The Beatles 1962-1966 on vinyl redux

On November 10th, as we were gearing up to Remembrance Day after the release of the "new" single Now And Then a week before two very different versions of albums we've known for all our lives appeared in both vinyl record and compact disc.

We're going to talk exclusively about the vinyl edition.

Originally coming out in 1973 the Beatles 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 compilations known to a number of us as the RED and BLUE albums were either gateways into their music growing up in a post Beatles pop world or neat resumés for original fans.

What made them so essential was they took all the hit singles and added a good selection of notable tracks from their albums in chronological order capturing well the essence of the Beatles appeal and their musical development plus  added the lyrics for every song on the inner sleeves.

Short of putting them in a box with a glossy booklet wrapped up with ribbon they could not of been better so over fifty years they've always been around in a variety of formats from records, cassette and 8 track tapes to the compact disc and being given copies for many of us was a rite of passage musically.

One thing they cannot be ignored is however the stereo mixes especially of many of the songs on RED are rather primitive with vocals and backing at the far sides of the stereo image and nothing in the middle which doesn't work too well on headphones.

Compared with today there were only a handful at best of individual tracks to create a stereo mix from and in any event that just wasn't the main aim in how the recording session was done as in the early sixties especially mono was king with most recordings being played on mono portable record players apart from the more well to do grown ups who bought classical, show and film soundtracks who quickly brought into stereo sound.

One major structural difference between the two cd set and the vinyl edition lies in how the expanded track selection is handled which is that the cd has the new selections placed between the original twenty six while the vinyl version keeps the original order but places the extras one the third disc.

Used initially in assembling the Get Back film and then in the new edition of Revolver last year using Artificial Intelligence so it would "learn" all the elements which then gives you lots of separate tracks you can remix this has been applied to every song on RED for this edition.

Thus for the first time ever we get "true stereo" Love Me Do from the original singles version too and She Loves You which have only ever existed in mono although to my ears the source of that track sounds inferior to all previous editions.

Many of those irritating hole in middle vocals on one side mixes have been redone totally and even generally good stereo mixes like Ticket To Ride have the drive reduced in stereo album mixes restored that the original mono 45 had.

Yesterday's string quartet is now spread across both channels which as long term classical musicI know is how they appear.

In the main this works and especially well on the Rubber Soul tracks which bolds well for the much looked forward to remixed stereo version of that album easily the worst in stereo in the catalogue.

Observant eyes will have noticed there's more tracks on the rear cover of the cd (on vinyl the listing is at the bottom of the gatefold photograph like the original)  - 34 not 26 - which allows for a better selection from albums as the beatles generally didn't have singles on albums unless they came out before or were tied in things like the films.

While the criticism could be made the 1973 original was over heavy in representing Rubber Soul, oddly that has gained yet another track so now half of that album appears on this compilation and a similar number from Revolver.

Strangely there has no improvement in the representation of Beatles For Sale (Beatles '65/VI in the North American original Capitol albums) with just Eight Day's A Week, a U.S. chart topper from early 1965 making that the least represented album.

On vinyl the mastering is better as in wider dynamics and sound-staging compared with the cd but that decision to place the extra tracks is awkward feeling like a bonus compilation rather than an integral part of this new version.

I can see for regular playing the 2014 all analogue issue using the original 1973 mixes but with the fake stereo replaced by mono being the regular played edition but this is a great new envisioned version especially for the second side with remixes from Rubber Soul and Revolver which had issues in the original stereo mixes and that bonus disc.