The Beatles (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

On Wednesday, EMI released all of the studio recordings in remastered sound. The Beatles material has never been properly remastered and this is the first real rematestering in great sound. By comparison, the Stones material has already been remastered three times.

That's 13 albums, plus a Past Masters set, reissued in stereo. On top of that, EMI reissued all 14 in a stereo box set and 11 of them in a mono box set, the latter being made only in initial minimum quantities. I was at Borders as soon as it opened on Wednesday and grabbed Revolver, Rubber Sould and Magical Mystery Tour. Revolver had never sounded this good. McCartney's bass lines were amazing. It's like hearing them again for the first time. Really takes you back to a simpler time.

The hot action was in the box sets; they were gone in half an hour, and this around $200 a pop. I later went back and grabbed three more, Abbey Road, Let it Be and the White Album. I've also succumbed to the mono box, which is on back order, expected to be delivered around my birthday.

Highly recommend these releases.

Here's a review of the mono box from the Allmusic site.

This review by Chuck Klosterman is pretty funny but well informed.

Lastly, for a good discussion, please see this thread at the Organissimo Jazz Forum, to which I belong.

 

[jazzeum]

Forgot to list the albums:

Please Please Me
With the Beatles
A Hard Day’s Night
Beatles for Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles (The White Album)
Abbey Road
Let It Be
Past Masters
Yellow Submarine

 

[damian]

On Wednesday, EMI released all of the studio recordings in remastered sound. The Beatles material has never been properly remastered and this is the first real rematestering in great sound. By comparison, the Stones material has already been remastered three times.

That's 13 albums, plus a Past Masters set, reissued in stereo. On top of that, EMI reissued all 14 in a stereo box set and 11 of them in a mono box set, the latter being made only in initial minimum quantities. I was at Borders as soon as it opened on Wednesday and grabbed Revolver, Rubber Sould and Magical Mystery Tour. Revolver had never sounded this good. McCartney's bass lines were amazing. It's like hearing them again for the first time. Really takes you back to a simpler time.

The hot action was in the box sets; they were gone in half an hour, and this around $200 a pop. I later went back and grabbed three more, Abbey Road, Let it Be and the White Album. I've also succumbed to the mono box, which is on back order, expected to be delivered around my birthday.

Highly recommend these releases.

Here's a review of the mono box from the Allmusic site.

This review by Chuck Klosterman is pretty funny but well informed.

Lastly, for a good discussion, please see this thread at the Organissimo Jazz Forum, to which I belong.

Unfortunately Brad it is a toss up between that and Neil Young's Archives on blu ray at about the same price. SO it is going to be a Christmas of choices.

 

[jazzeum]

Damian,

Go for the Beatles, the ones who made it possible. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. I'm really enjoying these.

Just listened to Magical Mystery Tour this morning.

 

[Peter Reuss]

Forgot to list the albums:

Please Please Me
With the Beatles
A Hard Day’s Night
Beatles for Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles (The White Album)
Abbey Road
Let It Be
Past Masters
Yellow Submarine

Back in the day I had every one of these on cassette (probably still do somewhere). Sounds like time to upgrade

 

[VIRIATO]

My stereo box set arrived today from Amazon UK. Can't wait for opening it tonight...
FAB FOUR for ever!

Paulo

 

[jazzeum]

Paulo,

Take a look at that Organissimo thread. Everybody is swearing by mono box and some people have bought both!

 

[damian]

Damian,

Go for the Beatles, the ones who made it possible. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. I'm really enjoying these.

Just listened to Magical Mystery Tour this morning.

Brad ELvis made it possible.
I will give the Beatles a listen before deciding between them and Neil Youn

 

[jazzeum]

I wouldn't agree about Elvis. I never found him interesting, plus Elvis just coopted what black blues musicians were doing, what was then called race music, and made it acceptable to white audiences. The Beatles were really the beginning of it at all, taking what had happened before and fusing it to their own personality. They didn't reinvent rock 'n roll (let's not forget Buddy Holly, the Animals, Stones, etc., more or less coalescing in the same time period) but were its trend setters.

