Canadian Beatles Albums

Type 1 Rainbow Label Capitol

Capitol Records of Canada contracted Beatlemania long before their larger and better-known counterpart to the south. Canadian Capitol's superior decision-making brought Beatles records to Canada in early 1963. After experimenting with the release of a few singles, Capitol was eager to release the Beatles' second British album in Canada. Sources differ as to the release date of the LP, but surely by December 2, 1963, Canada's version of With the Beatles became the first North American Beatles album.

Capitol-USA and Capitol-Canada were negotiating the consolidation of their releases, but the US release of The Beatles' Second Album had a title and contained songs that were inappropriate for Canadian release. After a third unique Canadian album, album and single releases were unified. From Something New on, releases in the two countries were nearly identical, although Capitol-Canada continued to issue albums in mono only.

At the time when Beatlemania With the Beatles came out, most Canadian pop albums were released in the "6000 Series." The label style in 1963 was a rainbow label, similar to the label used in the United States but with print around the rim of the label that read, "Mfd. in Canada by Capitol Records of Canada, Ltd. Registered User. Copyrighted."

Those albums which were originally issued on this label style are:

NOTE: In 1965, shortly before the release of Beatles VI, Capitol-Canada began to release albums in both mono and stereo. STEREO copies of the earlier "American" records were released at that time.

Type 2 Rainbow Label Capitol

The rim print on this second label style remained the same as the above -- "Capitol of Canada" -- until July, 1966, but mono records were marked "MONAURAL" and stereo records were marked "STEREO" on the label.

Those albums which were originally issued on these label styles are as follows:

NOTE: Stereo copies of the above LP's are all harder to find than their mono counterparts.

NOTE 2: Stereo copies of Something New pressed before about 1968 have the "Full Dimensional Stereo" logo at the top. Copies made after that time have "STEREO" underneath the Capitol logo.

NOTE 3: Beatles Story appears not to have been pressed in stereo until about 1968. See below.

NOTE 4: Original stereo copies of Beatles VI have the "New Improved Full Dimensional Stereo" logo at the top, as the US albums do. Later, the word "STEREO" was stamped in gold onto a mono front slick (over Paul's head). Still later copies (1968-9) read "CAPITOL FULL DIMENSIONAL STEREO" in block letters at the top of the front cover, folded over from the back cover. Some copies exist with the gold stamp and block lettering.

Type 3 Rainbow Label Capitol

The rim print on the label was changed in July, 1966, to read "Capitol Records (Canada)."

Also, in late 1967 the Canadian company made an effort to release the two remaining Beatles albums, with Beatles Second Album coming first, followed shortly by Meet the Beatles and The Early Beatles.

NOTE: By the time Meet the Beatles was released in Canada, the record company had stopped pressing mono LP's. This change probably happened in about March, 1968. Some sources indicate that Meet the Beatles and Beatles Second Album were available in mono only through a record club.

NOTE 2: While the earlier LP's were reissued onto the "Capitol (Canada)" label style, in preparation for the addition of the American LP's to the catalog, two Canadian albums, Beatlemania With the Beatles and Long Tall Sally, were deleted from the catalog in 1967. They were reinstated to the catalog in 1971.

NOTE 3: Unlike England, the USA, and several other countries, Canada did not issue Sgt. Pepper with a custom inner sleeve, using either a company sleeve or no inner sleeve at all.

Apple Albums

In 1968, all new Beatles releases switched to the Apple label. As in the United States, Capitol-Canada stopped issuing mono LP's in 1968. Here is a list of Canadian Beatles albums on the Apple label.

NOTE: The White Album was originally issued with 4 pictures and a poster.

NOTE 2: Copies of Hey Jude can be found with an apple-shaped title sticker. The sticker adds about $30 to the value of the LP.

NOTE 3: The book issued with the boxed Let It Be album is thinner than the books made in England. A gold sticker can be found inside correcting the book's publishing credits.

About Reissues

In late 1969, Capitol-Canada began reissuing LP's onto a green label. This and all labels that follow it resemble those from the USA.

Capitol-Canada brought their "6000 series" LP's back into print for the red label reissues in 1971, which saw a full run since Canada was not pressing Apple label reissues.

In 1976, while the orange label was being pressed, Capitol-Canada began to receive fresh tapes of various records. For the first time they issued Long Tall Sally in stereo, with a song variant not found elsewhere. Beatlemania With the Beatles also saw a stereo release in '76. The single, "All My Loving"/"This Boy" featured the first true stereo appearance of the b-side. Finally, in about 1978, SOME purple label reissues of Meet the Beatles featured an alternate mix of "Don't Bother Me."

A Word About Condition

The condition of a record is all-important as to determining its value. The values shown are drastically reduced for lesser condition copies, as shown below:

Near Mint, or NM, condition records are unscratched. If the label has stickers or tape, this must be noted. Essentially, they look like they just came from the store.

Very Good Plus, or VG+, condition records will have very few scratches. Without close inspection, they might pass for Near Mint copies. A VG+ record normally sells for half what a NM copy goes for. In Europe, this condition is called Excellent, EX.

Very Good, or VG, condition records have a fair amount of scratches, but they by no means appear "beat up". A VG condition record normally sells for one fourth of the NM price. In Europe, this condition is called VG+.

Very Good Minus, or VG-, condition records are starting to appear quite scratched. Still, when played, they play through, although the surface noise is becoming distracting. Many singles are commonly found in this condition. A VG- condition record normally sells for one sixth of the NM price. In Europe, this condition is called VG.

Good, or G, condition records look scratched--basically all over, but they'll play through well enough to enjoy the song. A G condition record sells for one tenth of the NM price. [Some dealers also use a grade of G+, which sells for one eighth of the NM price.]

Fair, or fr, condition records are generally worthless unless the record is rare. They're scratched up and have distracting surface noise, but they're not completely ruined. No chips missing, and not cracked. They sell for one twentieth of the NM price or less.

Poor, or pr, condition records are basically ruined. They may be warped, cracked, chipped, or otherwise unsuitable for collecting. Most collectors only accept poor condition copies of something really rare until a better one comes along. They're virtually worthless.

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