web hosting short URLs photo sharing

Brazilian LP Releases

Identification and Price Guide

Every Beatles LP on this list except for The Beatles (White Album) should have its cover contained in a plastic bag. Odeon of Brazil normally packaged its LPs, EP's, and compact 33 singles that way.

Dark Blue "High Fidelity" Odeon Label

Of all the labels that officially issued Beatles records during the 1960's, Brazilian Odeon probably experienced the most number of label changes. When the Beatles were first introduced to Brazil in 1964, Odeon was using a dark blue label. Many collectors consider all dark blue labels to be "original" pressings, but this is not the case. For records pressed during 1964, the dark blue label featured a box containing the words "ALTA FIDELIDADE," which translate to "high fidelity."

NOTE 1: Of the three LP's from 1964, Beatlemania appears to be the hardest to locate in its original pressing, although they are all somewhat difficult to find. Beatlemania contains the single tracks "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand." In addition to most of the selections from the UK LP With the Beatles, "I Saw Her Standing There" closes the LP.

NOTE 2: The Beatles Again is not the same as the US album with the same name. Instead, it is a compilation unique to Brazil. The single tracks "Love Me Do," "Please Please Me," "From Me to You," "I'll Get You," and "Can't Buy Me Love" supplement a selection of songs from Please Please Me and With the Beatles. The cover is also unique to Brazil.

NOTE 3: The title of the third Brazilian LP is NOT a translation of A Hard Day's Night, which is the title of both the film and LP in English-speaking countries. Instead, there is an interesting story behind it. In Brazil, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" became so popular that Rock and Roll was nicknamed "Yeah Yeah Yeah" music. The Beatles themselves were dubbed, "The Kings of Yeah Yeah Yeah" -- i.e., the Kings of Rock and Roll. This is how the title of their third LP translates.

Dark Blue MONO/STEREO Odeon Label

With the advent of 1965, Odeon removed the "high fidelity" box from their records and substituted (on LP's) the word "MONO" or "STEREO". This label continued through the year.

NOTE 1: The second pressings of the Beatles' first three LP's are only slightly more common than the first pressings.

NOTE 2: The Beatles '65 LP is the equivalent of the UK Beatles For Sale album and not the US Beatles '65 album.

NOTE 3: The Beatles '65 album, shown as "The Beatles" on the label, is very rare in stereo. The cover has a round yellow "estereofonica" sticker. If the other LP's exist in stereo on this label style, they too are rare.

White Label "Odeon Top" Label

At the beginning of 1966, Odeon changed label styles again, this time switching to a white label without a star but with the new Odeon "boxed letters" logo at the top. Copies can be found without (left) and with (right) an additional statement below the Odeon logo, a statement that emerged sometime in 1967.

NOTE 1: Although sources indicate that Rubber Soul was pressed in both mono and stereo simultaneously, mono copies are MUCH MORE COMMON. This is not reflected (yet) in the values given, since most collectors from outside Brazil have desired mono pressings.

NOTE 2: With the new label style came a new numbering system. While the "L" probably stood for "Long Playing" and "B" for "Brazil," the "T" appears to have represented the "Beatles," or at least non-Brazilian music. The singles and EP's also switched to catalog numbers with "BT" in them. This new numbering system was used at least through 1974.

NOTE 3: Mono reissues of the earlier LP's were also available on the "Odeon top" white label style and generally sell for $50 each.

White/Red/Black Odeon Star Label

From Fall of 1967, Odeon began using a white, red, and black label with a star outline. This label was transitional, lasting only until approximately the end of 1968.

No new LP's were issued on this label style, since the Magical Mystery Tour LP was not issued in Brazil immediately. The EP set did appear on this label style originally, but since the Beatles switched to Apple in 1968, no original Beatles LP's came out on the white/red/black label with "star".

NOTE: Mono reissues of the earlier LP's were also available on the white/red/black label "star" label style and generally sell for $30 to $40 each.

White/Blue Odeon Star Label

From some time in 1968 or 1969 until 1971 came two still newer label styles. First came a white label with a blue star and the boxed "Odeon" logo. This was followed in 1971 by an almost identical label having the older-looking Odeon logo, which would also be the Odeon logo used on stereo "yellow label" reissues from 1972 on. One subtle difference with the new logo, however, is that the word "ODEON" is fully capitalized; on pressings prior to 1968/9, only the first letter was capitalized. Since the Beatles had switched to Apple (and then broke up), no new Beatles LP's were issued on either of the above label styles. However, every one of the earlier records is more common on the "blue star" labels than on the original 1960's styles. They sell for approximately $25 each on either of the "blue star" label styles.

The vast majority of Brazilian mono Beatles LP's appear on these label styles, meaning that they are the most common label variations. Many collectors propose that the label style dates to the mid-1960's; however, non-Beatles releases on Odeon occur on this label style from about 1968 until the end of 1971.

All in all, the white/blue "star" label took Odeon into the 1970's. By 1971, stereo was the mode of choice in Brazil, and so most of the LP's became available in Brazil in stereo -- although some of it was rechanneled stereo. In 1974, the stereo (yellow label) reissues replaced the mono reissues; prior to that time, yellow label mono copies were still the norm. In 1975, a decision was made to eliminate the Brazil-only releases and to replace them with the British albums.

Apple Label (With Cursive Print)

In 1968, the Beatles switched to the Apple label. The albums on Odeon did not switch to Apple in Brazil but remained on Odeon -- see above. Also, Brazil became part of the European Economic Community and began using the EEC numbers in addition to their own. However, the mono releases always used the Brazilian numbering system only.

The first apple label, above, has the print around the rim of the label in cursive (script). Later on, the rim print was changed to a block printed style (below). Notice that by that time the Brazilian catalog number had been removed.

NOTE 1: It is not known whether Magical Mystery Tour was released as part of the SBTL series in early 1972, but the EEC number was definitely used (later on). In 1976, the LP received a new number entirely.

NOTE 2: The later mono albums generally sell for more money even though they are not particularly rare. This is because LP's after The Beatles were not released in the US in mono, and LP's after Yellow Submarine were not available in England in mono. All Brazilian Apple albums through Paul's Ram LP were pressed in mono. A mono copy of Ram is in demand and might sell for $750 in NM condition. A few later LP's, such as John's Imagine (BTL-1016) and Beatles Forever, were issued in mono as promotional records; the regular releases were in stereo.

NOTE 3: The Brazilian Beatles Forever was issued in other countries as Por Siempre Beatles, which means the same thing. The Brazilian LP has an unusual song edit: the words "in Summer" are missing from the middle of "Penny Lane."

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.

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.

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.

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.