Beatles question

[pmckeealaska]

I was wondering if anyone could answer a nagging question I have. Given the fact that the Beatles were one of the greatest, if not the greatest rock bands in history, and given the fact that every time they release anything by this band it sells like hotcakes, why hasnt capitol records got off its ass and at least remastered all of their albums? All of the Cd's are from circa early 90's or late 80's and frankly, they sound like crap. I would really love to seem them out on a high-rez format, but I would settle for just good sounding regular cd's. Any thoughts??

[hoosier21]

Michael Jackson owns the rights to most of that catalog, maybe for some reason he isn't letting them???

[schwarcw]

I heard on the radio this week that John Lennon's estate earned $22M last year, making him the third highest earning dead celebrity behind Elvis and Charles Schultz. A lot of cash for Yoko to feed her head!

[shack]

As I understand there are various issues between Capitol and Apple with Apple being the major roadblock. I have heard it is something about not being able to "alter" the original works and that remastering falls in that category. Lots of legal issues.


Michael Jackson owns 50% of the Publishing rights to a large part of the catalog....however that could soon change. Sony has an equal stake in the catalog along with Jackson as they are now partners. As I understand, Jackson's remaining interest has been pledged to Sony as collateral for a huge loan. Since it has been widely reported that Jackson is techinically bankrupt (liabilities > assets), Sony may soon own the entire collection. McCartney still owns the rights to several of the songs such as "Love Me Do", "Please Please Me", "P.S. I Love You", and "Ask Me Why". George Harrison's estate owns the rights of several of the songs also ("While My Guitar Gently Weaps" for one).

[George Grand]

The only nagging questions I have regarding the Beatles would be........

John Lennon could've hung out or hooked up with an awful lot of women on this planet. That butt ugly, mad screamer Yoko must've had some really bad dirt on that boy. So my three part question is....How bad was John Lennon's eyesight, could he hear worth a damn, and didn't he have any REAL GOOD FRIENDS who would've tormented the shit out of him for the rest of his life with questions like, "You SLEPT with that?" My friends would have and the very thought of it would've kept me at least a football field away from her.

George Grand (of the Jersey Grands)

[RuSsMaN]

Shrooms man, shrooms.

[TroyD]

Zero might have a little insight but Yoko, even then I think was past puberty so, maybe not.

BDT

[Micah Cohen]

Actually, I think many if not most of The Beatles' catalog has been remastered on CD. Give me a day to check on it, but I think this is the case.

Anyhow, whatchoo want with The Beatles, man? After Rubber Soul, it's all so boring, isn't it? :D

MC

[schwarcw]

I'm with George, what was John thinking???

Carl

[Roy Munson]

The only nagging questions I have regarding the Beatles would be........

John Lennon could've hung out or hooked up with an awful lot of women on this planet. That butt ugly, mad screamer Yoko must've had some really bad dirt on that boy. So my three part question is....How bad was John Lennon's eyesight, could he hear worth a damn, and didn't he have any REAL GOOD FRIENDS who would've tormented the shit out of him for the rest of his life with questions like, "You SLEPT with that?" My friends would have and the very thought of it would've kept me at least a football field away from her.

George Grand (of the Jersey Grands)

The same could be said of Paul and Linda, maybe more so in Pauls case as he was the pretty boy that every girl wanted and Linda got! Go figure!

[danger boy]

Shrooms man, shrooms. AND LSD :eek:

[danger boy]

Beatle spouses aside...

It still would be nice to have all the Beatles albums remastered once and for all. by say.... Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs. they are about the only people i'd trust to do it up right.

[Danny Tse]

Whatever Michael Jackson owns/owned, he only had an interest in the publishing rights of the songs. The actual sound recordings of the Beatles are still own by EMI, but it has to get permission from the Beatles/Apple before anything can get done (i.e. remastering, releases on SACD, etc....).

Btw, here's an interesting article on whether Paul McCartney will buy back the rights from Michael Jackson

http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/mccartney%20wont%20buy%20beatle%20rights

[reeltrouble1]

Yea, well, never ever underestimate the power and abilities of a snapper to mix a man up.

