The Beatles – 1962-1966

I'm someone who obsessively listens to this band's english LPs, so I initially had no plans to purchase a compilation, but after hearing these remixes via streaming, I couldn't believe how much fun I was having with them. This breathes new life into these familiar recordings, originally set to many clumsy stereo mixes. And even while my appreciation of those original stereo mixes has risen in recent years, I still think the majority of these - particularly pre-Rubber Soul - are utterly fantastic.

I never dreamed of hearing Ringo's drumming or Paul's bass so pronounced on these records, especially the former which makes them sound a hell of a lot thumpier and more modern. The Revolver tracks I'm least fond of, mainly because I think the original stereo mix of that album is by and large pretty solid, but even they're refreshing listens and while I've read some complaints of the sound quality regarding Love Me Do and She Loves You, I think that's unfair given what's being sourced here. Just hearing them in true stereo for the first time is amazing enough to me. I think a lot of this is Giles' and crew's best work so far, and while it does range in quality, none of these are bad mixes. Many of them are even superior. What a joy.

My only outright complaint is why more covers were added to the tracklist. Sure, they're great songs (I love You Really Got a Hold on Me), and maybe Twist and Shout is an essential, but there are a number of originals that could have taken their place.

Wish we could have swapped out one of the covers on disc 3 for "Rain." That said, mono mixes are still *the* way to go but these new mixes are fun.

I'm coming to with this release. The 2023 remixes of the stereo songs are excellent and more natural-sounding than the original versions, and the originally-mono tracks simply come alive with new energy and detail. The first spins were not terribly impressive, but the second time through the discs are sounding better. I clean with an AT6012 pad and 91% iso alcohol, so perhaps the first didn't get all the factory gunk out of the grooves. Dead space between tracks is still noisier than it should be. What hasn't changed is my opinion of the low-rent packaging that forces discs 2 and 3 in the space that one disc should occupy--a choice that resulted in light edge warping for those records. Finally, I'm not crazy about the fact that the tracks were not chronologically re-sequenced prior to pressing as they were for the compact disc release. Fortunately, that's an easy fix: I listen to side 5 first, then sides 1-4, then return to the third disc and listen to side 6. Not chronologically perfect, but as close as one will get with this set. I wish I could give this five stars, but the packaging, edge warping and noise keep me from doing that.

I like some versions of the stereo mixes here; I would have preferred some mono mixes, but happy to hear Ringo clearly in the middle. As for the extra disc, I think it should have included more George Harrison cuts. I Need You, Don't Bother Me, Love To You would have been better than the cover songs.

So the question is are these new mixes done for the songs off Rubber Soul going to be the ones used for a new Giles Martin release/remix of Rubber Soul, assuming we are getting one soon?

you either hate or love the new giles martin mixes. i, for once, love them. this one’s worth it for the pre-revolver ones. the rest is a bit redundant if you have the other albums from the remix program. definitely a cash grab, but, hey, works for when you host a party and want some beatles spinning.

HOWEVER, what’s with the crappy sound in “she loves you”?

While there are good elements in this pressing to be sure and the remixes do add new depth to some of these classic Beatles songs, I can't help but feel underwhelmed by the package as a whole. The new songs they chose are generally pretty disappointing. Some additions were no brainers like "Twist and Shout" and "Taxman" but a lot of the other cuts bewilder me. Why "You Really Got a Hold of Me" was ever in consideration let alone added to the set is mind-boggling, With the Beatles never needed more love on the record and even if it did this isn't the song (or even the cover song) I would have picked. "Roll Over Beethoven" is a better choice but still I think if you needed a cover from With the Beatles (which they didn't ) "Money" and "Till There Was You" would be better options. There is also (in my opinion) an overabundance of Revolver cuts. Yes, the album was underrepresented in the compilation's original form, but they've overcorrected. I would have preferred some songs from Beatles For Sale ("I'm a Loser," "No Reply," and "I'll Follow the Sun" are great options) in place of one or two of the new revolver songs added. However, all this is relatively minor compared to the idiotic decision to place all the new additions on their own separate disc. I understand there are rumors the third disc was rushed and the press was originally just supposed to consist of the two discs we all know and love, but for the price this set is going for I would have expected the tracklisting to be resequenced and the vinyl to be repressed. On the topic of stealing our money, the packaging is wildly disappointing. I think many Beatles fans can agree that the Red Album packaging is not sacred, the Get Back image coupled with the Please Please Me album cover is a nice touch but the gatefold image has never made much sense in this album's context, and feels out of place on both the Red and Blue albums. I was hoping that in addition to expanding the track list the folks at Apple would expand the package with at the very least a trifold, hopefully with credits and lyrics on the package rather than the inner sleeve. This couldn't be further from the truth, instead, we received the same packaging we've seen a million times with discs 2 and 3. Again, while there are good aspects to the release it generally comes across as an obligatory cash grab for the holiday season and a generally hollow release as a whole.
Edit: after all that I forgot to mention the sound quality! Compared to my 2014 copy I find the differences negligible, and at times detrimental to the sound. Generally, there is little difference, the only major difference is that the record sounds overcompressed at times. I think the remixing is more tasteful than what we heard last year on Revolver (obviously the songs on the compilation from Revolver sound the same as Revolver). If you get this record hoping for an eye-opening relistening of this comp, you will be disappointed, it is not an all together different listen from the 2014 press.

