The Beatles Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2 (Australian LPs)

Fan created remixes and rare variations
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paul62
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The Beatles Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2 (Australian LPs)

Post by paul62 »

I'd had a special request from a new member of my joint to upload these two GH volumes via Gofiles (or similar), so here we go. Go files go!! (link below)

This set was one of the first to feature a stereo "She's A Woman", so it was something that was prized by Beatles collectors through the vinyl/cassette era. That's why I'm putting it here: these LPs are now rare and include a rare stereo mix.

This is the 10th Anniversary Edition (details as per discogs): I've got the Melbourne - 3DB version, which I'd bought second-hand. The previous owner/s had looked after it (and I've maintained the same level of care!!).

www.discogs.com/The-Beatles-Greatest-Hi ... se/3087093

Notes
Made in Australia by E.M.I. (Australia) Limited

In February of 1973, ten years and three years after, respectively, the release of the Beatles' first and last albums, a group of affiliated radio stations across Australia sponsored the release of an LP which packaged together the previously released compilations, Greatest Hits Volume 1 & Greatest Hits Volume 2 as, The Beatles Greatest Hits Volumes One And Two (The Beatles' Australian 10th Anniversary 1963-1973). The vinyl was housed in a custom gatefold sleeve, to which was attached a gold sticker bearing the name of the radio station which was promoting the album in a particular Australian State or Territory. While there was no new content, or new mixes of old content, on the album, the labels eschewed the orange hue that characterised contemporary Beatles releases in favour of a more subdued lilac/purple colour; not a particularly earth-shattering variation perhaps but one which undeniably adds to the unique character of the Australian Beatles labelography. The album was available for only two or so months.

The stations involved were:

Sydney - 2UE
Newcastle - 2KO
Melbourne - 3DB
Brisbane - 4BK
Adelaide - 5AD
Perth - 6PR
Hobart - 7HT
Launceston - 7EX
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Side A - Handwritten): YAPAX1015
Matrix / Runout (Side B - Handwritten): YAPAX1016
Matrix / Runout (Side C - Handwritten): YAPAX1009
Matrix / Runout (Side D - Handwritten): YAPAX1010

hxxps://gofile.io/d/uHbLOR
Last edited by paul62 on Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Beatles Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2 (Australian LPs)

Post by General Pepper »

I'm Australian and have only seen this.

I have the two separate albums.

Thanks for sharing.
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Re: The Beatles Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2 (Australian LPs)

Post by paul62 »

I've got another pair of these, pressed in the late '70s or early '80s: here's an upload of those ones, as well.
hxxps://gofile.io/d/Iu2zF4

My copies were all made from plates made from the original cuts done in the '60s but there was a recut of the two LPs in '82 before the catalogue was standardised.

http://www.beatlesaustralia.com/07_GHV1_index.html
http://www.beatlesaustralia.com/09_GHV2_index.html

ALBUM NOTES
Both volumes were conceived in early 1966, with EMI (Australia) requesting stereo tapes from EMI UK for the tracks not already in its vaults. This means that both volumes, despite not being released locally in stereo until February 1967 (Volume 2) and February 1968 (Volume 1), contain the 1965 stereo mixes of I Want To Hold Your Hand, Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out rather than the new mixes that were created by EMI UK in November 1966 for A Collection Of Beatles Oldies. This also explains why the two volumes contain no post-1965 “greatest hits”.

Volume 2’s claim to fame was being the only album worldwide, until the 1980 eight-LP The Beatles Box release, to contain the stereo mix of She’s A Woman.

The mono masters of both volumes were folddowns of the stereo tapes, with only She Loves You and I’ll Get You appearing in true mono, due to the unavailability of stereo mixes at the time of compilation. Both mono volumes were mastered together in 1966. Mysteriously, the stereo version of Volume 1 would not be released until twenty months after the mono release, and twelve months after the release of Volume 2! This is why the Volume 2 sleeve refers only to the mono release of Volume 1. For the stereo release of Volume 1, EMI (Australia) replaced the mono mix of She Loves You with the fake stereo mix created by EMI UK in November 1966.

