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The Beatles: Love
by Christopher Alcxxk
New Beatles album, eh?
Even after being pelted with rabid hype every time I peeked over the rafters of my little insular indie fortress, I had no idea what the hell this record actually was until I listened to it myself. Thus, to save you the bother: it’s another Beatles best-of.
BUT!
A best-of with a difference – to cram as many Beatles-y Megahits into 80 minutes as possible. Some of the songs get edited and run together; some turned into, as the popular parlance would have it, ‘mashups’; some presented in alternative arrangements; some distended into individual compenents to make tracts of soundscape akin to a Beatles-centric rip off of The Avalanches’ Since I Left You. A sorta Beatles mixtape, in the hip-hop sense.
It seems like a bizarre project given the context – only last year there was the hoohar over The Grey Album: The Beatles (or at least their copyright holders) versus the idea of their material being monkeyed around with. Guess it's different in the run up to Christmas, with a massive theatrical show to promote. Yes, the official excuse for this regurgitation is that the mix provides a soundtrack for a big Cirque Du Soliel production, and this provenance is telling. The selection of tracks tends towards the extrovert, exuberant side of the band’s repertoire – 'Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite' would never make a normal best-of, but its subject matter pretty much guaranteed its inclusion here. The mashed-together passages of the record are reminiscent of the chaos and absurdity of the big top, too – 'Penny Lane'’s cornet - and 'In My Life'’s harpsichord solos segueing into each other in a blur of classical pastiche.
While it's all very impressive, and sometimes fruitful – as the Chemical Brothers would attest, most songs would be improved by adding the rhythm from 'Tomorrow Never Knows', and 'Within You Without You' certainly is – generally, it's just so much – too much - ear candy. Spot the sample. Allow a brief smile for an insightful beat match.
You know those radio jingles in which they stick a bunch of current tunes into a big-beat mess? This has the same effect – a whizzbang confectionary, serving more to advertise the band’s back catalogue than to be any kind of durable document.
From the archive
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this sounds
genuinely awful.
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it's
good.
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'Tis
an enjoyable enough listen, but doesn't add all that much to the Beatles discography from anything but a Fanboy Interest/completist/novelty point of view. If you like the Beatles and it's on the stereo, you probably won't turn it off - but then, the same'd apply for their albums anyway.
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saying that
i do 'ate the beatles.
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tis
quite good. fills an hour. then file under unnecessary
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chris alcock is a sellout
raves about the album on MSN, then gives it a shit score.
never trust someone with curly hair. -
raves about it after one listen
writes a review saying that it has no longevity and gives it an average score.
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you are just ignorent
i'm not trying to be rude, but there is no other way to put it.
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it is good revirew
i love the beatles and was excited, no really excited by this. but it just shows snippets of the brilliance that is in the full versions. there are some interesting reworks of some of the songs, but, there is nothing truely new, and you just spend most of the album thinking, oh, i wish it was such and such a bit of the song, or oh thats not ... (song)
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I...
really like it. Some of it is brilliant (Benefit of Mr Kite, Within you/Tomorrow..., Strawberry Fields Forever...) and some is duff, but that's the way the Beatles have always been.
I enjoy listening to it, although I do understand where the review is coming from.
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The songs as they are
are great, but you do wonder what some of the mixes add to the Beatles cannon, and whether this was a commercial venuture more than a musical one. Some of them appear untouched, which seems a bit pointless (when you consider how many times these songs have been released). Whilst others are remixed with varying results(Within without you, and Strawberry fields mixes: good) what annoys me are the snatches of songs that aren't used in full "Black Bird" is only used to segue into Yesterday, we also hear snatches of "Nowhere man" ect ect
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Great sound, average idea
The sound on the album really is superb - I'd love to hear the whole catalogue given the treatment.
But as an album - it's just frustrating. Ultimately, most of these songs did not need to be fucked about with in any way. It's like the soundtrack to a very long TV ad for a Beatles compilation. Or to a cheesy Las Vegas show based on the Beatles songbook.
