Beatles Albums To Be Remastered
 

This September all the Beatles' studio albums (as well as their two Past Masters comps) will be re-issued in remastered form.

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdail...tember-9-2009/

Thoughts? Will you bother?

Remastered... no. They sound fine like they are. I actually never notice when an album has been 'remastered'.

I tend only to notice that they're significantly louder, although some shittier ones that I have sound compressed. My Beatles CDs sound fine to me. Although they're also reissuing the albums in their original mono form, in some kind of box set. That seems like an altogether more worthwhile purchase if you ask me (although an expensive one I suspect).

demondude - I recall that when the Beatles were first mastered on CD (in an era that time forgot called "the eighties"), there was an uproar at how cold the sound was. Will the remastering rectify this? Has Macca given his 2 thumbs up seal of approval? Does Ringo still want NO MORE FANMAIL after November 21st? Is Yoko Ono currently in secret recording sessions with Nicola Roberts (cutting a 25-minute version of "Don't Worry Kyoko", I believe)? Will George Harrison be re-incarnated as a slightly pissed-off older Beatles, bemoaning the lack of J Lynne input?

I wont replace. Maybe I'll grab any missing ones if they're on sale or something. I'm more interested in them releasing those recent noise freakouts etc as a new Lost album.

Is that all? So they sound worse but louder for the newer generation?

In that case, I think Big Black's Songs and Fucking and Mr Bungle's Disco Volante sound be remastered because those records are QUIET.

^^^If Albini remastered the Beatles back catalogue, he'd put the vocals low in the mix and make the bass a dull splat in the background. Which would at least make "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" halfway bearable.

Joking aside, Albini is right to bemoan the lack of dynamics/over-use of compression on your average CD these days.

Albini also needs be slashed.

^^^Like this?:

the panning on the beatles cds is so annoying to me, i can't play them in headphones or i go crazy.

so on one hand a more balanced or even mono mix would be nice, but i don't really dig the ultra bright squeaky clean sound that most modern music has and i think it's likely the beatles albums will be given that treatment, i don't think a song like "love you to" would benefit from that.

if i hear that the remasters are amazing though, i won't buy them but would get them on mp3, don't give me the whole "support the artists" bit because i live in a country that slaughters seals, and let's be honest, if he didn't have that to complain about paul would never get any good publicity

i don't really think the Beatles need more huh "support" ha ha
actually i might buy a few of these if they are affordable cuz i need origianl copies that i don't have. At least s/t, White, Rubber soul and a couple others...

alls I know is if "Hide Yr Love Away" stops sounding lo-fi, then it's not as awesome anymore.

Most Beatles albums are too loud, they should turn the volume down a bit, this time. Maybe they could also erase Paul McCartney's vocals altogether.

these are 2 seperate albums? And what'samattawityou??? You dont have the f'ing white album, man? I'm surprised. That album is the cat's balls, son.

they should just cut out all of his "silly love songs."

Hmm, good idea. They could erase Macca and replace his vox with Junko (of Hijokaidan fame). Imagine the likes of "Penny Lane" ("AIIIIEEEEIEIEEEIEEEEE") - it'd be like Noise-meets-schmaltz. Easy-Noisegaze!

yeah i know, i suck. I don't own a single original (not fake/burned) Beatles CD , i need to fix this cuz you know, i quite like The beatles every once in a while.

Firstly, that's Sir James Paul McCartney MBE to you. Anyway, it seems that he has a bit of a weird attitude to the whole thing. It would appear from the article I linked that he refuses to let any previously unreleased Beatles stuff out until the original albums have been remastered. I'm not sure what the thinking is behind that, but if it means a sudden release of new stuff after the reissues, I'm hardly complaining.

The current CDs definitely sound quite different to a number of the original LPs. A proper vinyl reissue of Rubber Soul would be brilliant as the CD available at the moment definitely doesn't compare. Something like that might even encourage me to go out and buy a record player - that and the Francoise Hardy LP Noisereductions keeps teasing me with of course!

