The Beatles

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  • AlexAlex The Eastern SeaboardPosts: 2,694MI6 Agent
    It was a soulfelt & honest question. Asked with integrity & curiousity.

    You ever heard of a musical instrument?

    Guess the five knuckle shuffle is all you play ... 8-)
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    Alright, only being flippant! Untwist your knickers kind sir.

    Edit: oh the first part was true about sending off demos. Second part not so.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • AlexAlex The Eastern SeaboardPosts: 2,694MI6 Agent
    well, your "flippancy" sounds like an insult to me, kind sir.

    Don't piss down my neck, and then tell me it's raining.
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    Eh? Where's the insult? ?:) It's all self-deprecation.

    Don't piss on my chips and complain about the vinegar.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • AlexAlex The Eastern SeaboardPosts: 2,694MI6 Agent
    Ok, alright, olive branch dutifully extended. I just wish you'd be serious for five minutes!

    Peace, chicken grease, don't let your meat loaf. :007)
  • LoeffelholzLoeffelholz The United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
    Yeah, it's a challenge to decode sometimes...

    Back on the Beatles, I've showed my boys the first episode of Anthology...they of course had no notion of Stu Sutcliffe or Pete Best...and the bits about Hamburg in the early '60s opened their eyes somewhat :o

    Great show.
    Check out my Amazon author page! Mark Loeffelholz
    "I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
    "Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
  • little nellylittle nelly London, EnglandPosts: 152MI6 Agent
    I have always preferred the Stones to the Beatles (to boys my age they were the Clash of their day) but I do really like Abbey Road which is "IMHO" a much better album than the (overrated) Sgt Pepper's.
    But then I like Aladdin Sane better than Ziggy so I'm always gonna be in a minority.
    N O I N F O R M A T I O N I S U S E L E S S
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    Well, to smooth things over, I've been thinking of changing my avatar to a fellow we call all rally around... your US President, Barack Obama. That should have the soothing effect of a Diet Coke commercial... :)
    Loeffs... calm down... :o It's a joke, a joke I tell you! :D

    LN, like I say, Abbey Road on vinyl is the sh*t... {[]
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    Here, There and Everywhere has come on the radio. Now it's not just my stereo. Those Wooh-woohs sound much more intrusive, to the point where you feel like saying, shut up and let Macca sing! Of course, digital doesn't really have background... it's all on one level. In vinyl I reckon it would be in the background more, loud but not intrusive.

    Researching for mono Revolver on eBay, I find there is one rare version that has an alternative take of Tomorrow Never Knows, it's known as Take 11. It came out on the first batch of LPs but Lennon requested it got pulled and replaced with another version, which became the one we know and love. The other version has clearer vocals and lasts longer. But there you go, once you start investigating this stuff, there's no end to all the avenues you wind up going down, or the money you're 'obliged' to fork out. It is all a bit consumerism gone mad. :(
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    I am listening to Taxman in mono:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV-UBKwGND0

    Toying with whether to get Revolver in mono remastered CD, as I have with Sgt Pepper. While many will say that mono is better, it's often it's six of one and half a dozen of another.

    For instance, Taxman in stereo isn't great because with that and track 2, Eleanor Rigby, they mess up the mix so the vocals don't pan correctly. It was early days for stereo. It's a bit rubbish, more noticeable when you have separate speakers. Taxman in mono solves this, and sounds rockier, scrappier, more like a live band playing. Is this a good thing? In a way. But on vinyl it would have had a warmer sound to compensate.

    Got to Get You Into My Life is more of a stomper Northern Soul record in mono, with more sax. I see it in a new light. But the drums that power into the title chorus seem muted, and the classic Macca impro vocal fadeout "Every single day..." is NOT the same take at all, he sort of fluffs it, ruining that classic seque into Tomorrow Never Knows. On other tracks the stereo is held to be the better version, for instance on I'm Only Sleeping and Yellow Submarine.

    Paperback Writer is another example of a song that sounds punkier and crisper in mono. Stereo makes it a bit more stately, more laid-back.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Mark HazardMark Hazard West Midlands, UKPosts: 495MI6 Agent
    I am listening to Taxman in mono:

    Toying with whether to get Revolver in mono remastered CD, as I have with Sgt Pepper. While many will say that mono is better, it's often it's six of one and half a dozen of another.

