My best friend in high school was from Germany. One summer his mom went home to visit. She came back with all the Beatles German pressings and Peter Gabriels first 4 solo records. Absolutely fantastic pressings. He still has them all. Great video Robert! Have a wonderful New Year. 🎶🎄🎶

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!! I have the German melting Peter Gabriel. It sounds phenomenal!

For me the german MMT pressing started it all. To be exact I am a Beatles fan since 1980. I was three y.o. when John was murdered and they've broadcasted HELP! on german tv in his honor. The opening credit scene of HELP! is the earliest memory in my life. On my 4th birthday my grandma gave me a children's record as a present. My father taught me how to use the record player and the first record I put on wasn't "Karius & Baktus" it was "Magical Mystery Tour". It blew my mind immediately. This was the moment I became a true beatlemaniac. My fate was sealed. Fab4ever! I recently discovered your channel after binge watching Parlogram which is my absolute favorite youtube channel and I abesolutely love it as well. You are a very likable guy and it's very entertaining and informative to listen to you chatting (and ranting) about your experiences with the black gold in a not pretentious way. I love the running gags about "Pet Sounds" (which is the most overrated album ever IMO) and the Dire Straits. Keep It up! Wish your all the best. I highly recommend your channel to other vinyl and music lovers. Sorry for my rusty english. Alles Gute und liebe Grüße aus Deutschland. ❤

@RobertFithen

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Magical Mystery Tour was my first real Beatles' album after a couple of Capitol compilations. I started around 1981.

I love the Parlogram auctions channel. Such a wealth of valuable Bealtes vinyl information. I might have to challenge that best sounding Beatles album declaration. I've got the German MMT with the correct matrix. It sounds amazing, but the original uk -2/-1 Abbey Road is probably the best sounding Beatles album IMO. Oh, loved the Taxman grooves art game too! haha

I knew about the German MMT album but the other ones I didn’t. Very interesting video you posted! Enjoyed it! And Merry Christmas to you!

I got the MMT A1 B3 a few months ago - and I was blown away. I ordered it because I had heard about the sound quality, but I never imagined it t to sound so spectacular. Now I‘ll be looking for some of the other pressings you showed. Thanks for your videos and a Happy New 2022!

@MarcusMaximus909

Жыл бұрын

Nick H were did you get them?

@nickh.4722

Жыл бұрын

I found the one I kept in Switzerland on eBay, another one I‘ve sold to a friend I also found here in Switzerland at arecord fair. They are not that uncommon, to find an A1 B3 copy and one in good condition is the challenge.

@MarcusMaximus909

Жыл бұрын

@@nickh.4722 maybe I should access German or Swiss ebay lol...they have them in the uk.but going for silly prices. Think I will try for the apple ones as they were pressed in the 80s might be in better condition as its pot luck at the moment.

@nickh.4722

Жыл бұрын

Don’t really know about the Apple ones. But in any case: Good luck digging!

I was lucky to pick up a Hor Zu/Apple MMT for very cheap years ago and it is outstanding. I also have a German blue label Hor Zu of Revolver with the A1/B1 matrix and thought it sounded pretty good.

Great Job Robert !!!

Great video! Actually a little correction to what you said about the MMT Hörzu Pressing. There are two pressings with identical jackets both with the red Hörzu Labels on the top left of the front cover, one being the A1/B1 Fake Stereo and the other one being the A1/B3 True Stereo that is the identical but earliest version of the orange Hörzu Label Pressing which is also A1/B3. I actually found one of these red label A1/B3s on a Fleamarket here in Germany a few months ago and couldn’t belive my luck when the seller said he would like to have 40 euros for it (its probably a NM record). When i put it into discogs and looked at the Matrix I was dumbfounded, also of course when i played it. Just incredibly sounding.

Robert this was great. Thank you. MMT is my favorite Beatles record. I'm not sure what version I have, but it's nothing special. I did buy the German Let it Be box from a thrift store about four years ago. When I got home the record was not inside. But it came in a box and with a cool book so I'm always looking for the German version of that. Take care, Charles

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

If MMT is your favorite Beatles album (it's probably my 2nd favorite), I would definitely recommend seeking out the prime German one.

The DMM “+C” MMT is even better than the earlier German cut, IMO.

I found an unofficial pressing of the Horzu Magical Mystery Tour LP in Sweden. It'll have to do until I find a real one.... Thanks for the overview of German Beatles records!

You can get the first Hoerzu logo not only in A1 B1 but also with A1 B3

I have both MMT and Please Please Me in the prime German Horzu pressings and they are great. I also have three different pressings of 1962-1966. The coloured vinyl UK copy is terrible, but it was the first one I bought. The other two are a German pressing, which is really good, and a Dutch pressing, which is better.

