by admin on January 15, 2010
Christmas (and birthday) shopping for a Beatles fan has never been easier than it is now with the release of three new very cool Beatles products on 9/9/9 (these three new products will be the first three Christmas gift ideas listed. ) In all this article features seven great gift ideas for any Beatles fan among your family & friends.
#1) The Beatles in Stereo Box Set – This is probably the most obvious choice as it’s a comprehensive collection of every Beatles song released from 1962 through 1970 in newly remastered sound (these CDs sound far superior to the old Beatles CDs) and with really great packaging (much better than the old CDs. )
#2) The Beatles in Mono Box Set – This is the best choice for the really serious Beatles fan who wants to hear The Beatles music as it was originally intended to be heard. Also, since these box sets are being made in limited quantities – it’s a great gift idea for anyone who considers themselves a “collector. ” Who knows how many copies of these will be made? In my view this box set is just as essential as the stereo box set and to my ears many of these mono mixes actually do sound better than the stereo mixes (and they often sound quite different which makes them essential for a completest. )
#3) The Beatles Rock Band Video Game – Completing the first three gift ideas of new products released in 2009. Of course this game requires a video game console of some kind (either a Wii, PS3, or an XBox 360) but don’t think that this game is only for those who love games. I actually think many older Beatles fans who have never got into playing video games before will love playing this game. Also, it’s a really great way to improve your drumming and your singing!
#4) The Beatles Anthology DVD Set – Many Beatles fans already own these of course, but if you notice that they don’t then this would make an excellent gift! Every fan should own The Anthology. It’s a 10 hour documentary for God’s sake! It’s brilliant!
#5) The Beatles Anthology CDs – There were three sets of Anthologies released in the mid 1990s and they are all really great gift ideas (obviously you may want to snoop around and see if they already own them. )
#6) Love – The Love CD was released a couple of years ago and it’s really a very interesting “mash-up” of The Beatles music. It really sounds fantastic and gives a new perspective on their songs. This hasn’t really sold in huge quantities so I think there’s a good shot that the fan in your family may not already own it!
#7) The Capital Box Sets – Not too long ago there were two Capital box sets released which contain the band’s first 8 American LPs on CD for the first time. After those first 8 American LPs, the same LPs were released in the UK & and in the US but for for the first couple of years there were totally different albums released in America and many older American fans still remember those albums and would probably love to have them on CD!
The Beatles Remastered Box Sets are the most highly recommended gifts by Mike Jensy. Both The Beatles In Stereo and The Beatles In Mono box sets are essential to most Beatles fans!
Tagged as:
Beatles,
Beatles Anthology Dvd,
Beatles Cds,
Beatles Christmas,
Beatles Dvd,
Beatles Fan,
Beatles Fans,
Beatles Music,
Beatles Song,
Beatles Video,
Best Choice,
Christmas,
Christmas Gift Ideas,
Christmas Present Ideas,
Fans,
Great Gift Idea,
Great Gift Ideas,
Ideas,
Limited Quantities,
Playing Video Games,
Present,
Rock Band Video Game,
Seven,
Wii,
Xbox 360
by admin on January 9, 2010
I’m sure you’ve already heard a lot about The Beatles 2009 remasters. They’ve got a huge amount of of hype considering that they are essentially re-releases of music that most people who are buying them already own.
As someone who grew to love The Beatles music from their 1980s CDs I think that their great song writing and their great performances are far more important than variations in sound quality from one format to another but that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t excited about the 2009 remasters. After all, I had heard plenty about how the ’80s discs were not of the highest quality since digital mastering was in it’s infancy at the time and audio engineers of the time just didn’t have the same advanced tools and knowledge that they do today.
But hearing the original mono mixes for the first time was even more exciting than hearing those remasters for the first time. Until the new Beatles in Mono box set was released I had never heard some of the greatest Beatles albums the way they were originally intended to be heard. It can be difficult to understand today since we are so far removed from it, but at the time mono was the standard way to listen to music. Stereo was mostly the domain of hi-end “audiophiles” who, for the most part, had little interest in popular music (although The Beatles both directly and indirectly have changed that since then. )
It was (and still is) a really wonderful listening experience to hear Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band how the band and George Martin first mixed it (and how the majority of Beatles fans originally heard it) in the ’60s. There are easily noticeable differences in these mono versions when compared to the stereo versions that I had previously been used to. It’s not so much that they’re better (because I often prefer the stereo mixes) but that they sound different. I love being able to hear those differences.
