To understand the obsession with the 1987 release, one must understand the landscape of the music industry in the mid-1980s. The Compact Disc (CD) was emerging as the dominant format, promising pristine sound free from the pops, clicks, and surface noise of vinyl. However, the major catalogs of the 1960s giants were largely absent from this new digital frontier.
The 1987 CDs, particularly from Sgt. Pepper onwards, were straightforward digital transfers. They avoided heavy noise reduction or excessive equalization, offering a transparent sound that accurately reflected the master tapes. The Beatles - Abbey Road 1987 HQ