The Beatles - Anthology 1
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Free Music Notes for Anthology 1
Free Music Review: The savage young Beatles
Hit: 4 Stars
This is the first two disc set in the three volume Anthology series, featuring rare Beatles recordings. This set covers 1958 to 1964, plus the "new" song "Free as a Bird". There are some great moments here, but there are also parts that are interesting purely for historical reasons. That is to say, the earliest recordings here are poorly played and poorly recorded. But they are interesting, in that you can track the evolution of the group. I think this collection will appeal to hardcore Beatlemaniacs only.Free Music Review: Fascinating to listen to... once.
Hit: 3 Stars
NB: This is not a greatest hits CD. For that, try "One," with 27 career chart-toppers.
This is fascinating to listen to, even if you're not a Beatles nut. Everyone knows the tunes, but to hear these outtakes is to marvel at how flexible, experimental, and facile the Beatles were, as it shows them trying different permutations and instrumentations, adding interludes and codas. It demystifies the recording process, and it also lays bare the original kernels of Beatles songs that until now we've always heard overlaid with their orchestration and effects. It also exposes their personalities, as they joke and debate - especially McCartney, merry and clever.
This is the kind of disk that will grab your whole attention, the kind of disc you will sit down and concentrate on, reading the liner notes for each track and wishing they were longer.
By the same token, please note that even though this set is riveting, you might not listen to it more than once, any more than you would re-read a good biography.
Free Music Review: For Real Beatle Fans..
Hit: 5 Stars
I've read a few reviews here that claim this double CD is nothing more than a cheap, cash grab.
I couldn't disagree more.
For REAL Beatle fans, it's very interesting and enjoyable to listen to the early, formative years of a band that would go on to not only become the most important and popular band that ever or will ever exist, but also to hear four guys who would change the world and popular culture.
It's remarkable, for example, to listen to some of this stuff that was recorded in the fifties and very early sixties and think about the progress they had made i.e. Sgt Pepper in just six or seven short years.
In addition to the above, the listener is also treated to alot of previously unheard studio outakes.
However, the biggest treat, of course, is the inclusion of a new Beatles song "Free As A Bird".
This was the record - the Beatles first release in 25 years - taht would "reunite" the Beatles - if only by CD.
Free As A Bird was another Lennon song that was very, very autobiographical.
After years and years of pressure to come up with a new hit Beatles album or film or interview or solo album, John, in the mid 70's when he decided to become a full-time dad and "house husband", was finally "free as a bird".
With his wife, Yoko and his new son, Sean, John had finally found the stable family and home that he had always sought. I think this type of life had eluded him even when he was younger and married to Cynthia and fatehr of Julian. Now he had it and he was hell bent to hang on to it.
YOu could also hear John thinking back on his life a la "In My Life" and Strawberry Fields in the lines "Whatever happened to / the life that we once knew".Clearly, John had a very special affection for those those times, places and people he once knew before he became a Beatle and his entire world was turned upside down.
For somebody younger who isn't too knowledgeable about the Beatles and their music, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as a first purchase.
But for people of my generation who came of age in the sixties with the Beatles and the British invasion, this is a must-have CD.
Free Music Review: Great way to steal our money
Hit: 1 Stars
Don't get suckered into buying this. If these recordings had been previously rejected, it was for a good reason (yes, even if they are by the Fab Four!). Free As A Bird is a weak song and doesn't make purchasing an entire double album worthwhile. At the end of the day, it's just a way of squeezing money from unsuspecting beatlemaniacs.Free Music Review: Indespensible for the Beatles fan!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the first 2 CD set of the three part Beatles Anthology on CD. It provides the listener with great insight into and enjoyment of the very early Beatles' work as well as a great recording of a concert they did in Sweden just as they hit true stardom in Great Britain. There is a beautiful booklet some 46 pages long with photos and information about the recordings. The wonderful thing about the Beatles Anthology CD set is that the listener and fan can hear and read about the evolution of such songs as One after 909 (which wouldn't get released for six years after the versions you will hear on this CD set). There are recordings with the Beatles using different drummers as they searched for a drummer or on one occasion when Ringo was sick and couldn't play. I would strongly recommend this and the other two Beatles Anthology CD sets for the Beatles fan who truly wants to know the evolution of the Beatles sound. A must-have!