I've read some of the carping found in other reviews, and had to respond. I'm an ex-studio owner and recording engineer, and with one exception, I think the remixes of Beatles classics found on this CD are wonderful. Several songs, including "Nowhere Man" are heard in true stereo (instead of the original instruments / vocals pan) for the first time, and they are glorious indeed. On "Yellow Submarine," you hear the thunderous foghorn which is buried in the original mix, and the tinkling glasses of the "partygoers" are crystal clear. On "When I'm Sixty-Four," the high background "aaahs" are a revelation, as they were again deeply buried in the original version. George Harrison's songs fare particularly well, especially the underappreciated gem "Think For Yourself" from "Rubber Soul" and "Love You To," his best and most accessible Indian-style number. One wishes he and the other fabs had spent more time rehearsing and arranging "It's All Too Much," which could have been an all-time classic, but comes across as a rather loose and happy semi-jam. John's "Hey Bulldog" ROCKS, with one of the most propulsive piano/bass riffs in history, dispelling any thought of it as a throwaway.

Other songs that benefit from the remix include "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," which has a new crystaline purity; "Baby You're A Rich Man," in which the slightly annoying speeded-up trumpet is potted down slightly and the vocals boosted; "Sgt. Pepper / With A Little Help From My Friends," which has a bit more clarity in the instrumental mix and a tighter bottom; and "Only A Northern Song," where all the psychedelic horn fills and chimes are given a nice swirling feel.

The only minor problem I could detect was in "Eleanor Rigby." One reviewer here claims the remix reveals Paul is singing flat. That's not the case-- he's right on pitch, and his voice has been given a bit more "top," an improvement over the original muffled quality of the original. But his vocal also seems to be a fraction of a beat BEHIND the backing "string octet." This is not at all apparent on the original mix. I wonder if this is because one of the tape heads on the Studer 4-track was slightly misaligned on the original recording and mixdown? If so, I can appreciate the problem in trying to remix it.

One can only marvel at the musicianship, vocal ability, songwriting genius, and craft displayed in these recordings. It's enough to make you believe Timothy Leary was right when he proclaimed John, Paul, George and Ringo were four superhuman angels sent to enlighten the human race. I'm quite sure we'll never see their like again, but fortunately, thanks to modern recording technology, we will always have their music to enjoy.

As a fanatical fan who grew up with the Beatles, I was suspicious of a newly remastered CD. Like past remastering Beatles projects, I expected little more than a new compilation of analogue dumps.

Not so. When these tunes were originally recorded, the engineers had four tracks from which to mix. That meant a lot of bouncing and no true stereo imaging. For example, on Eleanor Rigby we originally heard the string quartet essentially in mono on one channel and the vocals in mono on the other. Fast forward to the late `90s. The engineers retrieved the tapes with the original vocals (all recorded on separate tracks) and the string quartet (also on separate tracks) and digitally synchronized them. Voilà! Now they have eight tracks to work with. The result is a fully realized stereo mix of this classic. The vocals absolutely surround you as does the string quartet. For the first time I'm sitting in the middle of the performance, enveloped by it, not listening from afar. After literally hundreds of listenings during the past three decades I'm hearing instrument nuances and riffs I hadn't realized existed.

Each cut benefits greatly from this meticulously reconstructed digital stereo remixing. The three-dimensional vocals are an absolute joy! To the purists who look at such tinkering with dismay, they still have their legacy albums. For the rest of us -- and new generations of listeners -- this production is an absolute gem, as exciting to listen to today as it was three decades ago. Thanks to technology, I've been reintroduced to these tunes in a way I never thought possible. I'm looking forward to the day when the complete Sgt. Peppers and the rest of the Beatles catalogue are remastered in this way.

A little history about YELLOW SUBMARINE releases:

In George Martin's autobiography,

, he stated that the original soundtrack album was to contain only his background score, with dialogue and narration from the film, a la

. The Beatles, who were never thrilled with the film anyway because it was a cartoon (though they changed their opinion after it became a success), originally planned to issue an EP of the four "new" songs from the film: "Only A Northern Song," "All Together Now," "Hey Bulldog," and "It's All Too Much." But the group soon realized that while an EP may have been successful in the UK market, that format had been phased out in America a few years earlier. Apparently believing that an all-Beatles YELLOW SUBMARINE album of mostly old songs would not sell, a compromise was reached, with six Beatles songs (including "Yellow Submarine" and "All You Need Is Love," plus the four mentioned above) on Side One, and seven film-score instrumentals by The George Martin Orchestra on Side Two: "Pepperland," "Sea of Time," "Sea of Holes," "Sea of Monsters," "March of the Meanies," "Pepperland Laid Waste," and "Yellow Submarine in Pepperland." This was the version issued on vinyl in early 1969, on CD in 1987, and as a remastered

CD in 2009.

