Laminated covers. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band contains a cutout sheet The Beatles contains 4 photos and a foldout lyrics poster Most inner sleeves are datecoded (showing the year 1978 as manufacturing date, the latest being 1078=October 1978).
All matrices are stamped except for HTM, which is etched.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Side A (Please Please Me)): YEX 94-2
Matrix / Runout (Side B (Please Please Me)): YEX 95-3
Matrix / Runout (Side C (With The Beatles)): YEX 110-3
Matrix / Runout (Side D (With The Beatles)): YEX 111-5
Matrix / Runout (Side E (A Hard Day's Night)): YEX 126-2
Matrix / Runout (Side F (A Hard Day's Night)): YEX 127-3 HTM
Matrix / Runout (Side G (Beatles For Sale)): YEX 142-3 HTM
Matrix / Runout (Side H (Beatles For Sale)): YEX 143-2
Matrix / Runout (Side I (Help!)): YEX 168-4 HTM
Matrix / Runout (Side J (Help!)): YEX 169-3 HTM
Matrix / Runout (Side K (Rubber Soul)): YEX 178-5 HTM
Matrix / Runout (Side L (Rubber Soul)): YEX 179-3
Matrix / Runout (Side M (Revolver)): YEX 605-3 HTM
Matrix / Runout (Side N (Revolver)): YEX 606-4 HTM
Matrix / Runout (Side O (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)): YEX 637-3 HTM
Matrix / Runout (Side P (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)): YEX 638-3 HTM
Matrix / Runout (Side Q (The Beatles)): YEX 709-1
Matrix / Runout (Side R (The Beatles)): YEX 710-3
Matrix / Runout (Side S (The Beatles)): YEX 711-1
Matrix / Runout (Side T (The Beatles)): YEX 712-2
Matrix / Runout (Side U (Yellow Submarine)): YEX 715-4
Matrix / Runout (Side V (Yellow Submarine)): YEX 716-2 HTM
Matrix / Runout (Side W (Abbey Road)): YEX 749-4
Matrix / Runout (Side X (Abbey Road)): YEX 750-3 HTM
Matrix / Runout (Side Y (Let It Be)): YEX 773-3U
Matrix / Runout (Side Z (Let It Be)): YEX 774-4 HTM
Matrix / Runout (Side AA (Rarities)): SPSLP 261 A-1
Matrix / Runout (Side AB (Rarities)): SPSLP 261 B-2 HTM
The Beatles Collection (Box Set, Compilation, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, 2×LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Compilation, Stereo, Mono)
The Beatles Collection (LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, 2×LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, LP, Compilation, Reissue, Stereo, Box Set, Compilation)
Can anybody confirm what inserts were included with this set? I just picked one up that's NM and all the vinyl looks untouched. It came with 4 glossy headshot photos of the band plus a foldout poster for the White album. Nothing else was included and there's no pics or mention here of an insert or booklet.
Owner of an original 1978 box, cant believe how beautifully clean these albums are. I hate the construction of the box but the covers are just perfect. The jackets are solid white and the laminated covers are perfect. Corners are sharp and the records hardly have any dirt. Rarities did receive some damage from being in the box for years though. My copy has the “Sample not for Sale” banner. Lets talk about sound.
I’ve rammed through so many stereo pressings of the Beatles catalogue. The mono albums are easy-just buy the CD and Vinyl mono boxes from the past decade. The stereo albums on the other hand is so complicated. There’s the originals, hundreds of recuttings, MFSL pressings, DMM pressings, digital remasters and digital transfers. I can’t really explore the CDs, but I can at least talk about the vinyl cuttings. I hate the long matrix cuts from the 80’s pressings. I heard Sgt. Pepper from the box and was disgusted as to how bad it sounded. So, I decided to try to avoid an 80s box set. It took me so unbelievably long to find this 1978 box at a decent price, but I finally found one. To compare, I have original cuttings and an MFSL box. Heres my review:
Please Please Me had a -2/-2 cutting and was honestly not the best. It felt like a thin wall was covering the music. I put on an A2/B2 german pressing of Please Please Me and finally heard what others were claiming when they said this cutting was a revelation. Not a good start but it didnt sound like dung. Would even take the MFSL pressing over this though.
With the Beatles was a -3/-4 cutting. I have 3 different WTB pressings that have a -4 side 1. I’ll give it to HTM, -4 sounds great. But -3 wasn’t the best. It was too hot. Again, I would take the MFSL over both. The MFSL mastering worked well for the hard panned albums.
