Pre-Order the New Beatles Vinyl Box Set Here!
NEW: Beatles Revolver Stereo Remastered cd review and vinyl comparison
NEW: Click here to read the Review of the 2009 Remastered cd of Abbey Road
NEW:First Listen: The Beatles MONO Box Set (The White Album) Review and Comparison to U.K. Vinyl
On September 9, 2009, EMI will release remastered compact discs of the 12 proper Beatles albums as well as Magical Mystery Tour and Pastmasters volumes one/two. A stereo boxset of the 14 compact discs will be released along with DVDs documenting each release and a 10-disc mono boxset entitled The Beatles in Mono will also be released.
Ever since the initial announcement, there has been rampant speculation that the remastered Beatles catalog will also be re-released on vinyl. The only new Beatles vinyl available for the past twenty years has been sourced from the 1987 digital masters used for the compact disc releases.
Audiophiles, vinylphiles, and collectors alike would ideally like to see new analog-sourced vinyl of all of the original mono and stereo releases. Given the fact that it is unlikely that EMI would source vinyl releases directly from the analog tapes, hopes have turned to the possibility that high resolution 24/192 digital masters sourced from the original analog tapes will be used for the vinyl. This was done for the vinyl and sacds of the Rolling Stones Abkco remasters and the Doors vinyl boxset released last year. While there are varying opinions of the Doors boxset, the Stones vinyl was almost universally praised for its sound quality. And while the use of a high-rez master doesn't automatically result in good sound, it makes for a potentially very nice sounding set.
remastered compact disc packaging
**November 14, 2009 has been mentioned by an industry insider as the tentative release date for the remastered Beatles vinyl. The same insider also said that the releases would come out on Capitol Records and named R.T.I. as the pressing plant slated for the job. The suggested retail price will reportedly be approximately $25.00, and given that price, one can also easily speculate that the vinyl will be 180 grams.
If R.T.I. is handling the pressing duties, prepare for either long delays of the Beatles releases, or for delays of other titles you might be waiting for this year. Last year's releases of The Doors and Led Zeppelin boxsets were not only delayed themselves, but also caused numerous other vinyl projects to be slowed down and subject to delays--and neither of those projects came close to the magnitude of re-releasing the entire Beatles catalog.
Would you buy new Beatles vinyl if it isn't sourced directly from the analog tapes, but rather from high rez 24/192 digital masters? Do you plan to buy both the cds and vinyl? What are you looking forward to most about these remasters? Vote in the poll located at the top left of this page and share your thoughts in the comments section immediately following this story.
**November 14, 2009 has now come and gone. Apple CEO, Jeff Jones, has since stated that the Beatles catalog will be reissued on vinyl, and has only hinted that it will come in the winter or spring of 2010. Stay tuned to Myvinylreview.com for the latest information.
UPDATE: August 20, 2010:
As we near the one-year anniversary of the release of the 2009 Beatles remastered catalog on compact disc, there is still no definitive release date for the mono and stereo albums on vinyl. E.M.I. quietly released the above stereo 45 rpm single of Paperback Writer b/w Rain for Record Store Day in both the U.K. and U.S. Yet, beyond that single and Jeff Jones' earlier indication that there will be vinyl editions--likely in the form of stereo and mono boxes, there have been no further details on exactly when they will be released and whether they will be sourced from analog or hi-res digital sources. Stay tuned to Myvinylreview for further info.
NEW-- Second Listen: Beatles in MONO (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band) Remastered Cd Review and Comparison to U.K. Mono Vinyl
Related: Beatles Abbey Road Remastered Cd Review and Comparison to U.K. Vinyl
Beatledrops -- Samples of Beatles Mono and Stereo Vinyl, Remastered cds
Vintage Vinyl Spotlight: The Beatles Blue Box (BC-13)
27 comments:
I don't have any of the original (or even reissued) UK releases on vinyl, so this may be a good way to get mint copies for less than the $100+ they generally fetch on ebay. That said, I'll probably wait to see the reviews on sound quality. Hopefully, these won't be limited editions so that we don't have to worry about buying them all at once.
I'd like to get them all, certainly. But I'll probably just end up getting the CDs.
I have the Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs "The Beatles Collection" of all the studio albums put out in the early 80s that were sourced form the original analog masters, and they truly sound wonderful, easily superior sounding vs. the late 80s-issue CDs played side-by-side on the same system. I'll be very curious to see how good the new remastered Beatles CDs sound. If nothing else, I'll probably get them to gave better quality digital versions to listen to in my car, iPod, etc. It'll be really interesting, though, to see how new Vinyl versions might compare to the excellent MFSL vinyl records. I've experienced mixed results from other recent vinyl reissues. For example, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon sounds great in its new vinyl version, but Eric Clapton's Slowhand (part of Back In Black vinyl reissues) was awful, and an older 80s MFSL version I have sounds easily better. Guess it's all in how well the vinyl master techs to their job as much as the quality of the material from which it's sourced.
If tomorrow would the end of the world, the Beatles remastered vinyl box sets (both the stereo and the mono) are my last thing shopping items.
Les
I'll wait for the reviews for the vinyl, and hope that they come with free MP3 versions of the songs, like many vinyl releases are doing these days too!
I've been waiting for some sort of confirmation on this... I figure they may be waiting until after the CD box sets have been released ... they want us all to buy these albums as many times as possible! I've already pre-ordered both of the CD box sets but I'm pretty sure I'd get the vinyl box sets too (although I'm sure they'll cost a fortune.)
