Beatles Remasters, Pheh! Go Buy The Records! By ericsandberg  [15 more lists]

The advent of CD technology was a double-edged sword for the music industry. On one hand, it has black-mailed millions of music fans and audiophiles into buying their favorite albums over and over again as the technology improved. The same technology, however, has allowed millions more music lovers to acquire the music for free!

That is a subject for another day. This Tuesday, following the Labor Day weekend, EMI/Capitol will re-release The Beatles original, English,catalog on CD for only the second time, since 1987 (by contrast, I have already had to replace my Yes CDs three times, and my Elvis Costello, four!).

The first time around, they did a horrible job. This is not surprising, because, in terms of packaging and sound, all the CDs released during this time were horrible.

In the late 80's, CDs were c**p, packaged in the 'Emperor's new clothes' of novelty. CD's were the future, but that future hadn't yet arrived.

In comparison to the vinyl Beatles records, the CD sound was murky and lifeless, and the packaging was nothing more than grainy reproductions of the LP sleeves.

The only thing they did right was to issue the first four albums in mono, the way they were originally recorded.

I, and millions of other Beatles aficionados, have been waiting for this Tuesday, literally, for decades. Now that the day is nigh, I am only feeling disappointment; for a few reasons.

First is, that I am flat broke. EMI waited for the economy to tank and leave me jobless, and in debt, to make these remasters available.

Second, they have chosen to release this material in three different ways, none of which are completely satisfying. Let me explain.

All thirteen original albums will be available separately (along with the "Past Masters singles compilation), packaged in the standard plastic "jewel-case". The first four albums are presented in the "mono-reprocessed for stereo" (MRFS) versions.

"MRFS" was the 'Emperor's new clothes' technology of the mid to late 60's. It took mono recordings and separated the high and low ends of the sound into the two channels. In short: "MRFS equalled "SUCK".

The Beatles had no part in that money-grab, just as the two surviving members were not involved in the current one.

EMI is also issuing two, limited edition, box sets. The first is the "Stereo set" which features the 13 albums and "Past Masters" (a stupid name, by the way) CDs, in swanky cardboard reproductions of the original LP sleeves, with additional liner notes.

This would be the perfect package, if the first four CDs were in mono, but alas, they are not.

But, wait! There is also the very limited "Mono set", which sports the mono mixes of all the albums through "The Beatles" (AKA The White Album). "Abbey Road" and "Let It Be" are excluded because stereo was the standard by the time of their releases, and mono mixes were not done.

The first four albums being in mono is essential. To have "Help!" through "The Beatles" in mono is fascinating, as the mixes are notably different in many cases. It is also important because the Beatles, themselves, only participated in the mono mixes of these albums, considering them to be the key product.

All in all, this is a great package albeit scarce and ridiculously over-priced. If EMI was not so greedy, they could have put out 2-disc sets of each album with a mono disc and a stereo disc, along with the singles that were released separately around each LP (eliminating the need for the disjointed "Past-Masters" discs.), in nice, reclaimed cardboard foldout sleeves.

Then I would be happy (but still sad because I can't afford them, anyway).

Finally, I'm not too sure I'm too excited about what the engineers at EMI have done with the material. As Mike Lefevbre, owner of Pepperland Music in Orange CA, put it,

"On "Magical Mystery Tour", you can not only hear the bus engine, you can tell that the tires need air".

Although not remixed, the frequencies have been tweaked and clarified, to the point that the result is almost jarring. You are not hearing anything you haven;t heard before, but everything is so crystallized that you are hearing some aspects far more consciously than intended.

The bottom line is: if you want to hear Beatles music, as they intended, with the best possible sound, head down to Pepperland and buy a turntable and and some good old fashioned Beatles vinyl.