Bought the German MMT on Apple new as an import. The B3 cut is amazing.

Man, his videos caught on like wildfire apparently, because I had a few different Hörzu/Apple pressings of MMT in my Discogs cart to pick from, but unfortunately I hesitated & somebody snatched them all before I actually settled on one. Oh well, I eventually scored an early 80s NM copy pretty cheap, but it's the +C unmarked DMM cut, which seems to get mixed reviews. Guess I'll find out how it sounds, as soon as it crosses the pond! 😬 I picked up an German Apple PPM with the right matrix for cheap too, so I can't wait to hear these both! 😎 I gotta get that "fat bass" Revolver eventually, plus a couple other hidden gems that no one's mentioned. 😉 Great video! 🤘 Getting the wrong version of records you ordered sucks! Been there many times.. I feel your pain! Lol

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, hidden gems.. I keep finding out about more and more. lol

@R3TR0R4V3

2 жыл бұрын

There's so much shit to know and keep track of.. It's enough to make your head spin! 😅 Lots of varying opinions too.

The Back cover is with Little Nicola with the two Beatles with her Balloon on the magicaö mystery tour bus during the first week of filming in September 1967. I was in the bus with Ringo driving the bus during the second Week in West Malling now ,Kings Hill in Kent, while racing around the airfield.

I've got all of the American copies since I started in 63, plus the British box set and several German and Japanese copies also. Jim

Very informative

@RobertFithen

7 ай бұрын

Thanks!!

There is one very important fact about the German MMT that you left out: The version of Baby You're a Rich Man on the German pressing is totally different from the versions on any other release except the British stereo cassette. And I mean TOTALLY DIFFERENT! Play it, and then play any other version that you have in your library.

Very informative video, Robert. I find myself leaning towards my German pressings more than anything. I have a beautiful first German pressing of With the Beatles that came in a collection, and as I was checking out details while logging/pricing, I was shocked to see terrible bag rash (at least that's what it appears to be) on the vinyl. It wasn't in a poly lined sleeve, just a paper sleeve, however the jacket was still in the original plastic bag that it came in. I wonder if that could have possibly caused that chemical burn over the years? I know it's a lost cause, but any advice as to what may have caused it? Next time you're in, I'll let you take a look at it. It's the worst bag rash or chemical burn I have ever seen. Take care buddy. Billy-

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Maybe someone housed it in a special sleeve for awhile until they saw what it had done to the record.

Listened to mine earlier this week :)

Hey Rob, with all the hype on Nirvana-Nevermind 30th anniversary re-issue I would like to heard your opinion? Would you be able to compare and give your opinion on the best sounding version. Thanks

I have the NL Help recommended pressing. It has a wide soundstage but I feel that the vocals are a bit buried. Especially on Its Only Love. Regarding MMT, I have a nice export version with the German plates but with the complete booklet, so best of both worlds. I gave the one with the Hortzu cover as a gift to my brother.

@RobertFithen

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, I will probably just stick with the "Help!" that I have.

Does anyone have a link where I can actually hear the Horzu versions? Boy, would I love to receive the digital format for those. Does any other label have them?

I have two German pressings of Magical Mystery Tour -- one for playing side "A", and the other for playing side "B". Although both sides of both pressings are very good, they are not equal. I do this for albums that contain "must have" songs on both side. I seek out the best sounding side "A" and the best sounding side "B". It is rare to have two great sounding sides on a single pressing (I have gotten lucky with a few -- but they are the exception -- it normally takes two separate pressings to get great sound quality on both sides). So for folks seeking out this album, the German Pressing will give you the best and only shot for amazing sound quality. But there is no guarantee of amazing sound quality. Some German pressings were simply not too good even when they were new. This is true for all records. Interestingly, I never noticed the hortsu(?) @2:49. I just checked both of my pressings. One of them is the one that our host displayed. That one I use to play side "A". The other one is the one our host said "You don't want the big red one", @2:31. But mine sounds fantastic. The place from where I obtained my two pressings had many copies. It is possible that the record and the jackets got switched? They sometimes will swap a bad jacket for a clean one, for their pricier albums (and this was pricey). Or maybe our host never landed a great sounding "red one"? To further complicate (or, perhaps, clarify) matters, my "big red one" reads "Apple". So is that the one our host says, @2:50, "...or maybe a latter one with an Apple here"? It is the B-3 stamper, by the way. So I suspect that I got "a latter one", that our host recommends. By the way, I respectfully disagree with seeking out German pressings for titles other than Magical Mystery Tour. They might sound very good. But they will not be the best sounding, compared to the potential of other pressings (it gets complicated as to which pressings have the best chance of great sound quality, because it varies by album title). But for Magical Mystery Tour, the answer is the German pressing -- but not so with other titles.

