The Beatles Meet the Beatles US Orig'68(Capitol Record Club) / DECCA Contract

$

405

ORIGINAL CAPITOL RECORDS CLUB ST-8-2047 LONGINES SYMPHONETTE SOCIETY ISSUE

THE BEATLES ~ MEET THE BEATLES! (1968)

DECCA CONTRACT PRESSING, PINCKNEYVILLE, IL

RECORD CLUB COVER WITH 3 /// DIAGONAL STRIPES

1st PRINT RECORD CLUB BLACK LABELS WITH A “MANUFACTURED UNDER LICENSE FROM CAPITOL RECORDS INC.” TEXT

PROMOTIONAL “MEET THE BEATLES!” RECORD CLUB 5” X 8” FOLD-OUT MISPRINT INSERT

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Original 1st Capitol Record Club edition of The Beatles “Meet the Beatles!” issued by Longines Symphonette Society featuring an incredibly rare “Meet the Beatles!” Capitol record club promotional brochure. This copy is the earliest 1st record club DECCA Records contract pressing of 1968 containing the black Capitol Records labels with the oval Capitol logo and a rainbow circle which were very quickly changed to the green labels with the Capitol target logo. This is one of the earliest 1st Record Club “Meet the Beatles!” issues which Longines equipped with a very rare promotional club fold-out misprint insert. This insert is also called a “brochure” in some sources. You can find the information about the sales of this “Meet the Beatles!” Record Club promo brochure online, including the sites Heritage Auctions and iCollector. Its starting price was $1400 and the selling price $4750. The insert measuring 10" x 16" (unfolded) contains many inaccuracies and misprints. To begin with, the names written under the portraits inside the insert are mixed up and indicate John as George and vice versa. Furthermore, the catalog numbers of "Meet the Beatles!" album on the front reads "F2047" and "SF2047" as oppose to the correct ones, "T2047" and "ST2047". The back side of the insert features an advert for the Al Martino’s “Painted, Tainted Rose” album which seems was Capitol’s backup plan in case if The Beatles didn’t turn out to be commercially successful in the US. Additionally, the insert misprints the catalog numbers for this album as well on the back indicating "F1975" and "SF1975" instead of "T1975" and "ST1975". The three diagonal /// stripes (hash marks) present in the upper left-hand corner of this record club copy’s cover are the main feature that differentiates the club issue cover from the regular issue. The presence of the unique “ST 8-2047” catalog number in the upper right-hand corner on the front doesn’t come across that frequently even on the 1st print covers. Longines altered the original catalog number by adding the “8” prefix which serves as a catalog identifier of Capitol record club record. The back cover contains the RIAA “16” at the bottom right corner which is present on the covers of Capitol record club issues pressed by DECCA Records for Longines in between 1969 and 1972. Capitol label releases that were pressed by Decca for Longines and distributed by Longines were first made available in the late 1968 / early 1969. The very 1st early copies had the black multi-color Capitol labels with the “Manufactured Under License from Capitol Records Inc.” rim text at the bottom and were being issued only until May of 1969, which explains their rarity. 1st print black labels with a rainbow circle of this copy, besides the catalog number, have a 1” DECCA Records pressing ring. The subsequent information involves the vinyl. This very early pressing contains the DECCA Records, Pinckneyville, IL “2” plant identifier in the runout groove on both sides. After including the “8” prefix, the matrix numbers became as follows: SIDE 1 – ST 1 82047 W1 2 / SIDE 2 – ST 2 82047-W1 2. The album comes with the original white paper inner sleeve.

★

I grade the cover as Near Mint Minus. It's very clean and doesn't have any splits or ring wear. The top right corner contains a blank white sticker underneath the factory shrink wrap which was most likely placed there by the original owner. The back cover contains some very light age discoloration along the edges, but aside from that the cover is in stunning condition. Just like the cover, the original Capitol Record Club brochure is in great vintage condition. I grade the vinyl as Strong Ver Good. It retains its original glossy lacquer but has some light surface marks and hairlines as well as scuffs from the original inner sleeve which is in Near Mint Minus condition and doesn't have any splits or tears. The labels are very clean, scuff- and wear-free, and are in Excellent Plus condition. The vinyl sounds great with some very light occasional static which can be heard only at a loud volume during the quiet passages. There is a couple of very light pops at the end of A1 / A5 track, but the balance of our phonograph's tonearm is set to a light weight, and perhaps, you won't hear them if it's heavier on your phonograph. Most likely, the occasional static and pops would go away if the record was professionally cleaned using a VPI cleaning machine.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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