Now And Then (merged threads)

[Lord Reith]

Well everybody seems to be full steam ahead on the idea of it being expanded 3-disc versions of the R&B.

But I still think if that is true then it is a really dumb idea. "Not that exciting" means "no outtakes" which means they've just added more songs... which means they are not the same albums any more. And like I've already said, there is no use for compilation albums any more. Every streaming service has curated playlists for all the biggest artists. They don't do it for something to do, they do it because that is how people discover new bands now and because it offers a guarranteed way for subscribers to hear what are the most popular songs. A rerelease of R&B will just get lost amongst all the other Beatles albums on streaming. It will not reach the audience they are targeting.

[theboxinargentina]

The Red and Blue are streaming playlists and can be promoted on platforms as the entry to the Beatles for new listeners. It will be of great benefit for the target audience to have all the tracks uniformily remixed.

[fabwill]

Well everybody seems to be full steam ahead on the idea of it being expanded 3-disc versions of the R&B.

But I still think if that is true then it is a really dumb idea. "Not that exciting" means "no outtakes" which means they've just added more songs... which means they are not the same albums any more. And like I've already said, there is no use for compilation albums any more. Every streaming service has curated playlists for all the biggest artists. They don't do it for something to do, they do it because that is how people discover new bands now and because it offers a guarranteed way for subscribers to hear what are the most popular songs. A rerelease of R&B will just get lost amongst all the other Beatles albums on streaming. It will not reach the audience they are targeting.

I still think (hope) this is about a streaming release of the Anthology TV series and maximising/simplifying the audio streaming income that follows from that. The Rooftop performance started streaming a month or two after Get Back showed on Disney+, which probably points to lost income in that 2 month period. No way updated Anthology LPs would get the same sales or streams as R&B. But on their own, I agree, doesn't seem to be much to get excited about from an updated R&B.

[khundalini]

I can very well imagine that Apple will release the Red and Blue Album mixed with new Songs.
Also in the past, new mixes were presented on these albums. That's the only way they were interesting for fans at all. For the normal consumer, they were just "greatest hits" albums.
Since Apple is always striving to standardize the catalogue, i can also imagine that new songs for the future will be added without changing the character of the albums: new mixes of Free as a Bird, Real Love and Now and Then. That would fit very well.
They would also "force" fans to buy them!
In addition, the new mixes from the old albums could be "tested". I don't believe in a re-release of Anthology at all.
As for the early albums, I believe in an outtakes release in the form of a double album and a consumer version in the form of a single LP. The first four maybe only as single LP.
Since we are in the realm of speculation and desire, let's just let ourselves be surprised and use the time to save up our money!

[Lord Reith]

I still think (hope) this is about a streaming release of the Anthology TV series and maximising/simplifying the audio streaming income that follows from that. The Rooftop performance started streaming a month or two after Get Back showed on Disney+, which probably points to lost income in that 2 month period. No way updated Anthology LPs would get the same sales or streams as R&B. But on their own, I agree, doesn't seem to be much to get excited about from an updated R&B.

Could they reformat Anthology to widescreen though? I'm not sure it would work without having a very claustrophobic framing. Also, they'd have to order new scans of all those hundreds of news and tv items, and in the case of the news footage Apple don't own it and it would be complex and expensive to organize. Then there'd be upscaling required of most of it because it was VT or 16mm. But I guess it is possible, if the will were there.

[Lord Reith]

I can very well imagine that Apple will release the Red and Blue Album mixed with new Songs.
Also in the past, new mixes were presented on these albums. That's the only way they were interesting for fans at all. For the normal consumer, they were just "greatest hits" albums.
Since Apple is always striving to standardize the catalogue, i can also imagine that new songs for the future will be added without changing the character of the albums: new mixes of Free as a Bird, Real Love and Now and Then. That would fit very well.
They would also "force" fans to buy them!
In addition, the new mixes from the old albums could be "tested". I don't believe in a re-release of Anthology at all.
As for the early albums, I believe in an outtakes release in the form of a double album and a consumer version in the form of a single LP. The first four maybe only as single LP.
Since we are in the realm of speculation and desire, let's just let ourselves be surprised and use the time to save up our money!

I agree we are riffing on a ridiculously slim portion of information (an avatar of a stairwell and an offhand comment about 6 lps) but I will really be astounded if they change the track listing of those two albums. They may just be compilations but they are iconic and it's not like adding new footage for an expanded movie. If you add a whole load of new tracks it is literally no longer the same record. It's the track listing and the cover that defines an album. Change either of those and it is something else.

[Axkorecords]

If a re-release of the red and blue albums really happens, I wonder whether the album's compiler, Allen Klein, will be acknowledged....

[Lord Reith]

If a re-release of the red and blue albums really happens, I wonder whether the album's compiler, Allen Klein, will be acknowledged....

Not in this lifetime!

[Gredel21]

As is the Red and Blue albums were good when they were released - " Now and Then " will be the selling point for those who already have the original Cds/Lp's.
I wonder how much of a campain Emi/Capital? Apple will do and how expensive it will be.
Also if a " EP " will be released with " Now and Then " as the " A " Side.
If this is the " Last " Beatle song to be released. Wouldn't that mean that all the other songs in the vault never see the light of day except to those who have heard it at " Apple "

Greg

[Rickenbacker325]

If a re-release of the red and blue albums really happens, I wonder whether the album's compiler, Allen Klein, will be acknowledged....

They would be more likely to acknowledge Ron Decline instead…