November 06, 2010

Beatles Red & Blue Greatest Hits Remasters Released 10-19-2010

 

The Beatles' original 1973 compilation 1962-1966 ("Red") and 1967-1970 ("Blue") have been remastered by the same dedicated team of engineers at EMI Music's Abbey Road Studios responsible for remastering The Beatles' original UK studio albums, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release. Both 2CD packages include expanded booklets with original liner notes, newly written essays by Bill Flanagan and rare photos. "Red" and "Blue" are the first Beatles compilations to be released after the band's 1970 disbandment, the popular collections each feature a selection of singles and album tracks written by the band's members.

1962-1966 (Red) Remastered
[Original recording reissued]

Track Listings:

Disc: 1

1. Love Me Do
2. Please Please Me
3. From Me to You
4. She Loves You
5. I Want to Hold Your Hand
6. All My Loving
7. Can't Buy Me Love
8. A Hard Day's Night
9. And I Love Her
10. Eight Days a Week
11. I Feel Fine
12. Ticket to Ride
13. Yesterday

Disc: 2

1. Help!
2. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
3. We Can Work It Out
4. Day Tripper
5. Drive My Car
6. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
7. Nowhere Man
8. Michelle
9. In My Life
10. Girl
11. Paperback Writer
12. Eleanor Rigby
13. Yellow Submarine


Review: By Mark Barry at Reckless Records, London (UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)  

Commonly known as the "Red Album", the 2LP vinyl set "1962 - 1966" became an instant classic when it was first released in April 1973 (as did its "Blue" counterpart "1967-1970"). When they were finally reissued onto the new CD format in 1993 however, they caused consternation because of their extortionate full price.

So is this newly remastered 2010 mid-priced 2CD reissue on EMI/Apple 5099990675225 any better - the answer is an emphatic 'yes'.

PACKAGING:
The first thing you notice is that the clunky double jewel-case of the 1993 reissue has been dumped for a three-way foldout card sleeve. The centre and right flaps picture the photograph on the inner gatefold of the original vinyl double album (St. Pancras Old Church in London, 27 July 1969, The Beatles with the public looking through the railings). It also houses the two CDs - CD1 has the full Apple label (13 tracks, 31:02 minutes) and the 2nd CD has the half Apple logo (13 tracks, 31:45 minutes). The vinyl set is yet to come, the Digital Download versions are available from 25 Oct 2010 and there's also an issue that lumps both the Red & Blue reissues together as one package in late November.

The left flap houses a new 32-page booklet. The lyrics are intact from the inner sleeves of the original album issue, there's new liner notes by BILL FLANAGAN the MTV Executive and author of "Evening's Empire" (a book on Rock in the Sixties) and there's plenty of superb colour photos from the period - it's impressively done. Downsides - some complained that the 09/09/09 card digipak sleeves for The Beatles reissues were easy to smudge once out of the shrinkwrap and worse - the inner flaps easy to tear as you removed the disc. I'm afraid these are the same. I suppose I would have been naïve of us to think that EMI would actually listen to the complaints of 2009 about packaging, but they haven't - the need for these issues to look the same as the preceding ones has overridden all considerations... Having said that, I still think they look great - substantial even...

PLAYING TIMES:
It doesn't take a particular genius to work out from the playing times provided above that this set could easily have fitted onto 1CD (and even included bonus tracks). But EMI would of course argue that this would fundamentally alter the aesthetic of the original release. At least this time, the reissue is at mid price, so we're not being charged for the privilege. I think the new price pitch makes the 'one' disc argument a mute point. Besides, I like the break, taking out the first disc and putting in the second - it's how the original 2LP issue was. And better, it doesn't actually diminish the listen, if anything it enhances it.

