In October this year the Beatles compilations known as the Red and the Blue albums were released. The original vinyls were released in 1973 and while they were good compilations and a great introduction to the band they were criticised for not including any hits that were not written by the band, such as Twist and Shout. The CDs came out in 1993 and though the track listing was identical there some of the versions of the tracks were different. These differences will be covered as we go through the track list.
Then in 2010 a remastered edition arrived, again some minor differences and here we are in 2023 with another new remaster and a stack of extra tracks. It’s not just a remaster but a remix as well. The digitisation of the master tapes combined with the technology used for the final single “Now And Then” allows remixing that has never been before possible. This listener was highly excited at the prospect of these earlier tracks that were created using two-track technology being mixed into a modern mix. So let’s listen to each track and see what’s different.
Track 1 – Love Me Do (Single Version)
The version of Love Me Do on all versions of the Red Album has been the single version featuring Ringo playing drums and no tambourine. It’s also in a higher key than the album version, which has session Andy White on drums and Ringo on the tambourine. There are no master tapes for this version, so all appearances of this version (except the original UK release) are taken from a vinyl copy and cleaned up. Therefore, Love Me Do the single has always been mono – until now. The 2023 remix is the first time Love Me Do the single has ever been released in stereo. The harmonica and bass is on the left while the drums and guitar are mostly on the right while the vocals remain in the centre. Marvellous stuff for Beatles fans like myself!
Tracks 2-5: Please Please Me to She Loves You
The stereo version Please Please Me was replaced with the mono version for 90s and 2010s CD releases, and the stereo version returns here (complete with lyrical fluff in the final verse) and a modern stereo mix. When the original two track recordings are “bounced” to a new tape, there is inevitable loss of quality, so the ability to get the original “unbounced” recordings means you have the best possible source recordings. to mix with and that’s what we have here in these early tracks. The tracks I Saw Her Standing There and Twist And Shout are additional tracks and are mixed similarly to Please Please Me. The separation of lead and rhythm guitars provides a clarity not heard before. The 2023 version of From Me To You is a new beast – the stereo version never had a harmonica over the intro like the mono version did – and now we have a stereo mix with the harmonica included. She Loves You has a similar history to Love Me Do in that there is no master tape for this single and therefore has only been available as mono recording – the fake stereo version on the US Beatles’ Second Album doesn’t count. This has been given the Love Me Do treatment and has a nice separation of instruments across the stereo.
Tracks 6-11: I Want To Hold your Hand to You Really Got A Hold On Me
I Want To Hold Your Hand and This Boy are listed before the With The Beatles tracks but recorded afterwards, were among the first to be recorded using new four track tape machines, and as such are quite similar to the original mixes. This Boy is an additional track and was the B side of I Want To Hold Your Hand. All My Loving, Roll Over Beethoven and You Really Got A Hold On Me are nice clean remixes of the original two track mixes, the latter two being additional tracks.
Tracks 12-15: Can’t Buy Me Love to And I Love Her
Can’t Buy Me Love, You Can’t Do That (an additional track), A Hard Days Night and And I Love Her are all cleaned up remixes that are very similar to the originals.
Tracks 16-21: Eight Days A Week to You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
These tracks, from the album Beatles For Sale and Help! are again similar mixes to the originals. One song that differs is I Feel Fine, which has a couple of seconds of “whispering” at the start of the song on the vinyl version, which I really hoped would make it to the 2023 version, but alas it did not. The barking dogs are still there in the fade out though. The other track which is obviously different is Yesterday, with the strings previously confined to one track are now separated with different instruments in different places across the stereo.
Tracks 22-23: We Can Work It Out and Day Tripper
We Can Work It Out has a nice new mix which makes it much more listenable on headphones, but otherwise no real differences. Day Tripper has a bit of history to it. On the original vinyl the main riff uses a single track guitar on the left channel (as found on the US album Yesterday And Today). All subsequent versions use a double tracked guitar for the riff. At about 1 minute 50 seconds in, the lead guitar drops out for a second. As of the 2010 remaster, that was fixed and remains fixed in this version.
Tracks 24-30: Drive My Car to Girl
These seven tracks are as they are on the original album, except for the addition of If I Needed Someone and the mixing has been given a modern twist. Norwegian Wood is similar to the original mix, but the bass is more prominent and the vocal now in the centre.
Tracks 31-38: Paperback Writer to Tomorrow Never Knows
The last tracks on the original album only featured Paperback Writer, Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine – but here we have five additional tracks from Revolver: Taxman, Got To Get You Into My Life, I’m Only Sleeping, Here, There And Everywhere and Tomorrow Never Knows. Oddly, the B side of Paperback Writer, Rain, has been omitted. The mixes are more fleshed out, with the strings on Eleanor Rigby now separated across the stereo instead of together on one side. Yellow Submarine now has all the sounds that were missing from the stereo version that were present in the mono version – the extra guitar chord at the start of the song, the extra “a life of ease” from Lennon in the last verse. The rest of the Revolver tracks are as they are on previous releases but with updated mixing.
Overall, this is a great sounding album and is best heard on a decent set of headphones to truly appreciate the updated mixes. The true joy, at least for me, was the early mono and two track mixes being brought into the 21st century. Can’t fault it at all.
10/10
Trash Disco 
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