The Beatles' Story

LP.2222.1.1 is the first pressing of The Beatles' Story in Canada, released on 21 December, 1964. It was issued as a double album in a 1-4, 2-3 pairing configuration, in MONO only (no stereo edition was offered here until early to mid 1968, see LP.2222.2.2). This pressing is recognized by its rainbow Capitol labels with no brackets around the word "CANADA" in the perimeter print, by its pressing plates supplied from the USA (stamped matrix numbers), and by its gatefold jacket imported from the USA, printed "MADE IN U.S.A." on the back.

Availability

This variation was available from 21 December, 1964 until 1966, when the American gatefolds were replaced by a Canadian jacket printed by Parr's with a different set of US stamped matrices (see LP.2222.1.2).

General Information

The Beatles' Story was not a Beatles album as such: Capitol USA put it together as a "narrative and musical biography of Beatlemania", with interviews, press conference excerpts and short fragments of the hits, linked by the voices of three Los Angeles radio men (produced by Gary Usher and Roger Christian, with narration by John Babcock, Al Wiman and Roger Christian of KFWB, Hollywood, as credited on the back cover). Capitol of Canada pressed its own discs, but issued the American package, down to the American jacket.

This is a double album, and the sides are paired the "automatic changer" way: disc 1 holds sides 1 and 4, disc 2 holds sides 2 and 3. Stacked on a record changer, the two discs played sides 1 and 2 in a row, and once the stack was flipped, sides 3 and 4 followed. The labels say so too (1-2222 on disc 1, 2-2222 on disc 2, with the side number in brackets).

Capitol of Canada advertised the set on the back of two radio station charts in December of 1964 and January of 1965, next to Beatles'65 (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 3). Only Beatles'65 was announced in stereo: The Beatles' Story remained a mono-only set in Canada until early to mid 1968, possibly because most of it was narration rather than music.

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.

There is a small quirk behind this, though. Capitol's Los Angeles factory cut its lacquers from first generation master tapes, while the New York tapes were second or even third generation copies. The letter that follows the catalogue number in the run-out tells which coast cut each lacquer (F, G, H and J for Hollywood, P, T, W and X for New York), and Scranton made its plates from lacquers cut on both coasts. On this variation, sides 1 and 2 (G2 and F1) were cut in Hollywood, from first generation tapes, while sides 3 and 4 (T2 and T16) came from New York; a difference that is probably very hard to hear on most systems, but nonetheless interesting to consider (source: Pink Floyd Archives, "U.S. LP Manufacturing Information").

Pressing Information

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

LP.2222.1.1 has markings as follows (by disc, in the pairing order):

Disc 1, side 1: T1-2222-G2  
Disc 1, side 4: T4-2222-T2  
Disc 2, side 2: T2-2222-F1  
Disc 2, side 3: T3-2222-T16  

Read together, these markings tell how the record was made: plates supplied by Capitol's Scranton plant, with sides 1 and 2 cut in Hollywood from first generation Los Angeles tapes and sides 3 and 4 cut in New York from New York tapes, then pressed by RCA in Smiths Falls.

Other combinations of USA stampers most likely exist: as LP.2222.2.1 shows, several sets of American plates were used at the same time and at random, so the stamper combination alone does not identify the variation (the jacket does).

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), along with the "A Capitol Records, Inc., U.S.A. Recording" credit on the left.

Cover

Unlike the other Canadian Beatles albums of the period (built here with the front slick construction), this first edition came in the American gatefold jacket, imported from Capitol USA, and with no inner seam. The back cover reads "MADE IN U.S.A. FACTORIES: SCRANTON, PA. - LOS ANGELES, CALIF." at the bottom, and carries the Capitol and EMI logos at the top right and the RIAA seal at the bottom right, just like the copies sold in the USA.

The gatefold opens on a full-width concert photo on the left and a photo collage with the programme of the four sides on the right. Note the "ALSO AVAILABLE IN STEREO" line under the HIGH FIDELITY box at the top right: it was true in the USA, but Canadian buyers had to wait until early to mid 1968 for a stereo copy (see LP.2222.2.2).

Packaging

These pressings were shipped in a loose poly plastic wrap, which let customers open the gatefold in the shop and look at the photos inside (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 2).

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 7,637 copies of The Beatles' Story sold in Canada in 1964, in the ten days between the release and the end of the year (all of them LP.2222.1.1). A further 2,377 copies sold in 1965 (still this variation), then 408 in 1966 and 376 in 1967 (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 3, "Sales of Beatles Records in Canada"). That is a total of 10,798 copies over its first four years, far below the regular Beatles albums of the time (Beatles'65, released a week earlier, sold 88,352 copies in 1964 alone).

Promotional Poster

A black and white poster was also made from the photo on the left side of the inside gatefold, with the same torn "THE BEATLES" title. Printed on heavy matte paper and measuring 17 x 22 inches, it was most likely a store display poster rather than a giveaway (it is doubtful that it was ever included with the album). Copies have surfaced both flat and folded in four.

Whether these posters are Canadian is not settled yet. Capitol of Canada did have a promotional budget for the album (adverts were placed in the CKLG and CJCA weekly charts in December 1964 and January 1965, see the CKLG advert above), in-store posters had already been made in 1964 for Twist And Shout, Long Tall Sally and Something New, and this poster fits the style of the later Canadian Help! store posters (which were larger, at 18 x 34 inches). So it may well have been made here in late December 1964 or early 1965 and sent to record retailers across Canada (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 3).