Beatles Red & Blue REMIX REVIEW |
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ธ.ค. 2023
- How do you like the new remixes to the Beatles Red and Blue albums? Matt discusses thoughts and observations on the songs and on the concept of remixing.
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My lifelong ride with the Beatles began when they came through a three-inch speaker...so the answer to the question is... yes... everybody over thinks it.
Absolutely agree with your B&W film comparison. The medium is the message, and the Beatles will forever be linked to an era of mono recordings and vinyl. We should learn to embrace and cherish that rather than insist we know better by tinkering with something already perfect.
Well said, willgirling.
@@popgoesthe60s52 I agree with the sentiment 100%. The example you used playing devils advocate, the everyday Joe prefers Color TV and Stereo sound. The artistic crowd that prefers B&W and the audiophiles who yell for mono are the minority. In any case great video and always enjoy hearing your take on things.
@@cactusjackNV Thank you, James.
I look at these remixes the same way as I do with the other albums that Giles worked on in that there are some tracks I love what he did and others I prefer the original stereo or the original mono. It’s always nice to have a choice and we always have the originals to go back to…..thanks for sharing your thoughts Matt. Happy Holidays!
Thank you, Bill!
@@popgoesthe60s52I essentially agree with that but I go back to my War on Treble comment and add War on Stereo to that because nowadays everyone seems opposed to great treble and the kind of stereo separation we loved in the '60s but that faded out in the '70s as I was discovering it.
Of course I'm using "War" as a facetious shot at all the Culture War crazy which I mostly ignore. 😊
The Red could've easily had I should've known Better and Rain added as mentioned in the comments. Another track I would've added is the much less talked about I Call Your Name, which I think is a great song with so much energy. I did notice that you could hear more of the fiddly guitar work from George in I Saw Her Standing There that had previously been drowned out imo.
There's a fine line between remixing and re-recording. I get a tad bit uncomfortable with the liberties taken in the studio to recreate recordings instead of enhancing what was already in place.
So just listen to the 59 other versions all these songs have had. Its impossible to even keep track between mono and false starts and fake stereo ànd the version where the guitar is on the left instead of the right etcetcetc
I think Paul had a small hand in it
@@NintenDubAnd?🙄
The only issue with the opening of AHDN for me is that the piano component of the famous chord is now much more prominent than ever before. It diminishes the finely balanced collective whole of the sound by reducing the volume and impact of the guitars - especially George’s 12-string. This is particularly clear on headphones.
Thanks Matt, for lowering my FOMO when not buying these albums for a 4th time (after cassette, LP and CD)
The 🍎 Corps cash Cow need s to be fed yearly it seems.
The greatest value for me with the remixes is the more clarity in the separation of vocals and instruments. I'm a guitarist and songwriter, so the remixes are like a study tool, to pick out and understand what's going on in their arrangements & instrumentations. I think you are right that they aren't going to replace the original mixes. I've yet to run into any new fan that has complained about mixes, they are just excited new fans as we once were. The Beatles train just keeps going, it's great that were talking about them still.
I'm told that the drum smack on the Hard Day's Night intro has always been there...as well as a piano chord. Just because they exist does not mean they need to be brought out. They were mixed the original way for a reason. To tell the truth...I do not get any more pleasure out of most of these remixes than I have always gotten from my original records. Some of them sound fine, some just weird. I think that for me the most valuable improvement was done to Revolver with the improved stereo field.
Timmy!
I can't imagine Giles ADDING to the mix of "A Hard Day's Night". I imagined that it was always there, just dropped down in George's mix. But what do I know? I wasn't there.
Also, "We Can Work It Out" seems to have a new beat to it. The tamborine is perfectly mixed and Ringo's drums drives forward differently than before. It just has a different beat than I remember hearing before and I absolutely love that. It lends to Ringo's greatness.
Some have commented that is was there just buried or practically inaudible. It was to me anyway.
Per Wikipedia, when it talks about the opening chord, it does mention that Ringo played a snare. So it was always there, just brought up. I actually don't have an issue with it. I think it adds a new raw power
Great video. I enjoyed it
I've yet to buy them , but as a first generation fan , I have multiple versions of these songs.
I'll wait until they show up in a used CD shop.
Or wait until the remixed full albums come out in a box sets.
It was always there. I can hear it on the '09 version @@popgoesthe60s52
I love Giles Martin and Sam Okell's remixing. That rap section really enhances A Day In The Life.
My favourite Beatles listening experience is playing the original mono 45s on a portable Dansette record player. That’s how those records were intended to be heard and it’s a completely transcendent listening experience!
I enjoy the CD versions of the singles and EPs made in the 80s, they're great!
I remember in my house in the 1950’s we had an enormous radiogram with a record player, it had big speakers on both sides, the sound was amazing, especially for me at 5 years old when I started listening to rock & roll records. I was lucky having an older brother and sister, they brought lots of great singles in the late 1950’s. Later on in the early 60’s I had a typical record player. Playing all the Beatle records when they were released was an event, oh the memories 😊. I don’t think anyone has mentioned that on the new re-mix I Am The Walrus, there’s no pigs grunt after John sings the line “see how they smile like pigs in a sty, see how they snied” lyrics!
I've had Beatles vinyl in my life forever (61 yrs old!) including the red and blue albums and on the original CD's too. I'm just not sure I need to hear separated guitar mixes and various other studio trickery to appease the headphone/ear bud listeners. To me, sitting down in front of my hifi with a drink listening to what made the 60s great is a ritual that doesn't need tampering with. It didn't hurt them back then and it shouldn't now. Always appreciate your insights. Cheers from a limey living in Wisconsin! 🍻
Matt glad you enjoyed these it really goes to show you do have an emotional heart!😂
I'm sure I didn't praise it enough according to some fanboys. Thanks Martin!
Loved your thoughts on the remixes. Very thoughtful and well spoken.
Thank you, Dave - I appreciate it.
