You've put together a truly fascinating story about an album I admittedly knew almost nothing about. I can't believe I didn't find your channel sooner. Subscribed!
I found a copy of this album at a yard sale in the early 80s. I think I paid $1 for it and it's imported from England. I always thought it sounded amazing. Many years later, through research on the internet, I discovered that the copy I have is a genuine first pressing. It's a great collection, and I think American fans unfamiliar with the album would enjoy having it reissued.
I own this album. It was my very first album I ever bought (probably around 1977). My mom helped me select it. I didn't even own a record player at the time. I had to ask my brother's permission to play it on his stereo. I still have it to this day.
I have the UK budget 'Fame' reissue of that album on both Cassette and LP and they both still sound great. As their first official 'Greatest Hits' compilation to be released in Britain (as well as many other countries), it certainly deserves to receive more love from both fans and critics alike.
I am from Argentina and I bought the local edition of this album in the late 70's. It was my second Beatles album after "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and I still have it almost intact. Thank you very much for the report. Greetings from Córdoba, Argentina
I'm 62 years old, lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for the first 55 years, and have never seen this album. Didn't even know it existed. Thanks so much for educating me on this. :)
60, bay area as well, not a sighting all these years. interesting. very dated cover to my eye. interesting mix. bit of history. my favorite is still yel sub with the george martin orchestral score. bought that myself when it came out, my first album. not the best beatles songs, but it was MY album.
This was a UK only album release so unless you looked in the import Beatles section in certain record stores or were really into their record catalog it would have been easy to miss it.
I bought this album and loved it. Here in Australia it was titled A Collection of Oldies BUT Goldies. It included Bad Boy written by Clarence Williams. A great collection. NB: the rear photo was in a very arty smoke filled black and white.
I'm 64 and born & raised in San Diego, CA. I have thousands of vinyl and never heard of this album! Thanks for an enlightened doc on this LP. It deserves to be re-released as a proper Beatles catalog album!
Thanks Andrew! This album was a very important one to me. As an American fan since their Ed Sullivan appearance, I'd bought every US LP release and many singles. During college time in the early '70s (after their breakup), I was flipping through the bins at my favorite record shop in downtown Wilkes-Barre, PA and stumbled upon several odd-looking Beatles albums with stunningly sharp & glossy cover images and 14 tracks per disc! What were these oddities? Turned out they were Parlophone imports from the UK. I decided to try a couple of them. It had taken me a while to convince myself that "Oldies" was an actual Beatles album due to the unusual painted cover image that had never appeared in the US and the collection of titles that I thought might have been covers by other artists. The biggest surprise and thrill was the discovery of a Beatles tune that I'd never heard before: From Me To You! The sound quality was also better than Capitol releases, on this album and ESPECIALLY on Revolver! That was the beginning of my effort to get their entire LP collection on imports, including German and Japanese vinyl as well as British. The sound quality put Capitol to shame! "Oldies" was responsible for starting it all for me.
Someone may have pointed this out already, but the Czech version of the album seems to credit the music to John Lennon and the words to Paul McCartney, as if they're Rodgers and Hammerstein.
I was just looking through the comments to see if this had been mentioned! The insert states "hudba" (music) John Lennon, and "slova" (words) Paul McCartney.
Thanks for the fascinating insight into this compilation. I love this album's track listing, Andrew, especially the rear cover photo (which was shot on my fourteenth birthday.) When I bought it in '79, I named this compilation the Woodcote Green Album as I lived on Woodcote Green Estate in Epsom from September 59 (when I was 7) until October 66 (when I was 14) and this album covers that era nicely (plus the bonus 'Bad Boy', of course.) We had a month at my grandmother's house and on November 23, 1966 my parents, sister and I flew to Toronto and nothing was ever the same again.
I'm really glad you've put this album in the spotlight. It was my first Beatles album, bought in 1976, and holds great affection. I played it so much as a 12 year old that even to this day there will be times when I am listening to the tracks in different contexts and my brain predicts the next track based on the Oldies... running order! I have always loved the cover, and agree totally that it's a companion piece to Revolver. A record store day release is a brilliant idea!!
I bought my first copy of "Oldies" from Probe Records in Liverpool when I was a kid, around 1982. The thing about Probe was they employed sales assistants who were quick to tell you if a record was any good or not. My seller was Pete Burns, he of Dead Or Alive fame. I passed the cover into him, he looked at it, sighed, and gave me a friendly snarl!!!
here in Australia, your Beatles record collection in the early 70s, wasn't complete without this one. it was a strange compilation, but still an essential part of your historic collection if you wanted people to know you were a true Beatlemaniac.
Being an American, I had never heard of the album until I saw it in the record store as an import. I then read more lengthy stories about it in books. There weren't any songs that I didn't already previously own, though differently mixed, but the album cover was one of the coolest that I had seen. Thank you for this great upload. Once again, excellent job!
This was my very first album I bought. It was in 1971! I bought it because it had 16 songs. 16! I knew very little about The Beatles. Since then I have bought many records but this album has great memories of my youth! Thank you for the memory.
I had this when I was a kid in the period of the 70's just after the Beatles had split. There was real excitement in the tracks for me, as I was too young to go for their heavier stuff. Just perfect pop songs with the amazing raucous voiced John , rocking bad boy,. 16 pop tracks that went by so quickly that they never outstayed their welcome. I was also fascinated by the back cover photo. I hate to admit it, they made a haze of smoke look cool - along with their hair and clothes. A great album and a colourful pop art cover that signifies its time and still stands out today.
This was an album I thought I’d imagined. Remember seeing it in record shops back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, then it suddenly disappeared, not even released on CD. It’s album artwork must have influenced XTC for their Oranges and Lemons album in 1988. I just recently tracked down a copy through Discogs, not sure what pressing it is, but it is an early one. I guess the reason it hasn’t been reissued is down to the red and blue albums, which are probably seen as the definitive ‘best of’ albums, making A Collection of Oldies redundant.
I'm really surprised. If, like me, you're an XTC fan who knows the Oranges And Lemons album artwork connection, I would've thought you'd be a Beatles fan too.....and if you bought Beatles records as a kid, this album would surely have surfaced every time you'd flick through. This album has nestled in my Beatles record collection between Revolver and Sgt Pepper for the last forty years!!! :)
Thank you! I knew the cover looked familiar. Never listened to XTC Oranges and Lemons but my first boss had a cassette of it setting on his desk. I knew I had seen that somewhere.
There was also those Tony Sheridan and the Beatles compilations still floating about , and worthy of note for their early material which have been largely forgotten and should take a centre stage when compiling a collection, it's obviously incomplete without them, Mono or Stereo. The said album however was especially useful as an introduction for those who could not afford the full collection and were grateful for a stack of Beatles Hits in one package, as it depended on the equipment each individual owned, mostly old radiograms with BSR stylus, plus the label was also unimportant to them as most of them were second hand. I had an original given to me as a present actually, it ended up not being played, but used as a prop to support my other records. I think when it was released the Beatles had made enough money and shouldn't have been too interested how it was portrayed, after all, as it says on the tin, they were a collection of Oldies.
It's amazing that you know everything about this record. I never even heard of it until you mentioned it. I live in the USA. I'm a Beatles fan from early childhood- when I first heard their recordings around the age of 5 years old (1964). Thanks for an amazing historical update. *DuraSaxon*
Me too! Except I was 5 and living in Southern California. I remember hearing I want to hold your hand being played over and over with nothing played in between it. I suspect it was KRLA 1100 AM and for sure it was from a small tube style radio. Imagine the fidelity! I misinterpreted the phrase “when I feel that something” as “when I feel that sunburn”. Lol. Still some heat involved anyway you slice it.
My take on this album: this was the first recording I ever bought, back in '73. Spanish pressing. I was just 13 years old. I rushed back home to play it when I sadly discovered that one song was included in both sides and so, another was missing. A stamping error, no less! I can't remember which were the reepeated song nor the missing one but quickly went back to the records store to complain. I got another copy with the correct songs in their correct places. Had I kept that misprinted album, now I'd be the owner of a rare and collectible sample, hahaha... I still have and cherish this first album of mine!
I bought this album back in the 80's on the Fame label. Not the Beatles album I’ve played the most. Still I think this album should have been made available again. Was actually thinking this would have made a perfect RSD release just before you mentioned it in your video ;) Keep up your brilliant work :)
I remember taking this out of the local library in the very early 80's when I was 10. But then I discovered to abandon the greatest hits type of compilations and dive deep into the actual albums!
Even when I started listening to the Beatles as a kid in the 80s I had no idea of this album. I do think the cover is cool, though it doesn't feel like it has much to do with the Beatles at all. Thanks for the enlightening video, I like being educated on new "old" things, especially where the Beatles are concerned.
The cover fits in with the 'Paul is Dead' storyline, along with Paul's shirt on the back being colored in black, and the fact that the album already classifies songs from 1966 as "oldies" and seems to signify that The Beatles will no longer be the same going forward
It was my first exposure to the Beatles in 1973 when we got it on cassette, and I played it endlessly on long journeys...played it until it wore out. I'd love to have it on CD, along with the collection called Beatles Ballads that I gave to my mum as a Mother's Day present in 1981, then 'borrowed' it endlessly when I realised how much I loved it too.