And regarding Noisereductions' point about the lo-fi-ness of 'Hide Your Love Away', spot on! Although have to take major issue with the thinly veiled Macca* hating regarding 'silly love songs'.

*I've listened to (and thoroughly enjoyed) Pipes of Peace enough times to call him whatever I want.

demon, the silly love songs thing was just me being silly. :) mainly because i recently watched the Lennon docu that showed him working in the studio laying down Macca diss tracks. Haha.

Yeah, that whole 'How Do You Sleep?' thing. Clearly Ono-fuelled. A horrible record.

^^^^You like "Pipes Of Peace"? Hahahahahaha! You div!

(Shhh, be very quiet, but I'm partial to "Jet".....)

have you heard the RAM instrumentals? Downloadable thru the wfmu blog.

C'mon man! Pipes of Peace! It's a christmas song, it's got every instrument every invented on it, it's got vague reggae and Indian leanings (thus officially inventing world music) and boasts a video that includes Sir JPM playing not one WWI soldier (fuck that) but two of the buggers! And one of them as a German! According to every criteria i can think of, that makes Pipes of Peace an absolute fucking masterpiece. No?

Is that the Percy Thrillington reworkings, or actual instrumentals from the Ram album? I've got the PT album which is like easy listening instrumental versions of the Ram tracks (and as such invents 'lounge', I suppose.)

^^^You've nothing if not persuasive, senor.....I've actually met on a number of occasions the person who directed said video (Keith MacMillan). Every instrument...you sure? I don't remember detecting a skiffle board in there

Quick question - will these re-masters include mono and stereo versions where appropriate (kinda like the first Velvets LP re-issue thingy a few years ago)?

I don't feel like purchasing their entire catalogue again. If the remasters are any good, I'll just download them by illegal means.

Listen carefully. It's there. Although it's sort of drowned out by the chromatically tuned clay flowerpots.


Quick answer - I don't think so.

There is a video game though.:eek:

I used to own a John Cage CD, wherein one of the pieces did indeed feature something alarmingly close to "chromatically tuned clay flowerpots". I'll have to check out this track once again, methinks.

and for the rest of youse, here be "that" video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVK_mJrLbmY

yeah, PT

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/1...thrilling.html

If these come out sounding like real music, and NOT ultra-loud compressed pieces of shit, I might actually buy my first Beatles album. Most "remasters" are a disgrace to the original recordings. Audiophile review sites are your friend!

about fucking time.

According to that article:

"A crew of engineers at London’s Abbey Road Studios have spent four years working on the remasters using new technology and vintage equipment, the press release says, in an effort to preserve “the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings” and ensure “the highest fidelity the catalog has seen since its original release.”"

There's no mention as to the people actually doing it, although it's probably safe to say that George Martin will have a hand, along with some kind of supervision from Macca. The problem is that they have vested interest in the recordings. Egos are bound to get involved and Macca's history of lapses in musical judgement are near legendary.

I think they'd have been better off just getting something as close as they possibly could to the original masters, warts and all, and leave it at that. Even the slightest amount of tampering is only going to cause uproar amongst fans.

The original cds were mastered terribly, I'm really glad they are re-mastering them. I didn't ever notice until a few months ago when I put them on my mp3 player and just did not sound good at all. I could probably get a better sound by ripping from vinyl than from the cds I have. I can't wait to hear the new masters.

demonrail, just accept that yr sposed to have the Francois Hardy avatar.

I don't know how I feel about this yet, all I know is I love the beatles. I will listen, but only buy if I am pleased.

But to be honest I feel like my days of listening to their catalogue and being like 'ahhhh hell yea' are over. I'm more of a student of the group now than a fan, but I love turning ppl on to them who never really gave them a chance in the past. Anyone else kinda feel like that?