The yellow submarine soundtrack album is the best remix of them all. Period.
George Martin's composer chops was on full display on Side Two which featured his "incidental" music for the animated feature.
@@professorhamamoto Not that Yellow Submarine. I’m talking about the soundtrack album released in 1999.
That album is named Songtrack NOT Soundtrack. And, yes, it's the best.
13:36 it's not a drum hit on Hey Bulldog; it is John hitting his amplifier and letting the reverb spring makes that noise.
Vin is really great on beatle guitar study. Subbed for years.
That drum part in A Hard Days Night was always there, but it used to take a back seat from the guitars. Raising the drums volume specifically makes if feel more like a jump-scare rather than a pleasant surprise if that makes sense.
I had never heard that before in the mix!
Fine analysis, Matt!
Thank you Antonio.
I love the Red album remixes. They sound great and thankfully they didnt go overboard with the bass like they've done lately. Really irks me that the bass is now the loudest part of the mixes while simultaneously softening the electric guitars
Yes. If you’re constantly aware of the bass in any song…it’s too loud. In the early days the Beatles complained that their recordings suffered from a lack of bass. And they were right. But now with the new mixes it’s swung completely the other way. The only one I’ve purchased is the stereo mix of Revolver. Listening to it I could almost picture McCartney sitting at the console saying, “Hey Giles, what say we nudge up the bass on this one a little more-I can still hear the other instruments.” (Give me the original mono version any day.)
I think they did a fantastic job with these remixes, I especially love the red album. I hope they will remix pre revolver albums. My ear noticed the “difference” on She Loves You, but I can’t pinpoint what it is. Was there always a drum beat buried on the opening chord of A Hard Days Night? I think it was always there. My favorite mix is “This Boy”
I was wondering the same thing. I think people should be much more careful about their statements. You see, nowadays a youtuber often has the aura of an "expert". I strongly suggest that you edit the video and add a little text, or something, to clarify this.
Paul Hicks was the remix engineer on the Love album, with Giles & George Martin credited as producers. So not sure if these should be described as 'Giles remixes' as many are doing.
Peter Cobbin did a great job also on Lennon's solo albums. Since he left Abbey Road he's been doing mostly film work I think.
The 1993 Red & Blue CDs still sound great on my JBL Flip portable stereo speakers where you don't need to worry about extreme panning on some of the Red album tracks!
Often times with regard to Apple, they dispense with some contractors/employees without warning for what amounts to a "change of scenery." Though I would never discount the marketing advantages to continuing with Martin family member in the "re-mixers" chair.
Matt the one song that I was really blown away buy was I Saw Her Standing There. There was so much going on it was like a smorgasbord of music. Really enjoyed that one. I love your breakdowns. You put so much work into your posts really enjoyable and appreciated.
Thank you, David!
Glad you mentioned the 1999 Yellow Submarine soundtrack; it was the brilliant work of producer Peter Cobbin. It's a shame that Mr. Cobbin didn't remix the entire Beatles catalog! Your comments about various songs on the red and blue are right on target; I agree with you that with the very early songs there might be "only so much" they can do to enhance the sound. Good video, thanks.
Thank you, Richard!
The one thing that I was really disappointed with the Yellow Submarine Songtrack was the opening of It's All Too Much, I was expecting it to be more bombastic than the original. But it seemed to be very toned down.
I'm part of the younger audience these remixes are supposed to appeal to, but my preferred way of listening to the Beatles is actually a hard left turn on all of this as I listen to the mono albums almost exclusively. I don't particularly love the precedent of re-directing people en masse to new mixes of these albums. They're mostly fine, fun alternatives for hardcore fans, but aren't the versions people have been listening to and praising for almost 60 years and aren't the way people should experience the band for the first time.
Personally I thought the 2009 remasters was a pretty definitive statement on what the Beatles should sound like canonically for the sake of preservation, particularly the mono set, though I realize that doesn't sell forever. I do think they did a good job in expanding these two albums so I was very happy to go ahead and make my own playlist of 1962-70 using the original mixes.
Another interesting and thoughtful video, Matt. When I first listened to the remix of AHDN I just couldn't work out why the opening chord didn't sound quite "right" - it seemed to have lost that magnificently resonant "CLANG!" (for want of a better word) but after watching your video last night I now realise why! And very interesting what you say about the Shepard Tone on IATW. I was aware of the Shepard Tone but hadn't twigged that, of course, the ending of IATW is one of the most famous examples of it out there - and it got buried in the new mix! On the whole, though, - AHDN chord and IATW ending aside - I do love the new mixes.
Thank you for watching!
Great post! I really like all your videos and watch them more than once. I am a fan from the 60s, i bought the original Beatle vinyl albums and 45s, bought some of the reel-to-reels, then the 8-tracks, then the cassettes, the half-speed masters, then the CDs, the imports, then uploaded the music to itunes or my ipod, etc. I love the Beatles but i just dont feel like buying the same music over and over again anymore. as you said in your "Now and Then" video, there is something to be said about preserving the Beatle legacy. the remixes arent doing it for me. BTW, love your Beach Boys posts - fantastic!
Hey Toni, I appreciate the feedback - thank you!
Great, as always, Matt! I will be buying the red and blue albums on CD as we no longer have a turntable or a place to put it. I'll listen for the changes you mentioned. Adding a drum beat to the opening chord of 'It's Been A Hard Day's Night' is mind-boggling! Why??? Why would a "new listener" care if a drumbeat was added? What does it add to the song the Fab Four didn't think of? As far as drumming on 'Love Me Do', better Ringo than Pete Best, right? I enjoyed your review. Thank you, Matt.
BTW: I meant to comment on the albums you placed on the backwall of your music/broadcast room. Thank you for placing Bing Crosby in the middle. I love Bing. George Harrison was a fan as well. 😊
Thank you, Jacky!
Thanks, for pointing out the drum on the opening chord, I missed that in the relisten of the Red.
