Jump to content
  • The Computer Audiophile
    The Computer Audiophile

    Please Please Me: The Beatles Remasters

    stereo-box-web-287x300.jpgThe long wait is almost over. In less than two weeks The Beatles Remasters will be available to all of us "regular guys." Fortunately TONE Audio has people on its staff who are not "regular guys" and who receive things like the Neil Young Bluray box and the Beatles remasters long before they hit the streets. This afternoon TONE published a really thorough review of Please Please Me: The Beatles Remasters that I think everyone will be interested in reading. Before I read the review I was certain that the stereo version of the box was the one for me. Now I am leaning toward the mono version. I just hope I don't have a week moment and overuse the Amazon 1-Click ordering button to order both the stereo and mono versions. Read more for a link to the review.

    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

     

     

     

     

     

    Here is a <a href="http://www.tonepublications.com/music/beatles-box-in-stereo-and-mono/">link to the review</a> over on TONE.

     

     

     

    <center>

    <img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2009/0827/mono-box-web1.jpg">

    </center>




    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    Steve,<br />

    These discs are remastered, not remixed. Not sure what you were hoping for.....oh, and most early reviews are not impressed with Pepper.

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    i was hoping that if it was released as a stereo version, someone, somewhere in apple/emi would have had the foresight to throw away the original 'ping pong' version and remix/re-master an acceptable stereo version. surely if you have access to multi-track master tapes it's possible to use modern technology to produce a version with decent, consistent stereo imagery? instead of instruments and voices appearing all over the place and bouncing from left to right mid riff/solo. <br />

    it seems to me the original mix engineer was high or pissed and probably thought it was all very funny indeed. i've read somewhere that the 'fab' four weren't even present when this version was mixed, perhaps they left early to get high or pissed?<br />

    steve

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    The engineer on this LP is Geoff Emerick and he won a grammy for his work

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Stereo box set came in from Amazon yesterday - already fully ripped in ALAC by now.<br />

    <br />

    Fantastic sound - completely impressed. Some of it gave me goosebumps to hear this much improved....<br />

    <br />

    enjoy.

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    OK... maybe a thong.<br />

    <br />

    The Tone review states "...the stereo editions, which blow away their 1987 digital predecessors in every imaginable facet."<br />

    He could not possible have compared the two. I did with 4 discs and was underimpressed.<br />

    See my AVS Forum review:<br />

    http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17173317#post17173317<br />

    <br />

    I have not been the only one who, once these stereo discs were released, has openly wondered what all the hype was about. <br />

    These releases are for all intents and purposes... exactly the same as the '87 release, just louder and slightly compressed.<br />

    <br />

    I am a Beatles fan and was hoping for something matching the hype, not (especially in the case of the White Album) seriously negating it.<br />

    <br />

    I have the Mono on order and because it's a 'different' mix from the Stereo, and because it's getting even GREATER hype, I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised by this release.<br />

    <br />

    shane

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Shane,<br />

    <br />

    I can understand your frustration but to my ears it seems like they have done more than simply bump the volume and add some compression. What I've heard/compared so far reveals various layers that were buried in the '87 CD's. Things that you REALLY had to listen for before are better defined, not necessarily louder where they would mask something else.<br />

    <br />

    As you mentioned in your AVS review, Paul's bass does stand out more and I personally prefer it. His playing is above average IMO but often lacked the prominence in the original CD's.<br />

    <br />

    While I definitely wouldn't go so far as to say that the new stereo remasters aren't world's better than the '87 releases, I can appreciate the improvement and approach taken to the remasters enough to justify their purchase. That's a call we each have to make.<br />

    <br />

    I also picked up the Mono box set and for someone that never had a chance to listen to these versions before they do offer an interesting twist on what I was familiar with. I'm not sure how much they benefit from nearly zero compression or noise reduction but I'm already preferring them to some of the stereo tracks that I've compared.<br />

    <br />

    In the end, I'm just glad to have finally gotten remastered Beatles. They sound fantastic, the packaging's great, and it's given my 3yr old daughter and I a fun way to spend an hour a night.<br />

    <br />

    Cheers!<br />

    Bill

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Bill.<br />

    Thanks for you perspective.<br />

    <br />

    In the next couple weeks I'll devote a bit more time to these stereo releases. I will listen to them on their own to see how they stand up... without comparing them to the original release. I will also hear them on another system to see if there is more than originally perceived.<br />

    <br />

    I certainly am looking forward to the mono set!<br />

    <br />

    Cheers.<br />

    <br />

    shane

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    The Beatles Mono Box Set = Beatles Heaven!<br />

    <br />

    These albums are old friends rediscovered. I thought I knew these albums inside and out in Stereo but not so. The speed, dynamics, punch, presence, depth, timbre... in Mono. Especially from A Hard Days Night on... first 4 track tape machine IIRC. But still undecided about The White Album. Volume fluctuations? Stereo may be better. Make sure you turn the volume up a few more notches with the mono versions for best effect!<br />

    <br />

    I just finished "groovin" to Rubber Soul.<br />

    Now I'm "trippin out" to Magical Mystery Tour.<br />

    All in glorious Mono! <br />

    "Tho she was born a long, long time ago... your mother should know..." :~))

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    just for those who are thinking of spending loads of cash on two box sets, one i stereo and one in mono.<br />

    <br />

    <br />

    if you go into itunes preferences>import settings>select aiff custom. you can select to import in MONO, so save yourself a few quid and just buy the stereo box set.<br />

    <br />

    i suppose if you really wanted you could burn mono discs straight from itunes if you really needed a mono disc, perhaps in the car? <br />

    <br />

    cheers steve

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    The mono mixes on Pepper, The White Album and MMT are quite different and quite ear-opening. A stereo downmix is not the answer.

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Earlier Beatles albums were recorded in mono. Some may say reproducing those in stereo is molesting the sound.

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    released in both mono and stereo (the stereo usually a couple weeks behind cuz the mono markets were more prevalent). The only thing about the mono albums (up to and including Pepper) is that the Fab Four actually had an opinion on some of the mixing. They left the stereo mix to George Martin and gang solely, but that's not saying much. They only participated slightly in the mono mixes anyway.....they wanted to move on and were not terribly active in post production with the first 4.<br />

    <br />

    Anyway, to say that the early albums were recorded in mono is just not correct. They always used multitrack machines. One of the only caveats are the four fire-destroyed multtracks (She Loves You, PS, I'll get You, Love me Do) not cuz they "recorded it in mono" but because the multitracks were destroyed.

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    I also heard it on this website which you told. Why not the mono records wants compression for increasing volume? Can you explain it and why stereo recording needs compression please explain it also.<br />

    <br />

    <a href="http://www.loudbeats.com">music reviews</a>

    Share this comment


    Link to comment
    Share on other sites




    Guest
    This is now closed for further comments




×
×
  • Create New...