Can’t believe it’s been 5 years. Just seems like yesterday I was driving around and listening to the Sirius XM special of the upcoming pepper release. God time went by so fast. I just pray we get revolver, rubber soul and the rest now.
wow, 5 years... I remember that the White Album super deluxe box had been delivered, and I was expecting Abbey Road soon afterwards, and when I had received that box set, I happened to be at a Barnes & Noble store when I noticed they still had this forlorgned super deluxe Box Set from Sgt.Peppers still on the shelves. Originally priced at $163 dollars, so I spoke to the one head manager who really wanted it off the shelves and knew I was a long time Beatles enthusiast. So I mentioned the rough shape of the shrink wrap, and some worn spots on the edges of the box itself. I had several major coupons ready to be used, and by the time everything was deducted I managed to go home with SGT Peppers Super Deluxe Box set for less than $60 dollars. Now that was a major haul folks. 👌
I love the new mixes all-in-all. I think they’re great and at least for digital listeners, they no longer have to make do with the 2009 remasters with its sharp stereo mixing. What I find very annoying about the new mixes though is the inconsistency when it comes to the accompanying singles of the album. For SGT Pepper’s, we got new mixes for Strawberry Fields Forever & Penny Lane which sound amazing (I don’t think Strawberry Fields has sound any better) which made me think this will be the Standard for the following Anniversary Albums. But for The White Album, we got no new Mixes of Hey Jude or Revolution! Only studio sessions. The same thing happened for Abbey Road where we once again got no new mixes of The Ballad Of John & Yoko and Old Brown Show, just studio sessions. But for Let It Be, they went back and did new mixes on SOME of the singles, but not all of them. We had new mixes for the single version of Let It Be and Don’t Let Me Down, but no new mixes of the single versions of Get Back, the charity version of Across The Universe and You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)! And for Don’t Let Me Down, they added this studio chat at the start (akin to the Let It Be album) which I don’t think is on the original single! It’s all just confusing. Are they going to do new mixes of the accompanying singles for these Albums or are they not! It’s really odd. What I would of done is: . 2017 Anniversary Mix of SGT Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, with Strawberry Fields Forever & Penny Lane . 2018 Anniversary Mix of The White Album with Hey Jude & Revolution . 2019 Anniversary Mix of Abbey Road with The Ballad Of John And Yoko & Old Brown Shoe . 2021 Anniversary Mix of Let It Be with the single versions of Get Back, Don’t Let Me Down & Let It Be, the charity version of Across The Universe & You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) Now, I don’t know when or even if they will do new mixes of those missed singles. Will they do a Mix of Past Masters? A Singles & Other Releases Collection? They’ve done some but not all. It’s all just confusing
I think they've had a plan right from the start to eventually do a Past Masters remix album and that's why many of the songs that would be on it have not had the 2017 and beyond remix treatment yet.
As a Beatles fan these sets are amazing. For me it's mainly because of the bonus material. It's mostly great stuff that we never heard before. My only negative is some of the remixes were a bit much for me. One of the ones that I have a problem with is everybody's got something to hide except me and my monkey. The rhythm guitar can barely be heard. Overall It's a minor complaint. We always have the originals right?
I really dislike these anniversary album remixes. I loved the 2015 remix of "1" and the 1999 remix album "yellow submarine songtrack" and for one reason: they sound like the original but are better mixed. Ya know, no hard stereo panning. Nothing getting burried and expecially 1999s hey bulldog: finally sounded full, heavy and loud! The anniversary remixed at many songs sounded so different from the originals. I listened to the remix of "i want you shes so heavy" a few days ago and it was so flat and lifeless. Especially johns vocals (sounds too clear/bright/flat). And thats only one example.
Sgt Pepper needed it the most I think to keep the legacy of the most legendary album for the younger generation alive (I am 21). Abbey Road on the other hand was for me already very well mixed for the time. So my favorite remix is Sgt Pepper and also the White Album. Many people in my surrounding of my age respect and like the Beatles music. But most know Abbey Road more than Sgt Pepper, probably for the simple fact that no Sgt Pepper song is on Spotify in the top ten songs (that you see when you click on "the Beatles"). Abbey Road has Here Comes The Sun on #1, Come Together on #2 and Something on #9.
They're all so well packaged and presented with so many extras, we're very lucky . Revolver what an album.Have four guys ever looked so cool in Sun Glasses! Yes to MMT.
Concerning the different sound for Abbey Road: The 'Abbey Road' Mixing Desk. The final album by The Beatles was recorded and mixed on the first transistorised desk built by EMI - The TG12345. Might have something to do with it. Always felt it was the best sounding album in terms of sounddefinition.
I’m interested in what they are going to do with Magical Mystery Tour & Yellow Submarine. The other albums quite easy to imagine and see what they might do, but those two are hard to predict. Magical Mystery Tour being the only Non-Studio album & Capitol Compilation to become a part of official canonical release and Yellow Submarine for being a Studio Album that feels less like an album then Magical Mystery Tour. The two most controversial and confusing albums in The Beatles Catalog. There are a number of ways they could do it. I’ve heard many theories & ideas. One of my favourites & one of the most interesting being that they just do them together and make 1 big Anniversary Album for both. People say that a new mix of Yellow Submarine Album wouldn’t sell as well as it is easily the publics least favourite album & the most obscure in their main catalogue. I can imagine a box-set which has new mixes of both Magical Mystery Tour & Yellow Submarines with new additional material like studio takes and George Martin’s entire score fo Yellow Submarine. I’ve even heard an even madder but, for me at least, not a bad idea being them combining the two albums together into 1 new, double movie soundtrack album where one side would have all the tracks from Magical Mystery Tour and the other would have selection of songs from Yellow Submarine (especially the 4 new songs), to make a brand new definitive album. The person who suggested this also said that the original US Magical Mystery Tour & Studio Yellow Submarine would be released as well but as separate ones for those who would want the original albums. And that the album wouldn’t have a definitive A or B side. The owner gets to choose which side is the first. I could actually imagine it as something weird & different The Beatles would do. The track order would be something like: 1. Magical Mystery Tour 2. The Fool On The Hill 3. Flying 4. I Am The Walrus 5. Blue Jay Way 6. Your Mother Should Know 7. Hello, Goodbye 1. Yellow Submarine 2. All Together Now 3. Only A Northern Song 4. All You Need Is Love 5. Baby You’re A Rich Man 6. Hey Bulldog 7. It’s All Too Much It’s a wild idea & almost certainly not happen, but it’s still a fun one
It took Apple way too long to begin issuing these deluxe sets. I have little interest in the remixes, there was nothing wrong with the original mixes of these four albums that needed "fixing". (Now Help! and Revolver are a different kettle of fish; they are sorely in need of remixing.) My interest in them is in the alternate takes. In this respect, The White Album is my top-rated set. The Esher demos and the session takes are fascinating. Abbey Road is the most disappointing. Two skimpy discs with too much precious time taken with George Martin's orchestration that have no Beatles involvement. My admiration and respect for Martin's contribution to The Beatles' story is unsurpassed. If his son wants to highlight his arranging skills, issue a separate disc. Let It Be is annoying for the skimpy running times of the discs and the inclusion of the utterly pointless EP. It was great to finally have an official release of one of Glyn Johns' selections for the LP. It inadvertently highlights that Phil picked the best takes (though his overdubs of strings and choir are unforgiveable, but understandable). I especially enjoy Kevin Howlett's accompanying books. I hope Apple commissions him to produce an update of Lewisohn's Recording Sessions given the limitations and errors of that book. Howlett actually seems to have listened to all of the session tapes for these four albums, unlike Lewisohn.
There was no excuse not to include Carnival of Light in the Sgt Pepper box set, even if they just put it on the blu-ray as an extra, it makes me think we'll probably never hear it
The Esher Demos aren't quite complete. They did a couple of takes of some songs but they've only released 1 take. The version of Sour Milk Sea that was bootlegged for years is different to the one on the official release.
Loved all the boxsets so far, think they are definitely getting better with each release. I'd love a proper Magical Mystery Tour box next but feel it will be Revolver which I'd also be more than happy with. Interesting to see where they will go
Question....I missed the Pepper anniversary one (I was probably being too tight!) I have since been looking for the vinyl (I got all the others) but the vinyl doesn't seem to come in a box as such....is there one?...or is it just a double lp?
The main thing I take from these 50th anniversary editions is the progression from being mainly cd based to now with the Let It Be box is that vinyl has been given equal preference, which is bad news for people like me who prefer cd's as I have been given less content in order that the vinyl versions have the same number of discs and can only contain around 40 minutes of music. Still, just nick picking, on the whole these box sets have been excellent! As for where they go next, it would seem logical to me that they start next year with 60th anniversary editions.
great analysis Andrew, I have all the anniversary packages like yourself, and for sturdiness the Abbey Road package is the most robust, while I find the slip cover on the White Album kinda flimsy and I do not open it very often as it is easily damaged so the cd's are ripped to my Brennan B2. The extras in the Sgt Pepper Box however are the best with the posters and cards I think I recall as I have not opened it for a long time. All the music is great on all the releases, but for me if I could only have one lot of outtakes it would be Abbey Road, "The Long One" is brilliant. As far as Get Back is concerned while I love it, the omission of the Rooftop concert makes it incomplete for me, ( thanks to Disney) I guess!. Would love Revolver or indeed a joint Revolver/Rubber Soul deluxe package next. Re Yellow Submarine the two George songs on there are two of my favourites, All Too Much and Only A Northern Song!! Great review as usual!
