The Beatles Mono Box Set
As a huge Beatles fan I’m excited about both The Beatles Stereo Box Set and The Beatles Mono Box Set but I must say that I am particularly excited about the Mono Set and the reason is pretty obvious: I’ve never heard these original mono mixes before!
Like many Beatles fans my age (I’m about 30) I didn’t grow to love The Beatles by listening to their original vinyl LPs but instead by listening to their CDs (their albums were released on CD in 1987.) Because of this, the “old CDs” (as they will be called now that the new remastered Beatles CDs are coming out) are really all I know.
It’s not until recently that I realized that most people who have heard the original Beatles released and the 1987 CDs (the “old CDs”) think that the original releases sound far better. I have just now come to know that the mastering job on those CDs is actually quite notorious as being particularly bad.
It makes sense now that I think about it. Digital mastering was still a new thing back in 1987 and it’s come a long way since then. The new Beatles remasters were made with much better technology (for example 24 bit vs. 16 bit) which means that more of the original sound on the original master tapes makes it’s way onto these new CDs than made it’s way onto the old CDs.
This is something that makes me excited about both the Stereo & Mono Box Sets.
Of course with the mono mixes it’s not just a matter of them sounding better, it’s also a matter of me never having heard them at all before! After years of reading about how great the mono mixes are (for example John Lennon claimed that the mono mix of Sgt. Pepper was much better than the stereo mix of Sgt. Pepper) I’ll finally get to hear them for myself.
Features of The Beatles Mono Box Set
- The Beatles first 10 albums are included (through The White Album.)
- Original stereo mixes of Help! & Rubber Soul.
- No limiting used (ie: no “loudness war.”)
- 24 bit/192 kHz. Audiophile quality.
- “Mono Masters” double disc set includes non-album songs.
- Vinyl LP replica packaging.
- Exclusive essay on The Beatles by Kevin Howlett.
The Beatles Mono Box Set is a “must buy” in my mind and due to the fact that it’s already selling out at many stores I recommend that you don’t wait around to buy it (it’s unclear how many copies of it will be made.)
