by admin on January 21, 2010
When The Beatles were recording their legendary albums in the 1960s almost everyone listened back to their music using a mono playback system. Since nearly everyone was listening back to their music in mono it only made sense that The Beatles spent most of their time perfecting their mono mixes while basically just “throwing together” the stereo mixes. In fact, according to Geoff Emerick (who worked on many of The Beatles recordings) the band itself spent almost no time on the stereo mixes.
The first 10 Beatles albums were all mixed in mono as well as in stereo (the first two albums were only mixed in mono. ) And now as a part of The Beatles Mono Box Set all 10 of those albums are included in their original mono mix. This is a huge deal to Beatles purists who want to hear their songs as they were originally meant to be heard.
But it’s not just “purists” that should be interested in hearing these mono mixes. Many have claimed that the mono mixes are not only how these albums were meant to be heard but that they actually sound far better in mono than they do in stereo. For example John Lennon himself has said that the 1967 classic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sounds much better in mono than it does in stereo.
And even if it doesn’t sound “better” (that’s a subjective statement anyway. ) It certainly sounds different! There are many differences in what you can hear in the mono versions of Sgt. Pepper and the other Beatles albums from what you can hear in the stereo versions. Certain instruments are mixed more loudly. There are certain effects (such as an echo on the vocals on “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”) which were lost in the stereo versions. If you’re a big Beatles fan like I am then you are curious to hear this alternative version. Particularly when you think about how this is the way most people heard it for the first time back in 1967!
Along with those first 10 Beatles albums (all of the UK studio albums including Magical Mystery Tour even though it was initially released only as an EP in the UK) there’s also a non album songs set called Mono Masters which is included. Mono Masters has all of The Beatles songs which were never included on an album which were mixed in mono. If you’re thinking that non album means that they aren’t very good songs then you are definitely mistaken! Many of The Beatles greatest songs were never included on an album including huge hits like “Day Tripper” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand. ”
The Beatles final three albums (including Let It Be & Abbey Road) are not included in the mono box set. Why not? Because they were never mixed in mono in the first place. By 1969 mono had been so completely phased out that The Beatles didn’t bother mixing their albums in mono at all. How quickly things changed in the 1960s!
CLICK HERE to learn more about The Beatles Mono Box Set including how you can order it online 24/7/365 at the best price without paying any shipping fees. Also buy The Beatles Stereo Box Set.
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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.
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by admin on October 23, 2009
One of the most influential rock bands and commercially successful, the Beatles enjoyed from popularity1960 enormous. This group of four from Liverpool (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Star) was not only a huge success in the UK, across the globe, he has won several honors. With more than 40 different singles, albums and EPs, the Beatles have enjoyed the number one position for many occasions. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked The Beatles # 1 on its list of 100 greatest artists of all time. According to the same magazine, their innovative music and cultural impact helped define the 1960s, and their influence on pop culture is even more evident today.
Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and skiffle Homegrown, the group explored a variety of genres ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, hairstyles and statements the trend-setters, while their social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s. The Beatles won a record six diamond-selling albums (10 million copies) to their credit – Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles, Abbey Road, The Beatles: 1962-1966, The Beatles: 1967-1970, and The Beatles 1.
If you are a fan of the Beatles, and the various portals on the World Wide Web offers you a wide selection of Beatles albums to really thrown out money. All famous albums like A Hard Days Night, Abbey Road, Help, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles 1 and many others are available on our website. Buy these albums and Croon along numbers like "The Night Before", "I Need You, You've Got To Hide Your Love Away," "Ticket to Ride," "You're Going To Lose That Girl" "I 've Just Seen a Face", "You Will not See Me", "Think for Yourself," "Michelle", "Come Together", "Something" etc.
Jacob Marshal, a dedicated writer Rupizcompare. co. United Kingdom providing the Beatles with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road Music Online
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