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

I realize it s just a collection of singles, B-sides and alternate material not found on any Beatles LP, but I ve always considered Past Masters 2 an actual album like Revolver or Sgt. Pepper. It has a distinct evolutionary flow that ties together the poppier early sound, the psychedelic period and the laid-back, acoustic tracks of 1969 and 1970. It s also, for the most part, free of the filler that marred the first Past Masters collection.

The B-side/A-side combo of Day Tripper and We Can Work it Out are first up. The album opener, with its now-classic lead guitar line and vibrant Ringo Starr percussion, would have been perfect on Rubber Soul. (As the liner notes mention, the single was released the same day as that 1965 classic but was nowhere to be found on the album. Vicious marketing techniques that would never work now.) We Can the A-side, is a silky piece of Paul McCartney fluff with accordion overdubs.

McCartney again gets the A-side (as was his custom) with Paperback Writer, a rollicking first-person track about an author trying to sell his thousand-page dirty story of a dirty man. The B-side, Rain, is a funky, psychedelic John Lennon track with distorted vocals and the band s first instance of backmasked guitar and vocals.

Then it s back to McCartney with Lady Madonna, a classic piano rocker with a Motown-esque sax solo and ample homage to working mothers. Harrison s The Inner Light is that song s B-side, with Indian session musicians providing most of the music, including more than any British citizen s allotted share of sitar. The song is unfocused from the beginning, and aside from some fast-handed snake-charming instrumentation is purely filler.

There s not a person alive who hasn t heard Hey Jude at least once. The McCartney anthem was the Beatles biggest chart hit and has since become just as clich as Yesterday or Let It Be. It s also heartfelt and catchy-as-hell, with quiet harmony vocals from John and George and surprisingly competent drum fills from Ringo. The B-side, Revolution, is equally recognizable, although I prefer the slowed-down version from the White Album. The wild, distorted guitar work, to me, doesn t seem to mesh with the rest of the song.

Another McCartney #1, Get Back, was contained on Let It Be, but this version, which loses the spoken intros and outros and adds an instrumental fade, is longer and superior. Its B-side, Don t Let Me Down, is one of the best raucous drunken scream-alongs Lennon ever devised, with bluesy, funk-ridden verses and emotionally intense choruses.

John and Paul cranked out The Ballad of John and Yoko in just eight hours and, although I know people who despise it, it s always been a catchy, bass-filled favorite of mine. Lennon enters a world of strict self-indulgence, telling the story of his quickly planned marriage to Yoko and complaining about a cold reception from the press. ( The way things are going, they re gonna crucify me. ) Paul s harmony vocals are just the right combination of raw and hurried.

Still, the B-side, Harrison s Old Brown Shoe, is far superior. Simple piano and bass parts accompany a fast-paced love song (although the vocals are, unfortunately, buried in the mix) with a terrific guitar solo. Then there s an alternate version of Across the Universe featured on a charity compilation for the World Wildlife Fund. You ll know this instantly from the hokey animal sound effects in the song s intro, although those who hated Phil Spector s choir and string add-ons will be glad to know this version features John and his guitar all by themselves.

Let It Be is also contained on Past Masters in a different version, which has slight percussive differences and a guitar solo more conducive to the song s quiet nature. Its B-side, You Know My Name (Look Up the Number), is a love-it-or-hate-it throwaway whose roots go back to 1967. Its orientation seems to change every minute or so, but the chorus (the song s lyrics, shouted, at high volume) remains the same. Obnoxious, yes, but it has its value.

Past Masters 2 is an essential album to round out your Beatles collection. Some of the tracks aren t exactly stellar, but enough of them are absolutely canonical (and not on any other album) that you should definitely ignore the plain packaging and pick this one up if you haven t already.