Musings on the Let it Be and Beatles Remixes

It is hard not to think of Steven Wilson when reflecting on the Beatles deluxe packages that have been released over the last several years including Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the White Album, Abbey Road, and Let it Be. Steven Wilson, as the reissues he does show, does it right. The Jethro Tull, Yes, and XTC remixes he has done on CD and blu ray, have a flat transfer of the original album on blu ray, a bevy of extras on CD and blu ray, and even the occasional audio/video. 

By  comparison, the Giles Martin remixes of the Beatles last few albums are anemic. The Let it Be five CD and blu ray deluxe package, for instance, does not contain, as it should, a flat transfer of the original album anywhere. It has a host of outtakes, though not all of them, but these are largely of interest only to  Beatles completist fanatic. It does not have, as it should, Let it Be...Naked. It has the singles and singles remixes on an ep; these, however, should be on the CD of the original release and on the blu ray. It does have the Glyn Johns mix which is kind of nice though not essential again except for fanatical Beatles completists. 

The two disc "new" Giles Martiin Let it Be remix and reissue is even worse. It should have the singles on the first CD along with the Spector mixed album, and Let it Be...Naked as well, but doesn't. It does have some of the outtakes, "the highlights" according to the package listing, on the second CD, but I would rather have Let it Be...Naked and a smattering of outtakes on a second well filled CD of around 80 minutes.

So, what can we conclude about the Beatles remixes? They are produced by a capitalist bureaucracy, in this case Universal, that appears, on the basis of empirical evidence, to worship at the feet of Mammon, its one and only god and ethic. The evidence also strongly suggests that Universal thinks that mediocrity is the height of quality. Since I usually don't buy mediocre I am not sure I be buying either of the packages of Universal's Let it Be remixes.

Bah humbug 

Postscript: I did break down and order the two disc set deluxe set reissue of Let it Be and all I can report about it is that it is crap. One of the discs, of the set I got, was glued into the very thin album like CD cover, was stuck, and was damaged as a result of me trying to get it out. Lowest common production denominator. cheap junk 

Other information: As is often the case with lazy Amazon, the picture of the two disc reissue item was different than the non-simulated one Amazon sent. Amazon, in all its skank slackerness pictured the Euro edition but they sold the American one to me. Oh well, part six zillion. Apparently Skankizon is not particularly fond of empirical accuracy and doesn't think that anyone else is either and I assume they assume that no one will care anyway.