It may have seemed like just another song about a girl, a car and a road, but now we know that Lennon and McCartney were peddling in prophecy when they sang "One After 909."

Observe how it relates to the 09-09-09 release of the Beatles' remasters 39 years later.

"Move over once," they sang -- that was a reference to the vinyl.

"Move over twice" -- now they're talking about the 1987 CD versions.

"C'mon, baby, don't be cold as ice" -- that clearly addresses the audio quality of those CDs.

The Beatles aren't quite ready for the digital world -- later on, iTunes -- but they leap with both feet into CD technology today with the release of 14 digitally remastered albums: the 12 proper records, plus "Magical Mystery Tour" and "Past Masters Vol. I and II," now packaged as a two-disc set.

The CDs coincide with the unveiling of the equally or more earthshaking "Beatles Rock Band," the video game that's going to turn a new generation on to the Fab Four -- if their parents, Beatles #1's, Cirque du Beatles and general life on planet Earth hasn't already done that. (I think a small Beatles primer comes with discharge from the maternity ward.)

As for the music, the Beatles recorded on analog tape, which has been carefully preserved, like the "Mona Lisa" or Cher, and has now been transferred to digital tape at Abbey Road Studios. They've all gone through equalization and de-noising to remove tape hiss and other misfires without sacrificing authenticity.

Among the most dramatic developments is that the first four albums -- "Please Please Me," "With the Beatles," "A Hard Day's Night" and "Beatles for Sale" -- previously were available only in mono and now are making their debut in that modern invention called stereo.

While the general consensus among audiophiles is that the '87 models sounded murky and tinny, the average fan may not have noticed or cared. Now, the differences truly come to light. Flip on one of the remasters and you'll hear that the sound levels have been kicked up to bring the Beatles up to date sonically, and the clarity is remarkable, to the point where you hear touches on these songs you haven't heard before.

Suddenly, the bass in "Come Together" sounds like it's swirling around your head, the guitars are attacking more aggressively. That noise on "Eight Days a Week" sounds like actual handclaps rather than sticks clacking together. Overall, the strings are more pronounced, the acoustic guitars are warmer and brighter, the snare hits snap, the harmonies prettier and the psychedelics more psychedelic.

Not trusting my own ears -- I am after all half-deaf from all those concerts -- I took the remasters and '87s to Big Science studio Downtown where owner/producer Jay Green gave them a comparison test on equipment that would make you hate yourself for listening to music on your boombox or computer speakers.

First, he spun "Eleanor Rigby."

"It's a lot more articulate," he said. "Those closely miked strings grind and pop at you, the attack on the strings is crisp and tight. Overall, it's like a veil has been lifted. I don't know if we were originally supposed to have the veil and now we see more than we should but there's definitely a veil removed."

After playing "Come Together," Green sensed something maybe only producers do. "When there's the breakdown, with just the kick drum," he said, "you can hear the room a lot more. You're present in the room, that ambience and clarity. I love when you can sense a room."

The switch from mono to stereo on "No Reply" raises some other issues about these remasters.

"I can definitely understand misgivings purists would have about that," Green said. "It's nice to hear it that way, but it's odd to hear. There are these big kick and crash accents over in the right channel that throw you. You're not used to hearing them. Putting that aside, it's fatter, cleaner, more present, more real -- again you can feel like you're in the control room."

Along with sound upgrade, the remasters are beautifully packaged in glossy trifold cases with 20-page booklets laced with rare photographs, original liner notes and new notes detailing the circumstances of the album and recording methods. The discs, selling for $13 to $19, a boxed set for $200 and a mono box for $250, also come with mini-documentaries that play in the computer.

You may be thinking: OK, I bought these on vinyl, then on cassette or 8-track, then on CD 22 years ago. Do I need to buy them again? Your favorites, yes. For me, that means "Revolver," "Rubber Soul," "Let It Be," "Sgt. Pepper" and "Abbey Road" -- roughly in that order.

However, it does depend somewhat on what you intend to do with them. If your plan is to buy the CD, scan it into your computer and upload it on your iPod, you're going to be compressing the file and losing a lot of that sonic face-lift you just paid for.