Beatles box set coming Nov. 16

"plus 7 unique duophonic mixes making their CD debut"???????!!!!???!!!!???!!!!????
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And everybody is pleased with this?? Straight from the Capitol tapes? What is going on? This isn't saving the Beatle catalogue, this is pulling another dumb one on us all!

I mean, this is nonsense!! The success of this will not send a clear message to Apple at all! What is necessary is a decent remaster of the original Beatle catalogue as The Beatles recorded and mixed it with George and Norman or Geoff and the other engineers in London.

How can people be happy with this? Nostalgia aside, and everyones' feelings about whether they as first generation Beatle fans or not, (I mean, really guys stop this now!) why are we here. Why do we like Steve's work? Do we like the preservation of sound as reproduced the way our favourite artists heard them upon completion in the control room? DO WE NOW LIKE DUOPHONIC???? Do we now want the remastered Beatle catalogue to come from Capitol dubs?!?! What is wrong with the setup that we are going to be given here?

Why not hi-rez transfers of the real masters???

Sorry if this sounds like a rant, but the runaround is real. And we know who and what is giving it. Now how do we give them a message - like -

"Stop mucking about! You can have your vanity releases AFTER you give us the real goods!"

That is how I feel about this box.

The Stones releases are a dream come true compared to this.

Sorry for the rant. I respect every one of you. But it is obvious that we are getting "Let It Be - Naked'ed" again!

 

Paul, I agree with you. On the surface, it's nice to see a first release of this early Beatles material on CD...finally. However, if it's not going to be done right, meaning flat transfers from the original master tapes, then don't freakin' bother.

I don't know. I was born in 1970, so the original US LPs hold no sentimental value with me. Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe it's wrong to want top-flight sound from the original master tapes.

 

Well… just to put a UK spin on this….

How about the rarities that will be appearing on CD for the first time (some of which have never appeared in the UK on vinyl)

Thank You Girl (stereo)
I Call Your Name (unique mono/stereo mixes)
I’ll Cry Instead (long mono)
Anytime At All (unique mono)
When I Get Home (unique mono?)
And I Love Her (single tracked mono)
Komm Gib Mir Diene Hand (mono/stereo)(the mono on PM1 is actually very narrow stereo!)
and All My Loving (wide stereo)(it's narrowed stereo on the Red CD)

 

To put it bluntly, this "US Versions" box has NOTHING to do with the Beatles' catalog. It's a secondary release, like "YS Songtrack" or "LIB...N" -- only, unlike those two, fans actually WANT this one. I know, it's a new approach for Apple -- giving the fans what they beg for -- but if they pull this off, think of the wonders they could achieve with the UK catalog!

I disagree; I think it will send a message -- the message being: "If people will turn out in droves to buy songs they already own in inferior sound, just think of how many remasters of the REAL albums you could sell!"

First, I don't see why those who are excited about this should "stop" being excited, but it goes beyond mere nostalgia. Even Steve, who openly despises the US albums, gets all mushy when he talks about the stereo "Thank You Girl" -- and in a month it will be available on CD for the first time. I grew up with these LPs, but I've never heard the monos, and I don't have the time to do perfect needle-drops of my stereos. I'm very excited about this, and not just because of nostalgia.

Second, nobody -- NOBODY -- here or anywhere else has said they "liked" duophonic. Spizer calling those mixes "unique" was probably tongue-in-cheek if anything. What people are applauding is that the "real" US mixes are being issued, warts and all. You know, a lot of people complained about LIBN being too "clean", too "digital", too "lifeless" -- while swearing that the "Get Back" LP was better and should have been issued instead. The "Get Back" LP sounds like crud, and is unreleased with good reason, but many people genuinely and legitimately prefer it. Now we have a case where Apple has apparently agreed to release inferior versions -- that they themselves don't even like -- in the name of (a) fans' wishes and (b) historical accuracy, and people are still complaining. You can't have it both ways, folks.

