A (legal) Beatles mash-up: the Beatles plus.......the Beatles

[FunkyHiFi]

This mash-up album is the soundtrack to a new Circque du Soliel show in Las Vegas called "Love".

But the real news here is that the original producer of the Beatles, George Martin, was in charge of the new mixes. His son also assisted. So this is not some kind of half-assed album made by a clueless contract employee. And, other members of the Beatles themselves and/or their relatives also contributed, making it much more of a "true" Beatles album. (y)

And wow, this new album has generated some really strong reactions from many Beatles fans: some think its awesome, some think it's just a shallow money-making venture, some think its screwing with history.

But to get more details on this release, its easier to provide links!:

Love (http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/love/intro/intro.htm) at the Cirque site.

Some insider info on this release. (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=92886)

The surround version of Love. (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=93630) This is the audio format used in the actual show (but a regular stereo CD will also be available).

According to several sites, it will be in the form of a dvd-audio disc, which means it will also contain either a Dolby Digital and/or a DTS track so anyone with any type of dvd-based 5.1 system can also hear the surround tracks (Dolby/DTS is what a regular movie dvd uses for sound).

FYI: for 5.1 music/Beatles fans, the Yellow Submarine dvd and The Anthology dvd series have surround mixes that have received very good reviews. And these are REAL surround mixes, made from the original multitrack master tapes & not those cheesy/blurry sounding reverb-filled ones done with computer software tricks by studios too cheap to find and use the master tapes or original hard drive recording (AFAIK most of Sony's DualDiscs, and many concert dvds use these, I guess so they can add another feature to the disc's bonus feature list :rolleyes: ).

************************************************** ****
Techno geek stuff

For a surround system, all you really need is just four speakers: two in front and two behind you.

That center channel and subwoofer that the marketing people say you "have" to have is not something you have to have. Subs DO make a difference as far as the quality of bass but if the front speakers are large enough, for music they will be enough (though movies, especially adventure movies, definitely can be more fun to experience with a good sub thumping in the corner). The center channel is really there just for the people seated offcenter of the TV, so voices come from the screen and not the left or right speaker they're sitting closest to. And center channels are hard to locate properly & if they're not, with music you can get some pretty wierd effects!

If you're in the typical dorm room or bedroom or a small living room (like in my last efficiency apartment I lived in) front speakers with at least a 6.5" woofer should get low enough for most music styles & still sound good. Rear speakers should match the fronts if possible, but they can use a smaller woofer. >>> When you first set up a surround receiver for any kind of surround system, for each channel you'll be asked if the speaker connected to that channel is "large", "small" or "none". For this four channel system you would set the subwoofer & center channel to "none" - those sounds will then be redirected to the front speakers. So the fronts will have to be set to "large" (this usually happens automatically at this stage), and the rears - if they are the same size - can be set to either large or small, whatever sounds better. This isn't as hard as it seems but still: always read your manual!!! :) If you can load up new software on a computer, then you can program a surround receiver.

Here's a component system that should sound better than just about any "home theater in a box" and you can add to it later too:

* Basic Pioneer receiver (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Pioneer-A-V-Receiver-VSX-516-K/sem/rpsm/oid/148426/catOid/-12949/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do) (it's a 7.1 receiver but those extra back enhancment channels are really just for movies)

* Pioneer fronts (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Pioneer-Bookshelf-Speaker-S-HF41-LR/sem/rpsm/oid/132518/catOid/-12950/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do) with 8" woofers, rears (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Pioneer-Bookshelf-Speaker-S-HF21-LR/sem/rpsm/oid/133873/catOid/-12950/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do) with 5" woofers. There is also a 6.5" version. These speakers are almost always on sale for much less $$.

Lastly: Make sure to set up a surround system as best you can, otherwise all that gear will be wasted! In other words, speakers can't be laying on the floor or stuck behind a potted plant. If you want advice from people that actually make surround music (including some of THE best 5.1 mixers), download the paper labeled "Recommendations for Surround Sound Production" from this link (http://www.grammy.com/Recording_Academy/Producers_And_Engineers/Guidelines/) and go to page 2-5. There will be a color diagram of how to set up the speakers for a music surround system (IMO this also works really well for movies too). The closer you can get to this placement, the better surround music will sound.

