I was the recipient of an early Festivus present yesterday: the Beatles' new remix album, produced by Sir George Martin & son. It's quite amazing. Apart from the fun of trying to sort out which bits are from which Beatle song, the re-mastering is stunning. Even on tracks that haven't been obviously manipulated much, the sound quality on all the instruments and voices is outstanding.
If there's one last thing we can impose on George Martin for before he shuffles off this mortal (reverb) coil, let it be this: Get in the studio with all the Beatle master tapes and give them one more going over. Because, as it turns out, the Love record shows that the recordings of the early Beatle tunes don't HAVE to sound like they're being played on a 1960s am radio. With the advent of cheap, hi-fidelity stereo (and 5.1) systems, the legacy of the Beatle recordings should be a matter of national interest to Great Britain.
I'm not the biggest Beatle fanatic in the world, or even in my immediate family, but their recordings are one of the most important cultural artifacts of the 20th century, and every effort should be made to maintain them for future generations in as pristine a condition as possible.
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