OT - The Beatles Re-issues

[TheEqualizer]

So today (9-9-09), the Beatles released remasters of their entire catalog? Anyone get these? In the past, I've gotten a number of re-issues from other artists, but mainly if the CD contained new bonus tracks. However, it is my understanding that the selling point with the Beatles re-issues is just the remastering, which is supposedly light years better than the original CDs released over 20 years ago during the dawn of the CD age. For me, it is tempting to get Beatles for Sale and With the Beatles in mono.

What do you all think?

[Divemistress of the Dark]

We lucked out and got one of the box sets from our local indie store last night @ midnight.

They're awesome. Just awesome. You know...it's like I was telling Mr D earlier: These albums are in some ways as historic to me as the plays of Shakespeare - all of them were released before I was born.

The remasters remind the listener that these albums were of a time and place - the depth is amazing, IMO.

On the other hand? You can really, really hear the bass more clearly now. Wonder who had the largest hand in the remastering process

[ltwoman]

That's interesting that you really think it's that good! Still having the original albums and at least one complete set of CDs, I hadn't thought about purchasing the new re-masters... hmm. I wish I was into Rock Band or had gotten some of the gaming "stuff" already, 'cause it would be tempting to use Rock Band with the Beatles. Plus it might improve my drumming skills somewhat.
Thanks for the feedback.

[Throb]

I think I will cherry pick a few of my favorites(i.e. Rubber Soul and Revolver) on Mono. I am intrigued that the Mono have the original artwork and liner notes.

I bet they will sound a lot better than when I first heard the Beatles, on 8 Track!

[smax]

yeah, the mono versions are the way to go....

[Divemistress of the Dark]

You can't get 'em here. Not the box set, anyway, which we're going to buy as soon as availability loosens up.

We haven't let ourselves buy Rock Band, since we're supposed to be packing & all. We played the AC/DC track pack front to back the first night, and having seen previews of the Beatles version at the McCartney thing....it looks like the kind of thing ol' ADD here has a hard time turning loose of

[Throb]

And the box sets are sold out on Amazon.
I think I am heading to Best Buy for Mono versions of the individual albums.

[Tamadude]

[quote="smax"]yeah, the mono versions are the way to go....[/quote]

Why? Isn't that regressing?

I'm not understanding how mono could be better than stereo.

What am I missing?

[smax]

i'm saying that without having heard enough to have my own mind up, but;
"Beatles' record producer and arranger George Martin—the Fifth Beatle—once said: "You've never really heard Sgt Pepper until you've heard it in mono." As it turned out after hours of listening tests, it's completely true."

from here:
http://gizmodo.com/5216258/sorry-stereo ... a-lot-more

[TheEqualizer]

[quote="Tamadude"][quote="smax"]yeah, the mono versions are the way to go....[/quote]

Why? Isn't that regressing?

I'm not understanding how mono could be better than stereo.

What am I missing?[/quote]

This is a good preliminary discussion of the issue:
http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum ... 044&FID=64

[thedaner]

[quote="Throb"]And the box sets are sold out on Amazon.
I think I am heading to Best Buy for Mono versions of the individual albums.[/quote]

From my understanding, you can only get the mono versions in the boxed set--not individually. And, the mono box first run is not easy to find. They are printing more, but the first run are individually numbered.

[TheEqualizer]

Here's also a good discussion by someone from Amazon:

Those of us old enough to have experienced the Beatles first hand will never forget the excitement of hearing their latest release being played for the very first time. Each record as the band matured was invariably a step forward in creativity. And each release in those early days of FM and the continuing dominance of the AM format was invariably heard in Mono. Stereo was mixed differently in those days. In order to promote the new Stereo recording method as a distinct sonic experience from Mono, engineers created the widest possible soundstage with music heavily separated into the left and right speakers. If you really want to hear a typical difference in mixes listen to Cream's I Feel Free in both Mono and Stereo. The Stereo mix seems equally divided into each speaker with almost nothing coming from the center. As a result the music sounds diffuse and oddly unreal in the Stereo version with barely any bass at the bottom. The Mono mixdown, on the other hand, is sonically powerful and beautifully focused with Jack Bruce's 6-string bass and Clapton's amazing guitar solo now full-throated and much punchier. The Mono version is preferable even after all of these years of remasterings.

