Customer Reviews

Past Masters (Remastered)

5 star:		(90)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

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.

Past Masters 1 is a very helpful compilation that fills in the gaps for those Beatles fans that want all the official studio recordings. Because the Beatles from 1963-1965 (which is the span of this compilation) were putting stuff out in a singles era, some of these "stray" tracks are of exceptional quality and of the utmost importance to the band's history.

Love Me Do (a different version than the one on Please Please Me), From Me To You, She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Long Tall Sally, I Feel Fine, Yes It Is, and I'm Down are key Beatles tracks. If you have an essentials-only policy, then the Red Album is sufficient for you. For those that own all the Beatles' regular albums, there's no reason not to have this too, it fills in a lot of gaps.

This CD was made to help the fans by cleaning up the band's catalogue, and it succeeded in doing so. So be aware that it is not a Greatest Hits of the early years, that there are tracks (for example the unneccessary inclusion of the German numbers) that keep this from getting a 5th star and making this album for Beatles fans (and not casual fans who'd be better served with the Red Album).

It's taken me years to fully recognize the brilliance of Ringo Starr's drumming.

Listen to the intro and fills on "From Me To You," a tune which was lost in the mania in the US, but became a standard in the UK, where the Beatles used it as their signature tune on the BBC. More obviously, listen to the drum intro to what I consider the greatest early Beatles record, "She Loves You," and the thunder cracks Starr throws when the band returns to the intro prior to the second verse. He could swing, and when people talk about the BEAT in Beatles, they're talking about Starr.

There are 16 good reasons to grab this CD, if you don't already have theses singles in some other form. For my money, the volume pedal George uses on "Yes It Is," Paul's hair-raising Little Richard vocals on the rockers, John's over-the-top ferver on "Bad Boy," and Ringo's drumming throughout are great reasons to own this CD. "She Loves You" is easily one of the very best records ever made.

The German versions of two Beatles tunes are nothing more than a curiosity.

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.

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.

Back when these songs were new, Beatles music was released by EMI/Parlophone in England and Capitol in the US. Until Revolver, the albums were substantially different. The British albums were in a sense the definitive collection, since they each contained groups of songs recorded during the same recording sessions. Capitol - on the other hand - released hodge-podge collections; for example the songs from the British "Hard Day's Night" were spread over four albums.

On the other hand, Capitol released far more albums, and managed to eventually release most of the Beatles singles on albums. So when Capital decided to release Beatles CD's in the British version only, a whole lot of songs were missing from the catalog. These are them.

The problem, as a reviewer noted below, is that they took fabulous mono mixes and made mediocre stereo mixes of many of these songs. Stereo must surely be better, you say! Ah, not always. For Pink Floyd's Dark Side - most certainly. But stereo in early 60's rock was often an artificial and poorly engineered separation - with drums in one speaker and guitar in the other. The music often sounds better with everything front and center in MONO.

The other reviewer suggested that if you're ready to drop some bucks (about $200) you can get the "Singles Collection Box Set," which has the mono versions. But there is a way to get them for about $65. "The Capitol Collection Volume 1" is a CD release of the first four US Beatles albums. Better yet, each CD has the entire album in stereo and then in MONO. If you get "The Capitol Collection" and "Past Masters Volume 2" you will have all the missing singles except "From Me To You" "Bad Boy" and "Yes It Is". If you then get this album, "Past Masters Volume 1," these three songs appear as they should (one mono - two stereo) and you've spent under a hunded bucks.

Of course 30 bucks is better than a hundred, so depending on how much the Mono thing interests you (if you haven't heard it, you may be shocked!), this album is worth owning, as is Volume 2.

By the way, the first four Beatles album incuded in the Capitol box set, do not actually include the first Beatles album. "Please Please Me" was released in 1963 in England after having been turned down by Capitol in the US. "Meet The Beatles" was mostly taken from the Beatles 2nd British release "With The Beatles." So for a complete set of early Beatles in Mono you need the Capitol Box Set ($63), Please Please Me ($16) and the three extra songs found in this album ($16). Add in Past Masters Volume 2 and you've got all the singles for a whole lot less than 200 bucks.

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!

When the Beatles albums were released in the U.S., they had different tracks than the British versions. Once EMI went about the task of issuing the Beatles albums on CD, the decision was made to use the British versions as these were the song lineups the Fabs themselves had originally intended. This left a problem: What to do with the songs that were issued on EPs and singles that never appeared on any of the U.K. albums? The answer: Past Masters, Volume 1 and 2...which collect all these together.