The covers for both volumes borrowed heavily from overseas releases. Volume 1 used elements from the US Beatles VI and German The Beatles Beat and Volume 2 used elements from the (surprisingly even earlier) US Beatles ‘65 as well as what was left of Beatles VI. Use of these 1965-period photos emphasises the genesis of these albums.

By mid-1973, Volume 1 had sold over 100,000 copies. What is intriguing about both volumes is that, despite the myriad of “greatest hit” packages and assorted themed compilations released over the ensuing years, they never went out of print, selling consistently right up until catalogue standardisation in 1988.

EMI (Australia) exported (at least) Volume 1 mono mothers to HMV (New Zealand) and stereo mothers for both volumes to EMI (South East Asia). HMV (New Zealand) pressed domestic copies of Volume 1 (PMCM-7533) and copies for export to Australia. EMI (South East Asia) pressed both volumes in stereo (S-LPEA 1001/1002) for distribution in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Volume 1 Side 1: Please, Please Me / From Me To You / She Loves You / I’ll Get You / I Want To Hold Your Hand / Love Me Do / I Saw Her Standing There. Side 2: Twist And Shout / Roll Over Beethoven / All My Loving / Hold Me Tight / Can’t Buy Me Love / You Can’t Do That / Long Tall Sally.

Volume 2 Side 1: A Hard Day’s Night / Boys / I Should Have Known Better / I Feel Fine / She’s A Woman / Till There Was You / Rock And Roll Music. Side 2: Anna / Ticket To Ride / Eight Day’s A Week / Help! / Yesterday / We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper.

The above is an extract from the book “An Overview of Australian Beatles Records”, © 2011/12 by Jaesen Jones. Used by permission. Book available for purchase by clicking the "AUSSIE BEATLES BOOK" link in the top menu.
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Re: The Beatles Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2 (Australian LPs)

Post by MrMurphMcgee »

Thanks!
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Re: The Beatles Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2 (Australian LPs)

Post by 20YearsAgo »

For a non-Aussie like myself, that 1973 gatefold release stands as one of the strangest Beatles releases I've heard of. Actually, I never heard of it until I saw these posts this morning. How it came about -- through radio station promotions-- seems almost fantastical. I can't imagine Apple today would give a hoot if radio stations in [country X] tried to pressure them into making a new, general-release package. The artwork too, seems off-quality. Some bootlegs at the time would've had more aesthetically-pleasing covers. Is the gatefold really black-and-white? Not color?

The weirdest thing though is the track listing. The Beatles had many "hits," but I'd never describe "You Can't Do That," "Hold Me Tight," "Rock N Roll Music" as among their "greatest." Then again, the tracks would've been specifically to satisfy the Aussie market. I noticed that all but one of the songs ("This Boy") that the Beatles performed on their '64 Aussie tour are included in the set.

I gather that the reason the '73 set was pulled from the shelves within just a couple of months of its release was to create room for the April '73 Red & Blue releases. But could the introduction (and presumably robust sales it might've encountered) have been one of the reasons Apple chose to assemble and release their own world-wide greatest hits packages?
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Re: The Beatles Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2 (Australian LPs)

Post by paul62 »

The Beatles Greatest Hits Vol.1 and Vol. 2 was available until the catalogue was standardised worldwide. The cover of the special 2LP Greatest Hits set has artwork from the back cover of an even weirder LP called "The Essential Beatles" which came out in '72 as a mass-marketed "best of" for the kind of people who'd buy K-Tel LPs et cetera. (Check out the track listing at the discogs link below).

This was a release prepared for the market in Australia and New Zealand in 1972 and it sold a lot of copies. The cover art was good (the back was better than the front, methinks) and does look like something from 1972 made for the mass market. The title was also good and to the point but the track selection was more eccentric than essential, though, so the LP didn't really live up to the promise shown by the title.

The catalogue number (TVSS-8) indicates that the marketing was TV-based. (Funnily enough, the next release (TVSS-9) was an
Engelbert Humperdinck compilation called This Is Engelbert: John Lennon had recently been making derisive references to Paul McCartney as being "Engelbert Humperdinck"...).

