Buy The Beatles Box Set - In stock on October 31, 2009

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Beatlemania lives on!

By: Timothy Swan "disc jockey" (Boring, Oregon USA)

Who could have ever thought it would have been possible? 09/09/09 has become a red-letter date in the history of Beatle-dom. It could be the repetitive nature of the phrase "Number Nine, Number Nine" featured in the track "Revolution 9" from "The White Album". Or, even the bit of dialogue "dial 9-9-9" from the 1965 motion picture "Help!" However, 09/09/09 has become important for a far better reason.

After more than 22 years of having The Beatles' albums on CD, we are finally treated to the definitive box set of Beatles music. This time, the folks at EMI and Apple finally got things right for a change. While having Beatles CDs is a thrill, it is now even more-so with this brilliant audio collection. For the very first time, their entire recorded output has been remastered for the 21st century, complete with unique liner notes and special digipak-packaging to boot. With the exception of the "Past Masters" set, each disc also contains a brief mini-documentary about that album. These short bits can only be utilised with the assistance of a computer's disc drive. However, the box set does include a bonus DVD disc featuring all of these short sequences together so you can enjoy it on your very own DVD player. What you have here are the original British Beatles albums just like what had been released before; only now, the listener can enjoy the first 4 albums - "Please Please Me". "With The Beatles", "A Hard Day's Night", "Beatles For Sale" - available in true stereo for the very first time. Combined with the remaining 9 albums recorded by the group between 1965 and 1970, this is a masterpiece set, and a special treasure trove of timeless, classic songs that changed the entire structure of popular music as we know it today.

Each CD is carefully and painstakingly put together in a very special 3-border fold-out, which allows the CD to be housed in a slot on the far right-hand side (except for the double discs, which have their CDs fitted inside the packaging). Each title also comes with a special CD booklet containg many unreleased photographs that represent the time when each album was originally released, plus well-written liner notes (including the original notes from the first 4 albums). The "Yellow Submarine" booklet contains both the original UK and US back cover notes together for the very first time. And, what a thrill it is to finally be able to have the photo/comic-strip booklet from "Magical Mystery Tour", that was initially issued in the American LP in 1967, in an official CD release for the very first time. The "White Album" packaging includes the original poster, in a CD sized reproduction, that features the photo collage on one side, and the album's song-lyrics on the other side. This marks the second time that this poster was made available in a "White Album" CD release, following the 30th anniversary reissue from 1998.

The sound quality of the songs are, without a doubt, the very best that I have ever heard before. For the first time, the audio quality of each track is sharp, crisp, crystal clear and truly an audiophile's dream come true. It should also be noted that the songs "Love Me Do" (both versions), "P.S. I Love You", "Only A Northern Song", "She Loves You", "I'll Get You" and "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" are all presented in their original monaural mixes, whereas the remaining songs are all in true stereo. Even "I Am The Walrus" still has its orignal mix of half-stereo/half-duophonic, just like the first time around. All in all, this box set far surpasses all other box sets that have come before.

And, the bonus DVD of the mini documentaries is also well-produced. Each segment features audio comments from The Beatles themselves along with George Martin. This DVD gives a fascinating insight into why these classic albums have stood the test of time so well, and continue to be so popular, even into the 21st century.

Many current and legendary artists have called The Beatles a major influence. One listen to this music and you too will see why. Beatlemania will live on forever!

By : James N. Perlman

Introduction: The following is pretty much a full review of both the mono and stereo reissues largely written in real time as a series of e-mails to an old friend who once owned a legendary record store here in Chicago. The story of the reissues really comes down to the technical limitations of two-track, four-track, eight-track, etc. recordings and the relative complexity of the music of the Beatles. Listening occurred on what would be considered an audiophile system with Quad 988's as the speakers. If following reading this review, you wish to read an expanded essay by me on the box sets, please visit The Beatles Wiki site by Hyperarts.

Please Please Me: The sound on the mono is just amazing. You can hear the echo in the room as John sings Anna. The vocals just soar. Ringo was just so good, even at this early stage and so was Paul. They supported and framed the songs so perfectly. And just think, in twenty-one minutes, or so, Twist And Shout! Stereo can't hold a candle to this, if for no other reason than the left/right "stereo" found later in With The Beatles, Rubber Soul and Revolver.

