Sold Date: June 16, 2024
Start Date: June 9, 2024
Final Price: £77.52 (GBP)
Bid Count: 15
Seller Feedback: 769
Buyer Feedback: 102

Here is your chance to own an original UK vinyl mono copy of The Beatles white album.

For most of The Beatles career mono was the standard and the stereo mix was something that was done as an afterthought. The band (and the producers and engineers) worked to get the mono mix just perfect and they would throw together the stereo mix rather quickly, sometimes in a very experimental fashion (as stereo was still very new.) But by 1968 mono was getting phased out and The White Album was the their final album mixed in mono.

In the US mono had already been phased out and so only the stereo mix of The White Album was released in the U.S. while in the U.K. both the mono and stereo versions were released.

The record is in fairly poor condition with quite a lot of visible scratches and marks, The sleeve is in good used condition with signs of wear & tear, please see pictures. I have cleaned the records to give the best result I can with the vinyl.

All sides do play with surface noise and crackles, in some places louder than others. There are a few jumps, but nothing major or completely sticking to the point you have to move the needle. Yer Blues just sounds fantastic and loud, almost a reason alone to own this album(!); quieter songs like Blackbird you can obviously tell this is a worn record, as doesn’t benefit from being cranked loud and enjoyed.

No EMI credits on any side, superb early edition with 00 early number too.

-1 matrix on all sides.

Mother/Stamper Numbers:

Side 1 1 HR

Side 2 3 HH

Side 3 3 LP

Side 4 4 TG

Black inners present, one in better condition than the other, see pictures.

Just for fun, here are the mono/stereo differences:

Mono/Stereo Differences

Back In The U.S.S.R.

The airplane overdubs occur in different places on the mono and stereo versions. The mono version has a louder piano, a yell after the opening plane sound, and drumbeats under the closing plane sound. The stereo version has extra guitar chords at the start of the solo, and shouts and piano during the guitar solo.

Dear Prudence

The stereo version has slightly more treble and fades to a lower volume at the end.

Glass Onion

The edit adds the end orchestral piece. The stereo version is lacking Paul’s added vocal “oh yeah” at the end of the break. The mono mix has various sound effects, of which only the whistle after “fool on the hill” was used in the standard mix.

Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da

The stereo version has hand-clapping during the intro, the mono version does not. On the mono mix, Paul’s vocals are not double-tracked as they sound to be on the stereo mix which gives the allusion of two or more Pauls singing at once.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

The stereo version has some vocal sounds from George at the end, the mono version does not. The Clapton guitar remains loud in the mono version after the solo break, not in the stereo version. Near the end of the fadeout, only the stereo version has “yeah yeah yeah”, even though it is a few seconds shorter.

Blackbird

The bird sound effects are quite different between the stereo and the mono release.

Piggies

The pig sound effects are quite different between the stereo and the mono release. The guitar is louder in the mono version.

Don’t Pass Me By

The mono version is much faster than the stereo, and therefore is shorter. The violin sounds at the end are markedly different. Mono version runs faster, and it has more fiddle throughout the song and different fiddle at the end. The fiddle at the end of stereo [b] seems to a repeat of a bit of the chorus. The edit added the intro. Stereo version has only work from 5 and 6 June without the fiddle or intro added in July. It’s at the speed of the stereo mix.

Why Don’t We Do It In The Road

The stereo version has hand-clapping during the intro, the mono version does not.

Sexy Sadie

The stereo version has two taps on the tambourine during the intro, the mono version only has one.

Helter Skelter

The stereo version has a fade-out/fade-in dummy ending with Ringo’s shout of “I’ve got blisters on my fingers”, the mono version does not, this makes the stereo version almost a minute longer. The basic song runs about 3:10 to a pause shortly after Paul’s distorted vocal, too close to the microphone. The Mono version then is edited into more of the same take, with sound effects noises, and fades at 3:36. The stereo version is edited instead to a different part of the take, fading out and then back in again, with another edit, ending finally at 4:29 after Ringo shouts “I’ve got blisters on my fingers!”. Is the distorted vocal “Can you hear me speaking… woo!” or “My baby is sleeping, ooh! dreaming”?

Long, Long, Long

The stereo version is fine, but on the mono, George’s double-tracked vocal is embarrassingly out of synch.

Doubletracking starts at the first “long” in the stereo version, the third “long” in mono, and sounds somewhat different thereafter. On the mono version, the rhythm guitar is softer but the lead guitar is louder, especially in the later part of the song.

Honey Pie

The stereo version has a shorter guitar solo than the mono version.

Revolution 9

Although the mono was made from the stereo, the opening lines are more clear in mono: “I would’ve gotten claret for you but I’ve realized I’ve forgotten all about it, George, I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?“. This is evidently a separate piece of tape added during mixing.

Everybody’s Got Something To Hide (Except Me and My Monkey)

The screaming after “come on” in the last verse is different in the Stereo and Mono versions.

Revolution 1

The song was deliberately distorted during recording and mixing, so since the mono version sounds more distorted and compressed, it’s better! John’s guitar also sounds louder on the mono version.

Yer Blues

The 2d generation tape is an edit of two takes, each of the two tapes being itself a mixdown from the original 4-track. The edit causes an abrupt transition at the end of the guitar solos. In stereo, traces of other vocal and guitar parts can be heard throughout the song in the left channel, including something shouted over parts of the vocal and what sounds like another different guitar solo. After the edit, the trace lead vocal suggests we are hearing the first part of the song from the other take. The edit in the mixes added the countdown intro, which is louder in mono. The Mono version is 11 seconds longer, long fade.

I Will

This started as 4 track and was copied to 8 track, so it’s 2d generation. The “bass” (vocal) starts later in mono version, after the first verse. The stereo version has more prominent bongos.

Birthday

The last “daaaance” starts twice, maybe a double-track error or a leak from a guide vocal, as heard on the stereo version, but covered up by other sounds on the mono version. The stereo version has extra vocals at the end of the second chorus.

Happiness Is A Warm Gun

The 2d generation master is an edit of (copies of) two takes with more material overdubbed. Mono version has tapping (organ) on the beat from the start until the drums come in, but it is soft and mixed out 4 beats earlier in. In the “I need a fix” section in stereo, by error, although the first line was mixed out, the last “down” is just audible. Mono version has louder bass in the “I need a fix” section. Mono version has laughter near the very end, just before the last drumbeat, not heard in stereo version.

Wild Honey Pie

Mono version has the full lead guitar break, slightly shortened in the stereo version.

Savoy Truffle

The mono version has sound effects during the instrumental break, and the lead guitar continues through the break into the refrain after it. The organ is missing from the last verse in the mono version.

I’m So Tired

Paul’s harmony at the first “You’d say” is louder in mono. The muttering after the song is part of this recording. No