Loved the separation of the remixes but felt the lead guitar in "Nowhere Man" should've been centered so I ended up de-mixing it and re-mixing it myself for my own personal version :-)
Hard Days Night, checked and the drum beat was already there just lower in the mix. Agree with Love me Do choice, I'm loving I am the Walrus until the end - its a bad choice and interesting you mention about the shepherd tone. Love your channel and work as always.
I like your attitude here. They can re-mix till the cows come home, but people are going to either cherish the original recordings or ultimately re-mix themselves. I figure most people are going to pick and choose among originals and re-mixes. For the first time, for my 13th birthday in 1973, my mother allowed me to pick out a birthday present, I picked out the Blue album. As the bandit said in the black & white Treasure of the Sierra Madre: "We don't need no stinkin' re-mixes!"
I love a good quote from a Bogart movie! I appreciate the comment.
i believe drive my car's "rhythm" guitar is actually lifted from the word, which is why it appears to be found only in the love version at the moment. If you listen closely you can also hear the same piano part found in the word, panned to the same side too
as for a hard days night, i think that hit was already in there, just buried. it is a bit audible in the 2015 remix of the song though that was also done by giles martin i think haha
The bass player and the drummer is the ones still alive. The bass and the drums gets more pronounced in the recording on expense of the guitars. Wonder why they made that decision. :)
Personally I love how they made the bass more crisp on some tracks. Like on Old Brown Shoe.
If I remember correctly, it was George who played bass on that?? Said so in an interview at one point.
The bass and drums are turned up because it’s closer to the R&B record levels (which they loved) which they weren’t allowed to match in volume because they were told the needle would jump off the vinyl. The beefier mix also makes the overall sound more modern.
I was listening in my car yesterday, and right after the solo of Old Brown Shoe I heard a scream coming from the left speaker. Has never noticed it before. Lol
Excellent as ever.
For the most part, I really enjoy the new mixes, especially on the Red album. I loved the first 4 minutes of "I Am the Walrus" as its cleaner with more separation across the stereo spectrum. The King Lear recitation is mixed down low during the song's ending where I personally can't hear the ominous "Bury My Body" which is spooky and an important element of the song. I hope they revisit this song if there is a Magical Mystery Tour set in the future.
I hope there is a box set of that coming!
I remember the day, clear as a bell, when I first heard the original mono of Sgt Pepper’s on vinyl. I had been a Beatle fan for more than a decade, but I’d grown up with stereo mixes, CD mixes, etc. When I heard the mono mix, my friend and I were gobsmacked. We had every note memorized, and yet here were new guitar parts! More Leslie treatments on vocals! More intense, more experimental all around. The CD I had was like The Beatles on Ice to me ever since. All that is to say, I love the efforts in remixing that mean to pull toward the original, improve it in the most objective way possible, but really try to bring it to it’s original state while fixing obvious problems, most of which disappeared after six tracks. Anyway, I enjoy the new Sgt Pepper’s stereo mix for blending the deep old mono with the glossy, and I love the Revolver for just the clarity, and I do love the Songbook remixes (It’s All Too Much!!) for bringing the punch and separation those songs needed. But man, I do weary on remixes that barely move the needle. Thanks once again for your take. Yours is a perspective I share most often. Cheers and Happy Holidays.
I had the same history as you with Sgt. Pepper. Man! What a difference!
Great episode as usual Matt. If I had the money, I'd buy the original earliest UK Parlophone pressings in mono of all the Beatles stuff in near mint condition. The UK versions are how the Beatles intended the songs to sound. 1960s stereo mixes for pop music was generally terrible.
I read recently that the Beach Boys would listen to their mixes on cheap little 3 inch speakers to see how they would sound on car radios and cheap little clock radios, as they knew that's how most of the teenage fans would be hearing the songs. The mixes were made to sound good on tinny, small low end speakers. Few teens were playing records on anything close to audiophile equipment in the 60s. Car radios at the time were AM only with one little 4 inch speaker in the middle of the dashboard. The cheap transistor radios and car radios of the time were about the sound quality of a fast food drive up intercom. Most record players looked and sounded like child's toys, which in effect they were. Like those classroom record players in the 1970s with the speaker built into the record player itself.
Today's $20 bluetooth speaker is light years better than anything available in the 1960s to the average person.
The car radio thing is specifically USA. In the UK (and in other European countries) teenagers didn't drive, let alone possess cars. Record players with built-in speakers were not all plastic either. And mono on your parents' big valve radio in the sitting room sounded pretty impressive. That is not to say that today's sound is not much more advanced even in very cheap equipment such as computer systems.
A lot of bands would make a cassette of a song they just mixed and take it out to their cars to listen to. Nick Lowe did the same with the albums he produced. He said both he and Elvis Costello grew up with cheap record players and he mixed his material to sound good on them. Listen to his Pure Pop for Now People/Jesus of Cool album. The production is clean, clear and sounds great on cheap equipment.
Hi Matt. You've now got me investigating track by track. Gone are the days when we were buying Vinyl from the early days. We looked forward to listening to the differences of MONO v STEREO. We now have some many BEATLE VERSIONS. As you mention the NEW RED & BLUE Releases need to be compared again. MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR for one. It's like changing the back ground of THE MONA LISA etc. And now we've got a New Version of Paul's BAND ON THE RUN. Makes you wonder where will this come to an end. Great Video. (sound was slightly off)
Thanks for commenting Graham! Yeah, my mic was picking up static from i don't know where!
George Martin once observed that one of the best things about the Beatles is that they were "of their time". I understand the desire to make their music more appealing to modern ears by emphasizing the bass and the beat. But what makes them the Beatles is that raw Rickenbacker sound of the Beatle-mania days, the acoustic focus of Rubber Soul, the psychedelic experimentation of Revolver and Pepper, etc. They were of the 60's. To remove them from that is to make them less of the Beatles.
That's a good point. It is pointless to redo their entire catalog. It already is as close to perfection as we are going to get.