I only got the 2 CD editions for the 50th "Sgt. Pepper" and "Abbey Road" sets. I missed a few tracks, but I liked how the bonus CD's for those two gave you an alternate version of the album, in the correct track order. For "The White Album", I almost had to go with the big set. All that was on offer for the 3 CD edition, was the full Esher demos disc. None of the 50 bonus studio tracks appeared. And I at least wanted the best of those. So, it was all or nothing. For "Let It Be", I ended up getting the big set, on both CD and LP. The previously officially unreleased 1969 Glyn Johns "Get Back" mix was the big draw there.
1962 - 2022 = sixty years. I loved to see some sort of release for the pre-EMI stuff. A sort-of "here's everything", even with Anthology repeats, would be nice. I bet they could do a pretty good remix with the Cavern Club takes.
Excellent discussion, Andrew. I can only drool ( I am 72 so no surprise there) when I think about a possible remix package of “Revolver” which has always been my favorite. Keeping my aching fingers crossed.
Hi Andrew & for me every box set is a winner & Abbey Road has & always will be my favourite Beatles album & here it's is just beyond perfect but I have to say & I never thought i would but Let It Be runs it a close second !!! Giles Martin really brought out the true beauty of the album here & it now sounds stunning! Pepper & the White Album are awesome as well, Roll on the next set 👍
Hey Andrew. Hard to believe we have these and that it has been 5 years. The Beatles group and solo were late to the box set game! The Paul Archives seems to have opened up the interest. Keep them coming!!!!
Brilliant as always! White Album is my favorite remix by far. The outtakes and inclusion of the Esher tapes make it tough to beat and I love the book that comes along with the set. I have both the digital and vinyl versions of that one. As far as potential future remix projects are concerned, I think HELP! is the one crying for a proper remix because both the stereo and mono mixes, in their original forms, are really bad. The songs on that record deserve to be heard in all their glory.
I agree with Disneyfamily515 re the outtakes on the White Album. The Abbey Road album is excellent but the extras make for a disappointing package, imo. Re a Revolver remix it would be good to include the original mix of Tomorrow Never Knows which was subsequently withdrawn.
Only a third of their albums have been remixed in stereo. Yet to remix. Please Please Me (1963). With The Beatles (1963). A Hard Day's Night (1964). Beatles For Sale (1964 ). Help ! (1965). Rubber Soul (1965). Revolver (1966). Magical Mystery Tour( 1967). and does Anthology I II or III or Beatles naked need to be remixed at some stage ?
I even bought the revolver super deluxe box set I didn’t go out and by the version of revolver the SuperDeluxe CD edition, because I feel like there should be more music not just on CDs but on the vinyl records as well. One of the things that blew me away it was the fact that there was gonna be an EP in my journey of collecting music I never had an EP before in my life so buying the revolver super deluxe that I ordered it from Amazon this is The first time I have ever had an EP before in my life. i’ve had 45s and albums 33s but never an EP so this new record format is kind of new to me but I know that 45s have two songs on each side and E peas I think we usually only have six or four. and then of course I bought the Beatles red and blue albums on vinyl and CD which I think are fantastic
When I first heard about these anniversary edition and watched some of the videos on TH-cam I found myself very much excited. I bought the sergeant pepper and the white album both at my favorite record store Music Millennium and I bought the CD deluxe box that’s because you get more extra which I love. I even have a Abbey Rd., SuperDeluxe on CD and vinyl although the only thing is it’s too bad that in the vinyl version there’s not a lot of pages as there are in the CD version with the book inside it I love all these anniversary additions and Giles Martin does an amazing job with the remixes I think they’re fantastic.
Great video Andrew. I did a video on this very topic several weeks ago on my channel. I love the boxsets but I also have some criticisms that I talk about.
Always an interesting take, thank you. You’re not alone in your view of pepper but I think the remix is sublime. There’s been some serious missteps in some remixes. Yer Blues, supposedly recorded in a cupboard to make claustrophobic but Giles added space!! Also Helter Skelter not good. He removed the dirt from while my guitar but that helps make the song. Let it be (songs), he completely neutered the beautiful rasping solo. Abbey Rd all superb. Agree, what’s going on with Mystery tour? I want a walrus remix so much, please Giles don’t screw that one up for me. Cheers
Overall, I've been rather unimpressed by these box sets. I mean, they look beautiful, but beyond that, there's far more disappointment to be had than pleasure. I should say that it's nice to be able to hear each recorded element more clearly (and loudly), but Giles Martin is not a very good mixer, in my opinion. There's very little consistency in his work. You have the occasional track where everything gels, but most of the time, he boosts the wrong elements, which usually means that the bass overpowers everything else, or instruments and vocals that were originally only meant to add colour to the finished recording, are now assigned lead duties. Pepper was Martin's most successful mix, I think. "Whitie" was terribly uneven. Especially on something like "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" where George's moans are somewhat embarrassingly mixed way up front... Abbey Road has always been a bass album, but Martin turned it into a BASS album! And it's almost unlistenable. And then with Let it Be, things just sound off somehow. It has a less obviously flawed mix. But you know it when you hear it. Certain sounds sound just.....wrong. As for the outtakes and assorted goodies? For anyone who's heard Purple Chick's releases, these bonus discs are quite pathetic in comparison. But that's all right. It's expected. The Beatles are never going to release all their vault material at once. Not when there's future box sets in the pipeline.
I’m one of the very few people that absolutely loves that I am the walrus remix I think it’s great. And I love music that is adventurous and daring that’s why I love avant-garde experimental music. i’m looking forward to the next Beatles products that will be coming out in the next few years or so.
Hey Brad, just wrote u long comment; but dont believe got sent. So glad, u got to go! I did too , unexpectedlly, at last min.Knoxvegas show Incredable too!! Happy belated to you.And thanx 4 your kind words& thoughts surrounding eye operation. Doing well.Last nite was very Celebritory, indeed.bye.
They screwed up that Pepper box big time. Loud, over-compressed mastering, a DVD instead of Blu-ray and that horrible sounding version of the promo single version of Penny Lane which sounds much better on several different bootlegs. Who OK'd these major flaws?
7:13 particularly, Abbey Road, is the only full album that they used the TG12345 desk as opposed to a REDD that was used for the rest of the album. Difference between desks is that the REDD uses bulbs whereas the TG12345 uses transistors and that makes a difference when recording.
Abbey Road and Let It Be already sounded more 'modern' in their original form. The original mixes of Sgt Pepper and White Album sounded much more dated and in need of an overhaul, hence the bigger differences in the remixes. Would've thought that was obvious. Listen to how Abbey Road sounds compared to Sgt Pepper. Sounds like a lot more than 3 years difference between them, because of advancements in recording and mixing quality between 1966 and 1969.
I'm somewhat of a purist but, even allowing for that, I haven't really been impressed with any of Giles Martin's remixes. The Peter Cobbin remixes on the Yellow Submarine Songtrack album is far better than any of Giles' efforts.
Love the box sets. They were well needed especially on Sgt. Pepper which is a mono record. I don’t understand the negative people out there that don’t like the re releases. It’s not like it’s a P Diddy remix. Giles doesn’t add vocals, music, or sound effects. He’s only making the mixes sound better and restoring them to sound more like their mono counterparts. Abbey Road and Let It Be are more subtle because they were recorded/mixed 7:32 for stereo by The Beatles…
I'm not a big fan of most of the remixes. I got the Sgt. Pepper box for $50 since one corner was smashed, but everything inside was fine. I like the extras, though hate the remix. To me everything is turned up to the max and very unmusical sounding. So far the White album is the only one I really like and it's actually now my preferred version. There are some strange mixing choices on Abbey Road and the extras are rather blah. I still go to my 1970s UK LP for this album. Sorry Andrew, I find Let It Be almost useless. The remix doesn't enhance anything for me and the extras are pretty sparse. The Blu-ray is a waste. At the very least they could have put the audio and/or video for the Rooftop Concert on there and perhaps some additional outtakes like the Lennon boxes do for their Blu-rays. Honestly, at this point, I'm kind of have boxset burnout and am not planning on rushing out to buy the future releases. I've discovered the Beatle discs I already have are the ones I end up coming back to enjoying the most.
Great video thanks. I bought Sgt Pepper and the White album and really enjoy the extra perspective on them. Abbey Road one of my favourites but settled for the double CD rather than box set, as appeared disc two of CD had the best of the outtakes. Would like to see Revolver next and agree MMT should be tried. I know Hollywood Bowl reissue arrived few years ago, but wonder if there are any other shows in the vaults (those featured in Anthology) that could form basis of a live album without too much audience screaming!
About these remixes of Giles Martin making so have high and down,because cd version I can hear very well the sound of songs but vinyl leave the wish,sound is airless and Abbey Road seen as was make it by tape analog very low your sound and don´t achieve hear very well the vinyl.Now what coming next,confuse for know yet.Uchino of Japan.Thank you.
