Showing posts with label Remasters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Remasters. Show all posts
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Beatles remasters on vinyl set for Oct. 4 release
The Fabs catalog will be available as 16 LPs, available in a spiffy box set with 100-page book, or individually. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Limited edition USB Apple contains stereo Beatles remasters
Giving new meaning to Apple(s) in Stereo:
The exquisitely crafted, apple-shaped USB drive is loaded with the critically acclaimed re-mastered audio for The Beatles’ 14 stereo titles, as well as all of the re-mastered CDs’ visual elements, including 13 mini-documentary films about the studio albums, replicated original UK album art, rare photos and expanded liner notes.
A specially designed Flash interface has been installed, and the 16GB USB’s audio and visual contents will be provided in FLAC 44.1 Khz 24 bit and MP3 320 Kbps formats, fully compatible with PC and Mac.
Order yours at the official Beatles Web site store. (When I posted this, however, there was no listing for the item in the U.S. version of the store, nor any price provided. You'll need to keep checking back there.)
Additional info from the Beatles Examiner:
EMI Music announced Tuesday they will release a limited edition of 30,000 Beatles stereo USB apples on Dec. 7 in most of the world, except North America, where they will be available Dec. 8. A price on the drive was not available.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Beatles vinyl remasters on the way
Oh man, now I'm going to have to buy these too!
The Beatles' back catalogue will be reissued on vinyl, says Jeff Jones, Chief Executive of Apple Corps.
Speaking exclusively to MOJO, Jones revealed that work on the next stage of the Beatles Remastered campaign is currently underway: "We're working on them now," said Jones, "I don't have a release date. To put a release date next to them forces us into a situation where we're releasing something that might not be ready. "
The Beatles' back catalogue will be reissued on vinyl, says Jeff Jones, Chief Executive of Apple Corps.
Speaking exclusively to MOJO, Jones revealed that work on the next stage of the Beatles Remastered campaign is currently underway: "We're working on them now," said Jones, "I don't have a release date. To put a release date next to them forces us into a situation where we're releasing something that might not be ready. "
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Beatles Mono and Stero boxes available again soon from Amazon
Those still pining for box sets of the remastered Beatles recordings won't have much longer to wait if ordering from Amazon.
The in-stock date for the Mono Box (mine has been on order for weeks and weeks!) has now been updated to Oct. 22. The Stereo Box is still listed as in-stock for Oct. 31.
Click the links to order yours!
The in-stock date for the Mono Box (mine has been on order for weeks and weeks!) has now been updated to Oct. 22. The Stereo Box is still listed as in-stock for Oct. 31.
Click the links to order yours!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Beatles in Mono box back in stock Nov. 1 at Amazon, stereo box too
Amazon is now listing the Beatles in Mono box set as back in stock Nov. 1--good news for those of us awaiting backordered sets, and for folks who haven't ordered them yet.
Amazon also ran out of the Beatles in Stereo box a while back. That's also listed as back in stock Nov. 1.
Amazon also ran out of the Beatles in Stereo box a while back. That's also listed as back in stock Nov. 1.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Beatles remasters sell 2.25 million in five days
Beatlemania redux! The Associated Press reports:
Nearly 40 years after breaking up, The Beatles are still breaking records for album sales.
Nearly 40 years after breaking up, The Beatles are still breaking records for album sales.
EMI Group PLC says consumers in North America, Japan and the U.K. bought more than 2.25 million copies of the Fab Four's re-mastered albums in the first five days after their Sept. 9 release.
Most of the records were broken for most simultaneous titles in the top-selling charts by a single artist.
On Billboard magazine's pop catalogue chart, for example, the band had 16 titles in the top 50, including all 14 re-mastered CDs and two box sets.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Beatles remasters dominate charts, rack up big money
From The Los Angeles Times:
The new and improved Beatles CDs sold 235,000 copies during their first two days in stores, and total first-week sales of the individual CDs and two box sets of the group's recordings were projected to be 500,000 to 600,000 copies, possibly higher.
That's welcome news for a beleaguered music industry, whose last significant uptick in sales came in the wake of Michael Jackson's death in June.
Beatles titles occupy nine spots in the Top 10 of Billboard's Pop Catalog Albums chart, which encompasses albums originally released more than 18 months ago (Jackson's "Number Ones," at No. 6, kept the Fab Four from a clean sweep of the Top 10); of the Top 20, 15 are Beatles albums.