Nope, surround music isn't quite as easy to deal with as an iPod, but like anything that's really cool, its going to take some extra work to experience it properly.

[FunkyHiFi]

Well, not sure why no one had any comment of any kind about this album - are the Beatles just too "old" to be relevant?

Overexposure?

Rock & roll is dead?

:confused:

For anyone interested in Beatles + X mashups, check out this streaming audio site (http://revolvedalbum.blogspot.com/). They have the Beatles plus Beck, Portishead, Goldfrapp, Madonna and lots of others. Most are pretty good IMO.

[Waus]

I'll make some kind of comment once I've heard the whole mix. Promise.


That was a tight website design btw.

[FunkyHiFi]

That was a tight website design btw.
I thought so too.

btw: I know there are electronic systems that can isolate vocals and instruments but lots of those sounds on those mashups are SO isolated I wonder if somehow the site's owner somehow got access to the original master tapes?

Here's a description of some of those Beatles+Beatles mashups from this site (http://www.beatlestoday.com/beatles/articles/200606013.html):

According to Sir George, "The first thing we did for LOVE was to transfer absolutely every sound we'd ever had of the Beatles onto hard discs and manipulate the sound digitally," thus enabling them to "use any sound at all I had recorded with the Beatles." It gave them the ability to "do things that would have been quite impossible years ago."

..............

For Beatles fans, the music for LOVE will sound familiar yet different. It is not a straight compilation of recordings that previously appeared on Beatles albums and singles, but rather is a blend of sounds recorded by the group. Sir George Martin's goal was to create a panoramic sound-scape, uninterrupted, like the medley closing out "Abbey Road." In some instances, Sir George and Giles used a varying number of instrumental and vocal tracks from a near-complete take of a song. But more often, the pair isolated certain vocals and instruments from parts of a song, often using mere fragments. These bits and pieces of different songs were then blended together. According to Giles, the music heard in LOVE was pulled from approximately 130 Beatles songs!

The 12-minute extract presented to the media on May 24, 2006, demonstrated the thrilling nature of the music. "Strawberry Fields Forever" opened with the John Lennon demo of the song before shifting to Take 1 and later morphing into the master take. Sound effects from "Sgt. Pepper" and keyboards from "Piggies" and "In My Life" were blended into the mix along with the catchy "Maori finale" to "Hello Goodbye."

The next selection opened with the drum track from "Tomorrow Never Knows," which was then blended with George Harrison's vocal from "Within You Without You" and the sound of backwards cymbals, most likely lifted from "Strawberry Fields Forever." The Indian instruments backing tract of "Within You Without You" was later brought into the mix.

The seagull sound effects from "Tomorrow Never Knows" were put to good use during the start of the next number. A slow progression of notes gradually increased its pace to become recognizable as the opening riff to "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." Once the proper pace was reached, John's beautiful vocal appeared. The song had a totally different texture than the familiar album version, with more instruments being clearly heard. The bass was given much more prominence and once again, backwards cymbals were thrown in.

A Ringo segment started with George Martin's instrumental introduction scored for "Goodnight." This was overlaid with Ringo's vocal from "Octopus's Garden." Underwater sound effects from the song and "Yellow Submarine" were brought into the mix before the track morphed into the familiar rock version from "Abbey Road."

Paul's "Lady Madonna" opened with a drum track that was soon blended with horns and backing vocals from the song. After the piano was brought into the mix, the song morphed into the master take. The instrumental break included the piano and guitar riff from "Hey Bulldog" and The Beatles vocalizing the solo from "Lady Madonna." Guitar riffs from "Abbey Road" were also dropped into the mix.

And an excerpt from here (http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060625/FEATURES/606250688/1032):

A couple of weeks ago, Giles Martin stopped in New York on his way to London, and invited me to hear his "Love" mixes on a five-channel surround system at Magno Studios. I was knocked out by some, but I was absolutely floored by the pristine quality and fine definition of the sound.

