The Bottom Line
Although these songs have all been issued before, the "US albums" format allows for a number of these chestnuts to be remastered for the first time in almost 20 years. The mono and stereo mixes are available for the first time together on CD, as well. Essential for any Beatles fan.
Pros
- A long-overdue remastering job.
- Replicates the running order of the original US releases.
- Contains both stereo and mono mixes.
Cons
- The sequencing of these tracks isn't as good as the official UK releases.
Description
- Beatles
- Capitol Albums
- Volume One
- compilation
- remastered
- dual mixes
Guide Review - The Beatles Capitol Albums, Volume One
The Beatles were a world phenomenon, but one that played differently in every country -- whoever licensed EMI's recordings got to present the albums more or less how they liked. This was especially true in the US, where Capitol Records exec Dave Dexter decided to chop the "official" British releases into several smaller versions, therefore giving the label more product to sell. A weird thing's happened over the years, however: those original, "lesser" albums became a fond childhood benchmark for American fans who remember them as emblems of Beatlemania.
So why should everyone own these CDs, and not just those who lived stateside during those heady Ed Sullivan days? Because, aside from "Beatles One" and the "Yellow Submarine Songtrack" from a few years back, the Fabs' catalog hasn't been remastered in almost two decades -- eons in digital technology. Now, you can hear many classic early Beatles songs remastered, and in both stereo and mono mixes (producer George Martin routinely remixed the songs for mono rather than just rechanneling them). Add in the extensive booklet with liner notes by Fab guru Mark Lewisohn, and you have a gift perfect for any Beatles fan.
