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The Beatles Vinyl...coming soon?

The Beatles

I have a lot of the original Beatles LP's. Better to just get your best price on those CD's you like and call it a life. 1966 until they were done was the better music by the 4. Those of us over the hill should move on and listen to other music. Is it finally time to get a day in the rest of your life?
Future Man said:
For the love of all that is holy, when in the heck are they going to release The Beatles vinyl box??? We know it's coming. Michael Fremer made a mention of the cause for delay in his review of The Stones' box sets. But when? Is there any update on this....anywhere?

Supposedly it will be from the digital masters that were used for the CD reissues. Not ideal, but it will still be nice to have a modern pressing on audiophile vinyl in a nice package. As someone commented about the Stones' box, no it isn't perfect, but look at it as the last time this will be done in our lifetimes if ever. The resurgence in vinyl will most likely not last forever and then these audiophile reissues will be very few and far between. Were it not for the sorry state of the music business, I don't think record companies would even notice the blip that this resurgence has caused. They only cater to it now because they are hurting so bad.
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Is this cash cow ever going to run dry? According to Wikipedia:

  • Studio albums 27
  • Live albums 4
  • Compilation albums 54
  • EPs 17
  • Singles 55
  • Video albums 10
  • Music videos 37

FIFTY FOUR compilation albums?! People will actually re-buy the same songs that many times?!
 
addaz said:
Is this cash cow ever going to run dry? According to Wikipedia:

  • Studio albums 27
  • Live albums 4
  • Compilation albums 54
  • EPs 17
  • Singles 55
  • Video albums 10
  • Music videos 37

FIFTY FOUR compilation albums?! People will actually re-buy the same songs that many times?!
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Actually, of the major rock groups of the '60s, the Beatles are somewhat under-served by hits comps, esp. since the four members (or their estates) got control of the masters in the '80s. Currently only the very worthy Red and Blue albums and the 1 album (which serves the purpose of being a single-disc collection for casual fans) are in print. Then you've got the archival BBC and Anthology releases, the well-regarded reimagining of Love, and the Past Masters odds and sods collections of non-LP songs. That's really not that bad for a major group. The Who's catalog is way more ridiculous when it comes to pointless and repetitive comps.

And I'd consider the number 54 pretty suspect in any case. After all, can you name all 27 studio albums that Wikipedia claims they made?

Anyway, we're not talking about comps in this thread, we're talking about remasters on vinyl. Given that so many people are into vinyl again, I can't see why anyone would have a problem with EMI making it available once again.
 
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I have the stereo AND mono box-sets, including the 24-bit USB version, and my only problem with them is the mastering-compression that was added (the only thing that keeps me from listening to them much at all). Whatever warmth was left in those digital tranfers was completely-eliminated when they added compression. And in the trade-off, we got sterility and fatigue - NOT what I wanted. Seems kind of pointless to do all that restoration work with the original master tapes, only to boost the hell out of it with mastering-compression (and this has been the case with most compilations going back to the late '90's). I don't get it.

That said, I DO like my 180g "Let It Bleed" LP, which was sourced from the digital transfers, so perhaps the remastered Beatle vinyl might turn out okay, as long as they don't go brickwalling them. It makes no sense to work that way. If you listen, to the original Canadian "Help" and "Rubber Soul" CD's (the 1st batch that accidentally wound up using the '65 mixes instead of the remixes), those discs are LOADED with warmth, and yet it's a different story with the '09 remasters. At what point did people start mistaking boosted highs for fidelity?
 
Bobby D. said:
My beef with remasters is that the recording engineers just can't resist creative remixing, and in the worst case adding reverb. If the engineers can improve the fidelity of the original, fine. BUT, DON'T MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A COMLETELY DIFFERENT RECORDING.
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I have the Beatles Capitol reissues that came out a few years ago, which has the mono and stereo versions of the Beatles American releases [the British versions were used on the original CD releases], and that's exactly what happened in the 60's. In some cases the US releases had added reverb and sounded way different from the UK albums.
 
Future Man said:
No, it hasn't. Those are old pressings of questionable source material.

I think most have missed what I was asking. The box sets that have been posted here are of questionable sources.

As an aside, if the only thing you've ever heard is the Capitol pressings. You have my sympathy. Capitol butchered the material to make it "user friendly" for American radio and Americans with crappy turntables.
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Do you have any links or sources that back up these statements? I'd like to read more.
 
Renzor213 said:
I agree the Beatle's had some pretty good material, and own several of their recording's myself. Think after 45 year's plus, about had enough though, and really not interested in adding any more. Possibly change my mind later on, but doubt it.
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That is my personal view. I have owned lots of Beatles lps, cds, remastered cds. Beatles lps are easily available, though many pressings are so so.

I might consider buying some individual titles in mono, should the record company ever issue the mono mixes that way, but that is the extent of my interest in Beatles.
 
