Members Ukiah Bass Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music said today they are remastering The Beatles catalog and will release it in September (same time as The Beatles: Rock Band). Music will be from the original UK albums. They're also releasing The Beatles in Mono, which is the original monaural versions of 10 albums. This is exciting news. The "naked" Let It Be CD was much better than the original mix. I'm especially looking forward to the monaural takes. The hard left/right "stereo" mixes are annoying. Apparently no one was that excited about stereo then. But how are they going to do the remastering? I read that production of many Beatles songs required manual manipulation of tape reels, ad hoc bouncing and use of random sound clips, use of analog boxes that were purpose built to achieve certain sounds, etc. I'm sure the result will sound amazing, but will it be exactly what the boys published four decades back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 this may end up being an abomination. one of the worst aspects of the monterey pop videos on dvd was that they 'remastered' (read: ruined) the audio in poortools. thank heavens they left the original audio although buried deep in the menu. sometimes you can't go home again. part of the magic is the entire process and redoing some aspect throws the whole thing off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members audioicon Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 Yeah! This is exactly what pisses me off.They are going to take those album and compress the hell out of them, just enought to cause hearing bleeds. Just leave the damn thing alone, they are classics. AI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Philbigtime Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 Thank God, those records sound downright awful. Nothing a little (or a lot of) compression can't fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FireWithin Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 it's just another move by these greedy pricks to make more money and avoid taking chances by signing a new act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bp Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 I think they'll do a fine job. The tape made for and used at Abbey Road is some of the best tape made and holds up to time very well. The source tapes should be in decent shape. As far as the mono thing goes -GREAT! The stereo mixes were awkward. It's not like the old Atlantic catalog where stereo mixes were often done when the original mix was done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bp Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 it's just another move by these greedy pricks to make more money and avoid taking chances by signing a new act. Apple Corps isn't going to sign any new acts.:poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted April 7, 2009 Moderators Share Posted April 7, 2009 Apple Corps isn't going to sign any new acts.:poke: No? I thought Sean and Julian were gong to team up as the Half Lennon Sisters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mark L Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 I hope that the gig is given to George Martin's son He did an excellent job on 'Love' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ukiah Bass Posted April 7, 2009 Author Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 Here is the official press release:http://www.beatles.com/core/news/ THE BEATLES' ENTIRE ORIGINAL RECORDED CATALOGUE REMASTERED FOR RELEASE 09-09-097th April 2009Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music are delighted to announce the release of the original Beatles catalogue, which has been digitally re-mastered for the first time, for worldwide CD release on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (9-9-09), the same date as the release of the widely anticipated "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game. Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released.The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release.The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and 'Magical Mystery Tour,' which became part of The Beatles' core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections 'Past Masters Vol. I and II' are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set.Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the 'Past Masters' set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.A second boxed set has been created with the collector in mind. 'The Beatles in Mono' gathers together, in one place, all of the Beatles recordings that were mixed for a mono release. It will contain 10 of the albums with their original mono mixes, plus two further discs of mono masters (covering similar ground to the stereo tracks on 'Past Masters'). As an added bonus, the mono "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD. These albums will be packaged in mini-vinyl CD replicas of the original sleeves with all original inserts and label designs retained.Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalogue will continue. There is no further information available at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mudcat007 Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 I hope that the gig is given to George Martin's son He did an excellent job on 'Love' +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mark L Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 Here is the official press release: http://www.beatles.com/core/news/ Can't wait! My birthday's on Sept. 5th so I might treat myself to the bloody lot!! :thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kurdy Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 This is exciting news. The "naked" Let It Be CD was much better than the original mix. I'm especially looking forward to the monaural takes. The hard left/right "stereo" mixes are annoying. Apparently no one was that excited about stereo then. Me too. As good as the music was, it's always kind of a bummer to listen to the Beatles, because I always hear the legends of how wonderful those records sounded back then, and I feel like I've never experienced it firsthand. All the CDs and cassettes I own of the Beatles sound awful, mostly due to the awkward stereo panning. Listening to the Beatles through headphones especially is a bad idea. Mono is how it was meant to be heard. (Unfortunately it looks like they're packaging the mono versions as a high-priced boxed set for collectors, which means it's probably out of reach for those of us unwilling to shell out the eighty bucks.) But how are they going to do the remastering? I read that production of many Beatles songs required manual manipulation of tape reels, ad hoc bouncing and use of random sound clips, use of analog boxes that were purpose built to achieve certain sounds, etc. I'm sure the result will sound amazing, but will it be exactly what the boys published four decades back? Well, they said "remastering", not "remixing". "Let It Be Naked" was a special case in that it was an album of remixes. Generally, when they remaster an album, they use the original mixes, so I would imagine that's what they'll do here. But yeah, if they were to go back to the multi-tracks, I'm sure it would be damn near impossible to recreate the original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 But how are they going to do the remastering? The same way any remaster is done... by taking the original mixes and using modern technology to make them sound more in line with the quality people get on today's playback systems. They're not going to remix the stuff. Just remaster it. Big difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Sayers Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 it's only being done to get Michael Jackson out of financial sh@t. He used to own them all but sold half to Sony and has been borrowing on his share since then. Who wants a mono version of Sgt Pepper! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members audioicon Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 it's only being done to get Michael Jackson out of financial sh@t. He used to own them all but sold half to Sony and has been borrowing on his share since then.Who wants a mono version of Sgt Pepper! I was wondering the same thing but felt very perplexed to asked.I thought Michael bought the catalog? AI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Sayers Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 he bought it off Robert Holmes a Court years ago but sold half to Sony recently to get out of financial sh@t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kendrix Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 Does this mean we can get the far superior Sgt Peppers mono mix on CD?If so I'll be very grateful for that. The difference between the original mono mix and the stereo one is a big deal.That alone may be enough to lead me to purchase this set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FoxTick Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 Does it mean I'll be able to listen to Death Magnetic and Sgt. Peppers back to back without having to touch the volume knob? RADICAL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mudcat007 Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 Does this mean we can get the far superior Sgt Peppers mono mix on CD?If so I'll be very grateful for that. The difference between the original mono mix and the stereo one is a big deal.That alone may be enough to lead me to purchase this set. I'm looking forward to hearing the mono mix of "Paperback Writer." Geoff Emerick says it blows the stereo mix away. He also says the mono mixes were considered to be the "mix of record" on all of the Beatles tracks he was involved with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 Does it mean I'll be able to listen to Death Magnetic and Sgt. Peppers back to back without having to touch the volume knob? HAHAHAHAHAHA! :lol: :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rogueweez Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 If it sounds as good as Love, I'm down with the remasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ukiah Bass Posted April 7, 2009 Author Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 I'm looking forward to hearing the mono mix of "Paperback Writer." Geoff Emerick says it blows the stereo mix away. He also says the mono mixes were considered to be the "mix of record" on all of the Beatles tracks he was involved with. In a sense, this is how rock musicians experience the music as they create it. When we play, we're in a small group next to each other. That live sound has never been sonically stereophonic to me. It's more of a massive sound right in your face. Stereophonic is more for the sound you'd hear in the audience. Theoretically, the mono release might sound more like we're right there in the studio as the music plays. I'll pay for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Flogger59 Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 It's telling that Sgt Peppers took 3 weeks to mix in mono, and 3 days for the stereo mix. Everyone directly involved have all come on record saying that the true mix was the mono one. The only reason that there are stereo mixes is because of Capitol USA, who took Martin's working tapes and made "stereo" releases from them. George was aghast. the reason why the stereo mixes are so funky is that they bounced a lot from 4 track to 4 track, so basics were on one track. That and the stereo assignment possibilities on those old EMI desks was primitive, to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 I thought the ONE album was remastered already? No? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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