I'm surprised nobody has created this thread yet. As one of, if not the, biggest Beatles fans here, I'll do the honors. This is a super long post, because I am really passionate about the Beatles. It seems like I could discuss The Beatles music for literally hours on end, as evidenced by this post.
Tomorrow, November 21 (also my birthday) marks the official release of a long in the works project by the former producer of The Beatles, George Martin, and his son, Giles Martin. The concept of this record first came to fruition, I believe, from George Harrison's interest in Cirque Du Soleil performances before his death in 2001, I think. I'm not too familiar with the inspiration for the album, to be honest.
Anywho, upon encouragement from the two surviving Beatles, Paul and Ringo, and the support from the 2 deceased Beatles wives, Yoko and Olivia, George Martin had the approval to work on a re-arrangement and mixing of some of The Beatles greatest songs. I have been eagerly anticipating the release of this album for some time, and it finally leaked this past week. I have been spending the last few days listening to a lot of the tracks quite a bit, and a few things spring to mind:
- the songs are recreated using modern technology, so the songs sound phenomenally crisp, clear, and filled out. Specifically, I find Ringo's drums and Paul's bass sound to be far more distinct and audible in every single song. Even if you don't care for the mash-ups, it is probably worth buying or downloading this album just to hear the classic songs in fantastic quality.
- Not all the songs have been tooled around with mixing and mashing from other songs. Allegedly every sound on this album, aside from the background wind accompaniment on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", was originally created by the Beatles. George Martin created the orchestra in that song, which by the way is added to George's acoustic rendition heard on The Anthology. It sounds f'n unbelievably kickass with the orchestra. Absolutely beautiful.
- if any of you are concerned about the Beatles "feel" and sound being ruined by this offering from George Martin, that concern is not valid. The Beatles vibe is absolutely maintained throughout, and it truly sounds like a 1960's offering.
- George Martin is 81 years old. Think about that when listening to this album. When I am 81 years old, I hope to God I am listening to some of the most BADASS rock 'n roll of modern times, nevermind creating actual music of the type. When I'm listening to the Sgt. Pepper's Reprise near the end of the album, I am totally rocking out hardcore and thinking, holy cow, an 80 year old dude made this! I don't think there is possibly any cooler or badass 80 year old man than George Martin. There are many moments on this album when you just totally rock out to the electrifying enhanced guitars. George Martin is my hero.
- Almost every song transitions into each other. There are almost no pauses between tracks. It's almost like a long journey originating from the minds of the Martin's. The record totals 79 minutes and some seconds. You get your money's worth with this record.
- The album focuses primarily on songs from the psychedelic and final bluesy/"return to rock 'n roll" stages of The Beatles. There is not a lot from the early mop-top era, aside from Help!, and I Want To Hold Your Hand. I would have liked to see some of these songs, but perhaps the technology before Help was too outdated to separate some of the instruments from the recordings?
- It appears there was an effort to get George's sitar and general "Indian feel" through many of the songs. As someone who absolutely loved George's dabbling in this sound, I really, really love that aspect of the album. Hearing the sitar behind the opening to "Something" is quite trippy. This whole record is really trippy, for that matter. Also, I seem to hear bits and pieces from "Day In the Life" and "Goodnight" more than any other throughout the record.
Here are some of my impressions on tracks that stand out the most to me (if you want the songs to be a surprise, then don't read the following, it contains "spoilers", if you will:
Get Back - The basis for many of the promotional commercials for this record. This kicks off with the all familiar opening to "A Hard Day's Night", transitioning into a gut-busting (Mr. Schneebly, School of Rock) drum solo from Ringo lifted from "The End" on Abbey Road, all while mixed in with a little orchestra transition from "A Day In The Life" on Sgt Pepper, then moving into the familiar drum rhythym of "Get Back" from Let It Be as electric guitar from "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" roars.
