Apple Schallplatten & CDs

Review: This is real catnip for hardcore fans of The Beatles (is there any other kind)? It is a long awaited, much talked about, often delayed 50th anniversary edition of the Liverpool band's Let It Be album. It is a super special package on 180-gram, half-speed vinyl across four different slabs. There is also a a 45rpm 12-inch vinyl EP as well as a large 105-page book in its own tasty die-cut slipcase. There are 57 tracks in all, all of which are in new stern mix format thanks to some great work by Giles Martin and Sam Okell. What else is there to say other than make suer you cop this true collector's masterpiece?

Review: A new special edition of The Beatles' Revolver comes courtesy of Apple, the original label on which the fab four released some of their most seminal works. Featuring a new mix and master by Giles Martin and Sam Okell, this version contains yet another 100-page book with a foreword by Paul McCartney and an unlikely essay by Questlove of The Roots.

Review: Famously first released in 1973 and transferred to CD in the 1980s with no significant remastering, the Beatles two colour-coded 'best of' collections have long been in need of an overhaul. Apple has typically gone all-out on this 50th anniversary re-issue, not only remastering everything (or at least those tracks that hadn't already been tweaked by Giles Martin in recent years), but also expanding each collection to three discs via the addition of other fan favourites and tracks that missed out first time round. As for the vinyl itself, it has been half-speed remastered to guarantee superior sound quality. This boxed edition boasts both compilations, plus an insert with fresh liner notes from music journalist-turned-Guardian scribe John Harris.

Review: Beatles fans have been waiting for this one a while and now it is finally here. It was the legendary Liverpool band's seventh album and it came in August 1966. As ever it was an experimental and cutting edge work of pop rock, indie and psychedelic sounds that was a critical and commercial success. Some of the awards it won include Grammy Award for Best Album Cover as well as being admitted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The album features classic singles 'Eleanor Rigby' and 'Yellow Submarine' which sound as fresh and new today as ever.