joelcrowservo
Jul 04, 2003, 10:49 PM
Okay, heres this weeks installment, see if its to your liking...
The Beatles-24 Bit Remasters:"Please Please Me";"With the Beatles";"A Hard Days Night";"Beatles For Sale"
http://capitolrecords.com/beatles/images/harddays.jpg
Okay, first up, this information: Yes, I'm aware that even though these are '24 Bit", the CD-Rs themselves are of course 16 bit. But having 24 bit remastering helps immensely. The normal Beatles CDs are 16 bit mastering, 16 bit CDs. And bad. But are THESE any good? Well as with everything in Beatleg land, you get the good and the bad. I'll tell ya which is which.
I dunno where these CDs come from (i.e., company wise,Dr Ebbets maybe?) or who did the actual remastering. Or HOW its done for that matter. One things obvious. Each CD is mastered from varying sources, its not as though they took a mint vinyl LP and went from there. Which wouldnt be bad, but..any way...First up, "Please Please Me". I assumed this would be the worst of the bunch, with its 2 track limitaions, most feel it better suited to mono. Then I hear "I Saw Her Standing There". Its very, very good. Ringos snare drum actually cracks, like a good snare sound should. You can hear most every detail. And most tracks sound as good, they BREATHE, if you get me. The only sour note hit is "Love Me Do". The stereo is done by synching the two mono versions. Now, the first blast of stereo harmonica is stunning, then it falls apart, because no one seemed to realize both mixes are varying tempos. So it sounds pretty crappy.
"With The Beatles" starts off with "It Wont Be Long", and thsi best illustrates how each album is done from differnt sources depending on the track. It just sounds FLAT. This did not bode well for the rest of the CD, but then comes an unbeleivably warm "All My Loving" and "Till There Was You". Most of the remasters sound like good vinyl, and thats as it should be without total remixing.
"A Hard Days Night". Stereo. Thats all I should have to say here, but whoever did these pays attention to little details. Like with "I Should Have Known Better". The original 'broken' harmonica intro is used, as it should have been. Why someone at Capitol always assumed that harmonica break was a tape screw up or an accident, I dont know, since John is plainly taking a breath there. Again, warm is the word, with stuff like "And I Love Her" sounding especially nice. But this can also be a problem too. As with the entire "Rubber Soul" CD, there is such a thing as TOO warm, which seems to be due more to re-EQing than remastering. These are two different things, kids. But the vocals have a real depth and life to them, which cant be said for the Capitol CDs.
"Beatles For Sale" may be the winner of the bunch actually. The stereo is natural sounding, the echo just right. I prefer the stereo "BFS" anyway, so its nice to have the whole thing on CD. Georges guitar,especially, sounds like hes picking the notes right next to you at times. The one thing I have noticed is that Ringos ride cymbal, on all the CDs, is a little less sharp than usual. So if thats my only complaint, then geez.
SUMMARY/RATING: As a whole,4 1/2 Stars.
Whomever is responsible, the 24 bit remasters of the Fabs first four LPs is a wonderful start in the right direction. If you cant stand the mono Capitol/EMI Cds, then you NEED these, since it doesnt look as though the real deal will happen any time soon. Mint Vinyl quality, and thats a high compliment from me!
***************************
Next time...back to where we started, almost, with "The Best of The White Album Sessions".
Now, your questions and reviews. Legs will begin, I believe... images/icons/wink.gif
The Beatles-24 Bit Remasters:"Please Please Me";"With the Beatles";"A Hard Days Night";"Beatles For Sale"
http://capitolrecords.com/beatles/images/harddays.jpg
Okay, first up, this information: Yes, I'm aware that even though these are '24 Bit", the CD-Rs themselves are of course 16 bit. But having 24 bit remastering helps immensely. The normal Beatles CDs are 16 bit mastering, 16 bit CDs. And bad. But are THESE any good? Well as with everything in Beatleg land, you get the good and the bad. I'll tell ya which is which.
I dunno where these CDs come from (i.e., company wise,Dr Ebbets maybe?) or who did the actual remastering. Or HOW its done for that matter. One things obvious. Each CD is mastered from varying sources, its not as though they took a mint vinyl LP and went from there. Which wouldnt be bad, but..any way...First up, "Please Please Me". I assumed this would be the worst of the bunch, with its 2 track limitaions, most feel it better suited to mono. Then I hear "I Saw Her Standing There". Its very, very good. Ringos snare drum actually cracks, like a good snare sound should. You can hear most every detail. And most tracks sound as good, they BREATHE, if you get me. The only sour note hit is "Love Me Do". The stereo is done by synching the two mono versions. Now, the first blast of stereo harmonica is stunning, then it falls apart, because no one seemed to realize both mixes are varying tempos. So it sounds pretty crappy.
"With The Beatles" starts off with "It Wont Be Long", and thsi best illustrates how each album is done from differnt sources depending on the track. It just sounds FLAT. This did not bode well for the rest of the CD, but then comes an unbeleivably warm "All My Loving" and "Till There Was You". Most of the remasters sound like good vinyl, and thats as it should be without total remixing.
"A Hard Days Night". Stereo. Thats all I should have to say here, but whoever did these pays attention to little details. Like with "I Should Have Known Better". The original 'broken' harmonica intro is used, as it should have been. Why someone at Capitol always assumed that harmonica break was a tape screw up or an accident, I dont know, since John is plainly taking a breath there. Again, warm is the word, with stuff like "And I Love Her" sounding especially nice. But this can also be a problem too. As with the entire "Rubber Soul" CD, there is such a thing as TOO warm, which seems to be due more to re-EQing than remastering. These are two different things, kids. But the vocals have a real depth and life to them, which cant be said for the Capitol CDs.
"Beatles For Sale" may be the winner of the bunch actually. The stereo is natural sounding, the echo just right. I prefer the stereo "BFS" anyway, so its nice to have the whole thing on CD. Georges guitar,especially, sounds like hes picking the notes right next to you at times. The one thing I have noticed is that Ringos ride cymbal, on all the CDs, is a little less sharp than usual. So if thats my only complaint, then geez.
SUMMARY/RATING: As a whole,4 1/2 Stars.
Whomever is responsible, the 24 bit remasters of the Fabs first four LPs is a wonderful start in the right direction. If you cant stand the mono Capitol/EMI Cds, then you NEED these, since it doesnt look as though the real deal will happen any time soon. Mint Vinyl quality, and thats a high compliment from me!
***************************
Next time...back to where we started, almost, with "The Best of The White Album Sessions".
Now, your questions and reviews. Legs will begin, I believe... images/icons/wink.gif