From The Quietus
The entire Beatles back catalogue has been digitally re-mastered for the first time and will be released worldwide on September 9th.
Each CD will come packaged with album art replicated from the original UK releases, as well as expanded booklets containing both original and newly written liner notes and rare photos.
An engineering team at Abbey Road Studios in London have worked for four years to re-master the records, using state-of-the-art recording technology alongside vintage equipment.
The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and Magical Mystery Tour, which became part of The Beatles’ core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987.
In addition, the collections Past Masters Vol. I and II are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set.
Within each CD’s new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the Past Masters set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album.
The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.
A second boxed set has been created with the collector in mind. The Beatles in Mono gathers together, in one place, all of the Beatles recordings that were mixed for a mono release. It will contain 10 of the albums with their original mono mixes, plus two further discs of mono masters (covering similar ground to the stereo tracks on Past Masters).
As an added bonus, the mono Help! and Rubber Soul discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD. These albums will be packaged in mini-vinyl CD replicas of the original sleeves with all original inserts and label designs retained.
Full Version: The Beatles' Entire Back Catalogue Remastered
Just saw this and actually did a spit take. Holy shit.
They ushered in the CD era with Sgt Pepper in 87, and it feels like they're ushering it out with this.
They ushered in the CD era with Sgt Pepper in 87, and it feels like they're ushering it out with this.
QUOTE
Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music are delighted to announce the release of the original Beatles catalogue, which has been digitally re-mastered for the first time, for worldwide CD release on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (9-9-09), the same date as the release of the widely anticipated "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game. Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released.
The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release.
The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and 'Magical Mystery Tour,' which became part of The Beatles' core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections 'Past Masters Vol. I and II' are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set.
Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the 'Past Masters' set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.
A second boxed set has been created with the collector in mind. 'The Beatles in Mono' gathers together, in one place, all of the Beatles recordings that were mixed for a mono release. It will contain 10 of the albums with their original mono mixes, plus two further discs of mono masters (covering similar ground to the stereo tracks on 'Past Masters'). As an added bonus, the mono "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD. These albums will be packaged in mini-vinyl CD replicas of the original sleeves with all original inserts and label designs retained.
Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalogue will continue. There is no further information available at this time.
The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release.
The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and 'Magical Mystery Tour,' which became part of The Beatles' core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections 'Past Masters Vol. I and II' are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set.
Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the 'Past Masters' set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.
A second boxed set has been created with the collector in mind. 'The Beatles in Mono' gathers together, in one place, all of the Beatles recordings that were mixed for a mono release. It will contain 10 of the albums with their original mono mixes, plus two further discs of mono masters (covering similar ground to the stereo tracks on 'Past Masters'). As an added bonus, the mono "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD. These albums will be packaged in mini-vinyl CD replicas of the original sleeves with all original inserts and label designs retained.
Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalogue will continue. There is no further information available at this time.
Forgive my skepticism, but is this solid-solid, or Stone Roses Reunion solid?
Above is a press release from Apple and EMI, from www.thebeatles.com/ so seems fairly kosher.
Yeah, just giving you some shit.
I know, playing stupid for the sake of it.
Think this means it's worth getting rid of the old CD's then?
Think this means it's worth getting rid of the old CD's then?
Funny, I don't see the name "Martin" in either of those clips.
Looks like Help! and Rubber Soul will be the same shitty 1987 digital mixes, since they go out of their way describing the special mono/stereo box set.
I'm fine with most of the original CDs. Beatles For Sale needed to be fixed, bad transfer on that one.
QUOTE
As an added bonus, the mono "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD.
I'm fine with most of the original CDs. Beatles For Sale needed to be fixed, bad transfer on that one.
full Press Release:
QUOTE
THE BEATLES' ENTIRE ORIGINAL RECORDED CATALOGUE REMASTERED BY APPLE CORPS LTD. AND EMI MUSIC FOR WORLDWIDE RELEASE ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 (9-9-09)
London, England - April 7, 2009 - Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music are delighted to announce the release of the original Beatles catalogue, which has been digitally re-mastered for the first time, for worldwide CD release on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (9-9-09), the same date as the release of the widely anticipated "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game. Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released.
The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release.
The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and 'Magical Mystery Tour,' which became part of The Beatles' core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections 'Past Masters Vol. I and II' are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set.
Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the 'Past Masters' set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.
A second boxed set has been created with the collector in mind. 'The Beatles in Mono' gathers together, in one place, all of the Beatles recordings that were mixed for a mono release. It will contain 10 of the albums with their original mono mixes, plus two further discs of mono masters (covering similar ground to the stereo tracks on 'Past Masters'). As an added bonus, the mono "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD. These albums will be packaged in mini-vinyl CD replicas of the original sleeves with all original inserts and label designs retained.
Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalogue will continue. There is no further information available at this time.
