Past Masters

Description

Sourced From The Original Master Tapes And Cut At Abbey Road Studios
Pressed On 180-Gram Vinyl
THE BEATLES ON VINYL DONE RIGHT!
For years the most anticipated vinyl reissues have been from the one, the only Beatles catalog. Finally, after a delay due to the meticulousness of the remastering process and assorted other hurdles, that day has come. Look for the start of shipping of The Beatles Stereo Box Set and individual titles beginning Nov. 13!
These titles update the Beatles classic albums, which have continued to sell strongly and attract new generations of fans long after the quartet disbanded in 1970. For this reissue, individual titles were sourced from the original master tapes. Then each title was copied into 24-bit/192 kHz files and cut to lacquer at Abbey Road Studios. It was a painstaking process with maximum attention paid to every detail.

Past Masters Vol.1 & 2 gathers singles, oddities and B-sides, saving the dedicated Beatlemaniac considerable time. VOLUME ONE covers the first half of the Beatles career from 1962 to 1965, while VOLUME TWO deals with 1965 to 1970. Such was the enormous success of the Fab Fours breakout singles She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand that their vocals were recut for German versions (Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand and Sie Liebt Dich respectively), which were originally slated for the West German market (and are included on this collection) before being released in the States. Always mindful of their influences, the Beatles in their early phase were also notable for their choice of cover songs. Carl Perkins, Larry Williams and Little Richard were all paid tribute to eventually. While Ringo Starr sang Matchbox and John Lennon handled Slow Down and Bad Boy, Paul McCartney channelled Richard Penniman. His take on Long Tall Sally induces goosebumps and the influence clearly carried over to Im Down. During the time period covered by VOLUME TWO, the Fab Four stopped touring and focused their energies on studio recordings. The results included some of the Beatles more experimental forays, like their first use of backwards tape (Rain) and the breaking of the singles time barrier (Hey Jude). There are also alternate versions of well-known songs (Get Back, Across The Universe), and songs influenced by Fats Domino (Lady Madonna) and Indian culture (The Inner Light) featured here. The most unusual tune included on this collection is You Know My Name (Look Up The Number). This highly unusual recording was started in May 1967 and shelved before getting completed in November 1969. The result was an avant-cabaret number conceived by John Lennon, featuring mumbled vocals, Brian Jones saxophone playing and sound effects replicating the inside of an after-hours club.