differences vs. the original UK LP, doesn't that imply that either the recent digital remastering and/or this specific vinyl project received a lot of work?

Michael - are you able to compare the remastered Sgt. Pepper CD vs. the new vinyl?

(No subject)

Submitted by Brother John on Tue, 2012-11-27 02:58

Sgt Pepper

Submitted by normp on Mon, 2012-11-26 07:53

Thanks for the great review! Anything that's 10/10 goes on my wish list.

Back in the day, when this album was first released, I remember picking up a copy on reel to reel, there were things on that tape that I never heard on another version of the album. For example, on the run out of "A Day in the Life" a chair is moved and makes a noise followed by someone saying "shh"

I certainly didn't have the equipment at the time to judge the quality of the release, or the right listening space- seems I was living in rather quant conditions in Ben Hoa AFB in Viet Nam.

things on that tape

Submitted by 2_channel_ears on Mon, 2012-11-26 20:32

"a chair is moved and makes a noise followed by someone saying "shh""

Very audible on vinyl on even a modest 70's system. My best friend and I were blown away when we heard this on our new systems after years of low-fi. Some other things:

Right after the alarm clock hear either Paul come in too early or something else, then a few beats later, "Woke up, fell out of bed..." After his verse hear a breathy "hah hah, hah hah" (John?). And at each crescendo of the orchestra someone is counting.

There are a few other odd clicks and thingd and whatnot. A masterpiece, the production folks wouldn't let one out like that today, too "imperfect". Ha.

calling an "audible"

Submitted by Michael Fremer on Wed, 2012-11-28 15:10

Yes, as one's system improves, more buried items magically appears. That includes entire instruments and instrumental lines!

calling an "audible"

Submitted by Michael Fremer on Wed, 2012-11-28 15:10

Yes, as one's system improves, more buried items magically appears. That includes entire instruments and instrumental lines!

things on that tape

Submitted by otaku2 on Tue, 2012-12-04 09:33

I can hear the chair and the "shh" on a 256K rip from the "Love" soundtrack. Don't think you need a really high-quality system to hear it.

Cautionary Tale

Submitted by AQ Shane on Mon, 2012-11-26 11:42

Like a number of you, I was concerned about the Rainbo pressings, and opted for a UK box from Amazon UK, pressed at Optimal. This experience is not likely to be the norm as friend of mine just up the road got the UK box swiftly and safely, but is worth noting.

My UK box was promptly dispatched direct from Germany just before the November 13 release date. but as of Friday November 23rd, the estimated delivery date, it had been stuck in US customs since 11/16. Amazon couldn't tell me when it would be released from Customs, couldn't give me a new delivery date, couldn't initiate any further tracking inquiry, and couldn't tell me whether DHL would be the deliverer or if they had passed it to the US Post Office. they just told me to contact them again if I didn't have it by December 1st.

I had to go through two levels of Amazon support people, but finally got a supervisor to agree to recall the shipment and refund my money.

I Amazon Prime'd the set and paid $8.99 for Saturday delivery of the US set for 11/24. I inspected every record and they were all flat, and visually blemish-free, other than a small set of scratches on one side of Rubber Soul. I cleaned all the LPs with an enzymatic cleaner to get any mold release, and every disc I've played has been dead quiet and perfect. That one area of Rubber Sould has some very light ticking, but everything else has been amazing.

To summarize, I don't neccessarily think there's anything to fear with the US box. Listened to almost every record and extremely pleased.

UK Pressing?

