As it turns out, all you need is love -- and genius -- to live forever, even in the evanescent world of pop music. For the Beatles, the time is not just When I'm 64 but any age at all. The renowned British quartet's career lasted from 1962 to 1969, but their music has spanned generations.

Their longevity means that the much-anticipated, completely remastered Beatles catalog -- all 13 British albums -- to be released on Wednesday, comes at just the right time. The date, 9/9/09, is a wink at the group's famously mystifying song Revolution 9, and it coincides with the launch of The Beatles: Rock Band video game.

On a technical level, the release was long overdue: the Beatles' recordings hadn't been remastered since they were first released on CD in 1987, and the years since have seen enormous advances in sound and recording techniques. But it also appears at a time when the band is more beloved and influential than ever.

``I don't think they're relevant again. I think they're relevant, period,'' says Aramis Lorie, co-producer and DJ for Pop Life, Miami's popular alternative music party, where he recently fired up a dance floor of 20-somethings with the Beatles' Taxman. ``It's a timeless thing. They're still influential, and they'll be influential for a long time.''

Although the Beatles are closely associated with the musical and cultural changes of the 1960s, their music is even more popular now. A recent Pew Research Center poll found that the group was among the top four favorite musical artists for every age group from 16 to over 65. In fact, while the Beatles rated tops with boomers 50 to 64, they were the second most popular act for fans 16 to 29.

And those stats don't even include the next generation of music lovers, such as the young cousin of South Florida songwriter Jacob Jeffries who, for most of her childhood, was lulled to sleep by the buoyant psychedelica of Yellow Submarine.

``In my whole life I've met one person who said that the Beatles aren't that great -- and I immediately dismissed her from my life,'' says Jeffries, 21, who grew up immersed in the Beatles (his mother was a huge fan) and whose first songs, written when he was 7, were modeled on theirs. ``They represent the whole spectrum of pop music.''

Indeed, the Beatles affected almost every aspect of popular music and recording technology. Their songwriting, whether early gems or genre-expanding later songs, set the template for pop music, and they still influence artists from The Pussycat Dolls to Juanes.

Their constant experimentation in the studio vastly expanded the palette of recording technology.

``You can like it or not, but in the end, whether you know it or not, you're doing something they already did and had a hand in laying the groundwork for,'' says Sebastian Krys, 2007 Latin Grammy Producer of the Year. ``You have to basically start over to not be influenced by the Beatles if you're a musician, just in the way you record or the way a song is structured.''

The re-release aims to capture all the Beatles' achievements. A team of engineers worked on the project for four years, transferring master recordings on tape, cleaning up noise and bringing out details of the original sound. Especially on later records such as Sgt. Pepper, the result is a newly audible wealth of instruments and effects. Even earlier albums sound brighter, fresher and more alive.

The CDs come with the original British artwork and liner notes, plus new historical photos and essays, and, for a limited period, an embedded mini-documentary to watch on computer. The catalog, with a DVD of the documentaries, is available as a box set for $259.98; there's also a limited-edition mono box set for $298.98.

Fun details highlight the notes and documentaries. We learn that the Beatles debut, Please Please Me, was recorded in slightly less than 10 hours, that the title A Hard Day's Night was one of Ringo's frequent verbal stumbles. In the films you hear the Beatles chattering in the studio and famed producer George Martin's remembrances.

In the DVD documentary on Magical Mystery Tour, John Lennon's explanation of his famously mysterious I Am the Walrus succinctly captures the band's' philosophy. ``It has enough little bitties going to keep you interested 100 years later,'' Lennon says. ``What does it mean `I am the eggman'? It could have been a pudding base, for all I cared. It was tongue-in-cheek. It's not that serious.''

What matters is that fans will be able to experience all the music for themselves, the way music was meant to be heard.

``People analyze it to death,'' says Krys. ``But I think the truth is just in the music. You don't need to know anything more than that.''