Johnny Hiland Band

After over 20 years of waiting, the [remastered CD|remastered CD] versions of The Beatles studio albums are finally going to be available on CD on 9/9/9. The CD versions from 1987 are considered to an example of very poor mastering which is why Beatles fans have been wanting to hear these classic albums remastered for so long.

But the excitement from 9/9/9 doesn’t just come from the fact that the albums are being remastered for the first time since their original release on CD, it also comes from the mono box set that is being released on that day. This will actually be the first time ever that the mono mixes of some of these amazing Beatles albums will be available on compact disc.

So why should we care about such an outdated way of listening to music here in the 21st century? Mono was being phased out in the 1960s, why should we listen to mono mixes today? Sure a lot of people think that stereo is all you need because it’s the standard these days, but for those curious about the original intention of The Beatles and their production team the mono mixes are of great interest.

The mono versions are what The Beatles (along with their production team) were primarily focused on. The Beatles stereo mixes were done with little input from the band while they were very involved with the mono mixes which were worked on until they were just right. And because of this effort put into the mono mixes, many feel that the original mono mix of Sgt. Pepper is the “real” version of the album.

But there’s even more Beatles stuff for fans to get excited about coming out on 9/9/9, for gamers there’s the Beatles Rock Band game which looks awesome from the previews of it I’ve seen. You can play through The Beatles whole career from their beginnings in Liverpool through their final album, Abbey Road. Even the Rock Band instruments look like the original Beatles gear (the best example is McCartney’s bass!) And now for the first time with the Beatles Rock Band game, you can sing harmonies.