Beatles in Rock & Pop Music

"Bring Back the Beatles" (01/11/2005) Oldies Peel, David, PerformanceBring Back the Beatles was as close to a commercial album as David Peel had ever generated up to that time. Where his previous satirical barbs at musical figures were incidental to his broader political messages, on this album he shifts his aim somewhat -- his two-pronged message expresses an appreciation, even a level of respect, for the Liverpool group, but is also includes an implicit vicious swipe at the efforts in the mid-'70s to remarket and repackage their music. Not quite everything here directly concerns the Beatles, and if Peel isn't quite as animated as he is when going after a political target, his songwriting ability isn't restricted at all, and in the relatively lush production he manages to come up with some surprisingly good (and excruciatingly funny) pop songs, including "Coconut Grove"; he also turns in a rocking version of John Lennon's "Imagine," reimagined as a punk piece. "The Wonderful World of Abbey Road" shows Peel acknowledging their psychedelic period, especially "Penny Lane," but he also works in a deconstruction of "With a Little Help from My Friends" and some fresh barbs aimed at Paul McCartney. ~ Bruce Eder

"Anthology 3" (10/29/1996) Rock & Pop Beatles (The), Capitol/EMI RecordsTHE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY: 3 consists of demos and outtakes from THE WHITE ALBUM, LET IT BE and ABBEY ROAD. The Beatles: John Lennon (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, piano, bass, percussion); Paul McCartney (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, piano, organ, bass, drums, percussion); George Harrison (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, percussion); Ringo Starr (vocals, drums, percussion). Producers: George Martin, The Beatles. Compilation producer: George Martin. Recorded between May 1968 and January 1970. Includes liner notes by Derek Taylor. If ANTHOLOGY: 2 was a study of how a Beatles songs came together, ANTHOLOGY: 3 is a study of how the Beatles themselves came apart. In the band's final phase, Paul McCartney was an unabashed pop balladeer, John Lennon a sneering pop humorist and experimenter, and Harrison a separate songwriting force waiting to be unleashed. But the demos, rehearsals and outtakes that make up ANTHOLOGY: 3 are brilliant anyway. Lennon's early run-through of "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" is literally bits and pieces--three melodic ideas crammed together, not yet including what would become the song's chorus. There are acoustic demos of two McCartney songs; the gorgeous "Junk," which eventually showed up on his first solo album, and "The Long And Winding Road"--the same performance that appeared on LET IT BE, but without the strings that were added against his will. The real discoveries are Harrison's solo demos, including electric-guitar-and-vocal performances of "Something" and "All Things Must Pass." They nearly ache with beauty, and Harrison sings them as if discovering his voice for the first time. The finished versions pale next to these demos, which are among the highlights of the entire ANTHOLOGY series.