http://www.thebeatles.com
U.S. Media Contacts UK Media Contact
For Apple Corps Ltd.: For Apple Corps Ltd.:
Shore Fire Media MBC PR
Matt Hanks Moira Bellas
(718) 522-7171 / mhanks@shorefire.com 0 20 7483 9205 / moira@mbcpr.com Brendan Gilmartin
(718) 522-7171 / bgilmartin@shorefire.com
For EMI: Jennifer Ballantyne - EMI Music North America
(323) 871-5494 / jennifer.ballantyne@emicap.com
The Stereo Albums (available individually and collected in a stereo boxed set)
The stereo albums have been remastered by Guy Massey, Steve Rooke, Sam Okell with Paul Hicks and Sean Magee
All CD packages contain original vinyl artwork and liner notes
Extensive archival photos
Additional historical notes by Kevin Howlett and Mike Heatley
Additional recording notes by Allan Rouse and Kevin Howlett
* = CD includes QuickTime mini-doc about the album
Please Please Me* (CD debut in stereo)
With The Beatles* (CD debut in stereo)
A Hard Day's Night* (CD debut in stereo)
Beatles For Sale* (CD debut in stereo)
Help!*
Rubber Soul*
Revolver*
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band* (also includes 1987 notes, updated, and new intro by Paul McCartney)
Magical Mystery Tour*
The Beatles*
Yellow Submarine* (also includes original US liner notes)
Abbey Road*
Let It Be*
Past Masters (contains new liner notes written by Kevin Howlett)
'The Beatles in Mono' (boxed set only)
The mono albums have been remastered by Paul Hicks, Sean Magee with Guy Massey and Steve Rooke
Presented together in box with an essay written by Kevin Howlett + = mono mix CD debut Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help! (CD also includes original 1965 stereo mix)+
Rubber Soul (CD also include original 1965 stereo mix)+
Revolver+
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band+
Magical Mystery Tour+
The Beatles+
Mono Masters
Re-mastering the Beatles catalogue
The re-mastering process commenced with an extensive period conducting tests before finally copying the analogue master tapes into the digital medium. When this was completed, the transfer was achieved using a Pro Tools workstation operating at 24 bit 192 kHz resolution via a Prism A-D converter. Transferring was a lengthy procedure done a track at a time. Although EMI tape does not suffer the oxide loss associated with some later analogue tapes, there was nevertheless a slight build up of dust, which was removed from the tape machine heads between each title.
From the onset, considerable thought was given to what audio restorative processes were going to be allowed. It was agreed that electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance and bad edits should be improved where possible, so long as it didn't impact on the original integrity of the songs.
In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today's music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles' music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings.
When all of the albums had been transferred, each song was then listened to several times to locate any of the agreed imperfections. These were then addressed by Guy Massey, working with Audio Restoration engineer Simon Gibson.
Mastering could now take place, once the earliest vinyl pressings, along with the existing CDs, were loaded into Pro Tools, thus allowing comparisons to be made with the original master tapes during the equalization process. When an album had been completed, it was auditioned the next day in studio three - a room familiar to the engineers, as all of the recent Beatles mixing projects had taken place in there - and any further alteration of EQ could be addressed back in the mastering room. Following the initial satisfaction of Guy and Steve, Allan Rouse and Mike Heatley then checked each new re-master in yet another location and offered any further suggestions. This continued until all 13 albums were completed to the team's satisfaction.
New Notes/Documentaries Team
Kevin Howlett (Historical and Recording Notes)
Kevin Howlett's career as an award-winning radio producer spans three decades. His music programmes for the BBC have included many documentaries about The Beatles, including 'The Beeb's Lost Beatles Tapes.' He received a Grammy nomination for his involvement with The Beatles' album 'Live At The BBC' and, in 2003, produced the 'Fly On The Wall' bonus disc for 'Let It Be... Naked.'
Mike Heatley (Historical Notes) Mike entered the music business via HMV Record Stores in 1970, transferring to EMI Records' International Division three years later. He eventually headed up that division in the early Eighties before joining the company's newly created Strategic Marketing Division in 1984. In 1988, he returned to International, where he undertook a number of catalogue marketing roles until he retired in December 2008.
During his career he worked with many of EMI's major artists, including Pink Floyd, Queen, Kate Bush and Iron Maiden. However, during the last 30 years he has formed a particularly strong relationship with Apple, and has been closely involved in the origination and promotion of the Beatles catalogue, besides solo releases from John, Paul, George and Ringo.
Bob Smeaton (Director, Mini-Documentaries)
Bob Smeaton was series director and writer on the Grammy award winning 'Beatles Anthology' TV series which aired in the UK and the USA in 1995. In 1998 he received his second Grammy for his 'Jimi Hendrix: Band of Gypsys' documentary. In 2004 he gained his first feature film credit, as director on the feature documentary 'Festival Express.' He subsequently went on to direct documentaries on many of the world's biggest music acts including The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Elton John, Nirvana and the Spice Girls.
Julian Caiden (Editor, Mini-Documentaries)
Julian has worked with Bob Smeaton on numerous music documentaries including 'Jimi Hendrix: Band of Gypsys' and the 'Classic Albums' series, featuring The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Elton John and Nirvana among others. He has worked on documentary profiles from Richard Pryor to Dr. John to Sir Ian McKellen, Herbie Hancock and Damien Hirst and on live music shows including the New York Dolls and Club Tropicana.
The Abbey Road Team
Allan Rouse (Project Coordinator)
Allan joined EMI straight from school in 1971 at their Manchester Square head office, working as an assistant engineer in the demo studio. During this time he frequently worked with Norman (Hurricane) Smith, The Beatles' first recording engineer.
In 1991, he had his first involvement with The Beatles, copy¬ing all of their master tapes (mono, stereo, 4-track and 8-track) to digital tape as a safety backup. This was followed by four years working with Sir George Martin as assistant and project coordinator on the TV documentary 'The Making of Sgt. Pepper's' and the CDs 'Live at the BBC' and 'The Anthol¬ogy.'
In 1997, MGM/UA were preparing to reissue the film 'Yellow Submarine' and, with the permission of Apple, asked that all of The Beatles' music be mixed for the film in 5.1 surround and stereo. Allan requested the services of Abbey Road's senior engineer Peter Cobbin and assistant Guy Massey and, along with them, produced the new mixes.
Two years later, he proposed an experimental stereo and surround mix of John Lennon's song 'Imagine' engineered by Peter Cobbin. Following lengthy consultations with Yoko Ono, the album 'Imagine' was re-mixed in stereo and the Grammy award-winning film 'Gimme Some Truth' in surround and new stereo. This led to a further five of John's albums being re-mastered with new stereo mixes and the DVD release of 'Lennon Legend' being re-mixed in 5.1 surround and new stereo.
