Beatles reissues
Posted by: joerand on 01 June 2017
How long can the band coninue to reinvent and sell their music? There was the Anthology sereies, "Love", "1" (all hugely successful), the stereo CD remasters, the mono CD remasters, the stereo vinyl, the mono vinyl, and now Sgt Pepper's 50th Anniversary. I applaud their spins on repackaging, love the outtakes, but ultimately it's the same old music dressed-up in a modern suit. No doubt a Golden Anniversary White Album is currently in the works.
Are The Beatles the paragon of popular music prowess? Will their sound remain fresh, timeless, and appealing enough to future generations to coninue to sell in droves?
I'm enjoying the Sgt Peppers release much more than I thought I would, I think Giles has done an excellent job on it, hopefully as many of the other albums that they can go down to the pre-bounce tapes and do a similar job on will be done particularly revolver and the white album.
It would be interesting to know how many under 40's buy these reissues though.
I know my three children are into the Beatles but how much that is due to me I am unsure, but I do think they are transgenerational now and their music will last as long as the Mozart's does.
.sjb
Sloop John B posted:I'm enjoying the Sgt Peppers release much more than I thought I would, I think Giles has done an excellent job on it, hopefully as many of the other albums that they can go down to the pre-bounce tapes and do a similar job on will be done particularly revolver and the white album.
It would be interesting to know how many under 40's buy these reissues though.
I'm (just!) under 40, and bought the new Sgt Pepper. And if the same job can be done on the others, especially Revolver, Rubber Soul & the white album I'll consider those too.
Personally I think having the mono remasters only available as a box set was a mistake - even young uns can be aware that mono is the 'proper' version of most of the albums, but the box set is a lot of money at once unless you're a real fan.
The 50th anniversary version is kind of a way around that - it's not the daft stereo afterthought with panning that sounds stupid to modern ears, but it's also just a tenner on CD. Novel yet still somehow authentic (eg pre-bounce tapes, who the producer is), sounds good, and cheap = buyable.
Commercially successful bands such as Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, very popular in their time, don't really compare to The Beatles' genre-spanning musical diversity. Then there's Elvis, massively successful in his time, but how often do you hear of him these days? While always playing within the field of popular music, The Beatles continually challenged and stretched the boundaries. Once touring ended, they took quantum artistic leaps between albums applying progressive recording techniques to their sound. They were the epitome in their day and remain so today.
Lennon, and moreso McCartney, were masters of simple tuneful hooks that had the innate ability to install earbugs. Simple, short and sweet, and you want to hear that song again, then explore more. Most any upstart musician today seems intent on learning at least a few Beatles songs, often finding the chords actually aren't as simple as they seemed on the surface. Adds to the intrigue.
Once casual listeners get some historical perpective on how a band went in eight-years time from the likes of "Love Me Do" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to "Helter Skelter" and "Come Together" the fascination heightens.
The Beatles never took their music too seriously or dwelt long on a given track. They got their music out with a fresh energy and that factor is not lost through time, whether listening 55-years ago on AM radio or today on high-level gear. Future generations will get hooked on a few tracks, begin exploring more, and the allure will grow. Streaming, sampling, i-tunes, Spotify, etc., will only play in favor of the Beatles' legacy.
I've just had a listen to the new version on vinyl and I think it sounds fantastic.
Incase anyone missed it... interesting documentary on the making of Sgt Pepper on BBC 2 just finished.
I have enjoyed playing the Pepper remix from Tidal, but why aren't we being offered a 24 bit version? It really annoys me that projects like this are not contributing to spreading the popularity of the the likes of Qobuz, HDtracks etc.
Another big thumbs up for the 50th Anniversary remaster of Sgt. Pepper. I too would love to see other albums get the same/similar treatment.
Peter
David O'Higgins posted:I have enjoyed playing the Pepper remix from Tidal, but why aren't we being offered a 24 bit version? It really annoys me that projects like this are not contributing to spreading the popularity of the the likes of Qobuz, HDtracks etc.
The daft bit is that such a version exists, in the silly money box set. They just aren't (yet?) making it available otherwise.
Yes very interesting program including an easy to follow description of the processes involved to make Sgt Pepper, remarkable considering it was all done with a four track.
And yes I am extreamly disappointed that 24 bit material has not been released for downloading, they're really missing a trick with that.
It is amazing how many versions have come out but I don't feel the compulsion to buy any more. I'm a great fan but this is too much, I'd rather discover something new.