Anthology 1 OOPSed
I have tried OOPS on tracks on Anthology 1, here are the results!
Most of the tracks on A1 are mono, although many of them are wrongly indicated
as stereo on the booklet. OOPS is useful to reveal which are true mono and
which were processed, and to emphasize noises on some tracks.
Of course, the stereo tracks, although few, also produce good results!
Everything was done digitally. I played the CDs on my CD-ROM drive, recorded
samples of selected parts of each song at 22 KHz, 16-bit using Cool Editor 1.50,
then applied the Cool's filter "Channel Mixer" ("Vocal Cut" preset).
Glossary
- Reduced or Background: a sound similar to the original, trebly and at low volume.
This is the result of OOPSing a sound that is heard close to the center
in stereo, but not exactly centered.
- Mono Mix: result of the simple combination of both stereo
channels into one.
- Remix: after OOPS, all sounds (or most of them) can be heard,
but at different levels, compared to a Mono Mix.
Notes on Mono Tracks
Many mono tracks on A1 leave just silence after OOPS. On the others, although, some
sound remains after OOPS. Some of them seem to be unbalanced, others are
mono tapes played on stereo machines, and some of them seem to have reverb
added, as mock stereo!
- If the mono sound is not perfectly centered (unbalanced), there will
be some difference between the channels and the result will be a reduced
original sound.
- If the mono tape was played on a stereo machine, the signal is splitted
incorrectly between the stereo tracks, and may also "move" slightly around the
center. After OOPS, the result is similar to the unbalanced, but if the
sound "moves", the volume of OOPS sound changes.
- Finally, on some tracks a reverbed sound is heard after OOPS. This means:
the mono recording had reverb added in stereo during the preparation of
Anthology 1 masters.
The Tracks
Note: If only silence remains after OOPS, the track is not listed.
Free As A Bird
The "wall of sound": acoustic guitars and harmony vocals, plus lead guitar
(at lower volume). Sometimes the other sounds (John vocal, drums and
solo guitar) are heard very faintly.
The coda sounds as a remix, with the sound effects and ukelele emphasized.
John speech
Reduced original sound
My Bonnie
A remix that brings up Tony Sheridan's vocal, sent away by Anthology mixing
to emphasize the Beatles. During the intro, OOPS removes Paul's voiceover.
This way, OOPS produces a version closer to the original!
Ain't She Sweet
Reduced original sound
Cry For A Shadow
Remix, almost the same as a Mono Mix
John speech
Reduced original sound with noise emphasized
Brian Epstein speeches (all)
Reduced original sound
Decca tracks
Reduced original sound, oscillating.
Please Please Me
Reduced original sound. Differently from all the other "reductions",
this one has more bass than the original!
One After 909
Reduced original sound and lots of noise.
Lend Me Your Comb
Reduced original sound and lots of noise, following the beats.
I'll Get You
Reduced original sound and some noise.
Swedish Radio tracks
Reduced original sound. Lots of noise on "I Saw Her Standing There" and
"From Me To You", and oscillations on "You Really Got A Hold On Me".
ITV tracks
Remixes, very similar to Mono Mixes, with vocal lower and a bit reverbed.
I'll Be Back
Waltz take: silence
Complete take: Reduced original sound reverbed.
Leave My Kitten Alone
Hi-hats and piano, at lower volume, plus all the other sounds reduced and
reverbed.
No Reply
Reduced original sound, reverbed.
Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey
Guitar and bass. Vocal and drums are heard in background, oscillating.
Conclusions about Mono/Stereo
As I said, the A1 booklet information is wrong about the mono/stereo information.
After OOPSing, we can tell which are mono, which are stereo and which are
processed (mock stereo).
- Stereo tracks:
Free As A Bird
My Bonnie
Cry For A Shadow
ITV tracks
Leave My Kitten Alone
Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey
- Reprocessed mono tracks (mock stereo):
I'll Be Back (Complete)
No Reply (take 2)
- Mono tracks (some unbalanced): all the rest.
OOPS page
Anthology 1