The Beatles are back bigger than ever thanks to the early September release of the long-awaited remastered editions of the Beatles studio albums on CD. On the same day, Harmonix released the “Beatles: Rock Band” game further adding excitement about the band that was to music what Shakespeare was to the english language.Not only has vinyl been outpacing the sale of CDs for years now, mono is making a comeback for purists and it has always been considered the inferior mode. This is the first time fans have been able to get the Beatles albums, from 1965 onwards, in mono on CD. The true audiofile is clamoring to get the mono box set because this is the way the albums came out originally and they want to capture the original sound. Since mono was the industry standard in Beatles’ day, more attention was paid to the mono mixes, which were done independently (and not just single-channel versions of the stereo mixes, as people might assume). These are the “mixes of record” which the Beatles signed off on. Fans are especially excited about the mono “Sgt. Pepper,” considered superior to the stereo version. The mono “The Beatles” (a.k.a the “White Album”) never even got a U.S. vinyl release and will make its first stateside appearance ever on CD. Finally, the mono box will mark the debut of “true mono” mixes of five songs once planned for an unissued 1969 “Yellow Submarine” EP: “Only a Northern Song,” “All Together Now,” “Hey Bulldog,” “It’s All Too Much,” and “Across the Universe.” The limited edition “Beatles in Mono” box set sold out its pre-order copies at Amazon. The Beatles stereo box set will compile the remasters of the original albums along with the “Past Masters” set plus a DVD featuring all 13 mini-documentaries. The remasters will mark the debut of the stereo versions of the Beatles’ first four U.K. albums, “Please Please Me,” “With the Beatles,” “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Beatles for Sale.” What’s missing is the availability of the Beatles recordings for digital downloading. A statement from Apple said discussions about this “are continuing.” Beatles: Rock Band Unlike other games where the objective is to hunt down monsters, go on a carjacking spree and shooting gangsters, with “Beatles: Rock Band” kids get to play instruments with virtual renditions of the Beatles. They even get to play instruments patterned after the trademark Beatles gear: John Lennon’s Rickenbacker 325 guitar, George Harrison’s Gretsch Duo Jet guitar, Paul McCartney’s Hofner violin bass and Ringo Starr’s Ludwig drums. Players can recreate the Beatles’ legendary vocal blends, and there is even support for three mics so that a player can recreate the Beatles’ three-part harmonies with their buddies. However, the greatest Beatles song of all time, Eleanor Rigby from the Revolver Album, is missing from the line-up. It is a tragedy that a whole generation of game-playing teens won’t be able to sing along with this Beatles’ great. This was the track that announced to the world that they were not just capable of teeny bopper bubble gum pop, but should be taken much more seriously by a much larger audience. All the lonely players, what will they play now that Eleanor Rigby is not on the playlist? They will have 45 other songs to choose from, including “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Day Tripper,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Here Comes the Sun,” and “Twist and Shout.” With the obvious omission of some of their best songs, it is certain that there will be a second edition of Beatles: Rock Band. Prices range from $50 for software only to $277 for the Nintendo Wii Limited Edition Premium Bundle.
