Rubber Soul -Remastered-

2009 Remastered "Rubber Soul" ~ Stereo Balance Issue ?
I just bought several of the 2009 remastered Beatles CD's, including "Rubber Soul". I have all of the Beatles original albums on vinyl, and this is my first foray into re-buying their music on CD. So, until I started listening to their early albums in the new 2009 remastered CD format, I really wasn't aware of the sound issues of "mono" vs. "stereo" engineering. My old vinyl albums of their early work were all in "mono", and that's the sound I was used to and grew up with. Much to my surprise, the new CD's have a remarkably different sound on many tracks in the 2009 remastered "stereo" format. In some cases, the sound seems much better, and I like the "new" versions much better than what I heard on the old "mono" recordings. However, much to my dismay, quite a few of my favorite songs sound "strange" to me in the new remastered format. After discovering this, I went back on-line and read other customer reviews of the 2009 remasters, and got an education (thanks to all of you!) on the "stereo" vs. "mono" engineering issue. While I happened to be listening to "Rubber Soul", I found myself feeling especially frustrated with the sound of the "Nowhere Man" track. It seemed to me that the BALANCE of the vocal track vs. the instrumental track was way out-of-whack, compared to how the song sounded on vinyl. Frankly, I hated it, it sounded just plain "wrong"! The voice track was very prominent, and the instrumental track was just so diminished, so that the song sounds really lame. So, in my frustration, I went over to my stereo, and turned up the volume and then adjusted the balance control to lower the voice track and boost the instrumental track, and ... WOW ! Suddenly, the song sounded great, like I remembered it! I've since gone back to other tracks that sounded "off" to me (like "Yesterday" on the "Help!" CD, or "I'm a Loser" on the "Beatles for Sale" CD), and discovered that if I adjust the balance on my stereo amplifier, they also sound much better and more dynamic! It seems to me that the new 2009 remastered versions over-emphasize the vocal-track component of the early Beatles recordings, and under-emphasize the instrumental-track component. By adjusting the play-back balance, I can get the songs to sound "right" to me. In fact, when I do this, the 2009 remastered songs sound really good (better than the old versions I grew up with). It seems that the music (vocals and instrumental tracks) are "all there" on these CD's, it's just that the balance isn't "right" (or at least "right" to my ear!). Has anyone else tried adjusting the play-back balance on these recordings? I think it makes them sound much better, even if this is a bit "unorthodox" way of trying to get the "right" sound out of these recordings.

Say The Word!!!
When I think about what the Beatles did on 'Rubber Soul' it really ends up in that this is the beginning of the bands second phase and a huge part of why the band has endured to such an extent over the years.In terms of the newly remastered sound it's on this era of their recorded activity that it begins to become of big importance. Engineering wise this is the first Beatle album to make really have use of multi tracked backround vocal harmonies and sometimes even doubled up instrumental parts. One of the things that particularly benifits from the new remaster are the slower songs;on "Norwegian Wood","In My Life","Girl" and "Michelle" alone the clarity of the vocals and the music in the backround is more obviously defined-the reverebed effects and bass are particularly enhanced. In terms of the music of course for....those who have't read through the other 666 reviews of this album here already know what a challange it is for me to say anything new. Well one of the things that really distinguish this album is the huge sense of variety it offers up. Within the album you pretty much have five or six different subgenres of rock n roll and the beauty part is it all flows together with such grace and ease you sometimes forget it's even there. Although American listeners who've never heard the album on CD will find the inclusion of the original UK track lineup a little jarring,the progression of the music makes perfect sense in every possible way."Drive My Car",along with "You Won't See Me" and the wonderful "The Word",a wonderful example of what I call "people music" in the rock world all have this great chugging rock n soul rhythm and with a groove in the mix that's actually pretty funky is matched with these ethereal Beach Boy type harmonies that bring out an appealing juxtaposition of two qualities you would'nt think would match. The influence of the wall of sound makes itself felt on "Think For Yourself" with that same rocking soul groove mixed in as well. Not only are "Nowhere Man","I'm Looking Through You","Wait" and "If I Needed Someone" in sync with the then burgeoning folk rock sound with the prominant 12 string guitar riffs but still there's a stride in the groove any way you cut it. Ringo has a number here, an awkward little country tune "What Goes On" and John caps it off with "Run For Your Life",which has to be the most menacing and vindictive Beatle track in history lyrically. Overall this is an album that binds two different stages of the Beatles musical development together and as with any album they did after 1964 it really doesn't replicate in any significant way the sound and style of the previous album.Progression was the key and the Beatles were on their own front line on that end.

