Mono recordings - two questions...


1) While I have been an analog fan since the 70's, I never ventured into mono recordings... from an audiophile perspective, how does one listen to mono recordings?  For example, does 'imaging/soundstage depth' matter and is it accomplished through a well-mic'd mono recording?  Obviously tonal balance, impact, resolution are all qualities that should shine through...

2) Would appreciate recommendations of well recorded MONO LP's -- recently bought a Julie London LP in mono it sounded surprisingly nice/natural... not so hot as many later stereo pop recordings...  my musical preference would be for vocals in pop, jazz and soul/r & b realms... in modern artists I would equate these to Diana Krall, Gregory Porter, Adele, Kurt Elling, Sam Smith, M Buble etc etc - 

Thanks in advance
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The reason you could find a Julie London LP in mono is because most of her work was done in the mono era of LP production (early 50s to mid-60s).  I very much doubt that you can find mono recordings of the artists you list in your last sentence, because they are very much with us in the here and now, in stereo.  I have some Julie London mono LPs; I agree it works well in mono.  But I would not agree that you need to limit yourself to solo performances; most small group jazz and chamber music does very well in mono, and somehow the brain picks up spatial cues from mono surprisingly well.

I thought at one point in reading your post that you were going to ask about listening to mono through one speaker of a stereo pair (assuming your system is basically stereo), vs listening to a stereo pair of speakers each of which is reproducing the same mono signal, simultaneously.  Anyway, I take the latter approach.  Then there is the endless debate about using a mono cartridge vs a mono switch on your preamplifier, or both.  It is true that mono signals are generated from lateral movement of the stylus, exclusively. Vertical motion generates noise from the LP groove, only. Whereas true stereo reproduction requires that the music signal is encoded in both planes.  Thus stereo cartridges tend to reproduce noise from mono LPs, and many think that using a mono cartridge or a mono switch is the only way to go. (Either way, you are cancelling the signal due to vertical motion of the stylus by bridging.)
Glad to hear you are getting interested in Mono and the Julie London disc is a good place to start. However one of the great things about Mono is that you do not have to be restricted to re-issues and instead you can go and dig in a wealth of dirt cheap 50s and early 60s material

There is a ton of depth and imaging in a good Mono recording although all in one dimension of course. Reproduced well you can place all of the instruments in relative position to one another

One of the other benefits of mono is actually wider frequency range (i.e. more and cleaner high frequencies) than stereo. The reason for this is that it is easier to design a mono cutting head, it weighs less and can cut the high frequencies more accurately than the corresponding stereo. This is one of the reasons why mono versions of discs that exist in both mono and stereo may be better sounding (and of course the mixes are different)

Anyway on to recommendations.

Anyway good luck!
Julie London "Julie is her Name" 
1955 blue label first press

This album is one of my desert island records. I play it every few months. Mono recordings from the 50-60's are superior to just about anything. 

Of course this is just my opinion.

Seek these to start-
Ella Fitzgerald:Let no Man Write my Epitaph
Clap Hands, here comes Charlie
Look for Verve, pre MGM press

Billie Holliday-All or Nothing at All
Body and Soul
Lady Sings the Blues
Look for Verve, pre MGM press

Nancy Wilson: Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderly
Nancy Wilson/George Shearing:Swingins Mutual
Rainbow label press


These albums are so great, I can almost  do without my Beatles/Stones/Zep...



Thanks for the recommendations... especially Tablejockey and Folkfreak  :).

Yes I fully realize modern day artists would never be recorded in mono. I am simply seeking recommendations from the ’golden age of mono’ in the musical genres (jazz, vocals, pop) I like to listen to.

@Raymonda - I am duly chastised LOL