TRACK CHOICES:
The compilation itself is basically the A-sides of all their UK 7" singles releases between 1962 and 1966 in chronological release date order with a few key album tracks thrown in for good measure. Eagle-eye fans would therefore note that as ALL Beatles UK 7" singles for that period were issued only in MONO, so the tracks on the album should reflect that - the MONO single mixes. But EMI did nothing of the sort. In fact the original 1973 albums stated only STEREO on the labels and only the STEREO code was reflected in their catalogue numbers too. At least this time this new 2010 issue notes that Tracks 1 to 4 on Disc 1 are in MONO, while all other are in STEREO ("Love Me Do" is the album mix and not the single version). Bottom line - I would argue that accuracy's loss is the listener's gain, because the STEREO versions used here are awesome.

SOUND:
Although the compilation is copyrighted to 2010 (released Monday 18 Oct 2010 in the UK and 19 Oct 2010 in the USA), the liner notes don't try to hide that these are the 2009 remasters by the same team who did the much-praised Beatles catalogue of 09/09/09. The sound quality is fantastic - breathtaking clarity on instruments - George Harrison's sitar on "Norwegian Wood" - the string quartet on "Eleanor Rigby" and so on.

CONTENT:
But what impresses most is the actual listen itself. Even now, it's truly shocking to hear just how accomplished The Beatles were. Re-listening to each disc in straight order is a gobsmacking experience - and by the time you get to the real song-writing genius of "Ticket To Ride" and especially "Yesterday" (the song that single-handled shut all the begrudgers up) - you're left with a renewed sense of awe. "We Can Work It Out" and "Day Tripper" were a single for God's sake - not on any English album at the time of release! "Paperback Writer", "Ticket To Ride", "Michelle" - track after track of brilliance... Were they really 'this' good - and so early on - the answer is yes - and always will be.

To sum up - the sound on these new reissues is fabulous; the packaging better than the 1993 versions and each is being sold at mid-price - available in most places for less than the price of a single new album. You can't help but think that millions of people globally will take one look at these beauties on a shelf somewhere and slap them straight into their shopping baskets. And rightly so...

I've loved re-hearing these classic Beatles songs in this beautiful sound quality - I really have - and despite some minor packaging quibbles - the 2010 version of the "Red" album is wholeheartedly recommended.




























1967-1970 (Blue) Remastered
[Original recording remastered]

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Strawberry Fields Forever
2. Penny Lane
3. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

4. With a Little Help from My Friends
5. 1. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
6. A Day in the Life
7. All You Need Is Love
8. I Am the Walrus
9. Hello, Goodbye
10. The Fool on the Hill
11. Magical Mystery Tour
12. Lady Madonna
13. Hey Jude
14. Revolution

Disc: 2

1. Back in the U.S.S.R.
2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
3. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
4. Get Back
5. Don't Let Me Down
6. Ballad of John and Yoko
7. Old Brown Shoe
8. Here Comes the Sun
9. Come Together
10. Something
11. Octopus's Garden
12. Let It Be
13. Across the Universe
14. The Long and Winding Road

Review: By Mark Barry at Reckless Records, London (UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)  

This review is from: 1967-1970 (Blue) Remastered (Audio CD)
Commonly known as the "Blue Album", the 2LP vinyl set "1967 - 1970" became an instant classic when it was first released in April 1973 (as did its "Red" counterpart "1962-1966"). When they were finally reissued onto the new CD format in 1993 however, they caused consternation because of their extortionate full price.

So is this newly remastered 2010 mid-priced 2CD reissue on EMI/Apple 5099990674723 any better - the answer is an emphatic 'yes'.

PACKAGING:
The first thing you notice is that the clunky double jewel-case of the 1993 reissue has been dumped for a three-way foldout card sleeve. The centre and right flaps picture the photograph on the inner gatefold of the original vinyl double album (St. Pancras Old Church in London, 27 July 1969, The Beatles with the public looking through the railings - it's the same photo on the "Red" album). It also houses the two CDs - CD1 has the full Apple label (14 tracks, 51:15 minutes) and the 2nd CD has the half Apple logo (14 tracks, 48:43 minutes). The vinyl set is yet to come, the Digital Download versions are available from 25 Oct 2010 and there's also an issue that lumps both the Blue & Red reissues together as one package in late November.

