Yesterday I received the stereo and mono remastered Beatles catalog from EMI. I have had limited time to listen, but I wanted to share my initial impressions of what I’ve heard so far.

I had to start with the mono version of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Pepper was my first Beatles album, given to me by my step-mother Aurora sometime in the late 1970s. It was vinyl, of course – and stereo. Now I listen to the 1987 stereo CD version. All of which means that I have never heard the mono mix, the one that producer George Martin, balance engineer Geoff Emerick and the Beatles themselves labored on. (The stereo version, as Emerick told me here, was an afterthought, mixed without the Beatles’ direct involvement).

Because my recording computer is in the shop, I couldn’t listen through my normal studio monitors and was forced to rely upon my garden-variety stereo. I was careful to place the speakers in an equilateral triangle with my head, to minimize phasing issues that might result from listening to mono recordings on two speakers.

At once, the good sergeant and his band burst into the room. Immediately I was struck by the new sounds only available on the mono version — different, seemingly louder roars from the crowd, Paul’s ad-libbed scatting on the fadeout of the title track, and, especially, the deliciously phase-y Lennon lead vocal on “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” made more ghostly thanks to ADT that isn’t present in the stereo version.

The sound itself was rich — the highs seemed higher than I remembered, but without harshness, and Paul’s bass sounded full and daring. I could easily picture Paul sitting on a stool in No. 2, carefully playing those amazing lines on his Rickenbacker, each nuance picked up by the C12 that Emerick had set up a few feet from the bass amp.

Then I turned to the stereo version – which, unlike the mono version, Allan Rouse’s Abbey Road team has treated to limiting to increase the overall volume and punch. I was a bit leary, I confess — I hoped the new engineers’ touch wouldn’t ruin what the original crew accomplished all those years ago.

I’m delighted to say that so far, I cannot detect any heavy-handed modernization in the remastered stereo version of Pepper. What I do hear:

* Yes, it’s slightly louder than either the mono or the 1987 CD release.

* The sound is even deeper, richer and crisper.

* I may be overly influenced by a lifetime of listening to music in stereo, but the songs just sound a little nicer with the tracks spread across the stereo field.

Compared with the 1987 version, the remastered stereo version of Pepper is clearly superior, based on my hour or so comparing them.

Just a few minutes of listening to other stereo versions have, so far, confirmed those impressions. Suddenly I hear detail I couldn’t hear on the 1987 versions, i.e. the distinct harmony part (from Lennon?) on the chorus of “Eleanor Rigby,” or the slight creek at the end of the final “E” chord on “A Day In The Life” that, Emerick has told me, came from Ringo shifting on the piano bench he shared with Paul.

All of which is to say: I really can’t wait to listen more, both to the mono and the stereo CDs, comparing and contrasting and, once again, getting lost in the greatest music of our time.

On September 9, digitally remastered versions of all The Beatles studio albums will be released. You can read UNCUT’s verdict of the remasters in full in this month’s issue – on sale Thursday August 27. But, in the meantime, here’s extracts from David Cavanagh’s review to whet your appetite…

The key word is clarity. Not loudness. Clarity. The voices and instruments are crystal clear, pure, human, natural (except, of course, when filtered through psychedelic effects) and stripped of several decades’ worth of detritus and dust. It’s as if we’ve been visiting an art gallery to gaze in wonder at a masterpiece all these years, and then suddenly an attendant comes along with a sponge and wipes the painting from top to bottom. The techniques of mastering have been controversial in recent years, with accusations (and proof, indeed) that music is being ‘brickwalled’: compressed to headache-inducing levels in order to give albums an ersatz loudness. Had these CDs come out in 1999 or 2000, as many of us were hollering for them to do, it’s likely they would now need remastering again.

It’s a weird thing to say, but Apple’s frustrating procrastination has turned out to be a lifesaver for these albums. Remastered by a small team of Abbey Road engineers over a four-year period, the CDs have not been brickwalled or over-compressed (unlike the 2000 compilation 1, which sounds unpleasantly ‘glassy’ in comparison), and nor do they even sound particularly loud (unless you turn them up). The two that have been restored to the point of miraculousness and beyond, The White Album and Abbey Road, are the ones I’d recommend first to people on limited budgets. Abbey Road’s Long Medley is simply a breathtaking musical tapestry. When it has to rock, it rocks. When it needs to be subtle (there is much more to the transition between “You Never Give Your Money” and “Sun King” than we previously thought), it has a warm, heavenly glow.

Of course, one could argue that any old rubbish would sound impressive on Abbey Road’s state-of-the-art, quintessentially expensive speakers. Perhaps we should all calm down a bit, chum. Will your so-called ‘clarity’ be detectable on a normal, high-street CD player, or on an iPod? It should, and it will. It’s not a question of surreptitious noise removal, or peak elimination, or making Magical Mystery Tour sound like Metallica (thank God). Think of it more as a spring-clean for the music and the mind. Changes in texture, atmosphere, the relationship of The Beatles’ voices to the microphone: all of these are evident and undeniable. As a result, almost every album comes as a shock. They haven’t had plastic surgery. They’ve taken their masks off, and we didn’t even know they were wearing one.

