Capitol Beatles Box Set Vol 2 - Continued (Part 2)

Okay..just got back from the first night of Beatlefest.

I went to Bruce Spizer's table and saw the box set and held it and the individual cds in my hands.

By the way, before I go any further..those of you that go to Beatlefest here in New Jersey this weekend...if you pre-order the new Capitol box set from Beatlefest they are GIVING AWAY a copy of the sampler for the box!!! I walked out with one tonight. They get the pre-order, you get the sampler in your hands right then and there.

Concerning the packaging...the outer slipcase is THICKER cardboard than the first volume. The individual cd sleeves are a touch smaller than the last ones so that the cds don't come flying out....and they aren't yellowish looking either. AND....the inner box that had the cds flying out the ends when you took it out of the slipcase now has the openings on the INSIDE of the fold so that they stay put! I know that a lot of you guys will like this part....the album titles are on the spines of their respective cds!! Capitol/Apple listened to fans' concerns about the last box and made changes.

The Help album is NOT a gatefold as it would have taken too long to produce (proofs going back and forth etc.) and it would have held up the box set. From what Bruce said at the listening preview, he only got the call that the set was a go in January.

The cd labels look like the labels produced at Capitol in Scranton, PA. using that style type and font.

The book is NICE and a lot better than the book that came with the first volume with many unpublished pictures in it.


At the listening preview for the box set, Bruce played about a dozen stereo tracks. I actually got chills when he played Norwegian Wood. It sounded phenomenal!!! Some of the other tracks that he played were Please, Please Me (with the flubbed words in the third verse), Help (with the James Bond intro) and In My Life.

There was some discussion about a POSSIBLE third volume. He said that any third volume would be for odds and ends (my words). Nothing is set in stone but Bruce said that he would rather that Revolver NOT be in the set since it was the same as the Brits minus three tracks. He did say that if it were his choice, he would start with Yesterday & Today (with the trunk cover), the Hard Day's Night album and possibly Hey Jude.

But that is all up to Apple and they can only listen to his suggestions and accept or take them. IF and only IF they ever got to a volume 4 would you see things like Love Songs, Reel Music, Rock And Roll Music, etc. He would NOT opt for 20 Greatest Hits.

Anyway, the set looks nice. I'm tired. It's 3:38 A.M. here in New Jersey and I'm going to bed.

 

Bruce said that he would pick the trunk cover because that's the way it came out. He said that pictures of the butcher cover would be covered in the book that goes with the set. He is giving a slide presentation this morning about the Butcher Cover at Beatlefest. But as I type this in my jammies, there is a half hour to go before that happens. Don't think I'll make it.

There are some folks here who said that they had been in contact with him and one said that they even had a call in to him. I figure that if someone has a call in to him that they know him much more intimately than I ever will and I didn't want to steal anyone's thunder by posting.

His table was busy and I was grateful that he at least let me handle the set. In fact, he was gracious enough to chat a bit as much as he could with folks who came to the table. I also noticed that he was nice enough to let a few folks handle the set who had asked. He was also instrumental in letting people know about the pre-order/sampler deal. If it hadn't been for him, I never would have known.

As far as the sampler goes, I think someone has posted the track listing but here it is again stereo/mono:

1/9) Baby It's You
2/10) Boys
3/11) What You're Doing
4/12) I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
5/13) The Night Before
6/14) You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
7/15) Think For Yourself
8/16) I've Just Seen A Face

I'm listening to it for the first time as I type this. It's GREAT!

Bruce did mention something at the preview that I think is worth noting again. As far as the box design goes, since the first set came the way it did, Capitol wanted to stay consistent. Hence it looks like the first set did. What I think is worth mentioning again is that Capitol/Apple DID listen to complaints about the packaging on the first volume and took them to heart and FIXED what was wrong. They are commited to keeping the Beatles legacy in the US alive and I think that needs to be commended. We are lucky that we even have a VOLUME 2 much less a Volume One of Capitol albums. Apple, he said, didn't want the conflict of two versions (Meet/With The Beatles for instance) and were persuaded to release them in a box set so the folks knew exactly what they were buying.

Bruce mentioned specifically Andy Slater (I hope that I remembered his name correctly) and a few other people at Capitol who really were passionate about this program. Let's not forget that a few years ago this set would have been unthinkable at Apple. These people, and Bruce, got the ball rolling and here we are with Volume 2 and talking Volume 3.

I'll say this. The sampler contains nothing that gives anything away if anything is wrong. At the preview, Bruce specifically played tracks that WEREN'T on the sampler and since most of the revelations were in the stereo mixes, that's what he played.

Consider this also...a few years ago when Universal released the Back To The Future films in a box set, someone with a laserdisc and lot of time noticed that the aspect ratio of the second film was off when compared to the laserdisc. I love these films and even I didn't notice for Pete's sake. The number of people who even care about this I'm sure is considerably less than the number of people who care about the Beatles mono/stereo mixes. Universal did the right thing and exchanged the 'wrong' disc for a new one when you sent it back. I'm sure that if there are any issues with the new set that Capitol will step up and do the right thing, given their level of commitment to this series.

Again, let me say that I find it amazing that in 2006 I can hold the Capitol albums in my hands in MONO AND STEREO when in 1987 the idea of that was like sunlight and Dracula at Apple. Perhaps a 'thank you' might be in order to those mentioned above who got this, and are getting, this done.

Just my humble opinion.

 

Oh geez! I don't know how I forgot to mention this!! He said at the preview that the UK albums ARE being remastered but when the come out is anyone's guess at this point in time.

 

It's there.