Fab four classics remastered!

When the Beatles CDs were first released back in 1987, it was decided that they were to be issued according to the original British albums, plus the complete 'Magical Mystery Tour' album, as well. This left 33 tracks not on CD. The solution was simple; compile these songs as 2 seperate volumes, thus enabling the group's entire recorded output to be available on CD. In 1988, 2 volumes of 'Past Masters' were released. 21 years later, on 09/09/09, all of the Beatles CDs were remastered, sounding better than ever. 'Past Masters' was reissued as a 2-disc set. The result is far superior to what was released the first time around. What is featured here are the same 33 songs, in the same order as before. This CD includes non-album singles such as 'She Loves You', 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', 'I Feel Fine', 'I'm Down', 'Day Tripper', 'We Can Work It Out', 'Paperback Writer', 'Lady Madonna', 'Revolution' and 'Old Brown Shoe', among others. There are all 4 songs from the 'Long Tall Sally' EP ('Long Tall Sally', 'I Call Your Name', 'Slow Down', 'Matchbox'); the track 'Bad Boy' which was recorded specifically for the American market; the 2 German language songs 'Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand' and 'Sie Liebt Dich'; and the 'wildlife' version of 'Across The Universe' that was featured in an all-star charity LP in 1969. Whereas the first issue of 'Past Masters' had the songs 'From Me To You' and 'Thank You Girl', plus the 2 German recordings, available only in mono, this time they are rereleased in stereo. Amongst the notable differences between the 2 versions are as follows: The mono mix of 'From Me To You' has a harmonica riff at the start of the song; it is absent in stereo. The stereo mix of 'Thank You Girl' has 3 additional harmonica fills that are not featured in the mono version. The 2 German recordings have the vocals in the right channel and the instrumental in the left channel in stereo; they are mixed tigether in mono. Along with the remaining 29 tracks, they all sound better than ever. Unlike the other 13 CDs that were remastered, the 'Past Masters' CD does not include a mini documentary about that album. But, the music included herein speaks for itself. It is classic material that spans the years 1962 through 1970. Beatlemania forever!

For casual and hardcore Beatles fans alike...Essential!

The Fab Four had a policy in the '60s, for the most part, of keeping current singles off their albums. This gave record-buyers in Britain more value, not having to buy their idols' songs twice. Now that the British catalog of the Beatles' work is the 'definitive' one, what to do with all those songs that didn't appear on an album?
The list is pretty formidable: 'She Loves You', 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand', 'Hey Jude', 'Revolution' all don't have a home on a British-released Beatles album of the 1960s.
Enter Past Masters. All of those songs are here, most of them in stereo, and in their 2009 remastered form. Sure, there are some oddities ('She Loves You' in German, 'Across The Universe' with birds chirping on it...and the comedy ditty 'You Know My Name, Look Up The Number' which was the b-side of the 1970 'Let It Be' single) But most of what you get are the songs that rocked the radio through the 1960s: 'This Boy', 'I Feel Fine', 'She's A Woman', 'Day Tripper', 'Rain', 'Paperback Writer', 'Lady Madonna' and more. Indispensible. In fact, if you're considering buying more Beatles CDs (for the first time, or if you're curious about the re-issue) buy this first.

Awesome compilation of music!

This is a terrific compilation of Beatles songs with an indepth booklet with a lot of cool information about the band. I highly recommend this 2 disc set to the noviced listener or the old faithful of listeners!

A must have in your Beatles collection.

Really a must have CD for any Beatles fan. Contains hits not available on any other CD including german language versions of two of their biggest singles. I remember listening to some of these Beatle-mania songs while hiding in my dad's car so he wouldn't catch me wearing down his battery.

Excellent Beatles compilation

The quality of the remastered Beatles songs is excellent. This is a two-CD package with many songs from early to late Beatles music.