The Capitol Albums, Volume 2

Did You Know?

• A promotional disc was circulated in the weeks before the official release, containing stereo and mono versions of eight songs.
• The CDs were mastered from tapes prepared by Capitol A&R executive Dave Dexter Jr., who added reverb and simulated stereo on some tracks.

Incorrect mono versions

Box sets and sampler discs made available before the 11 April release date contain incorrect mono versions of Beatles VI and Rubber Soul. These versions are not the actual mono mixes released by Capitol in 1965; instead, they are stereo mixes consolidated into both speakers, technically in mono but not the original dedicated mono mixes. The original US vinyl releases of The Early Beatles and Help! had used fold-down mono versions, but Beatles VI and Rubber Soul had originally been issued with dedicated mono mixes.

Beatles author Bruce Spizer, who wrote the set's liner notes, stated that a third-party mastering facility mistakenly sent stereo-to-mono mixdowns to be pressed instead of the vintage mono mixes. It was initially unclear whether the error affected one pressing plant or all pressings, but it now appears to have involved all sets before the corrected version was issued. An explanation given at the time was that Capitol wanted to test how the stereo versions would sound when played back in mono, and by mistake those test copies were released.

Discs with the correct mono mixes have slightly longer playing times: Disc 2 runs 56:16 (the incorrect version is 56:01), and Disc 4 runs 59:08 (the incorrect version is 59:01).