Review Summary: A must-have collection of the most influential band of the rock era.
Before I review such an odd device, I feel I should offer a brief introduction to new fans as to who The Beatles were. So much has been written and said about them, that it's difficult to summarize their career or influence on people, trends, the culture and thoughts of people at the time and most importantly their influence on Rock as we know it.
The Beatles first appeared on the U.K charts in 1962 with their single Love Me Do, which peaked at number seventeen. Following that were their number one hits,
"Please Please Me" and
"She Loves You" which gained them national recognition, but it wasn't until, "I Want To Hold You Hand" that they enjoyed worldwide fame. They would soon visit the U.S to a greeting of thousands of screaming girls at the airport who would chase them all the way to their hotel. Their charisma, their rabid screaming fans, their wit and musical innovativeness which kept them ahead of all other artists at the time had never been seen before and thus Beatlemania was born.
Musically their early music blended in all that was good about Rock N' Roll, Rhythm and Blues and Rockabilly to produce a fresh and invigorating sound. An example of the way they changed music in their early days can be their rendition of
"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry Over You" as compared to the earlier famous Elvis Presley version of it. A year and a half later their music would change again and become a lot more mature and complex. In 1967 they released,
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" which is widely known as the first proper psychedelic record and the very first concept album. The Beatles were probably the only band to have such a psychic hold over their vast fan base. Wherever they went, they were greeted with thousands of people, parades and meetings with presidents. Such a thing had never happened before, nor has happened ever since.
In conclusion, their supremacy as Rock icons remains unchallenged to this day, decades after their breakup in 1970 although they were only officially a band for just 8 years.
Now, onto the music and this device. In 2009 Apple Records decided to remaster all The Beatles official albums and compile in into a box set. Some of the box sets would come with a limited edition USB. This is a review for this one of a kind Apple USB and it's features. Since there's nothing much to write about a compilation of all the Beatles albums, I'll make this one short. If one wants reviews about the music, one can read the reviews put up at this site about their albums.
That being said, this USB is the most amazing collection to own apart from their remastered vinyl records in my opinion. It contains videos for each album, all their original U.K released albums and remastered FLAC versions of all their songs taken off the original master tapes.
In other words, this is the way The Beatles were meant to be heard. I can't begin to describe the kind of clarity you'll hear on this on decent to good speakers. All stereo songs are in FLAC format (44.1khz) which is the highest possible quality and also in DRM-free MP3 (320kpbs) with a one-click 'Export To Media Player' function. It's truly amazing.
Now onto the look and feel of the thing. It's a tiny USB that pops out of an apple shaped holder, that you can plug into your computer. It's got it's own menu that with a list of all their albums on the bottom menu. You can play their songs using this menu and simultaneously browse the booklets included there as well. These booklets contain pictures that were issued on their original records back in the 60's plus a whole lot more pictures, summaries and notes that weren't included in the originals.
In conclusion, this is a must have for any Beatles fan. Like I said this is the best thing to own apart from their original vinyl records.
This collection left me flabbergasted. A must-have collection of the the most influential and possibly the greatest band ever.
4.5/5
