As a lifetime fan, and self proclaimed “Beatles Nerd”, I have been anxiously been waiting for the new Beatles box set since I first caught wind of the remasters four years ago.  Most of my Beatles collection comes from the 1987 CD releases, notorious for taking the life out of the original recordings and straying from the original mixes intended by the boys and George Martin.

The new remastered box sets were released in two editions; the mono mixes(previously unavailable outside of vinyl), and a stereo box set.  One set wasn’t enough as I wanted to have the albums mixed as they were intended.  I received my copies yesterday and have been getting lost in the beautifully packaged set.  In the mono set, each album comes in a replica mini-LP jacket with original artwork, labels, and inserts.  There are also protective sleeves around the disks and plastic cover slips to mirror the vinyl releases of the past.  What a great and original way to present these albums!

Now it was time to listen.  I couldn’t just pop these CDs in the player and start listening, I needed a game plan; after all this was The Beatles.  I decided to dedicate one full day to listening to the collection all the way through, as it was intended.  I would listen to the mono mixes of the albums through “Revolver”, and the stereo mixes from “Sgt. Pepper” to “Abbey Road”.  I loaded the files in lossless format onto my ipod and listen through my Grado headphones and a Simpl headphone amp to get the best sound I could get.  Now it was time to listen.

From the opening “Well she was just seventeen” of Please Please Me to Abbey Road’s closing “….One day I’m gonna make her mine” I shut myself away and just listened.

The remasters sound amazing, and drastically enhance all of the albums in different ways.  The early rock and roll albums have a much fuller and richer sound.  I admittedly have disregarded these albums in the past as “the simple early stuff”, but with the new enhanced sound these albums really burn. The first three albums: “Please Please Me”, “With the Beatles”, and “Beatles for Sale” all have a bite to them, bringing to mind the early live show days at the Cavern Club.  The main enhancement in the recordings seem to be the bottom end which makes the drums and bass guitar really drive the song; showcasing these songs as the popping rock tunes they were intended to be.  Ringo seems to be the biggest benefactor of this upgrade, as the drums really come to life on these recordings, especially when compared to their CD counterparts.

The vocals really seem to stand out to me on the albums Hard Day’s Night through Rubber Soul.  The harmonies have a new zest to them, that make you further appreciate what the boys were doing.  John’s voice in particular sounds raw and powerful and really feels like it is jumping out of the speaker.   The bottom end continues to shine, and Mccartney’s bass guitar really takes center stage in these recordings.  Little things like the tambourine on “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” really come into the limelight on the songs and provide great moments.

Revolver, the last of the albums I listened to in Mono, and my personal favorite Beatles album did not disappoint.  The backwards guitar solo on “I’m Only Sleeping”, the swooning tape loops on “Tomorrow Never Knows” , and the horns on “Got to Get You into My Life” have never sounded so bold and strong.  The recordings sound so much more lively than the old CD mixes it is amazing.

Sgt. Pepper was the perfect time to switch to stereo mixes, and the sound was almost overwhelming.  Between the headphone stereo system and the new mixes, it was as if I was hearing the intricacies of this groundbreaking album for the first time.  This album really is all it is cracked up to be, and the new sonic upgrade makes it almost impossible to ignore the genius of this album.

The White Album continues the great upgrade, although to a lesser extent.  While the tracks have the enhanced pop to them, the homespun nature of this album almost diminishes the importance of the upgrade to me.  Little aspects however, breathe new life to the tracks like Paul’s pig sounding bassline on “Piggies”, Eric Clapton’s screaming guitar solo on “While my Guitar Gently Weeps”.

Maybe it was the release of the remastered “Let it Be Naked” a few years back, but the upgrades to “Let it Be” did little for me.  Perhaps I still prefer the un-Spectored version of the “Naked” version to even the new upgrade.  “Abbey Road” however, is another story altogether.  This album is the best sounding of the bunch, and sounds absolutely superb.  Everything about this album has never sounded so good.  Ringo’s drums on “The End”,  George’s airy guitar on “Here Comes the Sun”, Paul’s bass on “Come Together” and John’s screaming vocals on “She’s so Heavy” are absolute standouts.  What a way to close this collection, and this long day of listening.

217 songs  later I emerged.  With a couple of sore ears and a slight disorientation, I just experienced the seven year recording career of the Beatles in about eleven hours.  I always realized the leaps and bounds this band took over the course of their career but listening in succession really drove things home.  The world’s greatest songbook finally got the upgrade it deserved.   From the presentation of the box set to the sonic quality of the entire collection, the team at Capitol and Abbey Road Studios hit a home run.