Submitted by martinjohnbutler on Wed, 2012-11-28 19:00

My takeaway is find the UK pressing, and have a listen to the new reissue to enjoy the hidden details. Since i'm soon to be blessed with my first turntable since 1987, I'm a little out of the loop here. What do I look for to determine it's the UK pressing? It likely says something like uhh... Made in The UK, but I'm just checking..

bad pressing, bummer

Submitted by JeremyJustice on Wed, 2012-11-28 19:07

I also got a copy with a serious defect on side one. The sound was awful, the highs were distorted and at one point in Lucy in the sky with diamonds the sound cuts out completely. I checked and rechecked my set up, tried three tonearms on two different tables and all had the same issue, side one is unlistenable yet side two sounds great. I called the great guys at Euclid records in New Orleans, where I purchased the record and they immediately told me to bring it back. When I got to the store we threw it on and gave it a listen on their system, within 5 seconds of listening the guy looked at me and said " That sounds terrible!" he ran and grabbed another copy for me and, in a real show of class said " open that up and lets listen to it before you leave" well sure enough it also had the defect on side one with the same distortion and when I say distortion I mean it sounds so bad you want to punch someone in the face. Obviously there must be a bad batch out there so be careful and return any bad sounding copies, Sgt pepper deserves better then this!

I would also like to note the great guys at Euclid pulled all the copies they had and said they would try ordering from another source in hopes of getting better quality pressings. You know most stores would sell the lot and hope the next poor sap wouldn't notice the crap sound but not Euclid. I cant recommend this store enough and was pleased to see your write up about them. all the best

My copy was badly distorted on both sides

Submitted by mrsoul55 on Sun, 2012-12-02 14:27

So I returned it to my local record store. Too bad. The store owner, who was working at the time, openly stated that he was going to put it back out because most people wouldn't notice. I think most people would not not notice it.

Stereo vs Mono Pepper's

Submitted by DJ Huk on Thu, 2012-11-29 10:16

I liked hearing about your memories of the record, especially "when the hounds and the fox hunters crossed between my ears." Makes me suspect that you still prefer the stereo version to the mono version, eh? even though the mono was the version "officially" approved by The Beatles. I'm in the minority, I prefer the stereo mix. I think it was Emerick and maybe Martin who did it, and while it was quick work, it remains masterful.

1967 Parlaphone mono pressings VS New Stereo Sgt. Pepper's.

Submitted by Brother John on Thu, 2012-11-29 13:35

Hi Michael,

I just received a beautiful minty used mono copy of the Sgt. Pepper's 1967 Parlaphone UK pressing in the mail yesterday. Gave it a nice cleaning with 12 year old VPI 16.5 using Disc Dr. record wash followed by triple distilled Aquafina water,(recommended by really cool analog guru), rinse which completely removed all background noise from the vinyl. Gave it a spin on my turntable and immediately noticed an enormous amount of presence in the Instruments and vocals on tracks like, "Lucy In the Sky, and, "With a Little Help From My Friends, that are not as profound on the new stereo version. The new stereo version is quite dynamic sounding but I found it very fatiguing to listen to compared with the ordinal mono version. I wonder if that has anything to do with the new stereo being sourced from digital rather than analog tapes. Still I agree the new stereo Sgt. Pepper's is the best sounding record in the box.

Side one obviously has some problems

Submitted by sonofjim on Sat, 2012-12-01 05:55

Very interesting to hear others note a lot of distortion on side one. Mine too. Also, the vinyl was not flat at all. I took care of the dish warping with the Vinyl Flat quite effectively. Side one still stinks. Side two is much better and quite in line with Micheal's review. Within You, Without You sounds great as always. I also agree that Past Masters is very good and luckily my copy is fine. Based on this experience I think this is where I get off though. My Blue Box copy sounds way better to me. This fresh cover will look great in an Art Vinyl frame and that may be where it ends up.

Pepper Pressing Quality

Submitted by BillR on Sat, 2012-12-01 18:08

I listen to vinyl primarily and am very accustomed to pressing quality variations. However, when I listened to my copy of the new Sgt. Peppers I was astounded by the pressing quality. It is so distorted I stopped the record, cleaned it and the stylus, demagnetized and started over. Same thing. Took a look at the stylus which seemed o.k. Then tried another record - no problem. Back to Sgt. Peppers - incredibly distorted. Dont know quite what to think of it.

Bad pressing?

Submitted by Hackmartian on Tue, 2013-01-01 12:10

Had exactly the same problem with my copy (bought yesterday). 10 minutes in to side one I was sure my stylus was trapped in a ball of lint. Checked it out and it was clean. Same problem on side 2. There was so much fuzzy distortion that I couldn't make it all the way though the record. Really disappointed at the prospect of the hour-long drive back to the record store to swap it out in hopes of maybe getting a good one.

Agree

Submitted by Kirby on Sat, 2012-12-01 21:32

This is the first in the box where the bass wasn't in your face and drawing so much attension to it that it was all I could think of.

Bought It Last Week, and ...

Submitted by DJ Huk on Mon, 2012-12-03 15:45

Pristine pressing. Distinctive clarity, heightened timbres, glorious tones. Best Pepper's I've ever heard. Thanks, Mike!

Quality control

Submitted by tbromgard on Tue, 2012-12-04 12:59

I rec'd my copy of the remastered Peppers yesterday and played it right away. I was happy with the silent background, and noticed no noise at all. I agree withMF's comments about the clarity of this release. It blows away the cd I purchased about 20 years ago by a wide margine. BTW-I ordered mine from Amazon, then saw my local record store had it on sale for $7 less. It pays to shop around.

My US version sounds just great!

Submitted by WaxtotheMax on Thu, 2012-12-06 08:16

Got a nice pressing, sounds terrific!

Mono?

Submitted by beatlespaz on Tue, 2012-12-11 15:09

So what did Geoff think about the Japanese red mono? I have it and it blows every other version out of the water. I like the new stereo vinyl but side two has some snap crackle and pop to it.

at last!

Submitted by JeremyJustice on Tue, 2012-12-11 18:41

well the good people at Euclid records kept their word and ordered me a new copy of Sgt peppers. after getting two that had the defect on side one I was worried however the new copy sounds great! couldnt be happier. gotta love a good independent local record store.

Love the new set

Submitted by luv74st on Wed, 2012-12-19 12:09

So excited to start listening to these albums.

The "new" Pepper....

Submitted by kozy814 on Thu, 2013-01-10 07:43

I received my copy for Christmas (along with BFS and AHDN). Just got around to spinning Pepper this week. First off, I never loved the stereo version of this record. It always sounded more dated and unfinished from a mixing perspective when compared to the mono version. Since procuring a nice US mono a few years back, I had not even spun the stereo pressing until I opened this version.

This new version has a TON of punch. The drums leap from the speaker and the sound FX weave in and out like never before. I can even hear a bit more evidence of the legendary wacked out recording techniques (Leslies, Headphones used as Mics, etc) described in the extra insert. My copy is nicely quiet with maybe a couple faint clicks on She’s Leaving Home. But that may be ‘cause I did not run it thru the Spin-Clean before play.

It’s a home-run AFAIC. Thanks for the great reviews on this box, Michael. I did not plan to buy any of these, and now I’m grateful that I did!

Many years from then.

Submitted by Bob Levin on Wed, 2016-04-06 08:55

The pressings after the box set seem to have the same album-by-album deficits and benefits.
I'd avoided the new U.S. stereos until buckling and buying SPLHCB and Abbey Road singly.
Finally pulled the cord and sailed down to earth with Pepper's last night.
The pressing quality was a pleasant surprise. Very quiet, vs. what I experienced with Abbey Road. Not perfectly flat, but quite acceptable.
Sound-wise, I agree with the 10 rating.
I didn't notice the problem with sibilants, but that's probably just due to my relatively cheapo equipment. The vocals did sound like somebody whacked up the treble, but the added definition simply made them sound more like something recorded in 1987 than 1967.
No distortion issues with the recent pressing, beyond those intended by Sir George & The Beatles.
What came as a total revelation on the mono box, completely exploded in the stereo. Paul's bass. Yes, I know it was D.I.'d, but since it was all tube equipment, it loses none of its' tonality. It just sounds so frikkin' HUGE here.
The 1987 CD is in lock step with the original. The bass is attenuated in a way that was probably more due to concerns that the record would be hard to track. I doubt that it was an aesthetic decision.
Digital remaster or not, it sounds absolutely incredible.
I came late to the party for this one, but it was worth the wait.

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