How to listen to the Beatles re-releases?


There have been some stupid questions asked on these forums over the years, and several of those stupid questions have come from me. Perhaps here's another one for the ages...

I'm 38 and have never really listened to the Beatles catalog. I own "Peppers", "Rubber Soul" and "Abby Road" on vinyl, plus "Love", but wouldn't say I'm as familiar with their body of work as I am with, say, R.E.M (they were "my" band during my high-school and college years).

However, I've pre-ordered both the stereo and mono Beatles re-releases. What's the best way to re-introduce myself to the genius of the "fab four"?

Should I sit down and work my way through their collection chronologically? Is there a good companion book to read through while I listen? Should I listen to an album over-and-over until I really "get it" before moving on to the next? Both mono and stereo?

There are albums that I pick up and think "Wow...It would have been awesome to listen to this the first day it was released." Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors". CCR's "Willy...". Rush's "Moving Pictures". Etc. The excitement of the release. The cultural and musical context. The significance. I'll never be able to experience that with the Beatles, and I'd like to put myself in a place (mentally) to really listen to the Beatles for the first time (again).

Does this make sense? Blast away. I figure I couple of people will understand what I'm asking and have some thoughtful suggestions.
128x128nrenter
Chashmal, I think the Beatles were the best band producing the best rock music ever and so do many others. I saw another one of your posts where you state that you don't get Elvis either. You hate Elvis, Coke and Jesus. Man what is it that motivates your posts and how can anyone of any religion hate Jesus or Buddha or Mohammed. Don't even try to answer for my benefit. I am just annoyed that I have seen so many posts with you on them and it's always negative.
I think that Chashmal is correct, up to a point. Much of the Beatles catalog does fit into his characterization for sure.

But IMO many Beatles songs go beyond this mere trivialization and in future will be judged as classics of the rock era. I believe many would be inclined to agree.
my $0.02: the best albums are Rubber Soul, Revolver, Abbey Road, the White Album, Let It Be. the next 'tier' is Help and A Hard Day's Night. the real early stuff is fun and all, but nowhere near the middle and later periods. Anthologies 2 & 3 are definitely worth owning, very thoughtfully put together. one idea which has been getting a lot of attention lately is that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to really master something (see 'Talent Is Overrated' by Colvin) - and Lennon/McCartney really started to shine at something like that point in their collaboration. and yes, you could read tons about how the Beatles fit into their times, but I'd say that Lennon/McCartney were a uniquely creative phenomenon, in the same way that people like Rembrandt can't be defined by their 'era'.
Many of the Beatles songs ARE already judged as classics of the era that next generations carry on now. "Best band ever", NO. One of the many great bands that came during an era rich with great music , innovation , expression and diversity of styles, YES, without a doubt. Cheers
Rock-N-Roll, as we know it today, would not exist without the Beatles...period.