Having these songs help fill in the gaps on the early CDs which otherwise look a bit weak to Americans accustomed to having classics like "I Want to Hold Your Hand","She Loves You", and "I Feel Fine" as part of the albums. Another plus is the liners here are pretty good, detailing dates and take numbers for the sessions that produced these songs.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Some of the most fondly remembered early Lennon-McCartney compositions are here: "I Want to Hold Your Hand","From Me to You","I Feel Fine" and "She Loves You". Much of the weakest material on the first 4 Beatles CDs (in the U.K. versions) are the cover songs, but some of their more well-done covers appear here: A charged Paul vocal on Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally", John tearing up Larry Williams' "Slow Down" and "Bad Boy". A couple B sides turn out to be gems,too: "I'm Down", a great rocker that was "Help!"'s B side in the States and later was covered by fellow Brits YES and "She's a Woman" is another nice rocker.

You also get the rare "Ringo" version of "Love me Do". (The version on the "Please Please Me" CD instead has session man Andy White because George Martin was worried that Ringo's drumming wasn't solid enough. Starr only plays tambourine on that cut.)

LOWS:
On the downside, you get rarities like "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" and "Sie Liebt Dich", German language versions of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" respectively, that really are only curiousities for most listeners.

BOTTOM LINE:
If you don't have this one and you're American, it's harder to see why Beatlemania happened as fast as it did in the U.S. (It had time to build in the U.K.). With this CD "filling in the cracks", it's easier to see why the Liverpudlians were able to accomplish feats like owning the entire Top 5 of the pop charts at once...and it points the way to the rock revolution they would cause.

3 1/2 stars

Surely nowadays nobody discusses the productivity of The Beatles as creators of music. They were more prolific than any contemporary artist, and possibly than any artist *ever*. So at the time of their popularity peak they would not include singles on their albums (the UK Parlophone albums, because those are the real ones - don't listen to what Capitol says), even if they were huge hits, like other artists. That left a huge gap in their discography when it was released on CD; even releasing their 13 albums their official output was still not complete.

Fortunately someone thought about the fans at that time and gathered together a 2 CD-set collection of "the missing link" tracks, and, as the booklet sets, "if you have the 13 CDs, plus these two, you have everything that The Beatles [...] officialy released".

So this CD, spanning through 1962 to 1965 (and its sister volume, covering the later years from 1966 to 1970) isn't really a 'conceptual' album, it's really a collection of non-LP songs, both non album huge hits ("From Me To You", "She Loves You", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "I Feel Fine") and the more 'obscure' tracks:

"Love Me Do", included in its single-version, with Ringo drumming (!) and no tambourine, slightly different from the Please Please Me CD version;

"Thank You Girl", the B side to "From Me To You", an innocent sweet pop song dedicated to the fans;

"I'll Get You", the fantastic B side to "She Loves You", also including a contagious refrain ("oh yeah, oh yeah"), with intriguing lyrics about a love that should come in the future, just because the singer believes in it (The Beatles were beginning to experiment with songs surpassing the 'I love you, you love me' barrier), and also containing one of the biggest double-tracking mistakes by John Lennon in the middle eight (!);

"This Boy", incredible B side to "I Want To Hold Your Hand", featuring terrific three-part harmonies, a stage favorite from those years;

The german versions of "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand", even if only worth listening because of their historic value;

"Long Tall Sally" (sung by Paul McCartney), "Slow Down" (sung by John Lennon) and "Matchbox" (sung by Ringo Starr), three rock'n'roll covers extracted from the one and only UK LP with exclusive material (Long Tall Sally), and in most cases surpassing the original version;

"I Call Your Name", one of the most underrated Lennon compositions, intriguing and with a very interesting ryhthm change in the middle-eight, unusual for those times, from the same Long Tall Sally LP;

"She's A Woman", a McCartney screamer including a piano track, B side to "I Feel Fine";

"Bad Boy", another underrated Lennon cover of Larry Williams, this time joined by terrific lead guitar 'responses' by George Harrison, and only released originally in the US;

"Yes It Is", three-part harmony B-side to "Ticket To Ride"; and

"I'm Down", possibly one of the best rocking tracks The Beatles ever made, including a compelling McCartney lead vocal, great work by Harrison on the guitar and a wacky organ solo by Lennon.

Although the songs are remastered, most of them are in mono mixes and the audio quality screams for remastering/remixing, there are no flops in this one, no bad tracks. If you're a Beatles fan you should get this, in order to complete your collection. If you're only a casual listener, you'll enjoy the hits and will also be surprised by some 'hidden gems' in here, made by what's undebatably the best band ever. So "everyone wins in the end". Get it.