The Beatles - 50th Anniversary Editions

I've been an avid Beatles listener for 36 of my 39 years of life on this Earth. There isnt a song i don't know, there isnt an album i cant name the tracklist for and i thought i'd buying the 50th Anniversary editions of Sgt. Pepper, The White Album and now, Abbey Road, would enhance my enjoyment further. It hasn't.



Here's why.



The problem for me started with the first one, Sgt. Pepper



I listened thoroughly to that album and every time i wanted a Sgt. Pepper fix, i'd reach for it. It had a great sense of 'modern' to the new mix and there can be no argument against the new levels of SQ they have managed to uncover via the wonder of digital processes.



I couldn't wait for the White Album to land, and again i marvelled at it's shiny new veneer and cleanliness, but with both albums, i was bugged by the bass levels in the mix. I put it down to 180g being used or anything other than what it is. The real kicker happened a couple of days ago, whilst perusing Youtube. A rather strangely dressed fella presented a 20 min video about the various releases of Abbey road, and kind of compared the different pressings. His set up is far from "audiophile" but i loved the fact he'd gone to all of that effort.



The glaring bass issue came across to me in that video when he compared the 80's pressing to the 2014 remastered and the 2019 pressing of the 50th anniversary edition. I knew it all along but didn't want to admit it.



Video here for those interested:







I decided that i would try my own versions of Abbey Road. A 1960's pressing, 1980's pressing, 2014 pressing and the new 50th anniversary edition.



I'm not going to rake over everything i heard or thought but to me, the only real representation of the Album has to be the 1960's version when they were all alive to hear it. Saying that, my favoured version was the 1980's pressing. The reason for this was largely down to the bass guitar. McCartney famously used flat wound strings and on the 2014 & 2019 editions that bass lacks any kind of detail of flatness. It's far too round and IMO far too high in the mix.



I decided to try the same with Sgt. Pepper and guess what, i noticed the exact same thing. On to the White Album and yes, you guessed it. The bass sound is all wrong.



I listened to all four versions of the three albums and i have to say, whilst there is a lot to like about the new mixes, like the lack of tape his, better channel balance and sq, listening to them now after reacquainting myself with the original pressings and the 80's pressings, i just don't like the new ones anymore. McCartney's bass was a real accompaniment to the main melodies and integral to the structures of the song. The way George Martin mixed it, made it so. Unfortunately, it sounds like Giles Martin has decided to mix The Beatles for a younger crowd, a crowd used to loud and brash.



The new mixes have lost something,they've lost a part of the story and lost interplay between the musicians. Had these versions been the originals, i doubt McCartney would've spawned as many copycat bass players as he did.



I'll not look at these LP's the same anymore but my love affair with the songs of The Beatles has been rekindled due to rediscovering the originals and 80's pressings.



I'll be reaching for those from now on.