1967-1970 (Blue Album) - Beatles (The) (CD 1993)

What s this? I haven t written anything but beer reviews for some time, you may have noticed. I wrote a few music and movie reviews in my early days of epinions, but I think you d have to go back to December and before to find them.

So why am I writing a review on a Beatles compilation? Well as much as I ve written about beer, I can say that I know more about the Beatles. I was checking around a few music reviews and epinions has inserted the footer in each review: Not for you? Try this . I ve seen that Beatles CD pop up so many times that I was tempted to give it a listen earlier today.

Let me start out by saying that I, unlike millions of others, did not rush out and buy the One CD released just before Christmas. Why? Because I own all the Beatles albums, the anthologies and these earlier collections, which if you didn t know were split into 2 double CD s. At the time I bought them it was actually 4 cassettes, all sold separately.

The 2 CD s are as follows:
The Beatles/ 1962-1966 (The Red One) which I may review later
The Beatles/ 1967-1970 (The Blue One) which I cover in this review.

What is The Blue Album ?
As I just mentioned it is a collection of Beatles songs between 1967 and 1970. As an alternate music fan this was my first introduction to The Beatles sometime around 1992/93. These later career tracks were introduced to me by a friend, and I later went out and bought the 2 cassettes that now consist this double CD. It is as a starting point to modern ears that I would recommend this compilation.

Basically the two CD s cover the Beatles at their most creative and experimental. Gone are the earlier love ballads, with pretty straightforward guitar strings (by today s standards that is), and in came the psychedelic experimentation of what must be some of the most influential contributions to music ever produced. The Beatles had stopped touring, allowing them more time to play around in the studio. They were also multi-millionaires by now, allowing them the chance to pretty much spend their time however they pleased.

For ease of use, I organized the tracks on the compilation, under the original album they appeared on.

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Disc 1
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I start with track#3, as #1 and #2 were recorded earlier but did not appear on an album until later.

Sgt. Pepper s
This may have been heralded as the best themed album of all time, something John Lennon puts down to pure coincidence, but at the same time was not too heavy in the way of hit singles, producing maybe only 2 songs of singular significance.

#3 Sgt. Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band, merely serves as an intro to that album and probably should have been the first track on this album. As a record by itself I don t feel the song carries much weight except in considering the memory of the band.

#4 With a Little Help From My Friends. This is a song that probably shouldn t make a Beatles greatest hits album except for the fact that it links in from the end of the previous track. How could they introduce Billy Shears (a joke referring to Ringo s interest in hair styling) without the track that it refers to? I feel that Joe Cocker covered this song with much greater feel and emotion in later years, and that Ringo could not really do the lyrics justice.

#5 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. A song that created as much controversy as the Bigger than God statement. At heart it s some kind of psychedelic nursery rhyme. The more alert noted the fact that the title carried the initials LSD, and that the lyrics were something derived from an acid trip. Controversial or not, this song has a great mellow tune, backed by some of the most imaginative lyrics. Who cares what inspired it.

#6 A Day in the Life is probably one of the Beatles greatest ever records and closes out the Sgt. Pepper album. The track combines a string orchestra with a haunting deep piano sound and John Lennon s harrowing voice. The lyrics are very well strung together and very clever in their simplicity. I read the news today, oh boy , is a memorable line and I d love to turn you on , was something a little daring and risqu for its time.

Magical Mystery Tour
The movie may have failed, but it certainly brought with it the greatest collection of Beatles singles.

#1 Strawberry Fields Forever. This is my favorite Beatles track. Not only are the lyrics of confused perceptions and misunderstanding something we all can relate, to the music is unbelievable, and like Tomorrow Never Knows years ahead of its time. The music was actually recorded as three separate tracks, something you can understand better if you hear the three versions on the anthology album. Imagine what these guys could have achieved with today s technology.

#2 Penny Lane. Maybe should be dubbed Memory Lane , a nice song with nice lyrics if nothing exceptional.

#7 All you Need is Love. A song that was released and performed live for a worldwide TV audience, sending out a message to the people of that generation. Worked very well for its time, but also sounds great to us later fans, combining the backing vocals of love, love, love , to John s more subtle message.

#8 I am the Walrus. Another one of the great innovative contributions. Inventive lyrics, in which John creates his own vocabulary, combine with innovative music. For those who didn t hear Glass Onion , The Walrus was Paul . By the way Oasis regularly perform a great live cover version.

#9 Hello Goodbye. This is another of my favorite tracks, combining the group s regular drum and guitar line-up with background strings. The lyrics may be simple, but you get a feeling from the video, that this was one of the few times in later years that John and Paul were showing a collaboration and true friendship.

