The Beatles Japan Box - CD Box Set

Thank you for joining me for this video, part of my unboxing The Beatles series. This segment is a detailed look at The Beatles Japan Box, CD box set released in June 2014. If you enjoy this video, please hit that like button and consider subscribing to my channel. Just as the U.S. albums box set was released to celebrate 50 years since the Beatles were introduced to America, the Japan Box was released to mark the 50th anniversary of the Beatles introduction to the Japanese market in 1964 this set contains five unique Japanese releases of the Beatles albums presented on the Odeon label elements that make these albums unique include track listings and album cover artwork different to what was presented in the UK or US during 1964 and 1965 the box comes in a resealable plastic sleeve of fixing a wraparound backing sheet containing information of what's included in this set mostly in Japanese writing the front cover of the box is adorned with the album cover of the Japanese version of meet the Beatles featuring the black-and-white portrait by Robert Freeman beneath the backing sheet the back of the box outlines the album titles track listings and cover photos of the albums included as you can see the top of the box is blank one side features the Apple logo while the opposite side contains the title meet the Beatles the bottom of the box shows the release date and other pertinent information although thinner than both the in mono and US albums box sets the overall design of the Japan box matches the style of those previously released collections here are all three side-by-side as with the aforementioned Beatles box sets the outer box of this set houses an inner tray which slides out to reveal replica miniature LPS stacked upright in chronological order the box itself is high-quality heavy cardboard with a glossy finish here are the five individual albums contained within the box meet the Beatles The Beatles second album a hard day's night Beatles number five and help noticeably omitted from this box set is Beatles for sale I know it's basically the same as the UK cover with only a slight variation and the track listing is the same as in the UK but the inclusion of Beatles for sale would have made this set a more cohesive collection of the albums from 1964 and 1965 at the very least the inclusion of Beatles for sale would have avoided the awkward detail of Beatles number 5 appearing as disc 4 horrible a 100 page book is included with the Japan box this book includes photos of the Japanese original LPS but the actual records featured in these photos being first pressing high quality low noise red vinyl coveted by audio files for their excellent audio quality images of Japanese original singles and EPS are also included here is an image of the Japanese analog master tape for a Japanese EP released in August 1964 finally there are some Japanese magazine cover shots featuring the Beatles although the book is quite hefty most of the pages are taken up by Japanese writing and song lyrics in both English and Japanese I would have liked if an essay in English explained a bit about these releases the mini LP replicas in this box are beautifully done I don't have personal experience handling original Japanese LPS but judging by how excellent the in mono and u.s. albums box sets were done I have to assume these mini albums were designed with the same level of care and attention to detail unlike the box sets released in 2009 to highlight the original UK albums in either stereo or mono exclusively or the u.s. albums box set which included both stereo and mono for most of the albums the Japan box has formatted as neither of these options instead it's a mix of either stereo or mono only for each album why this was done is unclear to me so if you have an idea feel free to share in the comments section meet the Beatles is presented in mono all of the many LPS are housed within a resealable outer sleeve the mini jackets are made of sturdy thick cardstock and the cover art image quality is overall pretty good just as the in mono box replicated the fold-over flaps featured on the back of the original UK mono LPS and the u.s. album set replicated the backs of the stereo albums as separate sheets pasted the mini LPS in the Japan box replicate how the album jackets were put together in Japan using a fold-over method of their own spying titles with the original catalog numbers are also authentically reproduced inside the album jacket is a replica inner sleeve plain in this case and the CD sits in a rice paper sleeve for added protection from scratches the discs face features an Odeon Records label design with the 33 and a third rpm D notation and the words long playing at the bottom this album features a unique Japanese track listing with 14 titles as opposed to only 12 included on the US album of the same name a lyrics insert is also included this may be a modern extra but I'm