Well, what a pleasant surprise...I wasn't expecting this until early December.
I'm talking of course, about the new Beatles box set, The Capitol Albums, Vol I. As a dope for the old American versions of all the earlier Beatles albums (see avatar), I've been hoping for this to come along for the better part of 20 years!! This is literally the music that I grew up on...been listening to it since I was 3 years old, bouncing on my rocking horse.
First impressions:
Ordered mine from Music Direct (see link in my sig to the thread). I must say that the packaging (white packing paper rolled around it in 4-5 layers) leaves something to be desired. At any rate, it got here undamaged, and that's my primary concern.
The box is a disappointment, frankly...it's flimsy. I had expected something like some of my other box sets...heavier, and in book format. This one is a thin cardboard box for a sleeve, covering an inner sleeve with two pockets. The albums (all four of their first American albums) in one pocket, and a book (again, a disappointment...smaller than I would have expected) in the other.
Then I took out the albums...they're so cute!! Little tiny versions of their albums!! They did a nice job with attention to detail...for a Beatlemaniac like me, that's important!!
I took one out...Meet the Beatles. I remember this rainbow label from my old vinyl. The lettering looks exactly like I remember it. Very nice...amazing the things that you remember. Gotta play this...
First I listen on the speakers...it seems like they've done something to balance the old LEFT-------RIGHT thing that the older albums seem to suffer from. It sounds pretty good...not as compressed as I remember. Seems fuller and richer.
Then I try it with the headphones....UGH!!! I guess they didn't do THAT much with the channel mix.
It does sound awfully good in the stereo mix, but let's check out the mono mix. My brother has been raving about the mono mixes for years, and even my buddies who are music nuts like me made fun of me for mentioning them. Let me tell you that they sound pretty good to me with the headphones on. Pretty amazing what a well-mixed mono track can bring.
Thus far, I've listened to Meet the Beatles and a few cuts on The Beatles Second Album. The latter sounds significantly better to me in the stereo mix. Don't know if it was mixed better this time around or what, as it had a reputation for being the worst of all the albums in that regard. I'll report back later...so far, so good.
I'm talking of course, about the new Beatles box set, The Capitol Albums, Vol I. As a dope for the old American versions of all the earlier Beatles albums (see avatar), I've been hoping for this to come along for the better part of 20 years!! This is literally the music that I grew up on...been listening to it since I was 3 years old, bouncing on my rocking horse.
First impressions:
Ordered mine from Music Direct (see link in my sig to the thread). I must say that the packaging (white packing paper rolled around it in 4-5 layers) leaves something to be desired. At any rate, it got here undamaged, and that's my primary concern.
The box is a disappointment, frankly...it's flimsy. I had expected something like some of my other box sets...heavier, and in book format. This one is a thin cardboard box for a sleeve, covering an inner sleeve with two pockets. The albums (all four of their first American albums) in one pocket, and a book (again, a disappointment...smaller than I would have expected) in the other.
Then I took out the albums...they're so cute!! Little tiny versions of their albums!! They did a nice job with attention to detail...for a Beatlemaniac like me, that's important!!
I took one out...Meet the Beatles. I remember this rainbow label from my old vinyl. The lettering looks exactly like I remember it. Very nice...amazing the things that you remember. Gotta play this...
First I listen on the speakers...it seems like they've done something to balance the old LEFT-------RIGHT thing that the older albums seem to suffer from. It sounds pretty good...not as compressed as I remember. Seems fuller and richer.
Then I try it with the headphones....UGH!!! I guess they didn't do THAT much with the channel mix.
It does sound awfully good in the stereo mix, but let's check out the mono mix. My brother has been raving about the mono mixes for years, and even my buddies who are music nuts like me made fun of me for mentioning them. Let me tell you that they sound pretty good to me with the headphones on. Pretty amazing what a well-mixed mono track can bring.
Thus far, I've listened to Meet the Beatles and a few cuts on The Beatles Second Album. The latter sounds significantly better to me in the stereo mix. Don't know if it was mixed better this time around or what, as it had a reputation for being the worst of all the albums in that regard. I'll report back later...so far, so good.