With The Beatles: As with Please Please Me, the mono sounds so, so, nice. As the stereo has that annoying left/right "stereo," no contest: mono hands down.

A Hard Day's Night: Seems better and more enjoyable in stereo. I think the reason is that they now had four tracks so George Martin could do proper stereo mixes and still have a mostly fresh first generationish sound. Remember, there were only two track available for Please Please Me. However, when they got to Rubber Soul and Revolver, four tracks weren't enough, which required, in some instances, numerous dubs of the four tracks to another four track tape, merging the four tracks to one track, thereby opening up three new tracks. While this degraded the sound somewhat it also made it difficult to back-track and do the after-thought stereo mixes, which is why we have the atrocious "stereo" of Rubber Soul and Revolver. Consequently, the reason the monos of these albums rule has mostly to do with technical limitations. While the mixes on A Hard Day's Night are true stereo mixes, they carry George Martin's idiosyncratic, but really right, decision to put the vocals in the center, the rhythm section to the left and the other instruments to the right. I always have loved how Martin took care to isolate the brilliant work of Ringo and Paul so many times instead of just following the convention of placing the drums in the center. This is why one of Martin's memoirs is entitled: "All You Need Is Ears."

The Beatles For Sale: Comments, preference and reasons for preference similar to A Hard Day's Night.

Help: Well, thank God we have three different versions to compare to make life ever so easy. First, mono is the definitive mix, that's a plus. As a minus, while it sounds richer, it is also a bit muddy compared to the stereo mixes. As for the stereo mixes, the remaster of George Martin's '87 remix does show some limiting in this new incarnation. A bit a hard to dial in the right volume. Sounds fuller, but that's the limiting. Not sure I care for this version too much. As for the `65 stereo version, that comes on the same disc as the mono version, as this album is somewhat acoustic, the absence of the limiting that was done to the new stereo remix/remaster is a plus. The delicacy is there in I Need You. Overall, the "old" stereo is prettier than the "new" stereo. One can argue over whether the "new" stereo or the ""old" stereo is better, I come down on the side of the "old" stereo, I like pretty. But as you get both the mono and the "old" stereo on the single mono disc, the cheapskate in me screams if you had a pistol to your head and only had to purchase one version of Help, it would be the "mono" disc.

Rubber Soul: Mono over stereo, if for no other reason than the left/rt channel mix that plagued Please, Please Me, With The Beatles and Revlover.

Revolver: There is a section of I Want To Tell You where Ringo is just so muscular and explosive in the mono that is missing in stereo and this is before we get to the issue of the left/right "stereo" of the stereo mix. Plus, there is just this overall richness of sound to the mono that is missing in the stereo. That said, it is a bit cooler to hear Tomorrow Never Knows in stereo. But, overall, mono.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: The things you have heard are correct about the mono mix, the clarity and control over the notes, instruments and vocals is all there. Overall, it just sounds better, fuller and richer than the stereo, plus it is what the boys intended. Oddly, the thing that was most breathtaking was She's Leaving Home; just a full, gorgeous, sound. In stereo, it just sounds relatively wrong; thin compared to the mono. That said, because Day In The Life is such a mind-f the stereo is the definitive version of this song.

Magical Mystery Tour: While Pepper's sounded better in Mono, MMT sounds better in stereo.

The Beatles (The White Album): Both versions have their merits, you need both. If you can only go for one, it's the stereo.

Abbey Road: The defining moment of these reissues, and why it took four years, may be found on AR's I Want You (She's So Heavy). Because they couldn't take the tape hiss out without compromising the sound, they didn't. But when it came to John's final "yeah" which was over saturated and clipped previously, they were able to take the clipping out, and for the first time, you can hear all of John's vocal. Second side now, Here Comes the Sun and now Because. Wonderful sound throughout. Can't wait for Ringo at the end.

