BEST OF 2006

Your mag says we can submit our top albums of the year by going to Uncut. Really - where?\\

Well here are some of mine:

Passover - Black Angels
Everything all the time - Band of Horses
Modern Times - Bob Dylan
Jenny Lewis & Watson Twins

 

Ok...it doesn't all work...some of it may be a tad chaotic... but what does work is nothing short of spectacular!! This might not be for purists but the mixes are crisp and clean and the sounds are so familiar and yet so remarkably reimagined that even the most die hard Beatle fans will hear new stuff. (Listen to how the horns and strings are pulled up in I Am the Walrus; check out how the vocals on nearly every track are pulled forward, listen to how beautifully the backing track of Tommorrow Never Knows fits with Within You Without You ...the mixing and matching of tracks is interesting but the real genius of this cd is the sounds achieved when they don't monkey around with content and, of course, that begs the question: Why didn't they do this kind of work when they were releasing the original Beatle CD's? All of these tracks are from the Beatle vault and NO NEW RECORDING was added... All the sounds heard on this album were generated for Beatle albums by the Beatles and George Martin, so it's not like the Beatles weren't involved...loopy sonic stews or not...what comes through AGAIN and again is that these guys were brilliant artists and musicians.

 

A wonderful gift from the Martin's - an opportunity to hear the songs in a fresh new way. Like Nirvana's Unplugged set, you might quickly find that the old way isn't always the best way. With Love indeed, from the Beatles to all of us. Shine on

 

An incredible re-working done in the highest respect of The Beatles. It's loving The Beatles all over again!!

 

I just got this album 'Love' and was extrememly disappointed with it. When I saw the content I got really excited because the choice of songs was excellent. I'm afraid that when I got home and played it I felt like returning it and getting my money back.
It appears that apart from a handful of songs on the album, every beautiful song has been tampered with. Some songs have other songs running over the top at the same time. It is just a confusing mess. I mean they even fiddled with the speed of some of the songs. They totally stuffed up 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' by slowing it down and totally cutting out George Harrison's brilliant lead guitaring. The whole album is so neutered that it is really over the top.
I am a die-hard beatles fan. When they would release an album back in the 60's we would wait for it and we were NEVER disappointed with the result. They were just like a fine wine, they just got better and better. For the first time I bought a Beatles album and I thought it was terrible. Their original songs were just PERFECT. Why would anyone want to change perfection?
When I heard about the Beatles Naked album I thought "Why do they want to change these songs?" I had no idea that this was what had happened to this record too. They would never do such a thing to Elvis or the Stones. Why do they constantly do it to the most beloved band of all time - the Beatles?
Janette, Moss Vale, NSW, Australia

Mr Martin wrote a book 25 yrs ago of that title. It`s great.
Being of a certain age,I feel I`ve just rediscovered The Beatles(notice the capital T in "the")

The breadth and width of the mixes and the sheer technical wizardry gone into this mash-up is nothiong short of amazing. You don`t have to like The Beatles,nobody has to.

I`m probably too old to be "hip" but this collection is as as perfect as a pop record could be.

When G.Martin pops off,he will haved a big,fat,stupid grin on his face,knowing he`s produced the greatest pop music ever.Twice.

 

I waited with great anticipation to hear the new Beatles mix, and i wasn't disappointed. The only critism is that they could have "Mashed" it up further, but i guess a balance between "new" and accessible had to be met.
The vocal and instruments are soooo clear. George's vocals in particular sounded better than ever. Ringo's clear snappy driving drums should prove once and for all that he was the best drummer for the beatles...always tasty and precise(and rather inventive. Tommorow never know, Day in the life...etc).
George martin proves himself to be Britain's most tasteful orchestral arranger on While my guitar gently weeps. It is achingly beautiful and a fitting end to his career.
(sorry Janette Roe from NSW Australia, they didn't ommit George's lead on this track. This is the acoustic anthology 3 version supplemented by a truly inspired arrangement, and besides, he didn't play lead on it any way, that was Eric Clapton, Remember?).
Other highlight must be Tomorrow never know/ within you without you...Ahh. Now for the Remixed remastered entire catalogue......and maybe a volume 2 of "Love"

