Steve Hoffman site Beatles discussions?

I have never liked the mixes on the original Beatles albums, in which the vocals are too high in level in relation to the instruments. George Martin produced them as a Pop group, not a Rock 'n' Roll band. The vocals don't "sit" in the over-all sound, they "ride" above it. Ringo didn't like it either; upon hearing the mix of the first album, he asked "Where's me kick?".

The problem with The Beatles music---whether on original Parlophone LPs (which I have), the recent mono LPs (which I also have), CDs (yup)---is that the recordings themselves are rather mediocre. George Martin was a fine producer, and EMI had great recording equipment, but The Beatles recordings are just not that good. Pick any format or pressing you want, the limiting factor is the recording itself.