The Beatles always stood apart from their peers, a selfevident statement that sadly extended to the treatment of their catalog in the digital age. Where all their peers from the Byrds to the Who have had their catalogs remastered and reissued in deluxe editions, sometimes several times, the Beatles remained stuck in the early days of digital, their 14 albums plus Past Masters singles collection remaining untouched since 1987. Anniversaries came and went, but no remasters arrived until the release of the video game The Beatles Rockband pushed a longoverdue revamping of the band’s entire catalog into the stores on 9909. This reissue campaign corrects almost all the problems of the original 1987 CDs: the sound and artwork are improved, and all the original mono and stereo mixes finally see the light of day. Naturally, it’s possible to quibble about some details of the presentation, particularly the decision to split the reissue into two separate box sets, one covering the stereo mixes and one the mono mixes, with only the stereo mixes available as individual discs (it’s still possible to complain that the albums do not add eraspecific singles or outtakes, but such expansions were never really in the cards), but both boxes still constitute the best Beatles by far. Crucially, it’s also inarguably the bestsounding Beatles music ever released, robust and rich even on the earliest rock roll. None of the albums have been remixed although Help and Rubber Soul retain Martin’s 1987 mixes, the original stereo mixes are bonuses on the mono set so this doesn’t shock the way the Yellow Submarine soundtrack did with its reimagined stereo mixes. Nevertheless, these remasters surely do surprise with their clarity and depth, with each album feeling bigger and fuller than the previous CD incarnation, but not artificially so. It’s not that these are pumped up on digital steroids; it’s that the veil has been lifted, so everything seems full and fresh. Appropriately, there’s more to savor from Help onward, as the Beatles’ productions grew ambitious, but Please Please Me, With the Beatles, and A Hard Day’s Night all have a strong punch, while Beatles for Sale is warmer than the previous disc.

Product Specification :

Release Date :09/09/2009
Format :Audio CD
UPC :4988006873605
Label :Emi Japan
List Price :624.98

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