The Beatles (The White Album) (50th Anniversary

My history with the White Album, like my history with The Beatles, goes back to the beginning. A naive 13 year old from a small town in Kansas walks into a Tempo (a discount department store of the era and area), and sees a large cart full of white LPs. They hadn't even been shelved yet. It certainly piqued my interest, because at first glance it was totally blank. However, careful inspection revealed a grey number in the lower righthand corner and even closer inspection revealed an embossed THE BEATLES very close to the number. Man, was I excited. Ever since hearing "I Want To Hold Your Hand on the radio in January of '64, I was lover of all things Beatle. However, my love far exceeded my buying power, so I had just 6 45s (EVERYONE had a copy of "Hey Jude/Revolution" right?) and four LPs. But, there was no way I was leaving that store without that LP. I could see (and feel) it was a double, and it was just so cool-looking (even though it was...just...white. We were poor, and I honestly don't know how I convinced my mother, who was normally pragmatic to a fault, to fork over 10 plus dollars on a Beatle LP. A miracle. She wouldn't let me open it up on the way home, and that was the longest 7 miles...I thought we'd never get home. But it did, and I tore into the house and ran down the stairs into the basement, where my portable stereo was patiently waiting. I finally tore into the shrinkwrap, and was rewarded with a (weird) poster and four portraits, one of each Beatle, looking about as different from those four identically dressed moptops from just 4 years prior as was humanly possible. The music followed suit, surprising as much as their appearance. I could tell it was good, but it was different. Gone were the harmonies, for the most part. Gone was the simple melodiousness (seemingly, on first listen). Gone was the bright, chiming guitars. Then I finally got to Side 4 and Revolution 9. It was sooooooo weird. I'd played the whole thing, start to finish, 94 minutes without a break on a chance to really think. After it was over, I felt like I changed somehow. A part of me knew that I'd never hear the old Beatles again. It was that different. And I mourned that. But another part of me was challenged and inspired by the new music I heard. it was different, very different, but it was good. Even Revolution 9 was stimulating.Well, enough reminiscing. If you're reading this, chances are you have a similar story. The White Album was a game changer. Not because it was so great, but because it was so DIFFERENT, so unexpected, at least for me. I didn't own Sgt. Pepper (yet), so the last LP I'd heard was Revolver (U.S. version), which was different enough, but nothing like this. Hey Jude and particularly Revolution had signaled a change on the horizon, but this was huge. The size, scope and fundamental change from "pop" to "rock" seemed to rest with this monumental work. To me, still a stranger to Cream, Jimi Hendricks, and even the Stones, it was a huge change.Over the years, general appreciation for it has grown while my own appreciation for it has faded. For me, time rendered it overlong, not uniformly strong all the way through, having a "lo-fi" production, and indicative of a group splintering, not coming together.Has all that changed with this release? Well, not entirely. But the stereo remix, 5.1 mix, demos and outtakes were too tempting to pass up, even with the ridiculous price tag (Jimi Hendricks Electric Ladyland box is a $46, and has a beautiful book, 3 CDs and a Bluray. So you tell me that $90 MORE than that isn't price gouging. Just go ahead. As far as the contents, there is not much to complain about. One can pick nits about little mistakes, like making John's French gobblededook between "I'm So Tired" and "Blackbird" nearly inaudible. But that would paint the wrong overall picture. I certainly had to work with my EQ, because the stereo remix sounded muddy when I first put it on. But with some judicious EQ, namely some reduction of the low end and increase of the high end, the results were fairly amazing. Things that were buried, particularly background vocals, literally came alive. It's still not Abbey Road, or even Sgt. Pepper, when it comes to fidelity, but it's a damn-side better than it has ever been, and by a long shot. The same careful EQ on the 5.1 mix yields even more amazing results. It is absolutely astonishing. Giles Martin keeps the spriit and basic sound of the original White Album, yet really improves definition and clarity. I don't think that was an easy assignment, and I give him kudos for it.So, if you wanna dance to the music, you got to pay to the piper, in this case Universal Music, by far, IMO, the greediest bastards out there (at least in the music business). No way to own this right now but to pay $138 for it. Oh, you can get the download for less than half the price, but you'd be missing the essence....holding it as well as playing it (not to mention the 5.1). So, go on, make Universal Music's shareholders even wealthier...whether you can afford it or not.I [email protected]

