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

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Hawkman, Jan 24, 2014.

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  1. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    I voted the "don't like it they should have...." having said that, it's a cool thing to have available anyway (I bought "Yesterday"...and Today because I've always loved that album) and the music is great
     
  2. SixtiesGuy

    SixtiesGuy Ministry of Love

    The inclusion of the trunk cover sticker is one of the highlights of the set. When I showed it to my wife (a more casual fan than I) she thought it was great!
     
  3. Hard Panner

    Hard Panner Baroque Popsike & Fuzz

    I voted - Don't like it...they should have used the original 60's Capitol master tapes.

    That's how I have felt after first hearing the news about the Capitol tapes not being used, and, that is still how I feel. A friend of mine bought this box set and we had a listening session last night - skipping around different tracks. While it is a pretty package, and there are some unique US mixes on it (last count was it 16?), I didn't see it being worth the money or shelf space. Grateful to fellow forum members for telling me what was actually known about this box set before I had put in an order - which I was ready to do. Now, if Apple/Universal came out with a 2 CD set with these unique US mixes - and include the ones they missed, and include the unique mixes from MMT, I'd be all in for that (as long as they were indeed the correct mixes).
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2014
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  4. JimSpark

    JimSpark I haven't got a title

    I just received my box set this afternoon, and just opened it up about an hour ago. I have not listened to one note of it yet, but...this LOOKS beautiful.

    I'm an American born in August 1969, just a few days before the Woodstock Festival, and while the Beatles were recording Abbey Road. Unlike many of you who post in these threads, I had no first-hand experience from my childhood with these Capitol or UA albums in their original configurations. I do recall hearing their bigger hits like "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You," "A Hard Day's Night," and "Ticket To Ride" as a kid, and thought they sounded great, but my parents weren't fans so I only heard the songs sparingly. I truly became a Beatles fan in 1986, listened to as much as I could, and then purchased all of the original '87 CDs by the end of 1988.

    Well today, after tearing open the cellophane covering the outer box, then sliding out the inner box, and opening up the first few CDs, it became clear to me this was prepared by folks who must really care about presenting something that looks very special. I opened the clear plastic covers of the 1st 3 CDs, took out the replica paper sleeves, and the CD which was automatically contained in its own separate clear plastic sleeve. All pieces seemed to be in great condition, and THEY JUST LOOK SO DAMN GOOD. It surprised me that each CD would have so many individual pieces: 1) the cardboard mini-LP case; 2) the re-sealable plastic cover surrounding the mini-LP case; and within the cardboard: 3) the paper replica sleeve; 4) the plastic protective sleeve over the CD; and 5) the CD.

    So far, it LOOKS great. I can't wait to listen to a couple of these CDs tonight, and by either Saturday or Sunday, I'll post a review of how I think they SOUND.

    Happy Beatles Time, Everybody!!! ;) :cool: :thumbsup:
    :cheers:
    :pineapple:
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2014
  5. Ed Hughes

    Ed Hughes Senior Member

    Location:
    phila.pa.
    I voted like it with reservations. I have the Capitol boxes and "unofficial" copies of Y&T and Hey Jude I guess to me the biggest mistake was using the 87 remixes.
    But I have the mono box to fix that. A beautiful package too.:righton:
     
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  6. Duophonic

    Duophonic Beatles

    Location:
    BEATLES LOVE SONGS
    You gotta get the obi too!
     
  7. Mister Charlie

    Mister Charlie "Music Is The Doctor Of My Soul " - Doobie Bros.

    Location:
    Aromas, CA USA
    I listened to the mono and the stereo Y&T as well as stereo AHDN.

    Are things sounding exactly the way they should? No, as one so familiar with nearly every note and sound on the originals ommisions and changes can glare. If I am trying to recreate the entire 'feel' of having the cds be the way I always heard the records to be at the time, again, in many respects it is not there.

    BUT...listening to it againin the 'right' (heh) order and some of the unique mixes and the clear sound...I like what I hear.

    It's fun...It's the Beatles!
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2014
  8. Peachy

    Peachy Forum Resident

    OK!
     
  9. Peachy

    Peachy Forum Resident

    See the box. The box is pretty. See the discs. The discs are pretty. I buy into the decision to use the mixes they did. I am loving the set, and the running order of the sons as I remember them. I wish the sound was like this back in the 60's when I bought the LP's
     
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  10. lpfreak1170

    lpfreak1170 Senior Member

    Location:
    Marion, AR
    Like it...with some reservations

    The biggest negative for me is the use of the '87 remixes...don't like them at all. I'm not too bothered about them not using all the original Capitol tapes...of course it helps that I have mono and stereo original vinyl and the 2 Capitol boxes for those.

    What it really comes down to for me, it's about the box containing some of the absolute greatest music the world will ever know.
     
