Beatles'65

LP.2228.2.6 is the last rainbow-label stereo pressing of Beatles'65 in Canada, appearing in mid 1968 once the mono format had been phased out. The record is identical to LP.2228.2.4 and LP.2228.2.5 (same "rainbow brackets" label, same USA-supplied stereo plates); the jacket was reprinted with the "Also Available in Regular Monophonic" notice removed from the back cover, since there was no longer a mono edition to point to.

Availability

This variation was pressed between mid 1968 and 1969 (for approximately one year). Capitol introduced its green target label in 1969, and no new rainbow-label copies were pressed after that; leftover warehouse stock simply kept being distributed until Beatles'65 was officially issued on the new label in 1970 (record companies did not throw away perfectly good copies; they used up their stockpiles before pressing new records, which explains why the "official" label change and the actual reissue of a title do not line up) (see LP.2228.4.1).

General Information

Mono was phased out of the regular Canadian catalogue in mid 1968. From that point on Beatles'65 was a stereo-only catalogue title, and the reference to the mono edition on the back cover became obsolete. The reprinted back slick simply dropped the notice under the Full Dimensional Stereo logo; everything else on the jacket stayed the same.

It is important to note that a new cover variation does not necessarily imply a new set of pressings; new covers could (and most likely did) house records from the same batch of pressings as the previously documented variations. Covers and discs were produced as required, and therefore not necessarily at the same time.

Pressing Information

As with all previous variations, Capitol of Canada subcontracted the RCA pressing plant in Smiths Falls (Ontario) to manufacture this batch of pressings. The records were still pressed from the USA-supplied stereo plates (sent from Capitol's Scranton pressing plant) introduced with LP.2228.1.3, and carry the same stamped markings as LP.2228.2.4 and LP.2228.2.5:

Side 1: ST1-2228-X2 #2  
Side 2: ST2-2228-B6 #2  

These pressings feature a 70 mm deep-groove pressing ring, a hallmark of early RCA Canadian manufacture. Labels feature the "brackets" rainbow label (see perimeter print at the bottom of the label: "MFD. IN CANADA BY CAPITOL RECORDS (CANADA) LTD." with brackets around the word CANADA).

Cover

The jacket for LP.2228.2.6 features an identical build to its predecessor: the inner seams (the inside fold of the cardboard jacket) are still cut straight 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 keeps the arrow-shaped stereo banner; the back slick is a new print without the "Also Available in Regular Monophonic" notice.

Packaging

Copies of LP.2228.2.6 were packaged with a tight shrink wrap.

These were sold with / without the red and white Capitol / Pathé "ATTENTION" paper LP inner sleeve.