New 9-9-09 Re-Masters Reviews Thread!

[oldasSoul]

While this is no definitive answer, mervap, maybe it will shed some light.

There was an article in Record Collector magazine interviewing the guys who actually did the remasters. I believe it was the Oct. issue. They mentioned tweaking the sound somewhat during the remastering sessions, and if I'm not mistaken there was some extremely judicious use of "limiting" (or "compression" outside the UK). They were talking about altering minutes of sound over the hours of music on the CDs, but didn't go into detail about what was touched and what wasn't. The only things they claim to have left completely alone were the mono masters.

Probably doesn't help, but offers a possible explanation.

Is ANYONE going to get that damned phone!?! 

[chris]

i struggled with whether or not to get the stereo or the mono box set. i did some research...and finally, grudgingly, went with the mono set. and i am oh so glad i did. it is really as if i am hearing these songs for the first time. there are different vocal tracks. and i hear guitars that i've never heard before. you know that "it seems like i am in the same room" feeling you get now and then...well this is it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHGnhdfhtMc&feature=player_embedded

[oldasSoul]

I felt the same way, Chris, trying to decide between the two sets. Our experiences in listening to the monos appears to be the same. I'm just stunned by the clarity of the sound now, and I'm constantly finding new things that I never heard before:

that echoing cowbell in Taxman, Clapton's very "wet" guitar in WMGGW, the tape coming up to speed sound at the beginning of Sgt. Pepper's Reprise.

The different vocals were a bit of a shock! Don't know why they chose that vocal take of Matchbox, where Ringo flubs the lyrics.

Glad to see someone else enjoying the mono box as much as I've been. Funny how the "limited edition" sold out first day, and now you can pick it up pretty much anywhere (at least where I live).

[chris]

been listening to this band for a long time. actually considered myself a knowledgable one when it came to the beatles. but with the new remasters...a startling relevation occurred to me. starting with the first album...and going chronologically...i was shocked to (re?)discover that john REALLY dominated the albums thru revolver. it was john's band wasn't it? some of the earlier albums have 4 john songs for every 1 of paul's. paul wrote some great early songs...all my loving and and i love her come to mind. but john wrote more great early songs, methinks. and john's voice was really much more ready for prime time than paul's was...at least early on. 

[Paperback Writer]

Mr. Chris - it had to be a RE-discovery, surely, you knew that! 

[chris]

i did indeed. either i put it out of my mind or just forgot about it all together. but i tended to look back on the entire career and pretty much consider it equal. re-discovering can be most thrilling.

and...about the remasters...it is no real surprise that abbey road sounds so fabulous. best of the bunch, i'd say. so...why does it surprise me so that beatles for sale might be the second best sounding reissue?

[mervap]

I was recently gifted with The Beatles' Mono Box Set....thanks, LC!!

Over the next several weeks, time permitting, I will sift through the box and post some thoughts about what's in it. The first one is "Please Please Me".....what else? :)

What jumps out at me on first listen is what a great band they were, even at this early stage in their career. Knowing that this album is the product of two single releases and one MAMMOTH recording session, I am struck by the economy of it. Just real and raw performance...live in the studio. Minimal overdubs, if any. Talent to the fore...

What about the remastering? I had expected "Please Please Me" to be affected least by this...what can you do with two-track masters? Apparently, quite a bit! As I mentioned in the "Abbey Road" review, there is a startling abscence of 'outside' noise...no popping, no hissing, no nothing besides the music. One would imagine that might lead to a sterile sounding disc, but such is not the case...you can feel and hear the warmth of a band getting their big shot at fame and smacking it clean out of the park! I can also hear more bass in these...Macca was setting trends as far back as this and it's great to hear it more cleanly and louder without being overbearing.

It's also startling to hear where Ringo came from as a drummer....on this one, he's a pure 'beat-group' drummer. He could be driving a dance floor anywhere in England. We know how he always served the music with his playing and that's certainly the case here...he was to evolve tremendously in the ensuing years.

Most of you know that this album was recorded while all the Beatles had bad colds and one can hear that. That's not a bad thing, really....it just adds to the wonder of how they pulled this album off. No wonder John sounds as if his throat was coming apart on "Twist & Shout"!

More to come....

[Paperback Writer]

That's great news Mervap!

...and we look forward to your observations on them.

[Kylenz]

I am listening to the stereo remaster of "A Hard Day's Night"....I am very impressed with the overall improvement in sound quality. However, I am compelled to ask this question: Does anyone else feel the voices are louder in the mix now?

There was an article about the technology used to boost certain frequencies in the mix that related to particular instruments - that was apparently how they could get Ringo's drums sounding more prominent on the White Album for instance. I'd have to dig out my old stereo vinyl record of AHDN to make the vocal comparison as I didn't buy the original cd version, since it was in mono only.

Look forward to hearing what you think of the mono box. My favourite is surprisingly Sgt Pepper - such a clear mix - vocals sound really great, especially on tracks like She's Leaving Home. 

[Kylenz]

Listening to the Please Please Me mono vs the stereo, I still have to say I prefer the stereo. So much more depth, and the bass is still very present, perhaps even more so being hard on the left channel. On 'Do You Want To Know A Secret', you can hear lots of bum notes on the bassline now.. adventurous runs that end rather awkwardly for Macca. Oh well they did record the album at a hurtling speed so he can be forgiven.

[oldasSoul]

Figured this would be the best place to ask this, so here goes:

Are all the stereo remasters as impressive as WA? I managed to snag this one for less than the single disc albums. Since it's always been a fave of mine it seemed the best place to start. Having listened to the mono box since its release, with occasional forays back into the '87 stereo discs, I wasn't expecting that much.

WOW! Was I surprised by the amount of sound that was missing from the original stereo CDs. Even the silences in the songs were actually silent. For me, this was much like having watched TV through a curtain of cheesecloth for my whole life, then suddenly having it pulled back.

Guess I should start saving my pennies for the rest of the albums in stereo.