Beatles best album and concert dvd?

@geof3,

"I think both the red and blue “greatest hits” additions are must haves for a great overall Beatles mix."


The Blue album was where it began for me. It’s a great compilation and apparently the tracks were chosen by the band themselves.

The 1970s UK pressing of the Blue album (67-70) on vinyl is just awesome. Everything vinyl should be.

I don’t think its vivid exhuberance has ever been matched on CD though the 1993 remaster is acceptable.

I am currently re-reading the book " The Beatles Recording Sessions ".
What makes it so interesting is reading about how an album was recorded and then go listen to it , especially now that my system is good enough to reveal the details described in the book .

"In general terms you could say there's the Beatles before and after hallucinogens - basically the years of Beatlemania 63-66 up to and including Rubber Soul." from cd318
This is kind of true , but a more applicable description would be
the touring years and the studio years .

As for my favorites , I'd say the studio years and to my own surprise 
the mono versions rival the stereo is listening enjoyment .

The "Let It Be Naked" and the anthology recordings are really good
at showing how good the band was .

This is a good time to " Stay Home and Listen to the Music "
as my Cardas Audio T-shirt says .

Rob

For what it's worth it seems that the critics largely believe Revolver is their best.  I prefer not to look at a body of work that way.  What fascinates me most is listening to their evolution and how everything organically grew along the way through creative experimentation and challenging themselves while reacting to the world around them.

If you ever get into the vast library of Beatles rarities, alternative takes, and all sorts of Beatles archives out there on CD, you may go nuts. There are all sorts of musically valuable treasures out there, mostly on CD. Just google around for it or look through the Beatles forums.Examples on CD: The Complete Acetate Collection, the Complete Roger Scott Tapes, The Alternate Anthology, Private Rarities.

@rgs92 ,

'If you ever get into the vast library of Beatles rarities, alternative takes, and all sorts of Beatles archives out there on CD, you may go nuts.'



Err yes...

It is frustrating that even in 2020 we have NO definitive digital versions of their albums. Since the initial 2007 George Martin supervised CDs every subsequent digital release has been hampered in one way or another. Many still prefer the 2007 set (give or take the dodgy stereo of the first 4 albums).

This is an appalling state of affairs for a body of work that has so much historical and cultural value.


On the other hand there's tons of stuff about their vinyl releases esp on the Stevehoffman music forum and the excellent Parlogram Auctions YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Parlogram