Anthology
Well, I give 5 stars ONLY and ONLY for Free as a Bird, which stands along with Dear Prudence, Come Together and other great masterpieces... it is just amazing how they managed to create such a great song having just an old tape with Lennon singing!... Also Leave My Kitten Alone deserves some attention... surprising it wasn't on Please Please Me or With THe Beatles... the problem is that without these two songs the Anthology isn't worth a penny, for it is a compilation of early performances, some of them even featuring Pete Best, so if you feel like spending 30$ on some history, go ahead, for those who expect something new and of good quality, better find Free as a bird single and you wouldn't be dissapointed...
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This is previously unreleased material, not masters... 5 star for historic value alone
First off, this CD gets 5 stars for historic value alone. No, John, Paul, George and Ringo weren't at the height of their abilities then (Ringo wasn't even involved through much of this.) However, these are fairly good, very interesting recordings. I'm not a music theory expert, or anything but I don't see- or hear- what's so out of tune, tempo, and harmony, according to one of the negative reviews. Nothing seems off key, and to a Beatles fan, this stuff is fun, and some of their great wit is present here. No, there earliest, previously unreleased originals are not lyrically or musically great, but not terrible (and 'Youl'll be Mine' is a hoot if you can make out the words.) The recording qaulity is very poor on some of the VERY earliest recordings but, but there old, and the musicanship (is that a word?) still seems pretty good. In fact 'Cry for a Shadow', an early instrumental, is great material. As for the Decca tapes, they're not great, although that could be because of Brian Epstein's selections, of which we hear five here. Still, 'Three Cool Cats' is great fun (with George's lead vocal),as is Searchin', and one would have though Paul's 'Like Dreamers Do' would have sold Decca the group, at least as songwriters. 'Hello Little Girl' and Sheak of Araby' were okay, too. We hear some of Stuart Sutcliff's bass (in very poor qaulity), and some of Pete Best's drums (Ringo was clearly WAY better.) The early sessions with George Martin are interestig, not bad ( the false starts section for 'One of 909' is really fun(ny).) The live cuts (I saw Her Standing There, Roll Over Beethoven, etc.) that end disc one are of course great. I listen to dsic 2 less but great material (an early cut of 'Can't buy Me Love', 'And I Love Her, Eight Days a Week, Hard Day's Night, et al.) abound. Watch also for the Ed Sullivan Show performance of 'All my Loving'. There is also material from the Royal Command performance- priceless.
Of course 'Free as a Bird' is here, and if you love the Beatles, you'll want to own it, although 'Real Love' (on Anthology 2), is a better song. The audio snippets help narrate you through, and are generally interesting and enlightening (same for the liner notes in the booklet), although most of them are of medicore audio qaulity. They don't annoy me, and although absent on later 'Anthologies', create a smooth guide from track to track here (with the notes of course.)
Finally, to the one star reviewer I refered to earlier: I looked up all the people you list as "great guitarists... great drummers"- they are all jazz musicians. Now, I have nothing against jazz, in fact it's a side interest of mine, but comparing the Beatles to jazz is apples to oranges, to use the cliched analogy, for lack of a better one. You can't compare jazz to pop/rock (especially early 60s pop/rock), and in fact, I can't imagine how someone with your tastes, wondered into/got interested in the Beatles, to begin with. In short, the styles, practiced skills, theories, and criteria for good musicians/songs are simply different in these two, very different genres. Sorry you don't like this stuff. I like this and jazz. Make peace with the fact that its apples and oranges, and its the Beatles and your tastes.
(SIDE NOTE: Don't even get me started on the reviewer who prefers the Stones; I'll address that in another review.)
So, sorry for all the ranting. Overall I give Anthology one, 5 stars for historic value alone (the music isn't bad either.) But don't buy if you're not a 'diehard fan' or are just starting a collection!
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