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info. The MMT pressing with Apple on the top left are a bit later, but still sound great. "Please Please Me" is the only other German Beatles album that's supposed to sound better than any other. The '73 "Revolver" is more of personal preference with it's bass-rich sound. There are certainly better sounding WTB than the German one, but I mentioned it because it is better than the UK and it has that hi-hat intro. I found out some of the B3 MMT's were housed in the older red Horzu cover, but mostly those are the older mix that you wouldn't want.

@NoEgg4u

2 жыл бұрын

@@RobertFithen 1) I was not familiar with that hi-hat intro. I never heard that before. Thanks for sharing. 2) I never heard the word "Horzu" before. Thanks for that, too. But I cannot find a definition anywhere. Where did you get that word from?

@marktierney3938

Жыл бұрын

I’ve just bought a copy of this with the red block logo, it too has a -3 matrix on the b side and is definitely true stereo. It sounds great.

@marktierney3938

Жыл бұрын

@@RobertFithen surely anything with a -3 matrix on side B will be the same mix? On the Parlophone Auctions video it says the first mixes had -1 on both sides.

In the 70s I was buying german beatles imports and compared them with the Japanese and UK pressings friends owned, and the Germans beat them all hands down.

Id love to hear that Magical Mystery Tour album. But good luck. And you know it will never be repressed again. Not even for RSD even of they only made half a million of them. Cool collection. But seems like an awful lot of research into finding these. Definitely something ya need notes for if you ever intend on finding in the wild. Vinyl reading. LOL! My favorite is Jesus Built My Hot Rod by Ministry. Looks like a saw blade. So, on that note. Did you ever put your record player in the middle of the floor and walk around it when it was playing something when you were a kid?

@RobertFithen

Жыл бұрын

No, I would just it go round and round. I got the MMT from discogs and it wasn't really that much.

Hey Rob, did you ever get yourself a Dutch copy of Help! after all? If so how does it compare to other copies you've heard?

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

I just kept the one I was sent. Maybe some day. I have heard there really isn't a super stellar pressing of "Help!".

Just got this on cd. Needle drop remaster from ebbetts

I'd love to know were you got these albums. Any links? Been trying 2 get both those albums

@RobertFithen

Жыл бұрын

I got mine from Discogs. www.discogs.com/release/4726560-The-Beatles-Magical-Mystery-Tour-Plus-Other-Songs

What is the release year for the Dutch version of Help? What should we be looking for in the runouts?

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

The really good one is supposed to be a 2-box reissue but I am not sure of the exact year.

I had a us early capital pressing of mmt. It sounded ok. Then I got an early Japanese pressing, sounded great but a bit to bright for my liking. Now I have an early/first pressing UK parlaphone. It sounds really good. Very smooth and balanced but not as punchey as I would like it to be, but still the best pressing I've ever listened to. I would love to do an a/b comparison of the early UK parlaphone against this German pressing. I have always found German pressings to be somewhat thin and bright. I am open to having my mind changed. I'm assuming that after all this hype, the prices will surely go up. Cherrs.

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

I didn't notice a price hike after Parlogram Auctions put out that video. I am not sure about the early UK pressing of this one because it's basically an American album concept first released in the UK on a double 7" EP. The German one I have lives up to the hype I've heard.

@devildart

2 жыл бұрын

@@RobertFithen sooooo, apparently the first 12inch parlaphone press is a repress in 76. Here is what someone wrote about it in discogs. During the big Beatles sales push by E.M.I. in 1976 after their contract expired, this LP was given a proper official release on the Parlophone label with a catalogue number of PCTC 255 (although the cassette was TC-PCS 3077!) BUT inexplicably this first official OFFICIAL release was NOT advertised in any way. (Can anyone from E.M.I. out there reading this offer an explanation ?!) Consequently, the only U.K. issue of this album failed to chart. It should also be noted that this 1976 edition used the same masters as the original U.S. release, and therefore some tracks were still in mono ... BUT ... another bizarre E.M.I. move ... the cassette DID have "Baby. You're A Rich Man" in stereo. In 1978 a "gold" vinyl edition was released. I don't why my parlaphone copy sounds better than my us copy. Maybe a fresh stamper or better vinyl. Definitely going to get the German copy. Can't believe the prices haven't gone up yet. They usually do when I find out about this stuff. Cheers.

