Remastered

I've spent the last two days listening to my favorite Beatles songs, for the first time.

Just released are newly remastered versions of the Beatles catalog. The difference, even between previous CD versions and these, is stunning. The new masters are so alive, so nuanced and so full of presence that they are truly better than the originals. If you are a Beatles fan, you owe yourself to spend the money. And please, listen to them on something other than Ipod earbuds. (I bought my first Beatles album, Rubber Soul, in 1965, and listened to it on a small portable record player with a 3" speaker. While I appreciated the musicianship, I could not appreciate the recording until decades later when I listened to the CD on a high-end stereo system).

Concurrent with the Beatles releases, a newly remastered version of The Wizard of Oz has just been released. Available in Blu-Ray and standard DVD, it promises the same sort of experience as listening to The Beatles. One benefit I am looking forward to: the new version has 6.1 surround sound; all the previous releases were monophonic, since that was what movie theaters were equipped to play in 1939. (Trivia: What was the first multi-channel movie soundtrack?  Walt Disney's Fantasia, in 1940. When did the Abbey Road recording studios, made famous by The Beatles, open? 1931.)

And in other remastering news, God is continuing to improve on Wayne S, model 1. As the song says, 

I've got to admit it's getting better
A little better all the time
It can't get no worse
I have to admit it's getting better, it's getting better
Since you've been mine.

(Lennon-McCartney, 1967)