I would think if Abbey Road have mastered computer separation of the mono tracks as they said they were working on at the Abbey Road show in 2018, that Please Please Me would be the one to continue with for release on its 60th birthday next year, then following on with With The Beatles etc etc. Only trouble is, we would then have to wait till 2026 for Revolver 😪
I never saw these sets before but im stuff in bloody South Texas! All I got was the White Album set... 2 copies. I suddely found the once elusive box set at Walmart a year or so ago. Id actually bought the 2 disc set a few weeks before when I thought id never find the box. Its by far my favorite album by them followed by General Salt :^) Both bpx sets open of course. Not trying to be a caretaker for the person who buys them at my estate sale after I grow my wings... Anyway, I love buying these represses. How incredible it is to be able to open and play a new record again! I use to buy used Beatles records in the 90s but used records just arent the same experience for me. I dont care how much better the og mono presses sound.... okay, maybe just a little. But I love all the new mixes that ive heard. I hate fast cars! Cheers dude
Remember how excited I was to receive Sgt.Pepper anniversary set. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined all that was to come. I think they all sound good and yes they seem to be improving as years go on! You have inspired me to get them out over the long holiday this weekend and give them another listen. Really enjoy your videos Andrew, you have a positivity that is inspiring. Take care!
Yes get all of the anniversary sets that you can snap them up because you won’t be disappointed especially the red and blue albums which came out recently you’ll hear some wonderful things that you never thought that you could hear especially on all of the other anniversary Beatles releases. and when you do get all of the anniversary releases have some fun and compare the original mixes versus the remixes for example on Sergeant Pepper or the white album or even the red and blue were at the road which ever one you choose I think you should get all of them so you can have lots of fun comparing the different mixes. that’s what makes Music so great.
Was happy on original release when ever,I'm 68 ,all this remix remaster stuff won't ever top how good it sounded on a crap danset record player, I know you're a mega fan but !!!!,
I've got all the vinyl versions. I don't like how the Pepper vinyl didn't come in a box set. I've got the 2 disk version but it doesn't quite fit next to the other sets. I'm thinking about buying the cd version and sticking my 50th vinyl in. Great video as per usual.
The MMT tracks need the same treatment as Sgt. Pepper. The problem with LiB is that the Spector version does sound better, the Glynn Johns mix sounds pretty bad. The good stuff on LiB are the studio outtakes, and that is about all I listen too.
i guess im the only 1 not impressed with any of these sets and i do have all of them...beautifully packaged no doubt.too much boorish studio banter.the selection of tracks should have been alternate takes complete,not breakdowns.yes there are some alt takes,but not enough.the selection is horriable.what really pissed me off was the use of the penny lane promo single which should have been the master single and they put some old 45 bullshit that sounds like crap.i just received the stereo promo penny lane in pristine sound.wheres the 27 minute complete helter skelter?paul recorded a song in one take called etc..ect..ect..had acetate made and has never been heard.geoff emerick said it was lovely.the bootleggs have more substantive material,but i digress.
With you Andrew, I'd love a MMT revamp remix repackage or whatever. 1967 as a year of recorded music for the Beatles is great. All the psychedelic music together. Of all the mono albums that got redone I managed to get at a record fair both SPLHCB & MMT in mono i love them and maybe a revamp of the film too. take care
I think Pepper was always going to be the one that would sound the most different, as laying all the first-generation multitracks side-by-side would never sound the same. But I mean, that was the whole point of doing it. I have to say, that's by far my favourite of the remixes, but it would be really interesting to hear what it would have sounded like if it had been recorded on eight-track in the first place. I don't know if much or any tape bouncing was ever required once they moved to eight-track. But obviously mixing the multitrack for each song down to a stereo master still amounts to one bounce. And as far as I know they assembled album masters by dubbing the individual mixes onto another tape, so that's another. And I'd guess that things like the Abbey Road medley may have required some razorblade-editing, and that they'd have used dubs of the tracks for that for safety. So I suppose it's not too surprising that going back to the multitracks, and mixing and assembling them digitally can provide so much more clarity even on the later albums.
Yes, I agree about the White-edition. I really enjoy CD4 with Revolution and Helter Skelter, CD4 has even turned into one of my favorite The Beatles CD:s. "A beginning" is a fine bit of music as well... Do you think that the softer version of Helter Skelter should have been on the original White Album ?
No I'm glad Helter Skelter is as released, it's an astonishing performance! Could be argued that the slower original might suit the album more in theory but it wouldn't have had the "wow" factor.
@@AndrewDixonMusic Yes, I agree, and it's remarkable that the slower version was never given an equal treatment as Revolution 1 and Revolution... But I guess they had too many other songs to release...
Between 'The White Album' and 'Abbey Road' The Beatles released 'Yellow Submarine s/t' in which there are four then new songs along with a lot of songs re-utilised and the George Martin orchestration. I like the 1999 songtrack edition of Yellow Submarine' enormously. But I wonder, could a hybrid of the original four songs, the songs from previous albums and singles re-utilised, and the George Martin be possible? With the George Martin orchestrations as interludes between the songs? Alternatively a Beatles soundtracks CD which conflates Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine. there are other options....
Great look back at the deluxe editions so far. Some interesting observations you've raised. Agree with most all, but really enjoy the outages and alternatives in the Abbey road package. Enjoyed your thoughts and opinions!
Nice video, Andrew. I have loved anniversaries, not so much because of the remixes, but because of the books and extra materials. But I enjoyed them even more listening to them while reading Emerick's Here, There & Everywhere. Even instrumental tracks that may not be very enjoyable on their own, become a very interesting listening experience as you read the technical details that Emerick narrates.
15:00 3 days between Pepper's end and starting MMT is astonishing. You hear the overlapping style in 'MMT's chorus backing vocals echoing the chorus backing vocals in 'Lovely Rita,' in JL's attempt to follow the psychedelic Lewis Carrol route of 'Strawberry Fields' in 'I Am the Walrus,' and PM burlesquing the nostalgia trip from 'When I'm 64' to 'Your Mother Should Know,' and PM being Mr Positive from 'It's Getting Better' to (if you dip into the soundtrack beyond the EP) 'Hello Goodbye,' the last Optimistic Sixties song before disillusionment. A feeling of it all unravelling in MMT wasn't envisioned in the momentum of Pepper, and it mirrors the Sixties, right down to the decade's defining transition inbetween seasons, summer to autumn 67. Momentum starts to get away from them in MMT, rudderless without Eppy and cut adrift both from pre-Pepper 'Penny Lane' and the future they had in mind. Not a bad vibe yet but directionless and the mystery a false promise. All those ppl complaining about MMT broadcast over XMas 67 on BBC didn;t know it yet but they were actually complaining that the Sixties just ended prematurely and the Seventies wasn't ready yet. Chaos and disappointment creeps into MMT, and grotesquerie replaces psychedelia, a first glimpse of the 70s - - ahead of the curve in a way they didn't want to be. When the MMT psychedelic coach got stuck on a bridge and PM didn't have the sense to film the incident and put it in what was supposed to be cinema verite after all, that was perfect symbolism, stuck in transition on a bridge that could not be crossed.
Be a bit odd if they went straight to Revolver, makes more sense to stick to the chronology of anniversaries. The holy grail for me would be a Star Club box set, with a book of Astrid's photos. But that would need to be this year, so seems unlikely, sadly. One issue is copyright. Any previously unreleased material is now out of copyright so could be 'legally bootlegged' as soon as they release it.
I feel completely satisfied with all four Deluxe Box Sets. The Giles Martin Remixes are brilliant to my ears. And the artwork of the sets is of highest quality. Always a pleasure for me to take them from the shelf and have an insightful read on my favorite music. Getting a similar joyful experience with a huge Revolver Deluxe Box Set next would be great!
While Apple got a late start as far as deluxe box sets are concerned I'm happy with what they have done in the last 5 years.Hopefully we now go backwards and get Revolver & Rubber Soul at least.Great channel Andrew!
Hi Andrew! I totally agree with you when you've said that you "never enjoyed the Let It Be album more than you have done over the last six months..". I have the same feeling. Certainly having seen The Get Back documentary has helped me to understand the challenge of this project and the importance of the music recorded during January 1969. Joan
100 % agree re: the different designs for each box. Like you said, each Beatle album is it’s own unique thing so the packaging reflecting that is cool and always fun to see what they come up. Of course a consistent design like the McCartney archives is good too especially when they all line up on a shelf and look like a Macca library , but the Beatles are separate from everyone else (even former Beatles!) so I’m fine with unique boxes for each album. Hopefully next year we get more sets (I don’t think we’ll get anything in ‘22, since this is still the year of Get Back) but I do hope they FINALLY release Let it Be on blu ray like promised. Otherwise there will always be unfinished business from that era and we’ll continue to keep asking “when will we get Let It Be on bluray?” I’m excited for what Apple has in store next. They have been doing a great job since Jeff Jones took over from Neil Aspinall of walking a line between giving the hardcores something to enjoy and still catering to as large an audience as possible. Sure there are always head scratching moments but on the whole they’ve been doing a good job with quality steady releases without feeling like overkill (like Bowie releases have been since his passing)
Hi Andrew, after watching this video I too went and gave Sgt Peppers 2017 vinyl version a listen and then straight after I spun the 1967 1st press Mono vinyl and my God this is how I felt. While listening to the 2017 I felt myself wanting to turn it down and playing with my sound settings on my old Technics EH 790 sound processor and amplifier because I don't know to be honest I just couldn't get satisfied with the sound. But I settled on a setting and listened all the way through and just didn't enjoy it. I know those songs so well but I just didn't enjoy it. And then I kept those same settings and volume and played the MONO. And the difference is night and day. The mono sounded so joyful, and it didn't matter what sound settings and volume I had it on. It sounded amazing. On the 2017 that album doesn't need everything so separated in the mix. And although the heavy bass is there,I can tell it's not natural bass. I can tell it's digitally enhanced bass. And then you go back to the original Mono and the natural analogue bass just shines and the mix is smooth and lovely.