RT1

[Micah Cohen]

My sources tell me that NO, with one exception, none of The Beatles's catalog has been "remastered."

"Let It Be" was "remastered" and renamed "Let It Be... Naked," wherein the "naked" refers to the new version removing all the Phil Spector post-production additions of orchestral stuff. But a lot of what Spector did was GREAT, excepting only the choir he added to "The Long And Winding Road." But weirdly enough the non-choir version on this new version has a different take than the original. So, they didn't just take away the choir but put on something not original. ("I happen to have the original sans choir, and not as a bootleg, but by the officially released disc set, 'Anthology,'" says my source, "so I have no idea at all what possessed them not to use that.")

The other thing that destoryed the vitality of the original album in this new "Naked" version is that it takes away all the little in-studio side comments, almost all by Lennon, which are funny and barbed and sardonic. The remastered sound is great, but because of these major changes, this new version is useless.

The only other "remaster" was of the soundtrack to "Yellow Submarine," which is hardly essential. The controversy about that new version, however, is that whoever made the remaster took the original songs, which were in "stereo" but tracked in the old fashioned 60s way (where certain instruments and vocals get channelled to one speaker or the other exclusively), and what the remastering people did is rechannel everything so that all the instruments and vocals are coming out of both speakers. "This ruins a lot of subtlety of the original recordings," says my Beatles source, so again, even though the remastered sound is great, this "new" version is useless.

Oh well.

MC

[TroyD]

Agreed on LIB...Naked. The sound is fantastic but, I dunno, I just don't care for it.

I'm going to go on record as saying that Sgt Pepper is one of the most overrated albums of all time.

BDT

[heiney9]

Agreed on LIB...Naked. The sound is fantastic but, I dunno, I just don't care for it.

I'm going to go on record as saying that Sgt Pepper is one of the most overrated albums of all time.

BDT

I'd agree that Sgt. Pepper is overrated (not the most, however). For it's time and several years after it was a pinnacle of concept, production, sound and cover art, but I'd hardly rate it #1 of all time as Rolling Stone did.

IMO, they need to get the re-mastering done while George Martin is still alive. He's most responsible for their ground-breaking studio sound for the time. It would be a shame if he wasn't involved with a grand re-master project. He and Paul and Ringo need to get together and get it done.

H9

[shack]

I actually prefer "Let It Be...Naked". I didn't think I would when I bought it (can't top the original...right?), but I like the fact that the music is "cleaned up".

[pmckeealaska]

I think the remastered Yellow Submarine is excellent. The vocals are much more forward and clear, and I heard details I have never heard before. As for Let it Be Naked, I could do without it and have not purchased it. The only album by the band I dont own (in that version at least). The version of Dont Let Me Down that they put on there is a real pisser. I wish they would have just put the single version on the album (from Past Masters Vol. 2).

As for Sgt. Pepper, I dont know if people would think it is so overrated if it had not been hyped so much much over the years. But come on though guys, with songs like the title track, With a Little Help From My Friends, A Day in the Life, Getting Better.........there is hardly a weak song on the album. My personal favorite is Abbey Road, but thats just one mans taste. I still say, when compared to other bands album for album, they are the greatest rock band in history. At least they broke up before they started releasing real stinkers like the Rolling Stones have done over th years. I cant wait till the remasters come out. I have everything they ever released, but I would buy them all over again if it meant better quality.

[shack]

Sgt. Pepper is fine....BUT...still well down on my list of Beatles albums...

In order....

1) The Beatles (White Album)
2) Abbey Road
3) Magical Mystery Tour
4) Let It Be...Naked
5) Revolver
6) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Tie 7) All the rest....

[pmckeealaska]

Wow...I definately would not have rated Magical Mystery Tour that high. My list, in order of greatness....

1. Abbey Road
2. Rubber Soul
3. Revolver
4. The White Album
5. Sgt. Peppers
6. Let it Be]

I think their weakest would be Yellow Submarine. Half of the album is George Martin orchestration........they really phoned that one in....