Further projects followed, including The Beatles 'Anthol¬ogy', 'The First US Visit' and 'Help' DVD and the albums 'Let It Be...Naked' and 'Love' along with George Harrison's 'Concert for Bangladesh' DVD and album.
For a number of years now, Allan has worked exclusively on Beatles and related projects.
Guy Massey (Recording Engineer)
Guy joined Abbey Road in 1994, and five years later assisted on the surround remix for The Beatles film 'Yellow Submarine.' This led to The Beatles' 'Anthology' DVD and later, along with Paul Hicks and Allan Rouse, they mixed and produced 'Let It Be... Naked.' In 2004 he left the studios to become freelance and has engineered The Divine Comedy: 'Victory for the Comic Muse,' Air Traffic: 'Fractured Life,' James Dean Bradfield: 'The Great Western' and Stephen Fretwell's 'Magpie,' co-producing the last two. Since leaving, Guy is still a vital member of the team, and has been the senior engineer for the re-mastering project and was responsible for surround and new stereo mixes for the DVD release of 'Help!'
Steve Rooke (Mastering Engineer)
Steve joined Abbey Road in 1983 and is now the studio's senior mastering engineer. He has been involved on all The Beatles' projects since 1999. He has also been responsible for mastering releases by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Paul Hicks (Recording Engineer)
Paul started at Abbey Road in 1994, and his first involvement with The Beatles was assisting engineer Geoff Emerick on the Anthology albums. This was followed by 'Yellow Submarine Songtrack,' 'Anthology' DVD and 'Let It Be... Naked.' Like Guy Massey, he has also become a freelance engineer and since leaving the studios he has been responsible for the surround mixing of Paul McCartney's DVD 'The McCartney Years' and The Beatles' 'Love.' Paul has been in charge of the mono re-masters.
Sean Magee (Mastering Engineer)
Sean began working at Abbey Road in 1995 with a diploma in sound engineering. With a wealth of knowledge in analog and digital mastering, he has worked alongside Paul Hicks on the mono re-masters.
Sam Okell (Recording Engineer)
Sam's first job as a member of the team was in 2006, assisting Paul Hicks on Paul McCartney's DVD 'The McCartney Years,' and during that same year he was responsible for the re-mastering of George Harrison's 'Living In The Material World' CD along with Steve Rooke. This led to him restoring the soundtrack to the Beatles film 'Help!' in surround and stereo, in addition to assisting Guy Massey with the song remixes.
Sam has re-mastered 'With The Beatles' and 'Let It Be.'
Simon Gibson (Audio Restoration Engineer)
Simon joined Abbey Road in 1990. He has progressed from mastering mostly classical recordings to include a much wider range of music, including pop and rock, with his specialized role as an audio restoration engineer. Apart from the re-mastering project, his other work includes George Harrison's 'Living In The Material World,' John Lennon's 'Lennon Legend,' The Beatles' 'Love' and the 'Help!' DVD soundtrack.
London, England - April 7, 2009 - Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music are delighted to announce the release of the original Beatles catalogue, which has been digitally re-mastered for the first time, for worldwide CD release on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (9-9-09), the same date as the release of the widely anticipated "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game. Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released.
The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release.
The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and 'Magical Mystery Tour,' which became part of The Beatles' core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections 'Past Masters Vol. I and II' are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set.
Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the 'Past Masters' set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.
A second boxed set has been created with the collector in mind. 'The Beatles in Mono' gathers together, in one place, all of the Beatles recordings that were mixed for a mono release. It will contain 10 of the albums with their original mono mixes, plus two further discs of mono masters (covering similar ground to the stereo tracks on 'Past Masters'). As an added bonus, the mono "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD. These albums will be packaged in mini-vinyl CD replicas of the original sleeves with all original inserts and label designs retained.
Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalogue will continue. There is no further information available at this time.
http://www.thebeatles.com
U.S. Media Contacts UK Media Contact
For Apple Corps Ltd.: For Apple Corps Ltd.:
Shore Fire Media MBC PR
Matt Hanks Moira Bellas
(718) 522-7171 / mhanks@shorefire.com 0 20 7483 9205 / moira@mbcpr.com Brendan Gilmartin
(718) 522-7171 / bgilmartin@shorefire.com
For EMI: Jennifer Ballantyne - EMI Music North America
(323) 871-5494 / jennifer.ballantyne@emicap.com
The Stereo Albums (available individually and collected in a stereo boxed set)
The stereo albums have been remastered by Guy Massey, Steve Rooke, Sam Okell with Paul Hicks and Sean Magee
All CD packages contain original vinyl artwork and liner notes
Extensive archival photos
Additional historical notes by Kevin Howlett and Mike Heatley
Additional recording notes by Allan Rouse and Kevin Howlett
* = CD includes QuickTime mini-doc about the album
Please Please Me* (CD debut in stereo)
With The Beatles* (CD debut in stereo)
A Hard Day's Night* (CD debut in stereo)
Beatles For Sale* (CD debut in stereo)
Help!*
Rubber Soul*
Revolver*
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band* (also includes 1987 notes, updated, and new intro by Paul McCartney)
Magical Mystery Tour*
The Beatles*
Yellow Submarine* (also includes original US liner notes)
Abbey Road*
Let It Be*
Past Masters (contains new liner notes written by Kevin Howlett)
'The Beatles in Mono' (boxed set only)
The mono albums have been remastered by Paul Hicks, Sean Magee with Guy Massey and Steve Rooke
Presented together in box with an essay written by Kevin Howlett + = mono mix CD debut Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help! (CD also includes original 1965 stereo mix)+
Rubber Soul (CD also include original 1965 stereo mix)+
Revolver+
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band+
Magical Mystery Tour+
The Beatles+
Mono Masters
Re-mastering the Beatles catalogue
The re-mastering process commenced with an extensive period conducting tests before finally copying the analogue master tapes into the digital medium. When this was completed, the transfer was achieved using a Pro Tools workstation operating at 24 bit 192 kHz resolution via a Prism A-D converter. Transferring was a lengthy procedure done a track at a time. Although EMI tape does not suffer the oxide loss associated with some later analogue tapes, there was nevertheless a slight build up of dust, which was removed from the tape machine heads between each title.
