Refusing to Let It Be: The Beatles in Stereo

Washington Post ^ | September 8, 2009 | Matt Hurwitz

[La Lydia]

In the late '60s, with a little prodding from his sons, my father finally gave in and replaced his monaural Garrard turntable with a stereo one. Suddenly, Sgt. Pepper's band sounded so much bigger. And clearer. I could hear two distinct guitars playing, not just a generic guitar sound. Two decades later, in 1988, I finally broke down and bought a CD player and the first of many Beatles CDs -- now, that was a jump from what I'd been hearing on vinyl for years. There were so many more instruments I'd never noticed. And notes I'd never heard.

On Wednesday, things are about to change once again, as the sound of the Beatles' music takes another giant leap forward. Twenty-two years after the original release of the Fab Four's British catalogue on CD, the group's music will finally be reissued, the release bearing the fruits of a 4 1/2 -year project by engineers at EMI's Abbey Road Studios to remaster the entire catalogue...

So what's different from those CDs you already have? As any surviving Beatle will tell you -- and both are known to say it -- the Beatles were "a great little band" -- a rock band. What comes through on the new masters is the power and quality of the original recordings of that rock band -- the quality the Beatles themselves would have heard and intended when those recordings were created.

That means you can now hear John Lennon's raucous vocal in all its powerfully shredded glory...George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" reveals the presence of a Ringo Starr kick drum that was integral to rock's greatest rhythm section, alongside Paul McCartney's bass -- a beat that drives the song with a robust heartbeat not heard before....

[Little Pig]

I have noticed that I can hear very high frequencies, but it’s the low frequencies that matter in this case. Humans can’t truly hear low frequencies, but can feel them, and that adds to the “depth” and resonance of the sound. Low frequencies are often part of the way we distinguish one sound from another, and can help with the differentiation of various instruments i.e. a pedal tone on an organ (a real, wind-driven one) sounds different from a low bass viol string or a tuba.

[angkor]

I bought the Cirque Soleil compilation “Love” a few years ago and the remastering of that material (by George Martin and his son Giles) was absolutely unbelievable. I heard notes, chords, riffs, and vocals that I’d never heard before (and I am old enough to have bought every Beatles album ever produced within days of first release).

I just put 5 albums (err... CDs) in my Amazon cart.

[weef]

The stereo remasters will also be sold individually

Good point! I checked at Amazon and they've sold out their initial mono boxed sets. I may have to stand in line at Best Buy now. Although I may be busy that day if my Beatles Rockband gets here early in the day.

[mysterio]

I think music on vinyl sounds better than digital music. I’m not being nostalgic here. A good record played on a good stereo sounds...fuller? Don’t know the right word. Anyway...

I agree totally. Rolling Stone had a blurb on the new Beatles mixes, and they repeated their 1987 review that the CD versions were shriller than the vinyl. This time around, they fixed it, apparently.

Here's what your ears have already told you when it comes to digital vs analog :



The flipside, though, is that when there's silence on a digital recording, you get silence. On analog, there are often pops from dust, scratches, etc.

But I still dig the vinyl format.

[MrLuigi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Li1Hml5oE0

[RRTJSP...........]

Ringo IS a very good drummer. He has said in interviews, and on the Beatles anthology CD’s that his job was to keep a solid beat, and flop his hair around.........

I was in London in ‘05 and went on a Beatles Tour. It was great! We walked around Pickadilly, went to Paul’s business offices, (we could see the gold records through an upstairs window, they had spot lights on them) Went to the (it is now a men’s clothing store) building where Apple Records was, and where the Four Lads played on the roof in Let it Be.....

Went to Trident studios, and then took the Tube out to St John’s Wood, where Abbey Road studios is located. It is still a working studio, and all types of music is recorded there. There is a white fence out in front, with graffiti painted on it. Our guide told us that every month, Abbey Road has the fence repainted white, so the Beatles fans have something new to write on.....

THEN, the really cool part. Our guide told us we could walk across the cross walk, and have our pictures taken. It began to rain, and nobody cared. Suddenly, total strangers became best friends, as we handed our cameras to someone willing, and then, (the traffic is dangerous, you have to be careful) each of us walked the cross walk to the other side of the street. Some people took their shoes off to look like Paul, and put cigs in their right hands.......I had a pretty French girl take as many pictures as she could as I walked across the street......I could just as well been walking on air........

By the way, there were three pictures taken for the album cover. The police stopped traffic for a short period of time. The photographer was on a ladder next to the street light. Two pictures were taken walking to the right, and one walking to the left.........

[angkor]

>>>> A CD is a CD— they all sound the same. These are OUR records. <<<<<

I very distinctly recall the first time I ever listened to anything on CD and commenting “It sounds synthetic.”

That was my clear first impression.

It took a while to get used to it.

[reagan_fanatic]

I still have a working 8-track in my 67 Chevy Caprice

Oh, man - I learned how to drive in my Dad's '67 Chevy Bel-Air station wagon. I drove the living snot out of that car. I wish I still had it *sigh*

[libh8er]

I can only afford Klipsch but I like them

Here's one of the best kept secrets in the audio world. Get a pair of Bose 601 series III(**NOT Series IV** !!) speakers (back from the day when Bose actually made high quality floor standing speakers)from eBay or Craiglist for not more than $300 -- and get ready to be blown away. They are widely regarded as the best speakers Bose ever made, and they weren't even their top of the line.

[Lancey Howard]

Gimme Johnny and the Moondogs.

[La Lydia]

Maybe. This is interesting;

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/09/remastered-beatles-tracks-bit-torrent-today-itunes-tomorrow/

[Spunky]

"I think music on vinyl sounds better than digital music."

I agree with you. Back in the 60's we bought an RCA surround sound player and you could hear every little sound bouncing around the room like it was an orchestra surrounding you.

[duckman]

“A good record played on a good stereo sounds...fuller?”
Agree. A high end mag cartridge with a high end vacuum tube amp is superior.IMO. I remember doing “A/B”,s at my local Crazy Eddies with my own albums, noticing a big difference.

[Lancey Howard]

I learned to drive in my Dad’s ‘65 Chevelle but ended up with my Mom’s ‘63 Impala (283, Powerglide).

[CodeToad]

“CD deliberately “clips” frequencies above ~20,000Hz or below ~50Hz, on the assumption that most people can’t hear them anyway,”

I’d be thrilled to find you can hear those frequencies. You’d be the first human to be able to.

[CodeToad]

“Also the ritual of the LP is much more satisfying.”

Finally, the truth.

[Maverick68]

Sounds like you had a great time....
Ringo is my son’s favorite Beatle, he calls him the “tough guy”...(obviously because of his looks)

[angkor]

Go here:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Beatles/e/B000APTK6K/

Then click on the link on the right-hand menu:

“Pre-order the remastered CDs”

[wagglebee]

I haven't been to Vegas since "Love" came out, but I'm dying to go see it. I'm a Cirque du Soleil fanatic and all the reviews I have seen for "Love" have been incredible.

I'm 42, so I really wasn't around for anything when it came out. I do have all of the original albums on vinyl and I've always preferred them to the CDs that came out in the late 80s. The remastered stuff has been in the works for a long time and I'm hoping they've done it right.

[curth]

As any surviving Beatle will tell you — and both are known to say it — the Beatles were “a great little band” — a rock band.

---

For the record, there are three surviving Beatles, not two , or “both” as the article incorrectly states. Pete Best was a Beatle for more than two years, is still alive and well and last year put out one of the best cd’s by any former Beatle, titled: Hayman’s Green.

http://www.bignoisenow.com/petebest.html
Samples:
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7731570