Like nearly all Beatles fans who were born after The Beatles split up, I grew to like the The Beatles music listening to the stereo versions of their songs as they were really the sole versions around.

However I heard a ton concerning how the mono versions of their albums were the "true" mixes of their albums because they were the ones that the band themselves worked on up until about 1968. I read the quote from Lennon when he said that you simply haven't really heard Sgt. Pepper unless you've heard it in mono.

I then read "My Life Recording The Beatles by Geoff Emerick and that built my interest for the mono mixes higher. So I was pleased to listen to that their albums were being put on CD in mono as a part of The Beatles In Mono Box Set and of course I ordered it on-line as soon as I could.

It has been a true thrill to hear these songs in mono for the first time, many of them really sound substantially different (beyond the obvious differences in panning.) Some such as "Helter Skelter" have totally different lengths. Some like "She's Leaving Home" are literally in a completely different key and tempo (the mono mix of "She's Leaving Home" was sped up to be a half step higher than it had been recorded.)

While I find many of the mono versions very fascinating I think it's the early songs that really profit most from being heard in mono. A heap of those songs really sound better in The Beatles Mono Box Set compared to their stereo brothers.

The issue I have with a lot of the stereo versions is that they were mixed with extremely wide stereothat ends up in scenarios like with many of their earlier songs where all of the vocals are on one side and all of the instruments are on the other. This makes a terribly irritating listening experience when llistening on headphones (and I love listening to music on headphones.)

I certainly think that The beatles remastered mono box set is an essential part of any true Beatles fans Beatles collection. Do not misunderstand me, I in all probability listen to the stereo versions more often, but I do believe many of the mono mixes are better and even when they are not better, they are still interesting for me to listen to because they are totally different from the stereo versions.