The Beatles on SHM-CDs

These will be available on SHM-CDs in Japan December 17.

As another twist in the recent flurry of new Beatles related releases on the SHM-CD format, Universal Japan has just announced a December 17 release date for SHM-CDs of the entire BEATLES stereo catalogue, packaged as Mini-LPs. Often the Japanese SHM-CD releases are followed by SHM-SACD releases of the same albums, but nothing of the sort has been mentioned so far. The following titles will be released:

1. Please Please Me
2. With The Beatles
3. A Hard Day's Night
4. Beatles For Sale
5. Help!
6. Rubber Soul
7. Revolver
8. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
9. Magical Mystery Tour
10. The Beatles (2CD) (White Album)
11. Yellow Submarine
12. Abbey Road
13. Let It Be
14. Past Masters (2CD)
15. The Beatles 1962-1966 (2CD)
16. The Beatles 1967-1970 (2CD)

The audio will be the same as the regular 2009 stereo release, as will the booklets accompanying each album. However, this edition will mimic the original LP packaging. The SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC & Universal Music Japan discovered through the joint companies' research into LCD display manufacturing SHM-CDs feature improved transparency on the data side of the disc allowing for more accurate reading of CD data by the CD player laser head. SHM-CD format CDs are fully compatible with standard CD players.

Source: Universal Music Japan
See also recent news items about SHM-CD releases by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. In 2011, "The Beatles' first featuring Tony Sheridan" was released on a SHM-CD.

While we were sleeping on the job, some Ringo Starr SHM-CDs passed under our radar, too. "Live at the Greek Theatre 2008" and "Y Not" was released in 2010, "Ringo 2012" in 2012, appropriately enough, and on December 3, 2014, "Photograph:The Very best of Ringo Starr" will be out.
Planned for SHM-CDs in 2010 but eventually cancelled and left unreleased, were "Ringo the 4th", "Bad Boy", "Ringo's Rotogravure" and "Vertical Man".
Since 2011, a bunch of Paul McCartney's releases in Japan have also gotten the SHM-CD treatment. These include all the McCartney Archive releases, including the new ones, plus "Driving Rain", "Off The Ground", "Chaos And Creation in the Backyard", "Run Devil Run", "Kisses on the Bottom", "Amoeba's Secret" and all editions of "New".