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there are other ways of putting it dear reecey
maybe, that, y'know, i dont like the beatles. Much to your surprise, i'm sure, the Beatles arent infallible and a mix/bootleg version of their songs sounds cack to me. ignorance it is then.
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oh the irony - priceless
ignorent (sic)... you couldn't make it up...
someone get Alanis over here and point this one out.
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the beatles wrote some gash at times dear eddy
But they generally meant it. I just do not understand how you can honestly hate them. It’s just too strong for my liking. Hate implies a distinct level of hostility that I think it is worrying for someone to experience from music . Saying this sounds cack is a different matter.
Oh and with regards to my typo there I’m very surprised it wasn't worse given how dreadfully drunk I was when I meant that.
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meant?
lets try changing that to wrote...
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din't that song just cover a number of annoying circumstances
rather than irony?
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well
fuck off then
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actually...
... the fact that none of the events in the song are actually ironic is in itself the one great irony. she's actually a genius.
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Agreed.
Its fucking horrible.
George Martin has shown himself to be a prick, trying to cash in on The Beatles' genius, as if he's not already rich enough.
Lennon would have hated it. So would Harrison. McCartney's not done anything worth listening to since 1969, and Ringo is Ringo.
Blasphemy. I can't stand it.
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Generally,
people who talk about 'hating' the Beatles tend to be otherwise boring people, with absolutely no appeal to them.
'How can I get noticed? Slag off the Beatles.'
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bf
THE BEATLES WERE SHIT ANYWAY.
I hate the Beatles. THEY WROTE MAXWELL'S SILVER HAMMER, and its really really shit.
Also, other bands were doing what they were doing at the same time, they just didnt get noticed.
John Lennon DESERVED to die.
etc. etc.
Guess the poster?
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If you look closely
i wrote 'ate. This wilfully naive abreviation was supposed to imply a humourous dislike of them. But you are, as ever, correct wrighty. I'm boring and attention seeking.
Like your good self. -
Yes...
There is a moment where it quite frankly sounds like Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers. Most of the songs will always be great, but this is possibly the most unneccessary record since 'Let it Be - naked' or whatever it was called.
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Bigger picture missed..
Yeah, so these mixes are pure ephemera but they at least draw (greater) attention to arguably one of THE crucial contributors to the canon of pop music...and that, surely, is a good thing!!??! However, no Beatles: no Merseybeat: no Scouse recidivists: no Kooks. Damn you George Martin!
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PUT IT LIKE THIS:
Did this record feature a bunch of gurning twats shouting 'empire! empire!'? No, it did not. Did it feature a mucky little tart wearing a dress and trainers at the same time to show how 'ker-razzee' she is? Again, no. Did it feature the following: Pale faced twats in skinny-fit jeans ripping off Blondie and then bribing the NME into calling 'new rave', or a pie-faced junkie attempting to court tabloid publicity by banging a near-bulemic model, a thirty year old goth with a chat show arsing about on channel 4 acting like a Dickensian frivolty, or indeed 90% of the talentless pieces of shit we've been forced to listen to for the past year? No. For these reasons alone it should be held in as high a regard as man once held God.
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Jesus
I think this thing was awesome. I had good parts of songs strung together pretty well, and its fun to listen to and pick out the parts, and it just takes you on a big memorial ride of the Beatle's catelogue. Who gives a shit even if George Martin just wanted the money, it still sounds fuckin entertaining you goddamn hippy's. I don't know how the beatles can be hated so much. They were recognized for a reason...and people think Cold War Kids are the greatest thing thats happened.
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RE: PUT IT LIKE THIS:
I greet this with a standing ovation.
Even if the record was shit, it would be wonderful for not being the shit that people seem to love these days (i.e. Keane; Evanesence; Mika.)
The fact that the record is quite good, for the most part, makes it even better.
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