In the Beatleverse, it is generally well known and quite accepted that the mono mixes of the early Beatles recordings are considered superior to the stereo counterparts for many reasons. Thus, a new box set assembling 21st century recreations of the U.S. Beatles albums in their original monaural sound has a special sort of appeal — and that’s where the 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono 180g 8LP box set, which was released by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe on November 22, 2024, comes into play.
Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if The Beatles’ 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono 180g 8LP box set is fab enough to put on your holiday-purchase list, or if you should buy each album individually. . .
The music you make is equal to the console you make it on — or something like that. To that end, mega online gear retailer Reverb has just announced that the EMI TG12345 recording console used by The Beatles to record September 1969’s seminal Abbey Road LP is going up for sale through MJQ Ltd., their official artists partner, starting on October 29, 2024. Read on to see how you might be able to get your hands, and ears, on a true piece of recording history. . .
I’m in love with The Beatles, and I feel fine — and I bet you’ll feel that way too after I tell you that a new 180g 8LP box set titled The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono is officially slated for release on November 22, 2024, via Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe. Read on to find out all the analog stats, details, and tracklisting info for all seven LPs (one of them is a 2LP set) in this truly Fab box. . .
Periodically, artists will issue an album that unintentionally divides their audience, as John Lennon did with his October 1973 solo LP, Mind Games. A new 2LP set dubbed Mind Games: The Ultimate Mixes & The Out-takes, released on July 12, 2024, may change some of that perspective, as it aims to bring listeners more inside Lennon’s 1973 recording sessions at New York’s Record Plant studio. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if this new edition of Mind Games is worth the investment. . .
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. . .
The jailer man and Sailor Sam are at it again. Paul McCartney & Wings will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Band on the Run on February 2, 2024, with a 2LP edition featuring previously unreleased “Underdubbed” mixes on LP2, and a separate half-speed-mastered 1LP version of the original December 1973 release. Read on to see just what “Underdubbed” mixes entail, and if these new versions of Band on the Run
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. . .
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. . .
Turn off your mind, relax, and drop the needle. If you’ve been wondering which Beatles album would next get the mega-deluxe treatment following last year’s Let It Be Super Deluxe 180g 4LP/1EP box set, wonder no more. On October 28, Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe will release August 1966’s seminal Revolver in a 180g 4LP/1EP Special Edition Super Deluxe box set. Read on to find out all the details, and what sources are being used. . .
“Obsessive” is the one word that best describes a true Beatles fan. Most Beatles songs contain subtleties that some first notice only after a few hundred listens. Add critical listening tendencies and repeated plays to the fragility of vinyl records, plus the ease with which defects can be heard and you have a recipe for disaster—especially if you add to the mix “audiophilia”.
L-R: Allen Klein, George, Ravi. (Photo: Leonard Detrick/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
How to describe the notorious music industry figure Allen Klein, the one-time manager of both the Beatles and Rolling Stones? One lawyer working with Klein called him “the devil incarnate.” Paul McCartney called him a “trained New York crook,” and that acutely cool figure, Mick Jagger, once had to be restrained from attacking Klein at a business meeting.
(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.
This month, AnalogPlanet launches The Rear View Mirror, an ongoing series extensively reviewing notable albums from the past. Entries, which will be posted at least once a month, are limited to one album per artist per year. And what better way to launch it than with a 50th anniversary review of Yoko Ono’s Fly?
As expected, The Beatles' post-break up Let It Be album gets a Giles Martin re-mix and will be available worldwide October 15th 2021 in multiple editions. For the new release Martin and engineer Sam Okell produced stereo, 5.1 surround DTS and Dolby Atmos mixes. The new stereo mix sourced directly from the original session and rooftop performance 8 track tapes were "guided by the original "reproduced for disc" Phil Spector version.
When George Harrison, the youngest Beatle, passed away November 30th, 2001 at age 58, Allan Kozinn’s front page New York Times obituary referred to him as “the quiet Beatle”, which during the group’s touring years, is what the self-effacing youngest member of group was often called.