Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 50th Anniversary Reissue (with 5.1 surround mix)

Q-Eight said:

The beauty of "Pepper" is that while the final multitrack master IS only 4-track, they recorded in stages. I believe the final Master to be either the third or fourth bounce. According to George Martin from years back, they DO have all the stage tapes. They went back to the stage tapes and digitally sync'd them for the 'Love' mixes. Depending on how many bounces they did, digitally you could have anywhere from 12 to 16 tracks!

Click to expand...

My point precisely. I'm sure every scrap of the Sgt. Pepper sessions was transferred to the digital domain [leaving the original analogue masters stored safely in the vaults] and of course the yeoman's task is cohesively assembling all those stems into a worthy 5.1 remix and by transferring to BD~A everything is kept in the PCM domain (versus transferring to DSD for SACD).

Conversely, that task will be under the closest of scrutiny ensuring that the final remix is a mirror copy of the original intent as it will be dissected and vivisected all over the worldwide internet by Beatle purists who know every nook and cranny of the original MONO mix.

But then again, you will NEVER please everybody but as long as Paul, Ringo, Yoko and Olivia bestow their blessings on the final result.........hopefully, there WILL be peace in the valley and a MUCH anticipated multichannel piece of Rock legend in our grateful possession.

Maybe 2017 won't be a bust after all for collectors of multichannel music.

jimfisheye said:

slammed and hyped

Click to expand...

Hyperbole I'd expect at the H*ffman forums. Yes, some dynamics were trimmed on the 2009 stereos, yes you can hear it on a decent stereo when comparing to the 1987. Not slammed, not hyped. I compared the recent De Agostini stereo Pepper (derived from the 2012 remasters for vinyl) to a first cut original UK stereo - only the first track and the very end of A Day in the Life. While the DA had a little clutter to the sound in places it was by no means hyped and I prefered the EQ on it too. Strangely, the end of the chord on ADitL seemed more pronounced on the original despite being a noisier record.

so this is what the Gods talk about in their free time...:yikes

Sgt. Pepper is an album created during the peak of the hallucinogenic drug era. So why should it not be remixed into true 5.1 with discreet sounds coming from all speakers? I mean, when listening to it, I get the distinct feeling that it should sound that way - with all sorts of stuff coming at me from all directions.

ar surround said:

Sgt. Pepper is an album created during the peak of the hallucinogenic drug era. So why should it not be remixed into true 5.1 with discreet sounds coming from all speakers? I mean, when listening to it, I get the distinct feeling that it should sound that way - with all sorts of stuff coming at me from all directions.

Click to expand...

No one (on this forum anyway) is disagreeing with you there, however, recent releases seem to indicate this may not be all that it should be…

Oi !
All this fuss about " Love " being a great disc in 5.1. Yea, it's good and I like it a lot, but let's not forget about all the Exceptional 5.1 mixes on "Anthology ". Why -because there are many more, enough for perhaps 3-4 standalone albums.

And like Love both Walrus and Day In The Life are complete in surround .


FWIW the first track on +1 sounds pretty good from Giles, after that they get a bit swampy for a bit , not quite silverline imho,
and then voilà ---not too bad an effort .




But 》 》 》I'm hoping like hell Giles get's to work up his talent's for the penultimate release Beatles -White Album. ! As it was on his wish list and my bucket list !!

The 5.1 upmixes of this album have been great! So a proper 5.1 remix should be spectacular if done right. I'll buy it, having brought the 20th anniversary version in 1987.
I actually remember where I brought it from as well, scary stuff

Love hasn't stood the test of time for me. I don't think modern mixing and mastering works with vintage material.

Love is gathering dust somewhere.
Magical Mystery Tour is gathering dust.
A Hard Days Night is gathering dust.
I've no idea where I put 1+
I've no idea where I put Hollywood Bowl. I very much preferred the original LP and the bootlegs.

My favourites are Help!, Yellow Submarine, and the DVD Anthology.

IMHO Giles Martin and Sam O'Kell are a disaster area.

oxenholme said:

Love hasn't stood the test of time for me. I don't think modern mixing and mastering works with vintage material.

Love is gathering dust somewhere.
Magical Mystery Tour is gathering dust.
A Hard Days Night is gathering dust.
I've no idea where I put 1+
I've no idea where I put Hollywood Bowl. I very much preferred the original LP and the bootlegs.

My favourites are Help!, Yellow Submarine, and the DVD Anthology.

IMHO Giles Martin and Sam O'Kell are a disaster area.

Click to expand...

It' sad to say but I'm with you on this. The only Beatles related Multichannel mixes I really enjoy on a regular basis are those offered on The McCartney Years and Lennon Legend DVD-Vs.

I wouldn't go so far as recognizing "Giles " as a disaster area . He really hasn't done much work with multis other than those supplied by "EMI and the Beatles Camp " which have so far been old movie tracks.

I'll reserve my judgement until he actually gets the opportunity to tackle actual Albums , the priceless multis such as White Album , etc .
Until then give the lad a chance , it's Beatles music and that means incredible expectations .


Most of what's out now is passable or very good I think . I'm referring to Anthology ,Love , Help , Yellow Sub , for the most part .

The solos are all good with the exception of Harrison----and that needs a big surround injection I think anyways.



