Sure to be high on the list of many holiday wish lists, as well as the recording industry’s hope to get shoppers back into stores to buy CDs, The Beatles catalogue has finally hit the shelves. It is offered as individual stereo CDs, a stereo and mono box set in remastered form, replacing their frigid 1987 predecessors.Without question, the band is still as relevant today as it was back in August, 1969, when they recorded their last note as a band. The band’s contribution to music in all of its forms as we know it today is incomparable. That being realized, are the new remasters worth investing in? That answer is pretty complicated.
If you’re simply going to import the CDs on your MP3 player and listen to it on little mousey earbuds or tinny speakers, don’t waste your money. If you’re going to listen on anything. and I mean anything else, these are a must.
Their catalogue has been abused in America from day one. Back in the day, the Beatles United States record label Capitol never had access to the band’s original master tapes. So the records that were made here were compromised before they even got played.
Their CD debut released in 1987 was just okay for that time period, though the packaging, liner notes and photography were cheap and shoddy at best.
The new stereo reissues are a godsend in comparison. The remastered music hurriedly jumps out at you. The packaging, and mini-documentaries are now like the band – trend setting.
Each individual CD is housed in a newly designed foldout cardboard sleeve that houses both the CD and a plump, glossy-papered booklet that includes rare era photographs and both technical and historical notes. For me though, there is nothing that will beat the already hard-to-find, limited edition Beatles in Mono (Capitol), back when the band’s musical vision was recorded and mixed for mono, not stereo. That latter task was left for producer George Martin and his skinny-tied engineering assistants to tend to after the band had left for the day.
In some cases the difference is subtle, in others it’s amazing. “Helter Skelter” for example is a full minute shorter here, and both “She’s Leaving Home” from the Sgt. Pepper album and “Don’t Pass Me By” from The White album were mixed at a different speed, so they are faster than their mono counterparts.
Also the packaging on the mono titles are exact reproductions of the original album covers, down to the inner sleeve that housed the album, whereas the stereo releases are new designs created for a CD and its booklet.
Be forewarned, the 3-5 minute, QuickTime mini-documentaries that accompany each initial stereo release are not available with the mono box.
Though some might clamor for remixed or DVD audio versions of The Beatles’ work, everything here in stereo and mono has improved with this digital remastering. Obviously, stuff like Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday” with its simple arrangement isn’t as jaw dropping as John Lennon’s “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” but you can pick any of your Beatles’ favs and notice a difference.
