Crave

Start your own Fab Four with The Beatles: Rock Band.

(Credit: Target)

If you're a fan of A) music, B) The Beatles, C) Rock Band, or D) looking silly (I kid, I kid), you've no doubt had your eye on the recently released Beatles Rock Band bundle.

It normally sells for $159.99, but Amazon is offering The Beatles: Rock Band Value Edition for $99.99 shipped. It's available for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii.

The bundle includes the game itself, natch, along with three "instruments": guitar, drum set, and microphone. You can optionally add two more microphones and sing three-part harmonies, which sounds pretty cool.

However, much as I love the Beatles (who doesn't?), I don't really get into games like this. Of course, they obviously have their audience, and GameSpot positively loved The Beatles: Rock Band.

Walk into any Best Buy, Target, or the like, and you'll pay full retail price for this bundle. Shop online and you may be able to find it for as low as $130. Needless to say, $99.99 is a mighty sweet deal. Definitely worth considering as the holidays grow near.

(Credit: The Beatles)

No, the digitally remastered Beatles catalog hasn't come to Apple's iTunes. But it has come to an apple-shaped USB device.

Retailing for $279.99, the collection will be released December 8 in North America, three months after the September 9 release of the remastered set of the band's albums (as well as The Beatles: Rock Band video game). The apple shape is in reference to Apple Corps, the Beatles music publisher--which in the past, you may recall, sued tech giant Apple in a trademark dispute.

(Credit: The Official Beatles Shop)

When the release of the remastered Beatles catalog and Rock Band game were announced for September 9, 2009 (the band has a song called "Revolution 9"), speculation arose that a concurrently scheduled Apple Inc. announcement might bring the catalog, still unavailable for digital download on the Web, to iTunes. That didn't happen. But with the release of the USB collection, the albums are available in non-CD digital form for the first time.

In addition to MP3 and FLAC versions of 14 stereo titles, according to a release, the 16GB device contains "all of the remastered CDs' visual elements, including 13 mini-documentary films about the studio albums, replicated original UK album art, rare photos and expanded liner notes."

Correction 10:45 a.m. PST: This story initially misstated the release date. It is December 8 in North America. Also, the type of lawsuit Apple Corps filed against Apple Inc. has been corrected. It was a trademark dispute.

A book of Rock Band song transcriptions.

A clever press pitch crossed our desk recently that takes interest in music and rhythm video games and uses them to push the age-old business of selling sheet music.

Sheet Music Plus sells sheet music and songbooks for guitar, piano, and other instruments, and in a recent press release, ties that into the popularity of The Beatles: Rock Band and similar games, saying, "As music-driven video games continue to explode in popularity," the company aims to "help gamers channel their passion into becoming active musicians."

Being musically minded, that sounds like a laudable goal, but surprisingly, the Web site doesn't have a Rock Band/Guitar Hero tab or section. We searched for a few random songs from Guitar Hero 5 (AC/DC's "Jailbreak" and David Bowie's "Fame") and the Beatles: Rock Band ("Hey Bulldog"), and found multiple versions of each, ranging from complete multi-instrument scores to "easy" guitar chord books. Many examples of guitar/voice sheet music for a single song are $3.95, but most of the songs we checked are only available in larger collections that usually cost $20-$30.

Music publisher Hal Leonard, however, does publish licensed collections of sheet music based on music video games. Available through Sheet Music Plus as well as other sheet music retailers, we've seen books for Rock Band, Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero, and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Of course, just as playing Call of Duty doesn't mean you actually know how to load a machine gun, being a music game wiz doesn't make one any more likely to posses actual fretboard skills--so don't expect miracles if the only guitars you've ever handled have D-pads or power buttons on them.