    JimC likes this.
  11. Baba Oh Really

    Baba Oh Really Certified "Forum Favorite"

    Location:
    mid west, USA
    OK guys... I have a question. Is this set still worth getting and/or essential if you have both of the "The Capitol Albums" CD box sets VOL 1 & 2 from years ago???

    I appreciate any and all responses, thank you!!
     
  12. Regine Hunter

    Regine Hunter Active Member

    Having a blast listening to some of the albums now! Currently on Beatles VI.

    Inaccuracies aside, these really do sound great.
     
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  13. Troystar

    Troystar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Victoria BC Canada
    I only bought Meet The Beatles and Yesterday & Today. I almost didn't buy them after reading this thread but I don't own the Capitol Vol 1 or 2 set so I wanted to finally hear them in Mono to compare. It was a bit jarring at first but I like them. I wish there was more to the packaging when buying separate albums, I was not expecting just a plastic bag and a simple cardboard sleeve, but I was not about to pay $159 for the full set which is what HMV wanted. Not sure I'm convinced that Mono is better it sounds so muffled, I really don't like the mono version of Nowhere Man. Was going to buy Hey Jude but decided it wasn't worth it since there is no Mono. at $14.99 not sure I'll get any more.

    When I got to the store there wasn't a Beatles album in site, I asked the clerk and she had to go get a box from the back, with all the albums, and bring it to me. It was released on Tuesday here in Canada but today (Friday) HMV still had not put them out????
     
  14. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

    I bought the Second Album and Yesterday and Today. I have listened to both of them and will also soon get AHDN.

    Some of the recordings, especially on Yesterday and Today, sound directly recorded from an original source. Very clear sounding with little distortion, hiss, or a feeling of being separated from the sound. Good compression. And some of the songs have very good stereo separation and even on Yesterday and Today, have that great aspect of the voices on one side, for the most part, and the instruments on the other. Or at least good clear separation of the various instruments and voices.

    I love to hear the different parts of a song and how they mix together, while hearing the various sounds separately as well. Maybe some brains work differently...but I can process and appreciate sound and music better this way. When the mix is done the right way, which is clearly the case with the Beatles and with these two albums.

    I am wondering, though, if the voices, especially John's in the stereo I'm Only Sleeping and in some other songs, have been extra-electronically treated and processed particularly for this 2014 offering. Given the Modern Treatment so omnipresent in the Pop Industry the last five to ten years. I question if NO changes have been made to the songs, even if 2009 mixes were used. As A Starting Point the 2009 mixes were used... but have they then Altered and Added from the Starting Point of the 2009 mixes? I have more researching and listening to do before I can more definitively state this.

    On certain tracks I'm getting a "sped up" Chickmunk sense of the voices sounding artificial/not real/not natural sounding. Especially about the way John's voice is sounding. Almost like it's animated sound. I'm sure the tracks are the same length but something sounds "sped up" and "higher". And a bit contrived. Very Highly Processed.

    "It's a Clean Machine." That Paul prefers but Not John.

    Like how they process girl pop singers these days. The way Brittney Spears' voice is treated to make HER sound like a young girl when she actually is aging, at least chronologically.

    Also, on some of the tracks, it's like an ear tingling sugar rush of sweet processed sound that doesn't sound natural, again especially with the voices and the major elevation of treble for the instruments that I am clearly hearing. I love treble, don't get me wrong. AND a de-emphasis of the bass, except for a few tracks on the Second Album where this just would not work at all without ruining the essence of the song.

    I can't help it. I without a doubt miss a good/active/shaking/rocking/alive stereo version of Money like I hear on the Second Album via Capitol Albums I.

    And I'm sorry again, but the "stereo" I'll Get You and She Loves You CANNOT COMPARE to the superior DUOPHONIC sound of the Capitol Albums I versions of I'll Get You and She Loves You.

    One last thing, for now, that I'm sorry about: I just DO NOT GET the love of and retro-trendiness of Mono these days. I'm trying so hard, but stereo to me sounds SO MUCH better. At least on these two albums.

    Having said all of this, I am Glad I purchased these two albums.
     
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  15. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Meet the Beatles, The Beatles Second Album, and The Early Beatles all have quite a bit of echo added, and the twin-track stereo mixes have been narrowed, especially the Second Album.
     
  16. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Has anyone else noticed that the mono And I Love Her runs two seconds quicker on Something New than on A Hard Day's Night (soundtrack)? I'd never noticed before, having never owned the soundtrack. Is it like this on all editions?
     
  17. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    Moderator Note:-

    Question asked and answered! Please remember that this thread is about your impressions of this NEW BOX and the CD's within, it is NOT here to drag up the old Dexter/Capitol vs Parlophone argument.

    Please keep your comments to your impressions of the new box only!
     
