This September, a band whose stratospheric rise to fame and precipitous dissolution captivated the world nearly 40 years ago is making headlines again with an extensive reissue and remastering of its entire catalogue.
I'm talking, of course, about The Beatles. Last month's gargantuan 29-CD release marked the first time listeners could hear the entirety of the band's catalog in both stereo and mono - an addition in which diehard fans will surely rejoice. But more importantly, the remasters are a thrilling revitalization of the songs and sounds that first drew people into the band's world of psychedelia and sonic innovation.
In the past 22 years since the Fab Four first made the transition from vinyl to CD, their catalog has remained largely untouched. Beatles fans have had to put up with records that sound tinny and distorted by today's standards. While artists like The Rolling Stones have reissued their catalogs several times, Liverpool's most famous rockers have been woefully behind the times.
The remasters remedy this sorry state of affairs. The stereo versions of The Beatles' 13 studio albums and "Past Masters" sound fantastic across the board. And the mono versions (audio recorded through a single channel), which The Beatles themselves preferred until the late 1960s, outshine the more modern stereo technology in almost all of the earlier recordings.
The audio engineers, led by longtime Beatles associate Allan Rouse, spent four years painstakingly remastering the catalog and in the process, breathed new life and vigor into the music. The instruments have greater clarity and presence, the dense mixes reveal previously hidden details, and the lower registers (the modern "oomph" factor) have been ramped up, adding greater depth and range to every track. Ringo Starr's drumming is deeper and punchier, while Paul McCartney's underrated bass playing sounds utterly transformed: His bass lines are now distinct musical expressions, no longer the mess of clumsy distortions listeners have grown accustomed to.
But are these albums authentic? That is to say, has any of the charm of the originals been lost in the process of remastering? This is not an idle question. With more music than ever undergoing digital enhancements, the purity and fundamental musicality of albums often suffers. Indeed part of the appeal of The Beatles lays in their ability to be a pop/rock band while exploring new, offbeat and sometimes downright strange sonic territory.
Fortunately, fans who grew up listening to The Beatles will not feel betrayed. If anything, the remasters crystallize what we all imagined lay beneath the dusty veneer of the 1987 CDs. The audio engineers carried out the task with the care of restoring the Sistine Chapel, and all the little flourishes that were once too hazy to discern have been sonically defogged and now shine through brilliantly.
What does this mean for the average listener? Well for starters, the remasters are not in any way remixes; what they are depends on the quality of your speakers or headphones. On a good system, listeners will feel a vibrancy and level of detail clearly lacking from the originals. "It's not smarter or more sophisticated," Paul McCartney said recently of the remastering effort in a Billboard Q&A. "It's just more real. It's more true to the noise we were actually making."
The Beatles' earlier albums sound particularly great, benefitting from a previously vacant fullness, richness and larger sound space - especially in mono. The first 10 seconds of "Drive My Car" showcase the sonic improvements to Harrison's twangy opening guitar chords, Ringo's sharp, percussive drum strikes, McCartney's mellifluous bass playing and the full extension of Lennon's vocals. "I Saw Her Standing There" also sounds clearer and brighter, and you can really feel John Lennon's vocal chords shred on the rebooted "Twist and Shout."
The story gets slightly more complicated with the band's later records. For instance, though The Beatles themselves often insisted that "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was best heard in mono, the stereo remaster blows away its less technologically advanced cousin. The title track has been treated to a magnificent sonic restoration - listen to Harrison's guitar scream in the opening riff and the blare of newly invigorated trumpets throughout. And where it once sounded tinny, lifeless and canned, "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" (the eclectic, vaudevillian brainchild of John Lennon) creates a holographic soundstage revealing trippy bells, buzzes and other percussive elements easily missed in the 1987 digital issue.
The band's swan song, "Abbey Road," also unfolds like never before. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" hits listeners with a powerful wave of sound that bounds from the highest highs to the lowest ends of the register. And "She Came in the Bathroom Window" bursts with explosive energy. Nearly every track, from "Come Together" to "Something" to "Octopus's Garden," features more punch and a grander feel.
These new versions are a quantifiable improvement over their predecessors in terms of both clarity and detail. But they should also be applauded for showing restraint. I urge anyone who has even a passing interest in one of the greatest rock bands of all time to look into these remasters. Seriously consider owning the music as part of an album. Given the rise of iTunes, our generation has migrated toward buying singles rather than investing in often carefully constructed, full-length records. The Beatles were meant to be listened to in album form, and here they sound better than ever before.