Beatles Remastered Box Set

(Credit: Flickr/Hakahori)

If you're even remotely interested in The Beatles, today's episode of The 404 is a must listen. CNET Audiophiliac Steve Guttenberg helps us out today for all things Beatles. To set it all up, Steve gives the three of us a lesson in how the band essentially shaped a decade of music and culture and how they became innovators in the way that bands record music. For example, did you know that it only took the band 4 hours to record and mix the song "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band?" Later on in the show, Steve tells us about how the Beatles used a vacuum tube-based machine to record their earlier albums and later switched to solid-state, with adverse affects to the low-end sounds. Lots more Beatles trivia on the show!

We also talk extensively about the latest Beatles Remasters and whether or not they're worth the extra investment. Some claim that there are "near-miraculous improvements in the key areas of information retrieval, hidden details, expanded midrange, etc...," but Steve makes the argument that simply remastering doesn't necessarily improve sound quality. Check out the Audiophiliac blog for Steve's Beatles box set review coming soon, but in the meantime you can enter for a chance to win the entire remastered Beatles CD collection!

(Credit: Apple Records)

For this week's installment of the weekly Crave giveaway, we're offering up something everybody seems to want these days--the entire collection of newly remastered Beatles CDs. While the picture you see above is of the boxset, you're not actually getting the stereo boxset, but you will get every CD that's in the boxset. That includes the albums "Please Please Me," "With The Beatles," "A Hard Day's Night," "Beatles For Sale," "Help!," "Rubber Soul," "Revolver," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Magical Mystery Tour," "The Beatles," "Yellow Submarine," "Abbey Road," and "Let It Be." On top of it, we'll throw in a special-edition lithograph poster of the Fab Four themselves. Dig that.

Normally, this package would cost around $250, but you have the chance to get the whole thing gratis.

So, how do you try to win a free Beatles remastered CD package + special-edition lithograph poster? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.

• Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, no need to register again.
• Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.
• Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.
• The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive (1) Beatles remastered CD package + special-edition lithograph. Approximate retail value is $250.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Monday, September 14, at noon EDT.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 12 PM EDT on September 14, 2009. See official rules for details.

Good luck.

On September 9, classic rock fans will have a chance to strap on a plastic guitar and jam along with the biggest act in popular music history.

Artfully orchestrated buzz has been building for The Beatles: Rock Band since the start of 2009, and the team of developer Harmonix and publisher MTV Games (and distribution partner EA) hope to provide a bright spot in an otherwise drab video game market with one of the few video game products for the 2009 holiday season that has a real chance of appealing beyond core gamers.

We've gotten our hands on a final retail version of the game (minus the new Beatles-inspired instruments, but our old Rock Band gear worked fine), and gave it a test drive in CNET's AV Lab. Check out this video to see our extremely shaky music skills, and read our hands-on impressions below.

Gallery: The Beatles: Rock Band

Dan:
Music aside, this is essentially the same Rock Band game you've been playing for two years, but with nicely done overhauls of the menus, graphics, and interface, including some very cool animated Beatles segments. The biggest change to the actual gameplay is the inclusion of three-part vocal harmonies (you'll need three USB mics). We found out the hard way that these songs are actually pretty tough to sing, and nailing the harmonies is even tougher.

Buy one, get one free.

In a move sure to resonate with recession-minded gamers, Activision's just-released Guitar Hero 5 game includes an offer to get the highly anticipated Van Halen version of the music game franchise for free.

As a value-based pushback against the Beatles: Rock Band juggernaut, it's an excellent idea. Guitar Hero 5 includes 85 tracks (versus just 45 in the Beatles game), plus 44 more in the Van Halen spin-off.

Guitar Hero 5 includes acts from Johnny Cash to Stevie Wonder to Tom Petty, while Guitar Hero: Van Halen has 25 classic VH songs, plus 19 more from "guest acts" such as The Clash and Deep Purple. If you're a VH superfan, note that the game reportedly excludes former members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, but does include current bassist Wolfgang Van Halen.

