Expert: James Michael Anderson - 9/13/2009

Question
QUESTION: You wrote a detailed answer to a question about beatles CD quality in 2007.

So what do you think about the latest Beatles re-masters?

Cheers,

Mark

ANSWER: I am blown away.  Detail that I have struggled to hear/recognize is now completely bright.  The songs have more "punch" with the bass and drums fully heard given the increased range.
HOWEVER, I have only listened to the MONO versions of Pepper, White and Revolver and only the Stereo Abbey Road.
So while I haven't yet compared them to my vinyl MFSLs, I have compared them to Mirror Spock and Dr. Ebbett's MFSL CD rips and these remasters blow them away.
Given that I haven't had enough time to fully listen to all of them since their release, it's tough to make a final verdict - but I can't deny that I REALLY REALLY like what I hear.
That being said, the CD medium can only hold up to 20% of the quality of the ACTUAL Master Tapes.. so if they were to release these same tracks burned to a Blu-Ray disc - theoretically, the sound would be even better.
Given that they took 22 years to release another round of Beatles CDs, this is probably a good time to buy if interested.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks, that's a great answer.

I heard that for the Beatles EMI ordered the studio to 'keep everything'. There were 78 rpm masters made for the Indian (?) wind-up gramophone market, even in the '60s, and later Paul McCartney I think had commemorative copies made for friends of those 78s.

Most of the record companies' old pre-Beatles era popular music stamping masters were destroyed though weren't they (thinking of getting around the problem of re-mastering old jazz and big  band records from worn shellac)?

Answer
While I can't speak specifically about the 78s and which ones they were, EMI does have "everything" which depending on how they market it is a goldmine.  Take even the studio chatter used in the new Beatles Rock Band video game- all of that previously unreleased...
I think the next project will be remixes rather than remasters a la Love or Yellow Submarine Songtrack.. there is too big a demand for them to ignore it- but just my opinion..

Enjoy the remasters for now!