The Beatles get 'Back To Mono'

The Beatlesf U.K. albums, from Please Please Me through the White Album, will be released on vinyl individually and in the new set The Beatles in Mono.

The Beatlesf original albums were always given both mono and stereo mixes but the Fab Four considered the mono to be the definitive versions. In this new set, their first nine U.K. albums plus the American released Magical Mystery Tour and a 3-LP set of tracks that were not used on any of the albums are compiled into a 14-LP set with each of the albums available for individual purchase.

The albums have been newly remastered from the quarter-inch master tapes at Abbey Road Studios by engineer Sean Magee and mastering supervisor Steve Berkowitz without any use of digital technologies, instead relying the written instructions from the original cutting engineers from the 1960Œs.

Working in the same room at Abbey Road where most of The Beatlesf albums were initially cut, the pair first dedicated weeks to concentrated listening, fastidiously comparing the master tapes with first pressings of the mono records made in the 1960s. Using a rigorously tested Studer A80 machine to play back the precious tapes, the new vinyl was cut on a 1980s-era VMS80 lathe.

Included in the set is a 12~12 hardbound book featuring new essays and a detailed history of the mastering process by award-winning radio producer and author Kevin Howlett. The book is illustrated with many rare studio photos of The Beatles, archive documents, and articles and advertisements sourced from 1960s publications.

The new set and the individual albums will be released September 8 in the U.K. and September 9 in the U.S.

The albums included in The Beatles in Mono

Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Dayfs Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepperfs Lonely Hearts Club Band
Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles (2-LP)
Mono Masters (3-LP)



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