The Beatles - Yellow Submarine (Songtrack)
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Free Music Notes for Yellow Submarine (Songtrack)
Free Music Review: Not bad at All, but a Little Messy
Hit: 4 Stars
I don't understand why some people are so negative towards this album, Sure it's a re-issue and some of the less knowns sountrack songs from the original albums are long gone and replaced by more well known songs from other albums. I don't blame them for that, I even thing this compilation is better then the original version even if it is less original. I'll just rate song for song here.
It starts with the title track that is sang by Ringo Starr and is well known for everyone "Yellow Submarine", a catchy meliodic pop song. Next song is another great one "Hey Bulldog", it's a psychedelic Lennon song with great hook and catchy riffs. Third song is "Eleanor Rigby" that originally wasn't part of this album, a melancholy classic beatles song that is always welcomed though. "Love You do" is also new, it's a indian inspired song, quite odd but catchy. "All Together Now" is a catchy pop song from McCartney typical for the late 60's. "Lucy In the Sky" is next, also new. "Think For Yourself", a decennt pop-rock song, not part of the original album either. "Sgt Peppers" is added aswell, why? "With A little Help from My friends" also added and "Baby You're a Rich man".
"Only a Northern Song" was part of the classic 1969 album. It's also a decent psychedelic song with a great addition of instruments. Harrison song. "All You Need is Love" is next "When I'm Sixty Four", "Nowhere Man" that is much older. "It's All too Much" was however part of the original album and it's one of the best here. I especially love the instruments used. It's a essential psychedelic Beatle's song written once again by Harrison.
This album is great, with the additions it becomes stronger then before, but too messy. Many songs added from diffrent albums like "Nowhere Man" and "Think for Yourself" that were made already in 1965 and you can hear that on their sound. They don't fit in here. "Sgt Peppers" and "Lucy" are also songs I connect with totally diffrent Beatle's albums. However, all songs are good here, so no need to complain. 4/5
Free Music Review: the falsification
Hit: 2 Stars
I could have done a better remix on my computer. My computer supports sound effects like pitch and tempo, and I could compress some 2 hours of music into half hour with no problem, and all this I could do in a way it would still sound like the Beatles. This record sounds like Wings, it doesn't sound even like Elvis, no, this is more Like Edith Piaf chansones. The title and contents are somewhat misleading, you'd think this is the Yellow Submarine when it is in fact just another compilation. Every collector probably knows that compilatios compared to originals are just an error in one's budget in a long term. The producers should therefore name this record Oldies but goldies II, or Part Masters III or something like that. Why am I complaining, what is the worst thing about this release? Well I'm just sad for whoever bought this record will save their money on original I suppose. And original, Yellow Submarine Soundtrack, although it consists of a couple of White album leftovers, also features the fifth Beatle on B side and is something quite unique in Beatles' opus. Engineers' effort in remixing would be nice if it wastn't rewriting the history, the Beatles are not all about Paul's musicianship you know, and you are not doing anyone a favor by increasing the volume on his bass guitar and singing. Just a rip off. The Beatles with Tony Sheridan is better investment than this one.Free Music Review: Northern Songs with fresh sound!
Hit: 5 Stars
There is something inherently 'wrong' in trying to remix songs by The Beatles. It's true, their music was recorded with technology that is not even by a slim chance comparable with today's standards, in an old time in which analogue machines and 4 and 8-track recorders were used, and, to get a richer sound, the bands had to be inventive but realistic at the same time; so people wonder what would the music of the best band of the world sound like given that they could have the best technology available and could incorporate more and more sounds to their already rich patterns, especially in the songs from their 'psychedelic' era (1965-67). And whilst that is a valuable question, many others make it clear that it was the intelligence in trying to make the original songs sound like fresh sound anthems with that poor technology what makes their sound so pure and unvaluable now... and because of this very same reason, re-work the Beatles's songs from their very beginning, and trying to do something different ('new') with them is an effort that would always cause a bit of tension between fans.
This is one of the consequences that Yellow Submarine Songtrack brought to Beatle fans around the world. But once they heard the improvements in most of the songs, they were obviously well-impressed. The album came out as the audio companion to the re-release in DVD and VHS of the cartoon movie Yellow Submarine (possibly the best of the 'Beatles' movies even though they actually weren't in them as their voices were dubbed by actors), and as a replacement to the old Yellow Submarine album, which included Beatles songs in one half (six, four of which were already released in other albums) and the George Martin orchestral score for the movie in the other, and was, mainly because of this reason, the only one of the Beatles albums that never got to #1 during their lifetime as a group, and in quality terms their worst effort. At the time they didn't even care about that movie, since they didn't think a cartoon film about them in their psychedelic epoque would actually work (the movie was released in the wake of the infamous White Album, which saw the band totally changing their sounds to a more direct and 'empty' pattern), so they didn't actually *record* songs especially meant for the movie... they used some others that they had recorded previously instead.
