A sneak preview of the digitally remastered Beatles catalogue

9.09.09 is a big day for Beatles fans.

It's the day on which Apple and EMI re-release the entire Beatles catalogue - all the original UK albums plus the two volumes of Past Masters - in a digitally remastered version.

And on the same day, the Rockband computer game is launched. This is a Guitar Hero style game based on Beatles songs.

Last night Apple invited a group of journalists to Abbey Road Studio 2, where the Beatles recorded almost all of their music and which remains almost unaltered since those days.

And there, I was able to hear some of the remastered songs and be one of the first to play the new game.

Each of the new albums is accompanied by what Apple calls a "mini-doc". This is a short film on the making of the album. We were shown those that accompany Beatles for Sale and the White Album.

On The Beatles site, you can watch the Revolver mini-doc and see the main reason why they are appealing. They feature amazing 3D versions of familiar Beatles pictures. So they are diverting.

They are not, however, really that informative.

There were nuggets. Paul McCartney asserts that the phrase "Eight Days a Week" was used by a cab driver taking him to John Lennon's house for a song writing session. He says that when he asked the driver whether he had been working hard, he replied: "Eight days a week, mate".

On arrival McCartney leapt out of the car and told Lennon that he had the title of their next song. perhaps I should have heard that story before, but I hadn't.

Beyond that, though, the little films won't tell you much, but they are fun.

After the films came the main act - the remastered discs. We were treated to a range of songs - Can't Buy Me Love, Yesterday, In My Life, Come Together, Here Comes the Sun among them - played first from the current CD and then from the remastered version.

Apple seemed nervous that some wouldn't be able to tell the difference. So I was surprised by how much difference there was.

We were told that the process was a little like removing the lint and allowing the performances to shine more clearly. And that was a good description.

The tracks are clearer and cleaner. In the case of Can't Buy Me Love, in particular, a very distracting fuzziness to the intro has disappeared.

The new versions are clearly superior. And the remastering was overdue

Is it a sufficient difference to make it worth replacing your old CDs? Well, I will. It isn't necessary, but if you listen to the Beatles a good deal, then it is worth it.

The remastered discs will also come, I understand, with irresistible packaging, booklets, and, of course, the mini-docs.

After the remaster, we were given a sneak peak of Rockband.

I have never played Guitar Hero. If you are in the same position, the basic idea is this. You get a fake guitar with coloured buttons on it and you have to strum with one hand while playing the coloured buttons with the other.

You are told which notes to play by a key that comes up on the screen. If you play the "notes" correctly you win points and the song plays correctly. If you fumble it, the instrument you are playing drops out of the soundtrack.

Rockband features 45 Beatles songs (and, I was told, the ability to download Abbey Road as well). You can buy a set of Beatles styled musical "instruments" (Lennon's Rickenbacker, McCartney's Hofner bass and so forth) to play the game with.

In the Beatles version there are mikes and the opportunity to sing along, winning points for vocal harmony.

The fabulous graphics feature Beatles animations at different stages in their careers.

If you play, for instance, I Saw Her Standing There, you are standing in the Cavern. If it is I am the Walrus, older Beatles are featured, starting in the studio and moving on to a sort of dreamscape.

The graphics are reminiscent of those that accompany the recent Love. Giles Martin, who worked on Love with his father George, has been involved with this too and has added in bits of studio chat and audience response to add to the effect.

I was told by the game designers that the "Apple shareholders" (Paul, Ringo, Yoko and the Harrisons) had taken a surprising amount of interest in the product.

I am not a games player, I have to admit, but any Beatles fan would have to possess this. It really is quite extraordinary. And my children - already keen on the Beatles - will love it.

And so it was that I found myself in the Beatles studio in Abbey Road, playing the bass line on I Saw Her Standing There strumming a McCartney style bass while the rest of the Beatles played along.

They were pretty good, I have to say. I was rubbish. They should stick with Paul.