Was on the lookout for this when I visited Japan a few years ago.
Why? Well, The Beatles actually recorded and mastered most of their albums with mono in mind (as opposed to stereo), with the exception of Abbey Road.
Also, these Japanese 1982 re-releases are supposed to be fantastic!
Doesn’t harm that it comes pressed into translucent red. Very cool in my eyes.
Was hunting around various used record stores in Tokyo and although I was seeing various different Revolver pressings, I couldn’t find this one.
It turned up, of all places, in Tower Records Shinjuku! If you’re in Tokyo, you should really visit here.
Was actually a steal also. About $30 if I remember correctly.
It didn’t have the OBI strip (a cardboard outer strip that Japanese vinyl tends to have on the packaging) and the inner sheet was a little discoloured.
Because of this, it would have been marked down massively.
Well, it certainly does sound fantastic.
When I first brought it home however, my setup wasn’t great (also didn’t realised that I’d messed up my cartridge at that point). I was actually disappointed with it.
It didn’t help that i was mostly testing with Taxman – a song that, If you didn’t realise, actually sounds quite harsh originally.
sincr updating my system and a new cartridge, I have found a new love for this pressing. More so than my stereo remaster (which does SOUND great also).
The mono however is much better to my ears. Stereo is just too separate for me and sounds just wrong. Taxman for instance has your ears bouncing between left and right – distracting!
As for the album itself, this is a true masterpiece. Each song is a great and I’d go as far to say it’s neck and neck with Sgt Pepper’s and Abbey Road as being the best Beatles studio album.