The left flap houses a new 32-page booklet. The lyrics are intact from the inner sleeves of the original album issue, there's new liner notes by BILL FLANAGAN the MTV Executive and author of "Evening's Empire" (a book on Rock in the Sixties) and there's plenty of superb colour photos from the period - it's impressively done. Downsides - some complained that the 09/09/09 card digipak sleeves for The Beatles reissues were easy to smudge once out of the shrinkwrap and worse - the inner flaps easy to tear as you removed the disc. I'm afraid these are the same. I suppose I would have been naïve of us to think that EMI would actually listen to the complaints of 2009 about packaging, but they haven't - the need for these issues to look the same as the preceding ones has overridden all considerations... Having said that, I still think they look great - substantial even...

PLAYING TIMES:
Unlike the "Red" issue which could easily have fitted onto 1CD (and even included bonus tracks), as you can see from the playing times provided above, it would not have been possible with this set. Anyway - EMI would of course argue that a single CD issue of this most `iconic' of double albums would fundamentally alter the aesthetic of the original release. At least this time, this 2CD reissue is at mid price, so we're not being charged for the privilege of separation.

TRACK CHOICES:
The compilation itself is basically the A-sides of all their UK 7" singles releases between 1967 and 1970 in chronological release date order with a few key album tracks thrown in for good measure. Eagle-eye fans would therefore note that up to and including "Get Back" - ALL Beatles UK 7" singles for that period were issued only in MONO ("The Ballad Of John & Yoko" was their 1st STEREO single in the UK). So the tracks on the album should reflect that - the MONO single mixes. But EMI did nothing of the sort. They're all in STEREO (there's 4 MONO on the "Red" set) and i would argue that accuracy's loss is the listener's gain, because the STEREO versions used here are awesome.

SOUND:
Although the compilation is copyrighted to 2010 (released Monday 18 Oct 2010 in the UK and 19 Oct 2010 in the USA), the liner notes don't try to hide that these are the 2009 remasters by the same team who did the much-praised Beatles catalogue of 09/09/09. The sound quality is fantastic - breathtaking clarity on instruments - the piano and guitars on "Lady Madonna", the jet screeching in at the opening of "Back In The U.S.S.R", the brass on "All You Need Is Love", Billy Preston's superb keyboard work on "Let It Be", the wonderfully loose live feel of "Don't Let Me Down" (best B-side ever?) - and so on.

CONTENT:
But what impresses most is the actual listen itself. Even now, it's truly shocking to hear just how accomplished The Beatles became during this ludicrously productive period. And diversity of writers crept in too. There's the 4 Harrison gems "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Old Brown Shoe" and the magical double of "Something" and "Here Comes The Sun", while Ringo gets the witty "Octopus's Garden". Leaving the rest as Lennon-McCartney originals. And what an embarrassment of riches they are...

7" perfection comes twice - "Strawberry Fields Forever" b/w "Penny Lane" and arguably the greatest single ever released - "Hey Jude" b/w "Revolution" (melodious Paul on the A with rockin' blistering John on the B). Most bands would kill a close relative to get anywhere near this level of genius. And by the time you get to the ballads at the end of Disc 2 - "The Long And Winding Road" and "Across The Universe" - adjectives begin to fail you... Were The Beatles really 'this' good - the answer is yes - and always will be.

To sum up - the sound on these new reissues is fabulous; the packaging better than the 1993 versions and each is being sold at mid-price - available in most places for less than the price of a single new album. You can't help but think that millions of people globally will take one look at these beauties on a shelf somewhere and slap them straight into their shopping baskets. And rightly so...