Apples and oranges. This isn't a "catalog restoration" campaign -- it's a fan-friendly stocking stuffer. Clearly, they aren't ready to release the UK remasters yet. When they are, they will. We all saw what happened in 1987 when they rushed the job; why do some people want them to rush it now?

I'd rather they distract themselves with the "vanity releases" while they try to figure out how to release a proper remaster. A box set that contains stereo/mono twofers mastered by quality pros like those at Sterling Sound is a HUGE step in the right direction.

Hold on now -- regardless of how you feel about the "US Versions" box philosophically, the Stones remasters present a FAR bigger problem than this does. The Stones CDs replaced the actual catalog, which ABKCO hopelessly confused by co-mingling BOTH the US and UK versions and NOT giving us all the original mixes The US box is a limited edition box set that doesn't sully the "real" catalog. In the long run, it's really much more benign than what ABKCO did.

But don't you see (and I guess you don't) that this is the exact OPPOSITE of LIBN? In the case of LIBN, they took an existing UK album that was fine as it was and remixed, re-edited and re-sequenced it, all because one person (Paul) didn't like the original. (Ironically, they did the same thing that Capitol used to do to their albums.) With the US box, they're taking 4 albums that AREN'T official anymore and releasing them historically intact for the MILLIONS of fans who miss them. What's the harm -- they're not PREVENTING a properly remastered UK catalog, they are merely delaying it further. What's another year between friends??

Sean Murdock

 

Two words....



Baby Boomer!

 

OK. Does anybody have Sulpy around? I'm pretty sure he says that EMI was responsible for those mixes. I can't possibly be totally imagining this.

 

Easy one, hire Steve Hoffman for the job.

 

Make that two people.. Paul and me

 

That won't happen, Dave, because that would make SENSE.


Evan

 

Yes. Why shouldn't I?

 

...if you insist, I'll give him a call.

 

It would be VERY interesting to know what percentage of people who posted in this thread are buying this box set for nostalgia and what percentage are buying it expecting a substantial sonic upgrade from the common 87's. If the set isn't a preferred mix or remaster, I'm not buying it. I've long since stopped buying something new on the market just because it said "The Beatles" on it. My friend, the NightGort is right. I'm waiting to see the response of the members here as to the mixes used as to whether I'm going to buy or not. Until then, I'm not too excited about the whole project.

 

As Mr Spizer says.... the mixes are the original album mixes.

 

whoa.. I thought (well, assumed) these were remastered, are they not? Or maybe "re-" is incorrect in that they were never mastered for CD in the first place. But at the very least, I am expecting to hear the very best quality Beatles recordings commercially available to date with these releases, Dexter or not. So put me in the latter category of expecting the sonic upgrade even though Capitol v EMI is apples & oranges (i.e comparing to the 87s may be a futile exercise).

 

Great post, Sean, you captured it perfectly - this is really Apple puttering around the edges of the catalog (like YS, 1 and LIBN), and, unlike the revisionist LIBN, sounds to be historically accurate, which I would think hardcore Forum dwellers would appreciate, for any other artist. (Something about the Beatles seems to bring out a lot of emotional responses). I think that historically significant releases, and variations, provide a continual source of interest for many of the music lovers here, and I can't imagine anyone seriously arguing for less choice, as long as more "definitive" catalog issues are not superseded. (Moreover, is there not an element of "nostalgia" that drives Forum members to seek out obscure issues of original mono mixes?)

I also suspect that these secondary issues are providing them with additional time (for what I don't know) to get their act together re the primary / UK catalog. Keep in mind that historical issues, like this, and potential definitive hi-rez issues are not mutually exclusive.

Re IFF and SAW, George Martin did create US-specific mixes on October 12 and 21, for the new single. Sulpy speculates, in his latest volume, that perhaps EMI even layed on a little extra reverb, which Capitol then added to.

I've got the original BEAT series (up thru SPLHCB / MMT at least) and the first two on Millenium Remasters, as well as all the original vinyl, but I'll surely be at Best Buy or Circuit City at lunch on Tuesday.