From the onset, considerable thought was given to what audio restorative processes were going to be allowed. It was agreed that electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance and bad edits should be improved where possible, so long as it didn't impact on the original integrity of the songs.
In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today's music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles' music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings.
When all of the albums had been transferred, each song was then listened to several times to locate any of the agreed imperfections. These were then addressed by Guy Massey, working with Audio Restoration engineer Simon Gibson.
Mastering could now take place, once the earliest vinyl pressings, along with the existing CDs, were loaded into Pro Tools, thus allowing comparisons to be made with the original master tapes during the equalization process. When an album had been completed, it was auditioned the next day in studio three - a room familiar to the engineers, as all of the recent Beatles mixing projects had taken place in there - and any further alteration of EQ could be addressed back in the mastering room. Following the initial satisfaction of Guy and Steve, Allan Rouse and Mike Heatley then checked each new re-master in yet another location and offered any further suggestions. This continued until all 13 albums were completed to the team's satisfaction.
New Notes/Documentaries Team
Kevin Howlett (Historical and Recording Notes)
Kevin Howlett's career as an award-winning radio producer spans three decades. His music programmes for the BBC have included many documentaries about The Beatles, including 'The Beeb's Lost Beatles Tapes.' He received a Grammy nomination for his involvement with The Beatles' album 'Live At The BBC' and, in 2003, produced the 'Fly On The Wall' bonus disc for 'Let It Be... Naked.'
Mike Heatley (Historical Notes) Mike entered the music business via HMV Record Stores in 1970, transferring to EMI Records' International Division three years later. He eventually headed up that division in the early Eighties before joining the company's newly created Strategic Marketing Division in 1984. In 1988, he returned to International, where he undertook a number of catalogue marketing roles until he retired in December 2008.
During his career he worked with many of EMI's major artists, including Pink Floyd, Queen, Kate Bush and Iron Maiden. However, during the last 30 years he has formed a particularly strong relationship with Apple, and has been closely involved in the origination and promotion of the Beatles catalogue, besides solo releases from John, Paul, George and Ringo.
Bob Smeaton (Director, Mini-Documentaries)
Bob Smeaton was series director and writer on the Grammy award winning 'Beatles Anthology' TV series which aired in the UK and the USA in 1995. In 1998 he received his second Grammy for his 'Jimi Hendrix: Band of Gypsys' documentary. In 2004 he gained his first feature film credit, as director on the feature documentary 'Festival Express.' He subsequently went on to direct documentaries on many of the world's biggest music acts including The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Elton John, Nirvana and the Spice Girls.
Julian Caiden (Editor, Mini-Documentaries)
Julian has worked with Bob Smeaton on numerous music documentaries including 'Jimi Hendrix: Band of Gypsys' and the 'Classic Albums' series, featuring The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Elton John and Nirvana among others. He has worked on documentary profiles from Richard Pryor to Dr. John to Sir Ian McKellen, Herbie Hancock and Damien Hirst and on live music shows including the New York Dolls and Club Tropicana.
The Abbey Road Team
Allan Rouse (Project Coordinator)
Allan joined EMI straight from school in 1971 at their Manchester Square head office, working as an assistant engineer in the demo studio. During this time he frequently worked with Norman (Hurricane) Smith, The Beatles' first recording engineer.
In 1991, he had his first involvement with The Beatles, copy¬ing all of their master tapes (mono, stereo, 4-track and 8-track) to digital tape as a safety backup. This was followed by four years working with Sir George Martin as assistant and project coordinator on the TV documentary 'The Making of Sgt. Pepper's' and the CDs 'Live at the BBC' and 'The Anthol¬ogy.'
In 1997, MGM/UA were preparing to reissue the film 'Yellow Submarine' and, with the permission of Apple, asked that all of The Beatles' music be mixed for the film in 5.1 surround and stereo. Allan requested the services of Abbey Road's senior engineer Peter Cobbin and assistant Guy Massey and, along with them, produced the new mixes.
Two years later, he proposed an experimental stereo and surround mix of John Lennon's song 'Imagine' engineered by Peter Cobbin. Following lengthy consultations with Yoko Ono, the album 'Imagine' was re-mixed in stereo and the Grammy award-winning film 'Gimme Some Truth' in surround and new stereo. This led to a further five of John's albums being re-mastered with new stereo mixes and the DVD release of 'Lennon Legend' being re-mixed in 5.1 surround and new stereo.
Further projects followed, including The Beatles 'Anthol¬ogy', 'The First US Visit' and 'Help' DVD and the albums 'Let It Be...Naked' and 'Love' along with George Harrison's 'Concert for Bangladesh' DVD and album.
For a number of years now, Allan has worked exclusively on Beatles and related projects.
Guy Massey (Recording Engineer)
Guy joined Abbey Road in 1994, and five years later assisted on the surround remix for The Beatles film 'Yellow Submarine.' This led to The Beatles' 'Anthology' DVD and later, along with Paul Hicks and Allan Rouse, they mixed and produced 'Let It Be... Naked.' In 2004 he left the studios to become freelance and has engineered The Divine Comedy: 'Victory for the Comic Muse,' Air Traffic: 'Fractured Life,' James Dean Bradfield: 'The Great Western' and Stephen Fretwell's 'Magpie,' co-producing the last two. Since leaving, Guy is still a vital member of the team, and has been the senior engineer for the re-mastering project and was responsible for surround and new stereo mixes for the DVD release of 'Help!'