If your pulse doesn't quicken upon the first utterance of "JoJo" from Paul, then you are simply not a Beatles fan. Just stop listening right there, because this song completely rules my a$$. A KICKASS track. The opening could quite possibly be one of the most rocking things I have ever heard.
I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Martin's didn't toy around with this too much, but the transition into the song is worth mentioning. It comes right after "I Am The Walrus", and emerging from the chaos and cacophony from the end of that song (you know, with the crazy readings from plays and other gibberish), the faint din of a mad crowd is heard which increases in volume. Then you hear the voice of Ed Sullivan saying "Here they are, THE BEATLES!!" from the most watched ever performance, as the now famous opening chords play to the song. Really, really nice touch here. The screaming crowd persists throughout the song.
Drive My Car/The Word/What You're Doing - When I first heard the riff from "The Word" mixed with the familiar riff from "Drive My Car", I thought it was a bit much. Now that I have heard the album multiple times over, it really fits in. It takes a bit to get used to, but it's really, really f'n cool. Also interleaved in this song is the riff from "Savoy Truffle". The transition into "What You're Doing" in here just magically fits in. Just amazing when you really sit down and listen to all this..
Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows - As I said above, I really love George's trippy sitar play. THIS is the track I was looking most forward to on this entire record, and my god, does this track absolutely blow my f'n mind away. First of all, it comes after Strawberry Fields Forever, so you are already in an introspective type of environment at this point.
The track starts off with John's bellowing, echoful "Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream" layered on top of crazy sitar noises, combined with the seagull nosies from Tomorrow Never knows. Then the song transitions into a combination of the rhythm from Tomorrow Never Knows and the sitar from Within You Without You alongside George's vocal from Within you Without You. If this sounds absolutely insane, it is, and it is mind-blowing kick ***. As you can see, I get very excited when talking about this track because it uber-trippy. I absolutely love this song.
Of course, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds on 10x more acid and sitar follows this. It is not humanly possible to come up with a better arrangement and sequencing of songs than these. I really believe this.
Lady Madonna - starts off with Ringo's drum rhythm from "Why Don't We Do it In the Road?", some stormy rain noises, inaudible words from Paul, then the oddly intriguing noises that I don't know how to describe but any Lady Madonna fan would recognize. The transition into the main part of the song could have been better, I'm not gonna lie, but the flushed out drums and bass guitar create a strong vibe on this song. The amped up saxophones combined with Paul's nutty bass guitar just really brings this song to completely ***-kicking levels in my opinion.
There is a surprise face melting guitar solo in the middle of this song that I had never heard before. Way cool.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps - It is this song that prompts me to bow down at the altar of George Martin. His orchestra addition to this song is PERFECT and creates a gorgeous, beautiful, and stunning rendition of George Harrison's classic. Think Yesterday, but with "While My Guitar". If you don't like this song, you deserve to be mauled by a ravenous pack of gazelles.
Hey Jude, Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Reprise, All You Need Is Love - These are 3 separate tracks, but to me they all kind of mix into one. What an utterly phenomenal ending to a record. Hot damn, this ending is just really uplifting and puts you in a good mood after listening. It feels so uplifting. The Martin's kept most of these 3 songs untouched, but did throw in a few wrinkles. Hey Jude sports an altered "Na, na, na" part without the orchestra backing and lead guitar. Just drums, bass guitar, claps, and vocals. Really cool.
All You Need Is Love - Just the perfect track to end the album. Ringo's drums are REALLY enhanced in this song, and they sound fabulous. Now that I listen to it, every single sound on this track is cranked up a notch and just sounds really wonderful. There are some additional piano sounds which I never heard before this rendition. You really have to listen to this to appreciate it's beauty. John's positive, uplifting message here is the perfect way to conclude the record.
So, that was a really long post. If you are at all a Beatles fan, you have to get this album. Even though I downloaded this, I still plan to buy it tomorrow.
Here is the full track listing from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Beatles/d...e=UTF8&s=music
The entire album is available for streaming on www.beatles.com, though I listened on my speakers and you really cant' get a feel for how enhanced the tracks truly are through the internet stream. You need to hear the songs in their stereo form.
