Added green labels without 'Electronically Reprocessed For Stereo' markings, and back cover variant where mono and stereo numbers are shown, and marking for mono or stereo is by a hole in the cover displaying print colour on inner bag.Also has a single line of text only down right edge. Are these earliest versions so far?
Edit: Also noticed composer on Side 1 label track 7 is (Barry) rather than (Berry).
Wasn't there some controversy over this LP?, I think when it was originally announced it was going to be called "Could You Walk On Water?" with the back cover photo on the front and some different tracks or mixes.
Anyone know the full story?
EDIT: found some info here.
also found the article in Record Collector 169 pages 33-36, it is a rather complicated story starting with the LP that eventually became Aftermath.
m'm'mlade: quite a few of these are re-recordings, clearly audibly different from the original mono singles - and the mono lp -'s recordings, quite aside of the stereo effect. if you knew and loved the singles, the stereo re-recordings sound wrong, less punchy and actually "thinner" - though in stereo, with its left-to-right separation; and sometimes there are gross differences in the timbre of voices, and even of instruments, as well as the "over-all sound".
I got a seriously tatty copy of this the other day.
Ordinarily I'd leave a record in that kind of state in the shop, but a couple of things intrigued me about it... first and foremost I wanted to hear what the "Mono reprocessed for Stereo" tracks sounded like, and then it has the "small" labels on it, in an inner sleeve dated 85.
The labels are a weird colour to look at, one of those funny tones that you can't quite make out what colour they are... a kind of very dull grey with a tinge of blue, sometimes they look more blue than grey, and others the other way around.
If the inner sleeve is correct for it, then it would seem that these small Decca labels persisted into the eighties.
The "stereo" effect is not as catastrophic as I thought it would be actually... as I'm sure many will have heard some pretty ropey re-processed mono-to-stereos in their time, these actually sound reasonably good, if a little rough, and punchy.
But the other odd thing about them is the matrices:
XEAL, instead of XZAL, both sides -(it is actually XZAL, but the "Z" is over-inscribed with the "E"), it's very definite both sides. And mine are 7W ending, both sides.
Wasn't sure if the labels here are one of the kind I have (The lighter blue uploaded by sapper), although I do think mine are actually a different colour, so I will upload them...
...once I've repaired the spine, the huge rip on the back cover, got rid of the coffee stains and other shit... and worked out the half dozen or so scratches that cause my stylus to jump like a seal on the surf at a shark party at feeding time.
(It's a lost cause, I know, but an object of interest nevertheless)
Label layout/content variation added of the turquoise blue/green variety.Sleeve matches images 30273/74/75/76/77/78/79/80/81/82.
Matrix side 1 (image 72263) = XZAL-7503-6D and 5E and HA (machine stamped).
Matrix side 2 (image 72264) = XZAL-7504-6D and 1 and AK (machine stamped).