"Anthology 1" (11/21/1995) Oldies Beatles (The), Capitol/EMI RecordsTHE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY is a collection of rare and unreleased Beatles recordings; a companion book and 10-hour video are also planned. Among the material on the first volume are recordings by The Quarry Men (a band that featured a teen-aged John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison); five songs from the Beatles' unsuccessful audition for Decca Records on January 1, 1962; live tracks from various television appearances; and alternate versions of several early Beatles songs. THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY: 1 also includes "Free As A Bird," the band's first new recording in 25 years. Written by the late John Lennon, the song was recorded in 1994 by the three surviving Beatles, using Lennon's lead vocal and piano track from a demo recorded in the late 1970s. The Beatles: John Lennon (vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano); Paul McCartney (vocals, guitar, piano, bass); George Harrison (vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, slide guitar); Ringo Starr (vocals, drums); Stuart Sutcliffe (guitar); Pete Best (drums). The Quarry Men: John Lennon, Paul McCartney (vocals, guitar); George Harrison (guitar); John Lowe (piano); Colin Hanton (drums). Additional personnel includes: Tony Sheridan (vocals, guitar); Brian Epstein, Eric Morecambe, Ernie Wise (spoken vocals); Andy White (drums). Producers: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Richard Starkey, Jeff Lynne (disc 1, track 1); Bert Kaempfert (disc 1, tracks 10-12); George Martin (disc 1, tracks 14, 20-26; disc 2, tracks 8, 10-12, 17-26); Mike Smith (disc 1, tracks 15-19); Terry Henebery (disc 1, track 27); Klas Burling (disc 1, tracks 30-34); Jack Good (disc 2, tracks 13-16). Compilation producer: George Martin. Engineers: Geoff Emerick (disc 1, track 1); Percy F. Phillips (disc 1, tracks 3-4); Karl Hinze (disc 1, tracks 10-12); Stuart Eltham (disc 1, tracks 14, 20); Norman Smith (disc 1, tracks 21-26; disc 2, tracks 8, 10-12, 17-26); Hans Westman (disc 1, tracks 30-34); Terry Johnson (disc 2, tracks 13-16). Principally recorded between 1958 and 1964. "Free As A Bird" recorded circa 1977 and in 1994. Spoken tracks recorded between 1962 and 1994. Includes a 48-page booklet with track-by-track annotations, and liner notes by Derek Taylor. "Free As A Bird" won a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. Though the Beatles changed rock & roll forever from low culture to high art, they started as a skiffle group, a British amalgam of American rock & roll influences--Elvis' swagger, Little Richard's unholy gospel, the Everly Brothers' country-rock harmonies, Smokey Robinson's sensual soul. THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY: 1 traces these roots, tapping a rich motherlode of unreleased early Beatles material. There are scratchy recordings of the Quarry Men (Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison, circa 1958) and pre-Ringo Beatles practice sessions that show the Fabs dreaming of being Elvis and Buddy Holly. Amazingly well-preserved tracks from the early '60s show them starting to let their hair down, while rocking merrily through such pop standards of the time as "Ain't She Sweet" and "Besame Mucho." They were an electrifying live band, and among the treasures here are Ringo tearing through "I Wanna Be Your Man" and "Boys" at a 1964 TV taping, and John ripping into "Twist And Shout" at the band's 1963 Royal Command Performance after his famous request: "Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands, and the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewelry." Equally compelling is the one "new" track. "Free As A Bird" was the pop event of 1995, a Lennon demo completed by the surviving Beatles with the production guidance of Beatles disciple Jeff Lynne. With a deliberate, mid-tempo pace, doubled piano, slide guitar solo, and signature harmonies and middle eight, it's vintage 1968. Colorize the video, add some psychedelic film effects, drop it into the middle of the MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR movie, and see who notices.

"Beatles for Sale" (07/27/1987) Oldies Beatles (The), Capitol/EMI RecordsThe Beatles: John Lennon (vocals, guitar, harmonica); George Harrison (vocals, 6- & 12-string guitars); Paul McCartney (vocals, bass); Ringo Starr (drums). Additional personnel: George Martin (piano). Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England and EMI Pathe Studios, Paris, France. The Beatles: John Lennon (vocals, guitar, piano); George Harrison (vocals, guitar, African drum); Paul McCartney (vocals, piano, Hammond organ, bass); Ringo Starr (vocals, drums, timpani, percussion). Additional personnel: George Martin (piano). Includes liner notes by Derek Taylor. It was inevitable that the constant grind of touring, writing, promoting, and recording would grate on the Beatles, but the weariness of Beatles for Sale comes as something of a shock. Only five months before, the group released the joyous A Hard Day's Night. Now, they sound beaten, worn, and, in Lennon's case, bitter and self-loathing. His opening trilogy ("No Reply," "I'm a Loser," "Baby's in Black") is the darkest sequence on any Beatles record, setting the tone for the album. Moments of joy pop up now and again, mainly in the forms of covers and the dynamic "Eight Days a Week," but the very presence of six covers after the triumphant all-original A Hard Day's Night feels like an admission of defeat or at least a regression. (It doesn't help that Lennon's cover of his beloved obscurity "Mr. Moonlight" winds up as arguably the worst thing the group ever recorded.) Beneath those surface suspicions, however, there are some important changes on Beatles for Sale, most notably Lennon's discovery of Bob Dylan and folk-rock. The opening three songs, along with "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party," are implicitly confessional and all quite bleak, which is a new development. This spirit winds up overshadowing McCartney's cheery "I'll Follow the Sun" or the thundering covers of "Rock & Roll Music," "Honey Don't," and "Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!," and the weariness creeps up in unexpected places -- "Every Little Thing," "What You're Doing," even George's cover of Carl Perkins' "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" -- leaving the impression that Beatlemania may have been fun but now the group is exhausted. That exhaustion results in the group's most uneven album, but its best moments find them moving from Merseybeat to the sophisticated pop/rock they developed in mid-career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine A testament to the abundance of perseverance and talent within the Beatles' ranks, their fourth album was recorded in and around a busy North American and British tour schedule. BEATLES FOR SALE also marked their last full-length release loaded with cover songs, as the Fab Four moved towards writing more of their own material. Interspersed between Beatles classics such as "Eight Days a Week" and the Dylan-inspired "I'm a Loser" are faithful renditions of songs by Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins (featuring the only lead vocals by Ringo Starr and George Harrison on this album). The frenetic, inspired take on Chuck Berry's "Rock And Roll Music" is only superseded by a tremendous medley of "Kansas City" and "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey," that finds Paul McCartney's exuberant vocals comparing admirably to his hero Little Richard, providing a vibrant centerpiece on BEATLES FOR SALE.