The new and improved Beatles CDs sold 235,000 copies during their first two days in stores, and total first-week sales of the individual CDs and two box sets of the group's recordings were projected to be 500,000 to 600,000 copies, possibly higher.
That's welcome news for a beleaguered music industry, whose last significant uptick in sales came in the wake of Michael Jackson's death in June.
Beatles titles occupy nine spots in the Top 10 of Billboard's Pop Catalog Albums chart, which encompasses albums originally released more than 18 months ago (Jackson's "Number Ones," at No. 6, kept the Fab Four from a clean sweep of the Top 10); of the Top 20, 15 are Beatles albums.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Don't panic, don't get gouged: Beatles in Mono box set still available for $229.99 from Amazon--stereo box available too
I continue reading reports of people getting charged $500 or more for the "limited" Beatles in Mono box set. Yet you can still order copies on Amazon for less than half that amount. Plus, the Beatles in Stereo box--the most economical way to get ALL the stereo remasters, plus a bonus DVD with all the making-of documentaries on it--is still available too.
Don't get suckered. Here are links to both sets:
Don't get suckered. Here are links to both sets:
Friday, September 11, 2009
Beatles mini-documentary director speaks
CNN has an interview with "Beatles Anthology" director Bob Smeaton, who directed the mini-documentaries that come with stereo versions of the remastered Beatles CDs.
One very interesting tidbit:
Originally what happened was, the albums were going to be released on iTunes but that deal, you know, fell through for whatever reason. Some sort of political reason. So we actually set about creating a mini-documentary for each of the albums, so that when you bought the albums on iTunes, if you bought the whole album, because on iTunes you can pick like one song, right, if you bought the whole album, as an incentive to buy the whole album rather than just to cherry-pick songs, you would get this mini-documentary.
One very interesting tidbit:
Originally what happened was, the albums were going to be released on iTunes but that deal, you know, fell through for whatever reason. Some sort of political reason. So we actually set about creating a mini-documentary for each of the albums, so that when you bought the albums on iTunes, if you bought the whole album, because on iTunes you can pick like one song, right, if you bought the whole album, as an incentive to buy the whole album rather than just to cherry-pick songs, you would get this mini-documentary.
Beatles remasters top world charts
The Beatles' remastered record catalog is topping the chart pretty much everywhere, the Guardian reports.
In the UK, the Beatles will dominate this week's album charts based on only one day of sales (plus pre-orders). According to the Official Charts Company, Liverpool's finest will have five albums in the top 20 – and 15 in the top 75 – led by Abbey Road and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In their first day on the market, retailers sold more than 6,000 copies of the Beatles stereo box set – helping the expensive package into the UK top 20.
A quick look at Amazon's best-selling CDs shows the Beatles holding the top 9 slots of the top 10. The stereo and mono boxsets are tops, followed by the individual releases of Abbey Road, the "White Album," Sgt. Pepper, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Past Masters and Let it Be in the Top 9 slots, Whitney Houston's comeback album is number 10. The least popular remaster appears to be Yellow Submarine, down at number 22.
In the UK, the Beatles will dominate this week's album charts based on only one day of sales (plus pre-orders). According to the Official Charts Company, Liverpool's finest will have five albums in the top 20 – and 15 in the top 75 – led by Abbey Road and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In their first day on the market, retailers sold more than 6,000 copies of the Beatles stereo box set – helping the expensive package into the UK top 20.
A quick look at Amazon's best-selling CDs shows the Beatles holding the top 9 slots of the top 10. The stereo and mono boxsets are tops, followed by the individual releases of Abbey Road, the "White Album," Sgt. Pepper, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Past Masters and Let it Be in the Top 9 slots, Whitney Houston's comeback album is number 10. The least popular remaster appears to be Yellow Submarine, down at number 22.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Beatles box sets available on Amazon
Despite a virtual panic that the limited edition box set of Beatles in Mono was going to sell out and be impossible to find, fans can still snag copies via Amazon. The Beatles in Stereo set is also still in stock.
Just how limited is the mono box? The Los Angeles Times reports: "Reportedly only 40,000 copies of the mono box have been manufactured for worldwide distribution, with 13,000 of those allocated to the U.S. market."
Just how limited is the mono box? The Los Angeles Times reports: "Reportedly only 40,000 copies of the mono box have been manufactured for worldwide distribution, with 13,000 of those allocated to the U.S. market."