Steve Rooke (Mastering Engineer)
Steve joined Abbey Road in 1983 and is now the studio's senior mastering engineer. He has been involved on all The Beatles' projects since 1999. He has also been responsible for mastering releases by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Paul Hicks (Recording Engineer)
Paul started at Abbey Road in 1994, and his first involvement with The Beatles was assisting engineer Geoff Emerick on the Anthology albums. This was followed by 'Yellow Submarine Songtrack,' 'Anthology' DVD and 'Let It Be... Naked.' Like Guy Massey, he has also become a freelance engineer and since leaving the studios he has been responsible for the surround mixing of Paul McCartney's DVD 'The McCartney Years' and The Beatles' 'Love.' Paul has been in charge of the mono re-masters.
Sean Magee (Mastering Engineer)
Sean began working at Abbey Road in 1995 with a diploma in sound engineering. With a wealth of knowledge in analog and digital mastering, he has worked alongside Paul Hicks on the mono re-masters.
Sam Okell (Recording Engineer)
Sam's first job as a member of the team was in 2006, assisting Paul Hicks on Paul McCartney's DVD 'The McCartney Years,' and during that same year he was responsible for the re-mastering of George Harrison's 'Living In The Material World' CD along with Steve Rooke. This led to him restoring the soundtrack to the Beatles film 'Help!' in surround and stereo, in addition to assisting Guy Massey with the song remixes.
Sam has re-mastered 'With The Beatles' and 'Let It Be.'
Simon Gibson (Audio Restoration Engineer)
Simon joined Abbey Road in 1990. He has progressed from mastering mostly classical recordings to include a much wider range of music, including pop and rock, with his specialized role as an audio restoration engineer. Apart from the re-mastering project, his other work includes George Harrison's 'Living In The Material World,' John Lennon's 'Lennon Legend,' The Beatles' 'Love' and the 'Help!' DVD soundtrack.
Not a big fan of A Hard Day's Night '87. The guy at Mojo said the 10 tracks he heard from The Beatles in Noember were well rad.
QUOTE
From the onset, considerable thought was given to what audio restorative processes were going to be allowed. It was agreed that electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance and bad edits should be improved where possible, so long as it didn't impact on the original integrity of the songs.
In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today's music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles' music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings.
In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today's music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles' music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings.
It was in inevitable, but BOOOOOOOOOOOO
Can't wait to hear these mp3s on my laptop speakers!
QUOTE (cerebralcaustic @ Apr 7 2009, 04:10 PM) 
QUOTE
From the onset, considerable thought was given to what audio restorative processes were going to be allowed. It was agreed that electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance and bad edits should be improved where possible, so long as it didn't impact on the original integrity of the songs.
In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today's music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles' music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings.
In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today's music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles' music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings.
It was in inevitable, but BOOOOOOOOOOOO
True but hopefully the five minutes thing (> 1%) means it's not a big deal. The second part sucks balls.
QUOTE (Mitchell @ Apr 7 2009, 10:17 AM)
QUOTE (cerebralcaustic @ Apr 7 2009, 04:10 PM)
QUOTE
From the onset, considerable thought was given to what audio restorative processes were going to be allowed. It was agreed that electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance and bad edits should be improved where possible, so long as it didn't impact on the original integrity of the songs.
In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today's music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles' music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings.
In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today's music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles' music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings.
It was in inevitable, but BOOOOOOOOOOOO
True but hopefully the five minutes thing (> 1%) means it's not a big deal. The second part sucks balls.
They put enough qualifiers in there to make it easier to swallow for now. The fact that they're even acknowledging it is promising I guess.
QUOTE (cerebralcaustic @ Apr 7 2009, 10:10 AM)
QUOTE
From the onset, considerable thought was given to what audio restorative processes were going to be allowed. It was agreed that electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance and bad edits should be improved where possible, so long as it didn't impact on the original integrity of the songs.
In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today's music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles' music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings.
In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today's music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles' music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings.
It was in inevitable, but BOOOOOOOOOOOO
Yeah, I saw that. To be fair, they're at least being honest about it. I imagine this is what people want anyway.
Wow, even though I'm 31 I never thought I'd live to see the day. Mono boxed set for me, that will be a nice Christmas present.
For what it's worth, the crazies on the Steve Hoffman forum approve of the engineers that worked on this.
So, I take it Mono will be the way to go on these?
I'm very excited.
I'm very excited.
Yeah, what's the cutoff with them for going mono vs stereo? The mono box is a given, but then what stereo albums to get? Or will the stereo mixes be worthwhile anyway for everything?
I would say mono box and then fill the rest of the collection with the stereo ones. My opinion could change, but I'd like to have it as close as what was originally intended as possible.
Who. Cares.
They fucked up the stereo mixes. (Yellow Submarine sounded like shit when they did that.) People just want the vinyl anyway, which always sounded perfect. There's no way I'm dropping money on this.
They fucked up the stereo mixes. (Yellow Submarine sounded like shit when they did that.) People just want the vinyl anyway, which always sounded perfect. There's no way I'm dropping money on this.
QUOTE (cerebralcaustic @ Apr 7 2009, 11:26 AM)
Yeah, what's the cutoff with them for going mono vs stereo? The mono box is a given, but then what stereo albums to get? Or will the stereo mixes be worthwhile anyway for everything?
My personal opinion, but Revolver is the last one that must be mono. After that, the stereo LPs have the edge.
I'm curious about the mono remaster for Beatles For Sale. That one was always messed up - even the original vinyl. I've always suspected bad mastering as the culprit.
still waiting for apple to release a Dr. Ebbetts uk mono/blue box stereo boxset.
maybe in a 100 years.
maybe in a 100 years.