With the compression of the original 1960s productions stripped away, voices and instruments seem real, as if they were in the room. The new mixes wrap you in the group's arrangements and let you hear long-buried interplay that illuminates the Beatles' brilliance. This is a level of detail that simply hasn't been heard outside the Abbey Road studios until now.

On "Yesterday," you can hear Paul McCartney's pick hitting the strings of his guitar and the strings snapping against the neck. The guitar solo and the orchestral strings on "Something" had similar clarity and presence, and in the surround version of "I Am the Walrus," the whole kaleidoscope of textures -- including an extraordinarily crisp drum sound -- made the song quirkier than ever.

The mixes of "Revolution" and "Come Together" are incomparably more powerful than the familiar versions. Starr's childlike "Octopus' Garden" gets a fantastic restructuring that begins with the string introduction to "Good Night" and then places Starr's vocal, unaccompanied, in a foggy ambience (using effects from "Yellow Submarine" and drums from "Lovely Rita") before the full band kicks into the more familiar arrangement.

And a juxtaposition of the drum figure from "Tomorrow Never Knows" and the vocal line from "Within You, Without You" creates a link between those mystical songs, recorded nearly nine months apart.

The new recordings were made under the close watch of Apple. McCartney, Starr, Ono and Olivia Harrison occasionally dropped in on the Martins to hear the mixes.

"It was a little terrifying," said the younger Martin, who is 36, born a few months before the Beatles broke up. (His father is 80.) "When Ringo came in, the first thing he said was, 'Have you done 'Octopus' Garden' yet?'

"Paul said he liked what he heard, but that we could go even farther out than we have, and we've gone pretty far. And we were very concerned that Yoko and Olivia feel we were treating John's and George's songs well, but they were both very pleased."

[FunkyHiFi]

According to this post (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=94163&page=16) (#301), a sampler disc is being shipped to radio stations this week though considering the weird way in which the radio biz is being run these days, I don't know if every station that receives one will actually play it (the post also has descriptions of the 4 mashups on the sampler). BTW: the writer of that post is - I think - one of those industry "insider" people I've mentioned before because he knows way too much for just being a typical Beatles fan.

edit! There are some links further down to a BBC radio show which played some of the tracks.

[FunkyHiFi]

If you take 30 seconds to register, you can hear four full tracks from the album at thebeatles.com (http://thebeatles.com/)

************************************************** *********
For surround fans that also like Paul McCartney, two Wings albums were sold in quadraphonic form*. DTS Entertainment got hold of those quad master tapes and converted them to their DTS-CD 5.1 surround format.

Discussion of Venus & Mars (http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4719&highlight=wings) and Band On The Run (http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4708&highlight=wings) on DTS-CD.

Here's the list of remaining DTS-CDs (http://www.dts.com/entertainment/catalogue/music.php?genre=&chgtype=2&sort=6). I own their Second Sojourn disc by The Moody Blues and it sounds great, and has a very immersive mix i.e. its real surround music, not that reverby blah stuff made with a computer......and unfortunately this is the kind of mix the Beasties' Video Anthology has, though I'm sure Capitol made that particular bad decision.

Anyhoo..........they recently stopped making the Wings discs but a Best Buy or a Frys might still have some sitting around. FYI: many of these discs were priced incorrectly at the Best Buys around here, so make sure to do a price check - some were priced at $25 when they should have only been $15-18 each. :rolleyes:

FYI: right before they stopped selling them, DTS Inc. changed the name of this format to "DTS Music Disc" supposedly because Philips, co-inventor of the CD format, complained. It uses a regular CD disc but the digital signal on it actually consists of up to six channels instead of just two PCM ones. DTS is a "lossy" compressed format like an MP3, but IIRC the data rate on a disc like this is at least 1200kbps (on dvd it can reach 1500kbps).

>>> These discs can be played on any dvd player (make sure the DTS option is enabled in the player's set up menu) and connected to a DTS-capable receiver (look for the logo).........or a regular CD player but only through its digital output - if the analog outputs are used all you'll hear is incredibly loud and nasty sounding white noise!


* first surround format lasting from around 1970 to 1978; uses four channels - left/right fronts and left/right rears - but with no separate subwoofer or center channels. Your receiver will create the sub channel if your system is set up that way (also called the LFE channel). Center channel? Meh, even now many 5.1 mixers don't use it.