Nostalgia or sound? I want the original mixes - mono & stereo is good, and if they sound better than ever, then so much the better. But bottom line,
... "it's the Beatles, so shut up and buy it".

 

I can't imagine the reprocessed stereo of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" on "Meet The Beatles" is going to be better than the true stereo mix on Past Masters 1


Sean has got it spot on in his earlier post when he says:
"This isn't a "catalog restoration" campaign -- it's a fan-friendly stocking stuffer."

 

Exactly! That's what I hear screaming out at me here...NOSTALGIA FIX!

 

I agree with you there. I didn't buy "Let It Be Naked" just because "it's the Beatles so I need it". I heard it first, didn't like the mastering and the weak guitar solo on "Let It Be" etc, so I didn't want it. Phil Spector's version is the best in my opinion so that's all I want to listen to when I want to hear "Let It Be" (an album that I think is underrated). I own good vinyl of all the Dexterized stuff so I don't think I'll be buying this cd set, but perhaps if the packaging and mastering is amazing I will want to buy it. We'll see!

 

Nope, sorry. Having "The Beatles" smattered all over the box is not enough for me to buy the box blindly, though Capitol is most definitely counting on that.

 

Oh dear, I am afraid you may be rather disappointed then.......

I haven't heard all the US masters so I can't really argue with those who want to have these version on CD for a nostalgia trip.

However, as far as objective opinion goes, the presence of fake stereo and fold-down mono really doesn't appeal to me at all. Also, I have heard Dexter's "I Feel Fine" (thanks Steve ) and it is a joke.

It seems to me that if you are nostalgic for these "butchered" versions then you are the lucky ones. However, the fact that EMI haven't got around to releasing the original mono mix of "Sgt Pepper...." etc... on CD first is utterly contemptable if you ask me.

So, enjoy this box by all means but remember that EMI's and APPLE's attitude to the Beatles catalogue has been a complete disgrace for years and continues to be so in my opinion.

 

You seem to be saying that there are only two reasons to get these - 'nostalgia' or 'sonic upgrade'.

I grew up in the 70's-80's, so while I am familiar with the American LPs, they don't hold the kind of nostalgia for me that they might for someone who bought them in the 60's. And I know that a remastering of the original UK sources would sound better than anything that could be done to the US tapes.

However, IMO that's not really the point. Up until the release of the Beatles catalog on CD in the late 80's, the Capitol LPs *were* the Beatles catalog in the US. Yes, the UK LPs are stronger and represent the Beatles true intent, but the Capitol's, with their unique sequencing, cover art, and Dexter-sound, are still very much a part of the Beatles history. I'm happy that we will now get to enjoy both versions on CD.

- joe s

 

Well now that David has posted the info from Bruce Spitzer, I'm not sure the EMI Canada release sheets will have any additional info, but if there is, I'll post it right away on Tuesday or whenever they send it out.

Happy Thanksgiving! Don't eat too much pumpkin pie.

 

I wonder if those original Capitol tapes (which are dubs, and in some cases dubs of vinyl, according to some on the forum) will be dipped in No-Noise before being mastered..

 

Is it possible Capitol is using UK tapes are re-dextorizing them?

 

No, having "Beatles" all over the box is not the reason. Having Beatles IN the box is.

Seriously, tho, I've been buying Capitol Beatles product since I was 13 - as it happened - and see no reason to stop now. That said, I have no doubt that this issue will leave something to be desired - even for those of us who DO want the original US mixes and packages to be accurate, whether you call it nostalgia or historical interest or whatever - and disappoint. (Frankly, I'll be surprised if they can do as "pure" a job as DR E or MILLENIUM REMASTERS.)

Of course we all would have preferred straight mono / stereo remasters (redbook or high-res) of the core catalog first. Apple has not chosen to manage the catalog as any of us would have, and but, unless they just totally screw this up, I'll probably continue to buy.