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  18. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Wasn't intending to get into a discussion about the merits of the differences, just keeping it to provision of factual info. I've absolutely no appetite at all to get back into that discussion :)
     
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  19. Stan94

    Stan94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    I like it, it's a nice item. However, with the help of Audacity, I'd like to replace the 1987 mixes with the original mixes of Help! and Rubber Soul (found on the mono box from 2009) and burn the disc to CD-r, to get a more "authentic" listening experience. What moves need I make to even out the sound level with 2014 Beatles VI, Help! Rubber Soul and Yesterday and Today? Should I start a new thread?
     
    notesfrom likes this.
  20. Blighty

    Blighty Well-Known Member

    I noticed that the US box is wider than the mono box by about the width of 2 discs and has some packing foam in there to stop the CDs rattling around.
    Almost like something was missing:confused:
    Think I've worked out what...:D
     

    Attached Files:

  21. slane

    slane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Merrie England
    See this post from Raf that was in the other thread:
    http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/beatles-capitol-cds-part-12.341037/page-13#post-9956678
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2014
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  22. Hawkman, sorry to hear about your illness, especially since you haven't gotten the box yet.

    I am currently hospitalized and was anguished reading the other threads, making me question my decision to order the whole thing. It was even worse the first few days of the release while I was still waiting for it to arrive.

    That said, when it did arrive yesterday, I was immediately impressed with the construction and design, which far exceeded my expectations. This collection seems to be even more detailed and better put together than the mono box. (Although Help and Story are difficult to put back in their plastic slip cases and '65 was missing its CD plastic inner sleeve!?!?). In many ways, I think the new CD covers are even better than the original LP covers (mine, bought used during the 70's mostly split and came apart and just looked tatty when compared to my UK covers).

    Due to a bunch of computer problems, I didn't get to hear them immediately, but several hours latter when IWHYH leapt out of my Pioneer A3, I was hooked. I spent most of the evening with the monos and then the majority of today with the whole thing. Overall the sound is fantastic - but I really want to hear it on my real system for a more complete sound review. I've got the Capitol CDs as well - and some Japanese ones on the way as well, so I'll always have Dexter, when I want to go that way. I'm glad money isn't really a huge issue as it might have been when I was younger (I remember scrimping through college to afford the original CDs - and being disappointed with the thin sounds of many of them - the permanent green marker colored on the clear parts of Revolver remind me that I'd try any gimmick back then to get the "whole" sound), or I'd feel awful having to choose which Beatles things to own.

    I chose "Like" for many of the reasons mentioned earlier - the unique mixes should be here, but these do sound beautiful and full compared to the originals (on my hospital system). I am disappointed that the MMT LP, US Rarities, and Hollywood Bowl LPs are AWOL as well - although I can imagine both a future Hollywood Bowl collection and Rarities package (hopefully with the rest of the Dexterized unique tracks and that incredibly rare British first pressing of Tomorrow Never Knows that was withdrawn).

    I think my biggest complaint about this box though, would have to be that a Beatles package of this size undoubtedly delays the the (hopefully) inevitable mono vinyl box that has been rumored since the stereo vinyl box came out - although, I do hope that the sales of this US box convince the powers that be that both that vinyl and a fully remixed/remastered version of the entire catalog (similar to the YS Songtrack) would be worth the effort.

    All in all, 8.5 of 10. If you really love the band, but have been on the fence, possibly because of previous threads, I hope you'll do your self the favor of enjoying these soon. Even the guy with the "Beatleaholic" shtick, why deprive yourself if you love them... With details like the inner sleeves, the Y&T Butcher and trunk sticker, the high gloss book (although the writing is way TOO dismissive of the product), and the goofy bonus of Story, convince me that this is much less of a cash grab than the old Vol1&2 Capitol boxes were.
     
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  23. white wolf

    white wolf Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    I like the set. I can't afford it right now, so I am hoping that it will still be available when I get the money to purchase it. In the meantime, I got the following CDs to fill out my existing Capitol set.

    A Hard Day's Night
    Yesterday & Today
    Revolver

    If someone doesnt want thier copy of the Beatles Story I would be interested in purchasing it.
     
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  24. hogger129

    hogger129 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Madison, Wisconsin
    I enjoyed it. My dad also enjoyed it because he has all these on LPs and never had anything on CD except the 1987 ones. I thought the price was reasonable for the amount of songs offered. I still wish I would have gotten the CD's instead. iTunes Plus vs. CD is a discussion for another thread though.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2014
  25. NumberEight

    NumberEight Came too late and stayed too long

    I don't see the Vol. 1 & 2 Capitol boxes as a cash grab: they were fairly priced for what they were, and they did include well-researched booklets, which was something they didn't have to do to sell copies.

    But I agree totally with your point that the attention to detail - ignoring the missing mixes - of the new box set shows that they mean to give fans in 2014 their money's worth. (I'm curiously reminded of The Beatles' own intentions when coming up with the unprecedented packaging for Sgt. Pepper, which included far more than it needed to for the money.) Almost by definition, the new box is certainly no cash grab. Thanks for pointing that out.
     
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