"Guitar Tribute to 40 Years of the Beatles" (05/11/2004) Rock & Pop Various Artists, Tribute Sounds

"In the Beginning: The Early Tapes" (04/25/2000) Oldies Beatles (The), Spectrum Music (UK)IN THE BEGINNING features The Beatles first recordings for Polydor Records Germany as backup band for English singer Tony Sheridan. The album also features 4 tracks by Sheridan backed up by The Beat Brothers. The Beatles: John Lennon, George Harrison (vocals, guitar); Paul McCartney (vocals, bass); Pete Best (drums). Additional personnel: Tony Sheridan (vocals); The Beat Brothers. Producer: Bert Kaempfert. Compilation producer: Bill Levenson. Recorded in Hamburg, Germany in June 1961 & May 1962. Includes liner notes by Tony Sheridan, George Harrison, and Bill Harry. All tracks are digitally remastered. German edition Liner Note Author: Bill Harry. Photographer: Jurgen Vollmer. Arranger: Tony Sheridan. Much is made of the Beatles' formative years in Hamburg during the early '60s, and rightly so--tapes of their sessions during the time are rare, and find the band at their most primitive. However, this is anything but a fault--one of the most storied aspects of the Beatles was their explosive energy, the boundless enthusiasm fostered by their first glimpse of popularity. THE EARLY TAPES finds the young Beatles reining in that energy for their first professional recording gigs, overseen by legendary bandleader Bery Kaempfert. The Beatles were originally called upon as a backup band for crooner Tony Sheridan for these sessions; Kaempfert was taken by Sheridan's cool, rockabilly-inflected voice, and the Beatles took the studio opportunity to record a few tunes themselves. Among these is a self-penned instrumental, "Cry For A Shadow," and the album's opener, "Ain't She Sweet," which features the vocal work of one John Lennon. Elsewhere, the album documents other first steps for the group, including the first single, "My Bonnie," which Kaempfert credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers, a name which would continue with Sheridan long after the Fab Four went on to change the world. These are the Beatles' earliest official recordings; obviously, they're historically important, but they're also more listenable than you might think. "Ain't She Sweet" and its B-side "Cry For a Shadow" (a terrific Ventures-like instrumental that's the only known Harrison-Lennon collaboration) was, of course, the record that prompted future manager Brian Epstein to check out the band at a Liverpool club, thus altering the course of civilization in profoundly unfathomable ways. The rest of the album features the Beatles backing fellow Liverpudlian Tony Sheridan (a singer whose enthusiasm makes up for a certain lack of vocal style), plus a few Sheridan performances with other musicians. It's all entertaining in a period sort of way, and if you want to know what rock sounded like between the time Elvis entered the army and the ascendance of the Fab Four, you could do a lot worse.

