Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Meet the Beatles ... again

Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music will release the original Beatles catalogue, digitally re-mastered for the first time, on Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

The release of 14 Beatles' albums on CD will coincide with the debut of "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game.

And if that's not enough, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released on the same day.

From a press release issued by Apple Corps Ltd./EMI Music:
The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release.

The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and 'Magical Mystery Tour,' which became part of The Beatles' core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections 'Past Masters Vol. I and II' are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set.

Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the 'Past Masters' set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.
The Beatles' Entire Original Recorded Catalogue Remastered by Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music for Worldwide Release on September 9, 2009 (9-9-09)

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS