Flea market finds: March 5, 2006

The Beatles - RUBBER SOUL (Capitol T 2442) - An original mono copy of the US version of RUBBER SOUL. The cover was beat to shit (spine split and seam splits at the top and bottom with more than minimal wear) and the record didn't LOOK great (scratches, dirty) but once I took it home and got it cleaned up, it sounded great. A nice sounding mix. Two bucks. (More on the Beatles in mono to follow.)

Joe Pass - VIRTUOSO (Pablo Records) - Another two buck find: a near mint condition vinyl copy of the first in what became a series of the guitarist's solo takes on standards.

Julie London - JULIE LONDON (Sunset Records) - A ten song 60s budget compilation of songs from various London albums on Liberty (Sunset was Liberty's budget imprint). Stereo, in very good condition, except for a partially detached label on side one and a kind of tacky feel to the cover. Again, two bucks.

Also a Lucky Millinder big band compilation and a Roy Eldridge big band compilation, the titles of which I can't remember at the moment (I'm typing this at work) but those also were two bucks each.

Meanwhile, from eBay...

Elvis Presley - WORLDWIDE FIFTY GOLD AWARD HITS (RCA) - A really nice original RCA pressing of this four-Lp boxed set, with the photo book included... and the vinyl isn't Dynaflex, but is a nice heavy pressing. The only major defect here is that the front and back of the box are separated (the paper tape hinge is torn). As with the Beatles above, I will be writing more about this one.

The Beatles - "Kansas City" b/w "Boys" (Capitol Starline 6066) - I found two copies of this on eBay recently: a kind of beat-up copy of the US Starline issue (with the green swirl label) and a near mint condition copy of the Canadian Capitol Starline reissue dating from the late 70s-early 80s. Both are in mono and feature the same mixes. As always, Capitol's EQs on these singles was HOT... I don't know if they're the same mixes as appear on mono copies of THE EARLY BEATLES and BEATLES VI... I don't own a mono copy of THE EARLY BEATLES so I can't check that one, and I haven't compared the version of "Kansas City" on BEATLES VI to the one on this (these) 45(s).
A third time: stay tuned for a post on the Beatles' mono records on Capitol... I have a mono copy of SGT PEPPER on its way to me, so I should have plenty to say about it.