It's Official! The Beatles Remasters Thread (Part 16)

Well for those who wanted remixes got it, original stereo, got it, mono mixe. got it.

 

Thanks to Mr. Allan Rouse for remaining gracious and open to answering our question. The very fact that he did so shows that these guys actually care about what the Beatle maniacs have to say. I wish he would have dropped a little "remix" hint, but other than that, it was a nice little epistle. Lukepac got a shout out, so +1 for him.

As for me...I'm buying both boxes, and I'm going to revel in the whole experience, and that includes GM's Help and RS remixes. That's right, everything! Think of it this way: if GM would have secretly remixed Help! and RS and those 1987 remixes never saw the light of day, you folks would be clamoring about trying to get them as if they were the holy grail. They are what they are. We're still getting the original stereo albums!

 

Don't forget WTB in stereo. The samples were amazing.

 

OK, what's $13 anyway.

 

I'm sure that was a selling point for whomever was sent to get approval from Apple to include the old mixes as a bonus. Even if the original motives were pure...

 

That list is pretty similar to mine, except for maybe SP and TB at first, and definitely not Revolver. The stereo mixes of AHDN and BFS really stand head and shoulders above the rest, IMO.

 

The mono box needs no additional selling points. Just look at the situation now...and it has nothing to do with the stereo H! and RS being in the box.

 

By the way, I think the discs that may get the most playing time for me are the samplers (assuming I can get a hold of them)...what awesome tracklists. Taken together perhaps the most representative Beatles compilation ever.

 

I think you left an album out, there. Plus two of the albums are $16.99 - so that adds-up to $163.88 (if you're skipping "Rubber Soul" & "Help!", which I thought was what you were talking about)

And if you're including "Rubber Soul" and "Help!" it totals $189.86

unless *I* did the math wrong.

(and it was hard to find the "Let It Be" remaster on their site. In fact, I never did find it but they did show a listing for a "Let It Be" import that had the remaster artwork and a price of $12.99 - strange!)

 

That be me!

The stereo remasters I will buy are:

1) Abbey Road
2) The White Album
3) Sgt. Pepper
4) Past Masters
5) Magical Mystery Tour
6) Revolver
7) A Hard Day's Night

I *might* get "Meet The Beatles" in stereo as well, but no more. I will have the 1965 remixes of "Help" and "Rubber Soul" already on the mono box, so that takes care of all that!

Then, I will dump my old CDs and LPs except "Let It Be", "Let It Be...Naked". I will delete all of my needledrops. Of course, I will check all the remasters to ensure there are no errors before I rid of them. I made that mistake too many times in the past.

I haven't decided what to do with the Red and Blue CD sets. I just want to streamline my collection, as I don't need multiple copies and masterings of everything.

 

I wouldn't say it has nothing to do with those stereo mixes. They are certainly a nice bonus. The mono versions of Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, and the White Album are better selling points, IMO.

 

I get keeping LIBN, but why keep LIB specifically? And are you keeping Vinyl, CD, or both?

 

The 1987 "Let It Be" is quite good!

 

Yes.

My auxiliary stereo CDs wil include Abbey Road, Let It Be and Yellow Submarine (not included in mono box) plus Beatles For Sale (just sounds better in stereo) and Magical Mystery Tour (my fave recording in the entire Universe, and I'm used to it in stereo.) Er, now that I think about it, Revolver as well - I prefer the fades of the loops in the stereo "Tomorrow Never Knows". Ah, Past Masters too, so that I have all the singles.

Maybe I should just get the stereo box after all.

 

They make really cool-looking coasters!

 

thanks!

Allan, can I ask how the mono Beatles for Sale sounds? Does it improve much on the poor sound of the 1987 mastering? My 87 CD sounds harsh.

 

I wish Mr. Rouse would have addressed the confusion over the availability of the mono box, assuming he knows anything about that.

 

Jeez, sounds like they only had once shot at doing it right...what happened if they cut the mix master at the wrong place?!

 

The four Yellow Submarine exclusive tracks are on Mono Masters. The only YS tracks not in the mono box are the George Martin instrumentals.

 

The thing, the stereo box is basically the same price as buying the individual CDs, so I'm not gonna bother since I have no use for a stereo Revolver, PPM, or WTB at all.

 

The vocal on If I Fell should be the same take as the stereo LP, right? I was dissapointed with the vocals on a Tube cut UK stereo ND I got recently.

 

I believe Allan said that after level-matching, he did not notice much of a difference. In fact, I seem to remember discussion at that time about Beatles for Sale not having a decent-sounding mono master to start with.

 

Stick it back together and edit again. Or do another mix if necessary.

Heck...Steve edited the Aqualung master years after the fact to fix a problem.

I think something that often gets lost in these discussions is while the tape is "THE MASTER" today, at the time it was a work in progress.