The highly anticipated January 20/21, 2014 release of the Beatles’ “U.S. Albums” collection is just around the corner. The box set is available for pre-orders, and it was announced on January 6, 2014, that pre-orders are now available in an exclusive iTunes release as well. (See links below.) As the upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations of the Beatles’ arrival in America are in the works, this nostalgic release is generating a lot of interest. Finally American fans will have a full set of CDs of the albums they grew up with, down to the artwork.
But actually, there is quite a controversy afoot about the sources used to produce the “U.S. Albums.” Some insider Beatles forums as well as Facebook comments are heating up the internet in disillusionment with claims that the set was produced using the 2009 remasters. In response to this controversy, we have tracked down the confirmation of that rumor and also listened to the 25-song sampler CD sent us by UME, and we have some answers for you.
Read full story here about what’s included in the new “U.S. Albums” collection, and video.
This is what’s going on: When the announcement was made that the full set of U.S. Albums would be released, some Beatles collectors and die-hard fans assumed they would be sourced from the original Capitol versions---making them authentic to the sound we grew up with. However, word on the street is that the upcoming release was produced primarily from the 2009 remasters, (“The Beatles Remastered Box Set”.) Some angry fans are saying if that’s true, they will cancel their orders because they already bought the 2009 set, and surmise they can just “rearrange the songs” to come up with the right American sequence, and to heck with the art, the booklet, and all the other goodies.
Wait a second. Capitol had already released most of the U.S. albums in CD format, in 2004 and 2006, known as “The Capitol Albums Volume 1” and “Volume 2” so this is a relatively moot point. They were produced from the original masters used for the American albums, leaving in-tact the “dexterization” features that we recognised: extra echo, and “fake stereo” or “duophonic” sound. They nicely reproduced the “American sound” that was true to history. The hoped-for “Volume 3” that would have included the rest of the American albums, “Yesterday and Today”, “Revolver”, and “Hey Jude” with those unique qualities never appeared. The never-produced volume would have completed that American set.
In 2009 the entire Beatles catalog was digitally remastered (released 09/09/2009), but released in the format of the UK albums only.
Booklet in the set confirms sources, explains thinking
A preview of the booklet to be included in the set, (thanks to Roger Stormo at WogBlog’s site) verifies that the 2009 remasters were in fact chosen primarily for this release. So that debate is settled: “Many of the songs used on the original U.S. albums were made from second, third, and even fourth-generation tapes. In compiling this box set, the decision was made not to remaster from the original Capitol master tapes. While doing so would have been the easiest way to go, it would not have created the best possible listening experience.”
The booklet continues, explaining their reasoning: “In an effort to preserve the original intentions of the band, and the producers, the masters used in this box set are, in most cases, the same as the stereo and mono remasters released in 2009 as part of the Parlophone/Apple Corps. Catalog, all approved by George Martin and the Beatles. All the duophonic mixes have been replaced with the approved stereo mixes when available and some mono mixes in the few instances where no true stereo mix exists.” In conclusion, it says, “Great care was taken to preserve the specific mixes and edits that make these U.S. Albums unique. These tracks, originally sent to the U.S. by George Martin, have been remastered from the original 1960s U.S. master analog tapes. They have been combined with the U.K approved masters to reproduce the same sequence, order, and levels as presented on the U.S. Beatles albums. The original U.S. albums were used as models and set the overall direction for the process.”
Sampler leaves no doubt
The John Lennon Examiner received a 25-song sampler of the upcoming release and we would like to share our findings with our readers. The sampler included two songs from each album in the set, with the exception of “The Beatles Story”, which has one track, (mostly spoken word.) For each of the other albums, there is a stereo and a mono mix. Upon listening to the whole sampler, we then did some active comparisons. After listening to a stereo track on the sampler, for example, we then listened to the same stereo track on the Capitol 2004-06 (Vol 1 and 2) release, then the 2009 remastered version. While we didn’t do this comparison on every single song, there is no doubt that the “U.S Albums” are indeed primarily sourcing the 2009 remasters.
However, the differences are not so clear when listening to an “average” CD player with average speakers (i.e. laptop, car, lower end player). It was only upon listening on a very high end player, with nice, expensive headphones---that the differences were clear. (Fact is, when you are listening to a 2009 digitally remastered track on very high-end equipment using expensive headphones, you can feel John Lennon nearly spitting in your ear now and then, so the diferences are more easily heard. With that equipment, the lower quality sound on Vol. 1 and 2 are more clear.)
Will you buy? Here are my thoughts:
I agree with Apple/ UME’s thinking. In some cases on “Volume 1 and 2”, the sound, while nostalgic to my own childhood, is just substandard to the quality listeners expect today, plain and simple. There is a lot of hiss on some songs, and a lot of “muffled” sound, hiding George’s guitar playing, or neutralizing the riveting harmonies between Paul and John. The true stereo on the 2009 remasters is far superior. As I said, this was more noticeable on higher-end stereo equipment. The average listener might not notice it at all.
It is understandable why Apple/UME did not want to do such a major release using these old recordings. They have state-of-the-art equipment now, that was not available in the 60s to bring Beatles music to its most favorable light, and bring out the best sound possible. They put out superior UK versions in 2009, why not do the same favor for the U.S. versions, and make the sound quality just as good?
Despite some fans grumbling, accusing Apple/UME of “repackaging the same stuff and selling it to us again,” let’s be honest. There are drastic differences in the U.S. albums, from album titles, song inclusions, song mixes, artwork, you name it. This new set will give you all of those memories in pristine albums. Sequencing is a huge factor. We recall “what song came next” on those albums. If you had those albums memorized, then you want to hear these albums in the same order you grew up with. And it would be nice if they sounded good, which they obviously will in the “U.S. Albums.”
And the bottom line is, at the end of the day, 99.99% of fans will not care about the source used. They will only care about how good it sounds. The discriminating fans who want to preserve history will have to be satisfied with the Capitol box sets Volume 1-2.
Available for pre-order
The 13-album set is now available for pre- order on amazon ($159.99) and also on iTunes ($119.99). For a limited time, the albums can be purchased individually. It will be released officially on January 21, 2014. (20th in the UK.)
The “U.S Albums” set includes “Meet the Beatles”, “The Beatles Second Album”, “A Hard Day’s Night”, “Something New”, “Beatles ‘65”, “The Early Beatles”, “Beatles VI”, “Help!”, “Rubber Soul”, and these previously unreleased Capitol albums: “Yesterday And Today,” “Hey Jude,” the U.S. version of“Revolver,” audio documentary “The Beatles’ Story” and United Artists’ “A Hard Day’s Night” soundtrack album. The art work and sleeves are a “perfect replication” according to the press release.
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