With regard to the Pepper and White remixes being “bolder” and AR and LIB being more subtle, I think it comes down to this. The later two albums were only mixed for stereo originally (not mono), and they were recorded on 8-track tape. The original mixes thus had more room to breathe and were considerably more modern-sounding (to our ears) than previous albums. Pepper and the White album were four-track recordings (barring a few White album songs recorded at Trident). The limitations of mixing for stereo with four-track frequently resulted in vocals panned hard to one side, especially on Pepper. So Giles et al had more work to do on those remixes to get them to have the punch and presence of the mono while being in stereo. And freed of the four-track limitations (since they had all of the premixed down session tapes), they worked on getting the vocals in the center. So my expectation for Revolver and Rubber Soul is a more drastic remix, since those albums both have less-than-subtle stereo mixes. In the case of those albums, more elements were recorded live simultaneously into individual tape tracks (e.g the bass and drums might be together on a tape track, as recorded, you can’t adjust them individually), so there’s tricky work to be done with modern AI software and techniques to isolate some of the elements. Per Martin, that’s the reason why we didn’t get those albums sooner - the technology to de-mix and isolate differ parts needed to improve.
Truthfully love too see them do all their albums from please please me and up. Sgt Pepper White Album Abbey Road and Let It Be were Fantastic. The others should get the same love. For God's sake it's the Beatles truly the Greatest Band of All Time. Nuff Said
As far as the box sets go i only have Let It Be because i wanted the Glyn Johns mix. I think it's a great set over all. To me the most important thing in all these were the Esher demos. Only bought the 3-cd of White Album. Nothing from Sgt.Pepper. Only a double cd of Abbey Road. If the point were to make an upgrade of sound and release alternate takes, it would've been fine with me. What i don't like at all was to add things to the songs on the album(s) that weren't there originally. It's why i can't listen to the new version of Abbey Road for example. btw. that Magical Mystery Tour set looked great. Pasi
How would we have gotten five (special editions) if not for Covid? They've released Sgt. Pepper, White Album, Abbey Road and Let It Be - what else could they have released in that time frame? I don't think The Beatles consider Magical Mystery Tour a 'proper album', so the only place to go is backwards to Revolver and Rubber Soul. Cheers. What am I missing? Surely not 'Yellow Submarine'.
@@AndrewDixonMusic Oh, I see, sure. Not sure that would have gotten us anything else in the meantime, unless they plan to release other albums not on an anniversary year. I'm hoping for Rubber Soul and Revolver! All the best. ;)
Hi there. Abbey Road and Let it Be were recorded and mixed using 8 track technology which which gave Giles and Sam more options during the remix stage (a few less bounced tracks to unpick). The White Album was partially recorded on 8 track and like the music itself is a hotch-potch of everything - a true cross over of an album in technical terms.
Hi Thomas, times had moved on, stereo was the accepted modern way by the end of the 60s. I also wonder whether they could have been bothered to be involved in additional mixes by that point.
Hi Andrew, as far as Magical Mystery Tour outtakes goes there are a bunch hidden in secret menues on the Blu-ray (even Shirly's Wild Accordion) these can be accesed by using the arrow keys on the remote ond if something changes colour click it..
Thanks for posting this and reminding me to listen to these again! SPLHCB box I like the 4 cd tracks. It's worth mentioning that the 2cd edition creates a very enjoyable alternate takes album in original running order - you could argue that you can program that, but I think you'd need a cd changer. If you have the 2LP then you have that same alternate album. I notice alternate album starts with Take 9 of SPLHCB (track 1) - is that even in the box set? For the box itself, I love that when you take off the lenticular cover, you have what looks like an original red and white EMI TAPE box - that's a nice touch! I liked the bass a lot on all 4 cds: nice and loud. Thought Strawberry Fields orig mono mix on cd4 sounded very flat and uninspiring, while the orig mono mix for Penny Lane and DITL after that were amazing! MMT That'll be a tough nut to crack for BIG box set. Some of the things you mentioned can be extracted from the DVD in the little box set. Perhaps they could have a 2 for 1 YS/MMT - would that be too strange? I think MMT deluxe is a long way off but who decides? Giles? WA Of course, I hear something different each time I listen, and sounds great, but couldn't believe how Wild Honey Pie sounded so much like a melted tape - will have to listen to original LP. Next Up? Although Revolver is my favourite of the two, I'd still like to see RS deluxe then REV - I kind of agree with George that it's 2 sides of a similar coin, with the latter being on a higher cosmic plane, perhaps. Early Albums? Are there enough never-released takes from early on? Actually, I think there are. In my dreams I know as long gone, but wouldn't it be something to have the original slow Orbison-like Please Please Me? That would be like Tutankhamun!! Picture Disks - I got caught up in collecting these at same time - tend to sound more crackly than black counterparts. Don't think there was one for WA but the SPLHCB is amazing to look at, particularly the side you don't see when sealed (the drum!).
I don't really understand why they didn't start all these reissues in 2012 with PPM. There may not be as many extras/outtakes in the early albums to choose as with the later ones but IMO they could have compensate this with live material. They were constantly touring back then and there are some bootlegs out there waiting for an official release. I would really like Apple to release special packages for the early/mid period albums, but it won't be the same to me... From Sgt Pepper's onwards Apple have respected the 50th anniversary chronology. With the other ones... well, their 50th anniversary has already gone by, and it'd be a bit weird to have new packages for those albums next to the 50th anniversary ones
My own guess is that back in 2012 (or a couple of years before when they might have started planning) that it just wasn't a priority for them at the time. By the time of Sgt Pepper 50th I don't think they could afford to let that pass, and the success of that encouraged them to continue.
Pepper was the perfect starting point. It was the 50th anniversary, and the technology to create a true multi-track mix from non-synched 4-track tapes was finally good enough to do it properly.
They could do a RSD remix version of yellow submarine. I don't think there'd be enough interest in a boxset version considering 75% of it is the George Martin orchestra. I would rather have a RSD version of the 1966 album, collection of oldies. They are missing a trick not doing a special release of that.
The only one to date I picked up was Abbey Road, and then, just the main album. Simply because I have an original 1969 Apple release, which is so beat up (hey, wasn’t expecting perfection for $1.00!), that it “loops” on Octopus’ Garden.
Can’t believe it’s been 5 years. Just seems like yesterday I was driving around and listening to the Sirius XM special of the upcoming pepper release. God time went by so fast. I just pray we get revolver, rubber soul and the rest now.
wow, 5 years... I remember that the White Album super deluxe box had been delivered, and I was expecting Abbey Road soon afterwards, and when I had received that box set, I happened to be at a Barnes & Noble store when I noticed they still had this forlorgned super deluxe Box Set from Sgt.Peppers still on the shelves. Originally priced at $163 dollars, so I spoke to the one head manager who really wanted it off the shelves and knew I was a long time Beatles enthusiast. So I mentioned the rough shape of the shrink wrap, and some worn spots on the edges of the box itself. I had several major coupons ready to be used, and by the time everything was deducted I managed to go home with SGT Peppers Super Deluxe Box set for less than $60 dollars. Now that was a major haul folks. 👌
Wow. Amazing grab for sure
When do you think Magical Mystery Tour and Revolver and also Yellow Submarine will release?
I love the new mixes all-in-all. I think they’re great and at least for digital listeners, they no longer have to make do with the 2009 remasters with its sharp stereo mixing. What I find very annoying about the new mixes though is the inconsistency when it comes to the accompanying singles of the album.
For SGT Pepper’s, we got new mixes for Strawberry Fields Forever & Penny Lane which sound amazing (I don’t think Strawberry Fields has sound any better) which made me think this will be the Standard for the following Anniversary Albums. But for The White Album, we got no new Mixes of Hey Jude or Revolution! Only studio sessions. The same thing happened for Abbey Road where we once again got no new mixes of The Ballad Of John & Yoko and Old Brown Show, just studio sessions. But for Let It Be, they went back and did new mixes on SOME of the singles, but not all of them. We had new mixes for the single version of Let It Be and Don’t Let Me Down, but no new mixes of the single versions of Get Back, the charity version of Across The Universe and You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)! And for Don’t Let Me Down, they added this studio chat at the start (akin to the Let It Be album) which I don’t think is on the original single!