Along with the box sets (stereo and mono) there’s also an all digital version of The Beatles in Stereo which is known as The Beatles USB. This is actually the very first release of the legendary band’s music in the mp3 format but there’s actually something more exciting than just the inclusion of their entire catalog in remastered stereo in high quality mp3s (although that is cool, isn’t it?) What is that more exciting thing? That the USB flash drive also includes 44. 1kHz/24bit FLAC files.
These 24bit FLAC files are actually of higher quality than 16bit CD files which means that The Beatles USB actually contains the highest quality version of The Beatles remasters available (until, of course, the remastered catalog gets released in 96kHz/24bit or even 192kHz/24bit on DVD and/or blu-ray in the future. )
Of course these remasters haven’t been only been made available for listening, they’ve also been made available for playing with The Beatles Rock Band. And if you’re someone who automatically think you’re not interested in video games, I beg of you to keep an open mind. This is a really fun game. I am not someone who plays video games normally, but I absolutely love The Beatles Rock Band. It’s fantastic.
The Beatles Stereo & Mono Remasters are both essential to any Beatles fans collection. The Beatles Remasters have been long anticipated and by all accounts The Beatles Remasters exceeded all expectations.
Tagged as:
Advanced Tools,
Audio Engineers,
Audiophiles,
Beatles,
Beatles Albums,
Beatles Fans,
Beatles Music,
Beatles Remasters,
Great Performances,
Hearts Club Band,
Infancy,
Lonely Hearts Club,
Lonely Hearts Club Band,
Mono Versions,
Music Stereo,
Noticeable Differences,
Popular Music,
Remasters,
Sgt Pepper,
Song Writing,
Sound Quality,
Stereo,
Stereo Versions
by admin on January 6, 2010
If you’re a Beatles fan who already owns all of their albums on CD I can understand feeling like it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to buy the new remastered Beatles CDs. You maybe thinking “How much difference does it really make?” or “I’ve already spent hundreds of dollars on The Beatles CDs, do I really need to spend more?” Yes, I can understand this feeling, but I completely disagree with it! I bought the Beatles box sets as soon as they became available for pre-order and in this article I hope to explain why all other serious Beatles fans should also buy these CD box sets.
I think the importance of the Mono Box Set is actually quite obvious. This is the first time that these original mono mixes have been made available on CD. And it doesn’t take too much of a history lesson to understand why these mono mixes matter so much. These were the mixes that the band itself worked on so hard in the 1960s. These were the mixes that they thought of as the real final version of their albums. Why? Because throughout most of the 1960s (up until the final couple of years) mono was the “standard” by which almost everyone listened to their music so it made sense for The Beatles to work much harder on the mono mixes than on the stereo mixes. Believe it or not, stereo was thought by many to be a “fad” at the time.
So clearly these original mono mixes are an important part of the history of The Beatles and anyone who wants to hear their music as it was originally hears in the ’60s should be very curious to hear these new mixes. But there’s more to it than that. It’s not just about the historical importance of these mono mixes and a “curiosity factor. ” Lots of Beatles fans have claimed that these mono versions of famous albums such as Sgt. Pepper are actually better than the stereo versions. John Lennon himself said that the mono Sgt. Pepper was much better than the stereo mix.
The Mono Box Set includes The Beatles first 10 UK studio albums (all of them up through the self title double album that’s known as The White Album) and a compilation of non album tracks in their original mono titled Mono Masters. This non album tracks compilation is actually a vital part of this box set because many of The Beatles greatest songs were never included on a studio album (including “Hey Jude” & “Day Tripper” among many others. ) Beyond the music, this box set also includes some very cool packaging, most notably the vinyl replica artwork for each album in the collection.
A cool bonus feature of the Mono Box Set is that it also includes the original stereo mixes of Help! and Rubber Soul which had been lost to history because both albums were remixed for stereo in 1987 when The Beatles albums were first released on CD. This is the first time that the original stereo mixes of these two albums will be released on CD.
The importance of the remastered Stereo Box Set may not be quite as obvious but it should be noted that these new stereo versions of The Beatles classic albums will be the new “standard” these will be the only versions of the albums available for sale as individual CDs. In other words these are going to be the CDs that everyone else is hearing, don’t you want to know what they’re hearing? Plus these newly remastered versions should reveal interesting new details in The Beatles music that you may not have heard before due to an unprecedented clarity in the recordings.
Johnny Moon recommends that all Beatles fans: Buy The Stereo Box Set and The Mono Box Set. Read this Music Blog for cool Beatles related articles.
