The Beatles - Anthology 3
|
List Price: Our Price: $25.97 You Save: $9.01 (26%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $14.74 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Anthology 3
Free Music Review: Fitting end
Hit: 4 Stars
Disorganized, chaotic, and yet still brilliant: a perfect snapshot of the Beatles' turbulent final period. While this collection doesn't reach the dizzying heights of their second anthology, this does contain some very pretty and telling versions of songs we have come to love. The Escher recordings, at George's house, are a particular delight. No new songs to sell the album, but it's still a wonderful example of how individual flashes of brilliance would continue to light the Beatles during their downfall.Free Music Review: Brilliant and Beautiful
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the guys working out their songs in the studio. the cut of Helter Skelter is slowed way down and is wonderful. the liner notes are well written. It's very interesting to hear John Paul and George experiment and occasionally goof around while they put down some just exquisite tracks. the acoustic version of While my guitar... is wonderful as well. If you love the Beatles late work, this is absolutely necessary.Free Music Review: From "The Beatles" until "The End"
Hit: 4 Stars
Anthology 3 covers the period from 1968-1970 that includes the releases "The Beatles," "Abbey Road" and "Let it Be." As with the previous Anthology issues, it contains mostly outtakes, demos and early versions of well-known songs, plus several unreleased songs. It's best to be familiar with the thre disks mentioned above before delving into this material. The package is loaded with material, the liner notes are informative, and again, it's like being a fly on the wall of the studio listening to the development of some great songs. That said, some of these takes are far from great.Disk 1 is mostly material from "The Beatles" aka "The White Album" and reflects that disjointed period in the quality of many of these versions. A lot of these songs were written while the Beatles were in India, so there is an organic feel to the acoustic presentations. John Lennon entered a renewed period of prolific songwriting, and George Harrison was putting out a lot of material as well.
"Happiness is a Warm Gun" shows Lennon starting to put together this song, which was composed of three parts. Here we get the "I Need a Fix" and "Mother Superior" parts. "Helter Skelter" is a heavy dirge that lacks the intensity of the released version. "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam" are presented in early acoustic form, but would not reappear until Abbey Road. I kind of enjoyed the slightly altered "ObLaDi, ObLaDa" with a ... reggae feel. The real treats on this disk are the warm, intimate version of George's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with added verse that was left out on the electric version, and the heavy "Not Guilty" which George did as a lighter piece later in his solo career. "What's the New Mary Jane" has no real structure and seems to be endless.
Disk 2
This side kicks off with "I've Got a Feeling" and includes 12 selections that the Beatles recorded and filmed for the aborted "Get Back" project. George Harrison finally gets his due with versions of "For You Blue," "All Things Must Pass (not released until George's solo debut)," "Old Brown Shoe," a spare "Something," and "I Me Mine."
"Two of Us" lacks the spirit of the "Let it Be" version, a song about friendship during a period of disintegration. There's a version of "Get Back" here, similar to the regular release, but I wanted the rarely heard German language version. "Come and Get It" sound eerily like the version by Badfinger. "Because" without instruments showcases the beautiful three-part harmonies that John, Paul and George could produce. "The End" offers an extended guitar solo portion and one gets a feel of the style of the three string players.
Anthology 3 is a set worth owning, but if one is not yet familiar with the regular issued work, it might be disappointing. Use this as a supplement to study the music.
Free Music Review: Scraping the bottom of the barrel? Hardly.
Hit: 4 Stars
In actuality, the third anthology release is an essential artifact for Beatles fans, housing as it does one cd of outtakes from The White Album--which produced more (and more interesting) alternate versions of songs than any other Beatle release--plus the original "Get Back" versions of the songs that were eventually refashioned by Phil Spector into "Let It Be". The first disc is simply a delight; the acoustic demos have a gentle, soft-focus quality to them largely missing from the final album, while the alternate takes of "Obla-Di, Obla-Da" (taken at a much faster pace) and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (a clearer, simpler take) prove superior to the released versions. Unreleased tracks like "Not Guilty" and "What's The News Maryjane" are fascinating--the former being a delicious hard rocker with great closing guitar work, while the latter is an inspired piece of psychedelic Lennon lunacy that might have been a better replacement for "Revolution 9". Rough takes of other tracks like "Goodnight" and "Rocky Raccoon" are simply charming. The only complaint I can see here is that other possible moments remain locked in the vaults (such as the ten-minute take of "Revolution 1", more alternate takes of "Helter Skelter", "Yer Blues" jams, "Dear Prudence", etc.).
The second disc isn't quite as enjoyable as the first although it is still historic. The "Get Back" material found the group
plodding lazily through barely-rehearsed songs in somewhat sour spirits, although Billy Preston's presence livens things up on a rock'n'roll medley and the live rooftop version of "Get Back". Most imporantly, one gets to hear the quiet, unorchestrated "Long And Winding Road" which does prove superior to the Spectorized version. There could be more "Abbey Road" material (indeed, many years ago the fan club gave out an LP of superb outtakes of which only a few are included here), although
Lennon's early take of "Come Together" and light run-through of "Ain't She Sweet" make the grade, as do three gorgeous Harrison demos taped in February of '69. The opportunity to hear "Something" and "All Things Must Pass" in unplugged form is
not to be missed.
In all, if you are a Beatle fan this is quite simply not to be
passed up. This is hardly scraping the bottom of the barrel,
since many of the versions here are enjoyable and a few are even superior to the released versions.
Free Music Review: get back
Hit: 5 Stars
The Beatles Are The World Greatest Rock And Roll Band Of All Times. And The Songs Are Good You Can Hear Them Jaming And Doing Solo Work At Well And The Song Get Back Was GrGrGreat From The Roof Top Preformed.