Beatles Remastered Catalog posted for pre-order on Amazon.uk & HMV.uk! (1 Viewer)

[Ockeghem]

Upon further thought, I think it's optional.

Pro: John wrote and recorded them. They were not released as solo material. The 'Threetles' added layers and gave the tracks their final shape for release. They were released under the legal authority of The Beatles (tm).

Con: There is no evidence that they were intended for use as Beatles tracks. They were written and recorded by John Lennon during a period when the Beatles were not working together, as a band, on recording projects.

 

[GuruAskew]

I don't have a problem with the songs. If they thought they could remaster the Anthology releases and make them sound noticeably better I'd be all for it.

I just don't think Anthology content belongs in these releases. The original '87 cds are outdated and that's what they're addressing.

Again, now the stuff from the early 90's like the Anthology and the BBC Sessions will be the portion of the Beatles catalog that can benefit from remastering and they can devote the time to do that.

But as it stands you have everything up to "BBC Sessions" that sounds pretty poor and that is being rectified.

 

[Keith Paynter]

Since YKMNLUTN was a mono b-side, and mono on Past Masters, and stereo (but incomplete) in the Anthology, I would hope each version appears on the mono and stereo PM remasters respectively, although the stereo mix (like many of the seesion outakes in Anthology) used modern digital reverb for ambience, where bootleg recordings of session reels were dry.

 

[Albert_M]

I don't see how they would be out of place added on to the end of Past Master vol 2 which is not an album with any coherence to begin with.

These are Beatles songs and since the Past Masters will be updated, why not throw them on there for complete singles purposes?

 

[GuruAskew]

The "Past Masters" comps were made up of singles and b-sides that were previously-released.

At the time of the 1987 CD releases everything present was something that was released on vinyl before.

Basically all of these tracks could be represented in a vintage vinyl collection in 1970 whereas the "Anthology" stuff wasn't unreleased until the 90's.

There's a 25-year-plus gap between the 1970 release of "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number") on the "Let it Be" B-Side and the 1995 release of "Free as a Bird" so yeah, there is a huge difference.

 

[Craig S]

FWIW, Bill, I think your estimates are pretty reasonable. I'm budgeting for a $650-$700 day, myself. Luckily I'm buying a LOT less BDs, DVDs & CDs this year than I have in the past, so I should have the scratch.

I find it odd that all this stuff is coming out on one day. The Beatles have been dribbling product out so slowly over the past couple of decades. The original CD releases came out over a 10-month period (if I recall correctly). To get this massive product dump all at once is both a blessing and a curse.

 

[Albert_M]

No there isn't. You know my name is as odd as it gets (i like it don't get me wrong).

As stated, Past Masters was a way to collect all of the non album songs - not singles but songs (across the universe).

This disrupts no flow - because there is no flow and only adds to the historical context of Beatles songs.

 

[Joel Fontenot]

So, do you suppose that they had to do a new needledrop from an original 45 for the remastered Past Masters version of "Love Me Do" like they had to do the first time?

 

[GuruAskew]

Yeah and so do all the other scores of tracks on the Anthology.

So yeah, they should just compile a big 8-disc "Past Masters Anthology" hybrid release to get all the non-album tracks. They can throw "Let it Be... Naked" on there too while they're at it and make it 10 discs.

Or, you know, they could just leave "Past Masters" as a vinyl-era compilation like its been for the past 22 years, remaster the stuff from '87 that is in desperate need of remastering and leave "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" on the Anthology like they've been for 13 years and call it good.

Again, those tracks have no place on this release. This is a remastered release focusing on the original Beatles canon, the officially-released material from 1962 to 1970.

You could arguably lump the "Let it Be"-era releases into the "posthumous" category with BBC, Anthology, LIB...N etc. but once again the 25-year gap comes into play here. If you can't understand why recordings from 1995 aren't being included then I guess this is just a lost cause.

In 1987 everything the Beatles released was issued on CD. This is just an updated version of that.

Maybe we'll get "Anthology" remasters in 2017.

 

[KevinJ]

No SACD's but possibly blu ray at some point.

 

[Albert_M]

Vinyl era compilation? Are you serious? That's your argument???


There is no logic to that. Real Love and Free as a Bird were two singles and putting them on Past Master Volume 2 would give them representation in the collection.



