Saturday 25 July 2009

September 9: Christmas Is Coming Early For Beatles Fanatics

By Jamie T. Winston

If you're like me (a huge Beatles fanatic) then 9/9/9 is basically Christmas Day! This is the day that new remastered Beatles CDs are finally coming out, 22 years since the original Beatles CDs were released.

The Beatles first released their albums on CD in 1987 and at that time CD technology was still pretty new. The mastering done for those CD is considered to be of inferior quality, which is why Beatles fans have been impatiently waiting for these new remastered CDs.

But the excitement from 9/9/9 doesn't just come from the fact that the albums are being remastered for the first time since their original release on CD, it also comes from the mono box set that is being released on that day.

These new mono mix CDs will be the first time that many younger Beatles fans get to hear these albums as they were originally intended to be heard because it's the first time that the mono mixes have ever been on CD.

Why should we care about mono mixes in 2009? Isn't this an outdated way of listening to music? Well certainly nobody is mixing in mono these days, but it is worth hearing these original mixes because that's how the albums were originally intended to be heard.

The mono mixes are what The Beatles (along with the bands producers and engineers) were mainly focused on. The stereo mixes were done as an after thought with little (if any) input from the band, while the mono mixes were worked on until they were considered to be perfect.

Because so much more time was spent on the mono versions, it makes sense to consider the mono mixes to be the "real" versions of the albums. But it's not just a matter of original intention. It's also a matter of quality. Some claim that the mono mixes of albums such as Revolver & Sgt. Pepper are actually far superior to the stereo mixes.

9/9/9 is more than just a day for new Beatles CDs, it's also a day for new Beatles themed video game: Beatles Rock Band. This game will allow you to "play" and Beatles classics through their beginnings in Liverpool through their finally studio album, Abbey Road. And yes Abbey Road was their last album, Let It Be was recorded before Abbey Road!

The graphics and game play look really awesome from the previews I've seen. Even if you're not a big video game person, I'd give the Beatles Rock Band a try if you're a fan of the band. It promises to be great fun.

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