This page contains scans and pictures of the commercial releases of The Beatles, both as a group and as individual artists.
Most of these titles originate from the 1970's "Quadraphonic Period" and are high in demand as collectables,
sought after both by Beatles collectors and by Quad/Surround fans.

All images and logos on this page are the property of their respective copyright holders, and no ownership of these is implied by QQ
PAGE LAST UPDATED: 10/1/2019

JOHN LENNON: IMAGINE (QLP, Q8, Q4, BluRay)

John Lennon's IMAGINE album was the only Apple quad title ever released in LP form. Since EMI had decided on
the CBS/Columbia SQ system for their Quad LP releases, IMAGINE surfaced as an SQ LP in the UK and in
Australia. It was also available in Japan in the "RM" format.
However in the US, Capitol had yet to decide on a Quadraphonic LP format,
consequently their quad releases were on eight track only. In 2018 Apple released a deluxe
box set of the album that included the original Quadraphonic mix from the '70s as well as a newly created
5.1 mix of the album, and 5.1 mixes of studio sessions and outakes!

John Lennon was on record as not being a big fan of quad. (He was a "Back to Mono" man!)
The origianl quadraphonic mix of IMAGINE is evidence of that, as it is one of the least aggressive quad mixes
you will find offered by the Beatles. You can find superior surround versions of some of the IMAGINE
songs on the DVD Video release "Lennon Legend", as well as on the BluRay album mix and associated outakes.

LABEL SCANS OF THE UK IMAGINE SQ QUAD LP
NOTE: The only difference in the Australian SQ LP are the words "Mfd in Aust." instead of
"Mfd in UK". The LP jackets can be distinguished by the SQ Logo, with the
Australian logo having a black background with white graphics, as opposed to the UK having a
transparent background with black graphics.

The IMAGINE LP from Japan, encoded in the "RM" format, which is essentially the Sansui QS format.
This version is considerably rarer than the SQ LP from the UK or Australia

The first Quad 8-Track released by Apple in the USA was of John Lennon's IMAGINE. The above scans show the first
version of this Q8, housed in the green Apple "Quadrasonic-Eight" slipcase. There were two types of shells to be found in this slipcase.
The tape on the left above is the more common "tapered" shell, held together by clips. The center tape has a wider base, and is held
together with a rivet. This release was the only time the Apple "Quadrasonic-Eight" logo was used. It did however appear in advertisements,
as can be seen in the scan of the Yoko Ono "Fly" advertisement at the end of this page.

The above scans show the second and more common version of the US IMAGINE Q8. These are housed in the purple shell, and the slipcase is now
the standard Capitol/Apple gold sleeve. Unfortunately, the quad mix is the same!

In the UK, Imagine was also issued on Q8 in two different versions. The original came in a black shell with a
silver and black label (above left).  The later release (above right) came in a plastic slip case  with a "J Card"
graphic and a white cartridge with black and white printing.

IMAGINE QUAD REEL (JAPAN)

This was a "reel" surprise find by QQ Member 'bigbillquad' who found an auction for 5 quad reels on a Japanese auction site. Other than this appearance, this quad reel was pretty much unknown to the QQ quad community, even among long time quad collectors from the '70s. The above pictures were taken from the auction site, and the group of 5 quad reels sold for over $1200, which may have been a bargain. It remains to be seen if this reel with turn up again on another auction site, or if other copies will appear now that this one has surfaced. From the jpg's above, this reel appears to be in "like new" condition, even at over 40 years of age!

IMAGINE ULTIMATE EDITION w/BluRay Audio Discs

In October 2018, Apple released the IMAGINE ULTIMATE EDITION box set that included 2 BluRay Audio discs and 4 CDs. This release included a new stereo mix, the original Quadraphonic mix from the 1970's quad LP and tapes available for the first time in pristine quality, and a new 5.1 mix of the album. Also included were 5.1 mixes of studio sessions and outakes that are incredibly stunning in surround. The best of the lot is a rehersal of "Crippled Inside" which is quite possibly one of the best surround demo tracks of any Beatles release, solo or group.

JOHN LENNON: WALLS AND BRIDGES (Q8)

The second Quad tape from John Lennon was the "Walls and Bridges" album.
In the '70s, there were rumors of "Mind Games" coming out on Q8, but they turned out to be just rumors.
Imagine and Walls & Bridges were the only John Lennon quad titles issued.