I just recently reviewed this album when I had just heard it for the first time. Since then I have listened to it a few more times and I would like to add some more to it.
I had not fully understood about the recording processes involved, so I was judging this record in an ignorant way.I was very pleased with the way 'Yesterday' turned out even though being on the old Parlophone label and recorded in mono must have been a real labour of love to have got it this point. 'Help' sounds as good as it did when I saw the movie 'Help' at the cinema in 1965.
'Something' sounds fabulous from Abbey Road. Was sad not to hear the music in 'Because'. I had no idea that Eric Clapton played guitar in 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', well there you go, something new to learn everyday. Thanks Chris Hargreaves from Victoria. Still don't like this acoustic version. Lastly, I just love 'Day In The Life'. This is a better version than the original, just maybe.Any way my review is not all that bad this time. Thanks for the opportunity.
Janette, NSW, Australia

Janette

The While My Guitar version is culled from a George Harrison demo tape, and appears on Anthology. Olivia Harrison gave permission for it to be used after George Martin added a score for strings. I like the White Album version, but I like this too. Overall, I think the Album works, but I'm not sure why some of the more chaotic parts have been left in.

One thing bugs me, where does the the guitar solo on Lady Madonna come from? Every time I'm just about to "get it" then it's gone. I promised myself I wouldn't trainspot when I got this album, but it's hard...

 

I have been a Beatles fan all my life and sweat on every release, whether I have the songs ten times over or not. This one has me perplexed. I appreciate some of the soundscapes, however some just seem to have been manipulated for the sake of it. We could have done with songs that have yet to reach disc such as some of the Helter Skelter out-takes or the Revolution track from the promotional video. Some songs give me goose-bumps whilst others are less inspiring. Nevertheless, I will continue listening and purchasing all that comes my way. By the way, when are Let it Be and Help being released on DVD?
Shane Brisbane Aus

You can now vote for what you think the best albums of 2006 are...
Go to Music Special Features now to get your vote counted!

 

Gary,

That guitar solo in Lady Madonna is from "Hey Bulldog".

 

Gary Porter,

The guitar solo in Lady Madonna is not just Hey Bulldog. There seems to be a joining of bits from the Abbey Road solos on The End and While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

I hope this helps?

 

Yet another new Beatles album that doesn’t actually offer any new Beatles material. Previous releases such as ‘Live at The BBC’, ‘Anthology 1,2 and 3’ all served a purpose. The ‘Yellow Submarine’ Songtrack was slightly less forgivable and ‘Let it be…Naked’ seemed to be partly Paul McCartney’s way of exorcising a few demons regarding Phil Spector’s string treatment to ‘The Long and Winding Road’. Add to this the ‘1’ album and the release of the American versions of the original albums and for some, the response to the news that ‘Love’ was to be released to accompany a ‘Cirque De Saloeui Show’ (a glorified circus in Las Vegas) was a lukewarm one at best.

The fact that Sir George Martin and his son/fellow producer Giles Martin had produced the album of remixed tracks did help to suppressed some of the scepticism and give the album slightly more credibility. After all Sir George did state when the ‘The Anthology’ venture was finished it would we his last Beatles project. He was hardly likely to come out of “Beatles retirement” and not make a good job of it.

The Las Vegas Circus extravaganza with it’s own purpose built arena required a Beatles soundtrack, and once it was decided that it would be actual Beatle music that was used, rather than some sub standard cover versions, George Martin and son were on board. However, rather than compile a potentially new greatest hits package to follow the ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ albums and the ‘1’ album, it was mooted that with the consent of the surviving Beatles, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, the tracks would be remixed to provided a fresh soundtrack to accompany the show.

With this album there was of course always the potential for it to go disastrously wrong. What if they ruined it? Putting a jungle beat on ‘Blackbird’ or a New Rave slant on ‘We Can Work It Out’? This is after all the holy grail of popular music.

As soon as the soundtrack begins however, there is no need to have such concerns. The magic that is The Beatles music takes over; bringing a big stupid grin, and even the most harded Beatles fanatic will fall in love with the band all over again.