QUOTE (Sid Hartha @ Apr 7 2009, 12:24 PM)
QUOTE (cerebralcaustic @ Apr 7 2009, 11:26 AM)
Yeah, what's the cutoff with them for going mono vs stereo? The mono box is a given, but then what stereo albums to get? Or will the stereo mixes be worthwhile anyway for everything?
My personal opinion, but Revolver is the last one that must be mono. After that, the stereo LPs have the edge.
I'm curious about the mono remaster for Beatles For Sale. That one was always messed up - even the original vinyl. I've always suspected bad mastering as the culprit.
Wonder if this stereo version will fix the speed problem on She's Leaving Home. I've always preferred the mono versions of the albums, but maybe because I've been subjected to the '87 CD versions this whole time.
QUOTE (Sid Hartha @ Apr 7 2009, 01:24 PM)
QUOTE (cerebralcaustic @ Apr 7 2009, 11:26 AM)
Yeah, what's the cutoff with them for going mono vs stereo? The mono box is a given, but then what stereo albums to get? Or will the stereo mixes be worthwhile anyway for everything?
My personal opinion, but Revolver is the last one that must be mono. After that, the stereo LPs have the edge.
I'm curious about the mono remaster for Beatles For Sale. That one was always messed up - even the original vinyl. I've always suspected bad mastering as the culprit.
The band was involved with George Martin when they mixed the mono version of Sgt. Peppers, whereas it was left to Martin to put together the stereo mix. I'm not too sure about the self titled, 'White Album' off the top of my head, but I do know that the band preferred the mono mix of Peppers to the stereo. You notice different things in the mix as well. I'd say that 'Peppers' is the last one in which mono has the edge. The reason for the cutoff in albums for the mono set is because 'Abbey Road' and 'Let It Be' were not mixed for mono. If you see any bootleg that hypes such mixes, IGNORE them, as some people have folded down the stereo mix to create a false mono mix for both albums.
Check out the Dr.Ebbetts versions of the mono and stereo while waiting for 09/09/09. Does anyone have a price on the two box sets? The Steve Hoffman forums have exploded. There are over 54 pages / 1000+ replies and the post was created early this morning. Madness.
j.
Am I dreaming? I seriously thought this would never happen.I'm glad it is,But I can feel the money draining out of my pockets right now.I'm a big Beatles nut,so I'll probably buy both box sets and get rid of the old remasters.
QUOTE (JeffTweedysFatStomach @ Apr 7 2009, 11:23 AM)
So, I take it Mono will be the way to go on these?
I'm very excited.
I'm very excited.
Pretty much. The only stereo mixes I prefer are the White Album's...and maybe Beatles for Sale.
Also, if the separate reissues for Help! and Rubber Soul are gonna be the same digital remixes from 1987, I'd pass on them, even if you're set on stereo. Unless you REALLY want the extra packaging/QuickTime mini-docs that come with them, I'd just get the mono box set, because it's gonna have both the mono mix AND the original stereo mix.
when i checked my email this morning that had this email from the official site, i came in my ears.
guess i'm gonna have to buy everything now.
guess i'm gonna have to buy everything now.
wow. this is so damn exciting.
i think both stereo and mono versions are a must. it's gonna hurt....but christmas is coming mighty early on september 9, 2009. what a day it's going to prove to be.
i think both stereo and mono versions are a must. it's gonna hurt....but christmas is coming mighty early on september 9, 2009. what a day it's going to prove to be.
QUOTE (DemonAndrew @ Apr 8 2009, 12:37 AM)
wow. this is so damn exciting.
i think both stereo and mono versions are a must. it's gonna hurt....but christmas is coming mighty early on september 9, 2009. what a day it's going to prove to be.
i think both stereo and mono versions are a must. it's gonna hurt....but christmas is coming mighty early on september 9, 2009. what a day it's going to prove to be.
It'll be interesting to see how this works out, but for now Purple Chick really gets the job done rather nicely.
purple chick?
QUOTE (DemonAndrew @ Apr 8 2009, 01:22 AM)
purple chick?
Similar to Dr. Ebbets, really amazing archival shit.... Hard to find in one spot though, up to 12 discs an album stereo mono and lots lots more remastered beautifully.
where would you even begin to look?
Torrenting sites probably. Demonoid's got shitloads of stuff there I think... Pirate Bay probably will too...
QUOTE (cerebralcaustic @ Apr 7 2009, 11:42 AM)
For what it's worth, the crazies on the Steve Hoffman forum approve of the engineers that worked on this.
You a member there? Hardly ever check in. There's another fellow Sombie there as well.
There appears to be no high def versions being released?! I know the SACD is dead. The Beatles Love came out in that format and is great. Not sure why they don't issue an HD version in Blu-ray.
QUOTE (Rob Gordon @ Apr 8 2009, 10:30 AM)
There appears to be no high def versions being released?! I know the SACD is dead. The Beatles Love came out in that format and is great. Not sure why they don't issue an HD version in Blu-ray.
Why do that now? Make more money to do it separate.
QUOTE (Swanbo @ Apr 8 2009, 07:51 AM)
QUOTE (DemonAndrew @ Apr 8 2009, 01:22 AM)
purple chick?
Similar to Dr. Ebbets, really amazing archival shit.... Hard to find in one spot though, up to 12 discs an album stereo mono and lots lots more remastered beautifully.
there's a link to the purple chick white album on a thread here somewhere that was upped quite recently
my wife rolled her eyes when i told her this exciting news about the 2 boxed sets i intend to buy on 9.09.09. 'how much is this costing us then?'. see, acceptance. that's one of the many reasons i love her.
QUOTE (Rob Gordon @ Apr 8 2009, 04:27 AM)
QUOTE (cerebralcaustic @ Apr 7 2009, 11:42 AM)
For what it's worth, the crazies on the Steve Hoffman forum approve of the engineers that worked on this.
