#i am begging lennon estate for a year on that demo but im guessing if it was known itd be on the official apple releases and its not

[get-back-homeward]

Guess what arrived this week!

I never buy reissues let alone preorder, but I had a hunch this set would be worth having, and I’m very happy with it. They look lovely together.

There's a nice little essay in each booklet that feels very appropriate for the times. You can read them here and here. If I had anything to complain about I'd say the CD sleeves are pretty risky. They're so tight, you gotta pinch them just right to get the CD out without scratching. I doubt I'm putting them back to their original spots. The spot behind the booklet is wide enough and will work fine as a substitute if you have single protective sleeves for each disc.

But all I really care about is the sound. And man, the sound knocks me out. Giles really outdid himself with these mixes. The only one I'd say I'm truly unhappy with is I Am The Walrus. The 2017 mix was fine to me, and messing with the ending seems silly, but it's easy enough to swap out. Out of 75 tracks, I expect a few to not be my favorite. It's more than worth it for the tracks that have clarified the sound and helped me to hear details I couldn't before.

The big changes are the additional songs, including George's songs and covers, and the 2023 mixes. With the backwards reissues, it's the Red Album that has the most new mixes here. They really surpass my expectations. This is the best I've ever heard their 1963 songs. Disc 1 adds I Saw Her Standing There, Twist and Shout, Roll Over Beethoven, This Boy, You Really Got a Hold On Me, and You Can't Do That. Disc 2 adds If I Needed Someone, Taxman, Got to Get You Into My Life, I'm Only Sleeping, Here There and Everywhere, and Tomorrow Never Knows. I have no qualms with any of them, they all feel like they belong here.

The biggest advantage of these newest mixes is the space between parts. It helps to hear Ringo's drums and percussion better in one part and George's guitar in another, hear Paul's bass here and harmonies there. I don't find any of the mixes too drastic save Walrus but together they really elevate the listening experience.

I found myself flagging John's songs as sounding best, and I think that may be a function of hearing more of the layers underneath along with the clarified vocals. Some of his harmonies with Paul just sound exceptionally good with this new tech. Norwegian Wood is a standout, as is Ticket to Ride. Norwegian Wood seems to push John's vocals further to the front instead of getting masked by the acoustic. The three-part harmonies sound divine on This Boy and Nowhere Man. I've seen criticism about the space changing the magic of the Rubber Soul tracks. If you don't like it, it's easy enough to swap out, but I didn't really have a problem with it.

On the Blue Album, of the five new mixes, Magical Mystery Tour and Hey Bulldog stand out best. It's actually kinda embarrassing how much I was missing from MMT before. I felt halfway through like I was listening to a brand new song. My one quibble is the strange placement of Hey Bulldog. It expected it to follow Lady Madonna on Disc 1 for roughly chronological order but instead it's between Blackbird and Get Back on Disc 2. I guess they were going by order of original release instead of recording date order used in the Anthology. But it was the one place the order threw me for a loop.

Placing Now and Then at the end of this hefty 75 track list is a controversial choice perhaps, but I think it bears the weight of the legacy well. Particularly because it's following The Long & Winding Road, which ends on Paul's plea: Don't leave me waiting here Lead me to your door

Now and Then starts with John's confession: I know it's true It's all because of you And if I make it through It's all because of you

It feels like a continuation of a conversation. An answer.

Paul's lyrical input is small but powerful, adding "will" and "always" to add certainty to John's cool now and then I miss you. Two lines were incomplete and required that Paul finish them. The completed line packs a punch: I want you to be there for me Always to return to me

This is officially the last Lennon-McCartney lyric, constructed across decades. But it doesn't feel like an ending, only a completed circle. Perhaps because this ending so seamlessly loops back to the beginning again: Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So plea-ee-ee-ease Love me do

And I guess if you want to go further: I'll do anything for you Anything you want me to If you'll be true to me

You can find bits across the track list that link as well: Now and then I feel so insecure Know that I just need you like I never done before

I’ll get to you somehow/until I do I’m telling you so you’ll understand

Life is very short and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friend

Though I know I’ll never lose affection for people and things that went before I know I’ll often stop and think about them

To lead a better life I need my love to be here

Had you gone you knew in time we’d meet again for I had told you

Knowing that love is to share, each one believing that love never dies

Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns and calls me on and on across the universe

It leaves me with an abundance of multiverse AU feels in the vein of Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Maybe there is something out there, some new discovery, that will make us feel like even smaller pieces of shit. Something that explains why you still went looking for me, through all of this noise. And why, no matter what, I still want to be here with you. I will always want to be here with you.

I would just like to say, in another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.

We live in the world they chose music and fame, and the songs they leave us with is their legacy and our gift.

The press for these releases has been a mess. But the BBC Eras series on The Beatles ends on two quotes that been stuck in my head all week:

It’s the last song that my dad and Paul and George and Ringo will get to make together. You know, even though it took a long time, it feels very synchronous that the lyric speaks about time and that it’s taken so much time and that it sort of fuses the past and present. It's like a time capsule. And it all feels very meant to be or fated or something. In the nicest sense. —Sean Lennon

When I remember the Beatles, I remember the joy. The talent. The humor. The love. And I think if people remembered us for that, for those things, I’d be very happy. —Paul McCartney

Full circle, indeed.