The Beatles recordings were similarly constructed with their earliest Stereo albums attempting to showcase the new recording method by separating the music into the widest possible soundstage. This was meant to be more lifelike than Mono but to my ears it always seemed to dilute the music a bit. On the Stereo albums Paul's bass lost a bit of its punch and never really reproduced the 'fat bottom' that anchored those beautifully recorded Beatle records. The wide dispersion of the vocals had a similar effect. Those glorious John + George or Paul + George harmonies, often originally meant to be sung into a single microphone, never sounded as solid and rich in Stereo as they did in Mono.

On this new Mono box set we can hear for perhaps the very first time (in a non-bootleg recording) the experience one had during those long ago days when these immortal records were first released. Here we can hear Paul's bass producing the same deep, flowing lines that revolutionized the way bass was presented in popular music. The vocals are now full and rich, with harmonies that flow like sonic honey ON TOP OF THE MUSIC instead of weakly dispersed at its periphery as in the Stereo versions. Ringo's tom-toms and bass drums are powerfully propulsive, causing my floor to bounce on several occasions. Revolver is a revelation in Mono with tracks like Tomorrow Never Knows and Taxman now having a 3-dimensional depth to them. Rubber Soul has a similar depth that is lacking in the Stereo version. Sgt. Pepper sounds so much more unified in Mono: it is acoustically less jittery than the Stereo version which occasionally suffers from excessive brightness and brittleness.

The first few Beatles albums all have that early wide Stereo separation with a center one could drive a truck through. In these excellent new Mono remasterings solidity has finally been returned to the early Beatles albums. Where the Stereo versions were weak these new Mono versions are powerful with a propulsive inevitability to the music that reminds me of what made the Beatles so very special in the first place. More than anything else, these new Mono remasterings recreate the experience of hearing the Beatles with all of their brilliance and freshness intact. And for that I am eternally grateful.

[thedaner]

[quote="TheEqualizer"]

Why? Isn't that regressing?

I'm not understanding how mono could be better than stereo.

What am I missing?[/quote]

This is a good preliminary discussion of the issue:
http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum ... 044&FID=64[/quote]

There are a lot of alternate mixes in the mono versions. They spent more time on those mixes up until the late sixties, when they finally succumbed to stereo only. I think the mono albums run up to Sgt. Pepper, but there are "Yellow Submarine" mono mixes that were never released back in the day that you can find on the mono box. It's really for Beatlemaniacs/collectors

[Throb]

[quote="thedaner"]From my understanding, you can only get the mono versions in the boxed set--not individually. And, the mono box first run is not easy to find. They are printing more, but the first run are individually numbered.[/quote]
Thanks, I think you're right. I somehow got the understanding that you could buy individual Mono CDs but it does look like it's the box set only.
The box set seemed a little too rich for my blood, I just couldn't see spending that much but the more I read about the Mono Box Set, if more become available it could be very tempting......

[plutonic]

From my understanding, you can only get the mono versions in the boxed set--not individually. And, the mono box first run is not easy to find. They are printing more, but the first run are individually numbered.

Thanks, I think you're right. I somehow got the understanding that you could buy individual Mono CDs but it does look like it's the box set only.
The box set seemed a little too rich for my blood, I just couldn't see spending that much but the more I read about the Mono Box Set, if more become available it could be very tempting......

I summed my early Beatles CDs to Mono in iTunes for the reasons cited above.

You can do this easily, and in theory at least, should sound fine. All depending on what your opinion of fine is.

I can't stand listening to the Stereo versions of Rubber Soul and Revolver.
Band on one side, vocals on the other sounds terrible to me.

I will probably get the Mono set, and pick up a few of the Stereo titles piecemeal, 'cause I just can't help it.

I already picked up Past Masters as I didn't have it, and Best Buy had it on sale for $13.