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This review is for "The Beatles 1+" 1 CD/2 BluRay set.
There is a lot to cover here, so please bare with me. I was not expecting a lot of advancement from the 5.1 audio due to the past history of the Abby Road studios. All through the Beatles recording history, all they had was a 4 track tape recorder in the studio. They did all of their takes and mixes from that 4 track machine. So mix-downs would be limited. But over the years, they did a pretty good job of mixing each track to give us spectacular stereo and effects.
Giles Martin is the son of George Martin, who produced most of the Beatles music since the beginning. Most of the orchestral music you hear behind the Beatles is George Martin's orchestra. George also had a lot to do with the original editing and mixing of the Beatles music.
Giles Martin took those 4 track master tapes and went to work. He was able to come up with some amazing 5.1 surround mixes of original Beatles recordings. There are a few song titles that did not offer much to mix down, so Giles did his best and made it work. Needless to say, most of the titles on this album have a pretty good and noticeable 5.1 discrete separation mix.
Let me give one good example of a remix. The song "I Want To Hold Your Hand" had an original stereo mixdown with the music on the left channel, and the boys voices on the right channel. That was a popular mix back when stereo records were still new. The new Giles Martin mix has a Guitar on the front left, a different guitar on the front right, the voices are in the center with background ambiance of the voices and drums in stereo on the rear left and right.
The audio is offered in super clean Dolby 2.0 Stereo, DTS HDMA 5.1 surround, and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround. As usual, my favorite is the DTS HDMA 5.1 mode for surround sound at all times when available. 0% compression, and much wider dynamic range. Before you begin to listen to this album, keep in mind that the volume level is higher than most discs and volume levels should be turned down much lower than normal to begin, at least until you find your own preferences. But they are still super clean.
First... about BD Disc #1
Some real fans may be a little disappointed to find that 6 of the titles are not the original studio versions. They were taken from live BBC TV performances and enhanced for the 5.1 stereo effect. The first 3 songs, 1. Love Me Do, - 2. From Me To You. - and 3, She Loves You, were not available in stereo so the live TV versions was used for this album. They have an acceptable fake stereo effect that is pleasant to listen to.
The video portions are what they used to call, Promotional films. Before the days of cable and MTV, they used to make a video of the band in a TV studio or the music studio, and they would lip-sinc to the actual recording. Then they put them to together to send to radio and TV stations as a promotion of a new song or a TV show audition. Most of the videos on this album use those promo films. But they are all remastered, cleaned up and look fantastic. There are performances you have never seen before.
Then there are songs numbered 5. Can't Buy Me Love, - 6. A Hard Days Night, and 11. Yesterday, that are also taken from Live TV performances and do not have a good stereo mix. To be honest, I would rather have heard the 2 channel stereo studio mix of these three songs. They were much better.
One real disappointment was the live TV version of #21. Hey Jude. It is not even in stereo. Number 22. Get Back is the live rooftop version. The studio version is on BD disc 2. Songs 26. Let It Be, and 27. The Long And Winding Road, are the song clips from the Beatles "Let It Be" movie, but they are good 5.1 versions.
The rest of the titles on Disc 1 are the original studio tracks remixed expertly by Giles Martin for real 5.1 mixes. Here are the titles on Disc 1. By the way, the 1 CD is the same as the BluRay disc 1.
1. Love Me Do... (Live BBC TV)
2. From Me To You... (Live BBC TV)
3. She Loves You... (Live BBC TV)
4. I Want To Hold Your Hand... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
5. Can't Buy Me Love... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
6. A Hard Days Night... (Live BBC TV)
7. I Feel Fine... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
8. Eight Days A Week... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
9. Ticket To Ride.... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
10. HELP... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
11. Yesterday... (Live BBC TV)
12. Daytripper... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
13. We Can Work It Out... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
14. Paperback Writer... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
15. Yellow Submarine... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
16. Eleanor Rigby... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
17. Penny Lane... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
18. All You Need Is Love... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
19. Hello Goodbye... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
20. Lady Madonna... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
21. Hey Jude... (MONO Live BBC TV)
22. Get Back... (Live Rooftop Version)
23. The Ballad Of John & Yoko... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
24. Something... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
25. Come Together... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
26. Let It Be... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
27. The Long And Winding Road... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
And now for BD Disc #2
Disc 2 is a bonus disc with titles that may not have been #1 hits, but should have been. It also includes a few alternate video versions of titles on Disc 1 Like the studio edited version of "Get Back". Number 21. "Don't Let Me Down" is the live rooftop version. There is even an Ed Sullivan Show performance.
There are two titles on Disc 2 that you should pay special attention to. Number 12. Strawberry Fields Forever, and 14. A Day In The Life. Giles Martin and crew went all out to give these two songs the royal treatment. You have never heard these songs like this before. The 5.1 surround mix is absolutely awesome. As an example.... "A Day In The Life" begins as a normal stereo mix on the front channels. Then the orchestra comes in majestically on the rear channels in discrete stereo, hitting you like a blast of cold air. It gets your attention. The small solo by Paul is mostly on the rear channels but moves around slowly to all speakers. It is an audiophiles dream.
And of course we have the 2 reunion Beatles songs from 1995 with the 3 live Beatles (Paul, George, & Ringo), and an edited in John Lennon, doing 2 original Lennon songs. Songs number 22 and 23 are "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love". They are both the original videos and music introduced on the ABC TV Beatles Anthology special back in 1995. And the 5.1 remix is breathtaking on both videos.
The titles on Disc 2 are as follows........
1. Twist And Shout... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
2. Baby It's You... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
3. Words of Love... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
4. Please, Please Me... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
5. I Feel Fine... (Alternate VIDEO Version)
6. Daytripper... (Alternate VIDEO Version B)
7. Daytripper... (Alternate VIDEO Version C)
8. We Can Work It Out... (Alternate VIDEO Version)
9. Paperback Writer... (Alternate VIDEO Version)
10. Rain... (Alternate VIDEO Version B)
11. Rain... (Alternate VIDEO Version C)
12. Strawberry Fields Forever... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
13. Within You Without You... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
14. A Day In The Life... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
15. Hello Goodbye... (Alternate VIDEO Version B)
16. Hello Goodbye... (Alternate VIDEO Version C)
17. Hey Bulldog... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
18. Hey Jude... (Alternate Mix Live BBC TV. Still in MONO)
19, Revolution... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
20. Get Back... (Alternate Edited Studio Mix)
21. Don't Let Me Down... (Live Rooftop Version)
22. Free As A Bird... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
23. Real Love... (ORIGINAL STUDIO 5.1 REMIX)
No matter what you think about these 50 Beatles remixed video versions, keep this in mind. The 32 original studio remixed titles are heard here in flawless DTS HDMA 5.1 96KHz/24Bit surround sound. No Beatles CD or MP3 could ever try to compare to that. It is well worth the price to own a priceless collection of Beatles songs in awesome 5.1 surround. And the videos are worth it as well. Some we have never seen until now.
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The Beatles 1
After months, weeks, and days of waiting, I got another copy of The Beatles 1 on CD. It is worth waiting, but I love it. It is one of my favorite Beatles albums. My package was delivered from the U.K.
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