I've had this set before the release date so I've enjoyed it a bit before writing this review.If you're reading this you already know the original album's songs, so I won't waste anyone's time describing the music on the original album. I will say that the new remix of the album is an improvement. While staying close to the original album's emotional feel, the new remix has cleaned up the sound and in doing so subtle sounds have been brought to the surface that were buried in the older mix.The "Esher Demos" is the Beatles unplugged. You hear the band working as a band--the acrimony that would later split the band apart is absent. These (a few tracks showed up on volume three of the "Anthology" series) are beautiful, relaxed versions of the album's songs in good/excellent sound--clean and open sounding--especially for tracks recorded fairly casually at Harrison's home. You'll hear various combinations of Beatles on these tracks--not all four band members are heard on every track. Even at this stage these demos are fairly close to the finished versions of these songs.The discs of outtakes (with snippets of chatter) reveal the band working well together--and again without the problems that would surface a year or so later. When it came to recording these songs the band came together to produce outtakes in various stages that are interesting to hear. These particular tracks are instructive, giving an idea how many of these songs came to fruition--besides being fun to listen to. Listen to the takes of "Helter Skelter", or "Revolution", or "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", or take 5 of "Yer Blues", or the unnumbered rehearsal of "Let It Be"--all are good examples of the goodies included on these outtake discs. The instrumental backing tracks help fill in the picture of the album coming together but are not as strong as the vocal outtakes. But overall, you can hear why all these particular tracks were chosen--for the most part they point toward the finished versions we all know. The Blu-Ray has great sound and adds even more value to this box set.The packaging is quite nice. The 12 1/2" X 10 1/4" X 1" thick 164 page hardcover book has a glossy white cover with "The Beatles" embossed close to the bottom of the cover. And true to the original album there's a number printed on the cover--mine is 0038324--a nice touch. The book comes in a clear plastic slipcase with subtle see-through photos of the four Beatles on the front, and a list of tracks on the back of the slipcase. There's two CDs on the inside front cover and on the facing page is the Blu-Ray disc. The other discs are in the back of the book. Each disc comes in a plain white cardboard jacket with a list of songs on the back cover. Each disc slips into it's own pocket which holds them securely.There's a forward by McCartney, and an introduction by Giles Martin. A long essay by Kevin Howlett ("The Way to White") which lays the groundwork for this album. The essay by John Harris ("Can You Take Me Back, Where I Came From?") puts this music in context of the era. Andrew Wilson's essay ("White On White") goes into detail about the making of the artwork which is quite interesting. And the final essay by Howlett ("It's Here!") is about "The most important musical event of the year occurs today.", which is a good summation of 1968 and this album. Plus there's a piece by Howlett on the group photo session ("The Mad Day Out") which gives more detail about this period. All the essays about the album are worth reading and help put this album in perspective. The track-by-track text (by Howlett) is very informative with a fairly long essay on each song including valuable recording information. There's also a section of lyrics reproduced from original copies.There's many color and b&w photos throughout the book, printed in crisp quality. There's a repro of a prototype cover, corrections to a printed lyric sheet, the making of the photo collage which is on the large size (folded) poster, which has lyrics on the reverse side. Plus there's four color photo portraits (8" X 11") that were included in the original LP. All in all the artwork on this 50th Anniversary of "The White Album" (or originally called simply "The Beatles") is in keeping with the original album's look and feel.If this album is important to you, you probably need this multi-disc version--there's a lot of worthwhile tracks on the outtake discs. But some people will be satisfied with the 3 CD version with cleaner sound and those "Esher Demos". But for those who really like this album, this is a great look past the original album. And in a year of Led Zeppelin, Cream, Jeff Beck, the Grateful Dead, Hendrix, and other bands all releasing albums, "The White Album" stands out as a refreshing change of pace from all that heaviness..

Bom material com informações relevantes.

Doskonały album, polecam.

Super happy with my new Beatles box. Super fast delivered. The box was well packaged, everything was complete and everything that was supposed to be included was included, very good sound on the CDs.

