Beatles'65

LP.2228.1.1 is the first pressing of Beatles'65 in Canada, released on Monday, 14 December, 1964. It was issued in mono, with a stereo edition released the same day (see LP.2228.1.3). This pressing is recognized by its rainbow Capitol label with no brackets around the word “CANADA” in the perimeter print, by its use of pressing plates supplied from the USA (stamped matrix numbers), and by the catalogue block printed too high at the top right of the back cover (catalogue number, HIGH FIDELITY RECORDING box and "Also Available in Stereo" notice).

Availability

This variation was available from 14 December, 1964, for a short period only. The back slick was quickly reprinted with the catalogue block moved down to its proper position, but discs remained identical, still pressed from the same USA plates. Collectors have to keep in mind that disc and cover production were independent, so only the covers changed; they still housed the same original first batch of pressings, and not necessarily a new batch of pressings (see LP.2228.1.2).

General Information

Beatles'65 was the fifth Beatles album released by Capitol of Canada, and the second (after Something New) to match its American counterpart track for track. The album gathers eight songs from the British Beatles For Sale LP, both sides of the I Feel Fine / She's A Woman single, and I'll Be Back, left over from the British A Hard Day's Night album. It was rushed out for the 1964 holiday season, less than two weeks after the British release of Beatles For Sale.

Beatles'65 holds a special place in the Canadian catalogue: it was the first Beatles album that Capitol of Canada pressed in stereo (see LP.2228.1.3). The company had seen no market for stereo Beatles LPs in 1964 and had issued its first four albums in mono only; from Beatles'65 on, both formats were offered at the same time (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 2).

Rainbow "no brackets" labels are found on the earliest of Beatles pressings (between November 1963 and July 1966). Canadian operations being smaller than south of the border, these early pressings are usually of high quality, sounding dynamic and their deep grooves being less prone to scratches affecting the sound.

Pressing Information

Capitol of Canada subcontracted the RCA pressing plant in Smiths Falls (Ontario) to manufacture this batch of pressings. This first batch was pressed from plates supplied from Capitol's Scranton pressing plant in the USA. USA plates are recognized by their machine-stamped matrix numbers, and parts that originate from the Scranton pressing plant feature the triangular IAM (International Association of Machinists) logo (each American plant had its own distinctive logo).

LP.2228.1.1 has markings as follows:

Side 1: T1-2228-H5 #2  
Side 2: T2-2228-J6  

Other combinations of USA stampers most likely exist, as several generations of American parts were in circulation at the same time. Please report any different markings that are not documented here.

These pressings feature a 70 mm deep-groove pressing ring, a hallmark of early RCA Canadian manufacture. Labels feature the "no brackets" rainbow label (see perimeter print at the bottom of the label: "MFD. IN CANADA BY CAPITOL RECORDS OF CANADA" with no brackets around the word CANADA).

Cover

Starting in April 1964, the inner seams (the inside fold of the cardboard jacket) are cut straight (instead of curved) and measure 10 mm high.

Covers up to the mid 70s used a “front slick” construction (a larger back slick, usually printed in black and white that wrapped around the front of the cardboard cover, onto which a smaller colour front slick was glued, creating a white frame effect all around the front image).

Both slicks were printed by Parr's Print and Litho in Toronto and assembled onto the cardboard frame by Modern Albums. The front slick carries a small vertical "Litho in Canada" credit on the bottom left of the photo frame.

The back cover of LP.2228.1.1 features the catalogue block at the top right (the T 2228 number, the HIGH FIDELITY RECORDING box and the "Also Available in Stereo" notice) printed too high, above the "Their all new album of all new hits!" tagline. The back slick was quickly reprinted with the block moved down, level with the tagline (see LP.2228.1.2); both versions are shown below for comparison.

Packaging

These pressings were usually shipped in a loose or tight shrink wrap.

These were sold with / without a red and white Capitol / Pathé paper LP inner sleeve (apparently designed by Paul White).

Sales

Sales records show that 88,352 copies of Beatles'65 sold in Canada in 1964, in the two weeks between the release and the end of the year (this covers variations LP.2228.1.1 and LP.2228.1.2, along with the first stereo copies of LP.2228.1.3), the third best first-year figure of any Beatles album in Canada, behind Twist and Shout and Beatlemania!. A further 53,804 copies sold in 1965 (variations LP.2228.1.2, 1.3 and 1.4), 6,376 in 1966 and 2,620 in 1967 (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 3, "Sales of Beatles Records in Canada"). Over its first four years, Beatles'65 therefore sold a total of 151,152 copies in Canada (1964 to 1967), all formats combined: these Capitol figures are per title, not per format, so from July 1965 they also include the reel-to-reel tape (see RE.2365.1.1). Unlike the four previous albums, these figures include a mix of mono and stereo copies.