History rewritten? No – history written honestly, truthfully, transparently, exhilaratingly, with no omissions or obfuscations. The Beatles up-close and personal. With blisters on their fingers.

August 26, 2009

Dear SH Forum members,

I'd like to start by thanking the Gorts for posting this little note!

I have been following with interest the Beatles Re-master threads and felt it would be helpful to inform you about some of the topics you have been discussing and not resolving.

With regard to the tapes that were used for the original CD transfer and the 2009 re-masters. In both cases they were the original mono/stereo masters. The ¼" master tapes are not a second generation tape, but the original mix masters compiled to form the albums. The reason we transferred them a title at a time was simply to make sure that the tape machine heads and rollers were cleaned in between. This may have been partly obsessive as EMI tape 40 years on shows no signs of problems. Incidentally we transferred the mono tapes using a full track head. Also regarding this issue, we do not have EQ'd productions masters from which speculation has arisen that they may have been used for the 1987 release. When Harry Moss originally cut them he made extensive notes and when new cuts were required he used the original master tape and replicated what he had done before. The practice of making production masters did not occur at Abbey Road until much later. Besides which any engineer about to embark on a re-mastering a project would ignore the oft used expression seen on an original master tape DO NOT USE, SEE PRODUCTION MASTER as indeed Steve Hoffman himself has stated, you always want to go back to the original source.

With regard to cross fades, this is the only time the tape is second generation. Where this occurs (with the mono/stereo mixes) the cross fade is made with two playback machines, one with the outgoing title and one with the incoming, a third machine is used to record the cross fade. Once that has been created the master is assembled using the original mix masters and cutting in only that which is required for the cross fade itself, thereby retaining as much of the original as possible. (Lukpac is right).

Help and Rubber Soul, what did we use? We used George Martin's 1986 digital U-matic versions and yes the press release did state 'transferred from the original analogue master tapes'. However we are all human and that was overlooked, but not within the CD booklets where this is clearly indicated. Why were they used for the stereo box set and not the original 60's versions? This was not the mastering team's decision; we're not that important (sarcasm). This was made higher up than us, however the team along with Mike Heatley can at least take credit for proposing that the originals should be released as well, which Jeff Jones readily agreed with. Finally George Martin re-mixed these two albums back then at his own studio AIR. I might have to hold my hands up to making a mistake here as I think I have suggested they were mixed in 86, they were actually created in February 1987, sorry. In response to Ron's statement that "I would never say that Jeff Jones ordered the original masters to be redone", you're right I wouldn't, because he didn't.

Now I would like if you don't mind to take a moment of your time to defend myself. I fully recognise and appreciate Allan Kozinn's expertise particularly with regard to The Beatles. However Allan, your interpretation towards my manner during the playback we did in New York is not accurate, although I recognise that this is more my fault than yours. I was asked what track I had enjoyed working on most. Well as has been pointed out by Brainwashed I didn't actually work on them as an engineer and put on the spot I wonder whether many could answer that question off the top of their head, I couldn't. As to which track I would never like to hear again and my reply straight faced was "all of them" well that remark is simply explained - irony, it was meant to be a light hearted riposte. The same thing applies to being burnt out, I have been working on The Beatles material for many years now and if I was going to be burnt out it would have occurred long before now. I happen to love working with their music and fully recognise the lucky and enviable position I'm in, as indeed do all of the team. Incidentally in an earlier interview (which was actually posted before the press embargo), It was suggested I didn't know which album Eleanor Rigby is on, I DO and I'm also well aware of the double track issue that occurs, unfortunately my misplaced humour fell flat on its face yet again.

One last point whilst I'm discussing my personality. Yes Ron, I am actually a nice guy (supposedly you have met me so you must be right - irony!), but I'm afraid I can't be more like the "affable Giles Martin" much as I would like to have his good looks and his public speaking expertise. I and the team were unexpectedly given the task of talking about the remasters just a short time before we started the interview process and in the last two months we have been to LA, New York and Tokyo and completed over four weeks doing the same here at the studios for Europe, in addition to phone, email and TV interviews, in all we have now spoken to in excess of 400 people. None of us had experienced this before or likely to again and I have to say it was quite nerve racking at times. Whilst I accept whole heartedly that we are probably not the best at it, we have always answered questions truthfully and openly about the work we have done. Anyway enough of me/us.

As an aside regarding two names that have cropped up recently, Mike Jarratt is the brother of Jeff Jarratt, although their paths did not cross at the studios, by the time Mike had started here Jeff was working at EMI as a house producer.

I apologise for this lengthy post but I hope I may have gone a little way towards clearing up some of your concerns.

Many thanks,

Allan

so, the million dollar question is "do you get the stereo or mono box?"

yeah

I feel like I read somewhere that the little dvd docs that come with each album are limited edition. Does anyone know if this is true. I'd prefer to wait a few months and pick up the set on sale, but at the same time I want those dvds.