Let It Be: Now that I have had the time to compare three versions of LIB, an original 1970 EMI vinyl, this remastered CD and LIB Naked, it turns out that LIB is one of the more interesting remaster releases. First, LIB Naked has it all. It is true to the original vision of the Beatles for this music. It has clarity, correct dynamics and musicality. One of the places you can hear this best is in the title track and the differences between the Martin and Spector mixes. Martin got the church-like nature of the song. Consequently, you get more organ and the choir-boy harmonies of John and George, which Spector dubbed over with horns, strings and over the top solos by George. And I'm with Sir Paul concerning the damage done by Phil to The Long And Winding Road. As for the 1970 LIB vinyl, it has its problems from a sonic standpoint, particularly as it is a Phil Spector production. This brings us to this remastered CD. It trumps the 1970 standard vinyl in clarity but not LIB Naked. The real surprise is that the compression added to this remaster actually makes this a more Phil Spectoresque production than the original. And surprisingly, I like it, at least compared with the 1970 vinyl. Still, Naked is what you want.

Mono Past Masters: Right now, listening to the The Inner Light, which I hate, but it sounds so, so, so good in mono that I may actually like it. And, look out, Paul's bass piano notes in Hey Jude are right there as is Ringo's tambourine. Can't wait for Revolution plus the mono songs from Yellow Submarine. The mono Past Masters would have been perfection if they had added a stereo Let It Be and The Ballad Of John and Yoko. After all, the "stereo" Past Masters is actually a mixture of stereo and mono.

So kids, here's where we end. Your core, oddly enough, should be the mono box set. Augment this with the stereo Hard Day's Night, The Beatles For Sale, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles, Abbey Road, Let It Be and stereo Past Masters.

Addendum: As I live in Chicago, and have access to one of the country's remaining great stereo stores, that also boast three incredibly knowledgeable owners and an original Sgt. Peppers British Stereo pressing, following posting this review I went over there to compare the original vinyl with the two new CD reissues. We listened to the reference system, Naim Audio electronic and Quad speakers. There was total agreement on what we heard. First, Pepper's mono CD had better tonal balance than Peppers stereo CD. Pepper's stereo CD had better coloration than the mono, but this was defeated by the harshness of the sound (more on harshness shortly). Thus, overall, between the two CD's we preferred the mono CD. All that said, the stereo original British vinyl pressing crushed both. It had both tonal correctness and coloration.
Now as to the harshness issue, please be mindful that I have listened to these discs on two audiophile systems. Something like harshness is likely to be more prevalent the higher up you get in the stereo food chain. Thus, someone who doesn't have an audiophile system may not experience the harshness at all, but it really is there. This may render some of the stereo CDs more listenable for these people than they were for me, at least when it comes to Pepper's.

9/12/09 THANKS TO ALL: The past few days, following the posting of my review, have been a lot of fun. So many people have taken the time to write me, quite a number saying the review was flat-out the best review of any sort they have read. Others shared memories and feelings about how important this music is to them. Amazingly, two brother, one in Boston one in Paris, found they were reading the same thread and were kind of amazed by the co-incidence. All in all, it has been a very rewarding experience. I thank Amazon for providing this opportunity, and those of you present and future who have/will take(n) the time to play.

By : James N. Perlman

Introduction: The following is pretty much a full review of both the mono and stereo reissues largely written in real time as a series of e-mails to an old friend who once owned a legendary record store here in Chicago. The story of the reissues really comes down to the technical limitations of two-track, four-track, eight-track, etc. recordings and the relative complexity of the music of the Beatles. Listening occurred on what would be considered an audiophile system with Quad 988's as the speakers. If following reading this review, you wish to read an expanded essay by me on the box sets, please visit The Beatles Wiki site by Hyperarts.

Please Please Me: The sound on the mono is just amazing. You can hear the echo in the room as John sings Anna. The vocals just soar. Ringo was just so good, even at this early stage and so was Paul. They supported and framed the songs so perfectly. And just think, in twenty-one minutes, or so, Twist And Shout! Stereo can't hold a candle to this, if for no other reason than the left/right "stereo" found later in With The Beatles, Rubber Soul and Revolver.

With The Beatles: As with Please Please Me, the mono sounds so, so, nice. As the stereo has that annoying left/right "stereo," no contest: mono hands down.