Oddly enough, The Beatles took so much heat for releasing this "half-an-album," especially in their home country, that they asked EMI to go ahead and prepare a mono EP, with the four exclusive songs listed above, plus "Across The Universe," which had recently been donated to the World Wildlife Fund, but not yet issued. That EP never materialized, but the five mono mixes from it were finally issued in 2009 on the MONO MASTERS collection, included in

. While a mono YELLOW SUBMARINE LP was issued in the UK, it was a "fold-down" of the stereo mix.

In 1999, when the newly restored YELLOW SUBMARINE movie was issued on VHS and DVD, Apple Records concocted the

, a remixed compilation of the 15 Beatles songs in the film. It has just been re-released, in conjunction with the newly restored 2012 reissue of the film. Except for the packaging - a digipak replaces the jewel case, and the booklet is on thicker paper - the 2012 CD is identical to the 1999 version. In addition to remixes of the six songs from the previous album, including the first-ever true stereo mix of the "Only A Northern Song" master (

has an alternate stereo take; the 1969 album, due to technical limitations, has a fake stereo mix of the song, as does the 1987 CD; the 2009 remastered CD has the same pure mono mix as MONO MASTERS), SONGTRACK includes, chronologically speaking, "Think For Yourself" and "Nowhere Man" from

, "Eleanor Rigby" and "Love You To" from

, four tracks from

, including the title track, "With A Little Help From My Friends," "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," and "When I'm Sixty-Four," plus the B-side "Baby You're A Rich Man," later issued on

.

If you already own the 1999 CD, there is no reason to buy this new one unless you want the new packaging, but either way, these 15 songs sound fantastic in their remixed versions. I do wish Apple had added a couple of bonus tracks to the new version: "A Day In The Life," which does appear briefly in the film, and either the "movie version" of "It's All Too Much," with an additional verse not heard on the album, or better yet, the full uncut 8-minute-plus version, which has yet to be released. But they didn't. Nevertheless, even if you already own the remastered 2009 CD of the original album, this SONGTRACK is a must-have, if you don't own it already.

OK, I know. Purists are going to point out that this is not the original version of the YELLOW SUBMARINE album, and they would be right. But, it really is THAT good.

First, all of the songs from the film are included here instead of the George Martin score (don't get me wrong--it's nice, but how many people actually played Side Two of the LP that many times?). Then, of course, there is the remixing (which, no doubt, will irritate some purists). Let me say that I have been a Beatles fan and collector for decades. I know and love their recordings, but have been irritated by the somewhat haphazard nature of some of the stereo mixes. The mono versions were put together with extreme care, and it is evident--they are breath-taking. However, in many cases, the stereo mix seems an afterthought, with the lead vocal often on only one channel and sometimes mixed so far down as to be barely intelligible. This remix solves that problem. The original multitrack recordings (prior to being bounced and combined for four-track) were used and mixed from scratch. The sound, while different (and not different) from the original, gives the listener a new insight into the performance.

So, how are they NOT different? No instruments were added or deleted. Everything that was recorded and in the original mix is still present. However, more range (both in frequency and dynamics) is audible, and the true stereo sound is a real treat. Frankly, I wish EMI would give all of the Beatles' recordings this treatment. Would I replace my current CDs with those remixes? No. However, comparing the results is fun and this album was obviously remixed with great care and respect, so I see no sacrelege.

Standout tracks: "All You Need is Love" (one of John Lennon's most beautiful pieces, in my opinion, takes on new dimension in this mix), "Hey Bulldog" (vocal front and center), "Only a Northern Song" (first time in stereo), and "Nowhere Man" (listen to the depth in the vocals).

Don't throw away your original copy of the soundtrack. But don't be predisposed to disliking this one, either. On its own merits, it is a great achievement and homage to the greatest recording act of all time (that last bit was just my opinion, but then so is all of this, so there it is).

Many people complain that this album do not contain many orchestral score made by beatles fifth member George martin but it is really pointless.the label clearly says it is SONGTRACK no SOUNDTRACk.new album contains almost all songs that were in the movie without orchestral pieces.while the mix of old soundtrack was simply two channels without any impressing middle here it is...awesome multichannel sound! i am not familliar with all these 5.1 surroundings or any other remastering formats but the sound of remastered "Yellow submarine" is simply stuning.listen to "Baby, you're a rich man" is version from "magical mystery tour" and listen to this version from here.and "Eleanor rigby" with huge surrounding sound simply will make your jaws fall.

about the music,"Yellow Submarine" has most of their hits from 1966 - 1968 era with an addition of few new songs like "Hey bulldog","Only a northern song" or "It's all too much".you may think that most of the songs are contained on other regular albums but you must get this album for it's sound.the sound is like beatles should always sound.Paul's bass is almost visible,so is Ringo Drumming.Lennons and Harrison's powerfull guitars rock out of your speakers and vocals are amazingly clear...

remastered "Yellow submarine" songtrack is a great way to get into Beatles music.and one of their best sounding album ever.