beatles remasterd

Goodshape

Anyone else find it annoying that there still hasn't been a digitaly remasterd release of the Beatles albums?

And yet they keep churning out new versions and compilations (such as 'One', which is remastered and sounds great compared to the CD albums... but it's full of ****e anyway).

Even the 30th aniversary 'White Album' with the fansy LP replica sleve wasn't digitaly mastered

Doctor J

They're waiting for EMI to make them available for download and sell them, then they'll remaster them and sell them all again. Don't you think it's wrong that albums made almost 40 years ago which have recouped any investment many, many times over are still sold at a price above that of contemporary CD's. Do Beatles widows really need another ivory backscratcher?

Goodshape

True. Beatles albums still sell for top dollar (€30 for the White Album in most places).

And to be honest, I wouldn't be too happy (at all) about going out and buying them again if they do remaster them. Just wish they did it right at the start. It seems to make a huge differince to the sound quality.

shabbyroad

It's not up to EMI whether the tunes are made available for (legal) download. It's up to Apple Corps (as is everything else connected with their recordings, most images and pretty much all video & film).

The reason it's hard to find Beatles CDs at cutdown prices is due to a contractual clause they have with EMI and Capitol. They also have a damn better royalty rate now than when they first recorded those albums.
I have no problem with the 2 surviving members of the band and the estates of Mr.L and Mr.H making money from this back catalogue : for many years it was the band who made the least from the sale of their music and merchandise. In fact more money went to 3rd parties than to the band themselves. It's only since they settled their actions against EMI and Capitol in the late 80s that they got the payments properly due to them (the thievin record companies managed to short-change them on even the miserly royalty they were on !). In the mid-80s Ringo was nearly bankrupt (ok... not all the fault of EMI ! haha)

The back catalogue is in the process of being remastered. Peter Cobbin at Abbey Road has been doing quite a bit. The work that PCs team did on the Yellow Submarine Songtrack was the trigger for the band when they heard what was possible in 5.1 (and downmixed stereo). If you've heard the work they did in 5.1 for the Anthology you'll agree that the remasters / remixes are in safe hands.

There's so much "product" that they could release (and be sure it's up to Apple Corps : Mr. Aspinal, Mr McC, Mr. S, Mrs O-L and Mrs. H. what will be released and when).
Next year watch out for Let It Be on DVD - the work on remastering the flim and doing a decent DVD transfer has been ongoing for a while. In April George Martin was being interviewed in Abbey Road studio 1 for some upcoming project. The key dates to watch out for are the 40th anniversaries of some of the stereo albums. A big negotiation point has been the SACD/DVD-Audio clamour for the Beatles back-catalogue. You can be sure that Pioneer et al are looking forward to seeing their respective platforms take-off. It's no coincidence that the CD medium took-off when the Beatles back catalogue was finally made available in the last 80s.

And yes... those CDs stink. But if you know where to look (nudge nudge wink wink) you'll find some unofficial remasters that aren't too bad. You'll also find some unofficial 5.1 mixes too. Lots of very clever people out there :-)

grumpytrousers

Isn't it a case of the Fabs are damned if they do and damned if they don't go down the re-mastering route. IMHO it was the initial issue of the back catalogue on CD back in the mid 80's that led to the widespread acceptance by Joe Public of the CD as something that wasn't a flash in the pan fad. I'm nearly sure that some level of re-mastering was done at that stage. Nothing too fancy, certainly nowt of the 5:1 sound 'cos the technology wasn't there.

If they go and re-release the albums again on CD - say like ABKCO did with the Stones 60's output they'll alienate people...who'll accuse EMI of ripping off the fans and claim that Ringo and Rabbit face don't really need the money anymore. You could also make the argument that the albums were meant to be heard as they were recorded, and that there's a certain charm in the all-or-nuthin' stereo you have.

If they don't re-release, there's fans who'll scream that re-masters should be put out on the market. And maybe have re-jigged artwork. Perhaps miniature replicas of the original sleeves. Which puts pressure on the punters in the paragraph above. Which leads 'em to whine even more...

To be honest - albums like Revolver, Hards Days Night, Abbey Road et al, are good (if you like that sort of thing) because the tunes and the songs are knock out material, but it's not the sound in an audiophile sort of way...if it were down to me on the subject of remasters, then shoddy packaging of Sgt Pepper aside, i'd have to say let 'em be...

shabbyroad

Until recently I'd have been inclined to agree with you however I was fortunate enough to hear some material recently and can say that remastered albums would definitely sound a hell of a lot better if what was played to me was anything to go by.

Remastering was only started in the last couple of years and I was referring to Stereo remastering. Some 5.1 is also underway (apart from the already released 5.1 material on Anthology and Yellow Submarine)

I'd definitely like to have the entire catalog properly remastered in mono and stereo. 5.1 mixes of some material would be excellent - certainly a 5.1 remix of Abbey Road would be nice (that's one project that has been started... if my usually reliable source is on the money)

grumpytrousers

Sounds intriguing. I'm looking forward to the 'Fookin' beatles ripping us off and making us re-buy their albums again' thread when those albums come out. Seriously, the Abbey Road one does seem like something to look forward to...

To be honest, not all the albums probably need that work done though, do they. Rubber Soul onwards, perhaps, but I'm sure EMI will try and convince us that we really need Beatles For Sale in 5:1