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The Beatles' website now has covers for all the Beatles
remasters, with the possible exception of "Past Masters."
(Copyright Apple Corps Ltd., 2009.)
Wondering how much these new Beatles remasters will cost?
An indication of the answer wasn't that hard to find. It's on the Beatles official website in the UK store , where all the remastered CDs are listed individually. (They're not in the U.S. section of the Beatles website store.)
The price list on the Beatles website for the single stereo albums "Abbey Road," "Revolver," "Rubber Soul", "Beatles For Sale," "Please Please Me," "With the Beatles," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "A Hard Day's Night," "Past Masters," "Magical Mystery Tour," "Let It Be", "Help!" and "Yellow Submarine" is £10.99 or roughly $16.11, USD, based on current exchange rates. For the double CD "The Beatles" White Album £16.99 (or roughly $24.90, based on current exchange rates).
Remember that prices are indications only and, if anything, they're probably on the high end here. They should be lower in discount stores and other online outlets like Amazon.com. (See bottom of column.)
Future "Past Masters"?: The store also shows a 24-track listing (and what looks to be a badly photoshopped cover) for the what it says is the new single disc version of "Past Masters": "Love Me Do," "From Me To You," "Thank You Girl," "She Loves You," "I'll Get You," "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "This Boy," "Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand," "Sie Liebt Dich," "Day Tripper," "We Can Work It Out," "Paperback Writer," "Rain," "Lady Madonna," "Inner Light," "Hey Jude," "Revolution," "Get Back," "Don't Let Me Down," "Ballad Of John And Yoko," "Old Brown Shoe," "Across The Universe," "Let It Be," "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)." The time for the disc clocks in at around 71 minutes for the 24 tracks.
If that track listing is correct, the new version eliminates the last nine tracks on the current Volume 1: "Long Tall Sally," "I Call Your Name," "Slow Down," "Matchbox," "I Feel Fine," "She's a Woman," "Bad Boy," "Yes It Is," and "I'm Down," though the press release for the remasters said specifically, "In addition, the collections 'Past Masters Vol. I and II' are now combined as one title ... ", so it may not be.
Interesting, though, that the album listings on the Beatles website have the legend "Despatch (sic) in 3 to 14 days" and underneath in red say, "Pre-Order! Released 09.09.09."
Vinyl remasters?: We've been asked about them and we're told they're not planned.
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Comments
Not much value without the bonus tracks.I was looking forward to some musical extras. As I understand they did not keep their word on that Carnival of Light song. Was that the song from the reunion in the nineties that never came out ?
No...that was "Now and Then"...there are some good 'outfakes' of that song on YouTube..
just search for Beatles Now and Then
Guys, take a look at the new "Now and then" released in february in HMC label (the same of the Revolution take your knickers off), is the John Lennon Demo but without the buzz noise and clear and cleaner version, is amazing, I hope that Paul and Ringo could use it now.It is not an outfake it comes from a better source.
Note the release says, "'Past Masters Vol. I and II' are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs"
The way I read this is 2 discs for The White Album, and 2 discs for Past Masters = 16 discs.
I will SCREAM if they omit ANY song in a "complete catalogue" release. WHY on earth would they omit anything? I don't know why they wouldn't just release them as they were, Past Masters Vol 1 & Vol 2? It sounds like they're going to a lot of trouble, only to scrimp at the very end of the project? SHODDY!! SHAME ON THEM!!!
STEVE, can you use your influence & sources to confirm or deny, and email the answer? I just can't imagine they would do that to us!! "Oh, the humanity!"
I think the Beatles Store listing of a single-disc "Past Masters" is part speculation and part mistake. The track listing appears to be missing side 2 of the vinyl release. I'm sure that's just a mistake on the website. There's no way they'd delete "I Feel Fine," an international #1 hit, from the catalog.
