Examples of LP releases that they were claimed as stereo but were actually mono or stereo enhanced: The Big Country Lolita Zorba the Greek Up the Junction I know there are more. Can anybody add to the list?
I know there are more. Can anybody add to the list?
There are many more, certainly ... but this type of information is not the sort I committ to memory. Between 1958 and 1968, there has been a lot of monaural-only recordings that record labels were obligated to electronically channel into artificial stereo when producing vinyl soundtracks.
I'm sure a person such as yourself knows this already but asks the membership to contribute.
Recordings done outside U.S.A. (during this time period) were usually mono with no genuine stereo counterpart. Italian soundtracks, for example, still had monaural-only LPs even after 1968 (but some of these had genuine stereo master tapes which did not surface onto CDs until 40+ years later).
Some additions are:
Yojimbo, which MGM records issued in 1962 from mono Toho studio '61 sessions. The Train, a mono French recording with which United Artists simulated stereo. [quite a number of CDs re-issued LP programs in original mono because there is no reason - decades later - to perpetuate their fake stereo] The 10th Victim Mainstream records promoted Italian originals when most U.S. labels dared not. Nothing But the Best recorded in England, but did not sound true stereo (I no longer own the ColPix LP to verify) The Long Ships ColPix releases Yugoslavian mono recording in re-channeled stereo. Genghis Khan, too! This was recorded in U.K., but like above was electronically altered (Liberty records even spelled Khan as "Kahn" on the sticker)
One might also be interested in similar mislabeling on CD, too, when Digitmovies as recently as 2017 mistakenly put "full stereo" on the cover of Totò Diabolicus - which actually contains three monaural scores for Totò movies.
I think other Theodorakis LPs such as The Day the Fish Came Out and Phaedra are not in genuine stereo. [no surprise here as these recordings were likely not done in the U.S.]
Additional Mainstream records with electronic stereo are The Shop on Main Street and The Heroes of Telemark.
The VeeJay records version of The 36 Hours was another specimen.
Perhaps the poorest-sounding one is Roulette records' A Study in Terror; no wonder John Scott doesn't want this re-issued and went ahead with his own digital recording of this score (20+ years ago).
The combo of Where the Hot Wind Blows & Love Is My Profession on Everest records is one of the earliest ones, though I'm not entirely sure.
The United Artists label (mentioned above by Mr. Kritzerland) might have been the first, I think, with titles like The Naked Maja, The Unforgiven plus maybe Wonderful Country. Most of the stereo LPs from 1958 & '59 are genuine ... and still sound good.
Decca reissued "The Robe" and "The Egyptian" in electronically enhanced stereo.
And I found a Decca recording of "There's No Business Like Show Business" in electronically enhanced stereo at 58 Dean Street in London. Never saw it anywhere else.