It’s all just confusing. Are they going to do new mixes of the accompanying singles for these Albums or are they not! It’s really odd. What I would of done is:
. 2017 Anniversary Mix of SGT Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, with Strawberry Fields Forever & Penny Lane
. 2018 Anniversary Mix of The White Album with Hey Jude & Revolution
. 2019 Anniversary Mix of Abbey Road with The Ballad Of John And Yoko & Old Brown Shoe
. 2021 Anniversary Mix of Let It Be with the single versions of Get Back, Don’t Let Me Down & Let It Be, the charity version of Across The Universe & You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)
Now, I don’t know when or even if they will do new mixes of those missed singles. Will they do a Mix of Past Masters? A Singles & Other Releases Collection? They’ve done some but not all. It’s all just confusing
I think they've had a plan right from the start to eventually do a Past Masters remix album and that's why many of the songs that would be on it have not had the 2017 and beyond remix treatment yet.
This guy is not bad
As a Beatles fan these sets are amazing. For me it's mainly because of the bonus material. It's mostly great stuff that we never heard before. My only negative is some of the remixes were a bit much for me.
One of the ones that I have a problem with is everybody's got something to hide except me and my monkey. The rhythm guitar can barely be heard. Overall It's a minor complaint. We always have the originals right?
I really dislike these anniversary album remixes. I loved the 2015 remix of "1" and the 1999 remix album "yellow submarine songtrack" and for one reason: they sound like the original but are better mixed. Ya know, no hard stereo panning. Nothing getting burried and expecially 1999s hey bulldog: finally sounded full, heavy and loud! The anniversary remixed at many songs sounded so different from the originals. I listened to the remix of "i want you shes so heavy" a few days ago and it was so flat and lifeless. Especially johns vocals (sounds too clear/bright/flat). And thats only one example.
Sgt Pepper needed it the most I think to keep the legacy of the most legendary album for the younger generation alive (I am 21). Abbey Road on the other hand was for me already very well mixed for the time. So my favorite remix is Sgt Pepper and also the White Album.
Many people in my surrounding of my age respect and like the Beatles music. But most know Abbey Road more than Sgt Pepper, probably for the simple fact that no Sgt Pepper song is on Spotify in the top ten songs (that you see when you click on "the Beatles"). Abbey Road has Here Comes The Sun on #1, Come Together on #2 and Something on #9.
Agreed. Sgt Pepper and the White are the 2 remixed ones I own. I was never satisfied with the pressings I had of either.
They're all so well packaged and presented with so many extras, we're very lucky . Revolver what an album.Have four guys ever looked so cool in Sun Glasses! Yes to MMT.
Concerning the different sound for Abbey Road: The 'Abbey Road' Mixing Desk. The final album by The Beatles was recorded and mixed on the first transistorised desk built by EMI - The TG12345.
Might have something to do with it. Always felt it was the best sounding album in terms of sounddefinition.
I’m interested in what they are going to do with Magical Mystery Tour & Yellow Submarine. The other albums quite easy to imagine and see what they might do, but those two are hard to predict. Magical Mystery Tour being the only Non-Studio album & Capitol Compilation to become a part of official canonical release and Yellow Submarine for being a Studio Album that feels less like an album then Magical Mystery Tour. The two most controversial and confusing albums in The Beatles Catalog. There are a number of ways they could do it. I’ve heard many theories & ideas. One of my favourites & one of the most interesting being that they just do them together and make 1 big Anniversary Album for both. People say that a new mix of Yellow Submarine Album wouldn’t sell as well as it is easily the publics least favourite album & the most obscure in their main catalogue. I can imagine a box-set which has new mixes of both Magical Mystery Tour & Yellow Submarines with new additional material like studio takes and George Martin’s entire score fo Yellow Submarine.
I’ve even heard an even madder but, for me at least, not a bad idea being them combining the two albums together into 1 new, double movie soundtrack album where one side would have all the tracks from Magical Mystery Tour and the other would have selection of songs from Yellow Submarine (especially the 4 new songs), to make a brand new definitive album. The person who suggested this also said that the original US Magical Mystery Tour & Studio Yellow Submarine would be released as well but as separate ones for those who would want the original albums. And that the album wouldn’t have a definitive A or B side. The owner gets to choose which side is the first. I could actually imagine it as something weird & different The Beatles would do. The track order would be something like:
1. Magical Mystery Tour
2. The Fool On The Hill
3. Flying
4. I Am The Walrus
5. Blue Jay Way
6. Your Mother Should Know
7. Hello, Goodbye
1. Yellow Submarine
2. All Together Now
3. Only A Northern Song
4. All You Need Is Love
5. Baby You’re A Rich Man
6. Hey Bulldog
7. It’s All Too Much
It’s a wild idea & almost certainly not happen, but it’s still a fun one
Yes weird idea that I can't see happening, but let's hope they do something and don't get forgotten about!
It took Apple way too long to begin issuing these deluxe sets. I have little interest in the remixes, there was nothing wrong with the original mixes of these four albums that needed "fixing". (Now Help! and Revolver are a different kettle of fish; they are sorely in need of remixing.) My interest in them is in the alternate takes. In this respect, The White Album is my top-rated set. The Esher demos and the session takes are fascinating. Abbey Road is the most disappointing. Two skimpy discs with too much precious time taken with George Martin's orchestration that have no Beatles involvement. My admiration and respect for Martin's contribution to The Beatles' story is unsurpassed. If his son wants to highlight his arranging skills, issue a separate disc. Let It Be is annoying for the skimpy running times of the discs and the inclusion of the utterly pointless EP. It was great to finally have an official release of one of Glyn Johns' selections for the LP. It inadvertently highlights that Phil picked the best takes (though his overdubs of strings and choir are unforgiveable, but understandable). I especially enjoy Kevin Howlett's accompanying books. I hope Apple commissions him to produce an update of Lewisohn's Recording Sessions given the limitations and errors of that book. Howlett actually seems to have listened to all of the session tapes for these four albums, unlike Lewisohn.
What about a combined Rubber Soul - Revolver release? George says in Anthology that they were like "Part One and Part Two", or words to that effect.
There was no excuse not to include Carnival of Light in the Sgt Pepper box set, even if they just put it on the blu-ray as an extra, it makes me think we'll probably never hear it
George Harrison is the one who said no to it during the Anthology. So I'm sure it's now Olivia saying no to it now.
What if Carnival of Light is shit?
I don't want to hear it. Everybody who heard it apart from from Paul said it was bad and a mistake to record.
The Esher Demos aren't quite complete. They did a couple of takes of some songs but they've only released 1 take. The version of Sour Milk Sea that was bootlegged for years is different to the one on the official release.
As much as like the idea of remixes, after listening a few times I end up preferring the originals.
sound wise, the 2009 stereo remasters are vastly superior!
That's interesting - always difficult to know which versions to go for if your not buying every reissue like me 👍
Loved all the boxsets so far, think they are definitely getting better with each release. I'd love a proper Magical Mystery Tour box next but feel it will be Revolver which I'd also be more than happy with. Interesting to see where they will go
Question....I missed the Pepper anniversary one (I was probably being too tight!) I have since been looking for the vinyl (I got all the others) but the vinyl doesn't seem to come in a box as such....is there one?...or is it just a double lp?
The main thing I take from these 50th anniversary editions is the progression from being mainly cd based to now with the Let It Be box is that vinyl has been given equal preference, which is bad news for people like me who prefer cd's as I have been given less content in order that the vinyl versions have the same number of discs and can only contain around 40 minutes of music.
Still, just nick picking, on the whole these box sets have been excellent!
As for where they go next, it would seem logical to me that they start next year with 60th anniversary editions.
great analysis Andrew, I have all the anniversary packages like yourself, and for sturdiness the Abbey Road package is the most robust, while I find the slip cover on the White Album kinda flimsy and I do not open it very often as it is easily damaged so the cd's are ripped to my Brennan B2. The extras in the Sgt Pepper Box however are the best with the posters and cards I think I recall as I have not opened it for a long time. All the music is great on all the releases, but for me if I could only have one lot of outtakes it would be Abbey Road, "The Long One" is brilliant. As far as Get Back is concerned while I love it, the omission of the Rooftop concert makes it incomplete for me, ( thanks to Disney) I guess!. Would love Revolver or indeed a joint Revolver/Rubber Soul deluxe package next. Re Yellow Submarine the two George songs on there are two of my favourites, All Too Much and Only A Northern Song!! Great review as usual!
Hopefully Revolver and Rubber Soul etc as well soon enough (my favourites)
I only got the 2 CD editions for the 50th "Sgt. Pepper" and "Abbey Road" sets. I missed a few tracks, but I liked how the bonus CD's for those two gave you an alternate version of the album, in the correct track order. For "The White Album", I almost had to go with the big set. All that was on offer for the 3 CD edition, was the full Esher demos disc. None of the 50 bonus studio tracks appeared. And I at least wanted the best of those. So, it was all or nothing. For "Let It Be", I ended up getting the big set, on both CD and LP. The previously officially unreleased 1969 Glyn Johns "Get Back" mix was the big draw there.