The Mobile Fidelity "The Beatles Collection" vinyl box set weren't created using the original analog master tapes. We used dubs of the master tapes. 1 Gen lower shouldn't matter much at all. Noone could tell the difference.
I own pretty much everything on original UK mono vinyl, as well as several mono titles fromt he '82 Japan red vinyl series. Plus, I've preordered the mono cd box. Can't imagine a need for the reissued vinyl, but if it's sourced from analog masters, and if the reviews from folks I respect(including you) are great, then I may go ahead and try out a few. Maybe.
The MoFi's should NOT be held as the standard for Beatles sound quality; they were all re-EQ'd to varying degrees with the Infamous MoFi smiley face EQ (bumped up bass and treble)and sounded awful. I won't be buying any LPs from digital masters, AFAIK there are no hi-rez masters, another missed opportunity for EMI who coudl have released theses as eitehr hybrid SACDs or DVD-As. The only consolation is that the new CDs do sound pretty good. First review here;
www.tonepublications.com/music/
It'll depend on how good those vinyls sound that's for sure. Do I care if they're sourced from tape or digital? I could say yes but I'd also feel greedy asking them to keep touching the tape. It's old. We should preserve it the best we can by not meddling with it too much. But that vinyl better sound good. The insulting sound I get from the Red Hot Chili Peppers albums (all except Hoffman's master of Stadium Arcadium which is amazing) is enough to make me throw the things away after buying them. So yes, if it's a good job from 24/192 I'll gladly buy them for probably the cheapest price we'll ever see sealed Beatles vinyl in. But I know who won't need to buy them. Dr. Ebbetts.
I wonder if the Sgt Pepper LP will replicate the actual endless loop "inner groove" or just like the CD repeat & fade out.
I have so much Beatles on vinyl-UK US German Japan Holland French even Mexican pressings.But Id still like to have a Mono White. I'm sure the mono lps will only be available in a diamond encrusted titanium box with a suggested retail of an Arm,a Leg,and your firstborn
i come from the film world, where the standard is becoming shooting in film, finalize the print in a 'digital intermediate' and then 'print' either back to film or some sort of digital format. my opinion is film has never looked better, but with aid from digital technology. so 1st of all, what is better than 24/192 mastering and second if you repress to vinyl, is it possible to sound better than any previous pressings?
happy 9.9.9
There are tons of these Mono and Stereo remastered Box sets that will be available. I am waiting till the price comes down from the stratosphere. Here's looking at you kid.........
I have to report that I've done A/B tests between the new Remastered Mono Beatles CD's of Magical Mystery Tour and Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and the freely available Purple Chick digital vinyl rips of the same albums, and my verdict is this... The official EMI/Apple releases are crap incomparison to the Purple Chick vinyl rips releases... I'll stick with the pirates i think..They know what they're doing :-/
I prefer SACD/DVD-A, but I sure would buy the new vinyls.
They should have released on September 10th. That would have been
One After 09/09/09 !
I will buy the new vinyl releases if they're made available. Pressing available in the U.S. have been horrible.
US pressings can be good, RTI doesnt screw around, look what they did for those CCR Analogue Productions reissues!
My MFSL white album on vinyl is far superior to the original on vinyl or CD. Hoping the new 180gm. vinyl releases have similar sound quality. The MFSL Beatles' collection would be great, but just too expensive!
If they're from digital masters, forget it. Gimme a BC-13 box instead.
Hellow to everyone, I just bought the new enhanced cds from Beatles, I do love them, even when I have the other ones in cd format. I live in Cancun, and I was surprised when I saw new vinyls printed in a supermarket a few years ago, by that time I didn't know to much about them, as I can say now, but after having the vinyl records and cds, I regreat for not buying all of them in vinyl format, because the complete beatles' catalogue was printed on vinyl. But now I'm happy, I think people would really apreciate these new cds.
BC13 FTW !
Good clean UK copies are the best sounding and easily blow the over-rated MoFis back to lofi-dom.
mfsl first 4 still beat the remasters, and the so called mofi eq is fabulous if that's what makes the sound so crystal clear on my kyocera r461 boston accoustics a150s. btw, using my alesis masterlink, i can create cd-24 in 24 bit 44/48/88/96 that will play in most computers or high end pro cd players
(Analogue) vinyl may have a greater dynamic range than the CD, but CDs don't have the clicks and pops, wow and flutter that plagued its predecessor. I welcome the digital release.
Yes, officially all Beatles vinyl available since 1987 has been from digitally remastered sources (and on DMM vinyl to boot) but there was one accidental exception: 'A Hard Day's Night'. The sleeve and label both bear the mono catalogue numbers, but the record is actually stereo and the dead wax matrix numbers indicate Harry T. Moss's late '70s analogue cut. I'm not sure if this error was ever rectified; the whole Beatles catalogue was available on vinyl until very recently, so it's quite possible that there are a few of these sitting, still sealed, in the shops. In which case there are still 13 all-analogue Beatles tracks available, just... And they sound pretty good...
i doubt they will ever release any vinyl for a long time till their cd sales slow down,they don't want to give us the best they have.until mr paul is dead,he wont give us the best he's got and blow his cash cow.hes become very greedy lately blowing huge sums of money on his new woman.
I have followed the news of the publication of the catalog of The Beatles on vinyl for a long time and has always been delayed. Even Amazon.uk removed pre-order of the individual LP scheduled for October 2011. Now I've seen a couple of portals finally announce that the vinyl will be released on November 2012 with a price of $400, even Musicdirect portal post an alleged photo of the collection and now they been removed it information. I have another questions, all that information will be real or it was another rumor? the catalog will be released in Stereo or Mono?
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