El Álbum Blanco ha sobrevivido el paso del tiempo y sigue siendo un álbum esencial en la historia del rock y a lo largo de estos años ha transitado dignamente por todos los soportes tecnológicos en los que se ha presentado y por supuesto, por las mejoras sónicas que estos representan.Si bien ya se han editado (al menos) un par buenas reediciones de este álbum en CD a través de la remasterización del audio (es decir, el balance final de audio al aumentar/disminuir la señal de las frecuencias de la cinta con la mezcla final de audio); nunca se había traspasado la barrera que “re mezclar” las grabaciones originales obtenidas directo de las consolas de grabación. Este tope en que tan profundo se quiere llegar cuando se trata de “arreglar” el audio de una grabación tiene implicaciones artísticas y legales y técnicas; ya que por un lado la mezcla resultante no es ya la grabación final tal y como la conocemos e implica un trabajo adicional de producción, ya que es “otra versión” de la obra y finalmente, la manipulación de las cintas fuente es un riesgo adicional por el peligro constante de estropearlas y perder la grabación.El legado musical de los Beatles, hasta antes de la década de los noventas del siglo pasado, era un territorio en disputa legal entre EMI, Apple y los restantes ex beatles sus representantes e infinidad de compañías que, de una u otra manera, tenían material en video y audio del grupo, incluyendo a la propia BBC. Por tal motivo, después de años de litigios y acuerdos, Apple Corps. se constituye como la única empresa que tiene todos los derechos sobre todo lo que ostente la marca The Beatles y, en consecuencia, de todas sus grabaciones. Así pues, Apple es el beneficiario de los resultados de la búsqueda que EMI realizó en sus bodegas a mediados de los años ochenta para realizar la primera remasterización del catálogo de los Beatles en CD. Esta búsqueda y catalogación de cada rollo de cinta que tuviera algún material de los Beatles fue posteriormente trasferida a archivos digitales los cuales sirvieron tanto para las reediciones en CD como para otros “productos” como lo fue la Antología de los Beatles.Sin embargo, siempre se hizo un uso casi “religioso” de este material hasta que, en 2003, se realizó el primer uso “creativo” de las cintas al editar, a insistencias de Paul McCartney, una nueva versión del álbum Let It Be –“tal y como estaba originalmente concebido”; es decir, sin los arreglos orquestales de Phil Spector y con el orden de las canciones como originalmente se tenía pensado. Paul Hicks, Guy Massey y Allan Rouse fueron los ingenieros de audio de los estudios Abbey Road que hicieron la búsqueda, limpieza y corrección digital de los rollos de cinta de las sesiones del álbum que posteriormente se ensambló: Let It Be Naked.Este trabajo fue muy criticado, sobre todo porque la mezcla final difícilmente se podría argumentar que fue la que “originalmente estaba pensada planeada” debido a muchas de las grabaciones fueron corregidas digitalmente y al final, la mezcla se escucha demasiado “limpia”, debido al proceso digital de restauración.Sin embargo, este fue el primer ejercicio formal de modificación de las grabaciones de los Beatles; y continuo en 2006 con la edición del álbum Love, coacreditado a Goerge y Giles Martin; los cuales, de manera digital, modifican muchas canciones del álbum love usando las cintas originales para crear el soundtrack del espectáculo del mismo nombre del Cirque du’ Solei con un éxito impresionante tanto artística como comercialmente.Posteriormente, vendrían otros ejercicios de “modificación/restauración” que incluirían el famoso concierto del Hollywood Bowl que, por primera vez y gracias a las nuevas técnicas de ediciòn digital de audio, se pudo rescatar el sonido de las hasta ese momento inservibles cintas de 1965 y finalmente los dos conceptos más ambiciosos y controversiales de esta nueva camada de “grabaciones Beatles”: La “restauración” del Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hertas Club Band y el álbum doble “The Beatles”.Giles Martin, hijo del finado productor de cabecera del grupo, Sir George Martin fue el encargado de llevar a cabo estos dos proyectos al tener acceso total a todos los archivos de audio digitalizados del catálogo Beatle y, a través de nuevas técnicas de limpieza digital y siguiendo las notas originales de su padre de las sesiones de grabación, reconstruyó, a partir de las cintas marcadas como masters de las versiones monoaurales de ambos álbumes (estas versiones son las que en su momento, tuvieron participación de los músicos. Las versiones estéreo, generalmente las realizaban los ingenieros de audio) dos nuevas mezclas estéreo de ambos álbumes.Los resultados obtenidos han dividido la opinión entre los que consideran estas mezclas como las “definitivas” de como debieron sonar ambos álbumes y por otro lado, están quienes consideran estas mezclas como una reinterpretación de Giles Martin de los mismos; aunque no las que el grupo deseaba que sonaran debido a que ninguno de los cuatro Beatles participaron en la mezcla de estas nuevas versiones.En términos puramente de audio; la mezcla de Giles Martin del Sgt. Peppers es màs apegada a a la versión original monoaural del álbum con el agregado de que la definición y mezcla de los instrumentos y voces realmente cobran una nueva dimensión en cuanto a la presencia en cada corte. Es más, viva su presencia que en versiones anteriores y el resultado es verdaderamente asombroso. Quizás esto se deba a que George Martin tuvo el control total de las sesiones y, si como dijo Giles, se guio en la mezcla en las notas de su padre, la mezcla final refleja el espíritu tanto de los músicos como del productor.En el caso del Album Blanco, si bien la técnica fue la misma, el resultado es difiere en detalles que pueden ser sutiles para el escucha casual; pero que para los fanáticos del grupo resultan notorios y por tanto, generan la impresión de estar escuchando “otras versiones” de las canciones; no su “versión definitiva”. Estos cambios se deben a que las sesiones del Album Blanco fueron caóticas por la propia decisión de los músicos de elaborar de manera casi solitaria sus composiciones; reuniéndose lo mínimo indispensable y por tanto, sin la supervisión de Martin en la mayor parte de las grabaciones y por tanto, sin notas técnicas sobre la grabación de muchas pistas del álbum; lo que hizo que Giles se guiarà màs por la intuición para lograr un mejor ensamblaje final de la mezcla del álbum.El resultado no es malo y se agradece la limpieza del audio en los instrumentos y la voz; sin embargo, hay momentos donde la “versión original” rompe con esta nueva mezcla, generando extrañeza. Tal es el caso más notable de “Wild Honey Pie” y “Helther Skelter” donde las diferencias son tan notorias que rompe la magia de estar escuchando una versión definitiva del álbum y cambiarla por un “mix de Giles Martin”.Sin embargo el resultado final es disfrutable, si no tomas en cuentas esos pequeños detalles que puedes localizar si es que has escuchado infinidad de veces el álbum en el pasado y es una muy buena experiencia, sobre todo en la versión muticanal (5.1 master audio) incluida en el Bluray de esta ediciòn especial del álbum; misma que viene acompañada de material que hará salivar a cualquier fanatico del los Beatles como lo son los Esher Demos y las tomas alternas de las grabaciones del álbum.Un excelente boxset para los fanáticos del cuarteto de Liverpool (Universal Stereo dixit)Óigalo recio, por favor.