Sgt.pepper is such a groundbreaking classic album and White album has a fantastic diversity.
Giles Martin 👎👎👎 Oh No.
1962 - 2022 = sixty years. I loved to see some sort of release for the pre-EMI stuff. A sort-of "here's everything", even with Anthology repeats, would be nice. I bet they could do a pretty good remix with the Cavern Club takes.
Excellent discussion, Andrew. I can only drool ( I am 72 so no surprise there) when I think about a possible remix package of “Revolver” which has always been my favorite. Keeping my aching fingers crossed.
Was the Sgt pepper box available on vinyl and CD
The full thing apart from hi res was on CD in the big box, but aa cut down version on vinyl.
Hi Andrew & for me every box set is a winner & Abbey Road has & always will be my favourite Beatles album & here it's is just beyond perfect but I have to say & I never thought i would but Let It Be runs it a close second !!! Giles Martin really brought out the true beauty of the album here & it now sounds stunning! Pepper & the White Album are awesome as well, Roll on the next set 👍
Hey Andrew. Hard to believe we have these and that it has been 5 years. The Beatles group and solo were late to the box set game! The Paul Archives seems to have opened up the interest. Keep them coming!!!!
Brilliant as always! White Album is my favorite remix by far. The outtakes and inclusion of the Esher tapes make it tough to beat and I love the book that comes along with the set. I have both the digital and vinyl versions of that one. As far as potential future remix projects are concerned, I think HELP! is the one crying for a proper remix because both the stereo and mono mixes, in their original forms, are really bad. The songs on that record deserve to be heard in all their glory.
I agree with Disneyfamily515 re the outtakes on the White Album. The Abbey Road album is excellent but the extras make for a disappointing package, imo. Re a Revolver remix it would be good to include the original mix of Tomorrow Never Knows which was subsequently withdrawn.
Only a third of their albums have been remixed in stereo.
Yet to remix.
Please Please Me (1963).
With The Beatles (1963).
A Hard Day's Night (1964).
Beatles For Sale (1964 ).
Help ! (1965).
Rubber Soul (1965).
Revolver (1966).
Magical Mystery Tour( 1967).
and does Anthology I II or III or Beatles naked need to be remixed at some stage ?
I even bought the revolver super deluxe box set I didn’t go out and by the version of revolver the SuperDeluxe CD edition, because I feel like there should be more music not just on CDs but on the vinyl records as well. One of the things that blew me away it was the fact that there was gonna be an EP in my journey of collecting music I never had an EP before in my life so buying the revolver super deluxe that I ordered it from Amazon this is The first time I have ever had an EP before in my life. i’ve had 45s and albums 33s but never an EP so this new record format is kind of new to me but I know that 45s have two songs on each side and E peas I think we usually only have six or four. and then of course I bought the Beatles red and blue albums on vinyl and CD which I think are fantastic
When I first heard about these anniversary edition and watched some of the videos on TH-cam I found myself very much excited. I bought the sergeant pepper and the white album both at my favorite record store Music Millennium and I bought the CD deluxe box that’s because you get more extra which I love. I even have a Abbey Rd., SuperDeluxe on CD and vinyl although the only thing is it’s too bad that in the vinyl version there’s not a lot of pages as there are in the CD version with the book inside it
I love all these anniversary additions and Giles Martin does an amazing job with the remixes I think they’re fantastic.
Great video Andrew. I did a video on this very topic several weeks ago on my channel. I love the boxsets but I also have some criticisms that I talk about.
They shouldn't have remixed AR & LIB, their original mixes and 2009 remaster are fine. They are working on Rubber Soul and Revolver (my favourite)
Always an interesting take, thank you. You’re not alone in your view of pepper but I think the remix is sublime.
There’s been some serious missteps in some remixes.
Yer Blues, supposedly recorded in a cupboard to make claustrophobic but Giles added space!! Also Helter Skelter not good. He removed the dirt from while my guitar but that helps make the song.
Let it be (songs), he completely neutered the beautiful rasping solo. Abbey Rd all superb.
Agree, what’s going on with Mystery tour? I want a walrus remix so much, please Giles don’t screw that one up for me. Cheers
Overall, I've been rather unimpressed by these box sets. I mean, they look beautiful, but beyond that, there's far more disappointment to be had than pleasure.
I should say that it's nice to be able to hear each recorded element more clearly (and loudly), but Giles Martin is not a very good mixer, in my opinion.
There's very little consistency in his work. You have the occasional track where everything gels, but most of the time, he boosts the wrong elements,
which usually means that the bass overpowers everything else, or instruments and vocals that were originally only meant to add colour to the finished recording,
are now assigned lead duties.
Pepper was Martin's most successful mix, I think. "Whitie" was terribly uneven. Especially on something like "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" where George's moans
are somewhat embarrassingly mixed way up front...
Abbey Road has always been a bass album, but Martin turned it into a BASS album! And it's almost unlistenable.
And then with Let it Be, things just sound off somehow. It has a less obviously flawed mix. But you know it when you hear it. Certain sounds sound just.....wrong.
As for the outtakes and assorted goodies? For anyone who's heard Purple Chick's releases, these bonus discs are quite pathetic in comparison.
But that's all right. It's expected. The Beatles are never going to release all their vault material at once. Not when there's future box sets in the pipeline.
I’m one of the very few people that absolutely loves that I am the walrus remix I think it’s great. And I love music that is adventurous and daring that’s why I love avant-garde experimental music. i’m looking forward to the next Beatles products that will be coming out in the next few years or so.
Hey Brad, just wrote u long comment; but dont believe got sent. So glad, u got to go! I did too , unexpectedlly, at last min.Knoxvegas show Incredable too!! Happy belated to you.And thanx 4 your kind words& thoughts surrounding eye operation. Doing well.Last nite was very Celebritory, indeed.bye.
They screwed up that Pepper box big time. Loud, over-compressed mastering, a DVD instead of Blu-ray and that horrible sounding version of the promo single version of Penny Lane which sounds much better on several different bootlegs. Who OK'd these major flaws?
7:13 particularly, Abbey Road, is the only full album that they used the TG12345 desk as opposed to a REDD that was used for the rest of the album. Difference between desks is that the REDD uses bulbs whereas the TG12345 uses transistors and that makes a difference when recording.
Abbey Road and Let It Be already sounded more 'modern' in their original form. The original mixes of Sgt Pepper and White Album sounded much more dated and in need of an overhaul, hence the bigger differences in the remixes. Would've thought that was obvious. Listen to how Abbey Road sounds compared to Sgt Pepper. Sounds like a lot more than 3 years difference between them, because of advancements in recording and mixing quality between 1966 and 1969.
I wish they would do a US version of Magical Mystery Tour.
I'm somewhat of a purist but, even allowing for that, I haven't really been impressed with any of Giles Martin's remixes. The Peter Cobbin remixes on the Yellow Submarine Songtrack album is far better than any of Giles' efforts.
Love the box sets. They were well needed especially on Sgt. Pepper which is a mono record. I don’t understand the negative people out there that don’t like the re releases. It’s not like it’s a P Diddy remix. Giles doesn’t add vocals, music, or sound effects. He’s only making the mixes sound better and restoring them to sound more like their mono counterparts. Abbey Road and Let It Be are more subtle because they were recorded/mixed 7:32 for stereo by The Beatles…
I'm not a big fan of most of the remixes. I got the Sgt. Pepper box for $50 since one corner was smashed, but everything inside was fine. I like the extras, though hate the remix. To me everything is turned up to the max and very unmusical sounding. So far the White album is the only one I really like and it's actually now my preferred version. There are some strange mixing choices on Abbey Road and the extras are rather blah. I still go to my 1970s UK LP for this album. Sorry Andrew, I find Let It Be almost useless. The remix doesn't enhance anything for me and the extras are pretty sparse. The Blu-ray is a waste. At the very least they could have put the audio and/or video for the Rooftop Concert on there and perhaps some additional outtakes like the Lennon boxes do for their Blu-rays. Honestly, at this point, I'm kind of have boxset burnout and am not planning on rushing out to buy the future releases. I've discovered the Beatle discs I already have are the ones I end up coming back to enjoying the most.
Any idea why they skipped Rubber Soul (my pick for next) and Revolver? Love Pepper, Abbey Rd and Let it Be so much.
Great video thanks. I bought Sgt Pepper and the White album and really enjoy the extra perspective on them. Abbey Road one of my favourites but settled for the double CD rather than box set, as appeared disc two of CD had the best of the outtakes. Would like to see Revolver next and agree MMT should be tried. I know Hollywood Bowl reissue arrived few years ago, but wonder if there are any other shows in the vaults (those featured in Anthology) that could form basis of a live album without too much audience screaming!
About these remixes of Giles Martin making so have high and down,because cd version I can hear very well the sound of songs but vinyl leave the wish,sound is airless and Abbey Road seen as was make it by tape analog very low your sound and don´t achieve hear very well the vinyl.Now what coming next,confuse for know yet.Uchino of Japan.Thank you.
