[Vision2020] Happy News: Beatles Entire Studio Catalog Newly Remastered On CD A Worthy Effort

[Ted Moffett]

You are correct.  I do not waste time with gaming... And if I want to make
music, I'll play a real instrument.  I'd rather listen to music as an end in
itself, with full attention on nothing but the music.  Video games are
partly responsible for marginalizing the value of listening to music as an
end in itself in our culture, given they dominate the youth market, that
once was far more focused on listening to music as a consuming and
compelling experience, without gaming or video added; and said youth market
was greatly responsible for financing the music recording industry, which
has been decimated in recent decades, as disposable youth dollars have
shifted away from recorded music to video games.

Ted Moffett

On Tue, Oct 6, 2009 at 6:18 AM, Dan Carscallen <areaman at moscow.com> wrote:

>  I look forward to hearing Ted expound the virtues of the new Beatles Rock
> Band, but somehow don’t see him jamming away on an Xbox . . .
>
>
>
> DC
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> *From:* vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:
> vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] *On Behalf Of *Ted Moffett
> *Sent:* Monday, October 05, 2009 9:33 PM
> *To:* Moscow Vision 2020
> *Subject:* [Vision2020] Happy News: Beatles Entire Studio Catalog
> NewlyRemastered On CD A Worthy Effort
>
>
>
> I have listened carefully to a number of these new remasterings of the
> Beatles' albums, and find the new versions on CD worthy for the improved
> sound quality; and in making this evaluation, I should add that I found the
> sound quality of the first 1987 CD releases of the Beatles' albums
> disappointing.  Forget about lower resolution formats... MP3 is the work of
> the dark side... If only the entire Bealtes' catalog would be released on
> SACD.
>
>
>
> I could expound at length, but I'll let Stereophile's Robart Baird save me
> the effort (my impression of the musical experience of listening to these
> new remasters was very similar to Baird's commentary, before I read his
> comments).  I agree with Baird that the high quality vinyl versions of some
> of the Beatles' albums are still compelling, though I think some of these
> new remasterings on CD approach the musicality of the best vinyl versions.
> "Sgt. Peppers" on the Parlophone UK vinyl pressing is amazing, clearly
> better than the first 1987 CD release; the new CD remastering of this
> album is clearly superior to the earlier CD version, enough to compare it to
> the Parlophone UK vinyl:
>
>
>
> http://blog.stereophile.com/musicroom/robertbaird/the_new_beatles/#
>
> Using my Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 3D CD player—which by the way is a great
> machine that I have always adored—at the exact same volume, the first thing
> you notice when you A-B new against old is that sonically the new transfers
> make the originals sound flat and one–dimensional. There is a newfound
> fullness, multi-dimensionality and also a sense of space that the originals
> lack. On first listen, this new sonic heft can easily be mistaken for
> loudness, for compression, but it’s really just a wider dynamic range and
> the presence of *more music* that you’re hearing. In the stereo CD of *Rubber
> Soul*, I A–B’d “Drive My Car” repeatedly against the 1987 originals and
> the audible differences for me came down to several things: increased
> separation and clarity between instruments, a more expressive, luxuriant
> emotional tenor, and an exquisite and exacting sense of bringing out and
> enhancing details like the roundness of the bass line or the edge on the
> vocals, which were always there but which are now so much more alive and
> present in the mix.
>
> After listening for the past few days, several sonic constants have
> appeared. The contributions of Paul and Ringo, alone and as a rhythm section
> are now more prominent. Paul’s bass is now something you can regularly hear
> and be impressed by. Ringo’s tambourine on “Got To Get You Into My Life”
> (from *Revolver*) now sounds like a glorious idea come to fruition.
> Another “Gee, I never heard that before,” moment comes from the layering,
> particularly of the vocals, which is now so much more defined. On “Doctor
> Robert,” again from *Revolver* (a lesser tune that I, of course, have a
> cheesy affinity for), the harmonies have a new energy.
>
> Energy, in fact, may be the word that best describes the positive sonic
> alterations inherent in the new remasters. What you really hear is an
> audible new jolt of energy. Words like cogency, potency and sparkle also
> apply. This music, on the medium of CD, is suddenly more alive than ever
> before. Best of all the CD format’s worst quality, that cold digital
> brightness that’s made so many CD transfers damned near unlistenable, has
> actually been used, very judiciously, to great effect. I would venture to
> say that the Abbey Road team has finally harnessed this demon and made it
> serve rather than harm the music making.
>
> On Lennon’s “Rain” (from *Past Masters*) one of the band’s most elaborate
> sonic creations, one that used a series of overdubs at different tape speeds
> to achieve an odd tonal effect and near the song’s end, backward vocals, the
> new remaster when compared to the original CD transfer, focuses and
> revitalizes the panache of this underrated curiosity. The guitars have more
> bite, Ringo’s snare pops with new vigor and the background vocals are
> separated more than ever before.
>
> Finally, after listening to the *The Beatles* (aka *The White Album*),
> which despite much love for *Abbey Road* has always been my favorite
> Beatles album, the proof as they say, is in the air. The sound is
> appreciatively better, richer, more intense. The overdubs on this record
> have always sounded clumsy to me but on the new remaster, that problem has
> been minimized. A–B’ing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” is yet another
> example of how clarity has been strengthened while the music that was always
> there, the Harrison/McCartney harmonies float above the mix with a new
> urgency and Clapton’s guitar has a thrilling new sting. Anyone who cannot
> hear he differences here needs to upgrade their gear or perhaps retune their
> ears. It’s easy to fall back upon metaphors when describing the exciting new
> sound that rises from these remasters but I’ll use only one. In listening to
> these new reissues, it makes me think that the music was like a half-opened
> flower that has now been brought into full and beautiful bloom.
>
> ------------------------------------------
>
> Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20091006/b182853d/attachment-0001.html