[b-grrrlie]

If you take 30 seconds to register, you can hear four full tracks from the album at thebeatles.com (http://thebeatles.com/)


Where? I could only sign for the mailing list, but no other register. I would love to hear that stuff!!! Guess I have to make a wish list for Santa Claus this year....

[FunkyHiFi]

After clicking on the link, wait for the intro animation to finish (about 10 seconds) then the login + register box comes up.

[FunkyHiFi]

You can now listen to the entire LOVE album now:

http://www.thebeatles.com/hearlove/index.php

You also get to add your location by placing a "pin" on a map of the world.

It's in stereo this time, but remember this CD+dvd-audio album was designed to really be heard in surround form (a single CD version is going to be sold too). And again, this type of surround mix is a true surround mix, not those echo-filled fake surround mixes so many concert dvds and DualDiscs have.

Remember that the dvd-audio disc includes Dolby and DTS tracks so people with regular dvd-video players can also listen to the surround tracks (DTS can sound basically like a CD i.e. it's minimum data rate is @740kbps; max is 1500kbps). BTW: for a proper surround experience, place your speakers like the manual says if at all possible because having them sit on the floor or behind a potted plant really screws up the surround sound field.

[yeahwho]

It looks like a neato play, here is a clip from Jay Leno (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV5R4PK0rwA)the other night.

[ggirlballa]

It looks like a neato play, here is a clip from Jay Leno (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV5R4PK0rwA)the other night.

dope^

[yeahwho]

If you do not feel like giving up your email and a load of other info, here is a LoFi version of some Love songs, SoundMojo (http://www.watchmojo.com/music/blog/?p=630) has them ready to go for you.

The sound quality is very, very far removed from what the actual release will be. (I think it is, I hope so)

Hats Off to Funky for this info. I'm completely obsessed with it now. Somehow I wish it were anybody other than Circque du Soliel involved with this production, they kind of make me queasy with they're no elephant circus. That tips the scale in the wrong direction for purchase.

[FunkyHiFi]

they kind of make me queasy with they're no elephant circus. That tips the scale in the wrong direction for purchaseto be totally honest, I feel the same way. As soon as i heard about this, I told myself the remaining Beatles and their wives/producers/etc would not allow their music to be used in a cheap shallow way......and luckily that's what happened (though there are people who think otherwise and are really upset about this album). btw: I didn't fill out that whole registration thing - only a few items were actually required and the only thing I've received from them is a way to send a Love e-card and the link to the "hear all tracks" site (I'm pretty sure the Beatles wouldn't stoop to sending anyone spam for great deals on property in the Everglades or a sample pack of Viagra. :D).

[FunkyHiFi]

Wow very cool. and this really does make the music sound almost new, to me anyway. And the 5.1 surround version is really the way to hear this since all that extra physical space between the extra speakers allows the engineer to put lots of sutble effects and samples in there but without them getting obscured like in a 2 speaker system i.e. they can literally get "buried"......and since that was how the music was originally designed to be heard in the Cirque show itself. And there's tasteful moving effects too which adds to the fun.

[FunkyHiFi]

There are reports (http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/22/technology/apple_beatles_ipod.fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes) that Apple Corp. (the Beatles own music organization) is very close to announcing a deal with Apple Computers to provide Beatles downloads through their iTunes service, but probably only for a limited time.

And some people are speculating that just like the U2 version, a Beatles iPod might be something to look for too.

Plus, there are already Apple+Apple "commercials" popping up on Youtube - here's a cool one: "Apple on Apple" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7fwpCDAkR8). But this seems so well done I suspect it wasn't exactly done by some dedicated fan on his home computer.;)

[Kid Presentable]

Thanks for posting this Funky, I've been reading and waiting to get my hands on a copy. Will keep you posted.

[FunkyHiFi]

Thanks for posting this FunkyNo problem. Just wish i had more to post about i.e. more music but dont have the funds to buy all what I want. But next week I'm going to try to buy either "Drunken
Lullabies" by Flogging Molly or "Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld" by The Orb. Yea slightly diferent music styles but they both seem cool.