Exactly, including those two songs would be an updated version of that.

 

[AnthonyC]

Not exactly. The Live at the Hollywood Bowl album is still OOP, the Christmas flexis have never seen a wide release, and the 1982 "The Beatles Movie Medley" (a surprisingly well-edited Stars on 45-esque track with the original recordings) has never been released on a legit CD. There's ample space on Past Masters for that last one at least; even if it wasn't entirely a commissioned piece, it's worth hearing.

 

[GuruAskew]

What I've yet to see is the logic focusing on the two newest Beatles recordings on a release focusing on upgrading the oldest CD releases. You are literally the only person I've seen calling for these tracks to be included, and I've read the impossibly-long Hoffman forum threads. I need to get a new cellphone and I'd like it if one of these box sets included a kickass new Blackberry or something but that doesn't mean it would be an appropriate inclusion in this collection.

Again, they belong on the Anthology releases and the unanimous consensus is that those releases sound much better than the original '87 releases AND they're still available.

This isn't intended to be a complete collection of Beatles recordings, nor is it a complete collection of Beatles singles. Once again, this is an upgrade of the outdated '87 releases (and that's precise, everything points to it being identical to the track) and I fail to see anything that suggests otherwise. Maybe you can start a petition to get everything from BBC Sessions to "LOVE" remastered and included in a more comprehensive box set but that's not what this is.

You also seem to be hung up on the fact that these two tracks were issued as singles. "Past Masters" was never strictly a singles comp. There are singles, b-sides, compilation tracks, alternate versions etc. It's very much an odds-and-sods collection of tracks and I fail to see how "FaaB" and "RL" are any more eligible for this kind of release than the other 153 "Anthology" tracks, and again, those are still readily available... on "Anthology" 1, 2 and 3. "Bad Boy" and the "Wildlife" version of "Across the Universe" aren't singles or b-sides so why are they more eligible than all the non-single "Anthology" tracks?

But yeah, this is getting ridiculous. If you want those two tracks you can buy the singles (you're obviously aware that they exist) or you can buy the Anthology releases. This has been the case for the past 13 years. You don't need to wait until 9-9-09 for that. If you want CD copies of the 62-70 "canon" that aren't embarrassingly-outdated that is something that will have to wait until 9-9-09 and that's what we should be discussing.

 

[Albert_M]

They should be included because it allow for these two hits to be represented in the collection as this is the time that it is being updated.

I read Hoffman too so what?

I am not hung up on anything. I am merely stating that it's an opportunity to include them.

But by all means go on about arbitrary narrowly defined era's etc etc.

Whether or not I own the Anthology collections is not relevant to my point.

Nor I am debating the merits of the Across the Universe on Past Masters vs the inclusion of other anthology songs because that is irrelevant as well.

 

[Brad M]

Is the single version of A Day In The Life anywhere in either of these boxes?

I'll be buying both boxsets on day of release and have been holding off on owning several Beatles discs while waiting on this. Can't wait!

 

[GuruAskew]

But they're not updating the tracklists or anything. Once again, that's not the intention.

"Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" obviously aren't on the agenda. It's that simple. You've done a very good job of establishing that you have an idea of what this release should include that isn't shared by anyone else. I've scanned the official Apple/EMI press release and I haven't seen your name so I see this:


and I just have to say that my point is that your point is irrelevant.

 

[Albert_M]

I am merely stating that it's an opportunity to add them on there since they are 2 hits from the group.

But you don't care because they weren't on vinyl in the 1960's.

Your point is noted.

 

[GuruAskew]

I also don't care because they're already well-represented and widely available on CD. I can walk about 15 feet from where I'm sitting and get my copies in a matter of seconds.

Ultimately this project is a 4-year effort to remaster material that needed to be remastered whereas what you want is something that anyone with a CD burner can do.

 

[Albert_M]

So are other songs, so what?

 

[GuruAskew]

I don't care about the other songs that are widely available in acceptable quality.

I care about the material that is only represented on outdated 22-year-old CD's.

So I'm very pleased that they are addressing that specific issue.

I have 16 crappy-sounding Beatles CDs from 1987 that will be replaced by 16 new CDs on 09-09-09.

How "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" even enter into the equation is beyond me.