Ok, even I have to say this is nuts. The Beatles are going to issue a new box set on January 21st. Of all the albums. Except this time it’s the US releases. Sort of. What? You already bought the box set in 2009? And the mono box? Well guess what? This box has all the American releases in stereo and mono. Feel ripped off? A little bit.
Back in 1987, the Beatles put out all their CDs in just the British versions. More or less they remained that way until 2009, with the two new super duper box sets. Those sets also issued just the British versions, because that’s “the way the albums were supposed to come out.” Really, all that was missing was the American CD called “Hey Jude.” And the “Rarities” album.
So now, “Hey Jude” will appear and you can buy it individually. But the rest of it is unnecessary unless you have lots of disposable income. And plenty of room to store more CDs.
I have all the original American LP albums, the first cycle of 1987 CDs, the few updates in between (there was a nicer “Sgt, Pepper,” an upgraded “White Album,” and the 2nd edition “Yellow Submarine”), and the two 2009 box sets. Plus singles from the 60s. Now we’re supposed to buy the American albums on CD. But if you have the 2009 box sets you’ve got everything. And for 26 years, the British versions have sufficed.
Yes, “Beatles 65” disappeared. But I just made my own. With home digital libraries, you can re-sequence, make your own albums. The announcement today says the box will include “all the original artwork.” The 2009 boxes had all that art work.
“Hey Jude” will be nice to see again. But where is the “Let it Be” movie? Where is “Rarities”?
