The Beatles 1967 – 1970 (2023 Edition)

This "Blue" album is a Beatles late era best of and while the "Red" is equally brilliant, 1967-1970 was the band's creative and commercial peak. The first album to be represented in the compilation - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - had a seismic impact on the music industry and when it was released back in the 1967 it must have sounded so revolutionary in sound to all listeners, as it still continues to even today. It was certainly the Beatles most inventive and influential work inspiring the idea of concept albums and it was so different sounding that it set a benchmark for all other artists to aspire to. While Revolver remains the band's top record as it was the one to start their experimentation and is their most consistent, Sgt. Pepper's is a masterpiece too and if it had included the first double A-side single Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane tracks it could have been their absolute magnum opus and after all it is the best-selling Beatles studio album anyway. Additionally, it also includes arguably their finest ever song - the epic A Day In The Life - which is that because it is both mind blowing in pushing boundaries of music in the 1960s (and forever more) but also because it is a true Lennon-McCartney credit because both contributed major parts to it. The Magical Mystery Tour songs extended this psychedelic peak of the Beatles music further. While some have argued that Lennon wrote the best Pepper's-era music and that may be true, when a song as beautiful and lucid sounding emerges from the speakers as Penny Lane and The Fool on the Hill are then in those two instances McCartney was certainly equal. 1968 saw the release of the band's self-titled "White" double album and associated singles. While it was more directly in a rock style, there was still some experimentation through the multitude of styles and it is a sprawling, super record. It marked the beginning of the end for the group in terms of the disharmony and rows but despite it sounding a bit more like all four members’ solo careers it is at the same time still very much a Beatles record. Although Let it Be was the final studio record released by the Beatles in 1970 really it should be considered next - after all Get Back and Don't Let Me Down are placed on the "Blue" before the remaining tracks as they were from those Let it Be sessions - because Abbey Road was their final recorded album. Let it Be was originally going to be an album called "Get Back" and by definition it saw the Beatles mostly return to the primary colours of rock and roll - while the album is the least great of the band's late period it is still excellent and the more basic sound especially combined with Billy Preston's beautifully tinkly keyboards was welcome. However, when the Get Back sessions were re-produced to become the Let it Be album, some of the songs like Across the Universe and The Long and Winding Road which had the better effects of the re-production could be considered part of the Beatles more creative music. Although McCartney and some fans were not keen on the new takes of the "Get Back" songs in 1970, it is pleasing that Giles Martin maintained the heavenly orchestrated parts and gorgeously re-mixed them for their new forms in 2021's Let It Be re-release and this "Blue" album. However, while Let it Be is underrated, it is obvious to the Beatles fanatic as to why their real final studio record - Abbey Road - is their second biggest selling because it saw them re-unite with fifth Beatle (producer George Martin) one last time to create their second most innovative and inspirational album behind Sgt. Pepper's. It was ground-breaking in creating styles - as the band had inspired heavy metal too on the White Album - like progressive rock and especially electronic music as the group were one of the first to popularise the Moog synthesiser on some of its numbers. Also, although George Harrison had written some absolute classic Beatles songs before, he saved his most sensational for the last recorded album in Here Comes the Sun and Something. As it is virtually as consistent as Revolver it was the perfect farewell. However, "new" and final ever Beatles single Now and Then is the real swansong. Based on a late 1970s John Lennon demo first handed to them by Yoko Ono in the mid-1990s, it is a decent, fitting goodbye. With the help of AI to separate Lennon's voice from the poor tape source, it is poignant, emotional and moving and replete with big, lush strings and deserved to make their last single release a number one hit. In terms of the nine extra tracks - including Now and Then - they enhance the already tremendous selection of and fill out the "Blue" compilation even more. It is a shame that brilliant songs like Sexy Sadie, Long, Long, Long and Two of Us could not have fitted on too but to be fair the second CD is now nearly full and all the songs that have been newly included are true Beatles classics and it is down to personal preference anyway. Still, as there is a place for the "new" song why were there no positions for the other post-1970 Beatles tracks in Free as a Bird and Real Love (though maybe that is slightly nitpicking)? Although the "Red" best of collection has even more spectacular improvements in its re-mixing and only 6 of the "Blue" songs are newly re-mixed to this standard (the others are taken from all re-releases between 2015 and 2021), all the tracks on this 2023 reissue are still a magical enhancement and proper stereo. The previous Beatles "Blue" stereo versions sounded somewhat fake as the technology was in its infancy and this has now been truly remedied by Giles Martin's great work. Also, this "Blue" collection - even more so in its expanded form - is much more comprehensive of the Beatles later years than the 1 compilation. Although the "Red" album is equally marvellous containing scintillating Merseybeat and songs from the Beatles best ever album in Revolver, this updated "Blue" collection exquisitely tells the story of the band's most wonderfully visionary era that altered the course of music history for the better forever.