Peter Cobbin was responsible for the remix of y. Submarine and was given free rein pretty much. I definitely like his mixes of that set of songs than pretty much anything Giles has done tbh
Agreed.
Very much agree. I remember how disappointed I was hearing the new Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and With a Little Help from My Friends on Giles Martin mix compared to Peter Cobbins better mix.
The main thing about 1962-1970 (2023) is the added 21 tracks; you now have something you can hand your kids or whomever and say, "THIS is the Beatles". The previous editions' tracklist plays it waaay too safe. Now, with tracks like "Tomorrow Never Knows", "Within You, Without You", "Glass Onion" etc. you have a pretty fair representation of the width AND depth of the Beatles' overall catalogue.
1962-1970 is now an "instant Beatles collection" or maybe a real Alpha-Omega. at last.
LOVE the new "Walrus"! At the risk of triggering the purists, I wish Giles had taken more liberties -- in fact, McCartney had urged the remixers to take things farther out when the whole reissue program began. That's MY "missed opportunities".
Yeah, I too wanted them to go farther and create more fresh sounding remixes, like radical departures.
There was always a snare / cymbal hit on the opening chord of A Hard Day's Night - I assume they just brought it out more in the mix.
They brought it way out more! I've just listened to every version under the sun and the drum hit, if there, is mixed so low as to be inaudible OR the front end of the hit is cut off entirely. I got my headphones on and volume cranked.
Thanks for the detailed analysis. I usually find remixes to be a way for labels to buy the same titles again with some exceptions. You reminded me of the "ping pong" sound of the early to mid 60s which seemed cool at the time but which seems gimmicky now. The opening chord of A Hard Day's Night" is one of the great one-chord openings ever (another is the Eagle's Take It Easy) and i agree, should not be messed with. The recordings first release, heard and bought by the public when the songs were new will always be the Ur-text and rightly so - all remixes are secondary by default.
I appreciate that, John - thank you!
Just listened closely to A Hard Day’s Night from the older red album, and there’s a clear drum hit on the opening chord. So, you just didn’t hear it before. One of Giles Martin’s goals, as I understand it, was to mix the drums higher and centered, to give it a harder backbeat. That’s what occurred on this particular song. The hit was always there, but buried. Personally, other than the occasional mixing lapses that happened (the slide dropout in Old Brown Shoe), I like hearing things that were nearly imperceptible in the mixes.
I can't hear it now!
OMG! I just heard the new version of A Hard Day's Night- I couldn't believe what they did to it. The drumming is much more prominent throughout the whole track, not just on the intro. I get that the Beatles have to be available to new audiences, but the key is to preserve the sound- once you start messing around with the intros, the songs lose all their emotional power.
Ringo’s drums are a highlight to these releases.
Great overview Matt! Really enjoy your channel. I listened to the opening chord of AHDN in my car and in my headphones. Honestly, I didn’t find the drum to be that prominent or obstructive. The reverb snare in Hey Bulldog on the other hand, can be distracting
Thanks JC! Yeah, some things will come down to a matter of taste.
@@popgoesthe60s52Happy Holidays!
In A Hard Days Night the drum shot with the chord has always been there. We just didn’t hear it all that well
Great review! I’m just gonna wait for the inevitable Ai John Lennon remix of the entire Beatles catalog on down the long, winding road.
I haven't purchased the new Red or Blue albums. I intended to purchase the blue one but then I decided to get the two CD set of Revolver instead. From Pepper through Let It Be I have the Super Deluxe packages and of those I'd say that Pepper is the one that is vastly improved by the remix because of how complex it is and four track just doesn't do it justice. The mono mix, which is also included with that set stands up quite well actually, much better than previous stereo mixes. I like what you said about those special fadeouts or codas on some of the songs like Magical Mystery Tour, Flying and I Am The Walrus. I also love the bits at the ends of Strawberry Fields and Lovely Rita Meter Maid. They get very experimental. In fact, with Lovely Rita that's probably my favorite part of the song.
Great job Matt! fab Gear. All the best! Donny Ringo
Thank you, Donny!
Thanks for your very thoughtful criticism. I've been a Beatles fan from the beginning. I saw A Hard Day's Night at a drive-in theater and then bought the soundtrack with babysitting money. I just can't imagine why anyone would want to add a drumbeat to the opening chord of the title song!
It was always there
Very well said, all of it! Although I'm probably more interested in pure sound quality than you seem to be, I still agree.
Two thoughts about mixes. First, there are tons of "demixes" on TH-cam already, so you're probably right (at the end of your video) about "private" technology leading to everybody creating their own mixes at will. If that's the case, there will be onethousandandtwo variants, all of them a matter of personal taste, but only ONE original (the black and white one, so to speak). That will re-instate the originals in their proper place as the go-to versions of what the Beatles wrote and performed.
Second, the YS Songtrack remixes (which are, to me, preferable to the Martin versions where available) and even the Love mash-ups were (digitally) remixed from stems, that is the basic tracks that were combined ("bounced down") and subject to overdubs or additions. If the Beatles recorded guitars, drums, and a piano on one track, that was one stem; if they recorded guitar and drums but added a piano together with a tambourine on a further track, that was two stems. That means, Cobbin (and later Hicks) could alter the stereo placement or EQ or volume of individual tracks but not of individual instruments if they were not recorded on their own separate track. In contrast, the MAL technology which was first used on the Revolver remix box and is also behind the new remixes on the Red album (I'm not sure if the few new tracks on the Blue also use it) can isolate (extract) individual sounds from one track or even from a mono or stereo record (as they did here with Love Me Do) and recombine them at will. Listen to And You Bird and She Said on Revolver which deviate from the originals by separating the elements of the carefully blended drums/percussion (Bird) and guitars (She Said). In other words: demixing tinkers with the overall sound the Beatles intended. It can make things clearer, yes, but it changes the music one step too far. I'm not looking forward to remix editions of the first six albums, I'm afraid.
And finally, there's the brickwalling and absolute sound saturation overkill on the Red and Blue. Something you won't notice when you listen on your phone with noise-cancelling headphones but will hurt your ears when you're listening in your room, trying to relax on a hard day's night.
I appreciate the comments. It will be interesting to see how the software improves as the next Beatles releases come out.
Matt, you know I love your work on this channel but. . . . . Peter Cobbin's work Yellow Submarine was a milestone when it comes to remixing Beatles tracks. Outstanding indeed. I only wanted to hear the Red Album - the early stuff. After downloading it from iTunes, I was 70% pleased. Finally, Ringo's drumming can be heard for the first time on these historic tracks. You gotta smile when listening "You Really Got Hold On Me"! The clarity of John & George singing together and the overall mix and separation. Well done. From Me To You - marvelous but you gotta crank it. A Hard day's Night - worth every penny. Day Tripper - couldn't be better. Eleanor Rigby - Fabulous! The strings a joy to listen to. Help (drums not centered) and In My Life - sucks - so disappointed. I Saw Her Standing There - powerful and rocking with Ringo's drum highlighted. Great mix. Twist & Shout - so satisfying to a proper mix at last. I haven't got time to go through every track. George Martin didn't have the expertise of the New York engineers during this early 60's period. Listen to some of Dion's early mixes from the same time period and they blow the Beatles mixes away. It took him years to catch up but he got there. Peace & Love!
Thank you for the comments. Yes, the American studios were years ahead of the London crap they had. What hit you re: In My Life?
Also, people like to bash Phil Spector, but he made some incredible sounding records in the sixties.
I've always loved the King Lear dialogue added to I Am The Walrus. In fact, I searched it out in my collection of Shakespeare and memorized the whole section. It was such a happy "accident" randomly turning on the radio and finding that radio program to add to the live mix. Its such interesting and sinister dialogue they were fortunate to run across. My hope was that they would actually make it LOUDER in the mix. That is my real quibble with the new Walrus mix.
Personally, I just wish they would stop with the reissues. The original mono mixes were P E R F E C T. You can't fix something that isn't broke. Also, I absolutely love your channel, Matt. All the very best to you and your wife. I hope this finds you both in good health. Much love
Matt, the extra guitar track for “Drive My Car” on the Love soundtrack sounds, to my ears, like the rhythm guitar to “The Word.” That track was mashed up together with “Drive My Car” on Love.
Yes, you are probably right about that. I know of another version WITH the guitar that I've never heard but was accidentally released on a compilation. Maybe it's out there.
I'd like to see this separation technology used to make true stereo mixes of other seminal 60's albums such as "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" and "Odessey And Oracle." In the case of Ogden's no multitrack tapes exist.
I've subscribed for a while, Matt, and this is one of your best videos yet imo. I'm a 70yo lifelong Beatles fan and enough of an "audiophile" to have built a small recording studio (outfitted with solid Grundig equipment) with high-school buddies back in the day. But all this fetishizing over Beatles remixes is just way over the top. I like your practical approach, and I love your insight that what will draw new fans is a great song, not a great remix. Even if your prediction about personal remix apps doesn't happen (though I bet you're right), at what point does the catering (pandering?) end? Should we start jacking up the bass and drums in, say, old Blues recordings? Yuck. Anyway, great video, and thanks for the work you do!
Thank you, Peter. That is a good question - where does this end? How far do you take it? I guess until people stop spending money. And now I here there is another Band on the Run release? Pass.
The drum hit is on 'A Hard Days Night' opening chord, on the left channel, you can hear it on the 2009 and the 2015 remaster, they didn't add anything
It is so much quieter as to be not there unless you really try to hear it. I will continue to try and NOT hear it! 🙂
It may have always been there, but it doesn't sound "right."
I think you'll find the snare was already there on AHDN.
IN EVERY OTHER BBC, LIVE , OUTAKES ITS THERE.
I like the whole mix on this
Phenomenal job! Since the early 70s it seems like they reissued stuff to keep the music alive!! But being a Beatles fan since 1963 , like the original Beatles albums in mono till the white album! At one time we had 200+ Beatle records,tapes and eps.. I found the bc-13 box is the best way to start and get the early releases!! Just my thoughts! Go Matt!!🥳😉
Seems that there is growing interested in hearing "stems" or tracks dedicated to a single instrument or isolation of vocals that are constitutent elements of the larger "song." Would like to see a CD/DVD with high-res stems-only compilation with expert commentary hyper-links.
Yes, the stems are interesting to listen to. But when I hear them, I hear mistakes, loose playing and some sloppiness. It's amazing how the ensemble playing and production hides a wealth of errors. This is yet another point against the Beatles skeptics who suggest session players offered "flawless" performances on Beatles records!
Matt as you know every major artist, especially older ones are remixing all their work. The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd etc. Fans will know to distinguish the OG to the newbie versions. IMHO the OG's will be remembered as the ones to go with.
I don't think Led Zeppelin remixed any of their albums. And why would they remix their albums? And why would any band remix any of their albums? It's fine the way it is. As you can tell, I am not a big fan of remixes.
Thanks for your thoughts on this Matt. First, I think YS Songtrack is still the best mix /reissue release because they used someone with fresh ears and different background (Peter Cobbin) than the tired George/Giles Martin camp. Second. I hoped you would have touched on the additional song choices (good or bad) to the original LPs track listings. Maybe a part 2 video on this? Enjoyed watching. Thanks. :- )
I did talk about the extra tracks and some better options for them in a prior video PREVIEW TO THE RED AND BLUE. Thanks Mr. J!
Matt, I think you got it wrong about the opening chord in Hard Day's Night. Go back and listen to the original recording and you will hear that the drum is there on the opening chord. The difference is, it's very buried in the mix, but you can hear the thud of the drum.
I've just listened to every version under the sun and the drum hit, if there, is mixed so low as to be inaudible OR the front end of the hit is cut off entirely. I got my headphones on and volume cranked.
