I recently came accross the newest release from the Beatles, which as expected, is an album of newly “remixed” Beatles songs. Like any Beatles fan, I was intrigued by the impressive list of 26 songs on the back cover, but I had my doubts. However, the music teller (like a bank teller…but works at a music store) explained it was a complete rearrangement of the original Beatles recordings and insisted that if I were a Beatles fan, it would be criminal not to own this album. Needles to say, I purchased the album.
Listening to this album immediately reminds you how beautiful, musical and haunting the Beatles could be with an excellent stripped down version of Because. Before you can even ponder what will come next, it blows you away with arguably the best transition between Beatles songs you have ever heard, into a strange and exciting version of Get Back that will make you rethink the Beatles. And this is only Track 2. By the time Glass Onion is playing, you no longer have any concept of what the Beatles songs were initially recorded to sound like, and somehow it seems as though they are now finally being played as if this is how they were meant to sound. Confused? So am I… and so is my word processor’s Grammar-Check. I keep getting a warning saying “The previous sentence is written exactly how listening to this album makes you feel about the Beatles.” Curious.
Once you read (in the provided booklet) that these songs have been remixed by legendary Beatles producer George Martin and his son, as a soundtrack to a live show by the French-Canadian performing group “Cirque du Soleil”, it somehow all makes sense. Beautiful producing and mind-boggling mixes of songs such as “Yesterday” with the intro of “Blackbird” raise good argument that these versions are almost better than the original Beatle arrangements. The immaculately crafted, inter-twining mixes of tracks from “Hello/Goodbye”, “Penny Lane”, “Piggies”, “In My Life”, (the list goes on) infiltrating any available sound space in “Strawberry Fields Forever” will challenge even the greatest Beatletician. A simple reversal of the song “Sun King” produces a cryptic and mesmerizing song while reminding us of how talented the Beatles were as musicians in the cleverly labeled track “Gnik Nus”.
Other mentionable highlights are a remarkable transition from “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” into a heavier sounding “I Want You (She’s so Heavy)” with eerie clips from “Helter Skelter”, and a brilliant arrangement of “Within Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows” into “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”. The introduction to “Lady Madonna” makes it hard to believe that the only new-recorded material is the strings on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (the intense guitar riff in Lady Madonna that comes in at 2 minutes is “Hey Bulldog” from “Yellow Submarine”).
Some may expect to buy this album as a “Beatles Greatest Hits”, and other may be hoping it is an “All New Beatles Album” which can compete with Revolver, or Sgt. Pepper’s. After listening to this album, I fully agree with both. This album covers the entire Beatles career, including a version of “I want to hold your hand” which has the energy of seeing them play live, (including the famous Ed Sullivan introduction and screaming fans) while providing the clearest sound quality. Although you have most likely heard every “song” played on this album, Beatles – LOVE stands along side Rubber Soul and Abbey Road as a great Beatles album and is an absolute must for any Beatles fan with not one disappointing track.
AK