And we've already seen the cover art for the remaster version - it's shown in the "trailer" at TheBeatles.com. That cover art shows the streamlined Beatles logo used on most releases since "Live at the BBC," not the chunkier logo used on the original 1988 "Past Masters" covers. Also, the artwork shown on the "trailer" doesn't refer to "Volumes One & Two," and there are no horizontal lines above and below the "Past Masters" title. I agree with Steve M. - the cover art shown at the Beatles UK Store looks like a mock-up, rather than anything officially provided by Apple.
In general, when confronted with rumors and incomplete third-party information (and the Beatles Store is a contracted third party, NOT an official part of Apple), take the advice of Douglas Adams: DON'T PANIC. Don't write your congressman, don't organize a hunger strike, don't write a blog about how everyone at Apple is an idiot who hates Beatles fans.
Had it been up to me, I probably would have eliminated "Past Masters" and spread the songs out as bonus tracks on the album CDs. But it wasn't up to me.
Overall, I'm very happy with what I've seen of the re-release plans. My only serious complaint is the "sleeve"-style packaging, which means friction across the CD play surface every time you take out or put away a disc. But I'll put 'em in jewel cases and get on with my life.
Continued thanks, Steve M., for being such a great source of timely Beatles news. Keep up the good work!
Steve Bruun: Thanks, buddy. I'll calm down, and take a deep breath. Adding the Past Masters songs, chronologically to the albums sounds like a fine idea.
If there are separate stereo & mono sets, each with "Past Masters", the track listing for the stereo and mono "Past Masters" would vary significantly, since there exist no stereo masters of "Love Me Do" (Ringo version), "From Me To You", "She Loves You", "I'll Get You" and "You Know My Name" (since the b-side was edited by John from a mono mix), and no mono masters of "The Ballad Of John & Yoko", "Old Brown Shoe", "Let It Be" and "Across The Universe".
The idea that there should be a "Yellow Submarine" mono cd is a bit of a non-issue, since no mono mix was ever overssen by The Beatles, George Martin or Geoff Emerick. The mono release was merely the stereo mix combined onto one track. Hardly a unique listening experience like the mono "Sgt Pepper". (And to top it off, George Martin's "soundtrack" numbers, aren't from the actual soundtrack recordings, which were mono, but were re-recordings of the score in stereo.
Past Masters is now one title, not one disc. All of the tracks will be there.
Most of the songs left off the "single disc" would fit well on a "Rock 'n' Roll Music" reissue. And "Yes It is" was on Love Songs. "I Feel Fine" was on neither though, and is too big of a hit to be left off the remastered collection. I doubt they'd go 95% of the way, but - it wouldn't be the first time EMI (Capitol really) reissued the stereo upgrades a song or two at a time; look at the Beach Boys recent product. Hope that's not the case!
now and then is on past masters now ? that is the other song from the reunion in the nineties.
How do you know they included that song ? I did not read that I read that Ringo Starr is playing drums on some new Paul Mccartney songs.
Why is there not any musical extras or bonus tracks.
I combined Past Masters 1 and 2 in my iTunes library into one Past Masters listing. I wonder if Apple got the idea of that from me...HaHa
More curious to me is as to how much the box sets will be as that is probably how I will buy them.
It would be nice if the booklet for the "Yellow Submarine" contains both the UK and US covers. Very different liner notes, and even the front covers are different.
Breaking news in Europe says the DVD extras on each disc contain bonus tracks like Carnival or light and Granny smith aka acoustic Love you too--they are on the DVD bonus to the corresponding album--what others for white album etc I don't know---I say again 10 minute mix of Carnival on Pepper-Instrumental rehearsal of Dr RObert, and Granny Smith on Revolver---no word on white album or Abbey Road
Amazon.com lists Past Masters as a double disc with all the tracks for US$22.99 or £15.98 on Amazon UK.
How much for the mono albums box set?
Whats the latest word on reports that Carnival of light will be included on the sgt pepper bonus disc ? what other bonus songs will they have
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