YOKO ONO: FLY (Q8) (Unreleased)

I am putting this in the John Lennon section because I am sure that he would have wanted me to! <g>
This is a copy of a Billboard ad for Yoko's "Fly" Double LP. An interesting thing to note here is at the bottom
it clearly states that it is available on "Quadrasonic-Eight", with the early Apple quad logo. VERY INTERESTING!
As we all know, this title was never released in quad in any format.

HARRY NILSSON: PUSSYCATS (CD-4 LP & Q8)

While not exactly a John Lennon release, the album "Pussycats" by John's friend Harry Nilsson is almost that. John produced and
played on this project, and when you listen to the first track "Many Rivers to Cross",  you might think
you are listening to John's own "Mind Games"! This RCA release was available on Quad 8-Track and CD-4 LP.

PAUL McCARTNEY: BAND ON THE RUN (Q8 & DTS)

The "Band on the Run" Quad 8 track was one of the most popular quad tapes of the 1970's

In 1996, when Mobile Fidelity founder Brad Miller re-energized the surround sound music scene with DTS and the Millennium decoder,
one of the first quad titles he went back and resurrected was Band On the Run. First released in a standard sized jewel case,
the new technology DTS CD allowed people with modern surround systems to hear the quad mixes that had until then
been "lost" in the dead format wasteland of consumer electronics. Once the DVD-Audio format entered the marketplace,
the DTS CD was repackaged (above right) in the larger jewel case - however it was NEVER released as a true
DVD-Audio disc. All of the larger case discs were still DTS CDs.

In it's initial release, purchasers found out right off the bat that something was wrong with the music when they discovered the first three guitar
notes of the intro to the title song were missing from the CD. Some thought their decoders were slow to activate. Word spread around the internet
and it was confirmed that the first three notes were indeed missing from the CD.

In a most amazing turn of events, it was discovered that almost 7 years later, the missing notes were restored and a new disc
was pressed and released. These are the yellow discs, as shown above. One thing to note, however, is that you can be assured
that if you find a Band on the Run in the smaller jewel case, you will get the purple uncorrected CD. However, should
you find a sealed copy in the larger jewel case, there is no way to tell if you'll end up with the original purple CD, or the
corrected yellow CD.

PAUL McCARTNEY: VENUS AND MARS (Q8 & DTS)

The Venus And Mars Q8 is on Capitol, not Apple, as Paul had moved his work away from the group.

As with "Band on the Run",  "Venus And Mars" was one of the first titles issued on DTS CD
 in the small standard sized jewel box. Later issues were sold in the larger DVD-Audio sized jewel case, but again all
of these discs remained as DTS CDs. There were never any DVD-Audio discs released of this title.

VENUS AND MARS track orders are all over the place between releases.
See the chart below and see if you can figure out what they were thinking!!

PAUL McCARTNEY: LIVE AND LET DIE (Q8)

This was an odd release to get in the '70s, and it's a pleasure to have here in the 21st century. Of course, this is a soundtrack tape,
and being such is mostly the instrumental music that can be heard in the film. However, the jewel of the tape is the title song done by
Paul and Wings "Live and Let Die". The surround mix, while not overly aggressive, is still enjoyable and a must listen for any
Beatles surround fan. To this date, it has never been rereleased in a modern format. (NOTE: The scan above is the US 8-Track in the
white shell. There are also black and gold shell issues, the gold being the Canadian version.)

PAUL McCARTNEY: CHAOS AND CREATION
IN THE BACKYARD (SPECIAL EDITION CD/DVD)

The "Special Edition" CD+DVD package of this 2005 McCartney released contained a single track in 5.1 surround that accompanied the video
for the song "Fine Line". It's a true 5.1 mix, with Paul's vocals almost solo in the center channel. It's available when the song
is selected from the DVD menu. The choices are Dolby Digital or DTS.

GEORGE HARRISON: LIVE IN JAPAN (SACD)

Released separately as a double disc SACD and as the only 5.1 SACD in the Dark Horse box set, this disc is sadly the
only surround disc of music by George Harrison ever released. In the '70s there were no Quadraphonic
releases of George's albums, so we are left with this poorly mixed (surround wise) live SACD.
Only time will tell if this situation will improve.

RINGO STARR: GOODNIGHT VIENNA (Q8)

A very enjoyable quadraphonic tape, Ringo's second pop/rock album received the quadraphonic treatment from Apple in the US. There are many surprises the
listener will find if the carefully listen to the surround mix on this one. Some of the highlights include Elton John's piano playing on "Snookeroo", which is
very clear when pulled out of the crowded stereo mix. Another "goodie" is a bit eerie, as if you listen to the rear channels of  "Only You", right at the end,
one of the "Only You's" in the rear channels is clearly the voice of John Lennon, solo. This would be a great re-release on SACD, DVD-A or some
newer surround format.