@@popgoesthe60s52 I'm listening to the 2009 mix, just on some small $30 speakers and I can hear it. Honestly, I never noticed it before, but when I A - B listen to the first 5 seconds of the 2009 mix and the 2023 mix I can pick it up. It's so low in the mix, but that is a 'thud' there.
“Walrus” is unforgivable, specifically the end. Sorry, but the creative owners were John Lennon, the other Beatles, and George Martin. Giles was supposed to enhance the sound using modern technology, not to reimagine works that were already genius.
Well said
The creative owners were also whatever was on the radio that day as well. Give it a rest.
@@johnalello9233 This was the track John frequently cited as his favorite from the Beatles catalogue. And somehow Giles doesn't fix the biffed chord in the last verse of "Let It Be" because You Can't Change History, yet he'll add orchestral swells and completely downplay King Lear and do other things to reimagine one of the most legendary song outros of all time with "Walrus." I mean, would it be fine if he got rid of the gradual Moog crescendo in "I Want You" because Paul didn't like it that much? Look, I am not so much of a stickler that I think remixes should never happen -- though Geoff Emerick, for his part, was annoyed at remastering that clarified instrument sounds because, as he said, "You weren't supposed to know what it was." I think often it's for the good to enhance the sound, especially if it seems like the only reason something was buried before was the limitations of four track. But it can also go too far. And here, it went too far.
Agree with you 100%
I was watching this video again (and I do often watch your videos again, they’re that good), and I listened to the opening chord of HDN on headphones. I compared the 2015 mix to the 2023 mix. In the 2015 mix, I heard the drum beat in the left channel; while in the 2023 mix, they centered it, so that’s probably why you notice it more. But this shows that the drum beat is not new to the current mix.
I believe the remixed tracks before the Rubber Soul sessions (starting with Day Tripper and We Can Work it Out) do not have the same level of instrument separation or the “power” of Ringo’s kick drum and Paul’s bass. Once we hit the Rubber Soul tracks you can feel the kick drum and the bass more prominent, which I love. I’ve been listening to the Beatles since the late ‘70’s, and these new mixes allowed me to hear bass parts that were previously buried in the mix. Norwegian Wood comes to mind immediately. I always know there was bass on the track, but I can now hear exactly what Paul was going and it is really cool. Same goes for We Van Work it Out. I would really have liked to hear John’s rhythm guitar more prominently on Day Tripper. I can now hear more of what he was doing ( especially at the end of the choruses), but I feel John’s guitar should have been more prominent; kind of like his part in the latest remix of Paperback Writer.
Matt an initial comment would be regarding how you said there was no hard panning after about 1965. I thought of 2 examples where the vocal was panned to the side after 1965- “savoy truffle” (1968) and “here comes the sun” (1969). When the remixes for these came out, this was fixed. I am sure there are other examples.
Those got by me - thanks for pointing them out.
there was always unmistakably drums accompanying the Hard Days Night intro chord. On the 2009 stereo remaster its almost as evident as on the 2023 mix. They may sound more noticeable in the new mix because of the clarity/separation of all instruments.
These Remixes are definitely made with Headphones (Earbuds) in mind. I like the separation as I never liked the original Stereo versions
I think that’s becoming the main (if not only) way music is listened to anymore
@@patrickthomas8890absolutely
Kids like to move
I'm not an audiophile either - I'm always suspicious when it comes to audiophiles - and don't have either the will to buy those new versions but thanks for the insights ; as always, great perspectives Matt. (But I'm listening to the new version of Bulldog right now on TH-cam and I like how it is more balanced, the lead guitar less aggressive - more in the mix - and Paul's bass more distinctive !)
In I Am the Walrus, how is the shepherd tone lost in the new mix? Have you compared it with headphones to the original mix? As you said in this video, it seems as though you do "just hear things" at times..
The beginning of it is there but then it goes into a whole different collage of sound, completely interrupting the shepard tone. It briefly comes back but by then it has broken the tone progression.
Good review! I recall a quote along the lines of, "Audiophiles listen to the equipment, music lovers listen to the music."
Whoever stated that, stated it well!
Good review! I agree with all of your points, especially the politics, the social dynamics of the caretakers of the catalogue. The Beatles have been reduced to two survivors, who naturally like to hear more drum & bass, the son of the producer, who doesn't want to ruin what his father accomplished so he feels obligated to mix conservatively while considering the wishes of all stakeholders, the two powerful and wealthy estates, who feel responsible for looking out for the aesthetic and financial interests of John & George, and not least, Apple wants to do the right thing commercially with good taste. So, there's this swirl of concerned interests, all bringing to bear what each of them wants. To me, as a first generation fan, their music always sounded great, mostly attributable to George Martin's high standards and impeccable taste, but also to the genius of the fabs. In the years after the original releases, the release that has excited me the most has been the Love album, the mash up. It's been the most innovative thing and to me, sounds great. All the remixes are OK, but I kind of wish Giles (with Paul's blessing) had pushed them farther into really new mixes, like radically new mixes, a kind of radicalism John was keen to advocate for, I think. I always wanted everything to be as psychedelic as possible, even the early material, but I understand they don't want outcry and vitriol from conservative, old fans, who make up the majority of purchasers. Anyway, too many chefs spoil the soup, or however that saying goes. As far as the remakes of Free As A Bird, Real Love, and Now And Then... I think that's the order of quality. Now And Then being the weakest of the three and probably shouldn't have been attempted, but it's OK as a novelty. The best thing they can do is go through all of the tapes in the archive, including outtakes and demos, separate all the sounds, and preserve it all for posterity, because there may come along a true genius producer in the future, who will do mindblowing, radical, but very beautiful remixes perhaps many years from now. George Martin called the tape archives of The Beatles "the holy grail" and the band on records is the act we've known for all these years with genius still shining through it all. To me, English cultural history has produced the King James Version, the works of Shakespeare, and the works of The Beatles. That's how important it is to preserve the tapes, digital files, and original pressings.
