Collecting original Canadian LP pressings of records from the 1960s can be a complicated task when ones considers the many variations of front cover slicks used by record companies such as capitol Of Canada. This article highlights some of the unique cover slick variations in Canada and also illustrates some "covers that could have been but never were".

This article deals specifically with some very "odd" front cover slicks. These were not really slicks manufactured in error. In actuality, Parr's prepared slicks for Capitol and other companies on the basis that their colour slicks would be used on the front cover. The jacket manufacturer would usually prepare the rear "wrap-around" slick using simple black and white printing processes.

1965 Banner ... "NEW IMPROVED FULL DIMENSIONAL STEREO"

The "New Improved Full Dimensional Stereo" banner was introduced by Capitol in 1965.









In the case of original Beatles Canadian albums, this new 1965 banner would be used for stereo pressings of Beatles VI, Help, Rubber Soul, and Yesterday And Today. The above Yardbirds "stereo banner" cover for "Heart Full Of Soul" has never been seen other than making a tiny appearance on the back cover of The Hits Of The Yardbirds (Capitol DT-6229).

 

Late 1950s Stereo Banner ... "CAPITOL FULL DIMENSIONAL STEREO"

For some reason, Capitol of Canada used the older "Capitol Full Dimensional Stereo" banner on some 1966 and 1967 stereo slicks. This was the same banner that was used in 1962 on the stereo edition of Helen Shapiro Sings The Big Hits Of The 60s (Capitol ST-6020). It was also used for the stereo version of the Beatles 65 Lp in December 1964.

 



Two examples above show that Parr's produced older style stereo banners for the colour front slicks for the proposed Hollies albums The Hollies (ST-6152) and In The Hollies Style (ST-6143). Neither album was ever issued in stereo.
When Parr's re-printed slicks for Long Tall Sally (T-6063) and The Beatles' Story (TBO-2222), they also created the larger colour slicks with the older style stereo banner attached at the top. These could of course be trimmed down to mono slicks by removing the stereo banner.These appear below. Some mono copies of T-6063 used the stereo banner slicks until the red target versions of 1971.

 


both above images courtesy of Fred Young, London, Ontario

 


Very hard to find stereo Beatles '67 pressings with the Parr's slicks featuring the old style stereo banner that would be trimmed down for mono covers.

Oddly no stereo banner front cover slicks have ever surfaced for Beatlemania ! With The Beatles (T-6051) and Twist And Shout (T-6054). As a guess, these would use the same early 1960s Capitol Full Dimensional Stereo banner and might have appeared as follows:

  

The above two images were computer-generated for illustrative purposes only… these front slicks were probably never produced this way in 1963 and 1964 respectively)

It has always been assumed that the mono front cover slicks for the first two Beatles albums were ordered in a rush and I would agree that this was the case where no stereo banners were added from the outset. Duophonic Stereo Banners

Other artists were featured with this older stereo banner, like The Yardbirds album Little Games and Elizabethan Serenade.







Duophonic Stereo was for all intents and purposes ...
"phony" stereo made from a mono recording !



Capitol Of Canada released several mono albums in the Duophonic format. These included albums by Manfred Mann (The Five faces Of Manfred Mann), The Hollies (Hits Of The Hollies), and The Dave Clark Five (Instrumental Album, More Hits). All of these Duophonic "6000 Series" albums used a "DT" prefix.

 

  

 

No Beatles albums in Canada were ever issued in the 1960s with the Duophonic stereo banner at the top of the front cover but several original Canadian 1960s Beach Boys albums were issued this way:



Surfin' Safari - Capitol DT-1808





 

Beach Boys Today - Capitol DT-2269

(in some cases, two stereo banners were used as the Duophonic banner appears above an un-trimmed New Improved Full Dimensional Stereo banner)





 

Summer Days And Summer Nights - Capitol DT-2354

(in some cases, two stereo banners were used as the Duophonic banner appears above an un-trimmed New Improved Full Dimensional Stereo banner)





 

Beach Boys' Party - Capitol DMAS-2398

(Odd ... no DT prefix !)

 





Pet Sounds - Capitol DT-2458

 





Best Of The Beach Boys - Capitol DT-2545







The odd block stereo banners



Some albums featured a different banner with the "Capitol Full Dimensional Stereo" notice in big block letters, like the Beatles VI album and The Hollies' Stop Stop Stop.

 

 

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Serge Pelletier, Fred Young, and Brian Schofield for their assistance with some of the rarer images used above.