bought it for myself for xmas, for a couple reasons: the extant Beatles (UK) cds, which are even more than the Stones' UK versions (which sometimes came out AFTER US counterparts, & the RS frequently recorded in the US)are the 'official' artist-sequenced versions, but have not been upgraded since 1987, & I wanted improved sound & both stereo/mono mixes; second, I grew up w/the US albums & wanted to have them again. Good news: the sound is WAY better than the '87 cds. Bad: the cheap cardboard cover repros are no more faithfull than the Abkco RS jacket-repros (back covers altered, or 'adapted' - new font for songs, no timings, composer credits etc as on origs)& the 48 page book contains only a brief intro by Mark Lewisham, so neither the 'uk' cds nor the new US Capitol cds contain any annotation about recording/release dates, who plays what, or if this version/mix differs from the uk counterpart. I've never been a Beatles fan the way some are (or I am w/ the RS) but I do have all the records on cd &/or vinyl thru the Anthologies. I never bought any books ($$$). Odd how neither Beatles or Stones get the sort of quality cover-repros & booklet annotation given (say) Byrds (Legacy/Sony), Beach Boys (same label as the fab 4), Hendrix, Free, Cream (the DCC cds), or many others on Legacy or Sundazed or Rhino Traditions. And I recall the exquisite audio & graphic resolution on Sony's 1997 Japanese Miles Davis cardboard cover cds - on these Beatles covers what 'fine print' that remains (i.e. "File Under: Beatles, Pop Groups") is a grey smudge. Anyway, "remastered from the original american masters" - what does that mean (I havent heard any fake stereo, but only checked a few cuts on "Meet...") - I assumed the Capitol tracks were from the same masters as the UK ones, just resequenced (& for a time given 'reprocessed stereo' treatment) for the US.

John R



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2004-12-26 19:59 by john r.

check this one out for all your Q´s:

[abbeyrd.best.vwh.net]

Thanks, will do

Some purists will howl but many of us did
grow up with these, and the stereo versions
are great to officially have, the duophonic ones
are pure Beatles camp, that hot teenage sixties Capitol sound.
I'd sya they are a worthwile and welcome addition to most
anyones Beatle collection! Let's hope they loosen up
even more with the catalogue in the days to come
with Beatle SACD discs, and alt stereo/ mono
UK Parlophone albums too!

It's the surviving Beatles' fault, isn't it, that they've been so slow to remaster? You mention the Beach Boys, but that group's survivors didn't act as an obstacle. In fact, their stuff was remastered twice, with the last getting a considerable sonic upgrade. Capitol also bought back the masters for their Warner Bros. LP's and remastered and reissued those. The group had input in most of the matters, including the remastering and liner notes. In fact, the "Pet Sounds" box set issue was held up by Mike Love, who didn't agree to it until he got more credit in the liner notes!

The Stones had little input into the ABCKO reissues. That mostly happened due to Allen Klein controlling the London years stuff. The Stones still haven't done recent remasters with the later stuff they do control.

I really don't know what Paul McCartney/Yoko Ono/Olivia Harrison/Ringo Starr's problem is. All the Beatles' albums should have been upgraded in the last few years, with the advances in CD mastering technology. As you can hear in the Stone's remastered reissues, it can make a huge difference in sound quality. And considering that most of the Beatles' CD catalog sells for a high list price and is only rarely discounted, the fans deserve better. It's probably the huge egos of Paul and Yoko that have gotten in the way.

Good points, some of the best remasters (Beach Boys Capitol 2-fers plus bonus trax, Byrds catalog) have direct artist input. Some lesser known artists who deal w/ Sundazed or Rhino Traditions/Handmade are just so thrilled their original albums are getting TLC they're willing to cooperate in any way w/ interviews, liner notes etc. The Stones CONTROLLED reissues from '94 were very good for their time (tho I still think Exile, for one, is better on 1st US vinyl pressings, ditto Some Girls & ER on Uk & Japanese vinyl respectively. IORR & GHS sound better on cd, & IORR, Tattoo, & Undercover all have longer versions of one track each). Re John Lennon's stuff, some has actually been remixed, not imo a good thing (so Mobile Fidelity is issuing the orig mixes on hybrid cds), which is under Y.Ono's control.

After visiting the site Jimmie suggested, I find myself again baffled by the discrepency between the amount of Beatles 'seriousness' - scholarship & histories available - compared to the 90%-shabby books available on the Stones' music. And looking at "Singles/London Years" - has any major artist (excepting The Who box, where Petes brother in law was allowed to remix & edit tracks)- had an uglier, less informative package? Dates, annotation, commentary are all frivilous, or wrong, album versions of trax sit where the single version belongs ("Under Assistant..."). We would never have needed those abkco 'singles' boxes in 2004 if the label upgraded its booklet to include color repros of single sleeves & labels, and included correct & interesting annotation (i.e. Time is On My Side, 'recorded Sept & November 1964, released Sept 1964', w/out clarification on the 2 versions). I suppose partly it has to do with the fact that the Stones are still with us, but didnt anyone at abkco notice Brian is credited (& surely each album could have come with a short booklet of track annotation, inc who plays what) on the first album with 'harmonics'? And co-producer Eric Easton's (I dont care if he didnt produce) credit is eliminated from the far-from-faithful back cover graphics? Well, at least no one remixed the tracks....

I HATE THE BEAT LES! BUBBLEGUM POP CRAP! COULD NOT PLAY LIVE & COULD NOT PUT OUT ANY DECENT ALBUMS. 4 WORDS: POOP ON A SCOOP!!!!

quote:

"I HATE THE BEAT LES! BUBBLEGUM POP CRAP! COULD NOT PLAY LIVE & COULD NOT PUT OUT ANY DECENT ALBUMS. 4 WORDS: POOP ON A SCOOP!!!!"
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Pfffffffffffff...



[There'll be no wedding today...]

The ABCKO reissues may have lousy graphics, but they sound good. That's the main thing. I wouldn't expect the Klein family to do everything right.