The Beatles U.S. Albums box set - your impressions...

I voted "should have used the Capitol tapes" although I have just cracked and ordered "Yesterday and Today" for the unique mixes they could be bothered to put on it!

I will still keep my eye open for a reasonably priced US mono LP of Y&T though.

 

Negatives:
1. Didn't use original versions despite marketing them as "Original Albums"
2. 1987 remixes on 4 of the albums when 1965 mixes are "Apple approved."
3. Exploitation of "completest" nature of fanbase, knowing they will rebuy that which they largely just bought 4 years ago
4. Raking in the dough on the American album set while including a booklet decrying the American album set
5. Sending the actual aural replicas - The Capitol boxed sets - out of print instead of completing that series
6. At least 4 missing exclusive US mixes after advertising that all exclusive US mixes would be included
7. Some mono mastering hosed

Positives:
1. It's purty.

Update to #6 negative - WHOA. Are we missing a whole lot more unique mixes than first reported? More of a total fail than I thought!:
http://www.thebeatlesrarity.com/201...omparison-with-the-original-capitol-releases/

 

I picked "Love It"! Although I have the gripe with the choice to not use the Capitol masters, I do realize I have those already. But the ability to have the 2009 Mono sound available in a much more accessible way for casual fans to experience (if they only buy ONE of these in a shop, they get to hear how wonderful the Mono mixes really are!) is one of the big reasons I love this release.

Apart from that, the packaging is first rate and I recognize the effort to try to approximate the US experience from the 1960's. The worst case was simply repackaging the 2009 remasters in different running orders and called it a day, but there are differences in sound.

I love them, and really think these are up there with "purchases that are worth every penny".

 

I think the box set is fine, given the value and the added mono tracks.

Missing 4 unique US mixes is still unacceptable. The intent of providing those mixes is to please a crowd willing to listen... if we weren't willing to listen, then there's no purpose of even including them.

 

Yeah, I had some reservations about sound quality and presentation, but having lived with the box for a few days I've escalated from 'like...' To 'love it'

 

To me the set is exactly what I expected. No surprises (but of course thanks to this forum I had already much info before receiving it)

 

I voted "Like it with some reservations" I wasn't crazy about most of the stereo mixes on the Capitol volumes one and two. I might have grown up with them, but I'm not nostalgic about crappy sound. I also have a new appreciation for 2nd Album in mono as to me the Capitol was compressed and not very open-sounding.

One of my reservations is the exclusion of Rarities. MMT with the alternate Strawberry Fields but not any fake stereo would have been nice.

I'm happy overall and don't regret buying this though and will finish listening this weekend.

 

Can we still vote if we only bought a few individual discs?

 

I've only purchased individual titles, but enough to justify an opinion on the sound, and I did change my mind on these albums. I was originally really bummed at a missed opportunity to present the Capitol side of Beatles history in a proper way (which would be complete with those Capitol masters).

But, in playing them, I realize how good they sound, and in the end that's all that matters to me.

 

I only purchased 4 of them, and I'm voting on here. I think it's enough to give a fair sample of the product.

 

I picked up only the Y&T and AHDN discs. I do enjoy listening to them but I have to say that I kept finding myself smiling at the packaging of the Y&T disc with butcher cover and the included the trunk cover slick/sticker. For me, they got this right and it's really nice to see them keeping the history of that LP's cover alive.

-DLedin

 

I like it. I might love it, but I definitely really, really like it. I am having a ball listening to them all day with headphones at work. Can't wait to BLAST it on the stereo at home. I am in my late 20's, so I am not particularly attached to the U.S. Capitol mixes (and I have them on the other two Capitol Album sets!). I understand the desire to get them all out with the 2009 remasters. Imagine some random folks just downloading Stereo versions of "This Boy" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" casually on iTunes, only to get crappy sounding "duophonic" versions. That's not fair to them, and consistency is pretty important.

I am OK with the 1987 mixes being used for the tracks from the original Rubber Soul and Help!. Yeah I said it. Why? Because they did it on the regular releases too. Anytime you have to appeal to the large crowd, you have to be consistent. Now, should they have originally just used the 1965 mixes on the 2009 UK stereo CDs? OF COURSE. And if that had been the case, I would have said to use them here too. (They should have done both.)But since they didn't, it makes sense to me to use the '87 ones on this large-scale release. (Why are the '65 stereo mixes considered to be so inferior by Apple?)

That having been said, I am forever grateful to @slane for his research and posting all that he has on this box. They should have noted ON the box somehwere which songs are unique US-only mixes!

Here's what's great about this box:
1. Packaging - OUTSTANDING. It now really upsets me that we never got a proper release like this for the Stereo UK CDs. What the hell was that box? It pales in comparison to this and the dedicated mono UK box. (On that same note, why didn't the stereo LPs come with all-original inner sleeves and everything too?!?)
2. Sound quality is pretty ace through and through. No problems so far. A little limiting/compression here and there but s'ok with me!
3. I quite liked the essay in the booklet, as well as the technical information and

Here's what would have made this release better:
1. Rarities CD of some sort, with alt. mixes, promo mixes, remixes etc that have fallen through the cracks. (Penny Lane promo, I Am the Walrus, Strawberry Fields 70's stereo remix...etc)
2. The unique mixes they missed on here (Slane has that covered!)
Going out on a limb here....but 3. Since neither the 2009 Mono box/stereo box gave us mini-LP stereo versions of Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road or Let It Be, maybe it would have been nice to have them here, in stereo, in mini-LP versions? just a thought....
4. Live at the Hollywood Bowl!!!!

 

I love it - there I said it.

 

"Like it...with some reservations"


The only problem I have is the omission of the US stereo "Long Tall Sally", "I Call Your Name", "I'm Only Sleeping" and "Dr. Robert". Otherwise, excellent.

 

Thanks! I will vote when I receive my discs.

I am still confident saying at this point that Apple's decision to use the '87 mixes was a big mistake, and knowing that they did has sullied my excitement about the release.

 

Happy with the discs I got as the art was ahead of the Capitol Albums Boxes even though I didn't care for those '86 remixes and in some respects more enjoyable than the digipaks for the 2009 stereos some of which in hindsight I'd off put off buying for these for the selections as it's how I heard them.

 

Thank you for this thread, and thanks to the poster who provided the detail on which mixes were used (or not used).

Voted Don't Like It because I don't think it's just a "blatant cash grab" if it were done right. However, I really hate it, in truth, because it was done so wrong. But again, I don't hate it because it was a blatant cash grab. I wish they'd taken the lazy approach that suggests (let the Capitol masters roll).

 

I voted, "Like it...with some reservations" They could of tried harder to include all the Unique Mixes,
And they should of used the 65 Mixes from Help & Rubber Soul. And maybe a Rarities Cd, but that is
probably coming in the future. Still though The Box set is a lot of Fun.