I think this album would be a great candidate for a more experimental remix (a la Yellow Submarine Songtrack) alongside the original mixes. It’ll probably never happen, but it’d be cool. Great video as always Andrew!
Another great video, Andrew. As an American first generation fan, I Feel Fine and a few of the other first time stereo mixes included here were an absolute revelation sound wise. Certainly turned my attention to the British catalog after so many years of Dexter echo and reverb. Thanks once again.
This was my first Beatles album purchase, around 1974-5. Heavily guided by parental control, the tracks were considered 'safe', and therefore an acceptable next step from my burgeoning Shadows collection (I owned 'Revolver' for nearly two years before I finally played 'Tomorrow Never Knows' - yeah... uncomfortable, right?). Still have the album, carefully stored in a clear sleeve which only Beatles albums warranted. I'd forgotten all about it; thanks for a very informative and pleasant journey down memory lane.
I bought this album around 1975 from a record store in the Philly area that had a deep selection of imports. I particularly liked it for the back cover photo of the band. Also, I really thought the album was worth the trouble in order to get the stereo mixes. Since the mid 80s, stereo has gotten a bad name, but it's far and away my own preferred format. Why? Better separation of sounds. You can pick out instruments better. We have two ears. Real life is heard in stereo. Why not music?
I have relied on stereo for thirty years, for the very reason you mention. Not for music, but for family sound documentary audio recording of my Uncle Ken. I recorded us; my brother Brian, and Ken's son George Jr. hanging out together for 15 years. We have two ears, and that's how I want to hear those recordings; Ken laughing on one speaker, and Brian and Little George on the other. (Walter Mallard Photography).
The Beatles & their production team intended us to hear their work up & through 1967 in mono; that includes Sgt Pepper; limited tracks didn’t allow for good stereo mixes; the early stereo mixes were done to satisfy audiophiles of the era; some, like the early Capitol stereo ‘mixes’ were flat out mistakes as the 2 track masters, with the music on 1 side & the vocals on the other, we’re supposed to be mixed into mono
I do agree that the fake stereo on "She Loves You" was bad, but it's important to remember that, while Capitol had its "Duophonic" system, RCA had developed the "electronic stereo" process to start with, back in 1961. This process was used on most of the reissues of Elvis' 1950's albums. In addition, it's also important to remember that, here in the US at the time, if yoiu were lucky to get a copy, you would have had "I Feel Fine", "Can't Buy Me Love", "A Hard Day's Night", "Paperback Writer", and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in true stereo, which weren't at the time. Another good candidate for a video would be the US "Hey Jude"/"Beatles Again" compilation.
I usually dislike fake stereo, but I think it works with the "She Loves You" fake stereo mix that Capitol made. The extra reverb they added also helps to obscure the numerous edits within the song, while they stand out more prominently on the original mono single mix. They're still audible, but not so obvious.
I'm so happy this video is doing so well! because even before I started watching this channel I never knew this album existed. Let alone have such a rich history and importance.
I’m soo glad you brought up this album! Because I was originally gonna request this album review but someone else brought it up first lol. But thank you for this great review! I also recently found a near mint uk 1967 pressing of help and collection of Beatles oldies in stereo for $76 at a record shop which I couldn’t believe
This was the first album I bought as a 10 year old newly minted drummer and Ringo devotee in 1975. My dad drove me 50 miles to a record store and when I saw the song selection and cover it was straight to the checkout line. We were visiting my aunt who let me play it on her Hi-Fi console the entire visit.😊
@@vinylrichie007 I think any rare recordings release needs to be widely available for all fans. RSD releases tend to be limited and appeal to the niche collectors. The "Oldies" comp fits the bill nicely.
The very first Beatles album I bought at the ripe old age of 15 was the "Hey Jude (The Beatles Again)", which contained those singles that hadn't made it onto other albums before all hell broke loose. Sadly, when I began to rebuild my Beatles albums on CD years later, "Hey Jude" was never included, those songs instead being included on the "Past Masters" Vol 2. Now as a senior citizen on a fixed income trying to get back into vinyl, I have missed several opportunities already to buy a decent copy of that album on Discogs due to lack of funds because of so many factors, including COVID. That album means so much to me, and I think I'd die happy if I could finally retrieve it. Yes, I can hear those songs off the CD's, but hey, that's not the point, is it? Those CD's and now streaming just don't provide the physical joy a good vinyl record provides as well as, in many ways, a superior listening experience. And, No, I never even heard of these beatles "greatest hits" albums.......wonder why.....LOL!
I'd be up for a RSD special release. Especially since now we will be have the "benefit" of the Mono box set remasters, which everyone seems to love, when putting the album back together again.
Interesting, I always assumed that this was an album put together after the Beatles broke up. I picked this one up in the mid 70s when I must have been around 9 or 10 years old. I think it was either at The Warehouse or Licorice Pizza in Southern California hitting the record shops on a Saturday afternoon with my dad. I remember first noticing it in a Beatles import section and what struck me first was the song list and the variety of songs. It was a little more expensive than some of the other Beatles albums I was looking at and figured I might be able to pick it up in a week or two after saving up but as we were about to leave the store my dad had a handful of vinyl in his hands and then told me if you see anything you like, pick it up and I’ll buy it for you. I live in Tokyo now and run across this album quite often, I’ll have to take a look at the reversed photo in the back. I always knew that the photo was reversed even when I first purchased the album as a kid but just wrote it off as whoever designed the back of the album had made a mistake. Great video Domo arigato!
I think it's a shame this album didn't make it into the digital age. It's a nice collection of hits and it has a great sleeve design. I still have my early '80s copy. If only it had been released on CD in 1987 (perhaps with 'Love Me Do' and 'Please Please Me' as bonus tracks). I'm sure there would have been a more casual market out there who would have been well served by this. And then it could have been followed up with 'Another Collection of Beatles Oldies' to take us up to 1970, plus a third compilation of B-sides and strays to complete the set (thus avoiding the uneven 'Past Masters'). Ah well, I don't suppose it matters now.
5:47 Thank you Andrew. EMI had already created two sterling simulated-stereo mixes in 1963, for the stereo ‘Please Please Me’ album: ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘P.S. I Love You’. As with ‘She Loves You’, the multitracks of these recordings had been lost. These two ‘stereo’ mixes are arguably superior to many of the Capitol-created ‘stereo’ mixes that populate the American albums; indeed, it was EMI’s remixes of ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘P.S. I Love You’ that Capitol chose for the stereo ‘Early Beatles’ album (and then FOLDED DOWN TO MONO for the album’s mono counterpart! 😳😳).
Great video. That album cover is so evocative, it's out of time but of the time as well -- it really jumped out when you flicked through a record collection. And the fact that they were calling relatively new songs "oldies" just goes to show how quickly the Beatles had evolved in such a short period. By the way, have you done a video on the 'Hey Jude' album? That one's a really random listening experience.
This was my introduction to the Beatles back in the early 80s, being the only Beatles album in my parent's record collection. The track order (including the pre-echo distinctly heard on some tracks, likely due to the thin track walls 8 tracks per side gave it) remained burned into my brain for years afterwards. It was the best LP I had ever heard back then, and probably still is a top contender today.
My first copy of A Collection of Beatles Oldies was on Capitol Records which I picked up in the early 1980’s in Tijuana Mexico. I would occasionally drive down from Los Angeles to pick up unique Mexican pressings of EPs, 45s, and LPs. I always thought it a little strange how Capitol would release things in Mexico but not the U.S. I still have my Mexican records. I later found the UK “Fame” pressing and picked it up. I would definitely buy a RSD copy if it became available.
Great video - this album was in my dad's collection in the 70's and I remember loving the look of the cover and playing it when he was at work (on his technics stereo and against strict instructions not to touch the hi-fi!!). Thanks for reminding me and bringing back some great memories!
This album was my introduction to the Beatles as a 13 year old in 1979, I played it to death, It still sits in my collection today, I totally agree about the artwork and I have always felt that it sat well alongside Revolver as an 1966 product even the rear artwork design is very similar, I would buy this instance if Apple released it again, I even own the Japanese Apple label version, great video appraisal thanks
Love learning all about the subtleties in the covers of all of these albums and records, getting a record player for christmas finally and being able to listen to everything in vinyl is an eye opening experience into the world of record owning especially learning that my Dad's copy is a PMC 7016 and that the Stereo section is in the stars great in depth videos about the history of these bad boys for new and old comers alike
As a young 14 year old sometime in the mid 1970s, I remember seeing this LP in the Beatles section at my local record store in Pennsylvania, USA, but always passed on it. Frankly, at the time, the artwork didn't grab me, and honestly looked like a bootleg ( I think it was an import on Odeon ). I had both the Red and Blue Albums, I didn't think I needed the songs on it, twice. Echo, no echo, back then I wouldn't had mattered to me that much.
