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The Beatles : Rubber Soul 1/1 1st Mono Pressing Loud Cut Edition

This first mono pressing also known as the Loud Cut edition plays to a fantastic standard with a clarity, depth and power that is outstanding. The sonic quality is high end and even the final tracks on each side plays so clearly with barely any inner groove distortion. Michelle is the only track with any background - just one very light click and a couple of ticks but is still one of the cleanest versions I have heard on a Loud Cut press.

The cover is also in superb condition with very little wear, just look at how clean the back is Rarely do you find this very collectable album with a vinyl and cover as impressive as this. The inner sleeve has also been preserved extremely well.

The Loud Cut pressing was soon discontinued because the vocals had too much of an aggressive/edgy sound and that the bass was too muddy . Production was soon stopped and this is why this album is very collectable today.

It has The Gramophone Co. Ltd... around the perimeter edges and has a 1/1 matrix. On this pressing the credit indicator is next to the song titles, there is no space, and has a Times New Roman font. This is known as the variation B label but according to the Beatles-collection site this label type is very rarely found with the 1/1 matrix, it is generally found with the 1/4 or 4/1 Loud Cut matrix. A relatively rare pressing I would say and especially in this condition.

PMC 1267 // XEX 579 - 1 / XEX 580 - 1 // PO 1 / AL 2

The audio on S1 is Mint - T7 Ex

The audio on S2 is Mint - T7 Near Mint

The cover is a very strong Ex

The labels are Near Mint-

This vinyl is in lovely condition and still has a very strong glossy sheen with no marks or scratches. Under a strong light I can see some faint hairlines and a longer one on S2 but they have no impact on the superb audio at all. There is no groove wear or dulling of the surface and the run out grooves are also very clean - you can read the matrix info easily. The yellow Parlophone labels are unmarked and have only very minimal spindle wear. There is no KT tax code on this edition.

Play grading

The classic Drive My Car begins the album with superb audio throughout. A couple of clicks on the run in before the track starts but then the clarity of sound from the first note to the last cannot be faulted. There are no ticks, clicks or pops not even a solitary dust tick There is no underlying static and I am 100 confident in grading this as Mint - the fade out also plays perfectly.

Another classic in Norwegian Wood and I am pleased to say it plays to the same high end standard with no intrusion. A relatively quiet track so the clarity here is even more impressive in a way. I haven t heard many Mint versions of this track but we certainly have one here

On You Won t See Me you have the first indication of the so called aggressive vocal sound but it doesn t detract from the audio clarity in my opinion. Once again there is no background and Mint is again very much deserved.

An even more aggressive vocal with Nowhere Man and a very muddy bass sound but it nonetheless plays with STUNNING clarity with no sign of any interference. So far I cannot emphasise enough just how impressive the playback is - so clean and precise you would not think it had been on a turntable before Mint

Think For Yourself plays with great power from the outset and this quality is maintained throughout. Once again there is no background and...you know the grade...

As you approach the end of the side you expect some inner groove distortion but on The Word it is kept to an absolute minimum and is totally non-intrusive in my opinion. If I am honest there is barely any here and you can still turn it up to max without having to turn it down immediately. The brief harmonica instrumental towards the end is a prime example of that. This is such a strong version and I am happy to grade to still grade it as Mint- such is the quality.

Michelle often plays with a fair amount of static/distortion but this is one of the cleanest versions I have heard in a long time. The clarity is not quite as per the other tracks on the side but it still plays very clearly and for once McCartney s vocal is very clean sounding. There is no obvious static and I heard only a couple of light ticks and one minor click. This is being played through a stereo set up so I m sure it would play with even greater clarity when played as a mono record. As it stands I still think it deserves an Ex grade.

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What Goes On plays with genuine quality and barely any of the sound issues that affect this first pressing. A slightly muddy bass perhaps but the actual clarity is stunning from start to finish. I also think the depth of the audio is very impressive. A Mint start to the side.

Girl plays beautifully with no interference of any kind. A handful of barely audible dust ticks at most the playback is exceptional. Mint

The acoustic intro on I m Looking Through You is faultless and it continues to play with breathtaking quality. A measure of this is during Harrison s clang clang chords played in G I believe. For once they play with no distortion and the sound quality throughout is superb. Another Mint track.

The poetic In My Life plays with impeccable quality and...no interference. A relatively quiet track and yet I cannot fault the clarity on offer here. Each note is so clean and precise and again Mint is deserved. Superb lyrics on this classic track.

Wait has that more edgy vocal sound again but still plays with exceptional audio with no ticks, clicks or pops. Mint

We are of course near the end of the album now and yet If I Needed Someone still with sensational clarity and power. I would say there is no inner groove distortion but I will grade as Mint- just to err on the side of caution

On Run For Your Life I often find it is difficult to differentiate between the Loud Cut sound issues and inner groove distortion. Regardless of that this version plays with STUNNING quality and barely any of the above. It plays with very powerful audio and again there is no interference. The clarity is so impressive for a final track and especially on a near 57 year old record. I cannot impress enough how strong the audio is and even Near Mint may be underselling it.

In summary this first Loud Cut pressing plays with incredible sonic quality on both sides with a clarity that I would say is second to none. It would be very difficult to find better audio and only Michelle has one light click and a couple of minor ticks but that is the only background across the entire album and even then it is hardly intrusive. The minimal inner groove distortion as you get to the end of each side is another stand out feature and this is clearly a record and cover that has been so well preserved over the decades. Not exactly a rare record but it is certainly rare in this condition. Stunning

The Cover Inner Sleeve

The Patents pending G L cover is in superb condition with only a little shelf wear. There is one small 3cm area of wear on the top edge but the good news is that it has not resulted in an actual split. Aside from that the top edge is unmarked and the bottom edge is in perfect shape. The spine is in fantastic condition and has barely any corner wear and the right hand corners have only a very minimal amount of wear. The opening edge is also very clean with very little handling wear. The laminated front cover is super clean with only one minor laminate crease, one tiny nick by the bottom edge and a handful of very faint creases next to the spine that you always find. The back cover is so clean which is a genuine rarity when you consider it isn t laminated and the flipbacks are still firmly attached to the cover with none of the staining that you often see on the edges. The white background has no marking and has just one minor crease top left and a small number of small faint scratch lines near the top edge. A superb example overall.

The vinyl has been kept inside a Patents Applied For plain white die-cut inner and has no side splits or tears, only minimal creasing and barely any age related fading/marking.

Play tested on my Pro-Ject Essential III Turntable / BW 684 Speakers

This record has been cleaned on a Pro-Ject VC-S machine

PMC 1267 // XEX 579 - 1 / XEX 580 - 1 // PO 1 / AL 2

I grade according to Record Collector guidelines.