Beatles, The Past Masters Vol. 1 &2 (2009 remaster 180g vinyl 2LP)

Release date: 08-11-2012 /(Originally released in 1988/2009 remaster)

2012 EU repressing 180g vinyl 2LP =2009 Remastered from orginal master tapes (Stereo/Mono) Cut at Abbey Road Studios by a First-Rate Team of Producers and Engineers: Stringent Procedures and Safeguards Ensure Optimum Audiophile-Quality Sound

compilatin of The Beatles greatest hits. There are 32 classic numbers that include "Love Me Do," "From Me To You," "I Feel Fine," "Get Back," "The Ballad of John and Yoko," "Let It Be," "Day Tripper," "We Can Work It Out," "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and many more.

Tracks:
A1 Love Me Do
A2 From Me To You
A3 Thank You Girl
A4 She Loves You
A5 I'll Get You
A6 I Want To Hold Your Hand
A7 This Boy
A8 Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand
A9 Sie Liebt Dich
B1 Long Tall Sally(Johnson, Penniman, Blackwell)
B2 I Call Your Name
B3 Slow Down(Williams)
B4 Matchbox(Perkins)
B5 I Feel Fine
B6 She's A Woman
B7 Bad Boy(Williams)
B8 Yes It Is
B9 I'm Down
C1 Day Tripper     
C2 We Can Work It Out     
C3 Paperback Writer     
C4 Rain     
C5 Lady Madonna     
C6 The Inner Light     
C7 Hey Jude     
C8 Revolution     
D1 Get Back     
D2 Don't Let Me Down     
D3 The Ballad Of John And Yoko     
D4 Old Brown Shoe     
D5 Across The Universe     
D6 Let It Be     
D7 You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)

note:
"Love Me Do" (Original Single Version), "She Loves You," "I'll Get You," and "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number" Presented in Mono

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With EMI’s legendary Abbey Road Studios providing the backdrop, the four-year restoration process combined veteran expertise, state-of-the-art equipment, vintage studio gear, and rigorous testing to net what is without doubt the highest fidelity possible and authentic, jaw-dropping sound guaranteed to rival the original LPs. There is no longer any need to pay hundreds of dollars for Japanese pressings.

At the start of the restoration process, engineers conducted extensive tests before copying the analog master tapes into the digital realm using 24-bit/192 kHz resolution and a Prism A-D converter. Dust build-ups were removed from tape machine heads after the completion of each title. Artifacts such as electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance, and poor edits were improved upon as long as it was determined that doing so didn’t at all damage the integrity of the songs. Similarly, de-noising technology was applied in only a few necessary spots and on a sum total of less than five of the entire 525 minutes of Beatles music.

In cutting the digital masters to vinyl, stringent safeguards and procedures were employed. After cutting to lacquer, determined to be warmer and consistent than cutting to DMM, the next step was to use the Neumann VMS80 cutting lathe at Abbey Road. Following thorough mechanical and electrical tests to ensure it was operating in peak condition, engineer Sean Magee cut the LPs in chronological release order. He used the original 24-bit remasters rather than the 16-bit versions that were required for CD production. It was also decided to use the remasters that had not undergone ‘limiting,' a procedure to increase the sound level.
 
Having made initial test cuts, Magee pinpointed any sound problems that can occur during playback of vinyl records. To rectify them, changes were made to the remasters with a Digital Audio Workstation.  For example, each vinyl album was listened to for any ‘sibilant episodes.' vocal distortion that can occur on consonant sounds such as S and T. These were corrected by reducing the level in the very small portion of sound causing the undesired effect.

Similarly, any likelihood of inner-groove distortion was addressed. As the stylus approaches the center of the record, it is liable to track the groove less accurately. This can affect the high-middle frequencies, producing a ‘mushy’ sound particularly noticeable on vocals. Using what Magee has described as ‘surgical EQ,’ problem frequencies were identified and reduced in level to compensate for this.
 
The last phase of the vinyl mastering process began with the arrival of the first batches of test pressings made from master lacquers that had been sent to the two pressing plant factories. Stringent quality tests identified any noise or click appearing on more than one test pressing in the same place. If this happened, it was clear that the undesired sounds had been introduced either during the cutting or the pressing stage and so the test records were rejected. In the quest to achieve the highest quality possible, the Abbey Road team worked closely with the pressing factories and the manufacturers of the lacquer and cutting styli.

For this project, there was no such thing as too many cooks in the kitchen. Yes, it took a village to get it right.