    I thought the mono albums were only available as a boxed collection?
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    You can pick single remastered mono CDs up on eBay, varying from around £30 for Revolver and Sgt Pepper to around £20 for the others.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    The Beatles bore checks in again.

    I have bought the Yellow Submarine Songtrack. Released a few years ago, it differs from the original Yellow Submarine album to accompany the film, in which one side was given over to new Beatles songs, the other to George Martin's orchestral score. On a side note, do we ever wonder how George Martin got the Live and Let Die gig? I mean, I know being the Beatles producer is a big deal, and I like the score he came up with (it's got more 'tunes' in it than David Arnold's stuff) but I don't quite see what his qualifications were.

    a5214811_a.jpg

    Anyway, this songtrack is all the Beatle songs from the film, all Rubber Soul to Sgt Pepper period. It's all remastered, the reason why it sold so well I guess. Hey Bulldog sounds great and it's an overlooked classic that sounds very contemporary. The Rubber Soul stuff sounds good, in particular George's Think For Yourself which is not a lovely tune but lyrically faultless and it sounds funky, with superb harmonies.

    That said, I bought this for Eleanor Rigby. Thing is, the version on the stereo remaster has a fluffed bit of stereo mixing, where Macca's vocal switches clumsily to double track and jumps in ungainly manner from right speaker to centre suddenly. This was how it was done on the original stereo vinyl, but the Yellow Sub version to care to rectify it.

    This they do, but otherwise they fluff the mix. The rhythm and orchestration is too low in the mix, with Macca's vocal the key point instead. Consequently, you aren't swept along the way you are on the usual mix, instead it drags its feet and sounds downright clunky.

    Other songs that don't work great: Baby You're a Rich Man (Brian Jones' tubular wailing is too intrusive) and It's All Too Much (the clumping drum is downright distracting and takes over).

    There is a vinyl version of this album, I might exchange it for that. Overall, this is another "If you want Beatles, get the vinyl" situation.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • mrbondmrbond Posts: 296MI6 Agent
    Felt they were overated a lot. I had a music teacher at school who was very old but loved the Beatles. Had posters and cassets and only a few CD's and everything. We did guitar but our fav part of the lesson was hearing him sing. OMFG! He was destroying songs! Elenor Rigby, Yellow Submarine killed! Murdered! It was so funny to watch but he gave out DT's (detentions) to people who were laughing. We all spents hours a week in detention but it was worth it!
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    Yeah, I can imagine that! Many a music teacher trying to be trendy has put a generation off the Beatles. Like any band I suppose you have to get into them, although you don't have to if you see what I mean.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    edited December 2009
    EDIT: PLEASE NOTE AUTHOR HAS REVISED HIS OPINION ON THESE MONO CDs AS ORIGINAL DISC MAY HAVE BEEN FAULTY.

    I will check into my Beatles blog again... :D

    Well, I picked up Revolver mono remaster on eBay and what can I say? The packaging is very good. Otherwise, I feel a bit conned. Scarcely any track sounds to me better than the stereo remaster, although I had issues with that also.

    Taxman... okay it's nice to have the rhythm section coming out of both speakers. But that only emphasises how repetitive and tinny the rhythm guitar is, and Paul's bass can only compensate so far. About 30 seconds in you have this awful hi-hat, which sounds like Ringo artlessly banging a tin kettle. It's sounds cack, embarrassing.

    Eleanor Rigby... not so bad but it's grim and monochrome; I suppose it suits the song though it put me in mind of Hindley and Brady. As for I'm Only Sleeping, it lacks the sumptuousness of the stereo, all the sounds are cramped together and there's this odd backwards guitar that appears from nowhere that adds nothing to it. All the while there seems to be a touch of discord or distortion to the mix.

    Only Here There And Everywhere seems an improvement, the Ink Spot harmonies are toned down and the Beatley guitar is more noticeable as a counterbalance. Got To Get You... is brassier and more stomping Northern Soul, but it's swings and roundabouts as the wonderful drum clatter that takes us into the song title is muted.

