Beatles Remasters in 2007? Any News? (1 Viewer)

The current CDs of the Beatles albums were released in 1987. Next year they will be 20 years old. Anyone know if Apple is going to release newly remastered versions in 2007? I think the 40th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band would be a good milestone on which to re-release the catalog, maybe even issuing special editions with the mono and stereo mixes.

There are countless threads on this, but no news. I think there was a rumor on this board about an album called "Heavy" or something like that that would feature more of their rock songs, and possibly with an unreleased song. That is about all I've heard of anything.

And yes, I would rebuy practically all of their albums with a good remaster and the mono tracks included as well.

No. I wouldn't expect anything until the Beatles settle their suit with EMI over past royalties.

It looks like the remasters are finally on the way!

Mojo, an excellent British music mag, is reporting that some staffers got invited to take a listen to ten remastered tracks from the White Album and word is they sound like taking a sheet of glass off of the original CDs.

It seems that all of the core albums (including Yellow Sub, Magical Mystery Tour, and the Past Masters catch-alls) are prepped for release, and each album may be released as a deluxe version. The Hollywood Bowl concert (released on LP in '77) is unfortunately singled out as not being included in the lineup, no word on whether we might finally see the first public release of the Christmas album. There's also no indication as to whether additional tracks will be included (which is probably the deciding point for me as to whether I snatch all these up in the first few weeks of release or take my time to acquire the collection).

Naturally, there are some conflicting reports from people on the Steve Hoffman forum who claim to be in the know, regarding which mixes will be included (the only thing everyone seems to agree on is the inclusion of the original mono mixes; whether or not the stereo mixes will be newly created and the possibility of the '87 Rubber Soul/Help! mixes being retained changes depending on who you hear it from), whether or not 5.1 mixes will be available, and when we'll see them released--Mojo says to expect them in 2009, but some people think that a 40th anniversary White Album remaster is in the works for November to kick things off.

I came here (HTF) looking to see what had been mentioned about the latest remaster rumors. I'm a DJ at a classic rock station here in Tulsa and our prep service (Premiere Prep) released a story saying that we will get 2-disc sets. First disc will have both the stereo and mono mixes. The second disc will have 5.1 mixes. This raises more questions than answers but I for one will be ordering these as they come out. I hope this works out this time!

It would be nice to finally have the mono version of Sgt. Pepper, if that is indeed going to be released.

As far as the rest go- I already own all the official CDs, so there's gonna have to be something really spectacular about them for me to buy them all again.

Too bad they're not releasing 2-channel SACDs.

I own a couple of copies of the mono. Sgt. Pepper. And they cost me a bundle....

Yeah, that's my position as well. I now own around 275 LPs of their music, and over 150 CDs. I collect rarer stuff much of the time, including multiple formats of similarly-titled (same tracks) songs. It's a hobby I've been working on since 1969.

I know- I've been trying to find an affordable copy on eBay for years. I kept getting outbid so I finally gave up.

Miel,

I own about seven copies of Sgt. Pepper on LP. Some of these are the originals (three), while a few are reissues. I own another four copies of the album on CD, including a CD of alternate takes of most of the tracks. Collecting is fun, but it can at times be expensive.

Brad, this would be great news. What is the time frame . . . when will you get the 2-disc sets? I assume we are talking about 2009 (it's too late probably at this time to roll out a major ad campaign for Christmas 2008, but I could be wrong).

Some at SHF are still skeptical that we will ever see Beatles' remasters. I disagree. There are huge amounts of money to be made by releasing the entire Beatles' catalog, with both upgraded sound and packaging. I think I know human nature . . . I don't care how much $$$ the surviving Beatles and others have, no one in their right mind would walk around from the windfall. I'll buy them in a heartbeat.

What I really wanna know is if we'll get bonus tracks. I'll eventually buy them all but bonus tracks would really be an incentive to get them sooner than later.

I found a mono Sgt. Pepper LP (a reissue, natch) at a used record store a few years back...$10.

I'd bite on this in a heart beat if 5.1 remixes equel to LOVE were released in conjunction with the original mono/stereo. A DVD with 5.1 would hold the bonus tracks too in original form, at least they do when the FLAMING LIPS put out their CD/DVDs.

I'm guessing my report earlier in the thread is either premature or just plain wrong. There was a small follow-up printed that "people" had got to sample the white album but there were no specifics as to who heard it. My guess is they are reporting internet rumors. Too bad. I'd buy these reissues in a heartbeat.