Meet the greedy: Capitol

Hold me back! Capitol Records has decided to release the Beatles albums in their original American form on CD [“Beatles Get Back to U.S. Sound,” by Randy Lewis, Oct. 13]. Obviously some crafty cretin at Capitol figures ripping off Americans a second time would be good for the company’s coffers.

Every true Beatle fan I knew went out and bought the Parlophone albums when they became readily available to the U.S. market in the ‘70s. The reason was simple: The Parlophone releases were how the group wanted their music heard. Capitol sliced and diced the Beatles’ albums like a sushi chef on crack. They added reverb and other studio effects that greatly altered the sound of the original recordings. On the UA “Hard Day’s Night” and on Capitol’s “Help,” Americans got tons of instrumental filler and half the songs on the European versions.

If Capitol really cared about one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands ever, they would re-master the Parlophone albums like they did on the tracks for the Beatles “No. 1” disc. Re-releasing the inferior-sounding original American versions only shows Capitol Records for what it is: a crass company where the artist and customer are held in contempt and the bottom line takes precedence over all.

John Zavesky

Riverside

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Your article on the release of the first four Capitol Beatles albums on CD relied on British-born Beatles historian Martin Lewis to provide insight on these records. While Lewis is a so-called Beatles expert, he has little appreciation for the Capitol albums that Americans held close to their hearts.

Lewis states that Dave Dexter “had the chutzpah to put his name on as producer [of the U.S. releases].” Dexter did famously reconfigure the EMI LPs for American consumption, but his credit doesn’t appear until the third album -- and only then as an addendum to producer George Martin’s: “ ... and in the USA, with the assistance of Dave Dexter, Jr.” In addition to compiling some great albums, Dexter also re-mixed all of the tracks on them (good or bad!). Giving credit where credit is due, his “assistance” nod seems well-deserved. Contrary to criticism leveled at Dexter over the years, he and Capitol did not butcher the Beatles; they marketed the Beatles.

Let the music on The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1 speak for itself. I’ve waited 17 years for these CDs and I couldn’t be more excited!

Darby Ketchum

Sherman Oaks