You a member there? Hardly ever check in. There's another fellow Sombie there as well.
It was my primary music board pre-SOMB, but I hardly ever go there anymore, unless it's to look for opinions about which version of a given album to buy. They tend to care more about sound quality than the actual music, and they by-and-large ignore any music released after 1980.
I'm still wating for Let It Be on blu ray
complete with deleted scenes
complete with deleted scenes
QUOTE (cerebralcaustic @ Apr 8 2009, 12:57 PM)
QUOTE (Rob Gordon @ Apr 8 2009, 04:27 AM)
QUOTE (cerebralcaustic @ Apr 7 2009, 11:42 AM)
For what it's worth, the crazies on the Steve Hoffman forum approve of the engineers that worked on this.
You a member there? Hardly ever check in. There's another fellow Sombie there as well.
It was my primary music board pre-SOMB, but I hardly ever go there anymore, unless it's to look for opinions about which version of a given album to buy. They tend to care more about sound quality than the actual music, and they by-and-large ignore any music released after 1980.
I'm a member, but don't post. Sid Hartha is on there. I read all 89 pages on these damn releases yesterday/last night on that board. Yes I know I'm certifiably insane.
i'll probably buy both box sets, it's the Beatles and i have been stuck with these old CDs for way too long.
I think the Mirror Spock cds (Rubber Soul, Revolver, White Album and Sgt. Peppers) are better than Ebbetts, especially Spock's Japanese Mono of Peppers. Any mono of Peppers is better than the stereo...
Spock's German Metal Stereo of the White Album is my favorite for that album.
The Black Triangle (de-emphasized) for Abbey Road.
Ebbetts UK Stereo for Let It Be.
For the rest of albums, go with Ebbetts mono.
Spock's German Metal Stereo of the White Album is my favorite for that album.
The Black Triangle (de-emphasized) for Abbey Road.
Ebbetts UK Stereo for Let It Be.
For the rest of albums, go with Ebbetts mono.
QUOTE (Music Saves @ Apr 8 2009, 08:08 PM)
QUOTE (cerebralcaustic @ Apr 8 2009, 12:57 PM)
QUOTE (Rob Gordon @ Apr 8 2009, 04:27 AM)
QUOTE (cerebralcaustic @ Apr 7 2009, 11:42 AM)
For what it's worth, the crazies on the Steve Hoffman forum approve of the engineers that worked on this.
You a member there? Hardly ever check in. There's another fellow Sombie there as well.
It was my primary music board pre-SOMB, but I hardly ever go there anymore, unless it's to look for opinions about which version of a given album to buy. They tend to care more about sound quality than the actual music, and they by-and-large ignore any music released after 1980.
I'm a member, but don't post. Sid Hartha is on there. I read all 89 pages on these damn releases yesterday/last night on that board. Yes I know I'm certifiably insane.
Yep, that's who I was referring to. I don't visit much but it's the audiophile board. How fast those Beatles remaster threads grew is insane.
DOCTOR EBBETTS CALLS IT QUITS
Dear friends,
There has been considerable buzz surrounding the new Beatles
remasters, due for release in September. There should be. We have all been waiting for this day, and it is about to arrive - finally! Thanks to a long-time supporter and friend to this project, I have had the opportunity to hear genuine samples of the new remasters due out in two months.
They are good.
Very good.
Those of you who will be buying them - and those of you who have already preordered - will not be disappointed.
In fact, I will venture to guess than many of you will be more than pleasantly surprised at how good they sound.
And with what promises to be outstanding packaging all around, it will be a collector's nirvana.
From the outset of the Dr. Ebbetts Sound Systems project, I swore that once EMI did the right thing and released remasters to be proud of, I would not continue doing what I was doing. After all, the only reason I did this was because Apple/EMI/Capitol would not - and because I so very
much love the Beatles.
While my love for the band has not changed, everything else has.
EMI/Capitol began their release of the American LPs on compact disc a few years ago, and now EMI has tackled the British catalogue in fullest detail.
It's what we all wanted. As Beatles fans, it's what we've prayed for.
To that end - and with the heaviest of hearts - effective immediately, Dr. Ebbetts Sound Systems will cease operations.
Many of you will recall that the entire purpose of the Dr. Ebbetts project was to make available to the public the best sounding versions of the Beatles' original LP releases - with emphasis on the American and British catalogues. Believe me, it wasn't a hard thing to do considering the substandard quality of the original CD catalogue from 1987 onward.
The fact of the matter is, the Dr. Ebbetts material does not - and will not - sound better than what is coming commercially in September. People I trust agree with me. The remasters sound remarkably well balanced, with solid, punchy bass, smooth mids and not-to-harsh, yet crisp highs. In comparison, many of the Ebbetts masters fall short - weaker bass, dimished mids, and often too-bright highs.
It's a given that the remasters will not please everyone, but they will be good enough to make the Ebbetts catalogue solidly inferior.
The artwork and packaging of the EMI material will prove to make current Dr. Ebbetts releases look like Xerox machine fodder.
It pains me, seeing as I have invested so much time in this thing, but I humbly and officially put this nearly-fourteen year project to bed.
I have outlived my usefulness in this hobby.
I know there are many who will ask why I just don't continue releasing titles that are NOT being put out by Apple/EMI - foreign releases, rare pressings, etc..
My reasons are complicated, but they are what they are. In short, if the Dr. Ebbetts BLUE BOX set is not the definitive sounding version of the original UK stereo LPs, then why issue them at all?
Many will remember the original BEAT CDs of the 1990s that presented the Beatles US LPs sourced from cassettes. I surely do. They became immediately obsolete with the advent of Dr. Ebbetts. No one bought those BEAT CDs anymore when I came along. Why would they? At the time, my material was far superior.
