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

A man after my own heart.

I've got rid of vinyl LPs, cassettes, the original White Album CD, and even 3-inch CD singles in anticipation of these remasters. I've only kept the best sounding or best packaged stuff.

 

About Allan Rouse's Thread:

That's a great letter. Thank you Allan.

It illustrates the vast span between the time we Beatle freaks have on our hands to concentrate in such detail on committing minutia to memory and what someone who's in the trenches getting the job done experiences. Frankly, I am surprised you able to be as forthcoming as you are. Had I just wrapped up what you've been working on for years, my mind would be mush right now and I'd be in need of a serious vacation. I'd also not have your sense of humor about the whole thing. A hearty hats-off to you for the job you've done and your willingness to put up with our particular brand of borderline OCD nerdism.

 

Well, as far as the monos are concerned, they are giving us the full treatment, right down to the authentic labels. Since they are made from the same masters, to my view, there is no need to hang on to the old vinyl. Of course, with the stereo CDs, I will make sure they are correct before I get rid of the old ones. I'm still mindful of the ABKO Rolling Stones situation with Ruby Tuesday. Oh, Luke, not to derail this thread, what exactly is it about Ruby Tuesday that they screwed up? I have the old London and ABKO remastered stereo, and mono mix, and I fail to hear what the mistake is.

 

Two releases can be made from the same masters and sound vastly different.

As far as Ruby Tuesday goes, there's an additional harmony vocal during the chorus that isn't there on the 2002 releases.

 

If the mono CDs beat the vinyl, I will be a very happy man. Let's hope for it!

 

Nice reflection and comments from Allan Rouse. Thank You.

On selling your vinyl hold off. I have sold thousands of my Vinyl LP's now in regret, but I never sold my Beatle LP's (and a few others)

I will keep my 87's CD's and still buy the new boxes as well. Maybe then I'll draw a conclusion.

 

I agree. I haven't heard any clips from the mono box, so I don't know how they'll compare to the LP's.

My guess is that they'll sound fine, but it won't be an improvement over the LP's. If that's the case, I don't see any reason to sell the LP's.

 

I only got rid of vinyl that sounded inferior or identical to the '87 CDs.

I've kept Parlophone stereo copies of Rubber Soul and Revolver, the US Red album, Magical Mystery Tour, UK Sgt. Pepper picture disc, and Live At The Hollywood Bowl.

My copy of MMT sounds irritatingly thin, but you can't argue with the packaging.

 

Mr. Rouse, if you're still reading, thanks for your letter. Also, thanks for lobbying to issue the original stereo mixes of HELP! and RUBBER SOUL in some form on the new releases, even if they are not coming out on the standard releases of these albums as I feel they should have. Thank you and your group also for taking such care in the transfers of the masters, and a relatively conservative approach to the mastering, resisting any overprocessing and modernization of the sound.

 

The Singles and EP collections have the nice original artwork, and (apparently) a different mastering from the '09s. I would think twice about dumping those.

 

You know, I think that I have actually managed to NOT listen to any core Beatles since the remasters announcement. I've listened to "Free As a Bird" and "Real Love", The BBC thing, and solo discs, etc., but I'm actually going to be pretty fresh when the remasters are released. I wasn't going to make a big deal out of trying to abstain, but as long as I have come this far..

 

am I the only one checking these Beatles remasters thread every 3-5 minutes? Jut want to know if Im still sane

 

Wow! This is going fast! I think we must easily reach thread#20 when the Remasters hit the shelves! And for the last few days: a fine read too! Thanks, mr. Rouse!

 

Borderline?

You mean full-blown.

 

Thanks, you just saved me $10-15!

 

Mister, you're a better man than I.

Perhaps I can manage two weeks of no Fabs music; if so, that'll probably be the first time I've managed that since joining the Forum.

 

Nope, I don't think you're even close to being the only one.
Yeah, it's all a little crazy...I love it!

 

I still don't understand why the higher-ups decided to reuse the '87 stereo remixes of Help and Rubber Soul. I've been following these threads since the begging and I might have missed the answer but I don't think so.

 

Hey all --

I've spent the last four hours both listening to the Stereo and Mono remasters all while making a backup copy of both sets and picking songs to play on my Breakfast With The Beatles show this Sunday.

My jaw is on the floor. To my worn, but seasoned, ears, the remasters sound superb. Kudos to Allen Rouse and the Abbey Road crew for a simply splendid job.

First, to answer this post:

Paul's voice crack IS on the stereo "If I Fell."

The harmonica breath/gap IS on the stereo "I Should Have Known Better."

The edits on "I Call Your Name" and "She Loves You" sound substantially better.

The digital 'click' on the second note of "Helter Skelter" is gone, thankfully.

The last drum hit on "The Ballad Of John And Yoko" is full level, which is also nice.

As Harry mentioned earlier, "Thank You Girl" is a real treat in un-Dextered stereo, with all the extra harmonica fills present.

So far, the highlight for me is the mono mix of "Hey Bulldog" which, in addition to being a semi-religious experience to hear (as my colleague HGN2001 said earlier) sounds excellent. It's very tight and the vocals are a bit louder. I was afraid the "OK" right before the solo would disappear, but it's very audible. That interesting double-hit Ringo does on the drums at the third "Hey Bulldog" at the end is more pronounced and sounds a bit different to me. This mix is actually slightly longer (maybe :01 or :02) than even the YSS version, and the drums disappear right at the fade, only to re-appear for two more hits as the songs completely fades out.

The mono "It's All Too Much" is actually a few seconds shorter, with the cowbell mixed lower, barely audible at the fade.

I was happy to see the mono mix of "Only A Northern Song" is used on the stereo "Yellow Submarine" CD.

Got to get back to work, but I wanted to chime in before I go back to lurking!!

Andre

 

Still, I'm sad that you resort to using a Yardbirds song in a Beatles thread.
Evil hearted you, continue on with your little games. I'm not talking.. to you anymore.

 

Did you mean "Only a Northern Song"?

Thanks for the comments!

 

Yes, sorry! It's the mono "Only A Northern Song" on the stereo YS CD. I changed the post to correct.