not sure the lyrics are extremely small and difficult to read at the size if these lyric sheets are reproductions of original inclusions with the Japanese LPS that's quite impressive considering the Beatles themselves did not include lyrics with a UK album until Sergeant Pepper was released in 1967 disc 2 is the Beatles second album presented in mono the cover design is similar to the US counterpart with a notable exception being the listing of can't buy me love in place of she loves you absent on this incarnation of the Beatles second album here is the back cover this track listing is another unique to Japan with 14 total songs the inner sleeve is again blank and the Odeon Records label remains the same and here is the lyrics insert disc three is a hard day's night presented in stereo this album is unique to Japan due only to this album cover design the back features the same photos from the UK back cover and the track listing is that of the UK counterpart featuring 13 songs once again lyric sheets are included disc four is Beatles number five this one goes back to mono as the chosen format the cover is the same design as that of the u.s. album Beatles 65 the back cover features a great group photo with the main focus being on Ringo the front and back of the inner sleeve features advertisements for other great albums on Odeon records including additional Beatles titles this is the third and final album of this set which contains a 14 song track listing unique to a Japanese album and here is the lyric insert disc 5 is help this CD is special because it uses the original stereo mix as its audio source George Martin remixed this album along with Rubber Soul for the initial release of the Beatles catalog on CD in 1987 when the catalog was remastered in 2009 the 1987 remixes were used in favour of the original mixes previously the only available sources of the original 1965 stereo mix of help on CD were rare 1987 Canadian pressings which mistakenly use this mix or as a bonus on the help CD contained in the 2009 in mono CD box set but not sold individually cover is a bit dark with the blue of the Beatles clothing looking almost black the highlight of this mini-lp is the back cover featuring a fuller version of a photo taken in the Bahamas and featured on the back of the US album of help as with the US album this Japanese mini LP is a gatefold with the inner portion featuring a unique design the inner sleeve again has advertisements for other albums on Odeon the track listing is that of the UK counterpart the discs face label is nearly the same as the previous four discs with the exception of no longer having the words long playing printed on the bottom this album also includes a bonus insert of another Bahamas photo from the filming of help you could see that Ringo is doused in paint as part of his preparation for sacrifice / the ridiculous movie plot I love help I love help great movie another bonus included in this box is a set of replica Obi strips an Obi in case you're not already aware is a paper sash that wraps around the record cover just as a hype sticker may contain information to help market the item is attached to so two dozen Toby albeit with more detail original Obi's from the 60s are very collectible and I've read they can even be worth more than the records that were wrapped around three of the replicas are of an earlier style of Obi that drapes from the top and does not loop around the album I've also heard these referred to as half Obi's the other two obi replicas are that of the full Obi design which wrapped vertically around the album covers as beautiful a presentation as this item is it's a curious set for sure I haven't seen too many video presentations of this item on YouTube so I tend to think it may not have sold that well here in the US the five CDs combined contain only 69 songs of the 217 that make up the UK core catalogue with a running time of under three hours as with the US albums the 2009 Reed masters were used as the sound source for the Japan box which sounds great but presents nothing new at least with the US albums there were some unique mix elements to a number of tracks I don't believe there is anything unique to this set audio wise but then again I don't know enough about the original releases to recognize if the original Japanese mastering from 1964 and 1965 ever contained anything unique to begin with I consider the Japan box as simply a nice collectible and by the way it's the Beatles thank you for watching

Channel: Magical Mystery Mike

Views: 19,177

Keywords: The Beatles, Meet The Beatles!, Japan Box, The Beatles in Japan, Japanese Beatles LPs, The Beatles 50th Anniversary, The Beatles No. 5, The Beatles' Second Album, HELP!, The Beatles Box Set, Meet The Beatles Japan Box, The Beatles 2014, The Beatles CD Collection, The Beatles Mini LP, Japan CD Box Set, Beatles CDs

Id: uhE5bs1F2g4

Length: 12min 41sec (761 seconds)

Published: Mon May 25 2020