The album begins with ‘Because’, John Lennon’s heroin phase ode to…well everything really. Loving the world because its round, loving the sky because its blue etc etc. It sets the tone for the album. It’s a rework of the acapella ‘Anthology 3’ version. It’s mixed into a different timing and the silences between vocal lines give a spellbinding mood of anticipation and tension. It suggests that something quite wonderful is coming…and it is.

The backwards crescendo from ‘A Day In The Life’ (again from Anthology 3) builds into the unmistakable opening chord from ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, then we hear the drum solo from ‘The End’ and before we have time to draw breath were into ‘Get Back’. McCartney’s (alleged) veiled sideswipe at Yoko Ono has never sounded so powerful. The drums and bass sound huge and the customary Beatles shivers occur once more. It morphs into ‘Glass Onion’, Lennon’s Aching “oh yeah’s” repeat and repeat and in surround sound it does genuinely fell like were on some sort of lysergic acid trip. We hear the guitar from Lennon’s beautiful ‘Julia’ and a police siren (having not seen the Cirque Du Soleil show I can only guess that this in linked to the death of Lennon’s mother), we hear a snatch of ‘Hello Goodbye’ and by now all scepticism has flown off to somewhere else entirely and were in love with The Beatles once more. We hear a remixed version of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ with a string intro but then, rather disappointingly, (apart from a count in) we hear a straight forward version of ‘I Am The Walrus’ – a track that surely would have leant itself better than most to a jolly good bit of experimentation from the Martin’s. Following this we get a simulated live version of I Want To Hold Your Hand’ – close your eyes and its February 1964 and your in the audience at the Ed Sullivan show.

‘Drive My Car’ mixes in the solo from ‘Taxman’, snatches of ‘The Word’ and an exeprt of ‘What Your Doing’. ‘Drive My Car’ mixes with the solo from ‘Taxman’???? surely that shouldn’t work….but it does! Gloriously.

‘Gnik Nus’, origionally thought to be ‘a new one’ is Sun King backwards (see what they did there…!) and again is an accapella version not sounding too far removed from something from Brian Wilson ‘Smile’ from 2004.

Following this we get two numbers from George. ‘Something’ (all wobbly and slowed down at first) and the eerie ‘Blue Jay Way’. Then there’s one of the albums many highlights. ‘Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite, I Want You (She’s So Heavy) and ‘Helter Skelter’ all mixed together. The end of ‘Mr Kite’ moves into the riff at the end of ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’. From this we getting snatches of McCartney’s most powerfully ragged vocal. His ‘Helter Skelter’ performance. Truly exhilarating. It sounds like it was recorded last week – not 38 years ago by a group of spaced out hippies who probably weren’t even talking to each other that day!

We then get a straightforward version of ‘Help!’, ‘Blackbird’ without the vocals and ‘Yesterday’. From ‘Help!’ and ‘Yesterday’ we again come across the only real problem with this album. When we hear the normal versions of The Beatles songs (bizarre as it may sound) we are disappointed.

As a celebration of the Beatles music ‘Love’ holds a good balance between the remixed versions and the versions we are familiar with. For the casual Beatles observer these old faithful versions may be seen as a welcome break from the ten seconds of this here, the ten seconds of that there, but for any Beatles buff it may be disappointing that not all of the tracks have been given the full remix treatment.

One track that doesn’t suffer from the familiarity problem is ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’. It sounds like three versions are mixed together as one. John Lennon’s original demo from ‘Anthology 2’, an early laid back take from the ‘Sgt Pepper’ sessions and the brassed up version that Lennon later rejected in favour of ‘a bit of both’.

Following this, ‘Within You, Without You’ mixes almost perfectly with ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’. Harrison’s Indian pop song (as he once slightly misguidedly put it), with the Lennon ‘Monk on a Hill Top Chant’ (as he definitely misguidedly put it!) make perfect sense together and the drums give the track an almost break beat feel.

