Beatles remasters are here!

[solace]

lmao.

[petemoss]

I can't wait for Beatles Rock Band!!

I hope the tracks are exportable so i can add it to my 350+ song library...

[imsjry]

Well, shit. I may have to buy one of these game platforms, just so I can buy this game.

 

Just arrived in my inbox:

 

The Beatles: Rock Band - More Details Released

 

More details on THE BEATLES: ROCK BAND are being announced today. Here is the lowdown from today's press release:

• We have a worldwide release date: 09/09/09.
  
• The game takes players through an "unprecendented experiential progression" of the musical career of the band.
  
• The game will be available as standalone software and hardware, as well as a limited edition bundle. The game will be compatible with all Rock Band instrument controllers and other current music-based video game peripherals.
  
• There will be limited edition hardware modelled on instruments used by John, Paul, George and Ringo.
  
• The numbers:
  - The Beatles: Rock Band Software - Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii: $59.99 MSRP
  - The Beatles: Rock Band Standalone Guitars - Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii: $99.99 MSRP
  - The Beatles: Rock Band Limited Edition Premium Bundle: Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii: $249.99 MSRP
  - International pricing to be announced at a later date
  
• Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles innovative LOVE album project, is providing his expertise and serving as Music Producer
  
• Fans who pre-order the game will get access to exclusive content created by Apple Corps, MTV Games and Harmonix over the next few months.
  

To register for updates about the game, visit thebeatlesrockband.com.

 

For the full press release click HERE.

 

Well, I guess this officially renders my PS2 obsolete! Crap.....

[mpolak21]

apparently the drumming difficulty levels go something like this:

 

Ringo | Novice | Paul

 

 

. Well played, sir. Well played.

 

--Mike

[Moss]

. Well played, sir. Well played.

 

--Mike

 

Ringo is so under rated, but that is kind of funny even though I don't condone it!

[cryptique]

[Analogman]

From The Guardian:

 

Is the Beatles' back catalogue finally going digital?

 

Beatles for sale? ... Not through iTunes.

 

George Harrison's son has raised the prospect of an independent, Beatles-specific digital music store that will sell remastered versions of the Fab Four's tunes.

 

"We're losing money every day," Dhani Harrison said in a recent interview. "So what do you do? You have to have your own delivery system, or you have to do a good deal with [Apple CEO] Steve Jobs."

 

The Beatles' entry into Apple's iTunes Music Store has been rumoured for almost as long as the service has been around. However, six years on, and with iTunes dominating the digital music landscape, Apple (the computer manufacturer) and Apple (the record label) remain at an impasse.

 

"[Jobs] says that a download is worth 99 cents, and we disagree," Dhani Harrison told Blender.

 

Thirty-year-old Harrison, who is himself a musician, plays an increasingly prominent role in managing the Beatles estate. Apart from Paul McCartney's five-year-old daughter Beatrice, Dhani is the youngest of the Beatles' offspring

[bigideas]

So do you think they want to sell a song for more or less than 99 cents?

 

They've recouped cash on all the released recordings so many times they might as well do it half price, right?

 

Have all the un-officially released stuff at 99. =)

[cryptique]

This latest bit of news includes no mention of remastered CDs.

[Synthesizer Patel]

We've been working on it for the past two years. This is the first one that is going to be totally, historically accurate.

 

which means when you play the george harrison solos, on the earlier music, you'll be able to do every little bit at a time rather than play it all the way through. it is going to be TOTALLY historically accurate, right?

 

i love Delbert Harrison, or whatever his name is, he looks SO MUCH like his dad. when he played at that concert for George it was uncanny! he's also got his finger really on the pulse. all music in the future will only be heard via computer games or adverts. it'll be amazing - complete each level to hear the next song.

 

it'd be funny if all these prats had the same attitude and as much say back when the band were making music - they'd only have had the time to release their first album and maybe an ep before yoko turned up and fucked things over.

[imsjry]

This latest bit of news includes no mention of remastered CDs.

 

CD's are so 2006.....

[cryptique]

CD's are so 1983.....

Fixed.

[Gobias Industries]

which means when you play the george harrison solos, on the earlier music, you'll be able to do every little bit at a time rather than play it all the way through. it is going to be TOTALLY historically accurate, right?

 

i love Delbert Harrison, or whatever his name is, he looks SO MUCH like his dad. when he played at that concert for George it was uncanny! he's also got his finger really on the pulse. all music in the future will only be heard via computer games or adverts. it'll be amazing - complete each level to hear the next song.

 

it'd be funny if all these prats had the same attitude and as much say back when the band were making music - they'd only have had the time to release their first album and maybe an ep before yoko turned up and fucked things over.

 

Dhani is the name, I believe. Man, if Dhani went touring playing his dad's stuff I would go to those shows, for real. It'd be like watching ol' George for reals. Just a random thought.

