I have had it up to here waiting for the Beatles catalogue to be remastered

Nick?

xp

Nothing needs peeling from the remasters; the peeling is ONLY on LP copies of the Yesterday & Today US album, where the butchers' dolls cover has been stuck over with the safe cover.

Is there going to be a poll on which is the best remaster? (Or have I missed it?)

Yes, but it didn't get any love. Boo hoo.

so I went with MMT today (hesitated a lot between "MMT" and "pepper" but since I haven't heard MMT for a long time, thought it would be more exciting... of course, I guess I'll get "pepper" next week or something).
about the monos, I think it's been discussed a lot already but I find the sound so tiny and smothered compared to the amazement that are the stereo remasters.
also, about stereo remaster : it's funny how they differ from the tracks on "love". like, even though "USSR" has been improved a lot on the "white album", it's nowhere near the power on the "love" version.

is "pepper" improved much ? I have listened to the mono remaster version and frankly, I don't see the point compared to the stereo, soundwise...

― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, October 2, 2009 9:32 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

For me, the Pepper mono was the most improved--I actually like it now as it sounds less harsh and grating--but I suppose I could have had that experience by tracking down a mono LP...the stereo remaster of the white album seems almost indistinguishable from the 1987 cd, but maybe I wasn't listening closely enough. Abbey Road in remastered stereo on the other hand was mindblowingly different sounding to me

there's one track that I feel doesn't change much with the remasters on the "white album" : "happiness is a warm gun". of course the sound is better but it's not GREAT.
one of the songs I like much more since I have the remaster is "birthday". I'd always thought it was useless but now it makes sense in a raw-powerful-fun way.
"pepper" in mono : I was very interested after reading here that it was the version they had originally worked the most on but I wasn't impressed. I guess, as someone said elsewhere, I'm too used to stereo to enjoy it.

is there a definitive article anywhere on this mono/stereo business?

i've read somewhere that ALL were mixed primarily for stereo. i doubt that, but SPLHCB is certainly better in stereo.

is there a definitive article anywhere on this mono/stereo business?

i've read somewhere that ALL were mixed primarily for stereo. i doubt that, but SPLHCB is certainly better in stereo.

― history mayne, Friday, October 2, 2009 1:46 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

No, that's backwards, some engineer made a big deal about saying how the Beatles spent weeks on the mono mixes and weren't even really around for the stereo mixes which were for the American market. I had the exact opposite feeling about Sgt Pepper, that it finally sounded good in mono....horses for courses!

don't trust the sound of wack mp3s, re: mono.

nah i got good flacs. geir is right that mono is inferior. in an ideal world the stereo versions would not have been quote so extreme in their separation, but tbh the stereo versions in most cases are better.

They spent longer on the mono mixes because they did those first; after they'd mixed them for mono they just stretched them out to stereo - most of the work already being done. There's no right or wrong about what's better - what's better is the versions you prefer. I prefer stereo.

My main reason for buying the mono boxset was: I've heard these albums so many times, probably far more than any others albums. I know pretty much every second on every album inside-out - I just wanted to hear them differently.

Plus I love the little replica sleeves!

oh, i agree the stereo mixes are mostly preferable for the post-Pepper's stuff, but man that mono SPLHCB mix just rules! so much to hear; so many different sounds/noises to notice. it's almost an entirely different record than the stereo version, to my ears. early stuff sounds just fine either way to me. but then i always listen through speakers, so the severe panning wouldn't bug me too much.

oh, i agree the stereo mixes are mostly preferable for the post-Pepper's stuff, but man that mono SPLHCB mix just rules! so much to hear; so many different sounds/noises to notice. it's almost an entirely different record than the stereo version, to my ears
― a single man owns you (Ioannis), Friday, October 2, 2009 2:28 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark

Exactly! It is a radically different experience than the stereo one we all grew up on...how about the different whoops in the reprise? that really threw me for a loop...and the laughing at the end of wywy. i could go on and on

The remastering really fuels the second disc on the white album. I've been cranking the shit out of Birthday, Yer Blues, Helter Skelter, and Me & My Monkey. And Revolution 9 sounds incredible, I must say.

hahahahah weeeee...got the White Album at lunchtime. Dear Prudence right now, almost brings tears to my eyes. So full and omg it's like there's a band playing right.inside.my.head.
It's not right that I should be enjoying myself this much while still at work.

"Sgt. Pepper" is nothing without hearing John travelling from one side to the other during "A Day In The Life".

Geir OTM

In many ways, Martin and Emerick must have been liberated to experiment a lot in the stereo mixes, without the close supervision of the Beatles.

And if Paul et al were unhappy with the results, those certainly wouldn't be the standard versions of the last 40 years, plus the primary remaster sources.

MONO BACKLASH!

