Beatles Remasters coming! 09/09/09

[medjuck]

I have the Complete Beatles Chronicles, by Lewisohn. Is this one substantially different than that?

I'm not familiar with that book so I can't really comment.

But you did anyways!

Because I presumed that the question was asked of me.

Is here general agreement that these new editions are worth getting even if you have them on cd already? Is the difference that notable?

After some further forays, it appears that there were two different versions of the book by Lewisohn (not the "Chronicles" which appears to be a separate volume altogether) but the book on recordings 1962-1970. It appears that you have The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: the Official Story of the Abbey Road Years, 1962-1970. Is that the exact, full title of the book you have? I thought I read that this is the U.K. released version whereas the volume I checked out from the library today is the U.S. version and titled similarly but just a bit different: The Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Abbey Road Session Notes, 1962-1970 by Mark Lewisohn and Paul McCartney (There is a several-page interview with Paul McCartney at the beginning of this volume. Its 206 pages and quite large (oversize) with lots of photographs. Does the volume you have pretty much fit this description? I'm just trying to get a handle on whether these are pretty much the same book issued separately. Unfortunately my university library seems to have stripped the original cover and put on one of those standard library jackets, making it difficult to identify. But yes it appears both are currently out of print and thus quite costly. Bummer...

The edition I have is the one pictured a few posts ago. The title is what you say is the UK title but your description of the book you read describes it. Perhaps there was a title change but the books seem to have the same content.

[sjarrell]

I bought one version or another on Amazon yesterday for $18.99. Not sure what I'll get, but it claimed to be the Hamlyn HC.

[jazzbo]

Is here general agreement that these new editions are worth getting even if you have them on cd already? Is the difference that notable?

Try the new version of "Abbey Road", I think you will be pleasently suprised.

I purchased "Abbey Road", "The Beatles", "Revolver" and "Past Masters", and they are all a great improvement over the original 1987 CD's.

Id love to hear "A Hard Day's Night", "Revolver" and "Seargent Pepper" in mono, but I'll be damned if I'm going to spend over $200 to get three CD's I want, and 11 that I don't.

Well it's less than eleven, but I know what you mean.

I would not be at all surprised if mono editions are released separately in the next year or three.

I would say that the new stereo versions of "The Beatles" and "Let It Be" are also excellent and should tell you right away what care went into ths mastering and restoration in this series.

[WorldB3]

Is here general agreement that these new editions are worth getting even if you have them on cd already? Is the difference that notable?

Try the new version of "Abbey Road", I think you will be pleasently suprised.

I purchased "Abbey Road", "The Beatles", "Revolver" and "Past Masters", and they are all a great improvement over the original 1987 CD's.

Id love to hear "A Hard Day's Night", "Revolver" and "Seargent Pepper" in mono, but I'll be damned if I'm going to spend over $200 to get three CD's I want, and 11 that I don't.

Well it's less than eleven, but I know what you mean.

I would not be at all surprised if mono editions are released separately in the next year or three.

I would say that the new stereo versions of "The Beatles" and "Let It Be" are also excellent and should tell you right away what care went into ths mastering and restoration in this series.

The mono vinyl will be coming out mid November if you don't mind paying around 20-25 dollars for one record. For a mono version of Peppers I think it will be worth it.

The stereo remasters of the White Album and Abbey Road blew me away. Help, RS, Revolver and MMT are huge improvements over the original Stereo CD releases but I am really curious to hear the mono versions now. I wish I waited on MMT as I think the Mono of it probably sounds a lot better.

Edited October 13, 2009 by WorldB3

[Teasing the Korean]

I wish I waited on MMT as I think the Mono of it probably sounds a lot better.

It does, dramatically so.

[Brad]

Aren't you saying something contradictory here: That the Beatles had hit their peak and that these were just another Beatles album?

I meant that they'd commercially hit their peak, and that they were on their way out. That was the perception on the part of many, and not my opinion.

I really can't disagree with that view. My friends and I actually thought that the Stones were a far more interesting band (perhaps because they were blues based) until the likes of Rubber Soul and Revolver came along. Even with those, Aftermath still stands out for me as one of the best albums of the ear. This is not to say that we weren't buying or enjoying the album. Anyway, those two albums were the high point for me at the time. Of course, over the years I've come to appreciate the later stuff just as much.

[Cliff Englewood]

I wish I waited on MMT as I think the Mono of it probably sounds a lot better.

It does, dramatically so.