Tagged as:
1960s,
60s,
Beatles,
Beatles Cds,
Beatles Fan,
Beatles Fans,
Beatles Remastered,
Buy Cd,
Cd Box Sets,
Curiosity,
Fad,
Fans,
History Lesson,
History Of The Beatles,
John Lennon,
Mono,
Mono Versions,
Remastered,
Remastered Cds,
Sgt Pepper,
Should,
Stereo Mix,
Stereo Versions,
Whole Lot
by admin on December 31, 2009
The Beatles entered the world of compact disc in the late 1980s when their entire catalog was released on the (new at the time) medium.
Unfortunately there were a couple of big issues with the way their music was released on CD. The first was that it wasn’t mastered particularly well (some would say that’s an understatement. ) The second was that only the stereo mixes for most of their albums were released on CD, leaving the mono mixes that were the standard for most of The Beatles career on the shelf.
Both of these issues have been corrected in 2009 with the release of new Beatles remasters. Digital mastering has come a long way since the ’80s and while that hasn’t all been progress (look into the “loudness wars”) the technological advances did wonders for these remasters because those that did them had the taste not to over compress and squeeze the life out of the music.
And with the release of The Beatles in Mono Box Set, the original mono mixes that most Beatles fans listened to in the 1960s are finally available on CD.
While The Beatles in Mono was the most exciting new Beatles release for real hardcore Beatles purists, the most popular box set has definitely been The Beatles in Stereo. And that’s for a lot of very good reasons. For one it includes The Beatles entire 1960s discography (unlike the mono box set which is missing the last few albums) and for another it sounds absolutely delicious! While it’s a real treat to hear the mono mixes for the first time, I must say that it’s the stereo mixes that stay in my CD player the most because they just sound so great.
Compared to the old CDs, these new remastered stereo discs really pop. In particular I find that Paul McCartney’s wonderful bass lines (and in my opinion, he’s the best bassist in pop music history) really punch through the mix like never before. But Ringo’s drums and the beautiful harmony vocals are close runner ups as they both seem to be more clear in the mix than before.
If I had to choose just one song as an example of how much better these new stereo mixes sound I would point to “Long Long Long” which sounds like it’s under a pile of blankets on the old CD. There are bits in this song that were nearly inaudible before, that now really jump into the ear and make themselves known. It’s a revelatory experience listening to this wonderful under appreciated George Harrison written gem.
As great as the stereo box set is, there are still some “purists” who feel strongly that The Beatles in Mono is really the way to go if you want to hear The Beatles as they were originally meant to be heard. The reason they believe this is because back in the 1960s almost all of The Beatles fans actually listened to their music on mono playback systems. And John, Paul, George, & Ringo themselves grew up listening to mono.
Because of this they put almost all of their energy into making sure the mono mixes were as good as they could be. On the other hand up until around 1968 the band and it’s producers didn’t put nearly as much thought into their stereo mixes. They were usually “thrown together” after they worked out the mono mix.
Often times they would try experimental approaches such as having all of the vocals on one side and all of the drums on the other. Because of this many people find many of the stereo mixes unsettling to listen to on headphones.
These two box sets are not the only remastered Beatles compilations released in 2009. The third is The Beatles USB “Apple” flash drive which is a digital version of The Beatles in Stereo. It includes the same elements (both sound & vision) except on a USB instead of on a set of CDs.
The really cool thing about it to me is that you can essential hold The Beatles entire career in your hand. I think that’s fantastic. It’s also very cool that this USB contains “better than CD” audiophile 24bit FLAC versions of all of their stereo remasters. Of course it also includes the first official release of The Beatles in the mp3 format, and they do it right with high quality 320 mp3 files.
All three of these of these groovy products makes 2009 the year of the Remastered Beatles.
Mike Jensy recommends you collect ‘em all: (1) Remastered Beatles in Stereo Box Set. (2) Remastered Beatles in Mono Box Set (3) Remastered Beatles USB (MP3 & FLAC)
Tagged as:
Bass Lines,
Beatles,
Beatles Discography,
Beatles Fans,
Beatles Release,
Beatles Remasters,
Best Bassist,
Compact Disc,
Harmony Vocals,
Paul Mccartney,
Pop Music History,
Purists,
Real Hardcore,
Remastered,
Ringo,
Runner Ups,
Stereo,
Technological Advances,
Time Medium,
Understatement,
Ups,
Very Good Reasons
by admin on December 19, 2009
While Paul McCartney was the most well known member of the band to indulge in seemingly ethereal song concepts, John Lennon was also from time to time given to contribute his own musical visions. With Across The Universe Beatles fans were treated to a glimpse into Lennon’s creative process. In 1967, Lennon was inspired during an argument he had with his wife. While listening to her talking at him, rather than to him, the first line of ‘Across The Universe’ kept repeating in his mind: ‘words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup’. Whether this indicated the state of Lennon’s feelings regarding his marriage or was truly a transcendental moment the world will never know, but the line persisted in Lennon’s imagination and he began to search for music and verses to accompany it.
