Along with the resurgence of vinyl reissues overwhelming the market in recent years has come a surprising amount of LPs featuring mono mixes, and not just for albums that don't have a good (or any) stereo mix. This year witnessed a complete run of Beatles UK LPs in mono re-emerge in the marketplace; meanwhile, Bob Dylan's mono titles actually even saw a second reissue on LP a couple years back. The first set of Dylan mono re-releases were put out in the early 2000s by Sundazed. The label has taken the mono plunge in slightly more esoteric directions recently, with reissues featuring the likes of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and Donovan -- and, earlier this year, Nilsson's first two RCA Victor releases.
Pandemonium Shadow Show, which debuted in late 1967, is difficult to find in mono, but still possible; I've seen a couple over the years. Aerial Ballet, however, released in1968? Good luck. I've never seen one, or know anyone who has. It does exist, though: there's one copy archived at Popsike. I'd be surprised if there are any copies out there that aren't stamped as promo copies -- RCA's practice at the time, rather than preparing special labels, stickers or cover text. My original stereo copy, in fact, is stamped in that manner.
One might expect that a mid-1968 mono, essentially only produced as a promo for AM radio play, may be a fold-down -- just a simple combination of the two track stereo master into one. I've spent some time A-Bing the new Sundazed release with an original stereo copy, and I'm pretty sure this is a dedicated mono mix. There are quite a few elements of the stereo mix that are panned hard to one channel or the other; those instruments would be a bit quieter in the mix if this was a fold-down, but the balances are well-maintained on the mono. Also, there's at least one dead giveaway here: "One" is significantly different, with only one Harry vocal throughout (no overdubs) and additional reverb on vocal. "Everybody's Talkin'" also has some extra reverb on the vocals, as did the original 45. Otherwise, most of the songs here are fairly similar in mono to their stereo counterparts.
Those two songs were both singles off the album, as was "Good Old Desk." "Everybody's Talkin'," of course, eventually became a monster hit for Nilsson, after being reissued in the wake of its inclusion in the film Midnight Cowboy. The rest of the album's songs follow the elaborately produced adult pop sound of Nilsson's first RCA disc, and are just as eclectic, ranging from the acerbic tale charting the aging of a music star and his fans, "Mr. Richland's Favorite Song," to the lullaby "Little Cowboy."
Another bonus of the Sundazed mono LP: It restores as the lead-off track "Daddy's Song," which was pulled from all but the very earliest pressing after the Monkees covered it in their movie Head. The new pressing is also a dead-quiet slab of heavyweight vinyl, which will make happy anyone who has tried to find even a vintage stereo copy of Aerial Ballet that plays without the surface noise prevalent in many RCA LPs of the late '60s era. Usually my go-to play for quiet '68-'69 RCAs is to just give up and find a Dynaflex reissue -- but by that era,Nilsson had re-cast his first two releases as Aerial Pandemonium Ballet, and the original albums went out of print.
Perhaps someday I'll get the chance to hear an original mono copy, but Sundazed's excellent Aerial Ballet reissue means I will be saved from the temptation to waaay overpay for an original copy online. That is, if I ever even find a copy. (Sundazed LP-5468, 2014)
