Beatles Remasters [split topic]

[Lfbarfe]

In case you didn't know - the original stereo mixes of them are in the Mono box.

Yes, I do know that. I prefer Martin's 1987 mixes, to be honest. They're proper stereo, rather than just 2-track. I just thought that, given the care and attention given to this set (and it is a great achievement - with so many modern CD masters being compressed to death, these are mostly louder and punchier than the previous CDs, but they've managed to retain the full dynamic range - many other mastering engineers should watch, listen and learn) it wouldn't have been beyond them to go back to the multi-tracks and emulate Martin's 1987 mixes for a true high-res remaster. It doesn't matter quite so much for these CDs, but for future-proofing, it's an issue. If you save a 2848x2184 image as a 720x576, then resize it back to 2848x2184, it's just a 720x576 image blown up to 2848x2184. Detail is lost. Fortunately, I'm pretty certain that every last scrap of Beatle tape has been backed up in high-res digital (I read it somewhere, but can't remember where), so the possibility is there for it to be done at some stage.

Another aspect of all this is that anyone claiming the new Rubber Soul and Help CDs are a massive sonic improvement on the 1987 versions is talking out of their arse. They're the same masters, only a bit louder. 

[Eight Taiwanese Teenagers]

I listened to the remastered Revolver (Stereo) on my way to work this morning. I couldn't really hear much of a difference to normal other than the vocals being very very slightly clearer. I actually thought it made them sound a bit wrong as they stood out from the music too much.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Yeah, the stereo remasters of Rubber Soul and Revolver are a bit pointless if you already have them, the mono ones are definitely better.

[Uncle TechTip]

every last scrap of Beatle tape has been backed up in high-res digital (I read it somewhere, but can't remember where), so the possibility is there for it to be done at some stage.

50th anniversary, anyone?

[Lfbarfe]

You mean 50 years since the original copyright in the sound recording was established? It wouldn't surprise me at all to see the high-res masters coming out 50 years to the day after each album emerged, just to eke out the copyright period a little longer.

[Vitalstatistix]

I'm a Beatles ignoramus so can't comment helpfully on the remastering issue, but as a result of all the news I've been blasting Revolver muchly and have been enjoying it fucking muchly. None of the other albums grab me in quite the same way, though I will try!

What's everyone's favourite Beatles album?

[El Unicornio, mang]

I would put my top 5 as:

1. Magical Mystery Tour
2. Revolver
3. Sgt. Pepper
4. Help!
5. Rubber Soul

[papalaz4444244]

The Best of the Beatles

[George Oscar Bluth II]

The Best of the Beatles

Ahaaa!

Abbey Road for me. For the medley on what they'd have called side 2 back when it was released. It's glorious. One of those pieces of music that makes me smile like a loon whenever I hear it.

I'd never noticed the 'fuckin' hell!' on Hey Jude. Cheers for that.

[Marty McFly]

in no particular order, because I go through phases of liking early Beatles more and later Beatles more..

With The Beatles (it's so much better than Please Please Me!)
Rubber Soul
Help
The White Album
Beatles For Sale

[Egyptian Feast]

I'd have to pick The White Album as my favourite, possibly even my favourite album full stop. It truly is the album with everything - and NO, it would NOT have made a better single album. It needs to sprawl. It's one of the few remasters I haven't checked out yet, which reminds me...

The rest of my top five:

Revolver
Abbey Road
A Hard Day's Night
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

[biggytitbo]

Abbey Road
The Beatles
Please Please Me
Help
Revolver

Eat that, suckers.

[trotsky assortment]

With The Beatles (it's so much better than Please Please Me!)

Having played them both back to back a couple of days ago, I wholeheartedly agree.

[Lfbarfe]

With the Beatles is stunningly good. Please Please Me is their stage act recorded in a tearing hurry. With the Beatles is the sound of an increasingly confident band starting to find their way around the studio, and the first real indication that there might be more to them than first met the eye. Am I alone in thinking their version of You Really Got a Hold On Me shits on the original?

[El Unicornio, mang]

There seems to be some debate going as to whether the remasters that are up for download are the real thing. If you go here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/entity/The-Beatles/B000APTK6K%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref_%3Dep_sprkl_mus_B000APTK6K

and listen to Eleanor Rigby, at the point where 'Eleanor' is sung, the vocal is all in one speaker, whereas on the ones uploaded it pans from the middle.

Edit: Nevermind, further inspection has revealed that the amazon clip was edited from a different section, hence the difference

[biggytitbo]

With the Beatles is stunningly good. Please Please Me is their stage act recorded in a tearing hurry. With the Beatles is the sound of an increasingly confident band starting to find their way around the studio, and the first real indication that there might be more to them than first met the eye. Am I alone in thinking their version of You Really Got a Hold On Me shits on the original?

With The Beatles is ace, but I'd go with the much derided Beatles for Sale as their best early album. It has a tired sheen to it, but so many great songs on there and the sound of the band growing up as you listen.

[weirdbeard]

With The Beatles is ace, but I'd go with the much derided Beatles for Sale as their best early album. It has a tired sheen to it, but so many great songs on there and the sound of the band growing up as you listen.

Virtually all the originals on there are fantastic.  Every Little Thing is my most recent Beatles sleeper hit, as was I Don't Want To Spoil The Party a few months back.  Lennon and McCartney really pull off some beautiful harmonies on this record.

Plus you've got I Feel Fine as the single and Leave My Kitten Alone as the best unreleased song they ever made in the studio.

[Serge]

My top 5 is probably boringly prosaic:
'Revolver', 'Rubber Soul', 'Sgt Pepper', 'The White Album', 'A Hard Days Night'.

My boss, a committed punk and hardcore fan goes on about how much he hates The Beatles, but then says, "Well, there's a couple of albums I like, Revolver and The White Album" as if he's some sort of iconoclast who's managed to pick the two most obscure Beatles albums that no-one's ever heard or something. He also hates Pink Floyd, so the easiest way to wind him up is to say that something he likes (say, Fuck Buttons or the last Om album), sounds like Pink Floyd.

[lipsink]

'Revolver' is in my Top 5 now that I've heard the mono. The stereo was always so flat and it was so irritating. I listened to the remaster of 'Rubber Soul' on stereo and turned it off and went back to the mono as it was irritating me so much!

Anyway, my new Top 5 (not in any order):

Revolver, The White Album, Sgt Pepper, Rubber Soul, Help

[Gavin M]

I'm surprised to see the albums not make much impact in the charts - Thursday's midweeks show only Abbey Rd & Sgt. Pepper in the lower part of the Top 10.  Of course they could have a very strong couple of days and be right up there on Sunday.

[Milo]

Some of that might be due to lots of people saying the monos are better and they are only available as part of the massive set, only the stereos are available individually.

EDIT: Though saying that, it doesn't really seem like a good enough reason.

[CaledonianGonzo]

I'm surprised to see the albums not make much impact in the charts - Thursday's midweeks show only Abbey Rd & Sgt. Pepper in the lower part of the Top 10.  Of course they could have a very strong couple of days and be right up there on Sunday.

I thought they were only released yesterday, so the rest of the charts have a two (or three) day lead (?).

The stereo boxset is also charting, which'll impact sales of the individual discs.

The Beatles are also occupying 7 out of the top 10 places in Amazon's music bestsellers, if that means anything (it probably doesn't, as it also includes things that aren't relased yet).

Anyway, come Sunday I think they'll have a pretty strong showing in the top 10.

[Gavin M]

They've moved up a little bit today, Friday's midweeks looks like this:

7 Sgt Pepper
8 Abbey Rd
9 Revolver
11 Rubber Soul
15 Stereo Boxset
24 White Album
33 Past Masters
36 Magical Mystery Tour
37 Help
39 Hard Day's Night

Things could change based on the weekend's sales but given that it's a pretty slow week for the album chart (Jamie fricking T is at #1) quite a few people expected these albums to sweep all before them.  Considering how many fans have been crying out for a remastered boxset for years, some mercenary execs at EMI may be wondering why the hell they bothered if it's just going to chart one place above a Beverly Knight album.

[Gradual Decline]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8246313.stm

[pulsifer]

For the 1987 CDs, Rubber Soul and Help were remixed by George Martin, because he'd never been happy with the stereo versions, adding, rather controversially, digital reverb in places. The new remasters use Martin's 1987 mixes. The question is whether the remastering engineers went back to the analogue master tapes and recreated Martin's 1987 mix as closely as possible, or whether they just took the digital master of 1987 mixes and transferred those. I've A-Bed the old and new Rubber Soul, and suspect the latter very strongly.

I'm with you on that one. Anyone who has any mixing experience whatsoever knows that even the slightest change in levels, eq or whatever can have a dramatic effect on the final cut, especially when they are well recorded in the first place (which they were). If they did try and copy Martin's mixes they would have to be incredibly lucky (not to mention extremely talented and have plenty of time) to get it sounding as close as it does. Digital reverb in 1987 wasn't too clever compared to today's units - or even plug-ins - so even emulating perfectly the sound of a reverb unit over twenty years old would be a major task in itself.

I hate modern remastering techniques. One of my favourite albums, "Duke" by Genesis sounds horrid in it's newly remastered guise. It's so in your face it makes my ears bleed.

[placeholder]

The 24 bit, 192KHz remasters have leaked online.

[Jemble Fred]

Wasn't it John who said you've not heard Revolver until you've heard it in 24 bit, 192KHz? He may have been sniffing heroin at the time.

[Jaffit]

The 24 bit, 192KHz remasters have leaked online.

Wow. I heard parts in Helter Skelter I've never heard before. Can't wait for the rest.

[Paaaaul]

Wow. I heard parts in Helter Skelter I've never heard before. Can't wait for the rest.

It's amazing the stuff that George Martin put onto the records that we're only just hearing clearly for the first time now.

[El Unicornio, mang]

That's nothing compared to the previously unreleased version of 'Let It Be', digitally restored and presented with archive footage from Abbey Road studios (Ringo's costume idea was ditched at an early stage)

The worst cover of a Beatles song ever! (Let It Be)