The Beatles - Live at the BBC
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Free Music Notes for Live at the BBC
Free Music Review: You really want to know what all the fuss was about?
Hit: 5 Stars
I didn't intend to write a review of this CD, but I was just rifling through the Beatles catalog and noticed that this was way toward the bottom, which meant that, in terms of sales rank, that's also where is was. To think that more people are buying the Anthology series than this is a damn shame. I guess it's easy to overlook this CD. It came out before all the hype over the anthology, and had been cut out by that time. Also, for some reason, many regard the Beatles' early recordings (before Rubber Soul and Revolver) as dismissable.
Boy, are they missing out! Music does not have to impart a profound (or pretentious, depending on how you look at it) message in the lyrics to be profound. Just listen to Lennon's reading of Baby It's You on this collection and you'll know what I mean.
Maybe it's just a matter of perspective. Maybe younger fans just aren't looking for that niave rush that these guys generated with these songs. Maybe they need to feel that they are finding "the word". If so, they probably will find this album "kid stuff". But, believe me, it's not. In most cases, they lend more grace, excitement and musicainship to these songs than the original artists did, and in some cases that's no mean feat. Plus, they had impeccable taste in the songs they chose to cover. This CD is more than an historical document; much, much more. These are great songs, all given the Beatle touch, at a time when the Beatles were still hungry and at a performing peak. That would soon change.
But, this CD is relatively overlooked. I shouldn't be surprised, because Please, Please Me, With The Beatles and most disappointing, Hard Day's Night are also bringing up the rear in sales. That's a shame, because those CDs, like this one, contain the finest examples of early 60s music that exist, and, believe me, that is really saying something.
This is a classic record. It contains not only textbook examples of what made the Beatles great musically, but also some of the banter and humor that made them such cultural icons. The banter and the humor, like the music, stands up to repeated listening. If the Beatles music has moved you, and you haven't heard this CD, you should do yourself a favor and see what all the fuss was about.
Free Music Review: Great historical record and 'live' studio performances
Hit: 4 Stars
The Beatles 'Live at the BBC' is an excellent historical document that captures their early energy in 'live' studio recordings.The sound quality is sometimes less than great, and the performances are sometimes less than perfect, but this set is full of raw energy and enthusiasm, and the Beatles could were pretty tight as a unit. It's certainly worthwhile to hear them live without the legions of screaming fans and general poor sound quality of other live offerings.
Many of the early classics by the Lennon/McCartney team are here, such as "Thank You Girl," "I Saw Her Standing There," "Can't Buy Me Love," "A Hard Day's Night," "I Wanna Be You Man," "All My Loving," "Things We Said Today," "She's a Woman," "I Feel Fine," "I'm a Loser," and "Love Me Do."
There's also an unreleased original "I'll Be On My Way," that has kind of Buddy Holly meets "I'll Follow the Sun" feel to it, with nice harmonies by John and Paul.
There are also little interview snippets that offer a glimpse of the Beatles' wry humor, and one can imagine them cutting it up in the studio. The real highlight is the number of covers that were never put on any of the studio records. These songs show us the various R&B, early rock and roll and rockabilly influences that the Beatles drew from to create their music.
They play songs from Elvis, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, The Shirelles and Buddy Holly. They also picked from the catalog of the great songwriting teams like Leiber/Stoller/Barrett and Goffin/King.
"I Got a Woman" was a hit by Ray Charles and also recorded by Elvis. The Beatles play a faithful rendition here.
"Some Other Guy" captures an early example of Mersey Beat and the Liverpool sound.
"That's All Right (Mama)" is another Elvis tune, with Paul on vocals, and a tasty country twang, although the sound quality lacks on this cut.
"To Know Her Is To Love Her" was a big hit in the States, and the Beatle harmonies really shine here.
"Memphis Tennessee" by Chuck Berry has a loopy guitar line and lead vocal by John.
On "Lucille" Paul does some great belting in Little Richard style.
George pulls out an obscure nugget in "Nothin' Shakin'" with some cool rockabilly twang.
"The Hippy Hippy Shake" was a hit for the Swinging Blue Jeans in 1964, and resurfaced on the soundtrack for the Tom Cruise movie "Cocktail."
There are also versions of covers that appeared on Beatle records, such as "Baby It's You," "You Really Got a Hold On Me," "Long Tall Sally," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," and "Slow Down."
This is a fine collection with plenty of early rock gems.
Free Music Review: una joya musical...a musical treasure trove!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
This CD caught me by surprise when it was released; having the official Beatles catalogue on cassette at the time, i thought that i had heard it all...i was so wrong! The first thing is that the bulk of these recordings are good quality songs performed live for radio (nothing like those poor sounding Hamburg performances)...there are great songs to be found here, many that have never made it to the Beatles albums...a real hilight for me is "i'll be on my way" a Lennon & McCartney original...you'll also find an assortment of rock n' roll covers...songs like "carol" "johhny be goode" "lucille" "youn g Blood"...Harrison's guitar, raw and full of energy shines throughout this set...the Beatles really kick up some dust here.....the whole package is wonderful including the descriptive booklet...what took it so long to get these released baffles me...this set is a treasure trove not just for Beatle fans but it is a piece of rock n' roll history for all to enjoy of time when they was fab....Free Music Review: Innocence and Authenticity
Hit: 5 Stars
Those two words sum up why I enjoy this disc even more than the 3 Anthologies. Listening to it I can envision being a girl in 60's England listening to the BBC. The Beatles really seem to be having a lot of fun, and the performances are outstanding. I get chills hearing their cover of "Soldier of Love". A must have for anyone's collection to understand what it was all about.Free Music Review: Beatles Live!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a great set of music with The Beatles playing some of their early original songs, plus covering lots of other songs many people have never heard them play. The sound quality is good, except for a couple of tracks. It's great to hear them play live without being drowned out by screams from the fans. The banter in-between songs is also funny and interesting to hear. This is a great addition to any Beatle collection.