For what it is, I love it. I have the 2014 analog reissue and over the years I’ve had several copies of the original 1973. I can say that there is much improvement, overall, especially with every track being in stereo, which we never got before. But!!… is it the huge revelation that I thought it was going to be? No. Not at all. I was expecting a difference that’s worthy of all the talk this is getting. Definitely not. I’m not hearing sounds I didn’t hear before. I have mint OG UK Stereo pressings of every studio album, the German MMT and the 2014 mono pressings, Past Masters and Mono Masters and the Yellow Submarine Songtrack. Does this blow those away? Definitely not. But it IS the best sounding Red Album that I’ve ever heard, as a whole. So I’m happy. I will say that “She Loves You” sounds like they literally forgot to put the new technology on it altogether. It’s a step lower in volume than the rest of the tracks too and literally sounds like a$$. You can’t mistake Ringo’s energetic drum fill intro on that, and it’s So weak here. Other than that and the single pocket for lp’s 2 & 3, this is awesome, in its own right. It just doesn’t deserve anywhere near the praise and talk that it’s getting. My previous listening copy of Red was my 2014 issue. This beats that. Barely!! So I’m happy with it. I Do wish they put back the James Bond intro to Help! Like I always heard as a kid, but I digress. I also don’t think “Rollover Beethoven” and “You really got a hold on me” have a place here as they were neither hits for them or significant. Filler tracks should never be in a career defining set. They should’ve put “Rain” and/or another of the great Beatle-written tracks in their place. So many greats to choose from. But that’s just preference. I won’t waste my time on the Blue. My 2014 will remain my listening copy for that. Overall, I already know that Abbey Road “Half Speed Mastering” holds no credibility Sonically. That simply means it’s digital, not necessarily better sounding. This set is great. It’s just not Worlds better than the previous pressings, as it should be. Lastly At Least Giles didn’t over inflate the bass, like he usually does. For that I’m thankful. Another reviewer said it best, saying that this issue shows off just how great their OG pressings really are.
UPDATE: I’ve purposely kept This pressing as my listening copy for 4 spins and it’s growing on me. I realized…The more we stop comparing this with superior OG pressings and hear it from the average “new Beatle fan” point of Hearing instead of Beatle purist and what we’re used to hearing…. this sounds pretty damn amazing. Except She Loves You! That Still sounds worse than any pressing I have.. Lol

I compared the 23' Red LP's to my 23' Red Flacs 24/96 digital and my 2014 Red AAA LP's. First against the Digital they were even in soundstage also Bass/Treb, the only difference was that the LPs had a slightly more instrument separation where they sounded sounded more natural and warm (that might be due to the nature of vinyl). When I compared the 23' Red LP's against the 2014 Red LP's there was a big difference, the 23' sound much more compressed and lacks a little in high end. The 2014 Red sounds amazing everything just pops in comparison better vocals and detailed high end with a punchy Bass. I have previously compared my 2014 Red to some of my Original 60's/70's Beatles records and it is very close in sound and quality to those.
As far as the new mixes I like them a lot, the older songs I still like the original Mono mixes better. Songs like I Want To Hold Your Hand sound more impactful in Mono and the Cymbals on the Mono Can't buy Me Love sound far better than the new mix. The Middle era songs like Yesterday and Norwegian Wood I hear an improvement with the new mixes. Songs like Nowhere Man and Hey Bulldog I think were better done on 1999 Yellow Submarine Songtrack by Peter Cobbin. It's all subjective weather you like Giles Martin mixes I generally do (especially for earphones), but it also highlights how good the older mixes are like the Mono's and others.

https://www.discogs.sie.com//djrayraygroove—it has been a while since I have heard the original, but I believe this is the version originally used on the first pressing of this album, albeit in a new mix for 2023.
As long as you are not married to only the original versions, this is a good remix across the board. If you are an ‘originals purist’ then I would suggest that these reissues may not be your cup of tea. There are some very subtle changes (like on Help!) and some much less so. The bigger changes here using the MAL program reveal a lot and are very impressive, but they are NOT going to appeal to some fans.