An RSD release with it cut AAA like the mono box would be fantastic - mainly to finally be a good sounding mono copy! It’s the main reason I’ve never picked up an original. Such as shame as the 14 track Hollies’ Greatest from 1968 sounds fantastic in it’s mono cut, and this would make a lovely companion.
Tx for yet again a great lecture. Love it. Yes, it should be released. It's a similar thing with the Yesterday And Today album. Never understood why it wasn't included on the Capitol boxes of 2004/2005. Same goes for the US Revolver release.
Great presentation. I bought a used copy of this album in the " import" section at Tower Records in the late 1980s. It had some true stereo singles as I was learning about the Beatles catalog. For that it is valid and it does have a great cover!
I bought it in 1977. I live in Canada where the US albums were available, but I made a point of buying the UK imports of all their albums. They were more expensive and I was a teenager . All my allowance and even my lunch money went to the purchase of those imported album. That's right, I'd staved myself because I couldn't wait to get all the Beatles music. I wish i could relive the moments when I was listening to a Beatles' song for the first time!
Yeah, you're probably right. But what's better than making money. Answer - Making even more Money. We did get the three U.s versions of the Beatles as well as the Japanese set.
Fascinating stuff. As a kid I couldn't afford the Red and Blue albums and pre-1982 and the 20 Greatest Hits album this was my go to Best Of. Great memories. Thank You!
This was the first album I ever owned, given to me by my aunty Maureen in the late sixties. I still have it, unplayed for a long time but am now going to dig it out and have another listen. Should be interesting after having binged on the Let It Be boxset for the last couple of weeks
Got my copy actually today. Along with a Dutch BC13 collection and true stereo Magical Mystery Tour (thanks again!) it's a beginning of a fine package. Actually my "Oldies" is also a Dutch one, what a coincidence! You were right: the fake stereo on She Loves You sounds pretty horrendous, I thought my other ear was underwater during that song because one of the channels sounded so dull and muddy. I almost felt like I need to check my listening equipment and make sure both tweeters are OK. Excellent video - just the kind we're accustomed to. Thank you so much Andrew and all the best from Finland!
I bought this album, imported from the UK, when I lived in California in the early 80's. It was on the black and silver Parlophone label. I had just started collecting The Beatles UK albums in reverse chronological order. I may have played it once just to make sure it wasn't defective. The reason I didn't play it again was that I preferred listening to the Red, Blue and Rock n Roll music compilations, which were constantly on the turntable.
So many people if I may , seem to do an awful lot of chattering , very few actually inform. I'm a more informed person for being here. Thanks to you and everyone that puts your channel together. I think we're all better off having you here than not. The best teachers after all are experts of the subject matter...Cudos! 🍷
I bought this album from a supermarket in the mid 1970s because although I had all the singles the early ones weren't in very good condition and this seemed like an easy way to get 'new' copies. Another reason was having upgraded to semi decent stereo system I no longer had the trusty auto-change record player so this saved me having to play the singles one at a time! :-)
I had bought a German pressing of this LP, about a year ago, but it arrived broke, unfortunately. Would like to find another one as I really like the sound of their pressings.
Hm.. I have a mid 70s blue Oden German pressing and it's a bit odd: "We can work out" and "I feel fine" are in fake stereo. But you have the 65 stereo mix of Day Tripper (with guitar starting only at left channel)
What . it arrived penniless ??.. i think you mean BROKEN , not broke.. I picked this album up second hand in about 1969 ... it only cost me $3.00 Aust.
Growing up hearing only the American Dexter mixes, I was thrilled to experience the clean-sounding original version of "Thank You Girl," without the heavy reverb, and strangely enough, I liked hearing the very end with just the guitars and no harmonica (which you could actually hear better in other parts of the song without the ocean of reverb covering it up).
Terrific video Andrew! As an American fan, I didn’t know this album until reading about it in the discography book All Together Now. I did come across a Japanese copy in a record store in the 1980s and was intrigued by the cover. I did ultimately end up with a German copy as well as a stereo and mono copy. Thanks for sharing the history of this release!
@@Parlogram I bought the album in the early 1970s and played it a lot. Always enjoyed it as all the singles where on the one record. I liked the new song, Bad Boy. Don't know where the record went, but it's long gone. It probably won't be issued again as the Red and Blue double albums, are available, which contain their hit singles. I suppose it will always be a collectors item.
My very first Beatles album, given to me by my cousin, in 1974, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He started me and my brother on the Beatles when we were 6 years old! I still listen to this album to this day! Gracias Fernando!
I would like to see a box set of all of the compilation albums (Oldies, Rock and Roll Music, Love Songs, Rarities (both UK and US versions), Ballads, Reel Music, 20 Greatest Hits (again, both UK and US versions - or is that just the 1 album?)). Okay, so there would be a lot of duplication, but like it or not, they kept the Beatles' flame burning in the 70s and 80s.
You are SO right in saying the 'RED' and 'BLUE' collections took any wind out of the sail for this one ('Beatles Again/Hey Jude' did as well). In the early-1970's I helped out at a local record store. We sold a LOT of imported vinyl, and always viewed this LP with a kind of disdain. It FELT too much like 'Yesterday and Today'. That view never left me, as I owned/own multiple copies of every release EXCEPT this (and the USA pressings). BUT your idea of it being a Record Store Day release is super smart : ) Come to think of it, 'Get Back' (2021) should have been an RSD goody.
This is one of those albums I never got around to buying. I started collecting in the early 80's, and once I had the Red and Blue compilations and Rarities, "Oldies" just didn't feel essential.
Fascinating - many thanks Andrew! I bought this lp back in the early 1970s just for Bad Boy which had not been released before in the UK. The psychedelic sleeve was eye-catching though including an image of the lads as prohibition-era Chicago gangsters seemed completely wrong ("mobtops"?). Another quirk to the history of this record is that the photo on the back which was taken when the group was in Tokyo, is reversed. This was spotted by the distributors in Japan because of the writing on Paul's kimono. For the Japanese release, the image was accordingly reversed back with George on the left and John on the right!
15:50 While not a ‘greatest hits’ package per se, Capitol’s ‘Yesterday … and Today’, from June 1966, contained three of the band’s recent US hit singles, and their flip-sides.
"The History of Rock" was a great collection, which was a huge part of my education in rock history. I still have the albums. I guess it would be virtually impossible to make something along that line today, when all record companies are more paranoid than ever and never would have allowed anyone to create such compilations.
I agree - great series of albums. I have about half of them and recently worked out which ones I would need to complete the set, it turns out most of them can be found quite cheaply.
Your statement is complete nonsense. For a start, there only are FIVE major record companies left anyway, of whom own virtually almost everything. There are mountains of compilations being released every single month, featuring collections of every music genre from every era that you can think of. You've obviously never noticed what the likes of Cherry Red with their Grapefruit label and Esoteric Records have been releasing these last ten years - which are exactly in the same vein as The History of Rock, but with superior mastering and sleeve notes. Get shopping!
@@LapsangTe I didn't realise you were being Beatles only specific. That History Of Rock Vol 26 on the mail order Orbis label back in 1984 was the last of its kind for that sort of thing. The compilation selection was actually created by Apple as they supplied the copy masters to make the thing in the first place. Surely a much better bet would have been the Red and Blue doubles as they were still being pressed in 1984? There again, they were considerably more expensive than the budget price Orbis job. No compilation other than an official Apple product will ever carry any Beatles recordings, which has been the case for four decades. The recordings of The Beatles are a protected species. Period.
Wow, what an interesting video! Some of my very earliest memories are of listening to this record as a small child. It was the very first album I can remember handling. I would have been pre-school age, 4 maybe? As a child growing up in Surrey in the late 60s this was one of the albums in my parents’ record collection. They weren’t big record collectors so this would have been their one Beatles album and it made sense for them to purchase a compilation. I was completely transfixed by the cover artwork and this video took me right back to rainy days at home, listening to this record on a little portable turntable while playing with my sister and staring at the colourful images on the front cover. Especially the dominant male figure in the foreground. I was fascinated by his cuff links, I seem to remember! Sadly, our copy of this album has long been lost in the various house moves that have taken place since those early days. Thank you so much for rekindling such happy memories! 😊
I remember encountering this in a used record store in Florida back in the early 90s (don't remember what label). I turned it down because I already had all the tracks on it (and I thought the cover was hideous, which didn't help). Now that I'm older I wish I'd bought it.
I recreated this as a playlist on iTunes and it’s a pretty great compilation overall (though I’d personally swap out Michelle for Nowhere Man on the condition of keeping a song from Rubber Soul on the set). I agree, this’d make a great release for a future RSD release, and maybe as one of those streaming-only compilations, because the cover art is so mid-60s its amazing. It’s a very good vertical slice of pre-Pepper Beatles!
Excellent video, thank you! This was my first album, I bought the cassette from a friend 11 years old in 1982. It was played to death and I now own a vinyl version. It still my favourite album.
I bought my stereo copy in February 1980 and it is a -3 -4 pressing. It sounds pretty good to me and significantly better than my red vinyl copy of 1962-1966.
