Customer Reviews

Box Set

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

In MOST cases...buying a BOX SET is a great deal.....NOT in this case....you'd be further ahead to buy the individual British import cd's on amazon and also the 2 past masters...and have money left over....if you REALLY want the rare stuff....invest in the 3 anthology 2cd sets and the BBC set...and the LET IT BE NAKED....you'll pretty much have it all...I have been a Beatles collector and fan since 1963...and this is what I did.

First off, I love the Beatles. I have a bunch of their actual ablums (LPs), and some tapes. I was thinking about upgrading my collection to CD, so I looked for a comprehensive box set, thinking I could get a better deal than buying each of their CDs individually.

This, however, is not the case - I added up all of the Beatles' CDs individually, and came up with $231.19, including Past Masters I & II (including $15.85 for standard shipping/handling). This collection costs over $300.

Maybe I am missing something, but I see no reason to buy this set.

Dave Gruska

What you get are the 12 original U.K. Beatles albums (13 discs, because The Beatles a.k.a. White Album is a double set), plus both volumes of Past Masters, which fill in all the songs that did not make the albums. If you are a completist, this is definitely for you! You can hear the Fab Four from their days as the Liverpool Lads who conquered America, right up to the rooftop sessions at Abbey Road. There is a lot of good music here, some mischief, and a few mis-steps, but it's both history and legend, and it's all together now!

This is the ultimate in Boxed Sets. 15 CD's of classic music that continues to stand the test of time. The albums reproduced are the UK originals (as nature intended them, before US Capitol re-arranged them up to Revolver - more about that later), plus 2 Volumes of Past Masters which gathers together all non-lp singles (#1 hits all of them) and their B-sides (some of which other bands would have killed for as A's), 4 EP tracks, 2 German language versions, alternate versions (in the case of Love Me Do, Get Back & Let It Be) and a giveaway (Across The Universe). This is everything. There are plenty of revelations here. John's 1 take effort on "Twist & Shout", The clarity of Sgt. Pepper (you'll hear things you haven't heard before), the shaky nerves in Paul's voice on the original "Love Me Do" their first UK single, the youthful vibrance of the "Please Please Me" album. It's amazing to think of how prolific The Beatles really were considering that when "Rubber Soul" was recorded & released, 2 other prime cuts, "We Can Work It Out"/"Day Tripper" came out at the same time as a non-LP "Double-A" single. Such was the quality of their work. I mentioned the UK albums as nature intended. We got them this way in Australia. This is how I know them though I only bought them in the early 70's when I was old enough, earning money & working. The notable exception is "Magical Mystery Tour" which is the American LP version. This proved a smarter idea than the original Double EP released in the UK and here and was eventually officially released in the UK in 1976. LP wise in the States you guys got a different deal which becomes understandable when one reads Bruce Spizer's "The Beatles On Capitol Records Part 2 - The Albums". I've got vinyl versions of all of those US albums including Help! & Rubber Soul which were very different & Revolver which, compared to the UK version, was missing 3 tracks that were included on the very controversial US "Yesterday.. & Today" LP released prior to Revolver. If you've got the original US Capitol LP's or even later pressings, keep them because they are now no longer available. So no more quibbling please. Yeah the CD's might be a tad short but that's how albums were recorded back then. Bear in mind that the UK versions generally had 14 tracks per album compared to the average 11 or 12 on their US counterparts. The "White Album" of course carries 30 cuts. They've also been remastered with the 1st 4 CD's in Mono. The artwork has been reproduced right down to the original liner notes. My version is in a Wooden Roll-Top Box with a great 50+ page informative booklet by Mark Lewisohn. This is a marvellous way to have the complete collection. If you're a fan all that matters is the music. Nuff Said!

The only Beatles songs I couldn't find in this box were the instrumental pieces only avalible in American (not UK) albums, but those were not really Beatles, they were George Martin. Are those worth so much to complain about? Maybe you should find a compilation of just George Martin instrumentals.

I'm not sure about what bearboya said, but I counted 129 songs in here. None of them are repeated. The first 14 discs are the British albums (the American versions have more George Martin and less Beatles), and the last two discs are all the singles not included in the albums. Where are the repeated ones?

The other albums you've heard about (like Red and Blue) are anthologies, so you won't need them when you have all this.

But on top of all that, I totally agree with skooterfd and Dave Gruska. You would save $73.14 if you bought all 16 CDs from Amazon.com separately, and the plastic box can't be worth that much. There's free shipping too.

Some of us remember the day when the Beatles showed up on the Ed Sullivan show. I was about 14 years old at the time, and the Beatles became a part of my life while growing up.

We were the same kids who showed up at Woodstock, who now have kids who think the Beatles are cool (sorta) and had to go to Woodstock II, just to go, and be cool.

We were there, we lived it, and we don't have to prove anything. We lived this music, it was part of us and our lives. We deeply felt the message they put across. For '60s - '70s American kids, this music set is not just a revelie into the things that we held dear. Listen to the Beatles again, and you will see (despite what your kids say) how wonderfully far we have taken ourselves in the last 20 or 30 years.

This collection of music is going to make you cry, laugh, think, and eventually feel a sense of your own worth, as a survivor of the worst things that plagued those of us who experienced our growing-up years in the middle of the 20th century.

This beautifully packaged set is something very, very special. It reminds us of the times, the chaos, and the divisivness of the entire era. More important, it recreates in our minds how the Beatles chose to comment on those problems. And how they made us laugh and feel happy with selections like "Honey Pie."

Their music is just as beautiful and as special as it always was. The Beatles will be remembered as the most influential musical group - and perhaps societal commentators - in the 20th century.

On CD, the earlier music selections have been audibly enhanced, as have the stereo 33s of Sgt. Pepper. This all sounds better than ever on CD.

This is a wonderful package to have. Spend the money. You won't be disappointed. I certainly wasn't, even though I thought about it a lot. Spend a weekend listening, and listening again. It will refresh your mind, renew your soul, and make you feel young again.

Your kids might like it too, Mom and Dad, but you will know what it's really all about. Enjoy it as much as I have!

Free your mind, get into the times, and remember... "it's gonna be alright."

We knew that, anyhow.

If you want to have fun and get the best sound, this is what I would do. Get the Capitol Albums Vol 1. (first 4 American albums) Which replace the English albums: With The Beatles, A Hard Days Night, and Beatles For Sale. Reason is the American albums sound better. Trust me I have all the American Beatle albums and all the English CD's and had no idea the songs were recorded differently till I seen an article about it. HELP was the first English stereo album. All the other English albums before HELP were in Mono. Then buy these English Beatle CD's. Please Please Me, HELP, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Magical Mystery Tour, White Album, Yellow Submarine(songtrack)Abbey Road, Let It Be. Include Past Masters VOL 1 & 2 and Beatles 1 for all the singles. Cost $200 TOPS!!

I'm a major Beatles fan and no one enjoys a good box set more than me. But, why is this set so expensive? It goes for $296.99.If you were to purchase all 15 CD's separately, the total would come to only $224.35. That's a saving of $72.64. I recall seeing this set advertised on QVC and neither the booklet or the storage box looked that impressive. Even if they were first rate, they couldn't justify paying an extra $72.64. Am I missing something?

I didn't buy this set from Amazon. I bought it through a TV shopping channel (which shall remain un-named). At the time I bought it, it had been out for more than a year and if I remember correctly, there was some kind of lawsuit pending and the set was being taken out of print and no one was sure it would be returning. I know I paid less than $200 for it and, despite what some reviewers here will tell you... it was worth every penny. This is (as others have said) all of the Beatles original UK releases along with Past Masters I & II in a wooden roll-top box. The box is not plastic (as has been claimed) and is very sturdy and fairly heavy. Despite rumors of its demise "Hey Jude" is in fact in this set. The recordings seem clear and clean to me and I love the way the whole set is packaged. Why there is so much mis-information on this set I don't know. All that being said, I highly recommend this set for folks (like myself) who are looking for a box set. Sure, you might be able to assemble the individual albums cheaper, and if that makes you happy, please have at it! But that fact can't take away from this wonderful set.

I just recently bought this wonderful box set and I am oh-so-glad that I got it. It is everything any Beatle fan could want. Included are all their original British records on cd along with both volumes of Past Masters which contain singles that weren't released on their albums. The cds come in a nice, roll-top black box, which also has a special spot for a book which gives some background for each song on each cd. Not knowing what the box looked like when I ordered it, I was glad when I got it and saw that there are special divider things between the cds so that they don't bang around in there. I had also owned some of the Beatles cds, but I am still very glad that I bought this box set becasue the Sgt. Pepper cd has the original booklet thing and comes inside a special box and has the pull-outs that were included along with the record versions. Everything about this set is amazong and it is well worth every penny.