The CD version was planned for 1992 then delayed until 1993. Prior to both projected release dates, it was announced that it would be a double disc affair even though the entire two albums could fit on one disc with 15 minutes to spare.

If this is due to the desire of preserving the original appearance of the album as a double anthology, I don't buy it.

Today, double discs are now presented in the slim CD case that look like single CDs. Therefore, they should release its blue album this way, put the red album on one disc and they would look comparable.

That way we would save a few bucks. Now for the music...

The first four songs are mono. The two track stereo tapes for Love Me Do and She Loves You are no longer in existence.

When The Beatles rerecorded their two biggest hits I Want To Hold Your Hand and She Loves You in German in early 1964, they were able to just record the vocal track over the existing backing track of Hand. Since She Loves You's two tracks had been erased, they had to record a whole new rendition.

Please Please Me and From Me To You are also in mono. There are stereo masters for these but since Please Please Me in stereo has a vocal flub it was not used. It was announced there was no clean stereo master for From Me To You.

I do enjoy this compilation. It's great to have these songs remastered in the early 1990's, and I love hearing All My Loving, Can't Buy Me Love, A Hard Day's Night, And I Love Her, and Eight Days A Week in stereo.

In fact, this blows the excuse out of the water that the first four albums would sound terrible in stereo, so present them in mono only.

However, I wish they had used the US stereo mix of Day Tripper. This was on both US and UK versions of the red album. It is a cleaner mix, with less obtrusive echo on the vocal, has a longer fade out, and doesn't try to hide a vocal flub with a volume knob twist. The fade out should have been sung: Day Tripper...Day Tripper Yeh! The Beatles accidently sung it: Day Tripper Yeh!...Day Tripper Yeh! No attempts were made to have them resing the vocal. They just lowered the volume during the mistake. What that did was lower the entire backing track with it.

Still, it is a nice anthology with unpublished photos and the lyrics to all the songs (correct lyrics this time. Just compare the lyrics of A Hard Day's Night on the vinyl to the CD. "So why on earth should I moan, cos' when I get you alone" is correct)


Don't compare, please!   November 19, 1999
25 out of 28 found this review helpful

Sure, there are other places to get all these songs (the original albums and Past Masters, Vol.1 & 2), and sure, Capital could have issued this on 1 cd and saved us a lot of money. But they decided to be true to the LP release (and make themselves much weathier), and this is what we've got. So here are the facts:

The music here rates 5 stars. The remastering is far superior to the other releases that contain these songs. So, if you are new to the Bealtes and want the best fidelity, you should bite the bullet on the price and buy it. If you're a Bealtemaniac, then you'll need it because of the superior sonics. If you don't like the Beatles, what are you doing here?


Start With This and the Blue Album!   October 16, 2000
W. Langan (the end of the world to your town!)
23 out of 27 found this review helpful

My only complaint is that this collection is on 2 CD's when it could've been on just one (EMI claimed they wanted to keep in the "tradition" with the original LP release). If it were up to me, I would've included more songs from the earlier albums like "Twist and Shout", "She's a Woman", "Don't Bother Me", and "Rain".

Aside from that, this includes a few pictures not included in the original in the CD booklet, making it more attractive. The sound quality is excellent, too! It begins with their 1st single "Love Me Do", has the essentials like "Yesterday" (the most covered Beatles tune in history), "A Hard Day's Night", "She Loves You", "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" (their 1st single in America), "Eleanor Rigby" (the beginning of their experimental phase), "Help!" (which was literally John's plea for help), and "In My Life". They feature the 1st ever "intentional" feedback on "I Feel Fine" and John once called the "Ticket to Ride" "1st heavy metal song" (Come on, John! It's a rocker but not the Yardbirds!). "Nowhere Man" is a song John wrote about himself, but really it's about all of us! Unfortunately, George doesn't get any songs of his on here but did a great job with the sitar on "Norweign Wood".

If you like the music of the Beatles but don't have any of their albums, this and 1967-70 (the "Blue" album) are the best place to start!


A Classic Compilation of Modern Standards   February 24, 2000
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

The Beatles are THE most written-about recording group of all time, so any broad statements would just be repetitive. Suffice to say, the "Red Album" is a mannered look at the Beatles' early singles, all of which are hook-laden, strong classics. With the exceptions of "Norwegian Wood" and "Eleanor Rigby", there is little indication of the mind-blowing experimentalism of their later work. Like their British compatriots the Yardbirds and the Animals (among others), the Beatles grew up listening to and eventually covering the early rock pioneers (Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley being the most overt influences). The "Red Album" documents the band's attempt to capitalize on their American obsessions while breaking new lyrical ground. Lennon and McCartney are working so closely together here that their individual contributions are practically indistinguishable. The songs are starkly emotional and are stripped of any pretense that may have marred some of their subsequent recordings. The Beatles are still such an amazing cultural force, it really should go without saying that the "Red" and "Blue" albums both should be a prerequisite to any complete music collection. Without them, an individual is missing a very large piece of rock and roll heritage. Personal Favorites: the sitar-driven narrative of "Norwegian Wood", the melancholy classic "Yesterday", and the bittersweet recollections found "In My Life". Representative Lyrics: "Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church/ Where a wedding has been/ Lives in a dream/ Waits at the window wearing a face/ That she keeps in a jar by the door/ Who is it for?" ("Eleanor Rigby"); "I give her all my love/ That's all I do/ And if you saw my love/ You'd love her too" ("And I Love Her")


Incredible   February 27, 2000
zach (VA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I never thought i'd like the Beatles, but I was dead wrong.26 genuine classics.Not as experimental as the blue one, but the red is an essential part of any music collection.