Beatles Capitol Albums Vol. 2 (1 Viewer)

[Josh Simpson]

Sorry everybody..

I was going to just post on Beatles tunes and the announcement to iTunes, but I clicked on refresh and saw a new thread so...

 

[AnthonyC]

The Capitol Albums aren't remixes but they aren't the real deal either; they're the releases made available in America in the 60s with less tracks and (sometimes) different titles than the Beatles-approved British versions. However, for completists like myself, there are a variety of different mixes included on the sets that make them worthwhile.

Personally, I would recommend starting off with the British Rubber Soul or Revolver, which can be purchased individually. Two of their finest albums although the 1987 CD issues are sonically pretty poor. Abbey Road is another good one but I'd go for one of the other two first.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Stan, I'd say that if you're just starting out, go for the standard CD releases (British). As for which albums to recommend, that's hard for me because I'm biased and think they're all necessary and worthwhile and it really depends on your personal tastes and age. Some younger folks might prefer the "later" Beatles, while some like the "early" Beatles.

If I was going to suggest just a few albums, without knowing you, I'd say RUBBER SOUL, REVOLVER and THE BEATLES ("The White Album").

 

[Brian L]

Why not start with the Red or Blue collections? Red will cover early Beatles, Blue their later period.

I would echo Joe that ALL Beatles music is for the most part essential, but you have to start somewhere.

Brian

 

[Marvin]

So would I, which is why I wouldn't recommend buying "greatest hits" Beatles albums.

One could always choose one album from each era (A Hard Day's Night from the earlier albums, Rubber Soul or Revolver from their middle years and the white album or Abbey Road from the later years) as a sampler and then fill in as necessary.

Or you could just buy them all, one by one, in chronological order.

Get the British albums, but as mentioned elsewhere, they're in the process of being remastered but with no announced release dates and it's not yet known if these will be an improvement over the currently available versions.

 

[Keith Paynter]

Amazon now has the 'corrected' version of this set in stock, and lists an 800 number to contact EMI about replacing your defective "Help" & "Rubber Soul" CDs.

For those who are casual listeners, this may not be much of a purchase, but for true collectors and afficianados, this is a very welcome box set. The original Parlophone LP's, singles and EP's represent the correct versions, and the Beatles always preferred that they didn't "gyp" customers (singles were singles, albums were albums), but the Capitol albums reflect a different marketing approach, and therefore due to these marketing demands (and in order to meet US release schedules), early stereo mixes by George Martin often appeared on the Capitol albums along with stereo debuts of mono singles.

Some differences are very subtle others are very noticeable - compare the mono and stereo versions of "Help!"'s title track for completely different vocal takes resulting in different lyrics in the first verse ("...and now these days are gone..."/"...but now these days are gone..."). This is not a Capitol exclusive, however, since these two also appear in England.

I am interested in what Capitol will do with "Yesterday And Today"...(1) will they issue the original butcher cover, and (2) will they issue the "fake" stereo cuts and early stereo mixes of their original stereo release, or will it contain the "corrected" stereo second issue.