Hi, I'm the new kid on the block, I've just introduced myself, and this is going to be my first post.
The latest Mojo has given '1' a fantastic three page review.
Did I miss it somehow? I've bought Mojo and found a 24-pages-section on the Beatles, but didn't see a detailed review of '1+'. They had a talk with Michael Lindsay-Hogg on the videos (an excerpt from a book, really) and detailed reviews of the 27 number ones. What I found unbelievable, however, is that they missed what is for me the most sensational aspect of this release. Quoting Beatles.com:
The 27-track audio CD is also being made available with new stereo mixes. A 2 LP, 180-gram vinyl package will follow.
A remix from the original multitracks, that's how I understand it. Not the remasters of 2009. When they published the remastered '1' album, they used the 2009 remastered versions and that is state of the art. So why a new release?
In 1999, there was
Yellow Submarine Songtrack, and that was a first test: Would the die-hard fans, more or less well-to-do baby boomers, accept remixes? Or would there be an outcry of 'sacrilege!'? If I remember correctly, there was no outcry. Many even said that the remixed tracks were considerably more transparent and dynamic and an improvement. So now they are giving it a new try, and this time they aim at the heart of the market. Twenty-seven number one hits is as popular as you can get, and these songs surely bridge the gap between generations (for Apple: new young fans will pass on the torch!). If new remixes of the Beatles' most popular tunes meet with near to universal acclaim, that will open the flood gates (that's my guess) and we will see the whole catalogue remixed in due time.
Don't you think that's exciting? If Yellow Submarine and Eleanor Rigby from the Songtrack are something to go by, we'll be treated to first class remixes of fantastic songs (of course there's not much they can do with the first two-track singles).