I've loved re-hearing these classic Beatles songs in this beautiful sound quality - I really have - and despite some minor packaging quibbles - the 2010 version of the "Blue" album is wholeheartedly recommended.

You can get the Red one here:
http://juliocmail.blogspot.com/2008/04/beatles-red-album-1962-1966-1973.html

You can get the Blue one here:
http://juliocmail.blogspot.com/2010/10/thebeatles1967-1970remastered-2010.html


November 05, 2010

Candlestick Park - San Francisco - 08-29-1966 - The Last Beatles Concert


August 29, 1966 marked the date of the last show of Beatlemania. It was the beginning of a hot, wet and windy evening in a stadium. Candlestick Park was the venue for the Beatles' last appearance before a live audience. It was the end of the third and troubled American tour with the Beatles tired of hysteria and threats, since months before John Lennon dared to say that Beatles were more  popular than Christ.  American Conservatism muzzled them until the last show and John, Paul, George and Ringo took the stage for short 28 minutes of music knowing that this was the last of an era. Nobody knew what would be after that, but they were sick of airplanes, hotels, and wherever they went it was crazy. Not even Brian Espstein attended the last show.

Below are cover scans of a widely available bootleg CD of the concert.

 











by JPGRles

August 29 2010 marked the 44th anniversary of the last Beatles concert. EVER!

August 29 1966 saw the most famous pop / rock n roll band in history perform to 25,000 screaming fans at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. This was just over half capacity at 42,500 and whole sections of the park were unsold. Only a few years earlier and it would have been standing room only and unthinkable. WHY was this?
Here is a quote from George Harrison at the end of the last Beatles concert at Candlestick park which may give a clue.

“We’d done about 1,400 live shows and I certainly felt that was it…it was ridiculous , and it felt dangerous because everybody was out of hand and out of line. Even the cops were out of line…we’ve got to stop this…we’ve got to pack this in”.

Hindsight is a great thing

“Twenty-four thousand screaming fans couldn’t be wrong. But what they didn’t realize on that late August evening was that the Beatles didn’t want to be there, that the band couldn’t hear itself enough to sing on-key, and that this would be the last Beatles concert ever.”

The last Beatles concert only lasted for 33 minutes. There were technical problems and the Fab 4 could not even hear their own voices and consequently sang off key the whole time.

At this point only the iconic foursome and a few insiders knew this would be the last Beatles concert (maybe THEY didn’t even know the tag “EVER”)?


Site of the last Beatles Concert
Candlestick Park circa 1966 (Wikepedia)

Did You Know

  • With the lack of sales the promoters made a loss. The Beatles received 65% of the gross takings of the concert while a further 15% went to the City of San Francisco – Leaving only 20% for Tempo Productions who promoted the last Beatles concert.
  • The ticket machines could not process the oversized tickets so they needed to be processed by hand.
  • Paul McCartney asked Tony Barrow (Press officer) to record the performance and bootleg copies were made. One problem was the tape ran out, and the last song of the last Beatles Concert was not recorded in its entirety.
  • John strummed the intro guitar notes of “In My Life” just prior to leaving the stage.
  • The famous stadium which housed the last Beatles concert in 1966 was later renamed 3Com Park then Monster Park. However in 2008 it was formally renamed once again to Candlestick Park.
Their last performance however was years later on January 30 1969. It was the now famous concert on the rooftop of the abbey Road Studios where they performed songs from their albums Abbey Road and Let it Be Albums and is immortalized in their film “Let It Be
They just came to the place, screamed like crazy and had a good time. You have to remember we were only on for 30 minutes” Ringo Starr on Shea Stadium concert 1965

You can listen to the entire concert digitally remastered here:



Check out Last Beatles Concert at Candlestick Park Videos.

You can get it here: http://octaner.blogspot.com/2009/03/final-tour-disc-2.html


Source: http://whenthelastbeatlesgone.com/2010/09/last-beatles-concert/