CDs packaged in three panel digi-pak with digital mini documentaries
Remastered by Guy Massey, Steve Rooke, Sam Okell with Paul Hicks and Sean Magee
-Contains:
All 13 Studio remasters plus Past Masters (digi packaging with digital mini documentaries)
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles
Yellow Submarine
Abbey Road
Let It Be
Past Masters
DVD of all 13 mini-documentaries (Running time: 40 minutes)
Album Description Digitally remastered 17 disc box set (16 CDs + DVD) containing all 14 original Beatles albums released between 1963 and 1970 plus the two CD Past Masters collection of non-album tracks and a bonus DVD containing all the mini documentaries that can be found as enhanced tracks on each of the individual CD releases. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere. The albums have been remastered at Abbey Road Studios in London utilizing state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. Within the CDs' new packaging, the booklet includes detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. Capitol.
Stunning collection is a must-have for any Beatles fanNovember 21, 2009 Paul Allaer(Cincinnati) For some reason I was highly sceptical of the remastered stereo box set, and hence I did not purchase it right away when it came out in September. But then by chance I had the opportunity to check out one of these albums in the set ("With the Beatles", actually) and I was stunned at what I saw and heard. I finally ordered the set here on Amazon at a very good price, and the box arrived at my house the other day. Boy, am I glad I've ordered this!
"The Beatles" (14 albums, a total of 16 CDs; plus 1 DVD) is about as far away as you can get from the initial original 1987 CD release of the Beatles albums. First and foremost, the sound is fantastic, MILES better than the original CDs. Much is made about the pros and cons of the stereo mix for the early albums, and ultimately this is a subjective call (I like it). Equally important is the packaging of the albums, which is done with care for details. The DVD (50 min.) is a handy collection of the 13 mini-documentaries that otherwise is available on each of the 13 studio albums (not for the "Past Masters" album). It's nice to have, but I doubt I will watch it often again. Instead you can bet that I will listen to the various Beatles albums time and again. For whatever reason I had never purchased the White Album on CD, and listening to it now is just stunning.
If you were on the fence about buying this, as was I, do not hesitate any longer. It will be worth every penny, I can assure you. Simply a MUST HAVE for any and all Beatles fans around the world.
Revolver & Beatles For SaleNovember 21, 2009 Syrinx 0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Two of the albums, were labeled in korean/japanese or chinese. I have to edit the title of the songs in english. Otherwise, everything were ok.
When I look at the top of the bottom and I go for a rideNovember 20, 2009 Francisco Antonio Claros Jr. 0 out of 4 found this review helpful
If my budget permits I'm like so totally getting this as an X-Mas present for my father as a fellow Beatles fan who actually got to experience the Beatlemania during the 60's I know his GONNA love this ultimate box set (which btw I'm so freaking jealous cuz he met my mom at a Beatles show when he was my age >_< would tell me tons of hawt chicks were there & they actually gave a guy a chance unlike freaking now! >_<) Imma benefit from his box set cuz when he opens it imma download all their songs on to my iPod cuz Apple are being a bunch of jerks the have Lady Gaga, Soulja Boy, etc b.s. but no Beatles?! WTF!
This is how music should soundNovember 20, 2009 Alex Bunardzic 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The 'holy scripture' of recorded music, the Beatles catalog has finally received the right treatment. Even though the remastered mono box set is also an absolute must-have, I still feel that the stereo remastered box set is the ultimate in music.
In this review, I'll focus on the sound quality, as it is the absolute selling feature of this set (yes, the presentation/packaging is also nice, but it contributes only 0.001% of the overall lure). And of course, the quality and the significance of the Beatles music has been discussed to no end, so I'll keep that aspect at the minimum here.
Let me start by saying that the sound quality on these CDs is to die for. As a matter of fact, I'd be hard pressed to find a better sounding CD in my vast collection (the one that does come to mind is Mike Oldfield's 'needle drop' remaster of his original 1974 "Hergest Ridge" CD). There is an unmatched sweetness of the sound that oozes from many tracks off many of these CDs. I'm not sure what was it that the remastering team did to these CDs, but they've definitely managed to imbibe a lot of musicality and just overall sweetness in the sound that is packed on these CDs.
And, as I've noted in the title of this review, this is exactly how I feel music should sound when reproduced on a home stereo system. It should sound full-bodied, punchy, lucid, present, well rounded, sweet, non-harsh, and yet at the same time in-your-face. These CDs bring all these qualities in troves. They are indeed worth every penny.
Some people feel that these remasters sound as good as I've just described them only on a high-end audio system. And while I am indeed using an esoteric, hand built high end audio system for reviewing these remastered, I should also hasten to add that I've first heard some of the remastered tracks on a crappy Starbucks sound system on September 9, 2009, when I was visiting Manhattan with my wife. And even then, I fell off my chair when I heard "Thank You Girl". The presence of John's and Paul's vocals was cutting though even on a crappy Starbucks sound system, despite the ambient noises coming from the espresso grinders!