[The Notorious LOL]

not feeling this...I dont notice a big difference in tracks really.

[FunkyHiFi]

not feeling this...I dont notice a big difference in tracks really.A lot of people including myself wish the Martins had gone further with the mashup aspect, but I think they wanted to play it safe with these classics (and just the IDEA of a Beatles mashup to many fans is almost literally evil). But for me anyway I think they are juuuuust different enough to make the music an interesting listening exprience again after years & years of the same ole same ole: "Oh, its Hey Jude....woohoo ". Zzzzzzz.............

Some other fans think all the little sound bites they stuck in are another positive attribute but most of those are really only audible when (if you roll your eyes here I'll understand :) ) listening to the surround mixes since there is so much more phyisical space to fit them in, and this is even easier by isolating channels particularly the center and rear ones i.e. shutting off the other speakers.

Here's what happened in the 80s when restraint wasn't practiced and which horrified many (most?) Beatles fans and probably just fans of good music in general: Stars On 45's Beatles medley.......with disco beats. (http://www.amazon.com/Very-Best-Stars-45/dp/B000005REZ/sr=1-3/qid=1164834033/ref=sr_1_3/102-8330650-2076140?ie=UTF8&s=music) :(

And for classical fans, your favorites weren't left untouched either by the 80s music scene: Hooked on Classics (http://www.amazon.com/Hooked-Classics/dp/B000063T50/sr=1-1/qid=1164834454/ref=sr_1_1/102-8330650-2076140?ie=UTF8&s=music) Actually these were really popular & radio played them a lot. Scary, eh? :D

[yeahwho]

There is alot of stuff out there, heres the Paperback Believer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afzuLjJtBE0) video mashup.

[DipDipDive]

With the exception of a few tracks, all of the songs sound pretty much exactly the same, just a little sharper with some of the instrumentals coming into focus more than they do on the original recordings. The only real "mash-up" aspect is in the transitions from song to song.

It's okay, but not what I was expecting.

[FunkyHiFi]

Though many of the tracks sound pretty much the same to me also, besides the the fact they *sound* better, another reason they sound the same......but still just a little bit different.......is because certain parts of other songs were used that were digitally adjusted to fit or alternate takes were used. The only reason i know this is not because I'm a Beatles expert but because the Beatles "scientists" :) out there are picking this thing apart like crazy.

Check out this discussion (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=97113) on this subject - its up to 40 pages now. :eek:

For example: "I Want To Hold Your Hand" uses drum parts from both a live show version and a studio version (here (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?p=2157064&highlight=drum+live#post2157064)). Other songs use backing vocals from other songs that are 98% the same as the one used on the first song , so close that even Fab 4 experts are wetting themselves trying to figure out their source.

I'm not saying all this as a way to try to force anyone to like this album - this is just another in my long line of long-winded audio geek posts. :o

******************************************
This is another CD+dvd-audio I'd like to get that came out the same time as Love but don't worry, this music is so far away from the Beasties stuff I won't discuss it here after this post: If I Could Only Remember My Name (http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7305236&BAB=E). Anyhoo........IIRC this album was the last one David Crosby did before his depressing slide into major drug/alcohol addiction that I think lasted 18 years. I had never heard of this album til this set was mentioned a few months ago and I've always liked Neil young, CSNY and America so this "California folk music" is right up my alley. The samples with all those guitars sound really beautiful and with all the major guest vocalists, (I hope) it adds up to a great listen(despite what it may seem like I don't buy surround music only because its got lots of channels i.e. the music comes 1st - better sound is just a bonus).

[FunkyHiFi]

This doesn't have anything to do with the Love album - I just thought the bass players here on the forum would like this:

"I Saw Her Standing There" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbkUUz9lMA4&mode=related&search) played on a 1965 Hofner bass (original Beatles song plays in the background)

This guy does 19 other Beatles songs (separate videos), alternating between a Hofner and a Rickenbacker. On the forum where i found these, the members say this guy is *very* good.

When I used to listen to Rush everyday:eek: , I always thought the bass guitar was an underappreciated instrument because at least with Geddy playing one, it really added to that band's music.