"Guitar Tribute to the Beatles: Abbey Road" (01/25/2005) Rock & Pop Various Artists, Tribute SoundsTributee: The Beatles. Personnel: Dark One Lite (guitar). Recording information: Dark One.

"Beatlemaniacs!!! The World of Beatles Novelty Records" (02/27/2006) Oldies Various Artists, Ace Records (UK)An enormous number of Beatles novelty records were generated during the '60s, especially in the immediate aftermath of the group's first visit to the United States in early 1964. In fact, according to the liner notes of this compilation, more than 200 novelties were produced in 1964 alone. This particular anthology has a mere 24 of them, most of them from that brief window of opportunity after the Beatles' initial American invasion, though some are from as early as 1963 and others as late as 1969 (and some, such as those 1963 sides, are even from the U.K., not the U.S.). While Beatlemaniacs!!! The World of Beatles Novelty Records by no means rounds up all the best, most amusing, or worst Beatles novelties, it's a good cross-section of this subgenre of Beatlemania, even including a few chart records (though just one, the Carefrees' "We Love You Beatles," that made the U.S. Top 40). Even Beatlemaniacs (perhaps especially Beatlemaniacs) would have to admit that most of these records were mediocre-to-horrible exploitation discs, from a time when -- as hard as it might be to imagine from our 21st century vantage, when the Beatles are viewed as artists on par with the likes of William Shakespeare -- the Beatles themselves were often thought of as a novelty, and a passing craze. Still, the cuts do exert a strange if somewhat uncomfortable fascination, if only as evidence of just how much Beatlemania pervaded both popular culture and the less savory corners of the record business. The most dispiriting aspect of these cash-ins is how many groups apparently thought that all you needed to do to simulate the Beatles' sound was throw in a few "yeah, yeah, yeahs," some head-shaking "oohs," and some "Twist and Shout"-like chord progressions. The irony, of course, is that while these records were trying to make fun of the Beatles as a passing craze, ultimately they embodied the very American trends the Beatles were making obsolete, often sounding like nothing so much as second-rate twist and frat rock bands desperately clutching a straw. There are certainly other (and sometimes, though not necessarily, better) styles used to honor the Beatles phenomenon on display here, though. The Bootles' "I'll Let You Hold My Hand," the Fondettes' "The Beatles Are in Town" (recorded for, of all labels, Arhoolie Records), Gigi Parker & the Lonelies' "Beatles, Please Come Back," and the Beattle-ettes' "Only Seventeen" verge on raw girl group rock with a crude appeal. Link Wray offers a satisfyingly twangy instrumental version of "Please Please Me" (here presented in an alternate take). There's doo wop and a record inspired by the widespread rumor of Paul McCartney's death in 1969, the Mystery Tour's creepy "The Ballad of Paul." And there's even a Beatles homage here with genuine artistic credibility, Nilsson's "You Can't Do That," which wove snatches of more than a dozen Beatles songs into a cover of an early Lennon-McCartney classic. There are some other pretty well-known names lurking in the shadows, though they were probably never too proud of the discs collected here. Bluegrass musician Bill Clifton's none-too-funny "Beatle Crazy" (in which he unsuccessfully tries to exterminate the Beatles with DDT) was written by Geoff Stephens, the British songwriter involved in penning several '60s hits, most notably the New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral" and Dave Berry's "The Crying Game." Sonny Curtis of the Crickets co-wrote "A Beatle I Want to Be" with major Los Angeles pop/rock producer Lou Adler. The Four Preps had a minor hit entry with "A Letter to the Beatles," which they claim was pulled under pressure from their fellow Capitol Records act, the Beatles themselves. The Beattle-ettes' "Only Seventeen" was produced by Shangri-Las producer Shadow Morton; "Saint Paul" was cut by Terry Knight, more famous for managing Grand Funk Railroad; Gigi Parker & the Lonelies' "Beatles, Please Come Back" was co-written by Chip Taylor of "Wild Thing" and "Angel in the Morning" fame; and Bobby Wilding, heard doing "I Want to Be a Beatle," later co-wrote the st