Remaster is a nice improvement!
I had a chance to sit down with a decent set of headphones and AB my earlier CD, vinyl and the 2009 remaster of Rubber Soul, one of my all time favorite albums. I even used an audio editing tool to take a look at the waveforms of the two digital CDs. Here is my 2 cents. Bass has more depth Balance is better, but still follows Sir G. Martin's 2-channel master from 1982, which is the source of the remaster. Highs have a my crystaling sound, especially noticable on cymbals. Levels are highers and there doesn't seem to be as much compression. Nice. Overall balance is better making the melodic voices more clear and forward sounding. Well worth the investment. Next stop, grab on to one of the boxed sets. I see they are almost gone from all the stores, but I expect more to come and I can be patient.

Capital Gain, 1987 remaster, not a new digital transfer as advertised
So, What happened, last night ,I listened to the engineers talking about how they decide it was time to do a more modern digital transfer, since the first CDs were transferred in 1986, this is a good arguement, I have heard some CDs from the Eighties that sounded pretty bad, but they blamed it on the analog source, not the poor digital transfer and quality of DACs and so on. So, without being able to sample any of "Rubber Soul", I bought it, like an idiot, took it home and played it, (I am spoiled, a Grateful Dead fan, who release very hi end CDs , even of seventies 2 track live stuff. I started listening to this and it sounded dull and lifeless without any good tonal qualities. I have 2 CD players, one a very good multi disc player with 24 bit DACs, I tried it in my cheaper one and it sounded worse. I ended up listening to it thru my nice Sennheiser phones and it was very stringent sounding, and the bass was pounding in on my left ear. So, I started reading the liner notes and found that this was made from a 1987 George Martin stereo mix, not from the new digital transfer which took 4 years, it really made me mad, I mean, this sounded like something that had been recorded on a 4 track cassette recorder and put on CD with bouncing tracks and stuff. So, why was I lied to, I listened to this 17 minute blurb with the creators and then you don't even get what they were talking about??? That is insane. The Beatles should sound better than this. I listened to some older CDs of the Beatles while I was in the store where I bought this and they sounded real good, especially the "Love" album with lots of greatest hits. You could not preview these on the stores machine though. I am very disappointed and will sell this mix, what a real digital ripoff. I did notice a huge increase in quality on the last couple of songs, but looked and I don't think they were on the original "Rubber Soul". It did not have 14 songs.

Bravo! EMI "mastered" the remastering.
For reasons well-known to most people reading this particular review, the musical content on "Rubber Soul" is five-star. The Beatles are one of a very few entities whose output lives up to its "hype." And in the days leading up to 09/09/09, there has been a LOT of hype. The remastering engineers at EMI "nail" it here. In the 2009 edition, you can feel the beans shaking around in the maracas and the bells in the tambourines ("Wait"). I never found the 1987 disks inadequate; they were state of the art 22 years ago and I don't think they sound badly now, perhaps the best term is "outdated." The 1987 edition had a little more distortion to my ears. Overall the 2009 remaster is clearer and crisper than the 1987, and with enhanced bass tones, and previously-unnoticeable subtleties in the drumming surface, for example. Sound of 2009 is somewhat warmer and richer, with better presence, but not as much as on the special edition 1978 Japanese vinyl "Original Recording Remastered" (just kidding). Seriously, though, I have it playing in the next room and I can tell that the sound isn't coming from a vinyl LP. If you're a "vinyl" person, get a clean import on vinyl (and be prepared to pay). Acoustic numbers stand out best, and are most improved on the remaster. They distinguish "Rubber Soul" as being the closest thing to "The Beatles Unplugged:" "Norwegian Wood," "Girl," "Michelle" and "In My Life." Electrified guitar numbers "Nowhere Man," "Drive My Car," "You Won't See Me," "Wait," and "If I Needed Someone" crackle and bite with warm harmonies. The sound quality is improved from the 1987 disk, but the improvement is not as noticeable as on the acoustic songs. I suspect that other discontent reviewers expected a stereo "remix" (i.e., affecting what instrument/s are heard in the right or left channel, or both), and not merely a remaster improving sound quality. Mona Lisa was not the prettiest woman in Florence.