Beatles fans, hold on to your pants — you were already looking forward to 09.09.09 for the release of The Beatles’ Rock Band game, but now the day promises to be even more epic with the release of the entire Fab Four catalog, digitally remastered for the very first time.
The announcement came today from Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music that all 12 Beatles albums will come with replicated original UK album art, “including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album.”
From the press release:
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.
Though there’s no concrete information yet on digital distribution of the tracks, there will be a second box set called “The Beatles In Mono” featuring all the band’s recordings that were mixed for a mono release, including the original 1965 stereo mixes of Help! and Rubber Soul, which have never before been released on CD.
The Stereo Albums (available individually and collected in a stereo boxed set)
* = CD includes QuickTime mini-doc about the album
Please Please Me* (CD debut in stereo)
With The Beatles* (CD debut in stereo)
A Hard Day’s Night* (CD debut in stereo)
Beatles For Sale* (CD debut in stereo)
Help!*
Rubber Soul*
Revolver*
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band*
Magical Mystery Tour*
The Beatles*
Yellow Submarine* (also includes original US liner notes)
Abbey Road*
Let It Be*
Past Masters (contains new liner notes written by Kevin Howlett)
The Beatles in Mono (boxed set only)
+ = mono mix CD debut
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day’s Night
Beatles For Sale
Help! (CD also includes original 1965 stereo mix)+
Rubber Soul (CD also include original 1965 stereo mix)+
Revolver+
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band+
Magical Mystery Tour+
The Beatles+
Mono Masters
