are mono blue notes being lost forever

[Guest ariceffron]

you know how most blue notes after like the late 50s are stereo cds. well what about the mono mixes. what if u want 2 hear maiden voyage in mono. if you want that on cd you are screwed unless you bootleg it yourself. why doesnt blue note give you a mono/stereo option on cds????? why?? it seems like it would be good. just like w/ record.s ????

[Harold_Z]

You have a point Aric. Sometimes the mono mix sounds great, espescially if that's the one you always heard. It's true of a lot of 60s R&B too - give me the Atlantic and Stax/Volt (for an example) in mono.

I don't think the record companies are going to accomodate on this, but it's valid - VERY valid.

[Dmitry]

They're periodically[read constantly] reissued on LP by audiophile labels.

[jazzbo]

That's true. Doesn't help someone who has given up lp playback!

I don't think we'll see this happen often in the future, though it might happen now and then on cd. The one gold cd I never did pick up and should have/wanted to was the Disraeli Gears MoFi that had the stereo AND mono versions of the lp on the one cd. I grew up with the mono copy and the stereo version. . .well. . . I wish I could hear the mono!

[JSngry]

[John L]

You have a point Aric. Sometimes the mono mix sounds great, espescially if that's the one you always heard. It's true of a lot of 60s R&B too - give me the Atlantic and Stax/Volt (for an example) in mono.

For Stax/Volt, there was often a reason for this that went beyond the nature of the sound. Their primary aim was cutting hit 45s in mono. If a song become a hit, then they would usually re-record it in stereo for the album. But the re-recording rarely captured the excitement of the original.

[Shrdlu]

Very good point, Aric.

I assume that most mono session reels still exist, and may rot away without being used again, the audiophile LPs aside (which most of us will never hear, to be honest). I'm thinking of the sessions where separate mono and stereo tapes were made simultaneously, as with Riverside and Rudy Van Gelder.

My first ever Blue Note LPs were three that I bought: "Ready For Freddie", "Flight To Jordan" and "Little Johnny C". All were mono, though I had a stereo player. BN LPs were hard to come by, for me, and I was glad to be able to grab whatever I could, whether mono or stereo. The sound on that Hubbard LP just about leapt off the vinyl at you as they raced off to an exciting start on the first track; Art Davis's bass was particularly prominent in the mix and it sounded very exciting alongside McCoy and Elvin.

[wesbed]

It'd be cool to see Blue Note include both the mono & stereo tracks on the same CD, when available. In the same manner as they include different files (widescreen vs. TV screen, and various languages) on a DVD.

Not that Blue Note would do it, but, I wonder if they could fit all that data on a single CD? Would they need a separate file for the mono and stereo tracks? I realize music CDs are mostly full in the range of 75 minutes.

Edited March 14, 2004 by wesbed

[mikeweil]

Standard audio CDs can hold up to 80 minutes of music - so if the LP's playing time is under 40 minutes, both the stereo and mono mixes could be included. Would make for an interesting comparison, as both mixes often were different.

I know that the rock group Buffalo Springfield mixed their first LP by themselves in mono and "poured their heart into those mixes", they simply didn't know about stereo back then, and were disappointed when a stereo mix was done without their consent or participation, the sound of which they didn't like. The Buffalo Springfield box set includes both mixes.

The one mono LP that I regret having sold is the Modern Jazz Quartet's European Concert, which sounded fuller in mono, if my memory serves me right - I still have the same turntable. And I remember cases where different takes were included on mono and stereo releases, mostly due to malfunctions of early stereo tape machines, but the mono takes were the preferred ones. The MJQ's first Atlantic LP Fontessa had several takes different from the stereo version reissued on CD.

It may be a similar technical problem as with early CDs: It takes a few years before a new technology is fully developped - before they had mixing consoles allowing central placement of instruments in the stereo spread, early left/right mixes often sound awful, and Rudy Van Gelder has corrected some of these mixes when he prepared the RVG CDs, e.g Mobley's Soul Station.

Changing to stereo also started that whole crap of multi-track recording, which causes more problems than it solves, IMO, as far as recording is concerned. For a mono recording with a single microphone, a group had to have some sort of natural balance. Today you find this only with audiophile recordings using only two microphones, only then you have stereo with a correct room ambience and no phasing problems.

[mikeweil]

If you still buy vinyl, try the mono Blue Note LPs from Classic Records, which are said to be excellent and worth the high price.

[David Williams]

Classic Records are taking their time getting them out, but if you like the vivid CR sound they are good. The price has stopped me getting more than 2 or 3 so far, but Lee Morgan's Candy is a beaut.

[ajf67]

Mike, right on!

And it is truly a shame that the mono mixes are ignored. It would be great if there were some way other than the steep Classic records re-issues or waiting for them to appear on E-Bay and then watching them go for $$$$$$$$. Of the ones that I have, I like them better than the stereo versions. But it seems everyone is fascinated with surround sound now.

Maybe Mosaic can come out with a new "Mosaic: The Mono Mixes" line...

I know, I know...

[danasgoodstuff]

the first Stax/Volt singles box is all mono (til '65 that's all they had). Not sure about the later two Stax/Volt boxes. The Otis Redding 45s of "Respect" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long" were apparently done right before they got the new equipment and then redone for stereo when he came back to do the LP (all in a 36hr period when the studio guys had a club date right in middle). The mono sound is better, but "I've Been Loving You..." is a better, longer performance. One of the two b-sides ("Old Man Trouble") was redone in stereo, the other was a non-LP track. Confusing, but a good argument that you don't need to fuss forever to make a great album. Last night I saw Fleetwood Mac working on their current album on VH1: it was like negotiating world peace to get one track mixed!

[danasgoodstuff]

Just thought I'd add that for me the records that are absolute MUSTS to have in mono are Motown singles--the stereo mixes just stink right up til just about the time they left detroit (somebody should've met Gordy at the city limits and forced 'em to stay in town).