At the time, the Beatles were in their Indian guru / meditation phase, which accounts for the inclusion of the ‘Jai guru deva om’ mantra, spoken in Sanskrit in the chorus of the song. The song was somewhat hastily recorded prior to a trip to India, and Lennon was not satisfied with the results. It was shelved, and other tracks were released to tide the public over until the group could return from their vacation. He later groused that he felt McCartney had tried to steamroll the song through the studio, a glimpse of the impending breakup of the band due to constant inner squabbling. The song was remixed in order to be part of a charity release before it was properly packaged onto the ‘Let It Be’ album. It was one of the few contributions Lennon made during the recording sessions for that album.
Interestingly, the song has had a lasting impact on world culture long after its original release. In a film named Across The Universe Beatles songs and themes were used to tie together a rather loose plot. The film was more of a visual and musical exploration than a proper narrative. ‘Across The Universe’ also had the honor of being broadcast into space on X band radio raves by NASA in 2008. It was only the second time that a piece of music had been intentionally transmitted into deep space, although radio waves from all over the planet routinely bridge the gap between the stars. This was done in celebration of the 50th anniversary of NASA, and hopefully anyone out there on the receiving end will be converted into a Beatles fan.
Classic-Rock-Music. com is the mystical rehersal studio for rockers DEMON TWEAK. Listen as they prepare for battle with the evil trickster Loki by playing home brewed classic rock direct from Ragnarok. Also read articles on your favorite classic rock band written by resident historian VIRGIL THE STORYTELLER
Tagged as:
Across,
Across The Universe,
Beatles,
Beatles Fans,
Beatles Songs,
Creative Process,
Endless Rain,
Even,
Glimpse,
Guru Meditation,
Imagination,
Inclusion,
Indian Guru,
Jai Guru Deva,
John Lennon,
Mantra,
Musical Exploration,
Musical Visions,
Narrative,
Paul Mccartney,
Reaching,
Resonate,
Sanskrit,
Today,
Universe,
World Culture
by admin on November 13, 2009
The original Yellow Submarine album released in January 1969 is considered by most Beatles fans to be the worst album the band has ever released as it contained only six songs of the Beatles true Instrumentals (other tracks have been rather boring created by producer George Martin) and only four of these six songs were new. Two of the six were previously released songs "Yellow Submarine" 1966 and "All You Need Is Love" 1967.En 1999 a new album was released to coincide with a new version of the film Yellow Submarine on DVD. This new version includes all six songs from the 1969 album of original songs and nine others. The album was entitled Yellow Submarine. It is entitled "Songtrack" rather than "soundtrack" because it presents the songs played in the film rather than instrumental music that was presented in the original version. What was most remarkable about "Songtrack" published in 1999 was that each of the songs included have been remixed and remastered from original tapes, which is something that has not been done for the CD versions of their album (other than Rubber Soul & Help!) This gives songs sound very different from what one hears on the other versions and this is why I recommend that the Beatles fanatic buy this album, even if they already have 15 chansons.The Yellow Submarine is actually one of the 'Listening to the most psychedelic experience one can have with the music of the Beatles due not only to the sparkling new mix, but also because, for most songs on this album are among the works most Beatles psychédéliques.L 'album includes four new songs (new at the time, of course) "It's All Too Much", "Only a Northern Song," "All Together Now" and "Hey Bulldog" with songs from Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour. The greatest thing about this album is that it saves four new songs that were released on the original album yellow submarine (where they have been largely ignored.) In particular, it is nice that " ; Hey Bulldog "and" It's All Too Much "is featured on this album as they are two of the best songs of the Beatles that many Beatles fans have never heard parler.De 1965's Rubber Soul album contains" Nowhere Man "&" Think for yourself. "From 1966 Revolver album contains" Yellow Submarine "(no surprise there!)," Eleanor Rigby "&" Love You To. "A From the 1967 album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album contains "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "When I'm 64," "With A Little Help From My Friends" and the title song, "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" which sounds particularly different from the version we're used to. All songs on this album have been remixed and remastered from original tapes so they sound slightly different versions available on other albums of Beatles.De in 1967's Magical Mystery Tour album contains "Baby You're a Rich Man "(What a strange piece that is great) with" All You Need Is Love. "There are some reasons to get the Yellow Submarine. One is that the album is really enjoyable to listen because it is filled with great songs. Another is that it saves "Hey Bulldog", "Only a Northern Song" & "It's All Too Much" from the original album are mostly ignored yellow submarine. And another is that the songs included here are remixed and remastered from original tapes and they sound very different (and in most cases better) than the versions available on their official studio albums.
