REMEET THE BEATLES: Is there any end...

REMEET THE BEATLES: Is there any end to the Beatles CD repackaging? In seems just yesterday that Capitol tempted Fab Four fans by releasing the original British versions of all the Beatles albums . . . a boxed set containing all of the group’s British EPs . . . and reissues of all the Beatles’ original singles.

So what’s left?

Pop Eye hears that Capitol-EMI and Apple are nearing an agreement on releasing CDs of the old American versions of the albums, some of which featured song selections and artwork drastically different from their British counterparts. A Capitol-EMI spokesman confirms that discussions are under way, but says there is no target date for the releases when or if it’s agreed to.

Some might see this as crass marketing. But Pete Howard, editor of ICE (the International CD Exchange newsletter) and an avowed Beatles collector, disagrees.

“ ‘Meet the Beatles’ (currently available only on cassette) changed all of our lives,” Howard says. “This could be a case of people buying CDs of songs they already have on CD, but I guarantee that people will want to buy what they grew up with, and 15 bucks for priceless memories is a small price to pay.”