RINGO STARR: RINGO (Q8)  (Unreleased)

It's a shame that this tape never appeared. It is of some debate as to whether it was mixed and prepared for release at all. The above
scan and mockup came from an eBay auction a few years ago where someone sold the artwork. I created the tape on the above right
from the scan and an Apple sleeve. It does NOT EXIST!

RINGO STARR: RINGO 5.1  (DVD-AUDIO)

Ringo had mentioned on his website that he was going to release some of his music in "surround sound", and in 2008, he actually did! Comprised of his favorite tracks from his albums "Choose Love" and "Ringo Rama", this DVD-Audio disc was released in a package with a standard CD in March 2008. It has an excellent surround mix, done by Bruce Sugar, and also has a DTS 5.1 track for those without DVD-A capability.

THE BEATLES: SGT PEPPER (Quad SQ LP) (Unreleased)

In the early 1970's, The Beatles Sgt. Pepper LP was allegedly mixed for release on SQ LP by Apple/EMI.

(ABOVE) This is a scan of the original master tape of the Sgt. Pepper album from the EMI Vaults. Upon close examination, you can see that it was removed from the vaults on April 25th, 1973 to be remixed for QUAD!! This is the only tangible proof that the Sgt. Pepper album was prepared for quad release in the '70s. A few industry insiders claim to have heard a test pressing of this LP and were apparently not impressed. To this day there is still no tangible proof that the album was ever completed for quad or that it actually did get out for industry insiders to sample.

THE BEATLES: SGT PEPPER (50th Anniversary BluRay) (Box Only)

Released in late May of 2017 amid much fanfare, Sgt Pepper was released around the world in various special 50th Anniversary editions including the
deluxed box versions shown above. The boxed versions contained a mono mix, a new stereo remix, 2 discs of studio out-takes and rehersal audio,
and a BluRay Audio disc containing a new 5.1 mix of the album and the two singles "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" - two tracks
originally recorded to be included on the album. The Japanese edition contained SHM-CDs instead of normal CDs, and a special cut-out display of the album cover

The 5.1 mix contained the BluRay disc was created with an homage to the original mix in mind. Consequently, it's not a very "in your face" surround mix,
although it does have it's moments. Many surround fans were disappointed that the 5.1 mix was not more like the mixes on the "Love" DVD-Audio
or the Yellow Submarine soundtrack. Highlights of this mix include the song "Within You and Without You", "Good Morning",
and the single versions of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane".

THE BEATLES (aka THE WHITE ALBUM)(50th Anniversary BluRay)

In November 2018 Apple released the 50th Anniversary Edition of THE BEATLES, otherwise known as "The White Album",
in a deluxe box set that included a clear plastic sleeve housing a book and 6 CDs and a BluRay Audio disc of the album containing
a newly created 5.1 mix of the album.

THE BEATLES: ABBEY ROAD (50th Anniversary BluRay)

In late September 2019 Apple released the 50th Anniversary Edition of ABBEY ROAD that included a BluRay Audio disc
containing a new 5.1 mix of the album. This highly anticipated release was met with open arms as the surround community was quick to concur
that this was probably the very best surround mix of a Beatles album ever released, even topping the LOVE DVD-Audio from the Las Vegas stage show.

THE BEATLES: LOVE (DVD-AUDIO)

One of the later DVD-AUDIO discs released in the US, the deluxe "Love" CD/DVD-A package is now considered a classic surround title.
Basically the soundtrack to the Las Vegas show, this disc was originally the target of a lot of fan controversy. At the time of its release, many considered it to be less
than a Beatles album and more of a misuse of the hallowed music of  a generation. Today we marvel as it's quite remarkable and far more
than just a bunch of  "Mash-ups" of familiar songs. Many are whole, and while there are bits and pieces of things here
and there, the chance to hear songs like "A Day in the Life" in 5.1 surround made this disc a no brainer. It also has a DTS soundtrack so those
who do not have a DVD-A player can still hear the great surround mix. Over time, this release has become the standard by which all
other Beatles surround releases are compared with.

