Old is new. The familiar reinvented.
A Beatles album — LOVE — is here just in time for Christmas.
I think it will be one of the biggest selling recordings of all time. You can listen to the entire album on-line free as part of the kickoff promotion. (I’m listening to it right now.)
This is part of the astonishing Beatles collaboration with Cirque du Soleil.
A far more eloquent review than I could write:
I’ve been listening to the Beatles’ soundtrack to their Cirque du Soleil project, called “Love,” all weekend and loving it.
… the CD should really be called “George Martin Presents the Beatles in ‘Love.’” because Martin — who produced just about everything the Beatles ever recorded — is the mastermind here with his son, Giles. They’ve taken every bit of existing recorded Beatles material and twisted it — I believe “mashed up” is the new term — into a completely new presentation that every fan will need to have in their collections.
Some of the songs remain in their intact state, and some are merely tweaked. The majestic “Hey Jude,” for example, is shortened to good effect and made into a bit more of a rave up. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” however, is totally reborn from an unreleased demo and newly recorded strings which Martin brilliantly added. Ringo’s “Octopus’s Garden” and “Good Night” are laid on top of each other like a collage, with “Garden” getting a dramatic staging.
Martin is also clever adding in little bits of trivia. Since the Beatles were the first group to get fans playing records backwards for messages, he reverses “Sun King” from “Abbey Road” and calls it “Gnik Nus” as a transition into “Something.” And the “She Loves You” outro from “All You Need Is Love,” which was always an understated extra, now gets major emphasis.
Did I mention the sound? Most of the Beatles CDs were made by Martin in 1987 and never touched again. The “White Album” was re-equalized at one point, and “Yellow Submarine” was remastered for its DVD re-release, but most of it has remained the same … until now.
On “Love,” the sound is gorgeous and warm, clearly remastered. And the deluxe package comes with a DVD-Audio disc for home theater enthusiasts. A lot of fans may wind up switching their DVD players into their stereo systems just to hear this version. It’s that good.
Rick McCharles 