BOX SET ALERT: Meet The Beatles! (again): The US Albums box set

Universal Music continue to exploit their newly acquired Beatles catalogue, with a comprehensive reissue of the band’s output as released in North America via a 13CD ‘The U.S. Albums’ box set as well as limited individual CD reissues of 12 of those Capitol Records’ titles.

The reissues span 1964’s Meet The Beatles! to 1970’s Hey Jude and are released in January 2014, exactly 50 years after the mop tops celebrated I Want To Hold Your Hand becoming their first American number one.

Key points:

• • Each CD in the box set will contain mono and then stereo versions of the original albums except The Beatles’ Story and Hey Jude which are stereo only.
• • The 2009 remasters have been used to create these US albums newly EQ’d from a 24/192 digital source alongside original 1960s U.S. master analog tapes to preserve specific mixes and edits
• • Each album is a mini-LP CD vinyl replica faithfully recreating original artwork including inner sleeves (think Mono box)
• • Yesterday And Today will use the infamous ‘butcher cover’ but will come with a sticker of the ‘trunk’ cover which you can choose to paste over the top!
• • The 13 CDs are accompanied by a 64-page booklet with Beatles photos and promotional art from the time, as well as a new essay by American author and television executive Bill Flanagan
• • A Hard Day’s Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), The Beatles’ Story, Yesterday And Today, Hey Jude, and the U.S. version of Revolver make their CD debuts with these releases.
• • The colourful red, white and blue box will have an inner ‘drawer’ which slides into the outer box.

The uninitiated might wonder what the difference is between what The Beatles released in the UK and what was put out in the United States. Well, in the sixties, Capitol Records (EMI’s American operation) famously went ‘off-piste’ with their Fab Four releases, and didn’t just echo the official Parlophone issues. The US label created completely different Beatles albums (Meet The Beatles, Yesterday And Today) or chopped, amended or edited familiar titles (Help!, Revolver). It wasn’t uncommon for tracks from one British release to be spread across three separate US titles.

Also, it was common practice in the UK to leave singles off albums to give ‘value’ to the pop picker, but that wasn’t something that troubled Capitol executives’ collective consciences, and all the big hit 45s were bolted on to the various long players. The US eventually fell into line with the UK and from 1967 – starting with Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – the albums were always identical (although the Magical Mystery Tour (1967) and Hey Jude (1970) LPs were still unique Capitol creations).

Obviously, the US releases will have great resonance to anyone who grew up buying them in that part of the world, but for collectors and Beatles enthusiasts outside America, they still represent something of a treasure trove, with lots of alternative and unique mixes found dotted across the individual albums – both in mono and stereo (sometimes duophonic or ‘fake’ stereo). Most of the quirks of the original Capitol audio –  fake stereo and added reverb and the like – will not feature on these reissues because Apple are reverting to the 2009 remasters. However according to this article unique edits or mixes that were supplied to the US by George Martin have been maintained.  So the track listings have been recreated by a mix of 2009 core catalogue remasters and original 1960s Capitol analogue master tapes. and EQ more in line with the US audience of the 1960s has been applied.

The following CDs are in the box (see full track listing below)

1. Meet The Beatles!
2. The Beatles’ Second Album
3. A Hard Day’s Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
4. Something New
5. The Beatles’ Story
6. Beatles ’65
7. The Early Beatles
8. Beatles VI
9. Help! (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
10. Rubber Soul
11. Yesterday And Today
12. Revolver
13. Hey Jude

The U.S. Albums box set and the individual reissues are released on 20 January 2014.

• • UK Pre-order: The US Albums box set
• • USA Pre-order: The U.S. Albums box set
• • CANADA Pre-order: The U.S. Albums box set
• • GERMANY Pre-order: The US Albums box set

Meet The Beatles (January 20, 1964)

• I Want To Hold Your Hand
• I Saw Her Standing There
• This Boy
• It Won’t Be Long
• All I’ve Got To Do
• All My Loving
• Don’t Bother Me
• Little Child
• Till There Was You
• Hold Me Tight
• I Wanna Be Your Man
• Not A Second Time

The Beatles’ Second Album (April 10, 1964)

• Roll Over Beethoven
• Thank You Girl
• You Really Got A Hold On Me
• Devil In Her Heart
• Money
• You Can’t Do That
• Long Tall Sally
• I Call Your Name
• Please Mr. Postman
• I’ll Get You
• She Loves You

A Hard Day’s Night (Original Motion Picture Sound Track) (June 26, 1964)

• A Hard Day’s Night
• Tell Me Why
• I’ll Cry Instead
• I Should Have Known Better (instrumental)
• I’m Happy Just To Dance With You
• And I Love Her (instrumental)
• I Should Have Known Better
• If I Fell
• And I Love Her
• Ringo’s Theme (this Boy) (instrumental)
• Can’t Buy Me Love
• A Hard Day’s Night (instrumental)

Something New (July 20, 1964)

• I’ll Cry Instead
• Things We Said Today
• Any Time At All
• When I Get Home
• Slow Down
• Matchbox
• Tell Me Why
• And I Love Her
• I’m Happy To Just Dance With You
• If I Fell
• Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand (I Want To Hold Your Hand… sung In German)

The Beatles Story (November 23, 1964) *CD is box set only

• On The Stage With The Beatles
• How Beatlemania Began
• Beatlemania In Action
• Man Behind The Beatles – Brian Epstein
• John Lennon
• Who’s A Millionaire?
• Beatles Will Be Beatles
• Man Behind The Music – George Martin
• George Harrison
• A Hard Day’s Night – Their First Movie
• Paul Mccartney
• Sneaky Haircuts And More About Paul
• The Beatles Look At Life
• “victims” Of Beatlemania
• Beatle Medley
• Ringo Starr
• Liverpool And All The World!

Beatles ’65 (December 15, 1964)

• No Reply
• I’m A Loser
• Baby’s In Black
• Rock And Roll Music
• I’ll Follow The Sun
• Mr. Moonlight
• Honey Don’t
• I’ll Be Back
• She’s A Woman
• I Feel Fine
• Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby

The Early Beatles (March 22, 1965)

• Love Me Do
• Twist And Shout
• Anna
• Chains
• Boys
• Ask Me Why
• Please Please Me
• P.s. I Love You
• Baby It’s You
• A Taste Of Honey
• Do You Want To Know A Secret

Beatles VI (June 14, 1965)

• Kansas City
• Eight Days A Week
• You Like Me Too Much
• Bad Boy
• I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party
• Words Of Love
• What You’re Doing
• Yes It Is
• Dizzy Miss Lizzie
• Tell Me What You See
• Every Little Thing

Help (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (August 13, 1965)

• Help!
• The Night Before
• From Me To You Fantasy (instrumental)
• You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
• I Need You
• In The Tyrol (instrumental)
• Another Girl
• Another Hard Day’s Night (instrumental)
• Ticket To Ride
• The Bitter End/you Can’t Do That (instrumental)
• You’re Going To Lose That Girl
• The Chase (instrumental)

Rubber Soul (December 6, 1965)

• I’ve Just Seen A Face
• Norwegian Wood
• You Won’t See Me
• Think For Yourself
• The Word
• Michelle
• It’s Only Love
• Girl
• I’m Looking Through You
• In My Life
• Wait
• Run For You Life

Yesterday And Today (June 20, 1966)

• Drive My Car
• I’m Only Sleeping
• Nowhere Man
• Dr. Robert
• Yesterday
• Act Naturally
• And Your Bird Can Sing
• If I Needed Someone
• We Can Work It Out
• What Goes On?
• Day Tripper

Revolver (August 8, 1966)

• Taxman
• Eleanor Rigby
• Love You To
• Here, There And Everywhere
• Yellow Submarine
• She Said She Said
• Good Day Sunshine
• For No One
• I Want To Tell You
• Got To Get You Into My Life
• Tomorrow Never Knows

Hey Jude (February 26, 1970)

• Can’t Buy Me Love
• I Should Have Known Better
• Paperback Writer
• Rain
• Lady Madonna
• Revolution
• Hey Jude
• Old Brown Shoe
• Don’t Let Me Down
• Ballad Of John & Yoko

• • UK Pre-order: The US Albums box set
• • USA Pre-order: The U.S. Albums box set
• • CANADA Pre-order: The U.S. Albums box set
• • GERMANY Pre-order: The US Albums box set