The free Van Halen game offer can be redeemed, according to the sticker affixed to the cover of our copy of Guitar Hero 5, by going to guitarhero.com/vanhalengameoffer and filling out an online form, including a unique serial number from the back of the Guitar Hero 5 instruction booklet.

The offer is good until October 1, and says to "allow up to six weeks for delivery," which should still put the Van Halen game in your hands before its official December 22 release date.

Update: After hearing from a few readers, we tried filling out the online form and got the following error message: "We're sorry, but due to overwhelming response we are having difficulties validating your code at this time. Please try again." A few hours later, we were able to complete the process, which ends with a printable form that has to be snail-mailed into a P.O. Box.

The Mono Box may be the preferred option for hard-core Beatles fans.

(Credit: Apple Records)

Tone Audio's Bob Gendron scored advance copies of "The Beatles Stereo Box Set" and "The Beatles Mono Box Set" of the complete Beatles catalog. Four years in the making, Gendron thinks the remasters are a feast for the ears.

Tone Audio is an audiophile Web site, so when I read Gendron's claims of "Near-miraculous improvements in the key areas of information retrieval, hidden details, palpable physicality, expanded midrange, transient presence, and frequency response" to the remastered sound, I was jazzed. Bass, never a strong suit on Beatles recordings, has been improved, so we get to hear more oomph from Paul McCartney's bass and Ringo Starr's percussion. I can hardly wait.

Gendron seems to favor the mono box, mostly because the Beatles and their producer, George Martin, lavished their attention on the mono mixes of the original albums; stereo was an afterthought. Me, I'm a stereo kind of guy, so I'll start with the stereo set. And yes, I'll report back after I've had time to mull over the sound for myself. The Rolling Stones' recent remasters are nothing to write home about, that's why I've remained mum about them. Remastering, all by itself, is no guarantee of improved sound quality.

(Credit: Beatles: Rock Band)

Beatles lovers will soon be able to feel what it's like to sing and play with the Fab Four in the interactive game The Beatles: Rock Band. But what famous Beatles tunes will be featured on the disc?

Rock Band makers MTV Games and Harmonix revealed 19 more songs Tuesday, bringing the total of known tracks to 44 and leaving the final tune a mystery.

The Beatles: Rock Band lets players sing, strum the guitar or bass, or hit the drums to play with John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they tour the world. Players can join in with the Beatles, starting from their early days in tiny Liverpool clubs to their final performance on the rooftop at their Apple recording studio.

The game's origins stem from a conversation between Dhani Harrison, son of the late George Harrison, and MTV President Van Toffler. Harrison eventually took the idea to the Beatles' Apple Corps and also sold the concept to Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Yoko Ono.

Though part of the Rock Band franchise, the Beatles game was designed from the ground up with new graphics, menus, and interfaces.

Beatles: Rock Band is set to hit stores on September 9 for Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, and the Nintendo Wii. The software alone sells for $59.99. The Premium bundle sells for $249.99 and comes with all the Rock Band equipment, including Beatles-branded drums, microphone, and mic stand.

The 44 songs in the game so far are:
A Hard Day's Night
And Your Bird Can Sing
Back In The U.S.S.R.
Birthday
Boys
Can't Buy Me Love
Come Together
Day Tripper
Dear Prudence
Dig A Pony
Do You Want To Know A Secret
Don't Let Me Down
Drive My Car
Eight Days A Week
Get Back
Getting Better
Good Morning Good Morning
Hello Goodbye
Helter Skelter
Here Comes The Sun
Hey Bulldog
I Am The Walrus
I Feel Fine
I Me Mine
I Saw Her Standing There
I Wanna Be Your Man
I Want to Hold Your Hand
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
I'm Looking Through You
I've Got A Feeling
If I Needed Someone
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Octopus's Garden
Paperback Writer
Revolution
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Something
Taxman
Ticket To Ride
Twist And Shout
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
With a Little Help from My Friends
Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows
Yellow Submarine