The Beatles - The Discography - The Audiophile Reviews

[audioguy3107]

So this thread is gonna be fun.....these guys from Liverpool need no introduction, so we won't go there. I've had the opportunity to hear an example of just about ever different Beatles recording with the exception of the Mobile Fidelity records which honestly are not that highly reviewed sound quality wise. I own the mono CD box set, the original stereo redbook CD reissues from back in the 90's, a nice copy of the all analog BC-13 vinyl blue box (stereo) and the 2014 vinyl mono box set. The subject of the reviews in this thread will (most likely) be the vinyl 2014 mono box set because, let's face it, they sound amazing. The music on these albums are second to none, no need to revisit the debut album on those grounds, the question is how many audiophile moments can be found on this early 1960's recording? Michael Fremer was extremely impressed with the job Sean Magee did with the vinyl box, so let's see what their debut album "Please Please Me" has to offer.

The Beatles - Please Please Me, 1963, Parlophone Records
Review version - 2014 Mono Vinyl mastered by Sean Magee @ Abby Road Studios



Michael Fremer's Analog Planet review: https://www.analogplanet.com/content...o-far-so-great

from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please...e_Me#Recording

1. I Saw Her Standing There - The first thing that strikes me on this album is the clarity and transparency that comes through here off the bat on the first track. The vocals are so vivid it's remarkable for a recording of this age. George Harrison's guitar is also quite clear behind in the background.

2. Misery - The vocals layered here are quite amazing, the piano comes through quite clearly in parts as well.......the vocals sound a bit more full and round on this song than on the first with maybe a bit more bass. It's really amazing how vivid the vocals come through on this mono version....they're dead centered but you still get a pretty nice wide soundstage between your speakers.

4. Chains [DEMO] - Lead vocals here by George...interesting thing about this song is that the vocals are more spread out in the background until George's voice comes through solo....it kind of pops out in front of the music as if he stepped forward on stage so you get a bit more depth front to back on this song than the first three. Now of course this isn't up to par for a vocal demo song compared to thousands of other albums out there, but for Please Please Me this is a decent example of what to expect from this album.

5. Boys - Ringo's first lead vocal.....his voice has a bit more reverb that the vocals on the first 4 tracks, it doesn't sound quite as smooth as George's. Guitar explodes out of the song right from the beginning....a cool racous song with a bit of edginess. Seems to be a bit rougher sounding than the first few tracks.

7. Please Please Me - What a classic song, honestly it sounds a bit worse than the first several songs on the album, the vocals aren't quite as vivid and the guitars seem to get a bit lost in the mix until the beginning of the famous chorus. The harmonica gets a bunch of attention in this song though.

8. Love Me Do - I've always loved John and Paul's harmony on this song. Their vocals are set a bit to the back of the soundstage but a bit more natural sounding than other songs so far. Andrew White's (not Ringo on this song!!!) pacing is really nice hear.....listen for his drums in the background providing the perfect tempo for this song.

10. Baby It's You - This is the first song where you can really hear John Lennon voice showing what was to come later in his career, he uses a lot of inflection and really shows what was to come over the next decade or so. If you close your eyes, you can imagine his voice singing some of his solo material as well.....great example on an earlier recording.

14. Twist And Shout - Simply amazing, one of my all time favorite songs and pretty much a perfect party song...if you're not familiar with what happened during this recording......"Lennon was suffering from a cold, and was drinking milk and sucking on cough drops to soothe his throat. His coughing is audible on the album, as is the cold's effect on his voice. Even so, he produced a memorable vocal performance: a raucous, dynamic rocker. He later said his voice was not the same for a long time afterward, and that "every time he swallowed, it felt like sandpaper". The succession of "Ahh, Ahhhhh, Ahhhhhs" towards the end provide an absolutely perfect buildup to the finale of one of the most fun songs ever recording to analog tape. You definitely wouldn't use this track to demonstrate the smoothness of the human voice, but who cares!!!!!! Turn this up and play it loud whether on $300/pr Elac's or $129,000 Sonus Faber Aida's (Ivan if you're reading this, this means you! )

So how does the Beatles debut fare as an audiophile album? Pretty much what you would think......not the best recording but when listening to it you don't care in the least. "Chains" offers a decent but not great vocal demo, especially if you like George Harrison's vocal work, but you're not gonna win any sound quality awards demoing speakers with this album. It's amazing after all these years how fresh an album we've all heard a thousand times can sound, especially on a high end system. Bass isn't the strongest, highs aren't the most extended, the vocals aren't the smoothest but please listen and enjoy it for the incredible work of art it is.

Audiophile Rating: 3/10 (overall sonics)
Demo Rating: 7% 1/14 (number of cool demo tracks/tracks on album)

[For The Love of Music]

Thanks Buck, great review!

[audioguy3107]

Originally Posted by For The Love of Music

Thanks Buck, great review!

Thanks Ed, hope you guys are enjoying some of these......they’ll get a bit more interesting when we get to bands/artists with some higher sound quality.

- Buck

[Beatlebum]

Buck,

I'm really enjoying your reviews thus far! Thanks for doing these.

Cheers,

Tim

[crwilli]

I am also enjoying and admiring your effort Buck. Keep it up please!

Craig


Sent from my iPhone using New Forum mobile app

[audioguy3107]

Thanks fellas.....like I said above, I think many of my reviews will be much better when I get to artists with much better recording quality....I guess it just so happens that the first several artists alphabetically fall into the not-the-best-sound quality, but I figured that I need some kind of order in this project. That being said the next artist up will be Beth Hart, so that will most likely be better.

- Buck

[bart]

Buck, following this eagerly!

[Mac6]

Good reviews. But no mention of Anna? The best vocal on the album to me!

[audioguy3107]

Originally Posted by Mac6

Good reviews. But no mention of Anna? The best vocal on the album to me!

It was good don’t get me wrong, but sound quality wise it didn’t really stand out as THAT much better. Still a great song as most all of them are here.

- Buck

[Antonmb]

Thanks Buck. I’m not getting that much AA time lately but I look forward to your excellent reviews.