Piper 40th Anniversary Re-Release Confirmed: 3CD Box Set

[olzen]

Well, in those 60's cases where you have both a mono and a stereo mix, the band would put more weight in the mono mix. The mono mix of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was supervised by The Beatles themselves. The stereo mixes however, were seen as some new fad, it seems, so the bands basically just gave the gig to an engineer who could do it. There are just a few cases, though, cause everybody opened their eyes to the potential of stereo shortly after!

[cRaB]

I really don't understand what this hype for the mono-mix is.
I don't care unless there's new stuff.
But probably it's just me.

[Damn!t]

Its not different...its the same, but, mixed differently.
That means that some of the layers in the recording are put on different places...some of the instruments are louder or quieter on that mix then on the usual, stereo mix that we know.
That means that you will probably hear stuff on that mix that you didnt hear b4. Thats what makes it interesting.
If you try and record the existing stereo mix as a mono, the result would not be the same.
You would simply flatten the two channel into one.

[olzen]

Basically, the mono mix is the original release of the album. The stereo version didn't appear until a month later. So the former is really sort of the real PATGOD while the stereo version is its George Lucas'ed counterpart. For the first time in years, we get to hear the original vision of the band. I'd say that's a damn good reason to be excited!

[nosaj]

But, what could this mean on their official site?> "Other activities surrounding the 40th anniversary celebrations will be announced in due course."

What other activities...its driving me nuts!

[my breakfast.]

"Other activities" means Graham Coxon puts on his stupid NHS style glasses, finds an acoustic guitar, and does some bleeding-heart shitstain renditions of Piper tracks and everybody thinks its brilliant.

[snifferdog]

<<shudder>>

I can also see Robyn Hitchcock being wheeled out.

It'd be nice to see some sort of official release of that Syd tribute show in the Barbican.

[my breakfast.]

<<shudder>>

I can also see Robyn Hitchcock being wheeled out.

It'd be nice to see some sort of official release of that Syd tribute show in the Barbican.

Yeah with some innovative musicians breathing fresh air into the music, not a bunch of indie dudes with their toes up their asses making a quick buck.

[zag]

I'd say that's a damn good reason to be excited!

Original mono sounds more dynamic. That´s the sound they wanted back then.

[Chris Moise]

Basically, the mono mix is the original release of the album. The stereo version didn't appear until a month later. So the former is really sort of the real PATGOD while the stereo version is its George Lucas'ed counterpart. For the first time in years, we get to hear the original vision of the band. I'd say that's a damn good reason to be excited!

They certainly spent more time mixing the mono mix but both mixes were released on the same day. I think your "George Lucas'ed" comment is pretty exaggerated. It's not like stuff was added after the fact. The stereo mix was just done far more quickly (all in one day). I like the stereo better (with exceptions) as it's a drier mix. Pow R Toc H is the only stereo mix that is really bad. Maybe Lucifer if you don't care for the wild panning..

[Tenniru]

And IO, don't forget that; an entire reduction mix of organ and guitar was left out of the stereo mix, and the panning on the stereo mix made the last part of the song very hard to hear.

PATGOD and Pepper were two albums where I can't decide which mix I like more. Typically I can easily decide; if it was anything after '70 or done by someone with taste (Martin, Smith, etc) I go stereo, but if it was one of the idiotic pan-o-matic fake-stereo monstrosities (see: Tomorrow) I go mono. (Exception; the great two-track Please Please Me, with no center at all; it makes up with it with amazingly shiny sound quality for '62). However, Piper and Sgt. Pepper both have numerous added bells and whistles in their mono mixes, giving it a larger, deeper soundscape. Unfortunately it's in mono, which means layers of 1967 Abbey Road psychedelia is crammed into one channel after being layered again and again in reduction mixes. This doesn't help the sound quality, and renders the nice additions useless. On one hand it's great to hear something I hadn't heard before, but I hate straining to hear it.
My ideal scenario involves someone finding the multitracks used to add the mono bells and whistles and mixing them into a stereo mix so everything works. This could easily happen for Pepper, but Piper... well, if the stereo multitracks still exist, there's always digital technology to recreate some of the effects.

[Chris Moise]

And IO, don't forget that; an entire reduction mix of organ and guitar was left out of the stereo mix, and the panning on the stereo mix made the last part of the song very hard to hear.

IIRC the only stuff missing in the stereo IO is the organ in the intro a short bit of slide guitar. I haven't compared the two in a long time though so I could be missing something. The French EP mix is the one missing an entire layer of overdubs. I don't like the panning at all on IO but the mono mix isn't much better as the levels rise and fall during that section of the song which is nearly as annoying. There is a rough mix of the unedited take 2 (same basic take that comprises the French EP mix and the basic take of the LP mixes). Basically this rough mix is an alternate mono mix of the French EP but it runs until the end of the track. THAT is what I want to hear so we can hear the ending section as played..

[olzen]

Well, like you said, there's the crazy panning for starters. That's rather George Lucas-ish if you ask me, because it reeks of "ooh, look what we can do with modern technology!" rather than actually benefitting the music most of the time. I do like the stereo mix of PATGOD and there are some very spacey and innovative stereo effects (i.e. Flaming), but I'm really looking forward to hear the mono mix again.

As for the stereo mix being released one month later, I dug that up on Wikipedia. I know that source has to be taken with a grain of salt, so you may very well be right. Just quoted the source I had

[nosaj]

I'm guessing there WILL be a vinyl release.

[alma]

Let's hope they'll do a better job than with the DSOTM 30th anniversary relase which doesn't sound half as good as earlier pressings.