THE Reason to Love the Beatles!

I wasn't aware of this special release, because in 2009, I didn't know what "FLAC" was - or what happens to your music when it is compressed for MP3 players, etc. (Now, of course, the very popular "cloud storage," which often absolutely caps what kind of audio files you can store. The amazon cloud WILL match your Apple Lossless songs, or other lossless songs, but they'll replace 'em, with compressed files. So that's just for my phone, while I'm waiting for something, and not serious music listening.)

But THIS was an answer, even if ITunes, Amazon, and others wouldn't cooperate, and still essentially won't, via their music downloading serivices. I understand other artists, too, have offered their music in audiophile formats from special sites. Just a few such sites exist. And the thing is that before Steve Jobs died, Neil Young was in discussions with him about the damage done to music by compressed formats, and Jobs was "all ears." He died, of course. And Young was p.o.'d and not for sentimental reasons. People work hard on the music, engineers break their rumps getting EVERY little detail just so, and people like us argue about the smallest details of the sound quality, and then it's sold on-line in a format that destroys a lot of the music! (They also offer MP3 versions, the best MP3 versions, for those with small storage capacity in their players, I guess.)

It's fine if you're not really listening to the music: if it's just a background activity, and you don't care. But if you really want to listen, like late at night, in the dark, and you want to read an old book (on an e-reader), and listen to great music on real speakers, you want LOSSLESS.

In 2009, the Beatles (or what's left of them, naturally), offered their appreciators ALL of their albums, digitally, without harming the music. I only knew about the CD releases at that time, and just thought it was just a hype re-release. I thought it was mostly marketing: Beatles music always had great engineering - but yes, this was remastered. I bought one of 'em - a remastered CD. I really like Rubber Soul. Off the point, though.

I think THIS may have been the whole reason - or the major reason, even if most of the media didn't focus on it at all. This is GREAT! And points the way for others . . . particularly those whose most significant activity is the preservation and restoration of historical music. (Hint! Hint!)

So here you have it, still available. (It's ALL the albums, which is too pricey for me, but the idea is brilliant, and I'll get it when I can. It's available, and it's very nice.)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Beatles-USB/dp/B002VH7P4O

The exquisitely crafted, apple-shaped USB drive is loaded with the critically acclaimed re-mastered audio for The Beatles' 14 stereo titles, as well as all of the re-mastered CDs visual elements, including 13 mini-documentary films about the studio albums, replicated original UK album art, rare photos and expanded liner notes. A specially designed Flash interface has been installed, and the 16MB USB's audio and visual contents will be provided in FLAC 44.1 Khz 24 bit and MP3 320 Kbps formats, fully compatible with PC and Mac.


Packaging:

Black lift-top box (3.59"Wx3.59"Dx2.87"H)

Green Aluminum Apple (50mm wide x 48.5mm high)



Product specs:

16GB USB stick housed in a green aluminum apple

Contains full contents of The Beatles' stereo box set

*Please Please Me

*With The Beatles

*Hard Day's Night

*Beatles For Sale

*Help

*Rubber Soul

*Revolver

*Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

*Magical Mystery Tour

*The Beatles (White Album)

*Yellow Submarine

*Let It Be

*Abbey Road

*Past Masters I & II

*All stereo songs in FLAC (44.1khz) and in DRM-free MP3 (320kpbs) with a one-click 'Export To Media Player' function

*13 mini-documentaries in MPEG4 video format

*Custom-designed FLASH player menu system with full booklet artwork, album cover wallpapers and photo gallery

This is what WE would like, for our guy, and for a LOT of other music! Hey, ALL other music! But even better, it should be offered by the major players in digital music, and it is not. Eventually, CDs will be history, and so then what will we do? (Even USB drives may one day be replaced by all-wireless delivery and storage.) Something must be done to properly deliver the music!

rjm (I assume that the music can be converted to Apple Lossless, and it'll be okay? And play on your IPod?)

x

Last edited by rjm on Sun Dec 02, 2012 10:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

Check this out: https://www.hdtracks.com/

There are others, a few others.