I knew right then and there that the engineers had managed to do wonders with the Beatles catalog. Needless to say, I rushed out and bought the remasters on the spot.
Tons of digital ink have already been spilled describing the improvements these remasters have brought in terms of deeper, warmer, punchier bass, as well as snappier drums (especially Ringo's snare drum). And while I agree with these assessments, I still am convinced that the biggest victories have been won on the vocal front. Where I hear the biggest improvements is in the way John's, Paul's and George's voices are now cutting through. On many remastered tracks, you can now literally see the vocalists as if they are physically singing in your room. The clarity of the vocal delivery is beyond amazing, it is simply magical.
One thing you will notice on these remastered tracks is how careful the Beatles were (and especially John Lennon) with pronouncing each and every consonant while singing. You can now hear very clearly how meticulous John was when signing the word 'world' (for example, when singing "Revolution"); pay attention to how he goes out of his way to pronounce 'd' at the end of the 'worlD'. It's uncanny!
Many other exciting, even exhilarating discoveries await you as you may listen though this remastered catalog. Another startling discovery will be in the percussion area. You'll hear amazing dynamic range that a simple instrument, such as tambourine, can deliver on tracks such as "Day Tripper", "You've Gotta Hide Your Love Away", "Norwegian Wood", "Hey Jude" etc.
You will also be startled by the electro shocks you'll now hear when listening to the guitar solos on "Got To Get You Into My life", "Good Morning Good Morning", "Taxman", and so on. The electric guitar now truly leaps out of the speakers, you can reach out and touch it, it is so three-dimensional on these remastered tracks.
Oddly enough, there are several tracks, few and in-between, where it is getting difficult to detect any improvements. I don't know how to explain that phenomenon, seeing how most of the material delivers such a phenomenal, incomparable improvement. A surprising example would be "I Am The Walrus". I was expecting to be bowled over by the remastered version, but my listening experience didn't reveal much difference. there are several other tracks where I failed to detect significant improvements. Overall, however, these are very few and in-between, and thus cannot affect the overall glorious improvements.
Other good news is that these remastered tracks have not succumbed to the egregious 'loudness wars', which means that it is now very easy to do a comparative listen between the remastered stere and mono tracks. They are almost always at the same, or similar loudness level (very surprisingly, many of the mono remasters sound a bit louder than their stereo counterparts). This is great, as we don't have to level-adjust the volume when we want to skip from a mono version of the song to the stereo version, and vice versa. I find these back-to-back comparative listens very revealing, as I'm now learning more about the Beatles esthetics and what the four lads were considering worthy of releasing to the audience. Many of the mono versions sound a bit more compact than the stereo version, but many mono tracks do lose some of the musical details in favor of presenting a coherent picture.
My biggest shock came when comparing stereo "Paperback Writer" to the much more famous mono version. I was expecting the mono version to wipe the floor with the stereo version, but to my ears, the stereo version somehow delivers more punch than the mono does. This despite the prevailing lore of the urban legend which claims that the definitive version of this song is mono.
Same goes, to a certain extent, with the mono Sgt. Pepper's. Urban legend would have you believed that you haven't lived until you've experienced the mono Pepper. But to my ears, stereo Pepper still sounds better and delivers more punch and color. For example, the mono version of "Sgt. Pepper's Reprise" carries almost cartoonish vocals, while the stereo version really rocks the house!
In conclusion, I think every household must have this stereo box set, as this is indeed the best conceived, composed, executed and recorded music on the planet. And now with the refurbished and remastered sound, it truly delivers the sweetest, most angelic sounding music ever recorded! Run and buy this box, if you haven't already. then, after you've experienced all the greatness it contains, think some more about acquiring the mono version of the same catalog, since it also contains some additional details and sweetness not necessarily found in the stereo set.
So happy to have everything in on go!November 18, 2009 Haining Zhou(Melbourne Australia) Just received the boxset yesterday, fast shipping (from US to AU) and very well packed by Amazon, thanks a lot.
I haven't listened to any of them yet, have an exam in early Dec, have to work hard on it.
The package is excellent, however, if there's a book with beatles anthology and lyrics that would be perfect. Tiny problem with the design as you have to take half of them out to get the one you want, but it's no big issue.
Have read the reviews for both mono and stereo in the past couple of days, major complain with stereo box is the sound quality, I don't have high end system but will see how my ears will be treated after the exam.
I can afford both boxes, but my problem with mono is that it's incomplete - missing three albums - what's the point? I was born after the beatles era, a big fan but not that dedicated, I understand the commercial decision behind the two separate boxes, but spend $300+ for an incomplete collection is a shame.
I reckon I'll listen to the songs in mp3 player for most of the time and plays beatles rock band to get more involvement in the music, if you're like me, go for the stereo.
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