Focus B 7th Nov 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumFamily - Music In A Doll’s House (1968) | Surprising my copy has handwritten rather than the usual stamped matrix numbers. It looks genuine with the indented ring as seen on the image of the stereo copy. Matrix on both sides: 3G
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Focus B 6th Nov 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Beatles - Rubber Soul (1965) | Would appear to be one of the last albums to feature different mono and stereo catalogue numbers.
The 7000 system commenced soon afterwards with both mono and stereo releases having the same catalogue number.
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Focus B 6th Nov 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumBernard Cribbins - A Combination Of Cribbins (1962) | Interesting to note that when Regal Starline issued The Best of Bernard Cribbins they used the same photo session for its front cover. Middle photo of the rear of this sleeve in full colour.
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Focus B 4th Nov 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumWallace Collection - Laughing Cavalier (1969) | None laminated textured sleeve. Later copies without the Sold In UK statement exist, but have never seen one with black and silver labels.
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Focus B 19th Oct 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumCartoone - Cartoone (1969) | Labels uploaded. Unfortunately, I don't have the sleeve for this album.
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Focus B 8th Oct 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Damned - Damned Damned Damned (1977) | I wasn't aware of Stiff's connection with Island Records. My copy of the album is missing its sleeve.
Learn something new every day!
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Focus B 4th Oct 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Seekers - The Sound Of The Seekers (1970) | I've always wondered why this album shows the older font Regal logo on the reverse. Not the case with other Regal Starline albums.
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Focus B 29th Sep 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Mamas And The Papas - 20 Golden Hits (1974) | Sorry for the typos. Re-issue and Very of course.
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Focus B 25th Sep 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumSmall Faces - Rock Roots The Singles Album (1977) | This album remained on catalogue long enough to have pale blue red rim labels.
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Focus B 21st Sep 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumStatus Quo - Golden Hour Of Status Quo (1973) | Up there with the Golden Hour Of The Kinks as an excellent compilation of their Pye work.
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Focus B 21st Sep 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Settlers - Call Again (1969) | Added Side 2 label scan.
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Focus B 20th Sep 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumVanilla Fudge - Vanilla Fudge (1967) | Interesting to note, when Alan Freeman played You Keep Me Hanging On on his show in 1989, it was the mono version.
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Focus B 17th Sep 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumCream - Wheels Of Fire (1968) | Uploaded, "Smooth" label copy.
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Focus B 17th Sep 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumCream - Wheels Of Fire (1968) | I don't know but it wasn't uncommon for UK releases of US material to be fold downs of stereo recordings. The mono UK Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys is a fold down of the duophonic stereo remarkably, giving an odd "Double tracked" effect! Can't speak for US releases of UK albums though.
I have the UK original mono double set and the stereo "Studio" seperate release. I haven't noticed any differences in the mix, only to say the sound quality and entertainment quality of both mono and stereo versions are equal.
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Focus B 12th Sep 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Moody Blues - On The Threshold Of A Dream (1969) | With acknowledgement to the excellent scans already uploaded, I've added the earlier laminated sleeve front and back with the stereo version in situ. Also included scans of the boxed stereo full sized labels.
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Focus B 12th Sep 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Moody Blues - On The Threshold Of A Dream (1969) | Front and rear of original laminated sleeve uploaded. Excellent scans of the gatefold and inner book, stapled to the gatefold from others can be seen on the Stereo release SML 1035
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Focus B 9th Sep 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Moody Blues - On The Threshold Of A Dream (1969) | Just located what could be a first stereo pressing, with the boxed Stereo, full sized labels and upside down matrix numbers. Both sides are 2W. The inner sleeve is the blue banded stereo one, common with 1969 releases
Having just purchased this in Bath these are photos taken on my phone and edited using the Android Round Photo program.
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Focus B 4th Sep 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumEric Burdon And The Animals - Eric Burdon And The Animals (1975) | Front and rear sleeve uploaded, not an easy task with text at the far corners of the 12" sleeve, but I have done my best using an A4 scanner. This copy doesn't have the Special Price Series banner at the top, as uploaded on Discogs
The Special Price of £1.47 including 8% VAT would date this release between approximately 1975-1979.
The spine of the LP credits the album as being on POLYDOR STANDARD 2356 142 rather than Metro...
A great album, but had they replaced the dreadful cover of River Deep Mountain High with Anything, it would have been perfect.
Also available on Music Cassette and 8-track.
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Focus B 1st Sep 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumPink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975) | Also available in Quadrophonic.
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Focus B 28th Aug 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Motors - Tenement Steps (1980) | Sleeve and inner sleeves uploaded. Although not mentioned elsewhere, the spine credits the album as being on 202022 ARIOLA BENELUX B.V, rather than Virgin.
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Focus B 27th Aug 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumDavid Bowie - Another Face (1981) | Excellent compilation, especially utilising the original single versions of A1 and B6. The Davie Jones and the King Bees coupling is also very welcome.
I'm surprised they were still doing reprocessed stereo as late as 1981 though! The result is a "Dalek type" virtual monotone although, "The London Boys" isn't badly affected.
Thankfully, this dreadful practice didn't last for much longer.
Only tracks A4, A5, A6, B2, B4 and B5 are true stereo.
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Focus B 26th Aug 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Animals - The Most Of The Animals (1966) | I used to have this with one EMI boxed silver/black labels. Still mono.
I doubt a stereo version exists to the best of my knowledge.
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Focus B 23rd Aug 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Beatles - Abbey Road (1969) | I have the first pressing but sadly once owned by someone with a mono ", Steam Roller", type of record player unsuited to playing stereo records, thus ruining it.
This was the first Beatles' album to be released exclusively in stereo from of course.
It did cost me 25p to be fair.
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Focus B 23rd Aug 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Beatles - Help! (1965) | Gimme Vinyl- The mono release was originally phased out around 1969. Original UK mono issues will have the Sold in UK statement.
The mono version was re-issued in 1981/2 with similar labels to the original, but differ by having the legend Mono on the labels that's absent on original copies.
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Focus B 22nd Aug 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Beatles - Beatles For Sale (1964) | My own copy has 3N matrixes on both sides, Recording First Published 1964 and Sold In Uk etc. Not the Made In Gt.Britain error though.
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Focus B 11th Aug 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Ivy League - Tomorrow Is Another Day (1968) | Sleeve and labels uploaded.
Must be the budget compilation of the year. A Superb selection of songs.
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Focus B 2nd Aug 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumThe Hourglass - The Hourglass Featuring Gregg And Duane Allman (1973) | I used to have a US copy of this, now sadly lost. The first album had sides 1 & 3, the second sides 2 & 4.
I don't recall it being credited to featuring Gregg and Duane Allman, just The Hourglass.
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Focus B 30th Jul 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumSyd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs And Barrett (1974) | The comments about the uploaded images referred to the change from, EMI Records Ltd. at the start being moved to the end of the All Rights statement, which occurred in the early '80s.
Had this been a 1989 issue, I would imagine black and silver Harvest labels to have been used.
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Focus B 22nd Jul 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumSyd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs And Barrett (1974) | The uploaded label images clearly show this being a 1980's issue,
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Focus B 21st Jul 2020 | | Vinyl AlbumSyd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs And Barrett (1974) | Seeing we had a copy of this double set in 1977, the 1989 release date is clearly wrong! It had the same catalogue numbers but lacked the Harvest Heritage logo on the sleeve and labels.
I think that came in around 1978-79.
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