The Beatles: The Red and Blue albums are 50 years old

MISE À DAY

On April 2, 1973, music lovers discovered two Beatles albums on the shelves of record stores: the famous “Red” compilations. and “Blue” on which we find all of their great songs.

On entering the record stores, that day, 50 years ago, music lovers discovered, in the displays, the famous “Red” compilations and “Bleu”, which relate to the period from 1962 to 1966 and the more exploratory and psychedelic period from 1967 to 1970.

We find, on these two double opuses, a total of 54 songs in chronological order. From Love Me Do, launched in 1963, to The Long and Winding Road, on the album Let It Be. There are 26 on the Red Album and 28 on the Blue Album; they total 160 minutes of music.

Le Rouge sold 1 360 000 copy and le Bleu was more successful with 1 490 000 copy worldwide .

Each of these albums retailed for $9.98. The price for a single album at the time was $5.98.

The Red Album, made up of original compositions, was number one in Austria, Spain, France, Japan and Norway. It was number 3 in the United States and number 4 in Canada and the United Kingdom. Blue topped the charts in Austria, Spain, France and the United States, and reached number three in Canada.

A Chase

< p>The Red Album was an idea of ​​manager Allen Klein. It was originally intended to fulfill a contractual obligation and also to prepare for the release of a documentary on the Beatles.

The film, which was to be called The Long and Winding Road, never saw the light of day, and the release of these compilation albums was later delayed until Klein's contract expired.

These two albums were also a response to an unauthorized compilation of 60 songs, spread over two sets of four vinyls, which had been released by the American company Audiotape in 1972. The official Beatles compilations ended up in record stores and in retail stores before a $15 million lawsuit was filed by George Harrison through Allen Klein. , which advertised the unauthorized albums. The outcome of this lawsuit is still unknown.

Interesting fact: the photo of these albums is a reproduction of the one taken in 1963 on the floors of the premises of the EMI record company. This new photo, taken in 1969, was to be used for the opus Get Back, which was in preparation and which became the album Let It Be.

These two compilation albums were released in CD format in September 1993. A remastered version followed in 2010.