Pros The new CDs add a muchneeded "oomph" factor with added bass. Vocals, guitars and mellotron flourishes are also tastefully restored. Most importantly, the remasters remain true (and even come closer) to the authentic Beatles sound.
Cons The sonic enhancements quickly evaporate on sub-par sound systems and headphones.
5 Paws
Below are a few listening suggestions listed by album in chronological order. Anyone interested in gaining a deeper appreciation of The Beatles should listen to albums in their entirety (rather than singles). But I have tried to include a balanced mix of "greatest hits" and lesser-known songs for you to explore. I strongly encourage you to venture off the beaten path. Nearly everyone is familiar with "Hey Jude", but enterprising listeners will soon find that many of The Beatles‘ more esoteric offerings can be just as delightful. Songs like "Rocky Racoon" or "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" are likely astonish and amuse neophytes expecting the standard fare of '60s rock and roll.
If you don't know where to start, I suggest listening to all of "Sgt. Pepper's." Not only is it widely considered one of the greatest rock albums of all time (number one on Rolling Stone's top 500 albums), but it's also very accessible. It was designed as a concept album and, with that in mind, features a progression of songs that follows a loosely thematic arc and forms a gestalt worthy of its critical acclaim. One of The Beatles‘ greatest strengths lies in their consistent improvement and evolution musically. From "Rubber Soul" onward, expect to encounter many more songs worthy of interest than I have room to list. So, without further ado:
Please Please Me [1963]
-"I Saw Her Standing There"
-"Love Me Do"
-"Twist and Shout"
With The Beatles [1963]
-"All My Loving"
-"Roll Over Beethoven"
-"I Wanna Be Your Man""Money"
A Hard Day's Night [1964]
-"A Hard Day's Night"
-"And I Love Her"
-"Can't Buy Me Love"
Beatles For Sale [1964]
-"No Reply"
-"Eight Days a Week"
Help [1965]
-"Help"
-"The Night Before"
-"Ticket to Ride"
-"Dizzy Miss Lizzy"
Rubber Soul [1965]
-"Drive My Car"
-"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"
-"Michelle"
-"I'm Looking Through You"
Revolver [1966]
-"I'm Only Sleeping"
-"For No One"
-"Tomorrow Never Knows"
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [1967]
-"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band / With a Little Help From My Friends"
-"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
-"Getting Better"
Magical Mystery Tour [1967]
-"The Fool on the Hill"
-"I Am the Walrus"
-"Strawberry Fields Forever"
-"All You Need Is Love"
The Beatles (White Album) [1968]
-"Back in the USSR"
-"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
-"Happiness is a Warm Gun"
-"Blackbird""Rocky Raccoon"
-"Helter Skelter"
-"Revolution 1"
Yellow Submarine [1969]
Abbey Road [1969]
"Maxwell's Silver Hammer"
-"Octopus's Garden"
-"I Want You (She's So Heavy)"
-"She Came in Through the Bathroom Window"
Let It Be [1970]
"Across the Universe"
-"I Me Mine"
-"For You Blue"
Past Masters (Volumes 1 and 2) [1988] (Compilation)
-"From Me to You"
-"She Loves You"
-"I Want to Hold Your Hand"
-"Day Tripper"
-"We Can Work it Out"
- "Lady Madonna"
If you are a diehard Beatles fan and authenticity is your goal, I'd recommend the following:
Get the mono for "Please Please Me," "With The Beatles," "Hard Days Night," "Beatles for Sale" and "Help."
Get the stereo for "Rubber Soul," "Revolver," "Magical Mystery Tour," "The Beatles (White Album)," "Yellow Submarine," "Let It Be" and "Abbey Road."
Get both for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." The differences between
the two versions are interesting enough to merit separate listens.
On Amazon.com, the stereo box set goes for roughly $200, while the mono box set goes for $240. Individual stereo albums can be purchased for $13 each ("Past Masters" and "The Beatles [White Album]") are slightly more.
For those so inclined, The Beatles Rockband was released the same day as the albums and uses 50 remastered tracks with more available in the future for download. I highly recommend it as a novel and visceral way to experience The Beatles.
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