"Breakin It Up On The Beatles Tour (Remsatered)" (09/26/2005) Rock & Pop DeShannon, Jackie, RPM (UK)Legendary female singing sensation and chosen concert opener for The Beatles' legendary material from the early 60s; Digital remaster containing eight additional songs. U.K. import. CD contains 8 bonus tracks. Contrary to what the exploitative title might have you believe, this was not recorded during a Beatles tour (though Jackie DeShannon was an opening act on their 1964 North American tour), or even a live album. Instead, it was something of a grab bag of a dozen tracks that had already been released on Liberty singles between 1962 and 1964. For all its scattered origins, however, it was a pretty good compilation of her early-'60s work, though it was neither definitive nor the very best dozen tracks she did during this period. The best stuff is extremely good, however, starting with her original versions of "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk in the Room," both of which anticipated some of the elements that would make up folk-rock in the mid-'60s, and both of which were covered for much bigger hits by the Searchers. There's also some fine girl group-influenced pop/rock that she co-wrote with the young Randy Newman ("She Don't Understand Him Like I Do," "Hold Your Head High"), Jack Nitzsche (the very Phil Spector-esque "Should I Cry"), and Sharon Sheeley ("You Won't Forget Me"), as well as a good song Newman wrote alone, "Did He Call Today, Mama." Some of the other tracks, such as the covers of Buddy Holly's "Oh, Boy" and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," come off as filler in this company, but overall it's a fairly strong set by this underrated singer/songwriter. [The 2005 CD reissue on RPM adds considerable value with lengthy historical liner notes and eight bonus tracks from the same era, including a few standouts, like her folk-rocky "Needles and Pins" B-side "Till You Say You'll Be Mine," the zesty orchestrated pop/rocker "Try to Forget Him," and the girl group goodie "Breakaway." Collectors will also want this for the presence of three previously unreleased cuts among those bonus tracks, those being a pure blues-folk reading of "Mean Old Frisco" and the more routine early-'60s-styled pop numbers "Today Will Have No Night" and "Give Me a Break."] ~ Richie Unterberger

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (06/08/1987) Rock & Pop Beatles (The), Capitol/EMI RecordsIncludes a 28-page booklet with rare photos, notes on the recording sessions and lyrics. The Beatles: George Harrison (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, sitar, tamboura, harmonica, tambourine, comb & paper); John Lennon (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, piano, Hammond organ, maracas, comb & paper); Paul McCartney (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, piano, harpsichord, Hammond organ, bass, comb & paper); Ringo Starr (vocals, harmonica, piano, drums, bongos). Additional personnel includes: Neil Aspinall (tamboura, harmonica); Mal Evans (harmonica, alarm clock); George Martin (piano, harmonium, Wurlitzer organ, organ); Sounds Incorporated (saxophone, French horn, trombone). Engineers include: Geoff Emerick, Malcolm Addey, Ken Townsend. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios and Regent Sound Studio, London, England between December 6, 1966 and April 21, 1967. Includes liner notes by George Martin, Mark Lewisohn and Peter Blake. One of the most famous and influential albums ever recorded, SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND had a huge impact on the music world, signaling the beginning of a new era of sophistication and maturity in rock. The musical experimentation was dynamic and fresh, several tracks were edited to create seamless transitions, and even the visual design was more elaborate than anything previously attempted. Producer George Martin and The Beatles searched for new sounds and studio effects. They added crowd sounds and animal cries from sound-effects recordings, sped up Paul McCartney's vocals in "When I'm Sixty-Four" (to make him sound younger), and sustained a single piano chord for 40 seconds to end "A Day In The Life." The orchestrations, scored by Martin, were hailed by critics as bridging the gap between pop and classical music, and many people who had never bought a rock record bought SGT. PEPPER'S.