A Hard Day's Night: Seems better and more enjoyable in stereo. I think the reason is that they now had four tracks so George Martin could do proper stereo mixes and still have a mostly fresh first generationish sound. Remember, there were only two track available for Please Please Me. However, when they got to Rubber Soul and Revolver, four tracks weren't enough, which required, in some instances, numerous dubs of the four tracks to another four track tape, merging the four tracks to one track, thereby opening up three new tracks. While this degraded the sound somewhat it also made it difficult to back-track and do the after-thought stereo mixes, which is why we have the atrocious "stereo" of Rubber Soul and Revolver. Consequently, the reason the monos of these albums rule has mostly to do with technical limitations. While the mixes on A Hard Day's Night are true stereo mixes, they carry George Martin's idiosyncratic, but really right, decision to put the vocals in the center, the rhythm section to the left and the other instruments to the right. I always have loved how Martin took care to isolate the brilliant work of Ringo and Paul so many times instead of just following the convention of placing the drums in the center. This is why one of Martin's memoirs is entitled: "All You Need Is Ears."

The Beatles For Sale: Comments, preference and reasons for preference similar to A Hard Day's Night.

Help: Well, thank God we have three different versions to compare to make life ever so easy. First, mono is the definitive mix, that's a plus. As a minus, while it sounds richer, it is also a bit muddy compared to the stereo mixes. As for the stereo mixes, the remaster of George Martin's '87 remix does show some limiting in this new incarnation. A bit a hard to dial in the right volume. Sounds fuller, but that's the limiting. Not sure I care for this version too much. As for the `65 stereo version, that comes on the same disc as the mono version, as this album is somewhat acoustic, the absence of the limiting that was done to the new stereo remix/remaster is a plus. The delicacy is there in I Need You. Overall, the "old" stereo is prettier than the "new" stereo. One can argue over whether the "new" stereo or the ""old" stereo is better, I come down on the side of the "old" stereo, I like pretty. But as you get both the mono and the "old" stereo on the single mono disc, the cheapskate in me screams if you had a pistol to your head and only had to purchase one version of Help, it would be the "mono" disc.

Rubber Soul: Mono over stereo, if for no other reason than the left/rt channel mix that plagued Please, Please Me, With The Beatles and Revlover.

Revolver: There is a section of I Want To Tell You where Ringo is just so muscular and explosive in the mono that is missing in stereo and this is before we get to the issue of the left/right "stereo" of the stereo mix. Plus, there is just this overall richness of sound to the mono that is missing in the stereo. That said, it is a bit cooler to hear Tomorrow Never Knows in stereo. But, overall, mono.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: The things you have heard are correct about the mono mix, the clarity and control over the notes, instruments and vocals is all there. Overall, it just sounds better, fuller and richer than the stereo, plus it is what the boys intended. Oddly, the thing that was most breathtaking was She's Leaving Home; just a full, gorgeous, sound. In stereo, it just sounds relatively wrong; thin compared to the mono. That said, because Day In The Life is such a mind-f the stereo is the definitive version of this song.

Magical Mystery Tour: While Pepper's sounded better in Mono, MMT sounds better in stereo.

The Beatles (The White Album): Both versions have their merits, you need both. If you can only go for one, it's the stereo.

Abbey Road: The defining moment of these reissues, and why it took four years, may be found on AR's I Want You (She's So Heavy). Because they couldn't take the tape hiss out without compromising the sound, they didn't. But when it came to John's final "yeah" which was over saturated and clipped previously, they were able to take the clipping out, and for the first time, you can hear all of John's vocal. Second side now, Here Comes the Sun and now Because. Wonderful sound throughout. Can't wait for Ringo at the end.

