Well these past two weeks have certainly been a celebration for Beatles fans around the world!
Last week we had the premiere of The Beatles last new song “Now and Then” which has now ascended to the top of the UK charts becoming the Fabs 18th UK number one single (there are 20 US number one singles) and has become somewhat of an Internet sensation judging by the overwhelming proliferation of YouTube reviews.
To top off this monumental two week celebration we now have the 50th anniversary reissues of The Beatles classic hits collections “1962-1966” (The Red Album) and “1967-1970” (The Blue Album) which have both been expanded and filled with remixes of all the songs on each.
In the case of the “1962-1966” set most of the collection has been newly remixed in 2023 and there are several first-time stereo mixes of such Beatles gems as “Love Me Do” and “She Loves You”.
Both of these new sets officially come out tomorrow but as luck would have it I got ahold of them early and have done a quick overview of each set.
First off overall these two sets sound superb! I’m hit or miss with modern remixes of ’60s classics, especially The Beatles, but I have to say both of these sets are ninety percent wonderful with an occasional miss now and then (no pun intended) not spoiling the party (pun intended lol).
The first set, “1962-1966”, is an especially great sounding collection as for the most part these new stereo mixes are just wonderful. The highlights of this set for me are the early numbers from 1963 as well as the 1965 “Rubber Soul” mixes which are quite frankly the best stereo mixes of these tracks I’ve ever heard.
Songs like “She Loves You” (a convincing stereo mix), “Please Please Me”, “And I Love Her” and the highlight of the set “If I Needed Someone” are all worth the price of admission as they all sound so lively and crisp and an improvement on previous attempts to mix these tracks into stereo.
There are of course a few clickers, what in the heck happened to the first note of “A Hard Day’s Night”? (yikes), but overall this set is a winner.
(Note: having listened again this remix is not quite as weird sounding as I first thought it was. This is one of the tracks that makes the Beatles sound a little bit more punky, more aggressive than the original mix. Still not my favorite mix of this song but not bad.)
The newer MAL technology developed by director Peter Jackson, which also enabled the completion of the new “Now and Then” single, has permitted these early tracks to take on a new life and spark that is a true joy to listen to and enjoy.
The second set “1967-1970” is highlighted by the inclusion of the new Beatle single “Now and Then” (in my mind already a Beatles classic) but is also filled to the rim with recent remixes as well as six brand new remixes including 2023 remixes of songs like “I Am the Walrus”, “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Revolution”.
Again mostly this new set is a pleasure to listen to (thank goodness the 2017 remixes of the songs from “Sgt. Pepper” sound a bit less compressed) but the occasional clunker aside I’m very happy.
One mix in particular, the new 2023 mix of “I Am the Walrus”, is just downright odd sounding. It’s not terrible but it is very different from the original stereo mix as well as previous remixes from the recent past. I don’t hate it but I don’t quite love it either.
It sounds like Giles Martin who remixed both sets has taken the mono fake stereo section of the later half of the song and applied the MAL technology with just bizarre results. Not great but still nice to have a different sounding version.
Oh and as for loudness, yes these sets are a tad louder than I would prefer but really they sound fine. Some of the new stereo mixes like “Twist and Shout” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” burst though with such energy that they have the punch of mono with nice stereo separation. As usual online I see a lot of negative reactions to these remixes already but I really enjoy the early maternal most as these stereo mixes really pop – in a good way.
I’ll have to give both sets a more through listen but on first blush I love what I’m hearing and these sets are nice sampler collections of not only The Beatles musical output but a nice sampling of remixes of this material for those who’ve never dipped their toes in the remix pool.
As usual take a look at these new sets above and I can’t say enough how good these two sets sound and whether you find them online to stream or you go out and buy them I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.
I’m hoping that these lovely new stereo mixes of the early Beatles material prompts future remixes of all the pre-1966 Beatles studio albums in their entirety. And of course in physical media please. You never know when Apple will decide to go online only so I’m just hoping they finish The Beatles catalog before they make that decision.
Just a quick note at the end of this two-week Beatles bonanza.
Be well and until next time I hope you are healthy and happy and that you go out and play some Beatles!
See you here soon.
Records, CDs and Music: 