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

@@devildart Yes, that German one (1973 pressings and later) have everything in true stereo, but beyond just that, sounds amazing.

l got the German Magical Mystery Tour LP in the late 70s. It blew away the shit sounding U.S. LP. The rear cover pic's from the MMT film.

Anyone heard the new German red vinyl reissue of mmt

I own two versions of german MMT, one with "Horzu" logo and other one with "Apple" logo. The one with apple logo sounds superior to me, I don't know why

The Germans invented Hi Fidelity tape recording with the addition of bias. After WW2, confiscated German tape recorders were reversed engineered to give the world Hi-Fi tape recording. I have to wonder if the technology was passed down with more information than the reversed engineering revealed. There is more than one method of adjusting tape bias. I originally was taught to peak a 1kHz tone. Later I was taught about over-bias to reduce distortion products. About 14 years ago I had a chance to talk to an older German engineer who worked for Schoeps Microphones. He was very knowledgeable. Unfortunately he spoke very little english and I could only speak about 20 words of German. A lesson for the kids. Learn a foreign language. I know the German pressings could only be pressed with the tapes made in England. There is distortion "undoing" technology made for the broadcast industry to undo the garbage that the record companies produce today. It should be unnecessary, but is now required. Just my two cents worth.

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

Great info! They definitely had English masters because of the "All My Loving" hi-hat on the German "WTB". From what I had researched, German record engineering was just superior. One element of that was it was simply taken more seriously, especially when it came to contemporary (for the time) pop music. PPM and WTB sound better on the correct German pressings, but that Magical Mystery Tour pressing is otherworldly. Btw, I had 5 years of German in school and forgot most of it at this point unfortunately. I know there is no way I could carry on a conversation in German about engineering. lol

What about the German white album ?

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

It's not supposed to be anything special. Reportedly, the best are the two first U.K. pressings.

@aureliande2659

7 ай бұрын

@@RobertFithen What you ought to listen to is the 1984 analogue DMM pressing. Discogs says 1985, I believe (didn't check). There are two versions, one on white vinyl pressed at Teldec, who owned the DMM process, and one slightly later. Matrices with //D. The regular WA is nothing special, as you say, but the DMM version is amazing. Don't confuse with the later digital DMM one.

Don't worry about the Dutch copy of Help! I have it and it really isn't that great. The De Agostini copy of Help! that was issued in 2017 sounds by far the best.

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info. I will have to check that out. Those aren't very expensive either.

Have you ever heard the German pressing of the White Album ?

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

I haven't heard it myself, but have read from several audiophiles and fans that's it's nothing special and the original U.K. is better.

The German "A Collection of Oldies..." on the blue label is a sonic mess. There are two "Rarities" on the Apple label. One has the song "Rain" in mono and the other has the song "Rain" in glorious stereo. I write that it is in Glorious stereo as you may want that for your mix tape. I Have a German stereo "Help!" as the stereo is mixed further apart than the British version. The DMM version of the Beatles White Album is the best version ever. Bye for now.

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info! I've heard the "Collection of Oldies" get called the "worst sounding conventional Beatles album." I need to get that "Help!" situation remedied.

Fascinating info young man......I find Paperback Writer the easiest vinyl to "read"...tee hee

@RobertFithen

2 жыл бұрын

That one is also available in 45 rpm for those who want to speed read.

@VagueRANT100

2 жыл бұрын

@@RobertFithen 🤣

The problem with the German MMT is that now that there are so many videos about it, prices have skyrocketed on Discogs. For a VG / G copy, expect to shell out at least $100. Some people post a scratched up, no sleeve for $38 + shipping. This only means that Apple UK will have to recut the MMT from the true stereo analog masters as a future box. I have no interest in the band’s older material previous to Rubber Soul.

The problem is: the Beatles never „sounded“ extremely well or perfect. They are not Claudio Arrau or Chamber Orchestra of Europe or the Emerson String Quartet. They play their instruments ok but not masterly. Lets take the very beginning of Drive my car( in ANY PRESSING OR VERSION, of course). Well, I dont know how George Martin missed the chance to tell Paul that his bass was tuned much too high, extremely high. The guitars start and his bass answers( before they start singing) and its like almost in another key, so high it is. The D is almost an E flat. Well, what I mean is, instrumental or singing perfection is something that has nothing to do with the Beatles. The reason why the Beatles are what they were, are and will be is the amazing quality of the compositions. Yes, it remains a mistery though that Beatles versions of their compositions are always better than any cover version. Yes, a mistery. Still, I grew up with southamerican pressings of the 70s heard on terrible audio equipment, but I didnt miss anything about the Beatles. Beatles dont depend of audiophile editions. But of course, I bought the blue BC 13 and also the 2014 Mono Vinyl box