The Beatles Remasters- The Stereo Albums and The Beatles In Mono.

The year was 1987 and digital audio was still emerging unsteadily from its technological stone-age. The year was also noteworthy for the highly anticipated, first-ever release of the Beatles catalog on compact disc. Although the transfers were engineered under the watchful eye of the Beatles longtime producer George Martin the discs were met with a collective sigh of dismay and reinforced the view that digital sound wasn’t ready for primetime.  Dry and brittle, flat and cold–it was as some would argue, perversely soulless. Most audiophiles scurried back to the safety of their turntables and treasure trove of Beatles vinyl, the early EMI/Parlophones, the later Japanese pressings and the 1982 Mobile Fidelity Beatles Box.

Twenty-two years later, EMI/Apple Records has taken another stab at setting the record straight by releasing the fully remastered Beatles catalog.  But this time they have hit the mark. Housed in a pair of shining CD box sets they are a sonic triumph that have, more or less, completely avoided the pitfalls of their predecessor’s dubious past–even if they’re almost pre-destined not to please all comers.  Certainly analog loyalists with the toniest turntable rigs will nitpick these discs to death. But the newfound energy, detail and transparency these remasters embody are a quantum leap from 1987. And for the legions of younger listeners without the benefit of the best Beatles vinyl these discs will be nothing short of a revelation.

Released as two individually distributed box CD sets–a stereo collection and The Beatles in Mono– the former includes the 13 core UK albums plus Past Masters Volume I and II compiled on one disc.Individual albums are housed in glossy eco-friendly DigiPacks and feature the original cover art with insightful historical and recording notes by producer and documentarian Kevin Howlett . Each stereo disc also contains a QuickTime mini-doc depicting the making of each album. The box includes a bonus DVD compilation of these non-controversial “Anthology-lite” videos as well.

Although the stereo albums are available individually, not so for the mono recordings (pictured above). They’ll be restricted to the box set and include all 10 titles plus the Mono Masters and alas,  no mini-docs. But as a bonus the mono “Help” and “Rubber Soul” disc will include the original 1965 stereo mixes which had not been previously released on CD. Said to be targeted at collectors EMI will limit the run to 10,000 units. Why mono? The Beatles’ albums were recorded during the transitional era of mono to stereo and all but their final pair of records, Abbey Road and Let It Be were mixed to mono. More importantly only the monos were mixed with the Fab Four present in the control room. For many this distinction alone makes the mono set the more accurate barometer of the band’s intent. Generally, the overall packaging of individual discs is well done, but the slip cases hinder easy access and are hardly posh. Sensing an opportunity, a company is marketing its own storage solution; check out The Beatles Box of Vision in a separate blog)

The remastering project was led by veteran Abbey Road project coordinator Allan Rouse, engineer Guy Massey and audio restoration engineer Simon Gibson and spanned a period of four years. Exhaustive research and listening tests were conducted prior to committing the original EMI 811 analogue master tapes  to the digital medium. Even the earliest UK vinyl pressings were on hand for comparison. Working song-by-song from vintage Studer tape machines, the state-of-the-art transfer was completed using a Pro Tools workstation running at 24-bit/192kHz resolution via a Prism Sound A/D convertor. In all instances the artistic integrity of the songs trumped technical considerations and only the rare glitch–a click, a vocal mike pop, or a rough edit were improved when possible. De-noising technology was used but sparingly­–only five of 525 minutes of running time was processed in this fashion. More provocative was the use of compression on the stereo transfers. A common way of bumping up the overall volume and sonically fattening today’s pop music the engineers stated that at most, a modest +3-4dB of compression was used–a drop in the bucket compared with the signal crunching +12-13dB often used today.

For even the most casual Beatles fan, the improvement in sonics from these remasters  will be nothing less than thrilling. Like a painstaking restoration of a work of art the Beatles music sounds as if an almost imperceptible-build-up of decades-old glaze was suddenly removed from the surface of the sonic canvas revealing the artist’s bright and bold original palette. And compared with the 1987 CDs, the remasters  are warmer, more detailed, and possess a livelier midrange energy and distinctively fuller bloom in the lower mids and upper bass.  The treble is non-edgy and tonally more akin to the Parlophone LPs. They also, mercifully avoid the treble boost of the otherwise solid MoFi Box set. Taken together, you’ll hear more clang to “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”. Ringo’s drum fills are fuller and louder. The string orchestra and winds of “Good Night” more fluid and naturalistic. Whether it was the fuzzy guitar feedback of “I Feel Fine” the open-chord intro of “A Hard Day’s Night” the crashing final chord and squeaky piano bench that concludes “A Day In the Life”, as the discs continued to  spin, one iconic moment after another reclaimed my attention and provided new insights.

But above all it’s the glorious singing and rich inventive harmonies and double-tracked vocals that shimmer and shine and electrify with ranges of expression broader and more transparent than ever before. Like freshly minted coins, Paul’s tender “Mother Nature’s Son” and John’s acerbic “Good Morning Good Morning” hardly sound like the same songs. And you’re going to want to grab a soothing glass of milk after Lennon’s lacerating, volcanic  “Twist and Shout” vocal.

However depending on which camp you’ve pitched your tent, you’ll either be delighted or disenchanted with the well-muscled bass reproduction. For purists, this may likely be the most controversial aspect of these remasters. However, acolytes of Paul McCartney will thrill at the clarity and acrobatic dexterity of his bass lines.  Ringo’s fans will be equally stunned at the reverberant impact off the skins. But I’ve never heard “Fixing A Hole” with a footprint this heavy before. Certainly a touch of compression would account for some of the added punch and presence in the low end but to these ears a bit of added bass EQ also seems likely. Tasteful certainly–accurate, doubtful. And as good as these remasters are, they still retain trace elements of digital sterility, and the best Beatles LPs rival them in some areas with an almost organic, airy delicacy.

As for the mono recordings, they are so good they may unwittingly revive a cult. The strong central image actually permits the early two-track material more bang and integrity (and yes, layering) over the hard-panned processed stereo versions–where a lead vocal was often isolated in one channel while bass, drums, and guitar piggybacked in the other. Overall they sound a bit softer and lack the tight bottom end of the later stereos, but then there’s a track like “Helter Skelter” from The White Album which, in its immediacy and speed will rip your driver a new diaphragm. However the best part of the mono set is easily Sgt. Pepper, the album where one can argue that the notably unique mono and the stereo versions cross the finish line in a dead heat. I wouldn’t choose the mono set over the stereo discs but for completists willing to explore the subtle discrepancies and minutiae buried in the rival mixes, the monos are special.

 At a pre-launch press conference I attended at Capitol Records this past June (see picture below), key issues remain tantalizingly unaddressed–like a potential Blu-ray disc box that combines a refreshed Beatles anthology in high definition with high-resolution versions of the albums? Also, Apple Records is keenly aware of surging turntable sales but do they see this as an opportunity for one last royal 180gram box set? And if so, would EMI go to the trouble of cutting vinyl from the original masters or just use the newly archived 24-bit/192kHz files? Regarding vinyl, the Apple exec paused as if to ponder the possibilities, “It’s not a matter of if, only a matter of when.” he replied. As for whether the analog masters will once more be pressed into service, the answer is out there,  somewhere, or as the late John Lennon once sang, “Nothing is real”.

TAS’ Neil Gader, Guy Massey & Allan Rouse

[1] Single releases and  songs from EPs usually not duplicated on the albums.