Beatles set to top records chart again
The Beatles' remastered albums are predicted to rule the record charts in Britain, Reuters reports.
the Fab Four predicted to take five of the top 20 album places, the Official Charts Company said on Thursday. Digitally remastered versions of the band's albums went on sale on Wednesday, and combined with an interactive video game, it led to a brief return to "Beatlemania" with queues at major music stores in London.
the Fab Four predicted to take five of the top 20 album places, the Official Charts Company said on Thursday. Digitally remastered versions of the band's albums went on sale on Wednesday, and combined with an interactive video game, it led to a brief return to "Beatlemania" with queues at major music stores in London.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Stereo on mono: How do you take your Beatles?
The Washington Post features two remasters reviews: One touting the Beatles in Stereo box as the way to go, the other saying bring back mono.
Me? I say you need both. Some tracks simply sound better in one format or the other. And, if you listen to the Beatles a lot (which, I presume most of us here do), it's fun to, um, mix it up mixwise--sometimes putting on Sgt. Pepper in stereo, sometimes in mono.
Me? I say you need both. Some tracks simply sound better in one format or the other. And, if you listen to the Beatles a lot (which, I presume most of us here do), it's fun to, um, mix it up mixwise--sometimes putting on Sgt. Pepper in stereo, sometimes in mono.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
UK Guardian review: The Beatles in Mono
The Guardian has posted a review of the Beatles in Mono box set of remasters.
The Beatles sound taut, vital and surprisingly brutal. Plenty of 60s British bands covered material by black US artists: they tended to bowdlerise it, but the Beatles made it more visceral. There's something authentically deranged about their covers of Twist and Shout and Money. Smokey Robinson's fabulous You Really Got a Hold On Me has its emotional compass shifted from melancholy to torment, with electrifying results.
The Beatles sound taut, vital and surprisingly brutal. Plenty of 60s British bands covered material by black US artists: they tended to bowdlerise it, but the Beatles made it more visceral. There's something authentically deranged about their covers of Twist and Shout and Money. Smokey Robinson's fabulous You Really Got a Hold On Me has its emotional compass shifted from melancholy to torment, with electrifying results.
Hear engineers discuss the Beatles remasters
Amazon, on its "Beatles Store" page now features interviews with Beatles remasters engineers Allan Rouse and Paul Hicks. Check 'em out here.
Amazon update on availability of Beatles in Mono box set
Amazon has posted this update about the availability of Beatles in Mono remasters box sets:
09/02/09 UPDATE: The manufacturer has informed us that they will be producing additional mono box sets due to high demand. While the mono box set will still remain a limited production item, it will no longer be limited to 10,000 copies for the U.S. market, as originally reported.
We will soon have more mono box sets back in stock. Sign up here to be notified as soon as they are available for order. We will likely have limited quantities, so check back here often for the latest information, or check your email frequently to make sure that you don’t miss out.
09/02/09 UPDATE: The manufacturer has informed us that they will be producing additional mono box sets due to high demand. While the mono box set will still remain a limited production item, it will no longer be limited to 10,000 copies for the U.S. market, as originally reported.
We will soon have more mono box sets back in stock. Sign up here to be notified as soon as they are available for order. We will likely have limited quantities, so check back here often for the latest information, or check your email frequently to make sure that you don’t miss out.
New York Times on the Beatles remasters
Fabs expert Allan Kozinn weighs in on the remasters with this piece from The New York Times.
The up side: In most cases this music has dimension and detail that it never had before, and the new packaging reflects each album’s musical and cultural importance. Over all, the new discs sound substantially better than the Beatles’ original CDs, which EMI issued in 1987. The most striking and consistent improvements are a heftier, rounded, three-dimensional bass sound, and drums that now sound like drums, rather than something in the distance being hit. But because each album has its own sonic character, due partly to developments in recording technology during the Beatles’ career, and partly to the growing complexity of their work, some discs are improved more radically than others, and some are hardly improved at all.
Probably the most revelatory of the new transfers is the stereo White Album. From the opening jet engine effects on “Back in the U.S.S.R” to the final orchestral chord on “Good Night,” this album now leaps from the speakers. Gentler songs like “Julia” and “I Will” have a lovely transparency, and hard rockers like “Yer Blues” and “Helter Skelter” — as well as John Lennon’s quirky vision of dystopia, “Revolution 9” — have a power and fullness unheard until now.