Totally agree on the version of Love Me Do that they used. Paul's "Love me dooo-ooo-oooo.." is so grating to me. Giles: "There's a drum beat in that chord!
Quick! Amplify it! It'll be so cool!" Shut up, Giles. I was waiting to hear your assessment on Walrus's cacophony of sound as it ended. Ouch.
Say, what about Free As A Bird and Real Love being omitted? Faux pas!
Thanks for weighing in, Doc!
Great discussion. I bought the new Red album because of the new remixes. listened to it in one sitting and I think it sounds great. I did not buy the Blue album because as you said we have most of those remixes. ~~/)~~
I watched the whole video, I had another comment but I was still mid-video, and I have a few interesting facts: I don't think the new fans won't care about the mixes. And also, indeed, making fan-made mixes is already a thing, because I fall into both, I am a semi-new fan, I got into The Beatles just a month before the first Now and Then rumors started spreading, and after listening to the 2009 remasters, I taught myself how to make custom mixes with vocals centered and instruments made to sound better. You can really easily do this using MVSEP and any audio software, with some careful listening and adjusting. I even have a group for people who make these custom mixes now, and so far we've done plenty, this christmas we are planning on releasing a remix collection for ALL of the Capitol USA Released albums, mostly new mixes besides a few exceptions where the official mix was already very good.
If you are curious about seeing a few of the tracks in a comparison as long as youtube will not copyright claim for, look up "Civil Defense Spot Records"
Thank you! I will check it out.
Very cool! yes I believe the best work on the Beatles going forward will be done by fans and not Apple employees.
@@popgoesthe60s52 Hey, dont know if you'll see this since the video's already half a year old, but you should check out MVSEP's new model, BS-Roformer. I tested it, and it's capable of what you mentioned in the video, isolating vocals extremely well. The instrumental suffers but listening to the vocal track is on par with listening to just the vocal track from a songs sessions.
Matt---what kind of headphones are you using---headphones can really color the sound and change the frequency emphasis in my opinion. everything is relative to your listening environment.
I use Sony MDR-7506 Professional. About $150 as I recall.
Matt, listening to Sinatra live and I wondered, Would his works be re-modified?
As I do listen predominantly via headphones I want stereo panning to make sense. For this release, sound separation meant they could rearrange the stereo landscape whilst remaining faithful to the original sound mixes. Importantly, guitar solos which temporarily replace a lead vocal generally work best in the place in the mix where the lead vocal is, so on tracks like All My Loving why have the lead vocal straight down the middle and the solo way over on the left side which is already occupied by the rhythm guitar? It not only doesn't make aesthetic sense, but it means the mix is lopsided. Surely things like that are common sense.
What did we expect from a stereo "She Loves You"? For it to be at least as clear as the mono tape used on Past Masters, Mono Masters, the 1992 EP-cd set, etc. Instead they used a needledrop as the source, complete with groove cramming in the last 45 seconds (the vocals broke up). Once they sourced the song this way the project was ruined. The fan-made stereo version by ProfStoned used the USB Apple from 2009 as the source and his stereo "She Loves You" sounds terrific.
Also noteworthy: the mastering on the vinyl versions of these sets doesn't have the compression or clipping present on the CD and streaming versions of these sets. "Warm" doesn't describe the vinyl mastering, it's open and breathes, and rarely if ever screeches like the cd/stream. For me, some of the percussion / treble is too entirely sharp and mechanical sounding on the cd/streams (a couple tambourine parts are torture on headphones) . The vinyl by contrast is far from a difficult-listen.
Thank you for this run down, Tom. It was very helpful. I have stated several times in the past that the best
quality transfers/remixes will be done by fans, as in your example of ProfStoned. These are fans looking to preserve the legacy through care and clear judgement - not through a marketing initiative.
Apparently the master tape for She Loves You (and the B-side I'll Get You) was lost very soon after recording, which is why the version they recorded in German a few months later had to be a complete re-recording as they didn't have the 2 track with the clean instrumental track. All new remasters or remixes as I understand it, have had to use a commercially-released record as the source, suggesting that no master disc survives either.
I haven't heard the new remix yet, not least because I prefer to listen to music as it was intended to be heard, but it's bizarre if it sounds technically worse than previously released CDs.
In some ways, the 2009 remasters (I have both mono and stereo box sets) are the 'gold standard.'
@popgoesthe60s52. Well said.
Matt. They definitely did not add the drum beat. They just revealed it by separating it from the mono track and then placed it in a different place on in the sound stage, away from the guitars. It’s definitely there in the original but it hidden. You don’t have to like it but it’s always been there. Love your channel. Cheers.
I guess I said that wrong. I realized it must have been buried in the mix. I listened to every version tonight and no version sound anything like the loudness of the 2023 mix. I appreciate the comments.
My feeling is that a lot of this is change for the sake of change rather than enhancing the recording. A lot of these parts weren't broken and didn't need "fixing".
I happened to agree with you that they aren’t (McCartney/Starr) really paying attention to the newer mixes. That being said I’m happy we got the later 2015, 2017,2018,2019,2021,2022 remixes as those songs don’t need d mixing.
The drum beat was already there on the first chord of "a hard day's night", at least on the original stereo mix. But now it's clearer, the drums are clearer on the whole track, to the point they almost sound fake.
To be fair I think there was a drum beat at the beginning of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ it’s just buried way down in the mix. I just played them back-to-back and think it was there in the original. 7:06
Yes, it may be in there, but it should have stayed buried!
@@popgoesthe60s52 Agreed!
The drum beat with the opening cord wasn’t added..it was just brought out in the new mix..my favorite mix of this song is the 2015 version on The Beatles 1
Yes, but it is so buried as if to be inaudible on the original. That's how I've always heard it anyway.