Tomorrow, November 21 (also my birthday) marks the official release of a long in the works project by the former producer of The Beatles, George Martin, and his son, Giles Martin. The concept of this record first came to fruition, I believe, from George Harrison's interest in Cirque Du Soleil performances before his death in 2001, I think. I'm not too familiar with the inspiration for the album, to be honest.
Anywho, upon encouragement from the two surviving Beatles, Paul and Ringo, and the support from the 2 deceased Beatles wives, Yoko and Olivia, George Martin had the approval to work on a re-arrangement and mixing of some of The Beatles greatest songs. I have been eagerly anticipating the release of this album for some time, and it finally leaked this past week. I have been spending the last few days listening to a lot of the tracks quite a bit, and a few things spring to mind:
- the songs are recreated using modern technology, so the songs sound phenomenally crisp, clear, and filled out. Specifically, I find Ringo's drums and Paul's bass sound to be far more distinct and audible in every single song. Even if you don't care for the mash-ups, it is probably worth buying or downloading this album just to hear the classic songs in fantastic quality.
- Not all the songs have been tooled around with mixing and mashing from other songs. Allegedly every sound on this album, aside from the background wind accompaniment on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", was originally created by the Beatles. George Martin created the orchestra in that song, which by the way is added to George's acoustic rendition heard on The Anthology. It sounds f'n unbelievably kickass with the orchestra. Absolutely beautiful.
- if any of you are concerned about the Beatles "feel" and sound being ruined by this offering from George Martin, that concern is not valid. The Beatles vibe is absolutely maintained throughout, and it truly sounds like a 1960's offering.
- George Martin is 81 years old. Think about that when listening to this album. When I am 81 years old, I hope to God I am listening to some of the most BADASS rock 'n roll of modern times, nevermind creating actual music of the type. When I'm listening to the Sgt. Pepper's Reprise near the end of the album, I am totally rocking out hardcore and thinking, holy cow, an 80 year old dude made this! I don't think there is possibly any cooler or badass 80 year old man than George Martin. There are many moments on this album when you just totally rock out to the electrifying enhanced guitars. George Martin is my hero.
- Almost every song transitions into each other. There are almost no pauses between tracks. It's almost like a long journey originating from the minds of the Martin's. The record totals 79 minutes and some seconds. You get your money's worth with this record.
- The album focuses primarily on songs from the psychedelic and final bluesy/"return to rock 'n roll" stages of The Beatles. There is not a lot from the early mop-top era, aside from Help!, and I Want To Hold Your Hand. I would have liked to see some of these songs, but perhaps the technology before Help was too outdated to separate some of the instruments from the recordings?
- It appears there was an effort to get George's sitar and general "Indian feel" through many of the songs. As someone who absolutely loved George's dabbling in this sound, I really, really love that aspect of the album. Hearing the sitar behind the opening to "Something" is quite trippy. This whole record is really trippy, for that matter. Also, I seem to hear bits and pieces from "Day In the Life" and "Goodnight" more than any other throughout the record.
Here are some of my impressions on tracks that stand out the most to me (if you want the songs to be a surprise, then don't read the following, it contains "spoilers", if you will:
Get Back - The basis for many of the promotional commercials for this record. This kicks off with the all familiar opening to "A Hard Day's Night", transitioning into a gut-busting (Mr. Schneebly, School of Rock) drum solo from Ringo lifted from "The End" on Abbey Road, all while mixed in with a little orchestra transition from "A Day In The Life" on Sgt Pepper, then moving into the familiar drum rhythym of "Get Back" from Let It Be as electric guitar from "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" roars.
If your pulse doesn't quicken upon the first utterance of "JoJo" from Paul, then you are simply not a Beatles fan. Just stop listening right there, because this song completely rules my a$$. A KICKASS track. The opening could quite possibly be one of the most rocking things I have ever heard.