Let It Be: Now that I have had the time to compare three versions of LIB, an original 1970 EMI vinyl, this remastered CD and LIB Naked, it turns out that LIB is one of the more interesting remaster releases. First, LIB Naked has it all. It is true to the original vision of the Beatles for this music. It has clarity, correct dynamics and musicality. One of the places you can hear this best is in the title track and the differences between the Martin and Spector mixes. Martin got the church-like nature of the song. Consequently, you get more organ and the choir-boy harmonies of John and George, which Spector dubbed over with horns, strings and over the top solos by George. And I'm with Sir Paul concerning the damage done by Phil to The Long And Winding Road. As for the 1970 LIB vinyl, it has its problems from a sonic standpoint, particularly as it is a Phil Spector production. This brings us to this remastered CD. It trumps the 1970 standard vinyl in clarity but not LIB Naked. The real surprise is that the compression added to this remaster actually makes this a more Phil Spectoresque production than the original. And surprisingly, I like it, at least compared with the 1970 vinyl. Still, Naked is what you want.

Mono Past Masters: Right now, listening to the The Inner Light, which I hate, but it sounds so, so, so good in mono that I may actually like it. And, look out, Paul's bass piano notes in Hey Jude are right there as is Ringo's tambourine. Can't wait for Revolution plus the mono songs from Yellow Submarine. The mono Past Masters would have been perfection if they had added a stereo Let It Be and The Ballad Of John and Yoko. After all, the "stereo" Past Masters is actually a mixture of stereo and mono.

So kids, here's where we end. Your core, oddly enough, should be the mono box set. Augment this with the stereo Hard Day's Night, The Beatles For Sale, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles, Abbey Road, Let It Be and stereo Past Masters.

Addendum: As I live in Chicago, and have access to one of the country's remaining great stereo stores, that also boast three incredibly knowledgeable owners and an original Sgt. Peppers British Stereo pressing, following posting this review I went over there to compare the original vinyl with the two new CD reissues. We listened to the reference system, Naim Audio electronic and Quad speakers. There was total agreement on what we heard. First, Pepper's mono CD had better tonal balance than Peppers stereo CD. Pepper's stereo CD had better coloration than the mono, but this was defeated by the harshness of the sound (more on harshness shortly). Thus, overall, between the two CD's we preferred the mono CD. All that said, the stereo original British vinyl pressing crushed both. It had both tonal correctness and coloration.
Now as to the harshness issue, please be mindful that I have listened to these discs on two audiophile systems. Something like harshness is likely to be more prevalent the higher up you get in the stereo food chain. Thus, someone who doesn't have an audiophile system may not experience the harshness at all, but it really is there. This may render some of the stereo CDs more listenable for these people than they were for me, at least when it comes to Pepper's.

9/12/09 THANKS TO ALL: The past few days, following the posting of my review, have been a lot of fun. So many people have taken the time to write me, quite a number saying the review was flat-out the best review of any sort they have read. Others shared memories and feelings about how important this music is to them. Amazingly, two brother, one in Boston one in Paris, found they were reading the same thread and were kind of amazed by the co-incidence. All in all, it has been a very rewarding experience. I thank Amazon for providing this opportunity, and those of you present and future who have/will take(n) the time to play.

By S. Sigel "Sighunt"

This Beatle fan plunked down money for the mono box and also purchased the individual stereo versions. After sampling and spending much time just listening this weekend, my preference is for the stereo albums/stereo box set. I would recommend the stereo albums for the casual fan-the mono set being for completists. I am playing these CDs through a high end system utilizing B&W 800 series speakers and a Rotel CD player. The stereo versions even though they suffer from the "right-left" speaker dilemma as others have pointed out, sound sharp, clear and dynamic while (with the exception of the Beatles first few mono albums), the mono versions to my ears generally sound muddy, dull, and lifeless by comparison. Stereo versions like the White album and Abbey Road just jump right out of your speakers and sound sonically fantastic! So to each his own....

Did someone miss an S of the end of their name??, October 6, 2009

By Norcs "Prince of verdant fecundity!!" (Floating in the ether!!)
It's re-packaged, re-hashed, re-engineered rubbish. It's just another excuse for Thumbs McFartney to bleed you all dry again and to line his pockets in an attempt to recover the cost of his divorce to the lovely Heather Mills.

Yes they may have improved the sound quality (to the trained ear), but all you have here is just ANOTHER release to get you to part with your hard earned cash. This is WAY too expensive for what it is and to be honest is nothing more than a blatant rip-off.

You have been warned!

Yes it's also a carbon copy of my other review, but to be honest, I'm just doing what the record company does. Same old same old, just slightly different.