 

[lancer]

IMO, Elvis and the other early rockers got their foot in the door that the British invasion (led, of course, by The Beatles) then kicked to pieces. The 50's and the 60's were the best time for rock, with some bleed over into the 70's. I miss the 60's and the Beatles. -- Al

 

[jazzeum]

I'd agree with that Al. To me, the father of it all is Bill Haley and his Comets.

Al, pick up one of those remastered Cds. The sound is really phenomenol. The engineers did a hell of a job.

 

[lancer]

I'd agree with that Al. To me, the father of it all is Bill Haley and his Comets.

Al, pick up one of those remastered Cds. The sound is really phenomenol. The engineers did a hell of a job.

Will do, Brad. Think I'll put them on a Christmas wish list since I can't get anyone to give TS. -- Al

 

[VIRIATO]

Paulo,

Take a look at that Organissimo thread. Everybody is swearing by mono box and some people have bought both!

Yes, I've read a few discussions on this, but I wouldn't spend on both sets, after all I also collect toy soldiers. I went for the stereo because I only have some albums from the Beatles and I really wanted the sound to sound stereo and not 60's mono (I'll leave mono for the purists, I just don't go into such depths). The great music is always there, either way.
On who was the father and so on, IMHO it looks clear that the Beatles got a lot of inspiration from early American Rock & Roll (not just Presley but also BOB DYLAN the great master), and later from many other kinds of music. But to me it remains astonishing how they went on to diversify, experience and create influences for newcomers like no one else had done before, all with consistent brilliance and success, day in day out, at a time when there were a lot of technical limitations at the studios by the way. Yes, in the Beatles you can find rock and roll, psichedellic music, symphonic music, r&b, World Music (yes, 30 to 40 years before the term came up), you name it, and it all sounds great and hooks the crowds to it! I can't think of anyone who did this on the same scale, in about 7 years (what a melodic and creative hurricane).
FAB FOUR for ever (40 years later, mind you!).

Cheers,
Paulo

 

[jazzeum]

I went for the stereo initially and picked up 7 of the CDs and still need to pick up the Past Masters set. However, mono doesn't mean bad sound; it just means you're not hearing the instruments through two separate channels. It all comes at you through the one channel. A lot of what we listen to that is older is in mono so I'm used to that and the reviews I've read are floored by the mono. Yes, it's a lot of money but I know if I don't get (and it is limited to an extent), I'll be kicking myself when a box is double the price. I hope to be picking one up next week. If the choice is between this music and buying another tank, the choice is easy.

 

[VIRIATO]

I went for the stereo initially and picked up 7 of the CDs and still need to pick up the Past Masters set. However, mono doesn't mean bad sound; it just means you're not hearing the instruments through two separate channels. It all comes at you through the one channel. A lot of what we listen to that is older is in mono so I'm used to that and the reviews I've read are floored by the mono. Yes, it's a lot of money but I know if I don't get (and it is limited to an extent), I'll be kicking myself when a box is double the price. I hope to be picking one up next week. If the choice is between this music and buying another tank, the choice is easy.

Hi,
I fully agree with everything you say. I've read that the real originals were the mono versions and that when stereo came up the Beatles would record the mono versions and then leave the studio and leave it to the engineers to do the stereo ones.

Regards,
Paulo

 

[Davout71]

I don't have the budget to buy the re-masters but would be keen for a listen sometime.
I don't think I am telling any Beatles fans anything new when I say they really are something special. I wasn't even alive when they put out their last album but their music never bores me and always inspires.
I used to be a school teacher and sometimes a student in the class would mock my love of the Beatles (actually a great deal of students were fans too). I would always ask what they liked. I would then say lets see who is still listening to that 50 years from now.
What can I say they are just excellent and I know they will continue to lift my spirits till the end of my days.