The up side: In most cases this music has dimension and detail that it never had before, and the new packaging reflects each album’s musical and cultural importance. Over all, the new discs sound substantially better than the Beatles’ original CDs, which EMI issued in 1987. The most striking and consistent improvements are a heftier, rounded, three-dimensional bass sound, and drums that now sound like drums, rather than something in the distance being hit. But because each album has its own sonic character, due partly to developments in recording technology during the Beatles’ career, and partly to the growing complexity of their work, some discs are improved more radically than others, and some are hardly improved at all.
Probably the most revelatory of the new transfers is the stereo White Album. From the opening jet engine effects on “Back in the U.S.S.R” to the final orchestral chord on “Good Night,” this album now leaps from the speakers. Gentler songs like “Julia” and “I Will” have a lovely transparency, and hard rockers like “Yer Blues” and “Helter Skelter” — as well as John Lennon’s quirky vision of dystopia, “Revolution 9” — have a power and fullness unheard until now.
Remasters details from the remasterers
The Sydney Morning Herald and AZ Central both have interviews with Allen Rouse, head engineer on the upcoming Beatles remasters, who talks about the delicate balance between improving sound and changing it.
Some key excerpts:
Has A Day in the Life been improved, for example, by removing the squeak of the piano stool that punctuates the ultimate chord of doom? Heaven forbid, Rouse says.
"We agreed at the onset we would only remove things that were technically related. If it had anything to do with the Beatles' performance — breaths, coughs, squeaky bass drums, squeaky chairs — they stayed."
..."The Beatles spent upwards of two or three weeks mixing Sgt Pepper in mono. The stereo was done as an afterthought by George (Martin) and (engineer) Geoff Emerick — regrettably forgetting some of the things they had done on the mono mixes," Rouse says.
...one of the things we did agree that we would be very cautious about is limiting, which is where you make them as loud as you can. That's the common process of most recordings today - make 'em as loud as possible so that they're as loud as the last band. We agreed that we would not do that, because these are 40-year-old recordings and they don't deserve to have the dynamics of their songs destroyed. At the same time, we felt, for the stereo master, that a small amount of limiting that didn't destroy the dynamics would be acceptable, so they are a bit louder.
Some key excerpts:
Has A Day in the Life been improved, for example, by removing the squeak of the piano stool that punctuates the ultimate chord of doom? Heaven forbid, Rouse says.
"We agreed at the onset we would only remove things that were technically related. If it had anything to do with the Beatles' performance — breaths, coughs, squeaky bass drums, squeaky chairs — they stayed."
..."The Beatles spent upwards of two or three weeks mixing Sgt Pepper in mono. The stereo was done as an afterthought by George (Martin) and (engineer) Geoff Emerick — regrettably forgetting some of the things they had done on the mono mixes," Rouse says.
...one of the things we did agree that we would be very cautious about is limiting, which is where you make them as loud as you can. That's the common process of most recordings today - make 'em as loud as possible so that they're as loud as the last band. We agreed that we would not do that, because these are 40-year-old recordings and they don't deserve to have the dynamics of their songs destroyed. At the same time, we felt, for the stereo master, that a small amount of limiting that didn't destroy the dynamics would be acceptable, so they are a bit louder.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
NPR blog listens to (and likes) remastered Sgt. Pepper
Just to get you hankering for those remasters a little more, NPR's "All Songs Considered" blog shares observations on the spruced-up Sgt. Pepper. No sound samples with the story, unfortunately!
("She's Leaving Home")
Robin: You can hear the fingertips on the harp. This is a little like watching HDTV.
Bob: I was thinking that, too. Like plasma TV.
Robin: Listen to the falsetto harmonies. It reminds me a little of HD television in that HD reveals the flaws in people's faces. I feel like it's doing that a bit with this music, particularly in the vocals. It's not that they sound flawed. They just sound so naked. Those harmonies on this song have always sounded perfectly clear to me. But hearing it now, it's so clearly a group of guys singing in falsettos. The voices seem very naked. They sound human for the first time.
("She's Leaving Home")
Robin: You can hear the fingertips on the harp. This is a little like watching HDTV.
Bob: I was thinking that, too. Like plasma TV.
Robin: Listen to the falsetto harmonies. It reminds me a little of HD television in that HD reveals the flaws in people's faces. I feel like it's doing that a bit with this music, particularly in the vocals. It's not that they sound flawed. They just sound so naked. Those harmonies on this song have always sounded perfectly clear to me. But hearing it now, it's so clearly a group of guys singing in falsettos. The voices seem very naked. They sound human for the first time.
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