It seems to me that Paul McCartney recently said (in a magazine interview) that the same team that worked on the 2009 CD reissues, is doing the same thing for vinyl.

That being said, and due to the popularity of the mono CD resissues, I'm guessing that the new vinyl will be reissued in both mono and stereo sets. Who konws how they'll handle individual album sales.

The real scary thing for me is this: even though I already have tons of Beatles vinyl and tons of Beatles CD's, I KNOW FOR A FACT that I'll absolutely have to have any new vinyl reissues that come out...and probably at least two sets of each: one to play and one to keep sealed. After buying two sets of each of the new Stones vinyl, I'm already broke so I'm in no hurry for the Beatles vinyl reissues as bad as I'd like to see them.
 
timofred said:
The 'Love' Album was done from the original 40 year old 24 track tapes.

Surely the new masters would be done from the same tapes, wouldn't they ?
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Most of the Beatles' recordings were done on 4 tracks, not 24. The earliest sessions ('62-'63) were twin-track, and from '68 onward they had 8 tracks at Abbey Road.

Unlike the "Love" album, which was remixed from the multitracks, the core CD remasters were cut from the vintage stereo or mono master mixes (except for George Martin's 1987 remixes of "Help" and "Rubber Soul").
 
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A note: The Mobile Fidelity box is very smiley face EQ'ed. The UK EMI Blue Box is miles superior to it. But for those who need new copies, we need the new remasters on LP from decent sources at affordable prices. In my area, even late US Capitol pressings in NM are fetching $20 easily. Even VG late reissue LP copies are now over $15. The demand is there. Some record shops are now getting over $30 for early 1980's EMI 2 Box pressings in NM.
 
goldwax said:
Can't speak to the MoFi, but the two EMI boxes were. But if you disagree, what do you suppose they were sourced from, then, and what evidence do you have to support it?
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The Mofi is definitely from the original stereo master tapes. It was advertised as such and everyone knows that because that was their big selling point. "Half Speed from Original Master Tapes".

I said questionable on the other boxes because I've never seen any statement to indicate that they were from the original tapes. Is it tape copy of the originals, or a tape of a tape copy? Who knows. I would think that Mofi wouldn't have made such a big deal out of theirs being from the original tapes if the previous US/UK boxes that preceded it by only a couple of years had been as well.

If you have a UK box, then maybe. If you have a Capitol US box, doubtful. Those tapes weren't leaving the EMI vault to be flown to the US. Even if the lacquer was cut in the UK from the originals and then shipped to the US for plating, who cares. The rebound of the lacquer during transport would have negated any gain from original tapes.

The definitive answer on all this can be obtained from Michael Fremer. He's talked with Sir Martin and Jeff Emmerick at length about all things Beatles recording related.
 
addaz said:
Is this cash cow ever going to run dry? According to Wikipedia:

  • Studio albums 27
  • Live albums 4
  • Compilation albums 54
  • EPs 17
  • Singles 55
  • Video albums 10
  • Music videos 37

FIFTY FOUR compilation albums?! People will actually re-buy the same songs that many times?!
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That doesn't even begin to scratch all the bootleg releases out there. One music store here must have about 30 of those on the shelves, releases I've never even heard of.


KentTeffeteller said:
A note: The Mobile Fidelity box is very smiley face EQ'ed. The UK EMI Blue Box is miles superior to it. But for those who need new copies, we need the new remasters on LP from decent sources at affordable prices. In my area, even late US Capitol pressings in NM are fetching $20 easily. Even VG late reissue LP copies are now over $15. The demand is there. Some record shops are now getting over $30 for early 1980's EMI 2 Box pressings in NM.
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Glad to read this, since I have the EMI Blue Box set, but have so far looked in vain for the MF box.

There was one store here that had a copy of that red vinyl Japanese-made mono boxed set (generally considered the best-sounding version ever), in absolute mint (probably never played?) condition, but their price was way out of range. (The store closed down, incidentally... ALL their stuff was good, but very high-priced.)


I don't know quite what it is about the "collector's urge"... I bought both the stereo and mono CD boxes when they came out, and will certainly buy the vinyl versions, and would grab the MFSL box if I found a(n affordable) copy for sale... I have the blue box set and multiple copies of most of their original LPs (several on early/original UK Parlophone label and the first US VeeJay) and yet I'm not really all that big a Beatles fan, when it comes to listening to them. I'll put on the occasional Beatles LP when the mood strikes me, but I suppose if it weren't for the memories I associate with the music and their rather special "iconic" status, I'd probably be happy to have just ONE decent set of their stuff, and then stop. With most other artists, I'm happy to keep just one "best" copy of any LP, and other than occasionally upgrading when I find a better copy, stop at that. Beatles somehow get a little bit disproportionate attention. (That said, there are one or two other groups, like Pink Floyd, where I keep multiples, different pressings from different countries, of the same LP. I guess I mostly "collect" music to listen to, and for just a few artists/records, I COLLECT them. Yet I'm not a serious Beatles collector --I willingly pass up on all those bootlegs I mentioned, for example, although if I were serious about collecting Beatles records, I'd buy them all.)
 