Agreed. It was cut by Harry Moss (note the "HTM" in the deadwax) and sounds much better than the 1G. It's on the Parlophone "two box" label, preceding the Fame pressing.
@@davidsacco8521 That's the one. Most of my first Beatles albums were late 1979 or early 1980 because that's when I started working. I think they are some of the best UK Stereo cuts.
As for me, all the BEATLES albums are Greatest Hits Albums to me. Thank for posting Beatles music will still be playing a hundred years from now. "Love❤, and peace ✌
Great and informative program. As a Beatle fan I consumed every word! I never realised these vinyls were so rare. I flipped past one in a local record fayre back in summer...aaaaargh!!!
I wish I could remember what my very first Beatles albums was added to my record collection, but I still own the Love Songs compilation double album. I will never forget the first Beatles 45 I bought. It was Yellow Submarine with Eleanor Rigby on the B-side. I'm fuzzy on the period of time when I bought this. I'm guessing that it was before I had seen the animated film because the images conjured by Eleanor Rigby were somewhat nightmarish . Being unfamiliar with slang or expressions not found in America I interpreted the lyrics literally and envisioned a faceless woman retrieving a "face she kept in a jar by the door." It scared the hell out of my as a kid. ...but I loved it and played it over and over again. It's still among my favourite Beatles songs. It is in that category of Beatles songs that deviates from their more crowd pleasing tracks. I would add Hey Bulldog to this list. I cannot imagine the reaction these songs got from the teeny boppers who screamed their throats raw during the Shea stadium concert. It must have a real WTF moment in their lives. Sadly I was too young to experience any of Beatlemania. I envy those who got to see it firsthand. It is a phenomenon that will never be replicated.
There's a video of American teens on "American Bandstand" reacting to the video of Strawberry Field. Some don't like the new image and "weird" music, some love it and are willing to follow their heroes anywhere.
Andrew, it doesn't matter whether or not I'd buy this album, but rather its place in the band's history, which you so carefully laid out. The bandmembers' own opinions of it don't necessarily matter either. Paul and Ringo, having lived to see the effects of their work over half a century later, now have greater perspective than George or John, but none of them were as died-in-the-wool fans of other artists to see how that fandom applies to them. Bottom line: Thank you for your work!
Always wondered what the heck is that and how come it is not in stores?..around '73or so I realized I didn't have a copy of Help..my older siblings didn't have..so I didn't have it! So I went to a local record store(we has open campus at the time in our high school..and all they had was the Help on Parlophone import from England,this of course turned my Capitol records collection upside down,but it sounded awesome.the inner sleeve had the Oldies album there,..now I know..lol
I have a mint copy of this 1967 album. I love it! Thanks for sharing. I bought it new in January 1967 for my collection which was stolen in 2003. I bought another mint copy in 2012 and still have it today! Love the cover art.
it is a darn shame that Capitol in the U.S. chose not to release this album on their own label stateside; there is no doubt that this would have been a huge seller, owing to how popular and lucrative The Beatles were to America. after all; there were both Introducing The Beatles on Vee-Jay and A Hard Day's Night on United Artists - two officially released non-Capitol Beatles albums from the year 1964 that both sold surprisingly well in the United States. therefore in my opinion, the 1966 compilation album A Collection Of Beatles Oldies should most definitely be reissued, as both a 2-disc vinyl release AND as a 2-disc CD version. each variation would include both Mono AND Stereo mixes of these 16 songs. this would also be a really great way to present this album to American Beatles fans who might not be aware of its existence.
I found a copy of this record not too long ago in a shop in LA. It's a well loved survivor from the UK. Andrew is 100 pct correct you can hear how the audio has been squashed. It has a few moments and it's a treasured addition to my UK Beatles collection. A RSD edition would probably find its way into my house. Andrew I bought the Let It Be box even though I voted in your poll that I probably wouldn't..but I wanted to come clean and tell you how happy I am with that set!
Brian cancelled the Star -Line green swirl issues shortly after they were issued.Capitol was instructed by Brian not to issue any older songs,just new releases.An exception was The Early Beatles,which was Capitol's first issue of the VJ issued tracks once Capitol gained the rights.
Capitol reduced the number of songs on LP's in order to pay fewer royalties...an American release of "Oldies" would have been out of the question at the time. It was only due to the Beatles' contract renewal in 1967 that American albums matched their UK albums.
By the time capitol might have released 'oldies' wasn't it out evolved by '62-66'? The 'bad boy' USP for the UK meant nothing in the US. I love the resilience of this album. Born unloved between two of the greatest records ever, it sounded bad and was then beaten up by the greatest Beatles compi ever. But still it persisted. You wouldn't want to meet this dude with the lights off baby.
I think it's to Capitol's credit that they didn't release "Oldies" in the USA. They had already released all of these tracks on their LPs, so they would have been presenting nothing new to the American audience by releasing this. The ten month wait between Revolver and Sgt. Pepper might have actually been to Pepper's benefit... though we can only say that in hindsight. I'm sure Capitol execs were anxiously wringing their hands waiting for something new to release.
First Beatles record I bought way back in 1980. Second was Rock and Roll Music. After that started buying the official albums in chronological order. Still listen to the Beatles most days
I've got a 70's Parlophone label version of this album purchased in the late 70's when I was working at a record warehouse. The top and bottom tabs are on the inside of the cover - not exposed like the originals. I always viewed it as a strange disjointed collection of songs so I rarely listened to it. I agree that it would have been brilliant to include it in the Mono Box, but it probably would have added $25 to the retail price.
I decided to send an addendum to my previous comment. First of all, the Caldors store where I bought the Beatles UK collection was in Bedford, NY. I felt this album was special, because it was the first one to have the major early singles in one location, which is better than just having the singles. If nothing else, this baby is a huge collectible. I’m glad to have THREE versions. The fact that this was the first Beatles material legally available to Eastern Bloc Kids gives it incredible importance both historically and culturally. It’s with owning for that reason alone.
You've put together a truly fascinating story about an album I admittedly knew almost nothing about. I can't believe I didn't find your channel sooner. Subscribed!
Thanks & welcome aboard!
Love your content, You Can't Unhear This! :D
Do the rest of the medley!
@@daytonsMusicRoom You gotta love the people in the comments ordering the video creators around!
My two favorite Beatles content creators in one place!? 😮
I found a copy of this album at a yard sale in the early 80s. I think I paid $1 for it and it's imported from England. I always thought it sounded amazing. Many years later, through research on the internet, I discovered that the copy I have is a genuine first pressing. It's a great collection, and I think American fans unfamiliar with the album would enjoy having it reissued.
I have this álbum! It is wonderful!
@@mgtowchampion7961 Your trolling game is weak, bruh.
@@mgtowchampion7961 iron maiden kisses the soles of the beatles’ boots. give me a break
upload that to YT , its ur duty i think as a beatles fan.
Worth a lot now I would imagine
I own this album. It was my very first album I ever bought (probably around 1977). My mom helped me select it. I didn't even own a record player at the time. I had to ask my brother's permission to play it on his stereo. I still have it to this day.
Spooky. I could have written your post almost word for word. Also 1977. But my mum wasn't involved.
I have the UK budget 'Fame' reissue of that album on both Cassette and LP and they both still sound great.
As their first official 'Greatest Hits' compilation to be released in Britain (as well as many other countries), it certainly deserves to receive more love from both fans and critics alike.
Time to return your brother's stereo.
I am from Argentina and I bought the local edition of this album in the late 70's. It was my second Beatles album after "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and I still have it almost intact. Thank you very much for the report. Greetings from Córdoba, Argentina
Thank you for watching, Mariano.
I'm 62 years old, lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for the first 55 years, and have never seen this album. Didn't even know it existed. Thanks so much for educating me on this. :)
Thanks for watching, Jimi.
Yo have u ever met Arron kyro
60, bay area as well, not a sighting all these years. interesting. very dated cover to my eye. interesting mix. bit of history. my favorite is still yel sub with the george martin orchestral score. bought that myself when it came out, my first album. not the best beatles songs, but it was MY album.
This was a UK only album release so unless you looked in the import Beatles section in certain record stores or were really into their record catalog it would have been easy to miss it.
@@mattlowe1276 Who's that?
I bought this album and loved it. Here in Australia it was titled A Collection of Oldies BUT Goldies. It included Bad Boy written by Clarence Williams. A great collection. NB: the rear photo was in a very arty smoke filled black and white.
I'm 64 and born & raised in San Diego, CA. I have thousands of vinyl and never heard of this album!
Thanks for an enlightened doc on this LP. It deserves to be re-released as a proper Beatles catalog album!
Thanks Andrew! This album was a very important one to me. As an American fan since their Ed Sullivan appearance, I'd bought every US LP release and many singles. During college time in the early '70s (after their breakup), I was flipping through the bins at my favorite record shop in downtown Wilkes-Barre, PA and stumbled upon several odd-looking Beatles albums with stunningly sharp & glossy cover images and 14 tracks per disc! What were these oddities? Turned out they were Parlophone imports from the UK. I decided to try a couple of them. It had taken me a while to convince myself that "Oldies" was an actual Beatles album due to the unusual painted cover image that had never appeared in the US and the collection of titles that I thought might have been covers by other artists. The biggest surprise and thrill was the discovery of a Beatles tune that I'd never heard before: From Me To You! The sound quality was also better than Capitol releases, on this album and ESPECIALLY on Revolver! That was the beginning of my effort to get their entire LP collection on imports, including German and Japanese vinyl as well as British. The sound quality put Capitol to shame! "Oldies" was responsible for starting it all for me.
Great memories, Bob.
So darned epic 😎 to hear the love flowing. Beatles forever 💛♥💙
U bought every album u habe a great album collection i do too & beatles books
Someone may have pointed this out already, but the Czech version of the album seems to credit the music to John Lennon and the words to Paul McCartney, as if they're Rodgers and Hammerstein.
I was just looking through the comments to see if this had been mentioned! The insert states "hudba" (music) John Lennon, and "slova" (words) Paul McCartney.
This was the album that made me a fan of The Beatles in 1982, and I have my copy still
Dude your channel is one of the best ever! I discovered you a week ago and have been binging your videos since! Endless fascination!
Glad you like them, Freddie!
"The Lost Beatles Greatest Hits Album" would have been a less click-baity title. But you got me! Congrats.
Thanks for the fascinating insight into this compilation. I love this album's track listing, Andrew, especially the rear cover photo (which was shot on my fourteenth birthday.) When I bought it in '79, I named this compilation the Woodcote Green Album as I lived on Woodcote Green Estate in Epsom from September 59 (when I was 7) until October 66 (when I was 14) and this album covers that era nicely (plus the bonus 'Bad Boy', of course.) We had a month at my grandmother's house and on November 23, 1966 my parents, sister and I flew to Toronto and nothing was ever the same again.
Great memories, Graham.
I'm really glad you've put this album in the spotlight. It was my first Beatles album, bought in 1976, and holds great affection. I played it so much as a 12 year old that even to this day there will be times when I am listening to the tracks in different contexts and my brain predicts the next track based on the Oldies... running order! I have always loved the cover, and agree totally that it's a companion piece to Revolver. A record store day release is a brilliant idea!!
I bought my first copy of "Oldies" from Probe Records in Liverpool when I was a kid, around 1982. The thing about Probe was they employed sales assistants who were quick to tell you if a record was any good or not. My seller was Pete Burns, he of Dead Or Alive fame. I passed the cover into him, he looked at it, sighed, and gave me a friendly snarl!!!
Well you can discount the opinion of someone who only managed one top ten record in the UK.
@@ianz9916 that’s one more than anyone else likely to read this!
He sold me a record or two in Probe as well!!
Danny
I remember seeing him mainly in Lord Street, with his entourage. Or hanging outside Probe. I used to by my records at Cheverton.
@@stevena9305 But quite a few less than The Beatles or even Ringo Starr as a solo artist.
here in Australia, your Beatles record collection in the early 70s, wasn't complete without this one. it was a strange compilation, but still an essential part of your historic collection if you wanted people to know you were a true Beatlemaniac.
There was also the equally weird Australian release 'The Essential Beatles' - that seemed to turn up just about everywhere.
This is the first record I ever owned, my parents bought it for me when i was 15, I'm 67 now & still have it!
Being an American, I had never heard of the album until I saw it in the record store as an import. I then read more lengthy stories about it in books. There weren't any songs that I didn't already previously own, though differently mixed, but the album cover was one of the coolest that I had seen. Thank you for this great upload. Once again, excellent job!
This was my very first album I bought. It was in 1971! I bought it because it had 16 songs. 16! I knew very little about The Beatles. Since then I have bought many records but this album has great memories of my youth! Thank you for the memory.
Thank you for watching.
You truly do your research on various countries pressing and labels. Very informative
I had this when I was a kid in the period of the 70's just after the Beatles had split. There was real excitement in the tracks for me, as I was too young to go for their heavier stuff. Just perfect pop songs with the amazing raucous voiced John , rocking bad boy,. 16 pop tracks that went by so quickly that they never outstayed their welcome. I was also fascinated by the back cover photo. I hate to admit it, they made a haze of smoke look cool - along with their hair and clothes. A great album and a colourful pop art cover that signifies its time and still stands out today.
Well said, Inver.
My first ever pop album in the 70s, absolutely loved it and played it over and over again, still have it somewhere.
This was an album I thought I’d imagined. Remember seeing it in record shops back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, then it suddenly disappeared, not even released on CD. It’s album artwork must have influenced XTC for their Oranges and Lemons album in 1988. I just recently tracked down a copy through Discogs, not sure what pressing it is, but it is an early one. I guess the reason it hasn’t been reissued is down to the red and blue albums, which are probably seen as the definitive ‘best of’ albums, making A Collection of Oldies redundant.
I'm really surprised. If, like me, you're an XTC fan who knows the Oranges And Lemons album artwork connection, I would've thought you'd be a Beatles fan too.....and if you bought Beatles records as a kid, this album would surely have surfaced every time you'd flick through.
This album has nestled in my Beatles record collection between Revolver and Sgt Pepper for the last forty years!!! :)
Thank you!
I knew the cover looked familiar.
Never listened to XTC Oranges and Lemons but my first boss had a cassette of it setting on his desk.
I knew I had seen that somewhere.
Thanks Andrew. Another brilliant video. Your knowledge is astonishing and my attention never wanders when I'm immersed in your videos.
Thank you, Robert!
There was also those Tony Sheridan and the Beatles compilations still floating about , and worthy of note for their early material which have been largely forgotten and should take a centre stage when compiling a collection, it's obviously incomplete without them, Mono or Stereo. The said album however was especially useful as an introduction for those who could not afford the full collection and were grateful for a stack of Beatles Hits in one package, as it depended on the equipment each individual owned, mostly old radiograms with BSR stylus, plus the label was also unimportant to them as most of them were second hand. I had an original given to me as a present actually, it ended up not being played, but used as a prop to support my other records. I think when it was released the Beatles had made enough money and shouldn't have been too interested how it was portrayed, after all, as it says on the tin, they were a collection of Oldies.
It's amazing that you know everything about this record.
I never even heard of it until
you mentioned it.
I live in the USA.
I'm a Beatles fan from early
childhood- when I first heard their recordings around the
age of 5 years old (1964).
Thanks for an amazing
historical update.
*DuraSaxon*
Thanks for listening
Me too! Except I was 5 and living in Southern California. I remember hearing I want to hold your hand being played over and over with nothing played in between it. I suspect it was KRLA 1100 AM and for sure it was from a small tube style radio. Imagine the fidelity! I misinterpreted the phrase “when I feel that something” as “when I feel that sunburn”. Lol. Still some heat involved anyway you slice it.
My take on this album: this was the first recording I ever bought, back in '73. Spanish pressing. I was just 13 years old. I rushed back home to play it when I sadly discovered that one song was included in both sides and so, another was missing. A stamping error, no less! I can't remember which were the reepeated song nor the missing one but quickly went back to the records store to complain. I got another copy with the correct songs in their correct places. Had I kept that misprinted album, now I'd be the owner of a rare and collectible sample, hahaha...
I still have and cherish this first album of mine!
Similar issue with The Beatles blue album.
I bought this album back in the 80's on the Fame label. Not the Beatles album I’ve played the most. Still I think this album should have been made available again. Was actually thinking this would have made a perfect RSD release just before you mentioned it in your video ;) Keep up your brilliant work :)
Thanks for watching, Åsmund
It should have been included in the "Beatles Box" (BC-13). As it would have fit as well as the "Hey Jude" album. Oh Well.
My brother Juan, while he was studiying in Brasil, in 1976 bought this álbum. I don t know why it isn t in the oficial discography.
@@Parlogram I love your "Day Tripper" intro theme!
Upload PLEASE
I remember taking this out of the local library in the very early 80's when I was 10. But then I discovered to abandon the greatest hits type of compilations and dive deep into the actual albums!
Even when I started listening to the Beatles as a kid in the 80s I had no idea of this album. I do think the cover is cool, though it doesn't feel like it has much to do with the Beatles at all. Thanks for the enlightening video, I like being educated on new "old" things, especially where the Beatles are concerned.
The cover fits in with the 'Paul is Dead' storyline, along with Paul's shirt on the back being colored in black, and the fact that the album already classifies songs from 1966 as "oldies" and seems to signify that The Beatles will no longer be the same going forward
It was my first exposure to the Beatles in 1973 when we got it on cassette, and I played it endlessly on long journeys...played it until it wore out. I'd love to have it on CD, along with the collection called Beatles Ballads that I gave to my mum as a Mother's Day present in 1981, then 'borrowed' it endlessly when I realised how much I loved it too.
I think this album would be a great candidate for a more experimental remix (a la Yellow Submarine Songtrack) alongside the original mixes. It’ll probably never happen, but it’d be cool. Great video as always Andrew!
That's a great idea!