Everyone knows what this has on offer, at least maybe everyone thought they did! This 2023 version is still a 2CD version but instead of being ripped off by short running cd’s, you get 9 extra tracks, 1 on cd1 (Within You, Without You” running at 56:17 and 8 on cd2 running at 78:00. Plus a sumptuous booklet with full lyrics and really informative essay by John Harris all ousted in a slimline digipak - ok, I know it’s cardboard but it takes up ⅓ of the space that the original did on the now old fashioned cd rack. The main delight, apart from the quality of the songs that we all know and love, is the absolute top quality sound which has been completely stripped back by Giles Martin and the put back together with precision and skill. It is certain that George Martin would be so proud and pleased with the results of the modern technology that's available today. It’s almost like listening to new recordings of these classic tracks recorded between 1967 & 1970, such is the quality. It is such a shame that other artists, Phil Collins being one, have not used the same methods to produce such a high quality remaster of original material as these tracks show that it can be done. Collins’ remastered efforts sound completely flat, uninteresting, and don’t differ that much from the originals, but this new remastered release is completely the opposite and this also applies to the “Red” album too. This release will make you want to listen to these 55+ year old recordings all over again as if the were released yesterday! Brilliant.

A great way to start exploring the band, alongside the red album if you're new to them.

Excellent quality and fast delivery - thank you

Very beautiful new mixes. Quite clear sounding. Emotion is preserved. It sounds better than some choices of 2009 remaster. Modern but not artificially modernized. Well, I don’t want to spoil the party but I think some fans could agree to disagree about some mastering/mixing decisions here and there. Some piano part in Penny Lane. Some acoustic guitar phrase in Girl. Well, I Am The Walrus ending is somewhat curious, isn’t? How about the guitar riffs (Eric?) in While My Guitar Gently Weeps slightly placed in the background? Hmmm… I don’t know. Okay. Some decisions must be made and they don’t affect all the great job done. By the way, thinking about future releases (The Beatles SACD, why not?) hey Apple Corps why don’t you hire Mr. Steve Hoffman? All my best sounding McCartney CDs editions also Ringo 1973 are the DCC Compact editions mastered by Mr. Hoffman. That man knows how to turn digital a sort of alive and natural sounding. IMHO EMI tried hard but they couldn’t reach the level of fantastic mastering job that was done in Band on The Run CD by Mr. Hoffman in DCC edition. Same thing happened to Ram, Venus and Mars and Speed of Sound CD. Mr. Giles Martin did a terrific work here but I’d give Mr. Hoffman a chance too. In the end all fans will be happy to have one or another, or both.

Brilliant album if you like their later work. Good quality and very good value at about £50.

A very good album but the last 2 tracks from Abbey Road could have been left off and maybe the medley included or helter-skelter skelter, good expanded album though

Great item thanks

Doble CD que suena de lujo ahora en 2025 con nueva remasterizacion y 8 temas añadidos y que no estaban en las antiguas ediciones.

Algumas surpresas como as entradas limpas de Dear Prudence e A Day In the Life (apesar de esta última ja anteriormente disponível no compacto da Capitol de 1978 Sgt peppers/ With a Little help/A day In the Life). Mixagens mais claras como em Magical Mystery Tour que ficaram boas. A nova musica com a participação dos 4 beatles "Now and Then", que foi uma boa surpresa, mas pode ser adquirida via compacto ou maxi single. Acredito que a versão anterior deste LP em um álbum duplo de coletâneas de 1973 atenda muito bem seu objetivo e com um preço mais razoável. Nova remixagem de " I Am The Walrus" realmente, na minha opinião, um desastre para uma pessoa que tem ouvido esta canção a 50 anos. Old Brown Shoe também prefiro a anterior. Disco adicional poderia ter tido escolhas melhores no lugar, por exemplo, de I Me Mine, Within You Without You. Havia opçoes no Album Branco ( sexy Sadie, I Am so Tired, Happiness is a Warm Gun) , no Abbey Road ( Sun King, Because) e no próprio Let It be (Two Of Us), mas aparentemente tiveram que incluir mais algumas do George por alguma questão interna . A Apple também poderia ter caprichado um pouco mais colocando um booklet com fotos e informações mais completas. Para colecionares e pessoas que curtem os Fab4 desde os anos 70 um disco a mais na prateleira, mas talvez para novos ouvintes dos Beatles e não familiarizados seja um opção. Beatles sempre merece 5 estrelas, mas dou apenas 4 estrelas por que a Apple poderia ter feito coisa melhor com o material que possuem na mão.

Best of des beatles 1967,1970

Un son qui fait merveille en nous faisant d’autant apprécier la finesse des compositions

reasonable price