In many ways, Martin and Emerick must have been liberated to experiment a lot in the stereo mixes, without the close supervision of the Beatles.

They were their producer and their engineer after all, so why not?

haha i love the back and forth on stereo vs mono

honestly the thing this points out for me is its sad that the monos aren't individually available

having listened more...I think i would go for all the early stuff up through beatles for sale on mono...but i would swap revolver and have that on mono and have beatles for sale on stereo.

but the real early albums mono is just heads and tails above the stereo mixes, so much tougher and more rock sounding to me

yeah -- haven't heard the whole stereo box, so I'm just going off the few mono remasters that also have the 60s stereo mixes, but the early stuff on there sounds much better in mono. "tougher" is the right word.

^^^word.

I thought the word was love? I'm confused.

it's all good, man. peace.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps sounds MASSIVE. Like symphony orchestra huge. YES!

The bass sounds incredible on that one.

but the real early albums mono is just heads and tails above the stereo mixes, so much tougher and more rock sounding to me

One of the reasons why I prefer stereo. Beatles aren't rock, they are pop!

I think you meant to say, "One of the reasons why stereo is better than mono." I have no idea what this word "prefer" means.

^Quit bustin' his chops. He's finally trying to apply the language of subjectivity here!

Who is he and what has he done with Geir?

(also: ONE OF US, ONE OF US, GOOBLE GOBBLE, GOOBLE GOBBLE)

These remasters have forced me to revise my positon on Paul quite considerably. He's still kind of a twat, but the remasters make the music, um, closer? It's hard to hold an objective opinion about sentimentality when the damn music makes you FEEL so strongly. Gah.

Weird sister: don't forget "the walrus was Paul". He was really great.

Ha ha. Yeah, I'm seeing that now. I always hated 'Honey Pie'...but last night I realized what perfect imitation of that music-hall style it really is. I mean, aside from Paul's singing, it doesn't sound like The Beatles. It's kind of genius in that respect. The lyrics, the arrangement, the whole thing...I grew up going to old-time dances with my parents, and we danced to a lot of those 'Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside' type songs. It's incredibly evocative when you take it on its own merits.

Everyone else is thinking either, 'Well duh' or 'She's lost her marbles'.

nah, it's true -- even though "Honey Pie" is def. my least favorite song on the White Album, you really do have to marvel at the fact that the guy who wrote it is the same guy who wrote "Helter Skelter" and "Blackbird" and "I Will" and "Why Don't We Do It In The Road." That's covering a lot of stylistic bases, and doing it pretty amazingly well 90% of the time.

Yeah I mean what's the difference between Paul recreating the music hall vibe, and a million bands today trying to recreate Black Sabbath?

You either do it well, or you fail. He did it well.

Paul McCartney >>>>> Wolfmother

LOL. No argument there!

***

I finally picked up a used copy of the Lewisohn book today. The gleeful clerk at Powell's told me that there's a newer addition out now, but that he personally preferred the original as it has less "day to day" stuff.

Then he looked in both directions to make sure no one was listening, and informed me that he used the book to make his own chronological version of the White Album, and that he had to make several command decisions about the track order because some songs were recorded on the same day.

Hi. My Name Is Nathan Carson and I Am In A Cult. A Really Big Cult.

I give Honey Pie a pass since it contains John Lennon's best ever first take guitar solo.

I'm waiting for the chronological box set to come out.

all the songs in chronological order. $600, 910 copies.

You can't fully appreciate the music of the Beatles until you listen to it in the exact sequence it was recorded.

that clerk at Powells was just ahead of the curve.

Yes, to get the full experience you have to listen to the mono mix, then go eat a sandwich and come back and listen to the stereo mix. Just like the Beatles did.

Sarnie

except for Sgt Pepper where someone else has to listen to the stereo mix whilst you are out, for you to fully appreciate it.

Regarding Music Hall, I would say Paul's best through and through pre-rock pastiche would be "Baby's Request" on his "Back To The Egg" album although that one was of course more Tin Pan Alley than Music Hall.
Otherwise, I like it better when he puts elements of music hall into more time-typical pop songs, such as "Penny Lane", "Fixing a Hole" and "Your Mother Should Know". Queen would later do this excellently too, on tracks such as "Seaside Rendez-Vous", "Lazing On a Sunday Afternoon" and "Good Company".

xpost: also Chronological Box set comes with a 'replica' unpeeled Yesterday And Today. Saliva not included.

I give Honey Pie a pass since it contains John Lennon's best ever first take guitar solo.

― Darin, Sunday, October 4, 2009 7:31 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

First take? Ha, probably because he wasn't going to want to hear it ever again...

Isn't it on one of these formats where it sort of gets faded out earlier? (i.e. either the mono or the stereo?) The solo, I mean...

I think I need serious help because all I want to do is listen to White Album out takes. Is there a twelve step program for people like me?