Beatles Box

[Deathshead]

Anybody got it already?

Lovingly done, cardboard foldout sleeves of all individual albums and comprehensive liner notes etc. I bought mine yesterday, have only listened to their 1st album so far this morning (which sounds mostly like the Everly Brothers still). Sound is surprisingly clear and undistorted with lots of space (and echo!   ) and prominent drums and bass, Paul was melodic even back then, just not as continuously so as in his Sgt. Pepper halcyon days.

Mind you, I went for the "Stereo Box" (not the more expensive, yet missing the last albums "Mono Box") thus disqualifying myself forever as a true Beatlelite because "only the mono mixes were ever approved by Paul and John, the stereo mix a hasty afterthought by Abbey Road engineers believing that stereo was a novelty fad". And while I know that the mono mixes sound fuller, I never ever listened to them on the US Capitol Reissue Box Sets of the Beatles' early albums (before US and European releases synched as regards track choice which was only around Rubber Soul) which came out a few years back. Early Beatles is forever identified by me with those archaic, but charming left/right stereo mixes where you had the vocals on ones side, the music on the other. That is how I first consciously heard the Beatles and that is how my elder brother explained "stereo" to me - it took me years to comprehend that "stereo" does not automatically mean "vocals on one, music on the other side".   To this day I have the desire to mix things left and right in a studio which regularly causes modern engineers to roll their eyes ...    

The Financial Times wrote today that the Box Sets are selling like hot cakes - who said the CD is dead?!!!

Those old L/R mixes were the best, I wish more were out there.. like like when i was a kid teaching myself how to play to ramones records, DEE DEE Channel LEFT, Johnny on the Right. that was soo cool just playing with the balance to give dee dee bass solos, or taking the guitar out entirely, and so on, hahahaha

[Hornisse]

I understand that they are wholesaling these from China for $40 a set.  Should be a lot of them sold at Flea Markets.

[eb2]

I guess if the digital file is the same, then the bootleg box is a decent enough deal but it does make you wonder why they would even bother to screw up the artwork and liner notes.  Sad truth is that the stereo and mono files have been up on the net for months for free, so if you like the music, there you go.