The Beatles 1 has them all remixed with the exception of Michelle and Bad Boy
This was the first Beatles album I remember listening to as a child growing up in Central America in the 60s. My older brother had it when I was six.
Another great video, Andrew. As an American first generation fan, I Feel Fine and a few of the other first time stereo mixes included here were an absolute revelation sound wise. Certainly turned my attention to the British catalog after so many years of Dexter echo and reverb. Thanks once again.
Thanks again for watching, Bob.
I really enjoyed this episode. I am already looking forward to next Sunday’s presentation. Thank you for your time and effort.
Glad you enjoyed it, Roger!
This was my first Beatles album purchase, around 1974-5. Heavily guided by parental control, the tracks were considered 'safe', and therefore an acceptable next step from my burgeoning Shadows collection (I owned 'Revolver' for nearly two years before I finally played 'Tomorrow Never Knows' - yeah... uncomfortable, right?). Still have the album, carefully stored in a clear sleeve which only Beatles albums warranted.
I'd forgotten all about it; thanks for a very informative and pleasant journey down memory lane.
I bought this album around 1975 from a record store in the Philly area that had a deep selection of imports. I particularly liked it for the back cover photo of the band. Also, I really thought the album was worth the trouble in order to get the stereo mixes. Since the mid 80s, stereo has gotten a bad name, but it's far and away my own preferred format. Why? Better separation of sounds. You can pick out instruments better. We have two ears. Real life is heard in stereo. Why not music?
I have relied on stereo for thirty years, for the very reason you mention. Not for music, but for family sound documentary audio recording of my Uncle Ken. I recorded us; my brother Brian, and Ken's son George Jr. hanging out together for 15 years. We have two ears, and that's how I want to hear those recordings; Ken laughing on one speaker, and Brian and Little George on the other. (Walter Mallard Photography).
My sentiment exactly when buying these, it was true stereo without all the reverb burying the mix and it was clean imo.
Would that have been 3rd Street Jazz & Rock in Olde City ?..... I loved that place !!
🚬😎
The Beatles & their production team intended us to hear their work up & through 1967 in mono; that includes Sgt Pepper; limited tracks didn’t allow for good stereo mixes; the early stereo mixes were done to satisfy audiophiles of the era; some, like the early Capitol stereo ‘mixes’ were flat out mistakes as the 2 track masters, with the music on 1 side & the vocals on the other, we’re supposed to be mixed into mono
I do agree that the fake stereo on "She Loves You" was bad, but it's important to remember that, while Capitol had its "Duophonic" system, RCA had developed the "electronic stereo" process to start with, back in 1961. This process was used on most of the reissues of Elvis' 1950's albums.
In addition, it's also important to remember that, here in the US at the time, if yoiu were lucky to get a copy, you would have had "I Feel Fine", "Can't Buy Me Love", "A Hard Day's Night", "Paperback Writer", and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in true stereo, which weren't at the time.
Another good candidate for a video would be the US "Hey Jude"/"Beatles Again" compilation.
I usually dislike fake stereo, but I think it works with the "She Loves You" fake stereo mix that Capitol made. The extra reverb they added also helps to obscure the numerous edits within the song, while they stand out more prominently on the original mono single mix. They're still audible, but not so obvious.
I recall RCA ruining Spike Jones' catalog with fake stereo... :P
I'm so happy this video is doing so well! because even before I started watching this channel I never knew this album existed. Let alone have such a rich history and importance.
I’m soo glad you brought up this album! Because I was originally gonna request this album review but someone else brought it up first lol. But thank you for this great review! I also recently found a near mint uk 1967 pressing of help and collection of Beatles oldies in stereo for $76 at a record shop which I couldn’t believe
This was the first album I bought as a 10 year old newly minted drummer and Ringo devotee in 1975. My dad drove me 50 miles to a record store and when I saw the song selection and cover it was straight to the checkout line. We were visiting my aunt who let me play it on her Hi-Fi console the entire visit.😊
Record Store Day reissue of "Oldies" is good idea!! Hopefully pressed on beautiful high quality colored vinyl!
That would be cool!
If not for the Let It Be box, "Get Back" would have been a great RSD release.
@@vinylrichie007 I think any rare recordings release needs to be widely available for all fans. RSD releases tend to be limited and appeal to the niche collectors. The "Oldies" comp fits the bill nicely.
I think the cover art work reproduced on the disc would make it an iconic must have!!
The very first Beatles album I bought at the ripe old age of 15 was the "Hey Jude (The Beatles Again)", which contained those singles that hadn't made it onto other albums before all hell broke loose. Sadly, when I began to rebuild my Beatles albums on CD years later, "Hey Jude" was never included, those songs instead being included on the "Past Masters" Vol 2. Now as a senior citizen on a fixed income trying to get back into vinyl, I have missed several opportunities already to buy a decent copy of that album on Discogs due to lack of funds because of so many factors, including COVID. That album means so much to me, and I think I'd die happy if I could finally retrieve it. Yes, I can hear those songs off the CD's, but hey, that's not the point, is it? Those CD's and now streaming just don't provide the physical joy a good vinyl record provides as well as, in many ways, a superior listening experience. And, No, I never even heard of these beatles "greatest hits" albums.......wonder why.....LOL!
I had a cassette of it. It's a strange hotch-potch of an album, but it did have Rain on it, and the cover was from that last photo session.
So good these vids. I was always dissatisfied with the cover art work as a youngster I just didn't get it. Love it now. Very 1920s. Thanks Andrew.
I’m 64 years old. I bought this album in the 60’s. It was released in Brasil. I still have it. Thank you for such a vast information on this album
I'd be up for a RSD special release. Especially since now we will be have the "benefit" of the Mono box set remasters, which everyone seems to love, when putting the album back together again.
Interesting, I always assumed that this was an album put together after the Beatles broke up. I picked this one up in the mid 70s when I must have been around 9 or 10 years old. I think it was either at The Warehouse or Licorice Pizza in Southern California hitting the record shops on a Saturday afternoon with my dad. I remember first noticing it in a Beatles import section and what struck me first was the song list and the variety of songs. It was a little more expensive than some of the other Beatles albums I was looking at and figured I might be able to pick it up in a week or two after saving up but as we were about to leave the store my dad had a handful of vinyl in his hands and then told me if you see anything you like, pick it up and I’ll buy it for you. I live in Tokyo now and run across this album quite often, I’ll have to take a look at the reversed photo in the back. I always knew that the photo was reversed even when I first purchased the album as a kid but just wrote it off as whoever designed the back of the album had made a mistake. Great video Domo arigato!
I think it's a shame this album didn't make it into the digital age. It's a nice collection of hits and it has a great sleeve design. I still have my early '80s copy. If only it had been released on CD in 1987 (perhaps with 'Love Me Do' and 'Please Please Me' as bonus tracks). I'm sure there would have been a more casual market out there who would have been well served by this. And then it could have been followed up with 'Another Collection of Beatles Oldies' to take us up to 1970, plus a third compilation of B-sides and strays to complete the set (thus avoiding the uneven 'Past Masters'). Ah well, I don't suppose it matters now.
5:47 Thank you Andrew.
EMI had already created two sterling simulated-stereo mixes in 1963, for the stereo ‘Please Please Me’ album: ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘P.S. I Love You’. As with ‘She Loves You’, the multitracks of these recordings had been lost.
These two ‘stereo’ mixes are arguably superior to many of the Capitol-created ‘stereo’ mixes that populate the American albums; indeed, it was EMI’s remixes of ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘P.S. I Love You’ that Capitol chose for the stereo ‘Early Beatles’ album (and then FOLDED DOWN TO MONO for the album’s mono counterpart! 😳😳).
Great video. That album cover is so evocative, it's out of time but of the time as well -- it really jumped out when you flicked through a record collection. And the fact that they were calling relatively new songs "oldies" just goes to show how quickly the Beatles had evolved in such a short period. By the way, have you done a video on the 'Hey Jude' album? That one's a really random listening experience.
That used to be a thing - when the "Oldies But Goodies" radio format was invented in LA in the 1950s, most of the songs were only six months old!
This was my introduction to the Beatles back in the early 80s, being the only Beatles album in my parent's record collection. The track order (including the pre-echo distinctly heard on some tracks, likely due to the thin track walls 8 tracks per side gave it) remained burned into my brain for years afterwards. It was the best LP I had ever heard back then, and probably still is a top contender today.
My first copy of A Collection of Beatles Oldies was on Capitol Records which I picked up in the early 1980’s in Tijuana Mexico. I would occasionally drive down from Los Angeles to pick up unique Mexican pressings of EPs, 45s, and LPs. I always thought it a little strange how Capitol would release things in Mexico but not the U.S. I still have my Mexican records. I later found the UK “Fame” pressing and picked it up. I would definitely buy a RSD copy if it became available.
Great video - this album was in my dad's collection in the 70's and I remember loving the look of the cover and playing it when he was at work (on his technics stereo and against strict instructions not to touch the hi-fi!!). Thanks for reminding me and bringing back some great memories!