While the original album gave us all the new songs featured in the film plus the title track and the hippie anthem "All You Need Is Love", people were still missing more than half of the (important) songs of the movie. This CD is an attempt of recovering all of the songs used in it, and an experiment in working with them, cleaning their sound, putting different instruments in the front mix, and, with the deserved respect, 'remix' The Beatles tunes. The results, almost all the time, are interesting, even if you're like me and you're not an expert in sound engineering. The version of "All You Need Is Love" *does* sound fresher, and cleaner, with the orchestra part totally reworked and rearranged in the mix; George Harrison's "It's All Too Much" recovers the magic that was lost in the horrible mix that appeared on the original album, and now we see it as the impeccable collage of mellotrons, distorted guitars, screaming sounds, tape loops, backwards talking and percussive thumbs that adorn a great love song that should have been the anthem for the summer of love... if it wasn't for "All You Need Is Love". "Only A Northern Song", also by Harrison, is another track that is recovered from oblivion, thanks to a cleaner mix and a fantastic work with the distorted orchestra and the vocal; Paul McCartney's "All Together Now", a childish wordplay just as "Yellow Submarine" was, sounds softer but more powerful at the same time with the characteristic horn a little bit hidden in the mix, and with more echo in the vocals. But the total winner of the recovered songs is the powerful rocking track "Hey Bulldog", a Lennon-written lirically-confusing theme, with amazing piano riffs filled in sound with impressive work of the rest of the instruments, making it all up for one of the best 'forgotten' Beatles tunes, a song that every fan should hear. A single was planned to be released in order to promote the CD in 1999, but the idea was vetoed, even though footage was found of the band actually recording this song (the footage was originally used in the promo video for "Lady Madonna"), and a video was made, which decent amounts of rotation through MTV and other music channels, which just proves that a great song can be greatly appreciated even thirty years after its recording.
The mixing changes in the Revolver and Rubber Soul tracks was not as notorious in the other ones: "Yellow Submarine" does feature an additional Lennon-responding vocal ("a life of ease!") and a couple of more sound effects which were heard in the original mono version; "Eleanor Rigby" and "Love You To" sound stronger but the change is almost imperceptible, just like "Think For Yourself". John Lennon's "Nowhere Man" sees its echoes augmented, and the "treble-y" guitars brought up to the mix, making it up for a very welcome change. In Sgt.Pepper's tracks the use of the technology is mesmerizing, as the new mix for "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" emphazises the indian instruments used by the song, and give an inspired air of importance to John Lennon's lead vocal; just as the tougher sound applied to "With A Little Help From My Friends" helps one to hear in a better way the best vocal outing by Ringo Starr; and "Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" sounds fresh and terrific as always, but even stronger. My only complain would be "When I'm Sixty-Four", a song that I've never liked that much and that doesn't suffer from huge changes in the mix either. It does sound fresh, though, in the environment of the movie, which is so crazy and typical of its time.
The sound treatment is almost impeccable in most of the cases; and the CD is the perfect company for the movie; even though one misses a remixing of "A Day In The Life" since a big part of the song (the wacky orchestra ending) does appear in the movie. The booklet leaves a lot to be desired, though, being only a huge poster of the movie's characters and scenery, but the whole deal is amazing. You get a glimpse of what The Beatles' catalogue would sound if remixed carefully. A great experience for a long-term Beatles fan, that should have this in their collection, and not only for completist's sake, but also for pleasure and for playing it out really loud.
Free Music Review: I can't believe all you whiners!
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm glad to see that this songtrack of Yellow Submarine was released. And all the songs were remastered fabulously. If you don't like it, don't keep it.
The only track that I don't prefer the remastering of, is "Hey Bulldog". It's a raw sounding rough rocker, which, on the original "Yellow Submarine" album, sounded much tinnier. That tinniness actually contributed to what made it sound so raw, and with evidence of angst. This new mastered version sounds much more flat. But, I'll let that go.
My second quib, would be that I would have prefered to have "Sgt. Pepper" and "With a Little Help from My Friends" as one track, not split into two separate tracks. I like to shuffle the play of my CD's which helps to keep a CD's appeal fresh.
But, my third, and most disappointing quib, is that the George Martin instrumentals of the original "Yellow Submarine" (Side Two), is not on this collection. I love those seven instrumentals. I've always thought that that music was great and, to me, makes it one of my most favorite Beatles CDs. If I've only got 18 minutes to spare to kick back to some music, I often grab the original "Yellow Submarine" CD, and jump to track seven and kick back and gel.
I agree with some other reviewer of the original "Yellow Submarine" CD, that it would be great if all the predominately George Martin compositions from all the Beatles albums could be put together and remastered onto one CD.
I keep them both. The original and the remastered. Perhaps you whiners would have been happier if the entire "Yellow Submarine" concept never came to be.
Free Music Review: I wish I lived in a Yellow Submarine...
Hit: 4 Stars
Sure, this album is more or less a 'Greatest Hits' compilation, and not a 'real' album, but it's a terrific addition to my CD collection. The new remixes are very nice. I really like how "Baby, You're A Rich Man" sounds here. I like having the vocals centered rather than off to the side as well. It sounds a lot better to me. The songs available only here, of course, are the real reason I bought this. "Only a Northern Song" and "It's All Too Much" are fantastic. George is my favorite Beatle. The Lennon/McCartney tunes are decent, but almost throwaway.
Get this album, but only if you don't have the original version. If ya have that one, this one's pretty skippable, nice remixes or not.