Apple レコード& CD

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight box damage, otherwise in perfect condition***


A new special edition of The Beatles' Revolver comes courtesy of Apple, the original label on which the fab four released some of their most seminal works. Featuring a new mix and master by Giles Martin and Sam Okell, this version contains yet another 100-page book with a foreword by Paul McCartney and an unlikely essay by Questlove of The Roots.

Review: Famously first released in 1973 and transferred to CD in the 1980s with no significant remastering, the Beatles two colour-coded 'best of' collections have long been in need of an overhaul. Apple has typically gone all-out on this 50th anniversary re-issue, not only remastering everything (or at least those tracks that hadn't already been tweaked by Giles Martin in recent years), but also expanding each collection to three discs via the addition of other fan favourites and tracks that missed out first time round. As for the vinyl itself, it has been half-speed remastered to guarantee superior sound quality. This boxed edition boasts both compilations, plus an insert with fresh liner notes from music journalist-turned-Guardian scribe John Harris.

Review: Another day, another reissue of the iconic/infamous Red Album compilation from the relatively well-known rock group dubbed The Beatles. This time delivered on a gatefold 180 gram vinyl 3xLP half-speed remaster, as the dates of 1962-1966 suggest, this collection pins down a plethora of classics penned by McCartney and Lennon, with a notable absence of any George Harrison material. Running from Please Please Me all the way up to Revolver, the compilation provides a sonic journey from the clean-cut pop-rock ditties of 'She Loves You' and 'Yesterday' to the more progressive and pioneering machinations taking shape on cuts such as 'Norwegian Wood' and the timelessly haunting 'Eleanor Rigby'. A crash course, in essence, of The Beatles' progression from witty boys with nice haircuts to modern music reformers.

Review: With the recently announced news of a final "new" track from The Beatles set to imminently drop, reissues of both the iconic/infamous Red and Blue compilations are set to be delivered on a gatefold 180 gram vinyl 3xLP half-speed remaster, with the blue spanning their output from 1967 to 1970, this version exclusively bears the highly anticipated last original recording 'Now & Then'. Running from The Magic Mystery Tour EP all the way up to Let It Be (with a bevvy of essential non-album cuts such as 'Hey Jude' and 'Don't Let Me Down'), the compilation offers a detailed insight into the artistic abandon the members felt during the final years of their tenure once touring, radioplay and listener expectation had become moot points.