[Synthesizer Patel]

amazon.co.uk is now listing the remastered albums, coming out on 9th sept. but, it is saying they are single disc (apart from past masters - which i assume is because they've combined past masters 1 & 2 together). if this is true, it's mighty annoying - cos it means they're not likely to have mono and stereo mixes on them, especially when the white album is single disc too. hmmmm.

[cgoodwin22]

I listen to the Dr. Ebbett's mixes more than the official releases. Dr. Ebbett did a really good job.

[bigideas]

amazon.co.uk is now listing the remastered albums, coming out on 9th sept. but, it is saying they are single disc (apart from past masters - which i assume is because they've combined past masters 1 & 2 together). if this is true, it's mighty annoying - cos it means they're not likely to have mono and stereo mixes on them, especially when the white album is single disc too. hmmmm.

 

no stereo/mono?

i guess no bonus tracks either?

probably like Dylan's catalog has been remastered i guess.

 

i won't be getting just plain remasters.

[Synthesizer Patel]

no stereo/mono?

i guess no bonus tracks either?

probably like Dylan's catalog has been remastered i guess.

 

i won't be getting just plain remasters.

 

it doesn't say so. but, i'd be a bit surprised if they didn't do so. i think the details will change in the future, but i can't see any bonus tracks being added at all.

 

i pre-ordered Rubber Soul, Revolver, Magical Mystery Tour, The White Album, and Abbey Road from hmv (cos they were only

[solace]

full press release:

 

THE BEATLES' ENTIRE ORIGINAL RECORDED CATALOGUE REMASTERED BY APPLE CORPS LTD. AND EMI MUSIC FOR WORLDWIDE RELEASE ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 (9-9-09)

 

London, England - April 7, 2009 - Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music are delighted to announce the release of the original Beatles catalogue, which has been digitally re-mastered for the first time, for worldwide CD release on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (9-9-09), the same date as the release of the widely anticipated "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game. Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released.

 

The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release.

 

The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and 'Magical Mystery Tour,' which became part of The Beatles' core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections 'Past Masters Vol. I and II' are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set.

Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the 'Past Masters' set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.

 

A second boxed set has been created with the collector in mind. 'The Beatles in Mono' gathers together, in one place, all of the Beatles recordings that were mixed for a mono release. It will contain 10 of the albums with their original mono mixes, plus two further discs of mono masters (covering similar ground to the stereo tracks on 'Past Masters'). As an added bonus, the mono "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD. These albums will be packaged in mini-vinyl CD replicas of the original sleeves with all original inserts and label designs retained.

 

Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalogue will continue. There is no further information available at this time.

 

 

http://www.thebeatles.com

 

U.S. Media Contacts UK Media Contact

For Apple Corps Ltd.: For Apple Corps Ltd.:

Shore Fire Media MBC PR

Matt Hanks Moira Bellas

(718) 522-7171 / mhanks@shorefire.com 0 20 7483 9205 / moira@mbcpr.com Brendan Gilmartin

(718) 522-7171 / bgilmartin@shorefire.com

For EMI: Jennifer Ballantyne - EMI Music North America

(323) 871-5494 / jennifer.ballantyne@emicap.com

 

The Stereo Albums (available individually and collected in a stereo boxed set)

The stereo albums have been remastered by Guy Massey, Steve Rooke, Sam Okell with Paul Hicks and Sean Magee

All CD packages contain original vinyl artwork and liner notes

Extensive archival photos

Additional historical notes by Kevin Howlett and Mike Heatley

Additional recording notes by Allan Rouse and Kevin Howlett

* = CD includes QuickTime mini-doc about the album

Please Please Me* (CD debut in stereo)

With The Beatles* (CD debut in stereo)

A Hard Day's Night* (CD debut in stereo)

Beatles For Sale* (CD debut in stereo)

Help!*

Rubber Soul*

Revolver*

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band* (also includes 1987 notes, updated, and new intro by Paul McCartney)

Magical Mystery Tour*

The Beatles*

Yellow Submarine* (also includes original US liner notes)

Abbey Road*

Let It Be*

Past Masters (contains new liner notes written by Kevin Howlett)

'The Beatles in Mono' (boxed set only)

The mono albums have been remastered by Paul Hicks, Sean Magee with Guy Massey and Steve Rooke

Presented together in box with an essay written by Kevin Howlett + = mono mix CD debut Please Please Me

With The Beatles

A Hard Day's Night

Beatles For Sale

Help! (CD also includes original 1965 stereo mix)+

Rubber Soul (CD also include original 1965 stereo mix)+

Revolver+

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band+

Magical Mystery Tour+

The Beatles+

Mono Masters

Re-mastering the Beatles catalogue

 

The re-mastering process commenced with an extensive period conducting tests before finally copying the analogue master tapes into the digital medium. When this was completed, the transfer was achieved using a Pro Tools workstation operating at 24 bit 192 kHz resolution via a Prism A-D converter. Transferring was a lengthy procedure done a track at a time. Although EMI tape does not suffer the oxide loss associated with some later analogue tapes, there was nevertheless a slight build up of dust, which was removed from the tape machine heads between each title.

