Beatles Anthology Review??? (1 Viewer)

[Tom Ryan]

Well, I ordered the set. I've got all the Beatles albums on cd from Rubber Soul through Abbey Road. I'll get the rest eventually (and if I get the urge to listen to one, I can just download it). I really can't resist this documentary, having listened to all three volumes of the Anthology cd sets recently. I'm sold!

 

[Jeremy Jones]

Absolute must have for fans! I've only seen the original version on ABC television. There is SO much more put in! And a lot more of the great 5.1 music! I'll put up with the not so great video since we can hear where the space went. Add me in with the folks wanting the Beatles catalog on DVD audio or dts audio discs. This is the best dvd I've got since Fellowship of the Ring E.E.

 

[Paul D G]

1 - Regarding the laserdisc tracklist - Steve posted a link to a site with the exact same list I have. But just the same I slapped it up here:

http://members.cox.net/themgnt/anthology.htm

2 - Regarding the SACD comment I made: I can't recall where exactly that I read that it was planned for next year specifically, but I do recall thinking that this cements my decision to get an SACD player, but I might wait until the discs start coming out. I've done some net searching for where exactly I might have read it and, at least for right now, I've found an interview with McCartney from November in which he mentions hearing the back catalog remixed into 5.1. The important bit:



Link Removed

I still don't think that's were I read it but at least some of you will stop thinking it was an April Fool joke or something.

-paul

 

[Joseph G Blea]

There was a discussion about The Beatles in a hi-res audio format in the Music Area on this very forum.....
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hlight=beatles

 

[Derek Miner]

Regarding the video quality of the Anthology...

I'm of the belief that the "artifacts" in the video are part of the original production. This series was filmed and edited in 1994 and 1995, primarily designed as a television program and VHS release when DVD hadn't even hit the market. It seems likely to me that the "edge enhancement" would have been applied to the material when transferred before editing.

And despite the incredible quality of some archive clips in the Anthology, there are some appalling choices of material in there as well. The videos for "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out" spring to mind, as I've seen some very clean copies of these without all the banding and tearing evident on the Anthology. And the old MGM/UA video of Yellow Submarine was better looking than the clips included in the Anthology (though nothing really compares to the Yellow Sub DVD!)

 

[Jack Briggs]

Finally received my set on Friday.

My only problem in watching episodes one through three was with me: bone tired and sleepy.

However, the video quality as seen on my bedroom system's display was fine. Consider the source material, people! And the sound was even better (listening, so far, to the DD track).

I couldn't be more pleased as of now.

By the way, included in the shipping carton were a couple of copies of a black-and-white poster featuring headshots of The Beatles made during the Hard Day's Night sessions.

 

[Louis C]

Just finished listening to the entire set.

Highlights:

Astounding performances of "A Day in the Life," "I am the Walrus," and "In My Life" in 5.1 DD

Discussion of Abbey Road and Tomorrow Never Knows on the bonus disc

The videos with 5.1 DD of Real Love and Free as a Bird

Lowlights:

The bonus disc arrived scuffed because it separated from the jewel case during shipping or packaging, resulting in loud popping sounds each time a menu item is selected

Lack of details on the break-up period which was better documented in "The Compleat Beatles"

In summary:

This may be considered the best DVD set issued in 2003
It left me wanting more complete songs in 5.1 DD than was in the set, although there were quite a few included.

If you enjoy the Beatles music at all, you have to buy this set.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I'm of the belief that the "artifacts" in the video are part of the original production. This series was filmed and edited in 1994 and 1995, primarily designed as a television program and VHS release when DVD hadn't even hit the market. It seems likely to me that the "edge enhancement" would have been applied to the material when transferred before editing.

I have compared the DVD and the LD. The LD does look a bit better to my eyes, more detail in facial close-ups and in shadow detail. The DVD is likely just too compressed. Two 5.1 tracks and an uncompressed PCM track (and a zillion subtitle tracks) is probably just too much data going to non-visual content.

That said, even the laserdisc often looks a bit digital (in a bad way). Could be excessive noise reduction, or just a mediocre telecine. And of course the laserdisc has more analog noise.