I'm nearly sure I posted something further up the thread about the Stereo MMT, I was quite surprised at how bad it sounded in comparison to the Mono, IATW in particular, there is a convoluted explanation given in the booklet detailing how the Stereo IATW was produced, which kinda explains why the Mono sounds better.

[Norm]

I have the Complete Beatles Chronicles, by Lewisohn. Is this one substantially different than that?

Well the various discussion of Lewisohn's works piqued my interest and led to investigate the matter further. In addition, when I was perusing the list of suggested readings in the back of the MacDonald volume, Revolution in the Head, I came across this snippet:

"Mark Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions is an indispensable day-to-day account of the making of the The Beatles' records. For those uninterested in technical details, his The Complete Beatles Chronicle combines the gist of Recording Sessions with the data on their performing career previously published in his The Beatles Live! (1986), thereby qualifying it as the standard Beatles reference book."

Thats quite an endorsement. In trying to decide which one to pick up, I went to my university library and checked out The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (206 pages) and perused Chronicles (it is held by the University music Library and is non-circulating). The latter is quite a bit larger (roughly the same dimensions, but 360 pages). Here's the conclusion I reached: if you are a musician, you may wish to pick up the Recording Sessions volume but if you are like me and more of a Beatles fan and aren't as interested in the technical details, as Macdonald put it, then the Chronicles might be better. Both are beautifully illustrated with photographs (I've never seen before), song lists, images of parlophone records, ticket stubs etc. Anyway, after some searching on Amazon I found a used / like new hardback edition of Chronicles for 11.99 plus shipping.

On the other hand, I know that some were expressing dismay over the high prices of the OOP Recording Sessions. If you are patient and would like a new copy of Recording Sessions, the paperback edition (2006) can be ordered from Tower Records for $24.99 (if you have another item it will ship for free). The only catch is that they list a ship date of 3-5 weeks from the time the order is placed.

Anyway, I'm confident that between Chronicles, Anthology, and Revolution in the Head my Beatles library will be as complete as it needs to be, though I might borrow Spitz's biography from the library.

Edited October 14, 2009 by Norm

[Brad]

I believe Mark Lewisohn may have written or contributed to some of the liner notes on the Stereo remasters.

[Aggie87]

Thanks for that info, Norm. I had previously kind of assumed that the Recording Sessions book was essentially an extract of the Chronicles book, just specifically dealing with the days they were in the studio. But it sounds like it's not quite that, but more detail about those dates/sessions.

I like the Chronicles book for what it is though, and it suits me fine.

[sjarrell]

I just checked out Chronicle from the local library. The Beatles last saw Pete Best the day I was born, apparently.

[Norm]

Ian Macdonald, The Beatles, Wong Kar-wai and Randomness

Forewarning: the following LONG post consists largely of rambling thoughts and half-baked ideas (and thus many -- perhaps most -- readers may wish to skip over the post entirely and I don't blame you!). These ideas have been on my mind lately and since I don't blog, keep a diary or have another outlet, I thought I'd try to set them down in rough form.

There is much up-thread discussion of Ian Macdonald's Revolution in the Head. I'd like to add my impressions of his book so far and then share how some of the ideas he brings forth have converged, by chance, with some reflections I've had on the films of Hong Kong director, Wong Kar-wai. There's a randomness in this connection that matches the themes of randomness in each of these artists' works.

First I should mention that I find Macdonald to be a particularly insightful (I know that term is overused but it seems applicable here), fair, and balanced critic; while I can appreciate the directness of his writing, it sort of hits you like a gale force wind. Take for example this passage from his introductory essay:

(on the 60s): "and while censorship was rolled back, homosexuality legalized, and women given the benefit of the pill and abortion on demand, the loosening of over-restrictive divorce laws inevitably created the conditions for the replacement of marriage by relationships in the Seventies and a widespread collapse of the nuclear family during the Eighties. Immediate sexual gratification became the ideal of a society in which church-going was falling in inverse relationship to the rise of television ownership. As tradition became outmoded and a dispirited Christianity forfeited influence, the public focus began to shift from nostalgia and compensation of a reward in heaven to an eager stress on the present combined with an impatient hope for social heaven on earth in the near future."”

My jaw just about fell to the floor after I read that paragraph. Like any skilled writer, Macdonald is able to weave several themes and big ideas into his work. I suppose what I'm most impressed with thus far is his ability to get me, the reader, to sharpen my focus on just what I like about the Beatles (no author has ever done that for me before): a prime example is his de-coupling of the lyrical and musical content: superbly innovative sounds alongside haphazard and sometimes rather mediocre lyrics. Connected to this, Macdonald points out the primacy the Beatles placed on randomness, eschewing convention and structure, even to the point that an attempt to decipher their songs in a logical way would render many of them virtually senseless. Rather than make a direct point (and I should point out I’m speaking of post1964 stuff here), the best of their songs stitch together all kinds of lyrical and musical pieces like a collage in an effort to evoke a feeling in the listener. For me, four songs in which this comes across particularly well are "Rain,""Strawberry Fields Forever," "Penny Lane," and "A Day in the Life."”I mean I love "Rain," but its not as if I sit there thinking about the greatness of the lyrics and try to reach a definitive conclusion about its deeper meaning; its as if, rather, they used their respective talents simply to piece it together in a very eclectic pastiche of sound, reverb, lyric. I actually enjoy the fact that the song is open and not conclusive. And this leads to me to the work of Hong Kong Director Wong Kar-wai, whose films (e.g. Chungking Express, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, 2046, My Blueberry Nights) I’ve been enjoying immensely lately. As I mentioned in another thread, I find the soundtracks he puts together quite evocative (everything from Spanish songs by Nat King Cole and Cantopop, "California Dreamin," a sped up version of "Happy Together," to tunes by contemporary folk crooner, Cat Power and 1940s Shanghai ballads), but his camera work (visuals) and approach to each story he tells are just as captivating. Like the Beatles, it seems to me, he places primacy on the randomness of life situations often expressed in chance relationships and just as fiercely jettisons structure (intro, climax, resolution) and any sort of conclusion in his films. They are left open and incomplete just as Beatles songs are. I get the sense that they serve more as snapshots of certain people's lives and the struggles they're enduring (often in relationships) than as vehicles for making this or that point. There's no ultimate moral.

Finally, I feel there’s a point that connects some of Macdonald's discussion to one of Wong's films, In the Mood for Love, which I consider to be his magnum opus to date. The film is set in 1963 in Hong Kong, which as a British colony provides an interesting site for the convergence of Western and Asian styles and ideas (much as Shanghai or Saigon would have 30 years earlier). The basic story revolves around two couples who have moved into the same apartment building and an ensuing affair between the man from one and woman from the other. We never see the faces of those involved in the affair; rather those whom are cheated on are our main protagonists; we see them as they realize their spouses are engaged in the affair and as they begin to develop romantic feelings for one another. In the end they show self control, refraining from acting on those impulses, which from a "contemporary" perspective (I was born in 1973) seems kind of antiquated. Well, to bring this back to Macdonald: in his intro, he stresses how the Beatles and groups like them in the 1960s were in essence rebelling against the monotonous, well-regulated and overly structured family life of the 1950s replete with as much sexual repression as Victorian times. In particular, Macdonald lists the years of 1963 to 1973 as the decade when this soft rebellion (my term) against the conventions and staid old life took place. And here he’s not referring to the civil rights movement, rising public awareness over the imperialist aggression of Western countries, and the women's movement persay, which were all outgrowths of the larger movement, but a much more general rejection of past convention. Anyway, I thought it was interesting that Wong set his film in 1963 at the interstices of Western-Chinese contact, just on the precipice of this collapse of holding to traditional values. As someone who was born at the very tail end of the aforementioned decade, the inner struggle that the two main protagonists coped with makes much more sense after reading Macdonald. Like the Beatles and Wong, I have neither a point nor a conclusion

Edited October 15, 2009 by Norm

[jazzbo]

I think the MacDonald book is very useful for information about the songs and recordings. I'm considerably less excited about his forceful sociological generalizations, but they are important to him and others seem to agree more fully with them and enjoy them so more power to him.

I enjoy Wong's work a lot. Don't see quite the parallel between the two as you, but thanks for sharing.

[jazzbo]

Oh and I'll also chime in to say that I agree that Magical Mystery Tour sounds better in mono than stereo on the new reissues (and on vinyl; my vinyl has always been mono, and nice-sounding).

Started collecting Lennon solo recordings; got the two Plastic Ono Band recordings, a "Legend" collection, and the Rock and Roll album. Good stuff that I had never owned before (but heard a lot in the "air" and at parties years ago). Don't feel the need to get any McCartney recordings. . . .

[JETman]

Oh and I'll also chime in to say that I agree that Magical Mystery Tour sounds better in mono than stereo on the new reissues (and on vinyl; my vinyl has always been mono, and nice-sounding).

Started collecting Lennon solo recordings; got the two Plastic Ono Band recordings, a "Legend" collection, and the Rock and Roll album. Good stuff that I had never owned before (but heard a lot in the "air" and at parties years ago). Don't feel the need to get any McCartney recordings. . . .

