New TV spot for U.S. Albums

The Beatles/Apple Corps Ltd/Universal Music Group just released a TV spot for the new U.S. Albums releases with a difference. Take a look:

One store had a poster on display which carried a disclaimer:

A word of warning

It’s relatively simple, and is also apparent from the liner notes in the booklet: The original (US-mixes or early UK mixes used on US albums) mixes were used only when they were deemed unique for the US albums. An example of a unique mix is when there are noticeable differences (an extra verse, different edits in the song, an instrument is mixed out or in) between the US version and the UK remasters. Mixes not regarded as unique are when they just contain added reverb, when a mono mix is created by folding down the stereo mix or when a stereo mix is created from a mono mix (duophonic stereo). This line of thought is followed throughout the albums.

However, they forgot or overlooked a few of the unique US mixes in the process, so it’s a flawed effort on those grounds.

Additionally, as I said in my earlier blog post, some of the stereo mixes we consider unique to the US albums didn’t appear on the album when it was originally released (in “duophonic” stereo), but showed up on later, real stereo editions of said album, released in the seventies, indeed, some of the unique mixes seem to only have appeared on 8-track cartridges or cassettes.

I feel that it is the absence of the additional reverb that has upset the U.S. fans, hence the disclaimer depicted above.