I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Martin's didn't toy around with this too much, but the transition into the song is worth mentioning. It comes right after "I Am The Walrus", and emerging from the chaos and cacophony from the end of that song (you know, with the crazy readings from plays and other gibberish), the faint din of a mad crowd is heard which increases in volume. Then you hear the voice of Ed Sullivan saying "Here they are, THE BEATLES!!" from the most watched ever performance, as the now famous opening chords play to the song. Really, really nice touch here. The screaming crowd persists throughout the song.
Drive My Car/The Word/What You're Doing - When I first heard the riff from "The Word" mixed with the familiar riff from "Drive My Car", I thought it was a bit much. Now that I have heard the album multiple times over, it really fits in. It takes a bit to get used to, but it's really, really f'n cool. Also interleaved in this song is the riff from "Savoy Truffle". The transition into "What You're Doing" in here just magically fits in. Just amazing when you really sit down and listen to all this..
Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows - As I said above, I really love George's trippy sitar play. THIS is the track I was looking most forward to on this entire record, and my god, does this track absolutely blow my f'n mind away. First of all, it comes after Strawberry Fields Forever, so you are already in an introspective type of environment at this point.
The track starts off with John's bellowing, echoful "Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream" layered on top of crazy sitar noises, combined with the seagull nosies from Tomorrow Never knows. Then the song transitions into a combination of the rhythm from Tomorrow Never Knows and the sitar from Within You Without You alongside George's vocal from Within you Without You. If this sounds absolutely insane, it is, and it is mind-blowing kick ***. As you can see, I get very excited when talking about this track because it uber-trippy. I absolutely love this song.
Of course, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds on 10x more acid and sitar follows this. It is not humanly possible to come up with a better arrangement and sequencing of songs than these. I really believe this.
Lady Madonna - starts off with Ringo's drum rhythm from "Why Don't We Do it In the Road?", some stormy rain noises, inaudible words from Paul, then the oddly intriguing noises that I don't know how to describe but any Lady Madonna fan would recognize. The transition into the main part of the song could have been better, I'm not gonna lie, but the flushed out drums and bass guitar create a strong vibe on this song. The amped up saxophones combined with Paul's nutty bass guitar just really brings this song to completely ***-kicking levels in my opinion.
There is a surprise face melting guitar solo in the middle of this song that I had never heard before. Way cool.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps - It is this song that prompts me to bow down at the altar of George Martin. His orchestra addition to this song is PERFECT and creates a gorgeous, beautiful, and stunning rendition of George Harrison's classic. Think Yesterday, but with "While My Guitar". If you don't like this song, you deserve to be mauled by a ravenous pack of gazelles.
Hey Jude, Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Reprise, All You Need Is Love - These are 3 separate tracks, but to me they all kind of mix into one. What an utterly phenomenal ending to a record. Hot damn, this ending is just really uplifting and puts you in a good mood after listening. It feels so uplifting. The Martin's kept most of these 3 songs untouched, but did throw in a few wrinkles. Hey Jude sports an altered "Na, na, na" part without the orchestra backing and lead guitar. Just drums, bass guitar, claps, and vocals. Really cool.
All You Need Is Love - Just the perfect track to end the album. Ringo's drums are REALLY enhanced in this song, and they sound fabulous. Now that I listen to it, every single sound on this track is cranked up a notch and just sounds really wonderful. There are some additional piano sounds which I never heard before this rendition. You really have to listen to this to appreciate it's beauty. John's positive, uplifting message here is the perfect way to conclude the record.
So, that was a really long post. If you are at all a Beatles fan, you have to get this album. Even though I downloaded this, I still plan to buy it tomorrow.
Here is the full track listing from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Beatles/d...e=UTF8&s=music
The entire album is available for streaming on www.beatles.com, though I listened on my speakers and you really cant' get a feel for how enhanced the tracks truly are through the internet stream. You need to hear the songs in their stereo form.
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