    Overall it makes for a grim, bruising experience. It's like trying on a new pair of your fave shoes but finding them a bit cramped. I think I know why, it may be because they're on CD. CD flattens everything, condenses it. With stereo that means at least some of the sound can get shoved right and left. On vinyl it's okay because it allows for depth, the different sounds can sink into the groove. With a mono CD you get the worst of both worlds, imo. Oh well, back it goes on ebay...
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,937Chief of Staff
    NP - please keep these reviews coming. They are superb and invaluable -{

    After your review of Taxman I checked out the two versions on youtube (ok - NOT the ideal way to listen :)) ) but could easily hear what you mentioned though. I'm still not sure which versions to go for though - it's inevitable I'll buy these at some stage, I guess I'll just be the complete sucker and buy BOTH the mono and stereo versions :#
    YNWA 97
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    Thanks Sir Miles! Youtube isn't the best way to hear them perhaps, but it's better than nothing at all, especially as all the raving about mono means you may just buy them to pique your curiosity, a curiosity that youtube can satisfy without getting your cash out.

    Ideally I'd say if you're that bothered, just get the mono vinyl off eBay that's if you have a decent turntable. But even the stereo White Album, which sounds perfectly okay, just isn't as good as the vinyl one which is a different thing altogether. Crazier still (and this may be madness), I'm not altogether sure the burned copy I made off White Album on a Maxell CD doesn't sound better than the original. :s

    "You never give me your money...." Yeah, since when? :(

    Will listen to Sgt Pepper mono remaster tonight.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,937Chief of Staff
    Hi NP - I pretty much have all the Beatles stuff on vinyl already - but I got rid of my turntable years ago :(|)

    I just hope the price drops on these sets soon.
    YNWA 97
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    edited December 2009
    EDIT: PLEASE NOTE AUTHOR HAS REVISED HIS OPINION ON THESE MONO CDs AS ORIGINAL DISC MAY HAVE BEEN FAULTY.

    Okay, I have listened to the remaster of Sgt Pepper in mono, side one. George Martin said, "You haven't heard Sgt Pepper unless you've heard it in mono..." :o :)

    beatles+sgt+pepper+album+cover.jpg

    Well George Martin is a cloth-eared geriatic buffoon.

    Nothing much to report here. There don't seem to be many differences, and those you notice are detrimental. The first song sound much like it always has, save a squiggly guitar flourish leading us into the next track, which is a bit distracting. I'll give the original the benefit of the doubt; I daresay on the vinyl the squiggle is there but buried in the warm mix, like it's shouted from the next room. Digital can't do that, it's upfront or not at all.

    Sadly, thanks to the joy of remastering, Ringo's question on the opening line of With a Little Help from My Friends is no longer hypothetical and the conditional tense is unnecessary. His voice sounds bloody awful. Otherwise it's much the same, except the vague sense that the record's joy and bounce isn't really there in digital.

    Lucy in the Sky has a mild bit of tasering on Lennon's vocal, otherwise it's much the same. I think the chorus may be better; on the stereo the vocals sound a bit flat and wimpy. Getting Better suffers from a problem many have flagged up on the remasters: Paul's bass is given undue prominence, possibly cos he's still alive to fight his corner. Or it may be because the genius plinky plonk clatter of the lead guitar just sounds tinny on digital, so they have to balance it out by bringing the bass forward. :(

    She's Leaving Home is better because it's speeded up a bit, it doesn't kill the record dead. That said, I don't know if I have a duff copy; none of this sounds audibly sumptous, there's a hint of distortion or something there. :#

    Being for the Benefit has Lennon's vocal upfront and a bit too much. Lennon's in the room with you, but it takes away from the sense that this is a band performing and not the usual Beatles. It detracts from the mystery.

    So overall I just can't recommend these recordings at all, they're a curiosity and an expensive one at that. Sir Miles, isn't it possible to pick up a turntable from Richer Sounds for around £120. Or are you looking for a high-end one? Frankly I can't see the point of buying these sets: like buying a blow-up doll to have sex with when you've got a fit bird waiting for you back home! :))
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,937Chief of Staff
    Sir Miles, isn't it possible to pick up a turntable from Richer Sounds for around £120. Or are you looking for a high-end one? Frankly I can't see the point of buying these sets: like buying a blow-up doll to have sex with when you've got a fit bird waiting for you back home! :))

    Probably could pick one up cheap enough, I don't think I could be bothered though - the system I have at the moment doesn't allow you to add a turntable (I think anyway).