 

From the onset, considerable thought was given to what audio restorative processes were going to be allowed. It was agreed that electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance and bad edits should be improved where possible, so long as it didn't impact on the original integrity of the songs.

In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today's music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles' music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings.

When all of the albums had been transferred, each song was then listened to several times to locate any of the agreed imperfections. These were then addressed by Guy Massey, working with Audio Restoration engineer Simon Gibson.

Mastering could now take place, once the earliest vinyl pressings, along with the existing CDs, were loaded into Pro Tools, thus allowing comparisons to be made with the original master tapes during the equalization process. When an album had been completed, it was auditioned the next day in studio three - a room familiar to the engineers, as all of the recent Beatles mixing projects had taken place in there - and any further alteration of EQ could be addressed back in the mastering room. Following the initial satisfaction of Guy and Steve, Allan Rouse and Mike Heatley then checked each new re-master in yet another location and offered any further suggestions. This continued until all 13 albums were completed to the team's satisfaction.

 

 

New Notes/Documentaries Team

 

Kevin Howlett (Historical and Recording Notes)

Kevin Howlett's career as an award-winning radio producer spans three decades. His music programmes for the BBC have included many documentaries about The Beatles, including 'The Beeb's Lost Beatles Tapes.' He received a Grammy nomination for his involvement with The Beatles' album 'Live At The BBC' and, in 2003, produced the 'Fly On The Wall' bonus disc for 'Let It Be... Naked.'

 

Mike Heatley (Historical Notes) Mike entered the music business via HMV Record Stores in 1970, transferring to EMI Records' International Division three years later. He eventually headed up that division in the early Eighties before joining the company's newly created Strategic Marketing Division in 1984. In 1988, he returned to International, where he undertook a number of catalogue marketing roles until he retired in December 2008.

During his career he worked with many of EMI's major artists, including Pink Floyd, Queen, Kate Bush and Iron Maiden. However, during the last 30 years he has formed a particularly strong relationship with Apple, and has been closely involved in the origination and promotion of the Beatles catalogue, besides solo releases from John, Paul, George and Ringo.

 

Bob Smeaton (Director, Mini-Documentaries)

Bob Smeaton was series director and writer on the Grammy award winning 'Beatles Anthology' TV series which aired in the UK and the USA in 1995. In 1998 he received his second Grammy for his 'Jimi Hendrix: Band of Gypsys' documentary. In 2004 he gained his first feature film credit, as director on the feature documentary 'Festival Express.' He subsequently went on to direct documentaries on many of the world's biggest music acts including The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Elton John, Nirvana and the Spice Girls.

 

Julian Caiden (Editor, Mini-Documentaries)

Julian has worked with Bob Smeaton on numerous music documentaries including 'Jimi Hendrix: Band of Gypsys' and the 'Classic Albums' series, featuring The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Elton John and Nirvana among others. He has worked on documentary profiles from Richard Pryor to Dr. John to Sir Ian McKellen, Herbie Hancock and Damien Hirst and on live music shows including the New York Dolls and Club Tropicana.

 

The Abbey Road Team

Allan Rouse (Project Coordinator)

Allan joined EMI straight from school in 1971 at their Manchester Square head office, working as an assistant engineer in the demo studio. During this time he frequently worked with Norman (Hurricane) Smith, The Beatles' first recording engineer.

 

In 1991, he had his first involvement with The Beatles, copy

[cryptique]

I'll start saving now ... will probably have to buy both box sets.

[solace]

i'll def buy the Stereo one... the Mono one i'll have to hear first before I buy. of the Ebbetts versions, there's only 2 mono ones i listen to as much or more than their stereo counterparts.

[MattZ]

i'll def buy the Stereo one... the Mono one i'll have to hear first before I buy.

 

Me too, but the other way around. I have no interest in hearing With the Beatles in stereo.

[Synthesizer Patel]

what a total bunch of bastards! i was so happy when i preordered my albums, and now i hear this news. looks like i'm never going to get these in mono cos i don't want to have to buy a whole bunch of albums i won't listen to very much for the 5 or 6 that i really want. these people really need to team up with George Lucas. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

 

i'm actually in 2 minds whether or not to cancel the preorders i made and just download all the albums for free, out of spite.

[solace]

uhm, they're being released separately then too... read the first paragraph:

 

For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released.

 

although it doesn't specify if you'll be able to buy both the Mono & Stereo versions separately i suppose.

[Sir Stewart]

That little movie is pretty cool on the official site.

[MattZ]

uhm, they're being released separately then too... read the first paragraph:

 

For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released.

 

although it doesn't specify if you'll be able to buy both the Mono & Stereo versions separately i suppose.

 

I didnt read the press release all that carefully but my impression was that you could buy the stereo versions individually (or in the box set) and the mono versions would only be available in the box set.