A very complete document of the classic self titled double album by arguably the most influential rock band of the 20th century... The Beatles.Everything is housed in a large hard cover book with a gloss white cover and a clear plastic outer sleeve which includes the track listing printed on the back and the 4 portraits of the band on the front in black and white. Once you slide that off the book cover has the embossed Beatles name and an edition number below, made to look like the original vinyl pressings, gloss and all. The first couple of thick card pages contain the newly remastered album on two discs inserted into white embossed card sleeves made to look like the original album. A third slot on the opposite page houses the blu-ray. The book is thick and filled with a bunch of well written related info, track breakdowns and of course tons of images... the rest of the audio content is in the back of the book, a large pocket sleeve/page contains a reprint of the original poster/lyric sheet and the classic 4 portrait cards, all looking the best I've ever seen them. I worked in used record stores back in the 90's, so I've seen a bunch of these inserts from various pressings! The final 4 discs containing the Esher demos and sessions discs sit in the two final card pages. The demos and sessions discs are all worth the price of admission, there are some pretty amazing moments in here... and all very well mastered and mixed.The new stereo mix is a real improvement to my ears, everything sounds so clear and spacious, it gives you a new perspective on everything. Bass, drums, vocals, guitar tones... all the best they've ever sounded, a real treat! The 5.1 mix, amazing... Giles Martin really hit it out of the park here. As in past 5.1 mixes he stays grounded for songs like While My Guitar Gently Weeps by really pulling you into the middle of the song rather than whipping guitar solos around 360, but has a little more fun with Helter Skelter or Piggies. Blackbird sounds like I have Paul McCartney circa 1968 in my living room and those great Lennon and Harrison songs, they all just pull you in and put you center stage. Revolution 9? All I can say is, love it or hate it, surround sound just makes sense on that piece. :)Overall this collection is a must have for fans. It's a deep dive into the creation of an album with a band entering the last phases of it's life, still a bit of the 60's thing going on but also new ideas and individuality shining though, hints of things to come for all involved... even though they were still working together as a group on many of the songs, I always looked at this album as a collection solo songs enhanced by each other and a few new friends along the way.Buy it if you love the album, or maybe go for one of the less expensive versions if the white album is a little further down on your list of Beatles faves... there's a definite cost factor on this super deluxe edition, this sucker is pricey but it is chock full of musical goodness!