Unlike the Yellow Sub songtrack album, where the songs were remixed, sometimes with curious results, on 1 all you get is a remastered sound that brings out the crispness in guitar licks, thundering drum rolls and a deep, melodic bass. Just listen to Eight Days A Week for an example; unlike the version on Past Masters, you can really hear the rhythm guitar as if you are in the recording studio. In Penny Lane the trumpets have a great, majestic sound, framing heavenly flutes and precise vocals. In Come Together you can really hear the lead guitar.

It's my opinion that everyone should buy this CD. Redundant content; absolutely. Unparalleled sound; without a doubt. Now if they would only revisit the original albums and give them the same royal treatment.

71 of 76 found the following review helpful:

Not bad for a garage band from Liverpool  Nov 19, 2000
By flynnc@eircom.net
I bought this yesterday and as a life long Beatles fan who has all the albums its brillant. Sure it's more Paul than John but that doesnt detract. Its excellent to have all the songs on one CD.

As for the guy from Washington who says the quality is crap, get a new CD player man! The quality is excellent. In particular all the old tracks like I feel fine, I want to hold your hand etc. all the hissing from the original CDs (The black and White singles collection) is gone. Tracks like cant buy me love have bits I never heard before. All I can say is put it on, crank up the volume and enjoy the greatest rock n roll band of the twentieth and the twenty first century in clear sweet digital for the first time.

165 of 186 found the following review helpful:

Beatles "1" is Number One  Nov 26, 2000
By Carl Savich
The Beatles "1" CD is an excellent single CD compilation of the number one singles of the Beatles. The enclosed booklet of the singles sleeves from around the world is a remarkable new addition to the Beatles discography and is worth buying just for that. There are picture sleeves from the US, UK, France, Japan, Spain, and other countries. We forget that the Beatles were a global phenomenon. This CD shows their global impact. The CD is number one on 19 charts in 19 different countries, all the countries that have album charts. This is a phenomenal achievement even for the Beatles, who have accomplished so much in their careers. These global sales also show the power of the Beatles as artists. Thirty years after they broke up, they can still dominate the charts. Garth Brooks learned the hard way in 1995 not to release any material that goes up against the Beatles. The Beatles destroyed Garth Brook's CD which never got to number one but stayed at number two. Since then, Brook's career has gone south while the Beatles roll on. You can't hype a bad product. The proof is in the pudding. Once a customer is dissatisfied, that customer cannot be sold again ever. It is a tribute to the Beatles that even with songs that almost everybody already knows and already owns, they can create a buying frenzy and go number one in virtually every country on the planet. Who else can do that? Garth Brooks found out the hard way. But anybody could have told him.

How good is the CD? The sound quality is excellent, especially on the early records. Digital remastering has brought the singles back to life. When I listened to the CD for the first time, it was like hearing the original 45s all over again. All the excitement and euphoria and energy of the original singles was there. I prefer the original Capitol reverb sound of "I Feel Fine" with the metallic-cymbals bleeding and distortion and overload. The "cleaned up" version loses some of the power of the original. "Day Tripper" was fixed up a bit with the right channel "drop out" being restored near the end of the song. In short, the sound quality is excellent.

This is a must-own CD. This CD has one of the greatest songs ever written, "Yesterday", and "Hey Jude", the top single of 1968 and one of the top chart singles of the 1960s. Buy it just for that alone. But you get the "Come Together"/"Something" single, "All You Need is Love", "Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby", and the US Tollie 45 version of "Love Me Do". These are the songs that changed a generation. Does the concept of a number one singles album work? After all, in 1982, Capitol released the Beatles "20" album which contained the 20 no.1 singles in the US. This album only did so-so. This new CD, however, presents a comprehensive look at their number ones both in the US and UK, taking advantage of the CD format which has more space, and which is released at a time when such a retrospective is needed. So the concept is an excellent one and it works. Who can go to the Past Masters albums and then the other albums, etc., to get all the records on the CD? This CD fills a void in the Beatles discography. The Beatles were album artists to be sure, but they were also singles or 45 artists. Every four months the Beatles released a single like clockwork. So singles loom large in the legend of the Beatles. The albums were one dimension; singles were the other. Both aspects present the complete picture. Now we see why the Beatles were so influential. They were album artists and they were singles artists. They had their cake and ate it too. It took genius to realize that, which the Beatles had. It is OK to be album artists, but you need singles too. Musicians of today have forgotten that.

At any rate, this is a remarkable CD. In my opinion, any fan of music should dish out the bucks to own this one. This CD is essential. It is the one to take on a desert island. It is the Mona Lisa of music. It is our generation's Beethoven symphonies. It is a must-own. I highly recommend this CD to anyone who appreciates art.

59 of 64 found the following review helpful:

The Most Enjoyable 79 Minutes of Music !  Dec 02, 2000
By paperbackriter
One hundred years from now when historians are discussing the merits of 20th Century pop music, they won't be debating the necessity of "Beatles One", they will merely focus on the greatness of these 27 songs(and MANY other Beatle tunes). Sure, this CD is a marketing coup for Capitol Records, but it's also the most enjoyable 79 minutes of music ever assembled on a single disc. The remastering job is first-rate. Many tunes -- "Can't Buy Me Love", "Eight Days A Week", and "Day Tripper" to name a few -- receive a much needed sonic facelift. The rhythm guitars on these tracks come shining through like never before. I was blown away by the sharpness of Ringo's snare and Paul's punchy bass on "Help". (Listen with headphones and see if you don't agree...) I've heard "Yesterday" thousands of times, but never has it sounded so crisp and so alive! The clarity of the string quartet (left channel)is stunning. For the first time, a distinction can be made between the violins, the viola and the cello and the result is breathtaking. Best of all is "Penny Lane", which can now be heard as the true pocket symphony that it is. Layer upon layer of pianos, flutes, and horns fill a soundscape that is nothing short of magical. Paul's double-tracked vocal really leaps out and the bass and drums are absolutely remarkable. In fact, most of the tracks sound better than ever -- the only exceptions, in my opinion, being "From Me to You" and "All You Need is Love" which seem to be lacking a little punch. The packaging is also top-notch. The glossy mini-booklet includes photos of the original picture sleeves for each song. Other than a short introduction by George Martin, no written text is included, but the photos more than make up for this omission. Overall, "Beatles One" is a quality package. Yes, it's repetitive. No, it's not essential, especially not for those who own every disc in the Beatles catalogue. However, it would provide a marvelous introduction for younger fans who may not be familar with the Beatles'work. But most of all, the merit of the songs can not be debated. These 27 songs are, quite simply, some of the greatest songs of the 20th Century. Enjoy them all!

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