 Companion to the British albums through HELP! |
| Review Date: September 8, 2004 |
| Reviewer: MurrayTheCat, upstate New York |
When EMI decided to release The Beatles' output on CD in the late 80s, they chose to issue the albums in their British formats and supplement them with two discs of non-album material called PAST MASTERS.
PAST MASTERS VOLUME ONE gives us a mix of things, mostly singles--some A-sides, some B-sides--including "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" sung in German. But there is a serious downside to this release: We are given the stereo versions of 11 of the 18 selections, and this is sad because, with the exception of "Bad Boy," they were originally issued on vinyl (and sounded fantastic!) in mono.
Mono was the standard for years, but in the late 60s there was a major push within the record industry to make stereo the standard. And the industry did its best to brainwash the public into thinking that stereo was better than mono in all cases. Though the industry was surprisingly successful with its marketing tactics, the truth remains that much pre-1969 stereo rock 'n' roll sounds gimmicky at best, presenting severe and perverse channel separation that often saps the music of its power and realism. It is well documented that until 1969, George Martin spent the majority of time working on the mono mixes and comparatively little time on the stereo; stereo was just not deemed as important. Sadly, today the term "mono" is associated with inferior sound in the minds of most people. This myth is so ingrained in consumers' thinking that the word "mono" does not even appear on the outside packaging of PAST MASTERS VOLUME ONE (lest it deter anyone from a purchase), even though the mono tracks are marked with an asterisk. The four-letter word appears only in fine print and somewhat hidden within the booklet.
"Love Me Do" differs from the well-known version found on the PLEASE PLEASE ME album. This is the recording that was the original British single in 1962.
"From Me To You," "Thank You Girl," "She Loves You," and "I'll Get You" are in mono and can be found on other compilations. (But this British version of "Thank You Girl" differs from the one we got on the American LP of THE BEATLES SECOND ALBUM. The American version had harmonica in spots where this one doesn't.)
These stereo versions of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "This Boy" are not the versions that were released as the single, as the notes deceptively imply. The single was in mono and did not have the ridiculous left/right channel separations that we have here. The original versions--in glorious-sounding mono--can be found in THE BEATLES SINGLES COLLECTION boxed set.
"Long Tall Sally," "I Call Your Name," "Slow Down," and "Matchbox" were released together as an EP in England but were scattered across three different albums in the U.S. "Slow Down" and "Matchbox" were also released together as a single in America. In particular, the stereo mix of "Slow Down" sounds mutilated and severely saps the performance of its delirious intensity and power. It's plain and simple: Whereas the stereo versions found here sound disjointed and undernourished, the mono versions found in the BEATLES EP COLLECTION boxed set sound full, focused, and realistic.
"I Feel Fine" is another song that sounds far more realistic in mono. We are given the stereo version here, which has the drums and bass far left, the guitars far right, and the vocals--sounding abnormally detached and somewhat cavernous--in the middle. "She's A Woman" doesn't sound as bad. The mono versions of both, however, can be found in the BEATLES SINGLES COLLECTION boxed set.
During the HELP! sessions, they recorded two songs by Larry Williams, "Bad Boy" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," specifically for Capitol in the U.S. Both songs appeared on BEATLES VI (and, for some reason, "Lizzy" was spelled "Lizzie" on that album.) Though "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" was included on the British release of HELP!, "Bad Boy" was not released in the U.K. until the December 1966 compilation A COLLECTION OF BEATLES OLDIES. I have always thought that both songs sound lackluster compared with the white-hot "Slow Down" (another Williams tune), recorded the previous year. In the spring of 1965, the band was beyond that style of music anyway.
"Yes It Is" was the B-side to the "Ticket To Ride" single and also appeared on BEATLES VI. Many Beatles fans who owned the stereo version of that album are used to the version we get here. But many of us infinitely prefer the richer and more focused sound of the mono version.
I would have been much happier had Paul's delightfully raucous "I'm Down" ended the HELP! album instead of "Dizzy Miss Lizzy." Oh well. This stereo version of "I'm Down" is no match for the exhilarating mono mix issued as the flip side of the "Help!" single. Furthermore, the version of "Help!" released as the single differs significantly from the album version. One wonders why the single version did not turn up here. But it is available, along with the mono "I'm Down," in the SINGLES COLLECTION boxed set.
For those looking for a compilation to serve as an overview, THE BEATLES/1962-1966 (Red Album), THE BEATLES/1967-1970 (Blue Album), or BEATLES 1 will do much better than the PAST MASTERS discs, which were not designed for that purpose. Because the boxed set collections mentioned above are priced beyond reason, I will not recommend them to the more casual or more recent Beatles fans (though--by far!--they best represent this material). I can recommend PAST MASTERS VOLUME ONE without reservation to those fans who are unfamiliar with the mono and, therefore, do not share in my rather severe prejudices.
