The Beatles' Remasters To Be Issued On Vinyl (Finally)

It’s become pretty clear in recent times that vinyl is experiencing a revival, despite the proposed conspiracy that the record labels did their best to off the wax format with the advent of CDs its resurgence is something that’s had ongoing effects through the industry. From saving retailers who are otherwise suffering from the decline of physical sales, to audiophiles claiming vinyl as the last bastion of the album format.

The moral of the story? Much like a record spinning on the platter, ‘what goes around comes around’. A sentiment that’s best illustrated by the news that arguably the most important band of the modern era are re-releasing their influential catalogue on vinyl.

On November 13th, EMI will finally deliver what fans of The Beatles have been waiting for since the digitally remastered CD and downloadble versions were released in 2009 – all 12 of the band’s studio albums, as well as the Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack and the Past Masters compilation on vinyl.

The new vinyl releases are the remastered stereo versions and will be available individually, while purists can take solace in the fact that the label is planning to release new mono versions of the albums in early 2013.

There’s also a limited edition set that will contain all 14 releases across 16 LPs, as well as including reproductions such as the Sgt. Pepper’s cutouts, the posters that came packaged with The White Album as well as a new hardbound book filled with photographs and chapters dedicated to each record’s era.

While the original vinyl versions of The Beatles’ discography are scattered throughout the globe, ranging from the mint versions sealed on a pedastal in collector’s shops, right down to the tattered and pre-loved versions populating the thrift stores and attics of the world – EMI is ensuring the new box set will have instant rarity, limited to 50,000 copies worldwide.

The collector’s set will contain all 14 releases across 16 LPs, as well as including reproductions such as the Sgt. Pepper’s cutouts, the posters that came packaged with The White Album as well as a new hardbound book filled with photographs and chapters dedicated to each record’s era.

As for the quality of the new vinyl remasters, a press release vows that “the restored versions were compared side-by-side against the original vinyl pressings (loaded into Pro Tools), and then again auditioned in the same studio where all recent Beatles projects, including [Cirque De Soleil’s 2006 mash-up album] Love, were mixed.”