I've spent a bundle tracking down early UK copies of most of the Beatles LPs I desire.

Even if the new, hi-rez digital LPs sound better than my beloved copies, I'll be loathe to admit it.

BTW - most of the reviews of the recent Stones vinyl box sets are quite positive re: SQ.

I may spring for a few titles, but my Beatles bag is basically full. However, if I were starting from scratch, this might be a no brainer.
 
Anyone who has the Mofi set can see on each album jacket the info inside each album's tape box. It shows each time the mater tape was used through the years for re-cuts of the Parlophone albums. I agree with others concerning the smiley face eq of the Mofi box set. There are other Mofi releases that suffer from the same problem. And Magical Mystery Tour on Mofi is not from the original master tape. All the tapes for the Mofi set came from EMI's vault in the UK. That includes MMT. Capitol made up their master from tape copies sent by EMI. Copied to a eq for vinyl master copy. In 1976 EMI put their own version of MMT out in the UK. Capitol sent them a copy of the vinyl cutting master. EMI then made their own cutting master making the eq changes they wanted and that is what Mofi used. A 6th generation tape at least.
 
KeninDC said:
I've spent a bundle tracking down early UK copies of most of the Beatles LPs I desire.

Even if the new, hi-rez digital LPs sound better than my beloved copies, I'll be loathe to admit it.

BTW - most of the reviews of the recent Stones vinyl box sets are quite positive re: SQ.

I may spring for a few titles, but my Beatles bag is basically full. However, if I were starting from scratch, this might be a no brainer.
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I've made it known to my family that for my birthday I want the ABKO Stones box. I don't need the UMG box because I have original copies of most of those albums and they compressed that one too much. Even though the ABKO box is from the same high res digital files that were used for the vinyl release in '02 or '03 (can't remember when exactly), I've heard the DMM pressing sounds great. As hard as it was (and expensive) to track down the original Beatles pressings, I don't even wanna go down that road with the Stones. Their early catalog is a mess. I'm even more of a Stones junkie than a Beatles junkie and those early albums are must own for me. :D
 
Ray7027 said:
Anyone who has the Mofi set can see on each album jacket the info inside each album's tape box. It shows each time the mater tape was used through the years for re-cuts of the Parlophone albums. I agree with others concerning the smiley face eq of the Mofi box set. There are other Mofi releases that suffer from the same problem. And Magical Mystery Tour on Mofi is not from the original master tape. All the tapes for the Mofi set came from EMI's vault in the UK. That includes MMT. Capitol made up their master from tape copies sent by EMI. Copied to a eq for vinyl master copy. In 1976 EMI put their own version of MMT out in the UK. Capitol sent them a copy of the vinyl cutting master. EMI then made their own cutting master making the eq changes they wanted and that is what Mofi used. A 6th generation tape at least.
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Thanks for the info. Perhaps this explains why I didn't care for my MMT MoFi copy and dumped it on fleabay. I replaced it with a 70's Parlaphone copy which is even more horrendous. I guess I should have kept the MoFi version before getting something else. Lesson learned.
 
When I played my Parlophone issue of MMT you can hear the loud tape hiss between the tracks. I'm really surprised that since EMI owns the original masters, that they did not put out their version like the all stereo German release from a few years before.
 
addaz said:
Is this cash cow ever going to run dry? According to Wikipedia:

  • Studio albums 27
  • Live albums 4
  • Compilation albums 54
  • EPs 17
  • Singles 55
  • Video albums 10
  • Music videos 37

FIFTY FOUR compilation albums?! People will actually re-buy the same songs that many times?!
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My guess is that the numerous compilation albums includes those released in different corners of the world at different times. The Beatles in Italy is one of the more well-known examples and it came out 5 years before the group even called it quits- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_in_Italy

The most well known examples are the American ones- the Red and Blue collections, Rock & Roll Music and its polar opposite, Love Songs. All four of those were in the 70s when the Beatles as an intact unit was not such a distant memory.

Then came those with "new material" such as Rarities, the Anthology series, and Love. I do not know who was buying One or whatever that one was called, but there seemed to be millions who did not have those on their other albums.

At the end of the day, if it sells, they will keep repackaging it. Do the Beatles have enough #2s to make a compilation? Perhaps one with just Ringo songs?:D

Memo to Capitol/EMI: Rerelease Hollywood Bowl or better yet, do a multi-live show series with the Hollywood Bowl shows, Ed Sullivan shows, David Frost shows, the Rooftoop, All You Need is Love live, a couple of Budokan tracks, and a Hamburg era tune thrown in for fun.

Give it a nice package with lots of pics and a DVD. I cannot believe it will fail to sell millions and reignite yet more debates about the Beatles.:yes:
 
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