#10 The Fool on the Hill. A pretty lackluster if not sad track, and pretty much a Paul solo.

#11 Magical Mystery Tour. The title track which refers to a bus ride, but makes you think they were going along for something a little more. Roll Up , Mystery Trip , Dying to take you away .

#12 Lady Madonna. A track I find a little irritating, due to being overplayed on classic radio when I was a kid. Nice lyrics and a typical Paul style song.

Not on an album
#13 Hey Jude. The song loved by fans and non-fans. This was released at a time when the Beatles machine seemed to be winding down a little and really kick started them into a couple more albums. This is another effort that is essentially a Paul solo, but probably their most memorable.

#14 Revolution. As the band were pretty much going their separate ways and pretty much just backing each other s tracks, this is a single that would define the direction that John was headed. A slower more mellow version of this song appears on The White Album.

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Disc 2
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The White Album
As the 4 were pretty much going their own way, this became even more evident on the White Album, which was essentially a collection of solo efforts.

#1 Back in the USSR. Very Beach Boys stylish, which is amusing as this song does not refer to California beach babes, but less glamorous parts of the world.

#2 While my Guitar Gently Weeps. Written by George Harrison, this song doesn t make much sense until you add Eric Clapton s excellent weeping guitar. One of George s best contributions to the band.

#3 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. What does that mean? Well, as the song explains, it means life goes on . It s a pretty silly song really but very happy sounding and a good change of pace, a little like Hello, Goodbye

Abbey Road
The chronological sequence gains a little more confusion here, as the band worked on Let it Be, broke up then only agreed to get back together for a pure rock n roll album.

#8 Here Comes the Sun. Another excellent record from George, a mellow perfectly suited summertime tune.

#9 Come Together. Cryptic lyrics, nicely put together guitar and drum sounds.

#10 Something. One of the greatest love songs of all time written by George.

#11 Octopus s Garden. A song that I thought had sexual innuendos all over it, until I heard it was written by Ringo, and you have to take it for the simplicity that it actually is.

Not on an Album

#5 Don t Let me Down. B-side to Get Back . Not one of my favorites and probably more indicative of John s later solo career.

#6 The Ballad of John & Yoko. Pretty much a pure tale of the couple s efforts to live happily, in the face of press and public interference. I never really read much into this song, but one of my friends once told me it was his favorite Beatles tune.

#7 Old Brown Shoe. B-side to Ballad of John & Yoko . Written by George, a nice sounding tune but again not one to get excited about.

Let it Be
Recorded some time earlier and pieced together after the band were pretty much disbanded. Of course they did get together for the movie and rooftop playing of these songs.

#4 Get Back. A song that will be remembered by many as part of their rooftop finale. Another trip back to the band s rock n roll roots. Maybe that s what the line Get back to where you once belong actually refers to.

#12 Let it Be. Kind of a follow up to the Hey Jude formula. A very memorable song, if not quite as great as Hey Jude. Personally I like the Sesame Street cover, Letter B .

#13 Across the Universe. Some of the most poetic and heart-felt lyrics strung together by John. Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup, they slither wildly as they slip away across the universe. Thoughts meander .. Sheer poetry.

#14 The Long and Winding Road. This song pretty much tells you time for bed . To me, it evokes images of the end of The Beatles.

Verdict
Between this album and The Red Album, Beatles fans get a pretty comprehensive coverage of their work. I recommend that you start out with this one, as there is much more that can be compared to the music of today. This only really works as a starting point though, as if you have other Beatles stuff, you probably don t need it.

What this album misses
To say the obvious, it misses some of the earlier hits: Yesterday, She Loves You, Ticket to Ride, Eleanor Rigby, In My Life to name a few. But these are all available on the earlier Red Album.

I could have also eliminated 6 songs form disc 2, had I been the producer, and made room for the following omissions:
Dear Prudence
Two of Us
Helter Skelter
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Birthday
Sexy Sadie

Also unless you buy the original albums you ll miss out on a couple of master pieces that only work in their entirety such as the wonderfully put together Sgt. Pepper or the Rock n Roll medley on the second half of Abbey Road. In both of these there is not one outstanding song to throw onto a greatest hits but they make excellent listening in their original format.

The Last Word
So in short if you have some cash to spare, go out and buy all the albums. You can t go wrong; they re not the greatest band of all time for nothing. On the other hand if you want a sample of their work forget the One album, which is based on commercially successful hits and buy the two compilations I speak of here. Like I said, emphasis on The Blue Album, which is the height of their contribution.