THE BEATLES SURROUND MUSIC ON VIDEO

There have been many releases over the years of the Beatles movies, concerts and videos on VHS, LaserDisc and DVD.
Some were issued in "Dolby Surround" and as the technology evolved, later added "Dolby Digital (AC-3)" and DTS encoding.
These older releases consisted mostly of a fake surround using delays and echoes, or mostly live performances with
crowd noise in the rears. They may be worth as collectables or as great concerts, but the titles below are
displayed because of their exceptional surround sound (excepting the MIRIMAX "Hard Days Night", shown for "warning" purposed only)

BEATLES ANTHOLOGY  (DVD)

The reissue of The Beatles Anthology on DVD brought with it discrete Dolby Digital and DTS surround mixes of many song presentations.
There are not many complete songs, however, what is there is a revelation! As a bonus disc with this set, you also get the two "new" songs -
"Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", complete with 5.1 mixes. The 5.1 sections of songs we all know by heart only goes to show
what can actually be done with the source material if the surround mixer had the courage to go for it!

A HARD DAYS NIGHT (MIRIMAX DVD/BluRay)

Be warned! The 5.1 mix on the Mirimax DVD and BluRay issues of "A Hard Day's Night" (as shown above), is a total MESS.
It is not a discrete mix, and it does NOTHING to add to the film or the presentation.
They should have used the original mono soundtrack on this one. It's a great movie, and looks good,
but the surround experience is extremely disappointing.

A HARD DAYS NIGHT (CRITERION BLU-RAY)

This 2014 release of the film from The Criterion Collection righted the many wrongs of the audio in the now obsolete MIRIMAX releases.
The Criterion Collection package included both a DVD and aBluRay disc with the restored orignal mono soundtrack as well as a new 5.1
soundtrack in both Dolby Digital and on the BluRay in DTS-HD Master Audio.
If you're looking for this movie and soundtrack, this is the only version worthy of seeking out.

HELP! (DVD/BluRay)

The 5.1 mix on the latest release of "HELP!" is amazing. Clear, discrete, and revealing.
It's a must "listen" for all surround Beatles fans. Almost all of the songs are complete and discrete
First released in 2007 on DVD and a dual DVD deluxe Box Set with a book and other extras, the
film saw a BluRay release in 2013, which included most, if not all, of the video from the 2 DVD special edition
as well as the 5.1 track in High Resolution.

MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR (BluRay)

After being available on DVD from official and questionable sources for many years, 2012 saw the ultimate official release of this Televistion film from
the group on Apple/Capitol DVD, BluRay, and a deluxe BluRay/DVD box set (shown above) that included a replica 2 EP set of the album
as it originally appeared in the UK. The 2012 5.1 mix improved considerably on the audio of the previous VHS, LD, and DVD versions
available prior to this release.

YELLOW SUBMARINE (DVD/BluRay)

The Yellow Submarine 1999 MGM DVD and 2012 Apple/Capitol BluRay contain a great 5.1 mix that includes the songs "All Together Now",
"Eleanor Rigby", "Hey Bulldog", "It's All Too Much", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Nowhere Man", "Only A Northern Song",
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "When I'm Sixty Four", and "Yellow Submarine". While the DVD 5.1 audio is only
Dolby Digital (24/48), it has an isolated music track that has all dialog and sound effects removed from the audio!
For some reason, this track is not available on the later released BluRay disc of the film, which makes the DVD extra special.
The songs from the Sgt. Pepper album included in the movie have a more aggressive mix than the 50th Anniversary BluRay.

1/1+ (DVD & BLU-RAY)

For years, Beatles fans were clamouring for the early promotional videos the Beatles made for broadcast in the late '60s, released because they had
curtailed performing live. These films were sent to shows like Ed Sullivan, the Smothers Brothers, and David Frost. This release
contains all of those videos, some with multiple versions, and all with a "newly created 5.1 mix".
The new 5.1 mix was met with harsh critisism from the surround community, as these mixes were pretty much ambient in style,
even though more aggressive mixes existed on the Anthology and Yellow Submarine soundtrack. So, A+ for the video, D- for the surround.

LENNON LEGEND & THE McCARTNEY YEARS (DVD)

These two DVD's provide the best surround mixes of the solo efforts of these two Beatles. They are crafted with care, and make
listening to them (even without the video) a joy. The 5.1 mixes, especially on the McCartney discs, open the songs up and
allow the listener to hear minute details that would normally be obscured. These collections are worth seeking out.

BACK TO QuadraphonicQuad

c2010/2019 QuadraphonicQuad
All Images remain the property of their respective copyright holders and no ownership is implied

Free counters provided by Andale.