    Blow-up dolls vs real women ?

    Either way you get laid ;) And you don't have to make 'small-talk' with a blow-up doll afterwards :)) But you do have to get your own beer :# ;)
    YNWA 97
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    Plus if you stab out a post-sex cigarette butt on a blow-out doll, you puncture her... okay okay, too much I know...

    Second side of Sgt Pepper from the girlfriendless (and no surprise there) Napoleon Plural.

    No real surprises. This time I positioned the speakers so they tilt away from each other rather than straight ahead or in a V pointing towards me. The effect is less bruising and distorted, and I recall another fan mentioning having to do this with the mono, but really, what a hassle.

    Within You Without You much the same, but laughter at end is more raucous and upfront, like they're really taking the mickey out of the song (though the giggles were George's idea). When I'm 64 nothing spesh. Harmonies on Lovely Rita may have been better. Good Morning about the same. Sgt Pepper reprise rocks in a different, more stomping way but inane Goon-style chatter over 'Goodbye' is offputting. A Day in the Life is alright. None of it sounds sumptuous in the manner of Revolver in stereo.

    The ephiphany moment you're supposed to get on hearing the mono certainly never happened. :( Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? X-(
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,937Chief of Staff
    Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? X-(

    Probably !
    And there is still plenty of other material Apple Corps could have released instead, live shows and more out-takes for instance - I still want to hear the full 25 min version of 'Helter Skelter' for a start.
    Who mixed these re-masters, NP - does it say ?
    Or who re-mixed these masters :s :))
    YNWA 97
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    I think it was the same folk who did the Love album, though that's different as they were allowed to mess about with it whereas on this they had to replicate the original stereo panning. My gripe in a way is with the digital treatment to an analogue band, although it's too odd that the unremastered Revolver gave me more of a thrill on my Panasonic portable stereo than anything of this new lot.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • LoeffelholzLoeffelholz The United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
    edited November 2009
    This whole rerelease sounds fairly dreary, dreadful and disappointing :# Guess I'll stick with my old vinyl and crappy old CDs :) They've gotten me by quite well these past few decades...
    Check out my Amazon author page! Mark Loeffelholz
    "I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
    "Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
  • Mark HazardMark Hazard West Midlands, UKPosts: 495MI6 Agent
    I think it was the same folk who did the Love album, though that's different as they were allowed to mess about with it whereas on this they had to replicate the original stereo panning. My gripe in a way is with the digital treatment to an analogue band, although it's too odd that the unremastered Revolver gave me more of a thrill on my Panasonic portable stereo than anything of this new lot.

    I think I recall reading that it was Gearge Martin's son, and George may also have had a hand in it.
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,937Chief of Staff
    I think it was the same folk who did the Love album, though that's different as they were allowed to mess about with it whereas on this they had to replicate the original stereo panning. My gripe in a way is with the digital treatment to an analogue band, although it's too odd that the unremastered Revolver gave me more of a thrill on my Panasonic portable stereo than anything of this new lot.

    I think I recall reading that it was Gearge Martin's son, and George may also have had a hand in it.

    Yea - they definatley did the LOVE album, I'm sure it was someone else who did these re-masters.
    YNWA 97
  • AlexAlex The Eastern SeaboardPosts: 2,694MI6 Agent
    This whole rerelease sounds fairly dreary, dreadful and disappointing :# Guess I'll stick with my old vinyl and crappy old CDs :) They've gotten me by quite well these past few decades...
    I hear ya, Loeff.

    All one need do nowadays is walk into a best buy and head for the Beatles wall. (it's 1/3 of the store) Hang out and listen to the entire remix catalog for free. It's always on.

    Save a little cash ;)
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,489MI6 Agent
    tohellwiththebeatles-big.jpg
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • AlexAlex The Eastern SeaboardPosts: 2,694MI6 Agent
    I'm guessing that pin was taken from zealous protesters outraged by Lennon's Jesus remark.

    There was nothing to fuss over. Total overreaction on their part.

    But it's not exactly a classy thing to have said either.
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