This album was my introduction to the Beatles as a 13 year old in 1979, I played it to death, It still sits in my collection today, I totally agree about the artwork and I have always felt that it sat well alongside Revolver as an 1966 product even the rear artwork design is very similar, I would buy this instance if Apple released it again, I even own the Japanese Apple label version,
great video appraisal thanks
Love learning all about the subtleties in the covers of all of these albums and records, getting a record player for christmas finally and being able to listen to everything in vinyl is an eye opening experience into the world of record owning especially learning that my Dad's copy is a PMC 7016 and that the Stereo section is in the stars great in depth videos about the history of these bad boys for new and old comers alike
As a young 14 year old sometime in the mid 1970s, I remember seeing this LP in the Beatles section at my local record store in Pennsylvania, USA, but always passed on it. Frankly, at the time, the artwork didn't grab me, and honestly looked like a bootleg ( I think it was an import on Odeon ). I had both the Red and Blue Albums, I didn't think I needed the songs on it, twice. Echo, no echo, back then I wouldn't had mattered to me that much.
Not possibly The Gallery of Sound, which is where I would see and.pass on it regularly and now regretfully.
It looked like a cheap kocko off to me. I'm honestly shocked that this reviewer gives it so much credence. And the titles is awful too.
An RSD release with it cut AAA like the mono box would be fantastic - mainly to finally be a good sounding mono copy! It’s the main reason I’ve never picked up an original. Such as shame as the 14 track Hollies’ Greatest from 1968 sounds fantastic in it’s mono cut, and this would make a lovely companion.
Tx for yet again a great lecture. Love it. Yes, it should be released. It's a similar thing with the Yesterday And Today album. Never understood why it wasn't included on the Capitol boxes of 2004/2005. Same goes for the US Revolver release.
Great presentation. I bought a used copy of this album in the " import" section at Tower Records in the late 1980s. It had some true stereo singles as I was learning about the Beatles catalog. For that it is valid and it does have a great cover!
Thanks for watching, Dennis!
I bought it in 1977. I live in Canada where the US albums were available, but I made a point of buying the UK imports of all their albums. They were more expensive and I was a teenager . All my allowance and even my lunch money went to the purchase of those imported album. That's right, I'd staved myself because I couldn't wait to get all the Beatles music. I wish i could relive the moments when I was listening to a Beatles' song for the first time!
I doubt we’ll ever see it released again because the “Past Masters” set replaced it.
and thank god for that^
I would rather say that the 1962-1966 compilation replaced it.
Yeah, you're probably right. But what's better than making money. Answer - Making even more Money. We did get the three U.s versions of the Beatles as well as the Japanese set.
@@MIB_63 Everything replaced it, thankfully.
Fascinating stuff. As a kid I couldn't afford the Red and Blue albums and pre-1982 and the 20 Greatest Hits album this was my go to Best Of. Great memories. Thank You!
This was the first album I ever owned, given to me by my aunty Maureen in the late sixties. I still have it, unplayed for a long time but am now going to dig it out and have another listen. Should be interesting after having binged on the Let It Be boxset for the last couple of weeks
Got my copy actually today. Along with a Dutch BC13 collection and true stereo Magical Mystery Tour (thanks again!) it's a beginning of a fine package. Actually my "Oldies" is also a Dutch one, what a coincidence! You were right: the fake stereo on She Loves You sounds pretty horrendous, I thought my other ear was underwater during that song because one of the channels sounded so dull and muddy. I almost felt like I need to check my listening equipment and make sure both tweeters are OK.
Excellent video - just the kind we're accustomed to. Thank you so much Andrew and all the best from Finland!
Glad you managed to get a copy!
I bought this album, imported from the UK, when I lived in California in the early 80's. It was on the black and silver Parlophone label. I had just started collecting The Beatles UK albums in reverse chronological order. I may have played it once just to make sure it wasn't defective. The reason I didn't play it again was that I preferred listening to the Red, Blue and Rock n Roll music compilations, which were constantly on the turntable.
Your hard work...my devoted subscription to you!!! Superb detail of reporting and storytelling! The Fab Four themselves would be very proud! 🎧
Wow, thank you!
So many people if I may , seem to do an awful lot of chattering , very few actually inform. I'm a more informed person for being here. Thanks to you and everyone that puts your channel together. I think we're all better off having you here than not. The best teachers after all are experts of the subject matter...Cudos! 🍷
I bought this album from a supermarket in the mid 1970s because although I had all the singles the early ones weren't in very good condition and this seemed like an easy way to get 'new' copies. Another reason was having upgraded to semi decent stereo system I no longer had the trusty auto-change record player so this saved me having to play the singles one at a time! :-)
this is a super great and well made video! i love the editing and whatnot!
Thank you so much, Jack!
I had bought a German pressing of this LP, about a year ago, but it arrived broke, unfortunately. Would like to find another one as I really like the sound of their pressings.
Hm.. I have a mid 70s blue Oden German pressing and it's a bit odd: "We can work out" and "I feel fine" are in fake stereo. But you have the 65 stereo mix of Day Tripper (with guitar starting only at left channel)
What . it arrived penniless ??.. i think you mean BROKEN , not broke.. I picked this album up second hand in about 1969 ... it only cost me $3.00 Aust.
The german release trimmed the Ticked to Ride intro.
Growing up hearing only the American Dexter mixes, I was thrilled to experience the clean-sounding original version of "Thank You Girl," without the heavy reverb, and strangely enough, I liked hearing the very end with just the guitars and no harmonica (which you could actually hear better in other parts of the song without the ocean of reverb covering it up).
Terrific video Andrew! As an American fan, I didn’t know this album until reading about it in the discography book All Together Now. I did come across a Japanese copy in a record store in the 1980s and was intrigued by the cover. I did ultimately end up with a German copy as well as a stereo and mono copy. Thanks for sharing the history of this release!
Thanks, Bill. The Japanese pressing sounds OK.
@@Parlogram I bought the album in the early 1970s and played it a lot. Always enjoyed it as all the singles where on the one record. I liked the new song, Bad Boy. Don't know where the record went, but it's long gone. It probably won't be issued again as the Red and Blue double albums, are available, which contain their hit singles. I suppose it will always be a collectors item.
My very first Beatles album, given to me by my cousin, in 1974, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He started me and my brother on the Beatles when we were 6 years old! I still listen to this album to this day! Gracias Fernando!
Thanks for watching, Fernando!
I would like to see a box set of all of the compilation albums (Oldies, Rock and Roll Music, Love Songs, Rarities (both UK and US versions), Ballads, Reel Music, 20 Greatest Hits (again, both UK and US versions - or is that just the 1 album?)). Okay, so there would be a lot of duplication, but like it or not, they kept the Beatles' flame burning in the 70s and 80s.
I bought a box set of Dr.Ebbit cds and all the lps you listed were in that set. All compilation lps from the US and UK plus other countries.
Ballads is super underrated
@@wesleysexton9865 it is. And it has that beautiful John Byrne cover painting too.
Right?? The whole presentation is stellar and it has 10 songs on each side
You are SO right in saying the 'RED' and 'BLUE' collections took any wind out of the sail for this one ('Beatles Again/Hey Jude' did as well). In the early-1970's I helped out at a local record store. We sold a LOT of imported vinyl, and always viewed this LP with a kind of disdain. It FELT too much like 'Yesterday and Today'. That view never left me, as I owned/own multiple copies of every release EXCEPT this (and the USA pressings). BUT your idea of it being a Record Store Day release is super smart : ) Come to think of it, 'Get Back' (2021) should have been an RSD goody.
This is one of those albums I never got around to buying. I started collecting in the early 80's, and once I had the Red and Blue compilations and Rarities, "Oldies" just didn't feel essential.
Fascinating - many thanks Andrew! I bought this lp back in the early 1970s just for Bad Boy which had not been released before in the UK. The psychedelic sleeve was eye-catching though including an image of the lads as prohibition-era Chicago gangsters seemed completely wrong ("mobtops"?). Another quirk to the history of this record is that the photo on the back which was taken when the group was in Tokyo, is reversed. This was spotted by the distributors in Japan because of the writing on Paul's kimono. For the Japanese release, the image was accordingly reversed back with George on the left and John on the right!
Thanks for watching, Mark.
15:50 While not a ‘greatest hits’ package per se, Capitol’s ‘Yesterday … and Today’, from June 1966, contained three of the band’s recent US hit singles, and their flip-sides.
AKA the Butcher Cover (if you have the original picture cover)
My first Beatles album (Paris 1966)! Thanks for this very thoroughly researched video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
"The History of Rock" was a great collection, which was a huge part of my education in rock history. I still have the albums. I guess it would be virtually impossible to make something along that line today, when all record companies are more paranoid than ever and never would have allowed anyone to create such compilations.
I agree - great series of albums. I have about half of them and recently worked out which ones I would need to complete the set, it turns out most of them can be found quite cheaply.
Your statement is complete nonsense. For a start, there only are FIVE major record companies left anyway, of whom own virtually almost everything. There are mountains of compilations being released every single month, featuring collections of every music genre from every era that you can think of. You've obviously never noticed what the likes of Cherry Red with their Grapefruit label and Esoteric Records have been releasing these last ten years - which are exactly in the same vein as The History of Rock, but with superior mastering and sleeve notes. Get shopping!
