Remixing The Beatles: The New Scam

2022-12-05T10:32:59.832Z

REVIEW – One of the band's masterpieces, Revolver, has just been released in a “remixed” version: it doesn't sound like it used to. What is this cultural revisionism for?

What is a mix?

This is the crucial operation during which the musicians, with their producer, decide to level the instruments and the voices distributed on the different tracks of the recording console, once the final versions of a piece have been boxed.

Remixing therefore consists in reviewing this work by modifying it.

The operation was common at the time of vinyl, but it was mainly intended for nightclubs: the hits of the moment came out in 45 rpm or "maxi", remixed, with generally more bass and drums to make them dance better crowds.

The albums, they remained untouched.

Remixing the Beatles is something else.

It's sabotage.

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr actively participated in the mixing of their mono albums, with the help of the brilliant George Martin, producer at EMI, who came from classical music.

It is therefore, whatever audiophiles think, in mono (the same sounds come out of each speaker) that you have to listen to them since that is how they were designed until 1968. To sacrifice to the modernity, when the CD format appeared in the 80s, all Beatles records came out in terrible versions, in stereo.

In 2009, a box set brought it all together in glorious mono, those who didn't have the original vinyl albums finally got to experience how legendary records really sounded.