Still With the Beatles
It’s been 10 days now. A full 10 days since the Beatles Remastered in Stereo arrived at Some Music Matters Towers and the effect remains the same as on that bright Wednesday morning: shocking.
Shocking because no matter how many times I listen, I continue to be surprised by what a superb job the engineers at Abbey Road have done.
And I’m only on With the Beatles.
In common with many people who bought the box, I expected to rush through and skip from one mid/late period album to another. But then I listened to Please Please Me.
I have managed to make it onto With the Beatles, but I remain so amazed at the difference in sound on what are two track recordings that I have spent the last 10 days just soaking up every note in all its new shining glory.
If you can hold off the joys of the later album, it’s worth doing. For instance, I Wanna Be Your Man has suddenly come to life with the band’s playing wild and joyous. You can feel the sweat dripping from the walls of the Cavern.
The second album’s closing track, Money is also a revelation. You must wonder what those original engineers thought when they first witnessed a band creating such a sound in a recording studio.
The remastered CD seems to be fighting its way out of the speakers with a level of energy never before heard on a pop record. Even now, 46 years later the sound is incredible. Brutal, alive and powerful in a way that puts punk bands to shame, it’s the sound of a group of musicians holding nothing back.
The whole experience is breathtaking – and that’s before the four track joys that await in album number three – A Hard Day’s Night.
If you have yet to invest – whether in the box set or individual CDs – I would suggest you take the plunge.
It’s been a long time since listening to music has been this much fun.
