DIE BEATLES/PLEASE PLEASE ME UND ANDERE KNULLER HZE 117 (-64) MONO GERMANY

I've had UK mono copies of "Please Please Me" for almost fifty years and become totally adjusted to that sound. In comparison to UK "With The Beatles" and "Hard Days Night" monos it's more muffled, but that's the way it came and I never pondered much about it. When I first got this German domestic issue I didn't like it at all, thought it sounded harsh and slightly off balance with some of the reverb too bright. Getting rid of former auditory preconceptions it now strikes me as very honest. It's the same song versions and mixes, but coming through almost natural and a lot more dynamic, making it like a visit to the sessions rather than listening to the ready product. No big difference, just enough to loosen up and separate, thus giving each share a more direct connection. To me it's a reality check - presumably a lot like what the band and studio crew heeded after the recording was done...before the make-up leading on to PMC 1202. Never heard the HörZu stereo version, but read at Steve Hoffman Music Forum that was "dubbed flat" without further treatment. I guess this mono was handeled the same way. Not sure if the one shown here is the very first issue, but since stereo became standard in Germany by 1965 the mono wasn't pressed for very long. It came on thick vinyl with stiff, fully laminated cover. (BÄ*) (GÖXÄ*) (LGÅ*)