Whaaaaaat? You don't like silly love songs?

Look for the 4 cd Lennon retrospective boxed set that came out in 1991. That's all you'll need:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:k9frxql5ldae

[jazzbo]

I did look at that. . .not sure I need more than I already have. I'm passing on that box set for now at least.

[JETman]

I did look at that. . .not sure I need more than I already have. I'm passing on that box set for now at least.

That's good because it's OOP and probably difficult to find at a reasonable price.

[Alexander]

Oh and I'll also chime in to say that I agree that Magical Mystery Tour sounds better in mono than stereo on the new reissues (and on vinyl; my vinyl has always been mono, and nice-sounding).

Started collecting Lennon solo recordings; got the two Plastic Ono Band recordings, a "Legend" collection, and the Rock and Roll album. Good stuff that I had never owned before (but heard a lot in the "air" and at parties years ago). Don't feel the need to get any McCartney recordings. . . .

Of McCartney's solo stuff, I think his first two solo albums ("McCartney" and "Ram") are worth owning. I grew up on his Wings material (my parents had several albums), but I only ever listen to two of the albums from that period: "Band on the Run" and "Venus and Mars." I do have a few of his recent albums ("Chaos and Creation," "Memory Almost Full," the recent Fireman album), which are pretty good, but not nearly his best work...

[jazzbo]

I know those albums. . . and elect not to own them. I'm just not that much of a Paul fan. . . without buffering by other Beatles I find him annoying.

John, that's another matter. Very different personalities, and artists, and together they were better.

[Stefan Wood]

I really liked Chaos and Creation -- to the point where I think it is his best work in 30 years.

[JETman]

I was a Beatles FANATIC growing up, probably due to my older sister's influence. I was 8 when "McCartney" came out, and of course, had to own it. I still think it's his best solo effort, although I own a few others.

Lennon is a different story for me. He's a musical hero of mine. Love his lyrics and his sly sense of humor. As a matter of fact, I think I mentioned before that I named my daughter "Julia" after Lennon's mother. Would have given her the middle name of Prudence, but my ex-wife promptly rejected that idea

When the music press began comparing Kurt Cobain to Lennon, I gave up on rock and roll as it was at the time, and started my journey into the world of jazz. So, indirectly, John Lennon is responsible for my being close to bankruptcy

Edited October 15, 2009 by JETman

[Norm]

Oh and I'll also chime in to say that I agree that Magical Mystery Tour sounds better in mono than stereo on the new reissues (and on vinyl; my vinyl has always been mono, and nice-sounding).

Started collecting Lennon solo recordings; got the two Plastic Ono Band recordings, a "Legend" collection, and the Rock and Roll album. Good stuff that I had never owned before (but heard a lot in the "air" and at parties years ago). Don't feel the need to get any McCartney recordings. . . .

How about George Harrison's immediate post-Beatle release, All Things Must Pass? I don't have it (yet), but I've heard from others that it along with Lennon's Plastic Ono Band is one of THE essential post-Beatle recordings to pick up. I have the latter, but I haven't fully warmed up to it yet. I have to be in the right mood to listen to it.

[JETman]

Oh and I'll also chime in to say that I agree that Magical Mystery Tour sounds better in mono than stereo on the new reissues (and on vinyl; my vinyl has always been mono, and nice-sounding).

Started collecting Lennon solo recordings; got the two Plastic Ono Band recordings, a "Legend" collection, and the Rock and Roll album. Good stuff that I had never owned before (but heard a lot in the "air" and at parties years ago). Don't feel the need to get any McCartney recordings. . . .

How about George Harrison's immediate post-Beatle release, All Things Must Pass? I don't have it (yet), but I've heard from others that it along with Lennon's Plastic Ono Band is one of THE essential post-Beatle recordings to pick up. I have the latter, but I haven't fully warmed up to it yet. I have to be in the right mood to listen to it.

IMHO, George put out the best stuff, post Beatles. All Things Must Pass is essential. I still have the vinyl, with the Apple Jam label on the 3rd record in the set!

[Teasing the Korean]

Of McCartney's solo stuff, I think his first two solo albums ("McCartney" and "Ram") are worth owning.

Completely agree. As for the albums afterwards, all bets are off.

[A Lark Ascending]

Never really cared for any of the post-Beatles stuff apart from the odd individual track. I find the whole 'Imagine' album mawkish (especially the title song) and the Lennon-worship more wish fulfilment than reality.

To my mind, the best post-Beatles albums were made by XTC in the mid-to-late 80s.