I would think if Abbey Road have mastered computer separation of the mono tracks as they said they were working on at the Abbey Road show in 2018, that Please Please Me would be the one to continue with for release on its 60th birthday next year, then following on with With The Beatles etc etc. Only trouble is, we would then have to wait till 2026 for Revolver 😪
I never saw these sets before but im stuff in bloody South Texas! All I got was the White Album set... 2 copies. I suddely found the once elusive box set at Walmart a year or so ago. Id actually bought the 2 disc set a few weeks before when I thought id never find the box. Its by far my favorite album by them followed by General Salt :^) Both bpx sets open of course. Not trying to be a caretaker for the person who buys them at my estate sale after I grow my wings... Anyway, I love buying these represses. How incredible it is to be able to open and play a new record again! I use to buy used Beatles records in the 90s but used records just arent the same experience for me. I dont care how much better the og mono presses sound.... okay, maybe just a little. But I love all the new mixes that ive heard. I hate fast cars! Cheers dude
Remember how excited I was to receive Sgt.Pepper anniversary set. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined all that was to come. I think they all sound good and yes they seem to be improving as years go on! You have inspired me to get them out over the long holiday this weekend and give them another listen. Really enjoy your videos Andrew, you have a positivity that is inspiring. Take care!
Yes get all of the anniversary sets that you can snap them up because you won’t be disappointed especially the red and blue albums which came out recently you’ll hear some wonderful things that you never thought that you could hear especially on all of the other anniversary Beatles releases. and when you do get all of the anniversary releases have some fun and compare the original mixes versus the remixes for example on Sergeant Pepper or the white album or even the red and blue were at the road which ever one you choose I think you should get all of them so you can have lots of fun comparing the different mixes. that’s what makes Music so great.
Was happy on original release when ever,I'm 68 ,all this remix remaster stuff won't ever top how good it sounded on a crap danset record player, I know you're a mega fan but !!!!,
Anthology 1 will sound amazing a big improvement in 2024...?
I've got all the vinyl versions. I don't like how the Pepper vinyl didn't come in a box set. I've got the 2 disk version but it doesn't quite fit next to the other sets. I'm thinking about buying the cd version and sticking my 50th vinyl in. Great video as per usual.
The MMT tracks need the same treatment as Sgt. Pepper. The problem with LiB is that the Spector version does sound better, the Glynn Johns mix sounds pretty bad. The good stuff on LiB are the studio outtakes, and that is about all I listen too.
i guess im the only 1 not impressed with any of these sets and i do have all of them...beautifully packaged no doubt.too much boorish studio banter.the selection of tracks should have been alternate takes complete,not breakdowns.yes there are some alt takes,but not enough.the selection is horriable.what really pissed me off was the use of the penny lane promo single which should have been the master single and they put some old 45 bullshit that sounds like crap.i just received the stereo promo penny lane in pristine sound.wheres the 27 minute complete helter skelter?paul recorded a song in one take called etc..ect..ect..had acetate made and has never been heard.geoff emerick said it was lovely.the bootleggs have more substantive material,but i digress.
Abbey Road was recorded on much more advanced equipment than was used on Pepper and the White album.
Thanks for an excellent informative video. Have a lot of those White Album extras on bootlegs.
With you Andrew, I'd love a MMT revamp remix repackage or whatever. 1967 as a year of recorded music for the Beatles is great. All the psychedelic music together. Of all the mono albums that got redone I managed to get at a record fair both SPLHCB & MMT in mono i love them and maybe a revamp of the film too. take care
I would like to see RS over R... just hopping they're working on RS right now.
I think Pepper was always going to be the one that would sound the most different, as laying all the first-generation multitracks side-by-side would never sound the same. But I mean, that was the whole point of doing it. I have to say, that's by far my favourite of the remixes, but it would be really interesting to hear what it would have sounded like if it had been recorded on eight-track in the first place.
I don't know if much or any tape bouncing was ever required once they moved to eight-track. But obviously mixing the multitrack for each song down to a stereo master still amounts to one bounce. And as far as I know they assembled album masters by dubbing the individual mixes onto another tape, so that's another. And I'd guess that things like the Abbey Road medley may have required some razorblade-editing, and that they'd have used dubs of the tracks for that for safety. So I suppose it's not too surprising that going back to the multitracks, and mixing and assembling them digitally can provide so much more clarity even on the later albums.
Another great and insightful vlog. Picked all these up.
to me the album lost its concept thing and regain it between the songs. but 100% a concept album. not really.
Rubber Soul is my favourite Beatles album. So if they ever release that i will probably get every version lol
Yes, I agree about the White-edition. I really enjoy CD4 with Revolution and Helter Skelter, CD4 has even turned into one of my favorite The Beatles CD:s. "A beginning" is a fine bit of music as well... Do you think that the softer version of Helter Skelter should have been on the original White Album ?
No I'm glad Helter Skelter is as released, it's an astonishing performance! Could be argued that the slower original might suit the album more in theory but it wouldn't have had the "wow" factor.
@@AndrewDixonMusic Yes, I agree, and it's remarkable that the slower version was never given an equal treatment as Revolution 1 and Revolution... But I guess they had too many other songs to release...
Between 'The White Album' and 'Abbey Road' The Beatles released 'Yellow Submarine s/t' in which there are four then new songs along with a lot of songs re-utilised and the George Martin orchestration. I like the 1999 songtrack edition of Yellow Submarine' enormously. But I wonder, could a hybrid of the original four songs, the songs from previous albums and singles re-utilised, and the George Martin be possible? With the George Martin orchestrations as interludes between the songs? Alternatively a Beatles soundtracks CD which conflates Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine. there are other options....
Great look back at the deluxe editions so far. Some interesting observations you've raised. Agree with most all, but really enjoy the outages and alternatives in the Abbey road package. Enjoyed your thoughts and opinions!
Keep on doing what your doing Andrew, you are playing a blinder 🙏😁👍
I would love them to go back to Please Please Me and move forward up to Revolver .. with these archive sets.
MMT offers a second chance to release Carnival of Light.
Nice video, Andrew. I have loved anniversaries, not so much because of the remixes, but because of the books and extra materials. But I enjoyed them even more listening to them while reading Emerick's Here, There & Everywhere. Even instrumental tracks that may not be very enjoyable on their own, become a very interesting listening experience as you read the technical details that Emerick narrates.
15:00 3 days between Pepper's end and starting MMT is astonishing. You hear the overlapping style in 'MMT's chorus backing vocals echoing the chorus backing vocals in 'Lovely Rita,' in JL's attempt to follow the psychedelic Lewis Carrol route of 'Strawberry Fields' in 'I Am the Walrus,' and PM burlesquing the nostalgia trip from 'When I'm 64' to 'Your Mother Should Know,' and PM being Mr Positive from 'It's Getting Better' to (if you dip into the soundtrack beyond the EP) 'Hello Goodbye,' the last Optimistic Sixties song before disillusionment. A feeling of it all unravelling in MMT wasn't envisioned in the momentum of Pepper, and it mirrors the Sixties, right down to the decade's defining transition inbetween seasons, summer to autumn 67. Momentum starts to get away from them in MMT, rudderless without Eppy and cut adrift both from pre-Pepper 'Penny Lane' and the future they had in mind. Not a bad vibe yet but directionless and the mystery a false promise. All those ppl complaining about MMT broadcast over XMas 67 on BBC didn;t know it yet but they were actually complaining that the Sixties just ended prematurely and the Seventies wasn't ready yet.
Chaos and disappointment creeps into MMT, and grotesquerie replaces psychedelia, a first glimpse of the 70s - - ahead of the curve in a way they didn't want to be. When the MMT psychedelic coach got stuck on a bridge and PM didn't have the sense to film the incident and put it in what was supposed to be cinema verite after all, that was perfect symbolism, stuck in transition on a bridge that could not be crossed.
This write up is great
Be a bit odd if they went straight to Revolver, makes more sense to stick to the chronology of anniversaries. The holy grail for me would be a Star Club box set, with a book of Astrid's photos. But that would need to be this year, so seems unlikely, sadly. One issue is copyright. Any previously unreleased material is now out of copyright so could be 'legally bootlegged' as soon as they release it.
Wow! I want to save up some dough 💴 and get these!!!
I feel completely satisfied with all four Deluxe Box Sets. The Giles Martin Remixes are brilliant to my ears. And the artwork of the sets is of highest quality. Always a pleasure for me to take them from the shelf and have an insightful read on my favorite music. Getting a similar joyful experience with a huge Revolver Deluxe Box Set next would be great!
While Apple got a late start as far as deluxe box sets are concerned I'm happy with what they have done in the last 5 years.Hopefully we now go backwards and get Revolver & Rubber Soul at least.Great channel Andrew!
Hi Andrew! I totally agree with you when you've said that you "never enjoyed the Let It Be album more than you have done over the last six months..". I have the same feeling. Certainly having seen The Get Back documentary has helped me to understand the challenge of this project and the importance of the music recorded during January 1969. Joan
Have all four so far and just pre-ordered Revolver
100 % agree re: the different designs for each box. Like you said, each Beatle album is it’s own unique thing so the packaging reflecting that is cool and always fun to see what they come up. Of course a consistent design like the McCartney archives is good too especially when they all line up on a shelf and look like a Macca library , but the Beatles are separate from everyone else (even former Beatles!) so I’m fine with unique boxes for each album.
