Topic: The Beatles Digital Remasters

[James]

http://www.beatleswiki.com/wiki/index.php/Beatles_Remastered#Oct_23.2C_2009:_Review_.26_Analysis_of_the_Beatles_Remasters

Well, I've had a chance to hear some of the later Beatles albums from this endeavor.

First I thought it was just another attempt to sell more copies. I didn't think they could squeeze any more out of the recordings that had already be redone by Mobile Fidelity back in the late 70's.

WRONG!

OMG!

I can hear EVERYTHING! For the first time ever, I can hear the Hammond Organ, the Fender Rhodes Piano AND the grand piano all distinctly playing together. I can hear individual acoustic guitar parts, electric guitar foot petals, every last vocal track, HOLY CRAP!

These recordings sound like they could have been made Yesterday. (Some pun intended.  )

UNBELIEVABLE.

The weirdest part is that I can not hear tape wow or print through, and the high end is super clean and well balanced without the characteristic lump in the high midrange. The low end is also much clearer and well defined.

It's almost unnatural!

James. 

EDIT:

Just listened to Revolver and I'm half way through Pepper.

This is The Beatles as never heard before.

It seems like they have digitally extracted every instrument, voice and sound into separate elements. Then they did exactly the correct equalization on each piece to restore the top end, the low end AND the DYNAMICS ~ per frequency!!!

The first and last octave are completely recovered. with HUGE punch.

All of that was then remixed to achieve the same kind of balance between the parts as the original mixes, however, since each part was both frequency and dynamic restored, the total stereo mix has a harmonic content and super position structure that has never been realized. So it is, in fact, like hearing it all over again for the first time!

It is SOOOO in your face and deep! You can hear all the hand claps, pick out the individual saxophones and trumpets, hear every single overdubbed drum. Paul's bass lines can be picked out like there is nothing else going on! You can hear his fingers on the strings.

James. 

[meandean]

  Ok, so how did they handle the early albums- are they still mono as George Martin insisted for the regular CD releases?
 

[James]

Actually you can get individual LPs in mono or stereo and you can also get some limited edition box sets of either.

You know The Beatles pretty well. Come over and hear it for yourself!

There is an aspect to this that makes me sad. These recording have obviously been digitally enhanced BEYOND their original quality. This is yet another example of a better, digitally enhanced, reality. 3D-CGI movie animation is another, and the kind of global communications that we are now using is still another.

Numbers are powerful.

Were are we going?

These recordings are telling my brain that The Beatles are here, now. I could not make it all the way through Pepper in one sitting. I had to take a break. I came back and listeded again. I cryed when I heard A Day In The Life.

What is the value of anything?

Why would I want to hear an "original" Beatles release ever again?

James.