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REVIEW: The Beatles remastered 1967-70
Part 2 of our expert guide to the box sets
Joe Bosso, Tue 8 Sep 2009, 1:10 pm UTC
Conversely, McCartney's jaunty little wave to all the people he meets on the street is delightfully whimsical in mono. His voice is rich and well-rounded, and the collage of instrumentation, especially the heralded piccolo trumpet solo played by David Mason, leaps out of the speakers. The mono mix seems to cheat a little on the feedback/ride cymbal ending, but it's a small price to pay.
Lennon's provocative I Am The Walrus is a toss-up on both sets, with the stereo mix panning the various keyboards every which way to the point of distraction. Yet, the cellos have greater clarity - you can actually hear the bows being dragged across the strings.
The mono version of Walrus is more sympathetic to the music as a whole - way more hard-hitting - and the radio transmission that ends the song is less diffused and doesn't drop out as quickly.
Lennon's anthem for the time - and the ages - All You Need Is Love appears to vary in volume in mono, while the stereo mix delivers a full-bloom array of sound.
The backing track was cut at Olympic Studios just days before the band participated in a global satellite transmission of the song from EMI's Studio One, during which Lennon's lead vocal and Harrison's guitar solo were recorded. Lennon, despite his gum chewing, turns in an appropriately earnest performance. Engineer Emerick has pointed out Harrison's nervous, reticent guitar turn, and it's most evident - and intriguing - in stereo.
"The mono version of Walrus is more sympathetic to the music as a whole - way more hard-hitting."
Panned left and right, the title cut sounds almost like a bass-and-horns number, although there is some tinkering on keyboards previously unheard. In mono, however, the song rocks, driven by slamming drums. And hey! - check out that cowbell. Nice.
Cracks in the armor…and another classic
1968 would prove to be a fractious year for The Beatles (mirroring the times, perhaps?), but it started out on a high with the release of the single Lady Madonna backed by George Harrison's meditative The Inner Light (both would later be featured on Past Masters).
A group trip to India yielded an avalanche of new songs, as The Beatles, armed with acoustic guitars, spent much of their time strumming and writing (John even learned fingerstyle guitar from folk-popper Donovan, who joined the band on their transcendental retreat).
