Music |
The Beatles
By
Published: May 20, 2009
Category:
Rock
The bullet that exploded John F. Kennedy’s head on November 22, 1963 went right on to shatter the hearts of a lot of idealistic kids, mine included. I was a senior in boarding school then, with great grades and a lovely girlfriend and an early guarantee of admission to Harvard. Nothing mattered. A darkness had descended with Kennedy’s murder, and it felt as if it was going to be unending.
Then The Beatles arrived, and, miraculously, spirits lifted. By March of 1964, 60% of the music sold in America was created by these four Liverpool rockers — and kids like me were studying their music as if we’d someday have to take an exam on it.
If you are a certain age, you know exactly where you were on significant dates: the first time you heard “Rubber Soul” or “Sgt. Pepper,” the day they broke up, the night Valdemort killed John Lennon. If you are younger, you just have the music. It’s not the same, but it’ll do.
Whatever your age, it’s not likely that that you think of The Beatles often or listen to their music with any frequency. Oh, they’re great — “the toppermost of the poppermost,” as John used to say — but they’re also known. There’s no discovery for us in their music, only nostalgia. And there’s no emotion lower than nostalgia.
But a few years ago, George Harrison and Guy Laliberte, the founder of Cirque du Soleil, got to talking, and out of that came “Love,” a visual extravaganza that blends Beatles music and Cirque theatrics. It’s playing in Las Vegas now, and the word from friends who have gone is “must see.”
The CD is half of this hybrid. Obviously, it’s constructed for dramatic effect — you know “Sgt. Pepper” and “All You Need Is Love” will be saved for the end. But set the visuals aside. Consider this CD strictly as a pastiche of 26 songs, remixed and remastered by legendary Beatles producer George Martin and his son Giles. What you get is something completely unexpected.
For the Martins do more than remix. They re-imagine. Working with every track the Beatles recorded, they take a few notes from here, a background vocal from there, a snippet of instrumentation, a shard of melody. And when they put it together, they’ve made something stunning — a new Beatles CD, The Beatles as you’ve never heard them before. It’s like having your ears power-cleaned and then listening to music for the first time.
The CD starts with bird sounds, which lead into “Because” — with no instruments, The Beatles singing like a cappella angels. Big spaces between the lines force you to pay close attention. And then rolling thunder sweeps across the horizon, bringing with it drums so sharp they sting and Paul McCartney’s vicious guitar; we’re into “Get Back.”
If you know The Beatles — I mean, really know them — this CD is a puzzle that’s hugely fun to crack. Reading the message boards, I see that many are up to the task:
The first two tracks incorporate the layered vocals from "Because," the nature sounds from "Across the Universe," the opening chord from "A Hard Day’s Night," the drum solo from "The End," the final piano chord and ascending orchestral line from "A Day in the Life," and then the meat of "Get Back," which itself segues seamlessly into the middle of "Glass Onion," literally without missing a beat. "Glass Onion" itself contains a few short seconds of "Hello Goodbye" and "Strawberry Fields" and melts into an echo-laden treatment of the "ahhh" vocalization that opens the lyrics of "Eleanor Rigby."
And more: I’ve learned that the guitar solo at the end of “Drive My Car” comes from “Taxman.” The harpsichord and trumpet at the end of “Strawberry Fields” was borrowed from “In My Life.” And the bass at the end of “Lady Madonna” once lived in “Hey Bulldog.”
The entire CD isn’t tricks. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” is buttressed only by the screams of cheering fans — exactly as we experienced it at Shea Stadium in that chaotic summer concert. Other songs are simply cleaned up, so you hear every crunch of the strings and every subtle stroke from the underrated Ringo Starr. But even what’s left alone is shortened and tightened, just so expertly you can’t tell how.
The effect? First, you think, “What great musicians.” And then you think about the nature of great art. The Martins could play games with these songs because they were simply better than anything out there; their brilliance invited fresh interpretation. Mediocrity, in contrast, is what it is. Good luck to the guy tasked with making something exciting out of songs that are — no matter how popular — straightforward and literal.
And then there’s the listener. I sat clutching my iPod for dear life, as if on an acid trip. The metaphor’s not just me being groaningly cool — it’s exact. Sounds and colors and ideas fly at you, whipsawing your emotions. If ever there were a soundtrack of your life, here it is, and, with eyes closed, you’ll see it all — your glory and your shame, your pride and your hope, and mostly, if you’re of a certain age and you’ve held on to some of your dreams, the kid who still cares about those despised ’60s values.
It’s quite the ride. I emerged a jumble — weeping and laughing, reflective and nostalgic, turned on and dead calm, forever young and older than God. And grateful for my life.
Can you listen to “Love” often? I don’t know. I gulped the joy, but the searing part — I’m not sure many will willingly go there. Still, if you only listen to “Love” once, what a movie you’ll see for $9.99!
I write in another dark time, with no sure hope for better. And, for the second time in my life, I’ve been rescued — however briefly — by The Beatles.
Here comes the sun.
To buy “Love” from Amazon.com, click here.
For information about the Cirque du Soleil production of “Love,” click here.
To buy “Abbey Road” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy “The White Album” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy “Rubber Soul” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy “Let It Be” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy “A Hard Day’s Night” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy “Revolver” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy “Help!” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy “Magical Mystery Tour” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy John Lennon’s “Imagine” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy John Lennon’s “Mind Games” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy Paul McCartney’s “Band on the Run” from Amazon.com, click here.
