I’m not a Beatles fan.
It’s not that I ever disliked the music; it’s just that I was never really exposed to it. I never really
listened to it. Sure, I know the hits and the Wikipedia-esque history, but now here I am at 28, a professional audio engineer curious about what I missed out on.
So here’s the deal:In a month or two I am going to spend a long weekend listening to every Beatles record back to back in a real recording studio with some serious speakers. The problem for me though is how do I do this to maintain the contextual integrity of their work? What versions do I listen to? What context do I put them in? From what I can tell, there are too many options and I need some real Beatles fans to steer me in the best direction.
Here are my variables of course…Should I get the mono box set for the first 11 albums (if you guys consider it 11 full albums) and just listen to the last three in stereo? Or should I listen to them all in stereo? Do I get them with the most recent re-masters, or try and track down some older versions on CD? Do I get “Let It Be…Naked” and listen to that before I get Spector’s take on the record or not? Hell, what is the “real” discography I should listen to anyway? I want to keep this as real as possible- minus bonus tracks and all the extra “buy me” add ons!
I want some real fan input!I’m also interested in some type of literature to accompany my journey. My thought was maybe to listen to a record once or twice then spend some time reading about the context of that record. Maybe there is a book with a chapter on each record, maybe there isn’t. What do you guys think? Or would reading about these records change my views too much to give a “pure” listen?
I don’t know, I don’t know what the answer is. I bet you guys do though.
So please Beatles fans, discuss this with me. Help me map out my journey through the Fab Four!
I’m not much of a writer, but I may consider trying to blog as I go. Who knows! Maybe rather than a long weekend I’ll do one a week & digest and write. I don’t know. I just need some input on the best way to really experience the Beatles for the first time.
Thanks in advance!!!!!!
Disclaimers:
* I’m posting this on numerous forums, so don’t get discouraged if you’ve seen me post before, I’m genuinely that interested in getting the most info as possible!
**I’m an audio guy by profession, and I unfortunately do have a somewhat biased opinion on musicianship/ production quality… something that may benefit or even take away from my process… but this is also the reason I’m so interested.
***My only major stipulation on discussing listening material is that getting original vinyls is not an option (unless someone with big bucks out there cares to send me copies). While I am not afraid to search out for used copies of older CD masters on Amazon.com, I am certainly not rich by any means.