Just listened to Walrus back to back, and that Shepard Tone is really obvious (once you've had it pointed out) - how could they do that?
Interesting. Didn't know about the AHDN thing. I passed on these. I have too much Beatles already in various iterations😀
@PopGoesthe60s What did you think of the clean beginning to Dear Prudence? To my ears, it sounds like the guitars at the end of Prudence were flown into the intro to give the illusion of a clean beginning. Either that or as you said about some of the mixes, it was probably unheard instrumentation that was brought back in the new mixes. It’s still the 2018 mix on the White Album box set, and it’s cross faded from Back in the USSR.
I believe the commercial of the phones you talked about is the new Google phone. I’ve seen it multiple times watching the NFL on TV. I could be wrong, though…
I had a copy of the separated Dear Prudence from the Rock Band recordings, but I was surprised by the separation because the song still follows Back In the USSR, which needs the segue. If the Blue album was sequenced differently with Prudence following Blackbird, then I would say a separation is needed. But we EXPECT the cross over with USSR and Prudence so why not leave it?
@@popgoesthe60s52Even the Rock Band mix of Dear Prudence has the intro heard in the original cross fade, so I wonder if this is really the 2018 mix or if it was updated to have a clean intro.
I believe that drum beat was always on A Hard Days Night? It just wasn't as loud.
A few thoughts. I'm an audio engineer/music producer, so I suppose I hear these things differently than most people do. I'm not a fan of Giles Martin's Beatles mixes. My quick take is: Guitars are usually clearer, drums often are, vocals can go either way, and the bass sound is usually changed a lot. With regard to the bass sound, "ruined" is the word I usually use. 😉I do understand why Apple is remixing these things for modern sensibilities; they don't want them to sound weird or bad when they come up on a Spotify playlist alongside newer music. But in trying to take the "60s-ness" out of the sound, I think they remove quite a bit of the character that makes these recordings great.
The other thing I'll mention is that I think we old fans are not who these products are being made for, and I imagine our squawking is just an annoyance to whoever is making the decisions. Some millennials listen to albums, but I think most all of generation z consumes music by the single song, in playlists. So I imagine the album releases are a pretty insignificant part of the revenue-streams that Apple expects to generate with these remixes.
Great points, Pete. I would go so far to say that these mixes are made "to appeal to everyone", which is why there is such discord. The other question is, will the modern listener even appreciate these songs long term?
@@popgoesthe60s52 I think so. People still listen to Mozart, you know?
@ 17:30 I read in an interview with Giles Martin that he couldn't separate this fadeout of 'Walrus", it was recorded spontaneously when it was on the radio. That was the reason for his decision. Basically, some decisions also surprise me and some things are a shame, as you mentioned, e.g. the guitars on Revolution. Weren't several people involved in the remixes or wasn't there a final check? I'm curious to see if there will be a corrected version of 'Walrus' when the remixed version of the 'Magical Mystery Tour' album is released, after all the criticism. PS: At 1:17 of 'Walrus' there is an addition that was not present in the original mixes.
I'm told that Martin used a separated radio broadcast for the Love project, so I think it was available.
I have heard unauthorized stereo remixes of Walrus that successfully isolate the radio portion, and not use the BBC recording of it. It can be done.
@@mickola1 I'm amazed at what fans are able to do. Just goes to show that these new remixes will probably be deemed irrelevant once fans start to release their own, much better remixes.
As far as remixes, I can't think of worse examples than 'Satisfaction', where instruments and Jagger's vocal float disconnected from each other and the 40th Anniversary Doors album remixes where we discover what a great backup band John Densmore had.
I don't hear an added drum beat to AHDN? It sounds just like the 2009 remaster?
The "early stereo mixes" were never intended to be released as stereo mixes. These were what were mixed down to mono for release. Apparently Capital took it upon themselves to release them as "stereo" mixes (really "binaural because there is no center channel information) in the USA and when George Martin found out about it he had a fit. Likewise some mono recordings (not just of The Beatles) were "electronically processed to simulate stereo". These releases were marketing gimmicks to take advantage as newer stereo systems became available. I'm not sure if any Beatles records prior to Rubber Soul were released in a true stereo format.
I used to own a Beatles UK Parlophone/EMI vinyl LP of "Beatles For Sale" stereo version. So they definitely had "real" stereo versions by then, though the song "Mr. Moonlight" sounded like fake stereo, as the solo drum thump was way off in one speaker, yet the rest of the song sounded mostly mono. The rest of the album though was clearly stereo, and sounded great to me (the British LPs had less surface noise than the more cheaply made US LPs that I normally had). Beatles For Sale is an unfairly underrated album, but that's another topic.
I think the first UK Beatles album released in both stereo and mono versions was "A Hard Days Night". And yes Capitol was already putting out bogus "stereo" LPs in the US before then. But definitely they had true stereo before Rubber Soul, it's just that the band members were only present at the mono album mixings, not the stereo mixing sessions.
I just listened to AHDN intro over and over from the new box (red vinyl) and I do not hear any drum behind the opening chord. IF there is something there perhaps it was ALWAYS there but buried in the mix? I just now pulled my #1 album and played Eight Days A Week and it has 4 measures of fade in so I'm not sure what you're hearing. I hear what you're saying about Hey Bulldog drums are very up front and the bass has moved to the left/center (I always thought Hey Bulldog would've made a GREAT single). As much as I love "Love" it was made for different reasons (the live show) so I don't think it's fair to compare it to the original versions. I like what they did with Walrus and I can always go back and hear the original if I want to. I for one would love to see a colorized version of AHDN - we CAN have both, it won't change the B&W version let the people choose. The Peter Jackson method will probably end up being used for the first few albums soon enough and I can't wait to hear what they do with those titles.
Yeah, others have suggested that the drum hit is "in there" but buried. Some claim they hear it! I never have and still don't. The Eight Days A Week I mentioned on 1 has the fade in but it is much less pronounced and begins louder so the fade up is less drastic.