But after viewing the laserdisc, I have no doubt that the DVD could have looked better, even if they didn't start from scratch (new telecines, new video masters).

Also worth noting is that even the PCM stereo audio on the DVD has remixing (compared to the laserdisc). I read about this on the Steve Hoffman forum and then checked it out myself. This is very apparent on the 'Rain' and 'Paperback Writer' videos. I think the original mixes are better, thought the clarity is improved on the new versions. I'm thinking the stereo for the entire Anthology may simply be a fold-down of the 5.1.

 

[Jon Smith]

so which songs on the Anthology are complete / full length ?

thanks

 

[Paul D G]

I've heard about a site with a bit better breakdown of the Anth videos than the laserdisc based one I posted earlier. This one is baised on the videotape versions so the timecode isn't broken in half.

http://www.taloma.com/cwarwick/beatles.html

Apparently he will be updating it eventually for the DVD version.

-paul

 

[Ockeghem]

There are a ton of threads on the Anthology (5-DVD) series. I thought I'd post some of my thoughts here.

I watched Part One of Anthology two nights ago, and it was superb. Sure, I'd seen many of the clips before, but hearing what the Beatles had to say about the formation of the group, and seeing the excellent montages that were accompanying much of the dialogue, sure was a treat.

An added bonus was hearing and seeing McCartney (while he was being interviewed) play tunes from their early days, as well as some music of other bands that were popular at the time. His playing was very clean -- I was quite impressed with how good it was for the Anthology series.

We watched part one again last night, and then followed it with a viewing of part two. Whomever was responsible for the editing during the opening segment of part two on the Please Please Me album ought to be commended. That was some of the best editing I've ever seen involving the Beatles aurally and visually. And when they got to the performances of Twist and Shout, the editing was again exceptional. Some of the tunes included on Please Please Me followed one another not only with regard to what was occurring visually, but also as far as key relationships are concerned. That was astonishing to hear, actually.

I've owned the Cavern clip for several years. Still, I've not seen nor heard Some Other Guy quite this way before. And whenever I hear the 1958 recording of the Fabs doing Holley's That'll Be the Day (b/w In Spite Of All the Danger), I get chills. Sure, I've owned both recordings via several means for many years, but hearing the actual acetate never fails to captivate me. And being able to track down that acetate would be quite an amazing thing. (N.B.: I've thought for years that John or Paul owned this record in their private collections; however, according to what I heard during part one last night, it is not in their possession at the current time.)

The clips were wonderful in places. Some I'd seen before, while others were new to me. I've owned the Sweden, Palladium, and Royal Variety concerts (both on video and on LP) since the late 1970s, but it was still great to see them in this condition. When they got around to doing the track-by-track analysis of With the Beatles, I was crossing my fingers that I'd see and hear a never-before-seen clip of my favorite track from that album, Not A Second Time, but it was not to be.

Concluding part two with the Beatles' arrival in America on February 7th, 1964 was very appropriate. And the concluding music (Leave My Kitten Alone for part one and One After 909 for part two) holds a special significance for me, as these tunes were difficult to come by in the mid-1970s. And speaking of rarer tunes, I was pleasantly surprised to hear I'll Be On My Way in the background accompanying some of the earlier footage. Someone really knew what they were doing with this series. This is a fabulous piece of history, and I'm thrilled that we have it for all time.

I will probably watch part two again before moving on to part three. There is so much material here, that watching each part once is simply not enough to take it all in.

Addendum: After re-watching The Real Buddy Holly Story, I was reminded that the acetate is shown there. Perhaps Ringo forgot who owns the record at this point? I was a bit confused by his statement, seeing as how Paul (at least in my mind) owned the original.

Another segment I found enchanting was how Paul related their travels to other towns in England for the sole purpose of ... learning guitar chords. His story of how he went to a neighboring town just to find out how to play a B7 chord, and how he would then return home to show his friends that he had learned it, was heartwarming. In a way, it reminded me of J. S. Bach's travels to see the playing of D. Buxtehude some 230 years earlier.