Johnny Hiland Band

If you have a Beatles fanatic among your family & friends (including yourself!) you ought to circle September 9th on a nearby calander because that’s the day three incredible Beatles related gifts are being released. The stereo box set, mono box set, and Rock Band video game. In this article I’ll go into a little detail about what makes each of these products such a great gift for a Beatles fan.

The Beatles Remastered Stereo Box

Every single tune The Beatles released from 1962 through 1970 in very high quality stereo. That’s all 13 British albums from 1962’s Please Please Me through ’70’s Let It Be. And yes this is a great gift even if the Beatlemaniac in question already owns all of their albums on compact disc. Why? Because these CDs sound far better than the older discs.

These new CDs capture more of the original sound from the master tapes than do the old CDs. They allow for more details in the music to be heard and they have a “warmer” sound too.

The Remastered Beatles Mono CD Box Set

This is the perfect gift for really serious Fab Four fans because this is what all of the true “Beatles purists” have been waiting for: Finally, the mono mixes from the 1960s are on CD. This is the first time that these Beatles albums will be heard as they were originally intended to be heard by many Beatles fans!

Each of the band’s first ten albums was mixed in mono and in most of those cases the band actually spent much more time working on the mono mix than they did on the stereo mix. The reason for that is that in the 1960s stereo was still a new concept and was thought to be something of a “fad.” Most people listened to mono at that time so it only made sense for them to concentrate on the mono mixes.

Beatles Rock Band Video Game

This is a great present for any Beatles fan who enjoys playing games. But I must say that you don’t have to be a video game addict to like playing Rock Band. I hate video games in general but I love playing this game.

If you have younger “gamers” in your family who don’t yet know or appreciate The Beatles music this may be a great way to get them into it.

Now that I have been listening to The Beatles In Stereo Box Set for almost a full seven days I think it’s time to do a review of the set as a whole. Now I have heard everything at least once (although some albums I’ve heard multiple times and others just once) and I have no reservations in saying that these remastered CDs are far superior to the old CDs most of us Beatles fans owned previously.

It’s fantastic how much clearer these new CDs sound when comapred to the old CDs. I hear lots of details in these songs that I have never heard before! It’s really like rediscovering The Beatles timeless music all over again as I go through each of the 14 albums in The Beatles Stereo Box Set.

There’s already been a lot of debate among fans of The Beatles over what sounds better; The the mono or the stereo? This debate is raging because along with this stereo box set The Remastered Beatles In Mono CD Box Set was also released this month.

I think the stereo CDs sound much better for the later albums because they allow for greater clarity which is essential considering how much is going on in most of the later mixes. But with the earlier albums it’s a bit of a closer call. I still like the clarity of the stereo mixes even with the earlier albums, but it is true that the really wide panning can be a bit distracting so I think there’s a good case for the more “powerful” sounding mono mixes too!

In short, I’m very glad that I bought both box sets and I really think they are both essential for serious Beatles fans. After all the mono mixes were how the albums were originally intended to be heard so they have great historical value, but the stereo mixes sound really really good, so you have to have those too.

Obviously the main reason I love this box set is how great The Beatles music sounds in remastered stereo but I also should give a “shout out” to the really great packaging. An informative booklet with many pictures and notes on the historical context of the album and the recording process for that album is included with each CD.

9/9/9 is Christmas Day for Beatles fans. That is the day that The Beatles 2 stereo and mono box sets and Beatles Rock Band are finally released. Beatles fans like me have already ordered all this awesome “Beatles gear” online and are simply waiting for 9/9/9 to come around so it can be shipped to our homes!

#1 The Beatles Remastered Stereo CD Box Set

This stereo box set includes every single recording The Beatles released from 1962 through ‘70 in remastered stereo sound quality.

The new remastering will allow listeners to hear The Beatles timeless music with new clarity and detail. The CDs will also be somewhat louder than the 1987 CD versions which have been out for the last 22 years.

#2 The Beatles Remastered Mono Box Set

The first ten Beatles albums are included in their original mono mix. These original mono mixes haven’t been put on CD until now. Many Beatles purists consider the original mono mixes to be the “true” Beatles mixes because these were the mixes that The Beatles originally intended their fans to hear.

Most amazingly, the original mono mix of The White Album has actually never been released in the United States before. Not even on LP or tape! Why? Because by the time The White Album came out in 1968, mono had already been completely “phased out” of the US marketplace so the original mono mix was only released in the UK at that time.

#3 The Beatles Rock Band Game

Rock Band is the greatest music related video game and The Beatles Rock Band will be the ultimate version of this game. The game includes 45 Beatles songs to be sung and played. Complete Beatles albums will be available to be downloaded and played on Beatles Rock Band. The first album to be made available for download will be Abbey Road.

The Beatles Rock Band will be the first version of the game that includes harmony singing. Three different players can sing at one time which lets your friends and you really sing the harmonies of the greatest band of all time.