Back in 2004,
Apple
/
Capitol
released
The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1
, a four-disc box that issued
the Beatles
' original U.S. albums from 1964 (
Meet the Beatles!
,
The Beatles' Second Album
Something New
Beatles '65
) on CD for the first time ever. A second volume, released roughly 18 months later, collected the 1965 records (
The Early Beatles
Beatles VI
Help!
Rubber Soul
), but a third volume rounding up the rest of the U.S.-exclusive albums --
Yesterday...and Today
and
Revolver
, both from 1966, plus the odd 1970 compilation
Hey Jude
-- never materialized. Three years after
The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2
, a lavish reissue campaign of superb remasters of
' U.K. catalog appeared, the first true sonic upgrade to
' catalog since their initial release in 1987 -- remasters that easily overshadowed the somewhat better sound on the
Capitol Albums
boxes. The 2009 remasters were a rousing success, especially the
Beatles in Mono
box, which offered mini-LP replicas of every mono album from
the Fabs
, and that opened the door for the 2014 release of
The U.S. Albums
, a 13-disc box that has mini-LP replicas of all eight albums that appeared on the 2004 and 2006 boxes, plus the three aforementioned stragglers and two 1964 oddities: the
United Artists
release of the soundtrack for
A Hard Day's Night
and the pseudo-documentary LP
The Beatles Story
. Here's where things get interesting for trainspotters. Apart from
The Beatles' Story
, which has been drawn from existing masters in the vaults, nearly everything here has been brought up to the 2009 standards, usually using those celebrated remasters instead of the cavernous echo that characterized the Americanized albums shepherded by
exec
Dave Dexter
. Fun, interesting alternates remain -- notably the botched intro to "I'm Looking Through You" on the stereo mix of
-- but the terrible fake stereo mixes that characterized the original U.S. releases and were indeed preserved in the
box sets have been replaced with tapes that sound excellent. This may not pull on the heartstrings for nostalgic baby boomers -- they'll have to settle for the set's exquisite packaging, including a
with a peel-away cover that reveals the original butcher cover -- in the way that the
Dexter-ized
mixes would have, but it's hard to argue against the use of the 2009 remasters, as this is the best
have ever sounded. And not only does this sound good, it looks good, so it's a handsome way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Beatlemania, although anybody who owns the 2009 boxes in addition to the 2004 and 2006 sets may find it hard to justify another purchase. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine