A visit to Czech Republic-based GZ Media recently published on a website includes an un-captioned photo of a large stack of the upcoming Beatles Mono box sets. This has flooded analogplanet.com's "inbox" with emails from readers, some inquisitive, some hysterical and a few spewing expletives.
After a delay of a few years, due to the meticulousness of all involved, The Beatles catalog will finally be reissued in the format in which it's meant to be heard and has always sounded best: vinyl.
(photo: Jeremy Neech)
The blank white The Beatles double LP gatefold jacket intended to show the world that the group was finished with busy, production heavy studio creations that relied for completion upon production tricks and gimmickry. Instead, the group wanted to emphasize musicianship and “live play”.
Never mind that the songs sometimes ended up being more individual than group efforts and that squabbling and disagreement led to acrimony as well as long time engineer Geoff Emerick exiting, producer George Martin going on holiday and even Ringo Starr walking out for a few weeks.
Back in 1996 EMI contemplated a newly-remastered 30th anniversary CD edition of "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. While the company later issued a 30th anniversary edition of The Beatles (The "White" Album) complete with a transparent slip case, black inner sleeves and the poster and photos originally included in the vinyl version, the 30th anniversary Sgt. Peppers... was never released. I know about it because I was peripherally involved.
After Rubber Soul and the artistic heights of Revolver and Sgt. Pepper, The Beatles followed up by forming Apple Records in 1968 and releasing a double LP that would go on to become their biggest seller. Sporting a clean white cover featuring only their embossed name and a serial number printed in gray ink, The Beatles (a.k.a. The White Album) had a tranquil exterior that revealed little of the turmoil that lay beneath the surface.
Last night I spoke with an EMI executive about the upcoming Beatles Box Set. While he is setting up an interview with Abbey Road mastering engineer Sean Magee that will have to wait until Magee is "off shift," he did provide some useful information.
A woman walks into a butcher shop. She says "Can I see that chicken?" The butcher hands it to her. She smells it in front, she smells it in back, she smells it all over and then hands it back to the butcher saying "Mister, this chicken stinks!" The butcher replies "Lady, could you pass a test like that?"
Last week, I told you about strawberry fields, where — sorry, wrong Beatles reference. One, two, three, four (cough) — last week, I told you how it will be on October 28, when Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe will be releasing The Beatles seminal August 1966 album Revolver in a 180g 4LP/1EP Special Edition Super Deluxe box set. This week, I talk exclusively with producer Giles Martin about mixing and de-mixing Revolver, the “analog vs. digital” question, what Paul McCartney told him when they both listened to the new and original Revolver mixes together, and who ultimately makes the final calls on anything he mixes for The Beatles. Read on to find out just what he said, he said. . .
The history of the storied 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 retrospective albums by The Beatles, alternately known as the Red Album and the Blue Album, is quite fascinating — and now they’re both newly available in expanded, 50th anniversary 180g 3LP editions with a number of additional tracks not on either of the original 1973 releases, one of them being the “final” Bealtes song, “Now And Then.” Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if either/both of the new Red and Blue 3LP sets belong in your collection and on your turntable. . .
It’s been heavily bootlegged over the years, and yet Paul McCartney & Wings’ One Hand Clapping is still something of a holy grail among fans. These 1974 live-in-the-studio recordings find the group firing on all cylinders — and then some. Finally, this vital Macca music has been officially released today, June 14, 2024, by MPL/Capitol/UMe as both a 180g 2LP set and a web-exclusive edition that also includes a bonus six-track 45. Read on to see why Mark Smotroff feels One Hand Clapping offers some of the most rocking Macca & Wings music on vinyl to date. . .
November 9, November 9, November 9: On November 9, Apple Corps/UMe will release multiple deluxe editions of The Beatles, the seminal self-titled double album affectionately known, due to its stark packaging, as “The White Album.”
Today at The World of McIntosh Townhouse Producer Giles Martin Introduced his new "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Band" 50th anniversary stereo mix. Apple Corp and UMe introduce the new 50th anniversary box.
It all started as a misheard request for a condiment, Paul McCartney recollects in one of the introductions to the box's sumptuously produced book. During a flight back from America, the band's roadie Mal Evans asked Paul to "pass the salt and pepper", which he misheard as "Sergeant Pepper".
As the 50th anniversary approached of the 1967 release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Apple Corps and its president Jeff Jones set about deciding how best to mark the occasion (or not).