[ND13]

Rubber Soul
Abbey Road
Revolver
White Album
Let It Be
Sgt. Pepper's
then all the rest.

Just how I see things :)

[shack]

Wow...I definately would not have rated Magical Mystery Tour that high.
The VERY FIRST LP I ever purchased (and still own). Not just nostalgia though...I really like this album.

[Roy Munson]

I think the reason some think that Sgt Pepper was over rated is that it, imo, hasn't held up as well as other albums over time. At the time of release Sgt Pepper was a great album and at that time was considered the Beatles best effort up to that point. Looking back almost 40 years it is easy to say that Sgt Pepper wasn't that great but one must take into consideration the times in which it was released! 1967 was an incredible year for rock music!

My favorite Beatles albums in no particular order are:

Abbey Road
Sgt. Pepper
Rubber Soul
Revolver

Honorable mention goes out to their early efforts because of the unbelievable energy and excitement the band had along with the great songs!

To me the Beatles are the greatest rock band of all time not only for the great songs but for saving and changing the course of rock back to its roots that rock had lost several years prior to the Beatles!!! Rock had lost its edge and was becoming to---for the lack of a better word sweet. The Beatles changed that!

[ND13]

IMO, the best decade of music was from 1965-1974. that's was when it became alright to push the envelope, as far as language, sexual topics, drugs, etc, in music. I really don't think any other ten year span did as much for rock music than those years. And the Beatles were at the forefront of it, along with groups like LZ, Cream, Allman Bros, PF, Deep Purple, and so on and so on.

Am I alone in this belief?

[heiney9]

IMO, the best decade of music was from 1965-1974. that's was when it became alright to push the envelope, as far as language, sexual topics, drugs, etc, in music. I really don't think any other ten year span did as much for rock music than those years. And the Beatles were at the forefront of it, along with groups like LZ, Cream, Allman Bros, PF, Deep Purple, and so on and so on.

Am I alone in this belief?

Right on the money....although I'd extend it a bit thru maybe '79. But much beyond that the punk movement didn't do anything for me at the time, except maybe the outrageousness of the Sex Pistols. But that wasn't really music it was all show. Big hair metal and power ballads were only good for getting chicks to hang-out with you in high school. There were exceptions as there were some good rock bands thru the 80's (mostly been there, done that types). In the mid-80's I jumped on the New Wave/Alternative/Synth-Pop genre of music and rode that out until around 1990 and then reverted back to the classic stuff of 65-79. I still enjoy some of thise 'electronic' bands of the 80's but don't listen too often beyond getting nostalgic.

H9

[reeltrouble1]

I seem to recall Disco creeping in around 74-75, kinda down hill after that for rock. Although are many notable tunes after that. First Beatles tune I really remember diggin alot was Twist and Shout that was what 64?

RT1

[heiney9]

I seem to recall Disco creeping in around 74-75, kinda down hill after that for rock. Although are many notable tunes after that. First Beatles tune I really remember diggin alot was Twist and Shout that was what 64?

RT1

Oh yeah can't forgot about disco :( . My first Beatles recollection was Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven. My old Pancho Gonzales wooden tennis racket was a great mock guitar.

[bikezappa]

Check out Zappa's parody, We're Only In It For The Money, of hte Beatles MMT. I still laugh at the songs today, "Harry you're a beast", but I have gray pony tail also.

Listen to it and find out "What's The Ugliest Part of Your Body?"

There may be a prize.

[pmckeealaska]

I have that Zappa album and I'm pretty sure its a parody of Sgt. Peppers. They have the same color scheme with the lyrics printed on the back, etc. They even mock some of the cut outs you used to be able to get on the original pressing of the Beatles album. Instead of a badge, they have a nipple, etc. Great stuff. I also believe Eric Clapton makes a guest appearance on the album. Hilarious Mothers album.....Zappa was a genius.

[dragon1952]

I'll play.....

1. Rubber Soul
2. Revolver
3. The White Album
4. Sgt. Peppers
5. Help
6. Magical Mystery Tour
7. Abbey Road

All the rest........