The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's 50th Anniversary (Content, Sound Quality & Discussion Thread Only!)

I think It's your OPPO. Both my old 93 and my current 103 do that on certain discs.

Hit the back arrow to restart the song and you won't find anything missing.

 

By the way the remix sounds amazing played on a portable Bluetooth speaker! It's meant for that!

 

How long is the Making Of documentary?

 

More likely it's the usual thing of not being able to find the particular master tape needed. They could have at least bothered to clean it up a bit, like with the Love Me Do needle drop for the anniversary of that. Or looked for a better vinyl source copy from the collector community.

 

And that just concerned the mono mix.

 

If it has more low end than that is what you are probably seeing. Low end takes up MUCH more of the sound spectrum.

 

I don't think of tape hiss as a technical limitation, but a frame of the original recording the way Mona Lisa sits in a frame or movies are made up of tape grain if you look closely enough. To accurately hear the music, you can't separate it from the analog medium it was recorded upon. At least not without excising some of its soul. I don't think the end result is bad by any stretch, but it could be better. Perhaps much better.

 

So is the rumor true regarding Only A Northern Song being a hidden track on Disc 6??

 

Well, in my world that won't be the case.

I may not listen to the things from the six CD set all the time, but I now have them available to listen to them whenever I want.

Before yesterday, I didn't have that option because many of the tracks weren't available.

I don't listen to the Anthology tracks all the time either, but I'm glad to have that material at my fingertips, so when the mood strikes me I can give the things a listen.

 

It also has more high-end as well, though. It's possible the low end is causing it. I don't think the EQ difference should be affecting the peaks to the degree I'm seeing, but I'll do an EQ match and see.

 

Sounds like i will like this transfer more actually. The 2009 mono cd was always a bit harsh in the mids to me.

 

no

 

It might be the best sounding song on the original (mono) album as well.

 

Only the 5th!!!!!

 

One of the things I like about the original mix, though, is that the bass is extremely articulate, and I could tune my speaker placement with the walking bass parts in Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Too much bass too deep can obscure that articulation, or the astonishing melodicism of Paul's playing. It's his best on record, IMO. Well, that and Something on Abbey Road. It's probably partly about my subjective taste in bass levels, too. I like it heavy for electronic drones, organ and such, but usually a bit lighter for intricate and rhythmic music like Pepper.

 

I think he's referring to the compression applied to the remix, limiting, etc.

 

Did that and the first second is still cut off. It's a BDP-95 so it could be an Oppo-specific issue. I'll email Oppo CS.

 

The one DR on database is from England and a FLAC download. Where is that available?

 

I will definitely try to review the vinyl (or at least pick it up any way.) However, since I don't have a good quality vinyl player myself (shame on me) I will have to commission a needledrop of it (unless you WANT me to possibly irreparably damage my record on a cheap Crosley). That's a while away, but yes I will definitely pick the LP up.

Oh, and thank you for the kind words from yourself and others. I must say that I was a bit worried when I saw the monster that I had created, but it seems that people enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. I will definitely make more reviews like this for other future deluxe editions that I am interested in if people are willing (and when life doesn't get in the way, naturally) but I have those outtakes to listen to first.

 

I enjoyed the remix up until "A Day in the Life". The orchestra build ups seemed like a letdown, I wanted more. I was reminded of Nigel in Spinal Tap talking about his amps being able to go up to 11. This album had been blasting out at '10' the past half hour, and at the end, when it needs that extra push to take it over the top, where could it go from there? Nowhere.

 

Probably Qobuz

 

Yep, they all wore their correct pair of Pepper shoes for the cover shoot :

 

And who, better than Paul, can do a 4-beat countdown?

ONE-TWO-THREE-FOUR!........

You just know something good will follow, and he knows it too.

 

And I'd argue not dealing with unnecessary tape hiss is like leaving a layer of dirt on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I'd much rather see it restored to appreciate it in all its full beauty.

I highly doubt the Beatles wanted to have "tape hiss" as part of their creation...it was just a consequence of the technical limitations of the age. If it can be fixed properly (and it absolutely can be), then why not do so?

But hey, to each his own. If you want hiss and "authenticity" (whatever that really means), you can keep the old versions.

 

Here are my thoughts, for whatever they're worth...

Background: child of 1978. Grew up on my parents' LPs of the Red and Blue albums. Came to intimately know the "Sgt. Pepper album" in stereo, first on cassette and then on the 1987 CD. Read for years about the different mono mix, but never got to hear it until I bought the 2009 mono box set.

Yesterday, I excitedly opened the cardboard box from Amazon, and took my time appreciating the Super Deluxe edition's packaging...the lenticular cover...the reproduction EMITAPE box...I did a double take when I opened that and thought an LP had also been tucked in. That was a brilliant choice; preserves the original presentation of the artwork beautifully. Then I packed everything back up, watched a movie and went to bed - I wanted to rest my ears and give it a listen fresh in the morning.

This morning, I loaded the stereo remix into my stereo, sat on the floor against my couch, centered between the speakers, hit Play, and closed my eyes.

This mix is different, and of course it is; what would be the point of it wasn't? It's also new, which means it's competing against my 30 years of familiarity with the 1967 stereo mix, and 8 years' familiarity with the mono mix. To come to a full appreciation of it is going to require lots more time with it. But it's solid.

I don't hear a badly mastered mix. I hear a fairly reserved mastering of a modern mix. I hear thickness... density... I feel like this helps achieve Giles' intent of "a stereo version of the mono mix". Where nuance in the mono mix was achieved through levels (since it's all got the same placement), it seems here like nuance is achieved through placement in the stereo image. Things with the greatest focus are toward the center, and the sides are used for depth. This is certainly different than the original stereo mix, where placement was often a byproduct of the recording/bouncing process (when you've only got 4 tracks in the end, there's only so many ways you can place things). But it's not at all bad. I hear lots of detail, and things feel very cohesive (which is something you couldn't always say when comparing the original stereo mix to the mono mix). Most of all, I hear wonderful music.

There are little details I was curious how they'd handle, like the audience sound in the crossfade between "Sgt. Pepper" and "With A Little Help From My Friends", whether the intro to the Reprise would have the mono's extra beats or the sound of the audience tape revving up... And I noticed lots of other things: I was a bit disappointed they didn't mix out the stray hum before Ringo's last line in "With A Little Help". The stereo breadth of "Good Morning, Good Morning"'s intro was initially quite jarring after the nearly mono chicken cluck, but then I thought about it and realized that was exactly the point. "Within You Without You" and "She's Leaving Home" are both gorgeous. The intimacy of clearly hearing the creaks while "A Day On The Life"'s fimal chord decays.

And then there are the Sessions discs, which are so illuminating. It's fascinating hearing these songs start out with such skeletal arrangements, and realizing the incredible skillfullness of performance so that all the right pieces were there for them to build the tracks upon. I'm replaying George coaching the musicians through "Within You Without You" and marveling at his clarity of vision.

And I have yet to dig into the book or the video content. But I'm already delighted. This package gives a greater insight into The Beatles' creative process through the sessions discs (and GROWTH! It's easy to forget this is less than 4 years after "I Want To Hold Your Hand")...and even if you don't really dig the new mix, it still definitely lends a new perspective to familiar material. And that's exactly what I hope for out of a special anniversary set for a milestone album.