A Hard Day’s Night was a -2/-3 cutting. Side 1 was basically the -1 but with a 2 stamped over it. I am not a fan of the -1/-1 original of A Hard Day’s Night, so side 1 was too hot and was sibilant heavy. Side 2 was a complete 180. It sounded FANTASTIC! Smooth, clear and uncongested. Would take this over the original and the MFSL.
Beatles for Sale was a -3/-4, and sounded really good. I do like the -1/-1 original better, but not by much. I think both are on par with each other. The -3 side A slightly lowered Ringo’s snare, but did offer a pleasant midrange. MFSL brightened the hell out of the album, so the original wins
Help! Was a -2/-3, and it was far superior over the original and the mfsl. You can actually hear the vocals on “The Night Before,” and the guitar on “I’ve Just Seen a Face” sounded so great.
Rubber Soul was a -5/-3. The -3 was an early recut, but did little to improve the sound. The -5 side A sounded so much better than the original -2 or -3. The vocals and the instruments were at the same volume. However, since side 2 used the -3 metalwork, it wasn’t as pleasant. Vocals were overbearingly loud on side B, I definitely wish I’d have a later cutting. I do like the MFSL since it offers more treble to the guitar, like the band intended for Nowhere Man, but as good as it is, I think I’d still take the -5/-3. I would sneak side 2 from the MFSL though.
Revolver was a huge improvement too. My copy was a -3/-4. The MFSL sucked because of how obnoxious the bass boost and the high treble was. Was it as good or better than the -1 original? No, I prefer the -1/-1. It just sounds cleaner.
Sgt. Pepper was a -3/-4 and sounded really good. I still prefer the -4/-5 1980 pressing, but this one did its job. The -1/-1 original isn’t as good as its made out to be, its congested and sounds like it has been run through sandpaper. The MFSL pressing was also ruined by the bass boost. So the winner still goes to the -4/-5, but its not in the comparison list so I’ll give it to the -3/-4.
The Beatles was a -1/-3/-1/-2 pressing. I love this album, the -1/-1/-1/-1 original is a fantastic pressing. Good thing side 1 and 3 carried the -1 originals, because they sounded the best. Side 2 and 4 did need a recut, so this box pressing came in clutch and was the best one. The MFSL was just bloated, just not as good as the UK pressing was.
Yellow Submarine will never sound good on vinyl, but here it is. My copy was a -3/-3, and did little to improve the shitty stereo mixes presented here. Nothing is a winner, but I’d say the original -1/-1 sounded worse and the MFSL made Hey Bulldog even more listenable so I guess I’ll give it to the MFSL.
Abbey Road was a -4/-3 beautiful recut by Harry a few times after the original Malcolm cut. His best cutting was on the green vinyl edition, in which I actually prefer over the -2/-1 original. The MFSL has its moments but is just way too bright. I’ll take the -2/-1, but with the vinyl of this 1978 pressing.
Let it Be was a -3U/-4, and sounded decent. It’s hard to beat the original -2U/-2U, because its a masterpiece. You just need to be precise with this fantastic album. The MFSL messed it up but did bring out the drums very well. I’ll take the original though.
Rarities was interesting. It was just a bunch of mono b sides. It wasn’t a fun listen because i kept thinking about my mono masters set. At least i have it though.
Overall, this is a great sounding box. Maybe the 1980 box will sound better, but it doesn’t have these great covers so I guess nobody wins. I highly recommend this box to anyone who does not have any stereo pressings.
Why isn’t there a Discogs entry for the 1982 UK pressing? We have this entry and then a 1984 entry. Correct me if I’m wrong, but sets with X/81 dates on the inner sleeves are from 1982, not 1984, and should have their own entry.
Listening to Help from my 1978-79 Italian pressed blue box and this is astounding sound quality. Vibrant, clear, and beautiful dynamics. Just absolutely incredible!
If you can find it, just grab it because it sounds very good. I have one box form Nederland and one is from Sweden, and both are really great. The blue box is not so good because it is made of very sensitive material, but the most important is that the sound and pressings are very good.
Everyone knows these 70-80s HM cuts sound great, and they really do. It always takes a new release for me to appreciate how well this set was made.
I don't think there that many NM of these out there unless you can find the set sealed, it will probably be VG+ or lower. That being said, I think they are well made. Every single record I have in the set is scuffed like hell from the paper sleeve they came in, and these sets were definitely played to death, and yet my copies have low noise floor, and some even dead-silent.
Probably every record I heard in the set is the best I heard the Beatles in stereo with exception to Abbey Road, which is fine sounding record, and way better than any US Capitol release, but nothing comes close to -1 -2 UK