I had an idea some time ago that Past Masters, Volume One and Past Masters, Volume Two could have been better served if they were called The Essential Beatles, Volume One and The Essential Beatles, Volume Two. They could have recycled the cover art from the 1972 LP, with volume one having the black background and white writing of the LP front cover and with volume two having this same design but with a white background and black writing instead. The back cover of The Essential Beatles is a chronology of the band's recording career and could have been reworked to suit the new compilations. The Past Masters covers are very plain and are not that attractive to look at: it's fair to say that the content, though, is the distilled essence of The Beatles or "The Essential Beatles", moreso than the LP of that name.

https://www.discogs.com/The-Beatles-The ... se/2598825
https://www.discogs.com/Engelbert-Humpe ... ase/653099
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Re: The Beatles Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2 (Australian LPs)

Post by rhino »

Thank you very much!
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Re: The Beatles Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2 (Australian LPs)

Post by Lord Reith »

Thanks for ripping these two rarities. Norman Smith's 1965 mix of IWTHYH was much better than Emerick's.
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Re: The Beatles Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2 (Australian LPs)

Post by General Pepper »

I must dig out my copy of the essential Beatles on CD.

Many years ago, I was trading with someone who had supplied his copy of the vinyl to Dr Ebbets. Ebbets did the needledrop, but I understand he never released it publicly. He did give a copy to my trader friend.

I don't know how common a DESS Essential Beatles is, but I like the burn I have.

FYI:

EMI Australia asked EMI UK for a stereo mix of Penny Lane (EMI Australia apparently requested the stereo mix prior to Germany's issue of Magical Mystery Tour - which was released before The Essential Beatles), yet still used the mono mix of Baby You're A Rich Man.

Long Tall Sally has reversed channels.

Penny Lane runs slow with a noticable "warble".

Let It Be is the album remix, not the single.
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Re: The Beatles Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2 (Australian LPs)

Post by beatlesfanfromsop »

paul62 wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:30 am I'd had a special request from a new member of my joint to upload these two GH volumes via Gofiles (or similar), so here we go. Go files go!! (link below)

This set was one of the first to feature a stereo "She's A Woman", so it was something that was prized by Beatles collectors through the vinyl/cassette era. That's why I'm putting it here: these LPs are now rare and include a rare stereo mix.

This is the 10th Anniversary Edition (details as per discogs): I've got the Melbourne - 3DB version, which I'd bought second-hand. The previous owner/s had looked after it (and I've maintained the same level of care!!).

www.discogs.com/The-Beatles-Greatest-Hi ... se/3087093

Notes
Made in Australia by E.M.I. (Australia) Limited

In February of 1973, ten years and three years after, respectively, the release of the Beatles' first and last albums, a group of affiliated radio stations across Australia sponsored the release of an LP which packaged together the previously released compilations, Greatest Hits Volume 1 & Greatest Hits Volume 2 as, The Beatles Greatest Hits Volumes One And Two (The Beatles' Australian 10th Anniversary 1963-1973). The vinyl was housed in a custom gatefold sleeve, to which was attached a gold sticker bearing the name of the radio station which was promoting the album in a particular Australian State or Territory. While there was no new content, or new mixes of old content, on the album, the labels eschewed the orange hue that characterised contemporary Beatles releases in favour of a more subdued lilac/purple colour; not a particularly earth-shattering variation perhaps but one which undeniably adds to the unique character of the Australian Beatles labelography. The album was available for only two or so months.

The stations involved were:

Sydney - 2UE
Newcastle - 2KO
Melbourne - 3DB
Brisbane - 4BK
Adelaide - 5AD
Perth - 6PR
Hobart - 7HT
Launceston - 7EX
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Side A - Handwritten): YAPAX1015
Matrix / Runout (Side B - Handwritten): YAPAX1016
Matrix / Runout (Side C - Handwritten): YAPAX1009
Matrix / Runout (Side D - Handwritten): YAPAX1010

hxxps://gofile.io/d/uHbLOR
paul62
Thanks for posting this one.
Mike
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