The Ebbetts BLUE BOX series was only issued because Apple/EMI's versions were substantially inferior to anything I - or any number of needledroppers - were putting out. The Ebbetts BLUE BOX set is at THE HEART of the Dr. Ebbetts Sound Systems collection, in my estimation. If that set is now inferior to the commercial release, then it has no business existing. Suffice to say, I would not release the BLUE BOX set today if new remasters were already commercially available.
I would have no need.
And if my CORE SET is inferior, I don't wish to have the rest of the catalogue branded as such either.
Therefore, it is time to put it all on the shelf.
But now it is time to make way for the "big boys."
Please be sure to secure your copies of the remasters. I guarantee they will replace your Dr. Ebbetts CDs in your rotations and playlists - as they should. Display them proudly and let people know who the greatest
band of all time is.
Remember, quoting my project motto from all those years ago, it is ONLY about the music.
That is why I do what I do today.
Now go put your hard-earned money to good use!
God Bless.
Dear friends,
There has been considerable buzz surrounding the new Beatles
remasters, due for release in September. There should be. We have all been waiting for this day, and it is about to arrive - finally! Thanks to a long-time supporter and friend to this project, I have had the opportunity to hear genuine samples of the new remasters due out in two months.
They are good.
Very good.
Those of you who will be buying them - and those of you who have already preordered - will not be disappointed.
In fact, I will venture to guess than many of you will be more than pleasantly surprised at how good they sound.
And with what promises to be outstanding packaging all around, it will be a collector's nirvana.
From the outset of the Dr. Ebbetts Sound Systems project, I swore that once EMI did the right thing and released remasters to be proud of, I would not continue doing what I was doing. After all, the only reason I did this was because Apple/EMI/Capitol would not - and because I so very
much love the Beatles.
While my love for the band has not changed, everything else has.
EMI/Capitol began their release of the American LPs on compact disc a few years ago, and now EMI has tackled the British catalogue in fullest detail.
It's what we all wanted. As Beatles fans, it's what we've prayed for.
To that end - and with the heaviest of hearts - effective immediately, Dr. Ebbetts Sound Systems will cease operations.
Many of you will recall that the entire purpose of the Dr. Ebbetts project was to make available to the public the best sounding versions of the Beatles' original LP releases - with emphasis on the American and British catalogues. Believe me, it wasn't a hard thing to do considering the substandard quality of the original CD catalogue from 1987 onward.
The fact of the matter is, the Dr. Ebbetts material does not - and will not - sound better than what is coming commercially in September. People I trust agree with me. The remasters sound remarkably well balanced, with solid, punchy bass, smooth mids and not-to-harsh, yet crisp highs. In comparison, many of the Ebbetts masters fall short - weaker bass, dimished mids, and often too-bright highs.
It's a given that the remasters will not please everyone, but they will be good enough to make the Ebbetts catalogue solidly inferior.
The artwork and packaging of the EMI material will prove to make current Dr. Ebbetts releases look like Xerox machine fodder.
It pains me, seeing as I have invested so much time in this thing, but I humbly and officially put this nearly-fourteen year project to bed.
I have outlived my usefulness in this hobby.
I know there are many who will ask why I just don't continue releasing titles that are NOT being put out by Apple/EMI - foreign releases, rare pressings, etc..
My reasons are complicated, but they are what they are. In short, if the Dr. Ebbetts BLUE BOX set is not the definitive sounding version of the original UK stereo LPs, then why issue them at all?
Many will remember the original BEAT CDs of the 1990s that presented the Beatles US LPs sourced from cassettes. I surely do. They became immediately obsolete with the advent of Dr. Ebbetts. No one bought those BEAT CDs anymore when I came along. Why would they? At the time, my material was far superior.
The Ebbetts BLUE BOX series was only issued because Apple/EMI's versions were substantially inferior to anything I - or any number of needledroppers - were putting out. The Ebbetts BLUE BOX set is at THE HEART of the Dr. Ebbetts Sound Systems collection, in my estimation. If that set is now inferior to the commercial release, then it has no business existing. Suffice to say, I would not release the BLUE BOX set today if new remasters were already commercially available.
I would have no need.
And if my CORE SET is inferior, I don't wish to have the rest of the catalogue branded as such either.
Therefore, it is time to put it all on the shelf.
But now it is time to make way for the "big boys."
Please be sure to secure your copies of the remasters. I guarantee they will replace your Dr. Ebbetts CDs in your rotations and playlists - as they should. Display them proudly and let people know who the greatest
band of all time is.
Remember, quoting my project motto from all those years ago, it is ONLY about the music.
That is why I do what I do today.
Now go put your hard-earned money to good use!
God Bless.
I have preordered my Mono box set from Amazon, $239.99.
I saw that. Very very encouraging.
I preordered the mono box. Way too expense at $240 (that's $20/disc), but they can pretty much charge anything for it. It's supposedly limited to 10000 copies, but I don't buy that.
Now to figure out what to do on the stereo side. Abbey Road, Let It Be, and Yellow Submarine are a given (though the OCD in me hates that there will be a box sitting next to stray CDs on the shelf). Do I also go back further and double up on The White Album, Magical Mystery Tour, Sgt Pepper, and Revolver? Or do I bite the bullet and buy the stereo box too? What other ways can I give these people my money?
I preordered the mono box. Way too expense at $240 (that's $20/disc), but they can pretty much charge anything for it. It's supposedly limited to 10000 copies, but I don't buy that.
Now to figure out what to do on the stereo side. Abbey Road, Let It Be, and Yellow Submarine are a given (though the OCD in me hates that there will be a box sitting next to stray CDs on the shelf). Do I also go back further and double up on The White Album, Magical Mystery Tour, Sgt Pepper, and Revolver? Or do I bite the bullet and buy the stereo box too? What other ways can I give these people my money?
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