‘Octopus’ Garden’ begins with the strings to ‘Good Night’ before excitedly kicking into the song whole. We get ‘Lady Madonna’, ‘Here Comes The Sun’, ‘The Inner Light’, ‘Come Together’, ‘Dear Prudence’ an extended coda to ‘Cry Baby Cry’ (“can you take me back where I came from, can you take me back…”) shortened versions of ‘Revolution’ and ‘Back in The USSR’, McCartney’s outro yelps on the latter are way way louder in the mix than they are in the original version.

‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ is the only track to have anything new added that was not actually recorded during the Beatles career. A string section to complement George’s acoustic demo version. It is a definite highlight and a genuinely mesmeric moment, only punctuated by George’s scouse drawl “I don’t know why, you were inverted, no one aleeeeerrrtid you…”

Then album then takes us to what must surely be the encore to the Cirque Du Soleil show. ‘A Day In The Life’/’Sgt Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)’/’Hey Jude’ and ‘All you Need Is Love’.

Again ‘A Day In The Life’ does not seem to have had too much of a reworking but sits perfectly at this stage of album. Hey Jude is shorter and three quarters of the way through breaks down to the terrace chant synonymous with a Paul McCartney solo gig. A previously drowned out bass line comes to the fore and shows McCartney’s ability to groove along with the best of them.

‘All You Need Is Love’ closes the album and again we hear snatches of ‘Good Night’. We also hear John Lennon in typical animated Beatles spirit style signing off with “This is Johnny Rhythm saying good night to ya!” And with that, comes the end of this Magical History Tour.

‘Love’ is an album that will be enjoyable for both the casual observer and The Beatles fanatic. Although some tracks will disappoint (conesuers) owing to their over familiarity in an album based on remixes. As a sound collage (especially in the 5.1 surround sound version) the experience is amazing and the tracks that are reworked make the whole exercise a worthy one. It’s not sacrilege as some might say and it’s certainly not a pointless venture. Sometimes you forget why you love something only for it to completely blow you away when you least expect. Hat’s off to the Martin’s, you did a splendid job!

Michael Halpin

 

I never thought that there'd be another excuse for a new Beatles album but, thanks to the the circus thing, and I mean a very big thank you to the circus thing, we've got one which is unexpectedly brilliant.

Some critics have said that the exercise, this time by splicing different songs together, is just another excuse to make fans part with their money, but hell, what isn't?

The fact is that, far from being an act of desecrating, the splicing together of these great songs is a revelation!

 

I have been a fan of the Beatles for years, When I first heard about the Beatles circus show, I was a little worried that it might be not up to the high Beatle quality that we hAve come to expect. But the involvement of the Martins' made it seem like it was going to be interesting at least. Upon hearing the results I was amazed at the job they had done. To my ears they have done a great job, the intelligence of the producers into mixing the fantastic sounds of the band into something cohesive, it shows how great the band really was. It stands by itself as a great listening experience and with the visual input of the Cirque it must really be an impressive show. As the band once said a splendid time is guaranteed for all!! Special thanks to Sir George and Giles for giving us yet another chance to remember the great musical group of all time.

I was of the school that once acclaimed the Fabs catalogue as sacrosanct. I sloughed off the reveiws and the marketing and I had pretty much decided that whilst I was morbidly curious I would not indulge in my curiosity and demean my memories of the music I haved loved since my youth.

Then a funny thing happened, Christmas. A dear freind knowing of my love for The Beatles mailed me a copy as a gift. I was at first shocked then pleased after a quick listen.
As stated in Uncut's review trainspotters will delight in finding all the little aural bits and pieces and trying too place them into there appropriate spots in the great Fab puzzle.

However the real delight will be for anyone whom wanted new beatles product and a fresh take on their catalogue. The most fun I've had is in introducing my 15 yr. old grandson to The Beatles after his initial listen to the CD. All in all the production is handled with a great deal of respect and obvious Love by the Martin's. I only hope that Cirque De Soleil (sic) will tour the production.

 

I only bought this because it had so many good reviews in the serious music press. It did set itself up for a bit of a slagging after all.
I bought it and I love it, and every time I play it, there's something new I had never noticed before.
I'm not an authority on the Beatles but I know this really works.
It made me wonder if someone could do something as rewarding with Bowie, Kinks or Clash.