Hopefully next year we get more sets (I don’t think we’ll get anything in ‘22, since this is still the year of Get Back) but I do hope they FINALLY release Let it Be on blu ray like promised. Otherwise there will always be unfinished business from that era and we’ll continue to keep asking “when will we get Let It Be on bluray?” I’m excited for what Apple has in store next. They have been doing a great job since Jeff Jones took over from Neil Aspinall of walking a line between giving the hardcores something to enjoy and still catering to as large an audience as possible. Sure there are always head scratching moments but on the whole they’ve been doing a good job with quality steady releases without feeling like overkill (like Bowie releases have been since his passing)
Yes there will be an uproar if they go back on their word and don't make the Let It Be movie available.
Hi Andrew, after watching this video I too went and gave Sgt Peppers 2017 vinyl version a listen and then straight after I spun the 1967 1st press Mono vinyl and my God this is how I felt. While listening to the 2017 I felt myself wanting to turn it down and playing with my sound settings on my old Technics EH 790 sound processor and amplifier because I don't know to be honest I just couldn't get satisfied with the sound. But I settled on a setting and listened all the way through and just didn't enjoy it. I know those songs so well but I just didn't enjoy it. And then I kept those same settings and volume and played the MONO. And the difference is night and day. The mono sounded so joyful, and it didn't matter what sound settings and volume I had it on. It sounded amazing. On the 2017 that album doesn't need everything so separated in the mix. And although the heavy bass is there,I can tell it's not natural bass. I can tell it's digitally enhanced bass. And then you go back to the original Mono and the natural analogue bass just shines and the mix is smooth and lovely.
That original mono is definitely the best.
With regard to the Pepper and White remixes being “bolder” and AR and LIB being more subtle, I think it comes down to this. The later two albums were only mixed for stereo originally (not mono), and they were recorded on 8-track tape. The original mixes thus had more room to breathe and were considerably more modern-sounding (to our ears) than previous albums.
Pepper and the White album were four-track recordings (barring a few White album songs recorded at Trident). The limitations of mixing for stereo with four-track frequently resulted in vocals panned hard to one side, especially on Pepper.
So Giles et al had more work to do on those remixes to get them to have the punch and presence of the mono while being in stereo. And freed of the four-track limitations (since they had all of the premixed down session tapes), they worked on getting the vocals in the center.
So my expectation for Revolver and Rubber Soul is a more drastic remix, since those albums both have less-than-subtle stereo mixes. In the case of those albums, more elements were recorded live simultaneously into individual tape tracks (e.g the bass and drums might be together on a tape track, as recorded, you can’t adjust them individually), so there’s tricky work to be done with modern AI software and techniques to isolate some of the elements. Per Martin, that’s the reason why we didn’t get those albums sooner - the technology to de-mix and isolate differ parts needed to improve.
Very good reasoning there!
I managed to nab them all last year they are excellent.
For someone who missed the booklets that used to come with CDs, reading the books that came with these editions was a great experience.
Hi Andrew
Thanks for your presentation.
Do you think we’ll eventually get a remix of Revolver ?
Take care
Hi Joseph, yes definitely, I'll be amazed if we don't!
Rubber Soul and Revolver should be next up. Maybe Magical Mystery Tour as well.
Truthfully love too see them do all their albums from please please me and up. Sgt Pepper White Album Abbey Road and Let It Be were Fantastic. The others should get the same love. For God's sake it's the Beatles truly the Greatest Band of All Time. Nuff Said
Are you surprised it is June 1 and we haven’t had any news of any Beatles projects coming out other than Get Back?
I'll be surprised if that's still the case by the end of June! 😉
Fascinating and info paced clip as usual Andrew. I would love it if REVOLVER was next then we can all..."Relax and float up stream". 🤗
As far as the box sets go i only have Let It Be because i wanted the Glyn Johns mix. I think it's a great set over all. To me the most important thing in all these were the Esher demos. Only bought the 3-cd of White Album. Nothing from Sgt.Pepper. Only a double cd of Abbey Road. If the point were to make an upgrade of sound and release alternate takes, it would've been fine with me. What i don't like at all was to add things to the songs on the album(s) that weren't there originally. It's why i can't listen to the new version of Abbey Road for example.
btw. that Magical Mystery Tour set looked great.
Pasi
Just out of interest what things do you mean added that were not there originally?
@@AndrewDixonMusic Voices and instruments on some songs.
How would we have gotten five (special editions) if not for Covid? They've released Sgt. Pepper, White Album, Abbey Road and Let It Be - what else could they have released in that time frame? I don't think The Beatles consider Magical Mystery Tour a 'proper album', so the only place to go is backwards to Revolver and Rubber Soul. Cheers. What am I missing? Surely not 'Yellow Submarine'.
Let It Be would almost certainly have come out in 2020 if not for Covid, so 2021 may well have seen the next release after that.
@@AndrewDixonMusic Oh, I see, sure. Not sure that would have gotten us anything else in the meantime, unless they plan to release other albums not on an anniversary year. I'm hoping for Rubber Soul and Revolver! All the best. ;)
Hi there. Abbey Road and Let it Be were recorded and mixed using 8 track technology which which gave Giles and Sam more options during the remix stage (a few less bounced tracks to unpick). The White Album was partially recorded on 8 track and like the music itself is a hotch-potch of everything - a true cross over of an album in technical terms.
I wonder if "The Past Masters" set will have a remix?
My bet would be yes
Hi Andrew I would love to see abby road and let it be done in mono they did it with all the other albums why not these two?
Hi Thomas, times had moved on, stereo was the accepted modern way by the end of the 60s. I also wonder whether they could have been bothered to be involved in additional mixes by that point.
Fabulous video Andrew. All of the remixes of 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', 'The White Album, 'Abbey Road' and 'Let It Be' have been great.
Hi Andrew, as far as Magical Mystery Tour outtakes goes there are a bunch hidden in secret menues on the Blu-ray (even Shirly's Wild Accordion) these can be accesed by using the arrow keys on the remote ond if something changes colour click it..
Thanks for posting this and reminding me to listen to these again!
SPLHCB box
I like the 4 cd tracks. It's worth mentioning that the 2cd edition creates a very enjoyable alternate takes album in original running order - you could argue that you can program that, but I think you'd need a cd changer. If you have the 2LP then you have that same alternate album. I notice alternate album starts with Take 9 of SPLHCB (track 1) - is that even in the box set?
For the box itself, I love that when you take off the lenticular cover, you have what looks like an original red and white EMI TAPE box - that's a nice touch!
I liked the bass a lot on all 4 cds: nice and loud. Thought Strawberry Fields orig mono mix on cd4 sounded very flat and uninspiring, while the orig mono mix for Penny Lane and DITL after that were amazing!
MMT
That'll be a tough nut to crack for BIG box set. Some of the things you mentioned can be extracted from the DVD in the little box set. Perhaps they could have a 2 for 1 YS/MMT - would that be too strange? I think MMT deluxe is a long way off but who decides? Giles?
WA
Of course, I hear something different each time I listen, and sounds great, but couldn't believe how Wild Honey Pie sounded so much like a melted tape - will have to listen to original LP.
Next Up?
Although Revolver is my favourite of the two, I'd still like to see RS deluxe then REV - I kind of agree with George that it's 2 sides of a similar coin, with the latter being on a higher cosmic plane, perhaps.
Early Albums?
Are there enough never-released takes from early on? Actually, I think there are. In my dreams I know as long gone, but wouldn't it be something to have the original slow Orbison-like Please Please Me? That would be like Tutankhamun!!
Picture Disks - I got caught up in collecting these at same time - tend to sound more crackly than black counterparts. Don't think there was one for WA but the SPLHCB is amazing to look at, particularly the side you don't see when sealed (the drum!).
I don't really understand why they didn't start all these reissues in 2012 with PPM. There may not be as many extras/outtakes in the early albums to choose as with the later ones but IMO they could have compensate this with live material. They were constantly touring back then and there are some bootlegs out there waiting for an official release.
I would really like Apple to release special packages for the early/mid period albums, but it won't be the same to me... From Sgt Pepper's onwards Apple have respected the 50th anniversary chronology. With the other ones... well, their 50th anniversary has already gone by, and it'd be a bit weird to have new packages for those albums next to the 50th anniversary ones
My own guess is that back in 2012 (or a couple of years before when they might have started planning) that it just wasn't a priority for them at the time.
By the time of Sgt Pepper 50th I don't think they could afford to let that pass, and the success of that encouraged them to continue.
Pepper was the perfect starting point. It was the 50th anniversary, and the technology to create a true multi-track mix from non-synched 4-track tapes was finally good enough to do it properly.
They could do a RSD remix version of yellow submarine. I don't think there'd be enough interest in a boxset version considering 75% of it is the George Martin orchestra. I would rather have a RSD version of the 1966 album, collection of oldies. They are missing a trick not doing a special release of that.
The only one to date I picked up was Abbey Road, and then, just the main album. Simply because I have an original 1969 Apple release, which is so beat up (hey, wasn’t expecting perfection for $1.00!), that it “loops” on Octopus’ Garden.