We at Supertouch have literally not purchased a single physical CD in well over a year. Given that fact, news of the imminent release of a fully remastered BEATLES back catalog in both stereo and true mono mixes accompanied by all original artwork and packaging comes brings a tear of joy to our jaded eyes. This is because the entire range of true studio albums has not been upgraded since first being transferred to CD in the 80s with some of the least dynamic, fully crap digital transfers ever produced. The NY TIMES breaks it down in full:

“Like the original set of Beatles CDs, released in 1987 and not upgraded since, the reissue series will include only the 12 albums the Beatles released in Britain between 1963 and 1970, from “Please Please Me” through “Let It Be,” along with “Magical Mystery Tour” — an American album that was originally released as a two-EP set in England — and the two-CD “Past Masters” compilation of the group’s nonalbum singles. All told, the set includes 16 CDs. (Beatles projects are typically tightly guarded; few outside EMI have heard the remasters yet.) Compilations released since 1987, including the “Beatles Anthology” series, “The Beatles Live at the BBC,” “Yellow Submarine Songtrack,” “1” and “Love,” the soundtrack for the Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, are not included in the new series. Nor are the two “Capitol Albums” boxed sets, which presented several of the Beatles’ albums in the versions released in the United States.

The main reason collectors have been so intent on reissues of music they already own is that the 1987 CDs, like many discs released in the early years of the format, sound comparatively harsh and brittle by today’s standards. Since then, improvements in digital sound technology and remastering equipment have yielded a richer, smoother sound, and most of the major groups and artists from the 1960s — from Bob Dylan, the Byrds and Simon and Garfunkel to the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd — have had their catalogs refurbished at least once since their first appearance on CD. And the Beatles’ own recent releases, including the “Capitol Albums” and “Love” discs, showed that the band’s recordings could sound vastly better — warmer and with far greater presence — than they do on the 1987 discs.” Click HERE to continue reading…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 at 8:37 pm and is filed under News, Rock of Ages, Sounds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.