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Classic desert island rock
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| Review Date: May 15, 2003 |
| Reviewer: L. Power, San Francisco |
This features rare Beatles classics, mostly pre 1965. I remember this was released in the UK and called Rarities, because most of the songs are not on any other Beatles albums, and were either B sides or EP tracks.
This is early Beatles at their rocking best. Almost all these songs are uptempo, with the exception of Yes It is and This Boy which are slower and feature excellent harmonies.
I can listen to this album without even thinking about pressing the skip button.
There are too many highlights on this album to number, but here goes:
1. Paul McCartney doing his Little Richard impersonation on Long Tall Sally.
2. The German versions of She Loves You and I want to hold your hand.
3. Lennon and the beautiful 12/8 rhythm on This Boy.
4. Lennon on I Call Your Name
5. McCartney singin She's A Woman.
6. The cover version of Bad Boy
7. The Little Richard style screamer I'm Down
8. Those B side rockers Thank you girl, I'll get You
9. From Me To You.
If I couldn't take the White Album to a desert island this would be a good second choice.
I hope this review was helpful. |
My opinon of the Remastered version of Past Masters
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| Review Date: September 16, 2009 |
| Reviewer: tely, LA United States |
It took me a while to get used to this version. I expected to be blown away with the sound as I was when I first heard Beatles Love. While I'm not sure exactly of how the project was handled, here is my synopsis. It quickly became apparent to me that these new remasters are just that. A remaster of the existing master tapes. They added more bottom end and clarity without the digital harshness of the previous CD releases. In Love they 'remixed' and 'remastered' the songs thus a much better sound. In a remix, they can adust each track separately and re-arrange it in the mix to make it more effective than was originally done. Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick provides details of how the original tracks were mixed in his book. I would imagine that remixing was not done due to the fact that many die-hard fans would resist hearing it mixed differently. They wanted to keep it somewhat historically correct. That's why a mono version of the original masters was also released. For the sake of the purists. I've read that the Beatles themselves preferred the mono versions. In the recent Capital records mono releases that I've purchased, I much prefer stereo. A total remix would have been welcomed by me, and I'm sure a much more massive undertaking. Don't be suprised if there are remixes (not remasters) like Love released in later years, where they may i.e., take a previously right panned vocal and put it upfront and center in the mix and pan the background vocals right and left.
In this Past Masters there a bright spots. Much more bass. I was disappointed with the muddy mix of 'She loves you' (which is panned mostly right and sounds mono), but quite impressed with the awesome version of 'this boy' and 'I call your name'. Naturally the newer the song the better the sound. 'Don't let me down', ' Get Back' are special treats. I have most of the Beatles LPs and most of the CDs. I think the remasters are good enough that I'll replace my CD collection with the remastered versions. The remasters are much warmer and in your face. If you have never heard many of the tracks on Past Mastered, you are in for a treat. |
A must-have
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| Review Date: May 17, 2001 |
| Reviewer: G. Sawaged, Canada |
| This album and volume 2 are just brilliant. Some people here have said it's like a duplication of the red and blue albums. But that is so not true. These are songs that were B-Sides, singles and other rarities. Even the songs that were hits that are on this album are the original single versions and not the same as the album tracks. The 12 page booklet contains interesting information on each and every track. One thing I don't understand though, is that my cd contains 18 tracks while Amazon only lists their's as 17. "Slow Down" is on my album but not on Amazon's. Is the U.S release different to the one I bought in Canada? But all the other songs are the same. |
Filled to the brim with classics!
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| Review Date: April 11, 2004 |
| Reviewer: , |
| Too often, the Beatles early period is forgotton. Everyone focuses on their later albums. Sure, all of those albums are masterpieces, but what doesn't anyone ever talk about the music of 1962-1964? When people talk about this period, more often than not, they talk about Beatlemania and screaming girls. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MUSIC? Listen to this album! Look how good the music was, even back then. The Beatles didn't get famous for the studio experimentation. They got famous for making catchy rock n roll. They did it better than anyone. Every song on this album (with the exception of the unnecessary German versions of 'She Loves You' and 'I Want to Hold Your Hand') is absolutely wonderful. All of the huge hits are included here, and you'll see why they were so big. 'Love Me Do', 'From Me to You', 'She Loves You', 'I Want to Hold Your Hand', and 'I Feel Fine' all went to #1 on the charts. And rightfully so! The songs are catchy and fun and completely BEATLES. But the crazy thing about this collection of non-album songs is that the B-sides are just as good as the singles. 'Thank You Girl', 'I'll Get You', 'This Boy', and 'She's a Woman' are all great songs! Also included on the album are songs that were recorded, but pushed aside to EPs of the time. 'Long Tall Sally', 'Slow Down', 'Matchbox', 'I Call Your Name', 'Bad Boy', 'Yes It Is' and 'I'm Down' all fall into this category and they too are fantastic. They have this indescibable energy to them. You have to get this CD to have every song by the Beatles and it's well worth it! |
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