There were birds in the sky, but I never heard them singing

By SpookyChick (in tha' world!)

My coveted fellow Beatles fans, I have a mixed message to deliver to you regarding the recent issuing of the original mono mixes. Sir Paul McCartney may have only been about 21 years old when he wrote the couplet that I chose to title my review with, but how prophetic could he have been? Moreso than even someone as immensely talented as he continues to be. The Beatles, one of the greatest and most celebrated bands of the rock era, have finally have their catalog overhauled in a digital remastering job - making their mono albums available for the first time on CD (excepting the first four albums, which were always mono on CD). Rather than the so-called Holy Grail (a blasphemous term if I've ever heard one, and a metaphor I am loathe to use myself), we have a day-old plate of soggy chow mein from Chef Chen's House of Ramen. Allow me to elaborate, as I'm sure you expected.

Without question the first two Beatles albums, "Please Please Me" and "With The Beatles", belong in mono and are much preferable to their stereo counterparts. But once we move on to the four-track recordings of "Hard Day's Night" and "Beatles For Sale," it becomes no contest: stereo presents a more detailed and enveloping sonic experience. Yes, the new mono remasters of these early classics are an improvement over the 1987 mono CDs, but alas they are buried six feet under by the new stereo remasters.

"Help" and "Rubber Soul" are best in the mono box set: but surprise, surprise! Not because of the mono versions, but because we finally have the original stereo mixes! Consider it a bonus if you must, the mono discs of these two peak-level Beatles albums contain two entirely different mixes of the album: both available on CD for the first time ever. The mono versions are bad, don't get me wrong, but the original stereo mixes are (contrary to what the otherwise reliable George Martin has always maintained) superior to his 1987 remixes. Those remixes are what was remastered for the new stereo releases. We fans want the original goods! I praised all the saints in heaven when I realized the undoctored stereo mixes were included. Yes, for an older gal like me it can be partially chalked up to nostalgia for what I remember as a nubile lass. But even heard through jaded, discerning adult ears: mama knows what she likes!!

You've heard the hype: "Revolver," "Sgt. Pepper's", "Magical Mystery Tour," and "The Beatles (White Album)" are all better in mono. I respectfully disagree. Now I'm not naysaying here. There is nothing 'wrong' per se with the mono mixes of these true gems. They are different, sometimes notably so, but more often in subtle ways that only the more obsessive fans among us will notice (much less jump with glee about). I prefer certain songs in their stereo mix, while others work better in mono. But it will be a very subjective process to sort through all this material and I doubt the majority of fans will want to spend the money or even have the time to invest in such minutiae.

"Tomorrow Never Knows" is glorious is stereo, cramped and claustrophobic in mono. "Savoy Truffle" packs a harder, tighter punch in mono than in stereo. "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" sounds generally better in stereo - but, the "Mother Superior jump the gun" segment is far more powerful in mono. "Fixing A Hole" has more prominent hi-hat in mono, but is it better or preferable to the stereo (which features bolder-sounding lead guitar)? The list can go on and on. Mainly I would say these two different reissues provide more fodder for Beatlemaniac arguments than anything else.

See, when I was attending the previous church to the one I now go to (which is on-line, thankfully), the pastor once displayed a slide-show depicting which bands were "leaders" in the Satanic parade. Well, needless to say the Beatles were at the front of the line - decked out in full Sgt. Pepper regalia - based on the number of youths they influenced to experiment with drugs and promiscuous lewd behavior. I'm not agreeing with it, as I did eventually withdraw my membership from that church, siting the slide-show as a primary reason. I will say that there is something a tad devilish is making such an expensive boxset for a product that doesn't really warrant ownership by anyone save for the hardest of hardcore fanatics. Yes, I bought it. But yes, I also feel extremely guilty about the purchase (even though I am happy to have those "Help" and "Rubber Soul" original stereo mixes). The Beatles have been airbrushed, image-wise, over the years to the point where they resemble something Disneyesque rather than the Satan worshippers that some men of the cloth would have us believe. But even the late Uncle Walt D. himself had his dark side, something to keep in mind before plunking down hundreds of dollars.