(I wonder what the F's the problem with the releasing of the Let It Be Film ?? ) s/b a no brainer .

I think teh main problem and why IMHO 'Love' is so Good but 1+ is so bad is that when making love they were allowed to take liberties because it was for a sho so mash em mix em no problem and because its for a show in a theatre the mix could be agressive.

1+ played to much homage to the original mixes which was a bad thing in trying to appeal to the stereo/mono head over on that other forum they managed to upset everyone.

they did not need to do new stereo mixes and they could have left the origainl mixes intact and included just new more agressive 5.1 mixes for us who liek that sort of thing.

The other problem of course is the music is so well known and there are a huge ammount of people who just dont like new stereo mixes change is bad aparently.

beatles fans seem to be more obsessive than most missing triangle here added quaver there it gets noticed and slammed tough job remixing The Beatles.

fizzywiggs41 said:

(I wonder what the F's the problem with the releasing of the Let It Be Film ?? ) s/b a no brainer .

Click to expand...

You would think, but the Beatles and their respective estates do not want it released because it does not show the group in a positive light like almost everything else does.

rusinurbe said:

...when making love they were allowed to take liberties...

Click to expand...

I think that we should always take liberties when making love...

Sorry. Couldn't help myself here.

fizzywiggs41 said:

Oi !
All this fuss about " Love " being a great disc in 5.1. Yea, it's good and I like it a lot, but let's not forget about all the Exceptional 5.1 mixes on "Anthology ". Why -because there are many more, enough for perhaps 3-4 standalone albums.

Click to expand...

Did one person do all those "Exceptional 5.1 mixes on "Anthology""???

Was it George Martin? (I do love his "Blow by Blow" mix.)

Scott M4 said:

Did one person do all those "Exceptional 5.1 mixes on "Anthology""???

Was it George Martin? (I do love his "Blow by Blow" mix.)

Click to expand...

AFAIK, it definitely was not George Martin who mixed the "Anthology" tracks in 5.1
I would guess the mixing engineer was Peter Cobbin, but I do not know for sure.

4-earredwonder said:

I'm sure George Martin and Company [hopefully] saved every scrap of tape from the Sgt. Pepper recording Sessions and since Martin mixed the various stems to only four tracks for the mono/stereo mix down there should be enough material [sound effects, etc] to create a very interesting 5.1 mix....especially with today's digital technology without altering the integrity of the original mix.

Click to expand...

Good point.

To be remembered also, Martin and the team of engineers actually used 2 x 4 trak machines in making Sgt Pepper.

Roughly speaking, they would load up 4 traks of stuff on one machine, and mix those down and transfer to another single trak (or sometimes 2) on a second machine! They called these reduction mixes. After that they would fill up the remaining 3 tracks, and then do a mono or stereo mix from there.

On more complex productions, they would only add two more traks, and transfer again to the other 4 trak machine, reserving one track open for a sync tone. My statements above are based in large part to the wonderful publication called "Recording the Beatles".

It is my understanding that EMI (Abbey Road Studios) was pretty meticulous in preserving most of the tape used to make the Beatles records, including multi trak tapes that were used to produce the "reduction" mixes. I have read that long ago they transferred all the available Beatles tape to 96/24 digital through the best of best converters.

I really hope that Paul et al, see that we get quality stereo and 5.1 remixes in an anniversary release. What is good to know is that as far back as Anthology, and more recently with "Love" and 1+, there is an apparent commitment to multi channel mixes.

I can only imagine how interesting Rubber Soul, Revolver, White Album and Abbey Road would be.

Ephi82 said:

...as far back as Anthology, and more recently with "Love" and 1+, there is an apparent commitment to multi channel mixes...

Click to expand...

Please excuse me if this is straying too far off topic, but I just checked my old Anthology DVD box set and verified it's in 5.1.
I haven't watched it in years, and never on my newer full-power man-cave surround setup.

I'd be grateful if anybody would like to share favorite scenes, tunes etc. that showcase the surround mix best.



:sun If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace. – John Lennon :sun

A little more cool Pepper news: 50th Anniversary Release of “Sgt. Pepper” Will Include Unreleased Album “Liverpool Stories”

http://www.culturesonar.com/beatles-liverpool-stories-album/

Oh yeah hope this isn't an April Fools :yikes kinda neat either way

Which_One_Is_Pink said:

A little more cool Pepper news: 50th Anniversary Release of “Sgt. Pepper” Will Include Unreleased Album “Liverpool Stories”

http://www.culturesonar.com/beatles-liverpool-stories-album/

Oh yeah hope this isn't an April Fools :yikes kinda neat either way

Click to expand...

Sorry, but that particular article is definitely an April Fools' prank.
The reissue itself is definitely not a joke as all of the Beatles'-related Facebook pages are teasing it with the Pepper uniform colors, so I'm sure we'll get an official announcement in a week or two.

Ephi82 said:

It is my understanding that EMI (Abbey Road Studios) was pretty meticulous in preserving most of the tape used to make the Beatles records, including multi trak tapes that were used to produce the "reduction" mixes. I have read that long ago they transferred all the available Beatles tape to 96/24 digital through the best of best converters.

Click to expand...

Slight correction, the tapes were transferred at 24/192 resolution in preparation of the 2009 remaster series.