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124 of 129 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the long lost American lp, August 10, 2003
OK, it finally happened. Sadder than the day someone put unleaded gas in your 57 Chevy. Your lps melted, or warped, or something and you finally realized that you HAVE to upgrade: It's time to buy the Beatles CDs. Everything is going fine UNTIL....you can't find "Hey Jude"! What happened to that wonderful album with such hits as Paperback Writer and The Ballad of John and Yoko? You can't even find it on e-Bay! What's a bifocaled, befuddled Beatle fan to do?Here is your answer. "Hey Jude" was an American compilation, and all the CDs were made off the British masters. But the songs from "Hey Jude" are all here on "Past Masters Vol. 2", with a couple of extras thrown in. Now you can listen to "We Can Work It Out" and wonder if Jane Asher is glad they didn't work it out (as Sir Paul and Heather hog the tabloid headlines); be amazed again at the before-its-time technology of "Rain"; explain to your kids that "Lady Madonna" is not about that other Madonna; mourn Joe-Joe (the man who thought he was a loner -- Linda Eastman's first husband, who died in 1998) ; remember the concert on the roof from "Let It Be" on "Get Back"; and debate whether "The Ballad of John and Yoko" is an exercise in grandiosity or satire. But wait! There's more! This version of "Across the Universe", which features cricket and meadow noises, is a refreshing change from that on the Specter-produced "Let it Be" lp. And "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" is goofy Brit humor at its best. What's missing? Well, that cool picture, you know, the one with the boys in Cuban boots & hats, standing in front of huge doors? I'm on a hunt for it. I'm sure I have a copy somewhere among my books and magazines. When I find it, I'll tape it to the jewel case. Voila.
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43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Companion to the British albums starting with RUBBER SOUL, September 1, 2004
In the late 80s, the two PAST MASTERS discs, consisting of the non-album songs (mostly singles), were released to supplement the original, British-format albums.
VOLUME TWO picks up with late-1965 recordings and ends with the 1970 "Let It Be" single. Generally this compilation was welcome at the time of its initial release (we were happy to get these songs on CD), but numerous fans had some rather cold feelings regarding the poor choice to include the stereo versions of many of these songs. Excluding "You Know My Name," which has never received a stereo mix, eight of the remaining 14 tunes (those released prior to 1969's "Get Back," the first stereo Beatles single) were originally released in mono and sounded fabulous. Perhaps there's a bit of truth to Ringo's knee-slapper: "George Martin has gone deaf in one ear. Now he can only work in mono!" Martin spent the majority of time working on the mono mixes and comparatively little time on the stereo. No doubt, George Martin was a mono-mixing genius. So why did we get the inferior stereo versions here?
Mono had been the standard for years, but there came an industry-wide push around 1969 to make stereo the standard. Ever since stereo became the norm, the record industry has tried very hard to brainwash the public into thinking that stereo is--and always was--better than mono. It is unfortunate that their efforts have been surprisingly successful because the inescapable fact remains that most stereo rock music from rock's early years sounds terribly artificial compared with what we are used to from the 70s onward. The stereo mixes of several of these songs sound grossly anemic--a far cry from their clear, full, focused, and balanced mono counterparts. So my disappointment with PAST MASTERS VOLUME TWO is simply that marketing wins out over artistic merit. (Too often we consumers suffer because of myths propagandized by corporate marketing mentality.)
"Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out" were released together as a single around the same time as RUBBER SOUL. The stereo versions of both songs give us extreme channel separation: Bass and drums are shoved far left while the vocals are far right, sounding detached and cavernous. The stereo picture sounds synthetic and gimmicky. And with the bass and drums shoved into a corner, the music's power is sapped, the rhythm section lacking sonic unity.
The stereo version of "Paperback Writer" has the guitars and drums far left, leaving only Paul's bass far right. It sounds as though the drums and guitars are in a separate room, down a hall somewhere. The vocals, once again, sound detached and abnormal: The lead and some harmonies are in the middle while the rest of the harmonies are far right. The mono version, released as a single with "Rain" two months before REVOLVER, is shockingly powerful, focused, and realistic in comparison. Although "Rain," for the most part, was spared bizarre channel separation--the rhythm section is front and center where it should be--John's vocals (far left) are severed from the harmony vocals (far right). It's close to the mono, but the mono still sounds better.
The album notes to the PAST MASTERS discs lead one to believe that these stereo versions were the original releases. "Lady Madonna," released as a single in March 1968, was not given its lopsided stereo remix until December 1969 for the Capitol compilation HEY JUDE. "The Inner Light," the flip side to the "Lady Madonna" single, was given its first stereo remix in January 1970 and is actually a decent representation of the original.
This version of "Revolution," however, is anything but a decent representation of the original mono single--a song of intense, raucous power. In fact, this stereo account is perhaps the most dismembered-sounding Beatles remix of all. "Hey Jude" is not so bad in stereo--why it was spared the sonic contortions received by some of these others is beyond me--but I assure you that the mono still sounds better.
Thankfully VOLUME TWO includes the single versions of "Get Back" and "Let It Be," which differ from the tracks on the LET IT BE and LET IT BE... NAKED albums. The stereo versions of those two songs plus "Don't Let Me Down," "The Ballad Of John And Yoko," and "Old Brown Shoe" do not sound gimmicky, and I prefer them to the mono versions. We also get the glorious original version of "Across The Universe," for years available only on the World Wildlife Fund's OUR WORLD LP. Recorded in 1968, the song received its stereo mix for the Wildlife album in October 1969. So the six stereo tunes from 1969 are the reasons why I hang on to VOLUME TWO.
The only place I know of where you will find the original mono versions of the pre-1969 songs is THE BEATLES CD SINGLES COLLECTION, an outrageously priced boxed set of the British singles. And because of the audacious price, I will not recommend that collection to the more casual fans of this group. I do highly recommend the SINGLES COLLECTION to those fans who must have the mono; but trust me, the price is enough to make one gasp.
PAST MASTERS VOLUME TWO is okay for those who have never heard the mono versions. But to many of us who grew up listening to the glorious mono mixes of most of these tunes, PAST MASTERS VOLUME TWO was like a slap in the face. Again, those who are not used to the mono versions will have no reason to share in my hardened partiality and should be reasonably happy with the two PAST MASTERS discs; after all, they are reasonably priced. Know, however, that superior versions exist which make many of the stereo ones sound abhorrently weak.
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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Round-up of singles never released on original albums, December 22, 2003
In the sixties, singles were far more important than albums and it was common practice for the best tracks to be released on singles or EP's and not to appear on album until there were enough tracks for a Greatest hits. Album sales were modest compared to singles sales so the idea of using a single to promote an album had not yet been born. When it was decided to release all the original Beatles albums on CD, there were enough of these tracks to fill two CD's of their own. Past masters volumes 1 and 2 contain these tracks. In a few cases, different versions of the songs appeared on original albums. Volume 2 (this one) is the stronger of the two, but both are excellent.The first two tracks here, Day tripper and We can work it out, made up a double-sided single that topped the international charts. Paperback writer, Lady Madonna, Hey Jude, Get back, Ballad of John and Yoko and Let it be were the other major international hits on this collection. The version of Across the universe here was produced for use by a wildlife charity and is much better than the version on the original Let it be album. Since this CD was originally released, all the hits were released on the red album, 1962 to 1966, or the blue album, 1967 to 1970, so if you're just looking for hits, you might be better to buy those or the more recent Beatles 1. But if you are a serious Beatles fan, this album is just as important as the original albums.
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