The Smiley Smile Message Board

I have found a record shop that is selling an original Friends LP for £15 in mono. The catalogue number is T.... as opposed to ST....

I know there has been some discussion over the BBs 60s LPs, and whether the Mono or Stereo versions are better, and i was wondering if anyone could offer any advice on the Mono version.

Friends is the only significant 60s LP missing from my vinyl collection and it has been hard to find, but i don't mind waiting to find the right version.

I would say it would probably be good. Outside of the single it's probably fold down mono, but that's a pretty good price because it wasn't issued in mono over here.

Correct: only the single was mixed to mono. The remainder of the songs were folded down for foreign mono releases. It is interesting to note(and this was explained to me at EMI Music headquarters when I visited London in the early 1990's) that when EMI/UK would receive albums from Capitol/U.S.A. in the 1960's, they would receive the stereo mix as stampers, and the mono mix as a tape. That's why, after those stampers wore out, then those albums would revert to mono-only in the UK(and even on some early CD's, such as "See For Miles" CD's by "Human Beinz" & "The Wind in The Willows")

Excuse my ignorance, but what is fold-down mono? Is that like pressing the mono/stereo button on a stereo?

So does this mean that Brian didn't oversee the UK mono version? Did he oversee the US mono version?

As i generally prefer stereo over mono anyway, am i better off waiting to find a stereo pressing?

Thanks for your help!

Brian didn't oversee the US mono version of the LP because there wasn't one.  :)

Yes just like pressing the mono switch.