Past Masters Volume Two - Beatles (The) (CD 1988)

I was never a big Beatles fan. I didn t have anything against them, I just hadn t paid them much attention. When I met my friend Mike, he was a HUGE Beatles fan. So I got to hear a few things here and there. Going through my Book of the Month Club catalog one day I saw this CD listed. I knew I hadn t seen it in Mike s collection, so I ordered it, having no idea what it was. It wasn t until it arrived that I discovered it s a collection of 15 singles issued from 1965 through 1970, all independent of supporting albums. The point was, if you had both PAST MASTERS compilations plus the 13 original albums (based on the UK editions), you would have everything The Beatles had commercially issued. Mike already had the songs included. So I kept the CD.

By the time I finally got to listen to it, I was amazed at how many of the songs I recognized. I d heard some Beatles while hanging out with Mike, but not much. And yet I recognized at least 13 of the 15 tracks. From that first note in Day Tripper to the screaming Revolution intro, and on through the anthemic end of Let it Be , PAST MASTERS, Volume Two was like coming home to old friends I d never met.

That s the nice thing about a collection like this, it gives the non-fan like me something they can enjoy because every song on here was a single. So I m not going into it, picking up the odd song here and there I recognize, and then having to become familiar with the others--I already knew these songs.

I m still not a huge fan, but I have added to my collection over the years. However, I still find myself returning most often to PAST MASTERS, Volume Two. There s something about the songs on here I think I connect most with musically. The songs are full of life and energy, just like the 2-minute pop tunes they turned out just 2 years earlier, but The Beatles of 1965 had learned a lot about layering and building a more complex song, even one as pointless as the closer You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) , they were doing more than just going into the studio and laying down a quick tune.

Is it common for a band to go through such growth in such a short time? Doesn t matter. It happened and the music world is all the better for it.

The CD transfer is brilliant; the music is crisp and there s no sign of these songs being, then, almost 30 years old.

Everyone gets their moment to shine (except Ringo, of course, but his drums are so clear on the CD, it s like he s in the next room). George Harrison s got Old Brown Shoe , John s got Across the Universe (the Wildlife version, referred to as such because this version first appeared on the World Wildlife Fund s charity album in 1969). Paul s got Hey Jude , and the band as a whole rocks out with the other songs, Don t Let Me Down being the one that seems to gain even more favor in my mind every time I hear it.

The only rough spots are the annoying Inner Light , a George Harrison Indian-inspired song, and that last mess, You Know My Name , a collage of 5 separate parts that took 34 months to complete. Any song takes THAT long to get down, trash it and move on, and that s exactly what The Beatles should have done with that one.

But these are just two minor problems, easily solved with the Track Forward button.

PAST MASTERS Volume Two isn t something only the strict fans can dig, ANYONE who enjoys music will find something on here they love, even if they d never been a Beatles fan before. It s just a fact of life, The Beatles knew what they were doing, and they did it better than anyone else.

Track list:
Day Tripper
We Can Work it Out
Paperback Writer
Rain
Lady Madonna
The Inner Light
Hey Jude
Revolution
Get Back (with Billy Preston)
Don t Let Me Down (with Billy Preston)
The Ballad of John and Yoko
Old Brown Shoe
Across the Universe
Let It Be
You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)