A customer wrote to a record company and sent me a drop copy, which I reproduce herein:

I recently bought the subject cd and found that many of the tracks were in mono. many of these mono tracks were played on the radio in stereo. can you explain why in this high tech age these tracks are in mono instead of stereo? I would have preferred to hear this in stereo as much as possible. I understand that recordings originally done in mono can not be made into stereo, but what of those that I’ve heard on radio in stereo?

I should point out here that the “subject cd” was a compilation by the Beach Boys, much of whose recorded oeuvre was released in mono or in (gag) “Duophonic” phonus-bolognus simulated stereo — because, we are reminded, Brian Wilson was deaf in one ear and mixed this stuff to mono because that’s all he could hear.

In the 1990s, for whatever reason, the group, or Brian himself, relented, and allowed some of these tracks to be remixed into stereo. The obvious place to begin was Pet Sounds, and a yummy box set was issued with both mono and remixed stereo versions, plus bits and pieces from the stage tapes. It was successful enough, decided Capitol, to allow further expeditions into the vaults, and the results have been generally successful — because they have the session tapes and therefore the capacity to remix them into proper stereo.

The operative word here is “proper,” keeping in mind that a good mono mix is always to be preferred to a bad stereo mix. I wrote about this at length some years ago and cited some examples of the latter. (Among the worst stereo mixes extant is the overechoed, ping-pongy “I Love You” by People — on Capitol, by coincidence — which becomes unlistenable long before the 4:35 running time is over.)

Still, if Capitol does have fresh new Beach Boys mixes available, why don’t they use them on all Beach Boys product? The answer, of course, can be found at the cash register: the number of people who can be sold any old Beach Boys compilation is far greater than the number of people who insist on hearing “Heroes and Villains” in stereo for once. And they’re not going to go back and remaster a CD that sold well just to punch in new tracks that Joe and Susan Sixpack may not recognize as new.

As for myself, I have accumulated a fair amount of uncommon (if not always “rare”) stereo, and I use it on my personal compilations most of the time, though there are reasons why I might not. Often it’s a question of length: staying with the Beach Boys for the moment, the stereo mix of “Fun, Fun, Fun” fades out almost 20 seconds earlier than the mono 45 version. And sometimes the stereo mix just rubs me the wrong way: Capitol redid the Outsiders (the US band) material for a compilation, and the vintage mixes, despite dubious placement — the lead vocal on “Time Won’t Let Me” falls hard left — somehow sounded more forceful than the more-conventionally-placed remix.

That said, though, I still get something of a kick when I hear something in stereo that I never thought I would. And to that extent, I have to sympathize with my (once-removed) correspondent.

Lucky number 13, as the deejays used to say two-thirds of the way through the Top 40 countdown. The cover photo originally sold Van Raalte hosiery in all those puffy shades.

Track listing for 111118-2:

1. The Beatles: A Hard Day’s Night
2. Gene Pitney: It Hurts to Be in Love
3. The Shangri-Las: Give Him a Great Big Kiss
4. Billy Joe Royal: Down in the Boondocks
5. Jr. Walker and the All-Stars: Shotgun
6. Brian Hyland: The Joker Went Wild
7. The Barbarians: Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl
8. The Animals: We Gotta Get Out of This Place
9. Canned Heat: On the Road Again
10. Dion: Abraham, Martin and John
11. The Supremes: I Hear a Symphony
12. Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas: Little Children
13. Petula Clark: Kiss Me Goodbye
14. The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Purple Haze
15. The Dave Clark Five: Glad All Over
16. Aretha Franklin: Respect
17. Dusty Springfield: You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me
18. Deon Jackson: Love Makes the World Go Round
19. Tommy James and the Shondells: Get Out Now
20. Simon and Garfunkel: The Sounds of Silence
21. The Temptations: (I Know) I’m Losing You
22. The Guess Who: These Eyes
23. Lee Dorsey: Working in the Coal Mine
24. The Kinks: A Well Respected Man
25. The Miracles: Going to A Go Go
26. Cream: Sunshine of Your Love
27. The Who: Happy Jack
28. Spanky and Our Gang: Like to Get to Know You

Which includes John, Johnny or Johnnie, and friends as appropriate. (I drew the line at “Johnson,” because it seemed to be an unnecessary complication, and at “John Denver,” because it was, well, John Denver.) An unusually-minimalist cover, but then, I was going for timelessness.

Track listing for 111117-2:

1. John Sebastian: Welcome Back
2. John Fogerty: The Old Man Down the Road
3. Johnny Tillotson: Dreamy Eyes
4. Johnny Nash: I Can See Clearly Now
5. Robert and Johnny: We Belong Together
6. Dr. John: Such a Night
7. Johnny Mathis: Wonderful! Wonderful!
8. Little Willie John: All Around the World
9. Elton John: Sad Songs (Say So Much)
10. Johnny Kidd and the Pirates: Shakin’ All Over
11. Johnny Cymbal: Mr. Bass Man
12. John Cougar Mellencamp: Jack & Diane
13. The Fantastic Johnny C: Boogaloo Down Broadway
14. Johnny and the Hurricanes: Beatnik Fly
15. Johnny Horton: North to Alaska
16. Johnny Rivers: Seventh Son
17. John Stewart: Gold
18. Johnny Cash: A Boy Named Sue
19. John Lennon: Instant Karma (We All Shine On)
20. John Phillips: Mississippi
21. The Johnny Otis Show: Willie and the Hand Jive
22. Daryl Hall and John Oates: Out of Touch
23. Johnnie Taylor: Who’s Making Love
24. Johnny Preston: Cradle of Love
25. Robert John: The Lion Sleeps Tonight
26. Santo and Johnny: Sleep Walk