The Beatles Remasters: Yellow Submarine

Here's how it all happened:

Original Stereo LP: all tracks true stereo except "Northern Song" (fake stereo made from original mono mixdown tape)

Original Mono LP: all tracks folded down from stereo, including "Northern song" (mono fold down from fake stereo made from original mono mixdown tape!)

1987 CD: same as Original Stereo LP

2009 Stereo Remaster: same as Original Stereo LP except "Northern Song" now taken directly from original mono mixdown tape

2009 Mono Masters: Contains unreleased vintage mono mixes of "Hey Bulldog", "All Together Now" and "It's All Too Much", as well as the mono mix of "Northern Song" (same as the 2009 Stereo Remaster, but at a quieter volume)

 

And the fold-down took place during the cutting of the "mono" lacquers for that LP (since a mono playback machine was unavailable during the mastering session), so no tape generational loss occurred.

 

For some reason, I got confused when you said soundtrack. Thinking you meant the 1999 disc. Forgetting that the original was a soundtrack itself. Thanks for the help.

 

Ok, thanks to each of you.

 

Isn't the new one called "songtrack" instead of soundtrack? Either way, it can certainly be confusing.

 

I finally listened to the stereo remaster of Yellow Submarine. I couldn't even finish listening to the original stereo mix of "It's All Too Much" -- I have been listening to the 1999 remixes for a decade now, and my preference for that remix is so great that I'm not even going to bother ripping the entire YS remaster into my computer. There are merits to the original mixes of Bulldog and All Together Now. IMHO, as an album Yellow Submarine is the Beatles' equivalent of Cousin Oliver.

I'm glad that they included the real mono mixes of the four unique YS songs on the Mono Masters CD, because those all sound great.

 

Yes. And as I stated a few times, the stereo remaster includes the real mono mix of "Only A Northern Song" instead of the fake stereo version.

"Only A Northern Song" was recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions but did not make the completed album.

 

We'd Don't Live In A...

Wow, a Beatles Remasters thread with only two pages and 33 post... Seems this one really is the Black Sheep of the family...

 

Third base!!

 

Perhaps "Northern Song" would have been a better choice for Pepper instead of "Within You Without You"...

 

Harrison was already short-changed! Why not swap it out for Day in the Life or Mr. Kite!?

 

Told ya! YSS is such a sonic improvement over the original mixes that hardly anyone is forking over for the remaster of the original YS album.

Has anyone at all listened to George Martin's incidental instrumentals on the last half? I'm guessing the answer is "no!"...

 

I actually just finished doing this perhaps for the first time since college (when I used to use side 2 as a bedtime lullaby. I'm 40 now). I really enjoyed it, and it brought back nice memories and orchestra sounded wonderful on this disc. More realistic and present than I ever remember it sounding.

 

Actually, I listened to the YSS last night, and really didn't like what they had done to the YS tracks, especially George's two. Dunno what it was but I found them really irritating to listen to.

 

What?! Before replacing a diamond for silver nugget, consider swapping out the termite-gutted chunk of 2" x 4" ( which is Good Morning )

 

My initial reaction was to make the sign of a cross and shout "No!" when I read this. But as far as lyrics are concerned, you might have a good point. "If you're listening late at night, you may think the band are not quite right..."

It would, perhaps, have kept the Pepper/LHCB concept going into side 2. Might have worked quite nicely.

That said, WYWY is crucial to the album in a more spiritual, otherworldly sense.

 

Well as Pepper is only 13 tracks another Harrisong would have been good to balance it out.


However, I thought Only a Northern song was written at the last minute for Yellow Submarine with the London Symphony Orchestra waiting in the wings.

 

I have the stereo remaster - sounds fantastic, but what are the mix differences of "Yellow Submarine" (the song) compared to the "Revolver" version.

And what is the difference between "All You Need is Love" and the track on the stereo remaster of "Magical Mystery Tour"?

This is probably a very basic question but I realized I never compared or knew the answer!

Jeff

 

I find the 1987 "Hey Bulldog" to sound very shrill when compared to the 2009 version.

 

I did mention this in one of these threads. The versions on Yellow Submarine are ever so quieter (nothing you'd ever notice, tis like 0.1dB). Not sure if the EQs are different though.

 

George Martin felt Northern song was too . . . I'm trying to remember the term he used, basically depressing and downbeat, and he told George it wasn't going to make the album and to come up with something else. George came up with Within You Without You - interestingly enough just as downbeat as Northern Song but George was intrigued by the Indian instruments and Western orchestration combination.

I wish they had included the other song for the YS mono EP, the mono mix of Across the Universe in the mono Past Masters CD!! When are we going to get to hear that?

 

I almost always listen to my own CD of Pepper's with "Northern Song" between "Getting Better" and "Fixing a Hole", and SFF/Penny Lane between side 1 and 2 of the album.

 

Never heard this album before. Now spinning the 2009 remaster and it sounds great!

 

The Revolver and YS versions of the title track seem to run at different speeds.

 

Great question Jeff. I would also like to know as well.