@@apollomemories7399 The don't include any Beatles tracks though, do they?
@@LapsangTe I didn't realise you were being Beatles only specific. That History Of Rock Vol 26 on the mail order Orbis label back in 1984 was the last of its kind for that sort of thing. The compilation selection was actually created by Apple as they supplied the copy masters to make the thing in the first place. Surely a much better bet would have been the Red and Blue doubles as they were still being pressed in 1984? There again, they were considerably more expensive than the budget price Orbis job.
No compilation other than an official Apple product will ever carry any Beatles recordings, which has been the case for four decades. The recordings of The Beatles are a protected species. Period.
Wow, what an interesting video!
Some of my very earliest memories are of listening to this record as a small child. It was the very first album I can remember handling. I would have been pre-school age, 4 maybe? As a child growing up in Surrey in the late 60s this was one of the albums in my parents’ record collection. They weren’t big record collectors so this would have been their one Beatles album and it made sense for them to purchase a compilation.
I was completely transfixed by the cover artwork and this video took me right back to rainy days at home, listening to this record on a little portable turntable while playing with my sister and staring at the colourful images on the front cover. Especially the dominant male figure in the foreground. I was fascinated by his cuff links, I seem to remember!
Sadly, our copy of this album has long been lost in the various house moves that have taken place since those early days. Thank you so much for rekindling such happy memories! 😊
Thanks for sharing those good times, Andrew.
I remember encountering this in a used record store in Florida back in the early 90s (don't remember what label). I turned it down because I already had all the tracks on it (and I thought the cover was hideous, which didn't help). Now that I'm older I wish I'd bought it.
Still the cover is definitely uninspiring and hideous. You could tell the Beatles had ZERO interest in it.
First beatle record I brought around 1972. Love to see it reissued.
I recreated this as a playlist on iTunes and it’s a pretty great compilation overall (though I’d personally swap out Michelle for Nowhere Man on the condition of keeping a song from Rubber Soul on the set). I agree, this’d make a great release for a future RSD release, and maybe as one of those streaming-only compilations, because the cover art is so mid-60s its amazing. It’s a very good vertical slice of pre-Pepper Beatles!
Excellent video, thank you!
This was my first album, I bought the cassette from a friend 11 years old in 1982. It was played to death and I now own a vinyl version. It still my favourite album.
I bought my stereo copy in February 1980 and it is a -3 -4 pressing. It sounds pretty good to me and significantly better than my red vinyl copy of 1962-1966.
Agreed. It was cut by Harry Moss (note the "HTM" in the deadwax) and sounds much better than the 1G. It's on the Parlophone "two box" label, preceding the Fame pressing.
@@davidsacco8521 That's the one. Most of my first Beatles albums were late 1979 or early 1980 because that's when I started working. I think they are some of the best UK Stereo cuts.
having been a Beatle / solo maniac collector since the early 1960s i just love the information you share and the way you present it, you make my day
you might want to check out my record collection on flickr, badgreeb records,
As for me, all the BEATLES albums are Greatest Hits Albums to me. Thank for posting Beatles music will still be playing a hundred years from now. "Love❤, and peace ✌
Great and informative program. As a Beatle fan I consumed every word!
I never realised these vinyls were so rare. I flipped past one in a local record fayre back in summer...aaaaargh!!!
I wish I could remember what my very first Beatles albums was added to my record collection, but I still own the Love Songs compilation double album. I will never forget the first Beatles 45 I bought. It was Yellow Submarine with Eleanor Rigby on the B-side. I'm fuzzy on the period of time when I bought this. I'm guessing that it was before I had seen the animated film because the images conjured by Eleanor Rigby were somewhat nightmarish . Being unfamiliar with slang or expressions not found in America I interpreted the lyrics literally and envisioned a faceless woman retrieving a "face she kept in a jar by the door." It scared the hell out of my as a kid. ...but I loved it and played it over and over again. It's still among my favourite Beatles songs. It is in that category of Beatles songs that deviates from their more crowd pleasing tracks. I would add Hey Bulldog to this list. I cannot imagine the reaction these songs got from the teeny boppers who screamed their throats raw during the Shea stadium concert. It must have a real WTF moment in their lives. Sadly I was too young to experience any of Beatlemania. I envy those who got to see it firsthand. It is a phenomenon that will never be replicated.
There's a video of American teens on "American Bandstand" reacting to the video of Strawberry Field. Some don't like the new image and "weird" music, some love it and are willing to follow their heroes anywhere.
Great information! I grew up to The Beatles and didn’t know much about this release. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for watching, Michael.
Wonderful! A record day release! I would get it !!!
You and me both, Andy!
Great video. That section about the stereo mixes was especially interesting
Glad you enjoyed!
Andrew, it doesn't matter whether or not I'd buy this album, but rather its place in the band's history, which you so carefully laid out. The bandmembers' own opinions of it don't necessarily matter either. Paul and Ringo, having lived to see the effects of their work over half a century later, now have greater perspective than George or John, but none of them were as died-in-the-wool fans of other artists to see how that fandom applies to them. Bottom line: Thank you for your work!
Thanks for watching, Jim!
Always wondered what the heck is that and how come it is not in stores?..around '73or so I realized I didn't have a copy of Help..my older siblings didn't have..so I didn't have it! So I went to a local record store(we has open campus at the time in our high school..and all they had was the Help on Parlophone import from England,this of course turned my Capitol records collection upside down,but it sounded awesome.the inner sleeve had the Oldies album there,..now I know..lol
Andrew, as always, great information. As a 🇺🇸 fan, I knew little about this album. Thank you.
I have a mint copy of this 1967 album. I love it! Thanks for sharing. I bought it new in January 1967 for my collection which was stolen in 2003. I bought another mint copy in 2012 and still have it today! Love the cover art.
it is a darn shame that Capitol in the U.S. chose not to release this album on their own label stateside; there is no doubt that this would have been a huge seller, owing to how popular and lucrative The Beatles were to America. after all; there were both Introducing The Beatles on Vee-Jay and A Hard Day's Night on United Artists - two officially released non-Capitol Beatles albums from the year 1964 that both sold surprisingly well in the United States. therefore in my opinion, the 1966 compilation album A Collection Of Beatles Oldies should most definitely be reissued, as both a 2-disc vinyl release AND as a 2-disc CD version. each variation would include both Mono AND Stereo mixes of these 16 songs. this would also be a really great way to present this album to American Beatles fans who might not be aware of its existence.
I found a copy of this record not too long ago in a shop in LA. It's a well loved survivor from the UK. Andrew is 100 pct correct you can hear how the audio has been squashed. It has a few moments and it's a treasured addition to my UK Beatles collection. A RSD edition would probably find its way into my house. Andrew I bought the Let It Be box even though I voted in your poll that I probably wouldn't..but I wanted to come clean and tell you how happy I am with that set!
Brian cancelled the Star -Line green swirl issues shortly after they were issued.Capitol was instructed by Brian not to issue any older songs,just new releases.An exception was The Early Beatles,which was Capitol's first issue of the VJ issued tracks once Capitol gained the rights.
Capitol reduced the number of songs on LP's in order to pay fewer royalties...an American release of "Oldies" would have been out of the question at the time. It was only due to the Beatles' contract renewal in 1967 that American albums matched their UK albums.
By the time capitol might have released 'oldies' wasn't it out evolved by '62-66'? The 'bad boy' USP for the UK meant nothing in the US.
I love the resilience of this album. Born unloved between two of the greatest records ever, it sounded bad and was then beaten up by the greatest Beatles compi ever. But still it persisted. You wouldn't want to meet this dude with the lights off baby.
I think it's to Capitol's credit that they didn't release "Oldies" in the USA. They had already released all of these tracks on their LPs, so they would have been presenting nothing new to the American audience by releasing this. The ten month wait between Revolver and Sgt. Pepper might have actually been to Pepper's benefit... though we can only say that in hindsight. I'm sure Capitol execs were anxiously wringing their hands waiting for something new to release.
First Beatles record I bought way back in 1980. Second was Rock and Roll Music. After that started buying the official albums in chronological order. Still listen to the Beatles most days
I've got a 70's Parlophone label version of this album purchased in the late 70's when I was working at a record warehouse. The top and bottom tabs are on the inside of the cover - not exposed like the originals. I always viewed it as a strange disjointed collection of songs so I rarely listened to it. I agree that it would have been brilliant to include it in the Mono Box, but it probably would have added $25 to the retail price.
I decided to send an addendum to my previous comment. First of all, the Caldors store where I bought the Beatles UK collection was in Bedford, NY. I felt this album was special, because it was the first one to have the major early singles in one location, which is better than just having the singles. If nothing else, this baby is a huge collectible. I’m glad to have THREE versions. The fact that this was the first Beatles material legally available to Eastern Bloc Kids gives it incredible importance both historically and culturally. It’s with owning for that reason alone.