Virtually unremarked upon in the hullabaloo last week over the imminent reissue of The Beatles catalog is its tie-up with Rock Band. Obviously for marketing reasons its no coincidence that The Beatles Rock Band will arrive on the same day: September 9, 2009. (Prepare for “Number nine, Number nine, Number nine” to feature strongly in the build-up.)
A number of commentators have remarked that these CDs may represent the last great CD release, a tombstone for a dying format. Based on Aerosmith’s phenomenal success with Guitar Hero, which made the band more money than any of their albums, the CDs are not the real reason we’ll be seeing this push. In that case, why not just put out The Beatles Rock Band out this year and then create another major marketing push for the CDs (or DVDs or downloads or what have you) in 2010?
My hunch is that The Beatles currently available CDs – rushed on to the market with barely a remix in the late ‘80s – were too lo-fi as they stood to be released on to machines providing high-fidelity experience like Xbox 360’s or PlayStation 3’s. All of my friends who play Rock Band-like games have their consoles hooked to their stereos, not just their tiny TV speakers. And when played after the loud, bright, often surround mixes demanded by these environments, The Beatles recordings will sound at best mid-rangy and at their worst completely colorless. Through 1966, all the vocals were on one channel, the instruments on the other, which means that all the new Stereo and Surround mixes to come will be 2009 inventions.
So as the sonic quality comes up to par, expect not just a Beatles marketing blitz, but perhaps a whole re-evaluation of their work and ability as musicians – not to mention, a huge online war between the purists who think the 2009 stereo remastering paints a mustache on Mona Lisa and others who feel like “we’re hearing The Beatles for the very first time.” (Another rank unfairness against their brethren like the Rolling Stones and The Who, both of whom put out fantastic-sounding remasterings chock full of extras earlier this decade to little fanfare.)
Another prediction: expect new respect for Ringo’s contributions.