Marvin J. Markus recommends buying Beatles Magical Mystery Tour CD and The White Album Double CD online. Marvin said the White Album to be the greatest album of all time.
Tagged as:
Beatles,
Beatles Album,
Beatles Fans,
Bulldog,
Film Yellow Submarine,
Instrumental Music,
Instrumentals,
Love Quot,
Magical Mystery Tour,
Music Of The Beatles,
New Album,
New Songs,
Origi,
Original Version,
Pepper,
Producer George Martin,
Psychedelic Experience,
Quot Quot,
Revolver,
Rubber Soul,
Songtrack,
Submarine,
Yellow
by admin on November 1, 2009
Many Beatles fans are unaware of the impact Anglo-folk singer and guitarist Donovan (Donovan Philips Leitch) had on the Beatles and their music in 1968.
Donovan was a friend of the Beatles, and when the group traveled to Rishikesh in India to study transcendental meditation in February 1968, Donovan has arrived. There were several other westerners present at the Rishikesh camp too, including Mike Love of the Beach Boys.
Several of the songs that appear later in 1968 the Beatles album entitled The Beatles – also known as The White Album because of its white cover – emerged during the group's stay in India.
One reason is the fact that Donovan was there. Between classes mediation, he taught John, Paul George and the special finger-picking guitar style can be traced on many of the songs on the White Album.
Take Paul McCartney's Blackbird, for example. It was written in India, and is an excellent example of how Donovan guitar technique has been applied by the Beatles. Listen how elegantly Paul chooses the strings and how the guitar model supports voice brilliantly.
Acoustic guitars were probably not hear quite as sophisticated as that on previous recordings of the Beatles, perhaps a few exceptions, like Paul's I've Just Seen A Face of 1965 and a daughter of John Lennon from 1966. The Beatles had often used the acoustic to play rhythm guitar – which of course worked perfectly – but Donovan's finger-picking style added another dimension to their music.
Another song of Paul, Mother Nature's Son, also took the form of India. Here also the influence of Donovan is obvious. The lyrics, meanwhile, is said to have been influenced by a lecture given by the meditation guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a central figure in the camp.
Paul was obviously not the only Beatle who was inspired by the technique of guitar Donovan. Just listen to the songs Julia and Dear Prudence, both written by John Lennon. Dear Prudence is actually a specific incident which occurred in Camp Rishikesh meditation. The song is really Prudence Farrow, the sister of actress Mia Farrow, who also stayed at Rishikesh. Prudence, however, preferred to meditate in solitude in her chalet. In the end Lennon and George Harrison had to convince her to leave and join the others: Dear Prudence, will not you come out and play?
Other songs written or inspired by his stay in India were Lennon, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill and Sexy Sadie, more McCartney's Why Do not We Do It In The Road and Wild Honey Pie.
Sexy Sadie was originally called after Maharishi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the guru meditation. After having stayed in India for some time, Lennon lost trust in Maharishi, apparently because of a rumor that the guru had made sexual advances to a female member of the course. The continuing story of Bungalow Bill was about college graduate named Richard Cooke III who visited the Rishikesh community because her mother Nancy was staying there. They are in fact the tiger hunt, as the song suggests.
Paul McCartney later said he had the idea of Why Do not We Do It In The Road? India, where he had seen two monkeys copulating in the street. Wild Honey Pie was a sing along that also emerged in Rishikesh.
The first Beatle to leave India was Ringo, who returned to London in early March. McCartney soon followed, while Lennon and Harrison left in April.
You can read all the Beatles songs posted on my website: http://www. thebeatlesonline. com
Andreas Walstad is a journalist and author of http://www. thebeatlesonline. com
Tagged as:
Acoustic Guitars,
Beatle,
Beatles,
Beatles Album,
Beatles Fans,
Beatles Music,
Dear Prudence,
Donovan,
Donovan Leitch,
Donovan Lyrics,
Finger Picking Guitar,
Folk Singer,
Guitar Model,
Guitar Style,
Guitar Technique,
India,
Mahesh Yogi,
Mike Love,
Paul Mother,
Rhythm Guitar,
S Finger,
Transcendental Meditation,
Westerners