One more thing. I hope a company, or a consortium of a couple, perhaps Samsung and Sandisk, can make a true audiophile player, with huge (but physically small) solid state hard drives, and the ability to play 24-bit music (Apple Lossless stops at 16-bit, and some say you may or may not be able to hear it. I want to judge for myself.) They could also offer the software (which is already available) to organize the music, and to transfer it to the player.

They say the individual song files can be as big as 100 MBs. But the thing is that Apple Lossless uses a "container" - like a zip file, for its format, and when played, it expands, like temporarily extracting a zip to view (or in this case, listen). So, that technology could work for 24-bit FLAC, on these new machines. Gosh, everybody has music in their ears now, and yet they don't know they're listening to crap. (No, I'm not talking about contemporary genres that some people don't like.) People are buying those stupid "extra-bass" headphones to artificially pump up the surface of the music, which is offensive, if you care about music. Crummy, small MP3s, bass-boosted. Yuck.

However it sounded in the recording studio, is EXACTLY what we should hear!

I remember getting the old Studio B tour, in the early '80s, and the guy played a brand new master by Charley Pride. It sounded remarkable! It WAS the master recording, on the master tape. We now have the ability to listen to that in our homes, and even on the go (with high quality headphones, which I own - expensive DJ quality, and even excellent "portable" ones, that have a mini-amplifier on 'em).

I WANT this, I need this, I love this! If I didn't love music, I wouldn't be . . . here. Nor would most people. There should be an uproar!

rjm (I'm still jazzed over promiseland's promised section! And by that HD theater restoration I saw the other day, and thinking "why can't they do the same for music? They are downgrading music!")

The best thing to do is get away from the Apple crap and problem solved!

Elvis loved the Beatles very, very much!

Elvis loved the Beatles very, very much!

I just love the way you keep trying to convince everyone of this. I am sure he liked them, but loved them?, the FACTS prove otherwise.

Keep trying though.

Elvis loved the Beatles very, very much!

"The engineering has certainly improved."



Naw, seriously, Elvis loved all good music, as far as can see. If he didn't like/love something, he would do something violent to it. (Hint: Robert Goulet.) I think they found that album, that I happen to favor, in his possessions: Rubber Soul. I found it interesting that he dug the same one as me.

rjm (now I'm reading stuff where it says that one doesn't need 24 bit depth, because while useful in engineering the music, you won't hear it -- very confusing. In any event, it ought to be lossless that is available, and not compressed music)

Last edited by rjm on Mon Dec 03, 2012 6:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

The best thing to do is get away from the Apple crap and problem solved!

If you could elaborate, that would be helpful. Is the ALAC format all the music you can hear? And if so, why is such a format (or the equivalent by other services) not offered for download? Just saying that "most people" don't know the difference is insufficient. There is a difference. And the services should offer the music that was created, in the best sound quality that was created. Period.

And that's not happening. Some people might say that what they offered on that thumb-drive is unnecessary, but if you read the reviews, it appears as though people really enjoyed it, and heard the difference!

Now, the capacity has gotten smaller on almost all players, and it's not a good sign. (I've heard of people hoarding IPod Classics, with the 160 Gigs, so in case their current one goes out, they've got a new one! There are no other players with that capacity.)

It was a really good idea to have ALL (or most) of your music in your pocket. That was visionary. But it should be the real music.

(The topic title was a hook, of course. But it's true: they went the extra mile so that the music wouldn't be squished and squashed.)

People aren't, probably, going to get away from Apple, in terms of music: all the services import directly into ITunes. So, they're the ones who have to do the right thing. Because at some point, CDs will be history: the computers won't have the drives. The music that is downloaded will be the only music available.

The point is that whether you like the Beatles, Elvis, Robert Goulet, or even "Gangnam Style," a decade from now it won't be available in physical form.

rjm (There were 7 in stock when I last went to the link to the special little green apple, with the USB drive -- now there are only 2! Wow. People want this. With Elvis, they could put the thumb drive in a little "Pink Cadillac"! )

UPDATE: It's now sold out! It will be back in stock on December 6. I think some folks here helped themselves to a Christmas present! (You know, the "Complete Masters" might be a good candidate for such treatment! I haven't bought it yet, but this would be a good reason. )