Live at the BBC - Beatles (The) (CD 2001)

Between March of 1962 and June of 1965, The Beatles appeared on fifty-two BBC radio programs and sang a total of eighty-eight different songs. In 1994, George Martin was commissioned to compile and digitally remaster many of these songs, and the result was Live At The BBC-The Beatles.

This is a very important collection for any fan of The Beatles--for that matter, it's an important collection for any student of rock 'n roll music. Live At The BBC-The Beatles is not so much a Beatles' album as it as a collection of music of the artists that influenced them as musicians and songwriters. The vast majority of the sixty-nine tracks on this album are covers, and it's readily apparent who The Beatles were paying their respects to--these various artists were all influential in some way upon the four musicians who comprised the greatest rock 'n roll band in history.

Highlights Of Disc One

The influence of Chuck Berry was profound upon The Beatles, and their covers of Too Much Monkey Business, Carol, Johnny B. Goode, and Memphis indicate just how much respect The Beatles had for the king of rock 'n roll guitar. Paul McCartney's admiration for Little Richard (and his vocal style) is clearly shown by his performances of Lucille and Long Tall Sally--one of Paul's earliest performances (in middle school, I think) was when he jumped up on a desk with an acoustic guitar and did his impression of Little Richard by singing Tutti Frutti.

The bands' love for American soul music is exhibited by their covers of You Really Got A Hold On Me, which was a big hit for Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, and I Got A Woman, the Ray Charles classic that was also covered by Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison. Speaking of Elvis, Paul McCartney's cover of That's All Right Mama, the Arthur Crudup blues classic, sounds eerily like Elvis' version of the song. John Lennon's favorite rhythm and blues singer was Arthur Alexander, and The Beatles perform startling covers of A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues and Soldier Of Love.

The Beatles admired female singers too, and their covers of Baby It's You by The Shirelles, and Keep Your Hands Off My Baby by Little Eva give those tunes a whole new dimension with their all-male interpretation. The Beatles had an abiding love for shmaltzy show music, as witnessed by their covers of The Honeymoon Song and Till There Was You.

Highlights Of Disc Two

The Beatles do many of their early original songs on Disc Two, but they still manage to salute Chuck Berry once again with solid covers of Rock And Roll Music, Sweet Little Sixteen, and Roll Over Beethoven--George Harrison was a Chuck Berry student, and if you don't believe it, just listen closely. Harrison was also a Carl Perkins student, and much of his early guitar work on Beatle originals was influenced by the licks he emulated in covers of Matchbox and Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby.

John Lennon was a unabashed fan of the manic singing style of Larry Williams, and his later vocal style is hinted at in his cover of Dizzy Miss Lizzy (Lennon did a cover of Bad Boy, another Williams tune, on an American release, and he literally howled the lines!). George Harrison's love for early rockabilly led to the cover of Nothin' Shakin', by Eddie Fontaine, who, by the way, owes a debt of gratitude to the aformentioned Carl Perkins.

Both discs contain a lot of studio banter between all of The Beatles and the various hosts of the broadcasts--these little asides add to the informal feel of these live performances and provide an interesting glimpse into how it must have been to have heard a British radio broadcast in the early 1960's.

There are a total of sixty-nine tracks on this double album, and they're all solid gems. I had never heard any of them before I purchased this double album, so this music was really a treat for me. The live covers that The Beatles perform speak volumes about their musical roots, and the live versions of their originals show how these various styles worked to influence them.

This album comes with a forty-five page booklet that is loaded with information. There are details of each track, along with a little history of the BBC sessions. There are also several vintage photographs of the young Beatles which I think are priceless.

This is a good set to have--check it out.