2009: The Year of The Beatles
The Beatles Remastered Stereo Box Set
2009 has been a big year for Beatles lovers as there have four really wonderful Beatles products released, three of those are covered here (I’ll get to The Beatles Rock Band some other time!)
This box set has been the most popular Beatles release of 2009. It’s been a huge unit shifter and for a very good reason. It contains the band’s complete ’60s catalog in brilliantly digitally remastered stereo. These remastered Beatles albums sound absolutely spectacular (these CDs are far better than the 1980s Beatles CDs you may own at the moment.)
The biggest improvements in comparison to the old CDs can be heard in the way Paul’s bass blasts through the mix like never before and Ringo’s drums sound far better too. I also love how the vocals sound, now I can hear each harmony part distinctly.
The release that has created the most excitement of hardcore Beatles fans is probably The Beatles in Mono Box Set because it’s the first time in many years that the original mono mixes of The Beatles music has been easily available.
Many “purist” Beatles fans believe that these mono mixes were the way their music was originally meant to be enjoyed and they have good reason for believing that. Mono was what most Beatles fans listened to in the ’60s and it was the mono mixes that the band and it’s producers spent the most time perfecting. Meanwhile, the band spent almost no time working on the stereo mixes up until The White Album.
The Beatles USB is a digital version of the stereo box set. Along with the more well known mp3 files, it also includes super high quality 24bit FLAC files. Along with the obvious audio component, this USB memory stick also contains all of the visual parts of the box set such as the 13 album documentaries, the extended liner notes for each album, and the photos.
The Beatles USB stick is compatible with both Mac and PC computers. The mp3s that it contains should work with no issues with your mp3 player (whether you own an iPod, a Zune, or a generic mp3 player.)
