Hey Jude - Beatles (The) (Cassette)

It's a curious thing that, considering how hard Capital Records worked to milk the Beatles cash cow, they never put out a proper Greatest Hits album during the band's lifetime. "Best Of..." records were an industry staple in the 60's, and such contemporaries of the Fab Four as the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Hollies, and many others had already put out compilations of hit singles. And, considering that so many of the Top 40 hits by the Beatles weren't available on any albums, the need for a comprehensive Greatest Hits collection becomes almost a moral imperative.

Yet, it wasn't until 1972 and the "Red" and "Blue" albums that all of the group's hits were gathered into one collection. (Over in England, EMI had released a Greatest Hits package called A COLLECTION OF BEATLES OLDIES in 1966, but nothing else between then and '72.)

Presaging that, however, was THE BEATLES AGAIN, better known as "HEY JUDE" to fans.

This strictly-American release was done for the most basic of reasons...to generate income. By early 1970, the group's Apple Corps was losing money at an alarming rate due to poor investments and inept management. The company's only real financial stability came from the Beatles themselves...but what the world didn't know yet was that the band had broken up. They still had one more studio album (LET IT BE) ready for release later in the springtime, but in the meantime, there was no other new material available.

Allen Klein, who was overseeing Apple (a decision which basically drove Paul McCartney to quit the band), decided to earn some quick cash by gathering up five previously released singles and their B-sides on one LP. Why he didn't go for broke and put out a comprehensive, multi-disc Greatest Hits package, I don't know. But at any rate, what we did get was an absolute jewel of a record. And it's also something of a rarity, in that it's a Best Of album that has developed a character of its own, as if it were an original studio album!

Most of the ten songs found here are instantly recognizable classics to virtually any adult in Western Civilization. But the secret treats are the obscure B-sides!

Can't But Me Love-The album kicks off with a smash hit from way back in 1964. This was an odd choice, to say the least, not only because it came from so early in the group's recording career, but because it had always been available on the A HARD DAY'S NIGHT soundtrack. Still, the track kicks off the set with a high-energy burst, and it instantly transports the listener to the more innocent days of "Beatlemania."

I Should Have Known Better-Critics tend to credit Paul as the band's pop stylist, and John Lennon as the angry rocker poet. But if that's true, then how do you explain this bouncy pop confection, courtesy of John? In fact, he wrote a good many of the group's purest pop songs, especially in the early days, and this was one of his best.

Paperback Writer-If John were more of a pop tunesmith than is generally acknowledged, Paul could be the avant-garde autere. This 1966 song was like nothing else the Beatles had done before: A non-love song about a guy who wants to write potboiler novels! One of the group's musical strengths were the soaring, inventive harmonies they concocted for so many of their tunes; in this one, they adapt the Medieval French nursery rhyme "Frere Jacques"!

Rain-Lennon was fascinated by the possibilities of the recording studio. By '66, he was indulging his musical flights of fancy (frequently fueled by LSD) with all manner of sonic tricks, from overdubs to sound effects to backwards playing. Listen to the very end of "Rain," as it fades out, and you'll suddenly hear John singing in reverse. That was the result of him inadvertantly putting the tape of his vocals in backwards, liking the eerie results, and tacking it onto the end of the song!

Lady Madonna-By 1968, the Beatles were moving away from the Baroque pop efforts of the previous years and leaning back towards the straight ahead Rock 'n Roll of their younger days. This song combines both elements, with jazzy horns and a Fats Domino-ish piano roll.

Revolution-When John Lennon commited to something, it was usually without restraint. In this volcanic raver, he proudly displays his newfound political conscience...even if he wasn't entirely sure which side of the struggle he was on yet.

Hey Jude-One of the band's biggest hits...in every sense. Clocking in at seven minutes, this was the Beatles flaunting their disdain for the unwritten rule in radio that no song longer than three or four minutes should be played on the air. As usual when they were breaking the rules, they did it better than most anyone else.

Old Brown Show-A pleasant ditty from George Harrison, owing its musical inspiration perhaps to the Band, with more than a little Bob Dylan cropping up in the lyrics.

Don't Let Me Down-A smoldering lovesick plea from Lennon to Yoko Ono. The whole groups performs it with an easy grace that evokes memories of those long all-night club shows they had to do in Liverpool and Hamburg.

The Ballad of John and Yoko-Leave it to John to turn all of the negative reaction his relationship with Ono had generated into a hit song! What's amazing is that he convinced the rest of the group to release so un-Beatles like a song as a single (although only he and Paul play on this tune).

As expected, THE BEATLES AGAIN was a smash hit in America, quickly going Gold and bringing barrelfulls of money into Apple. It remained a popular release for the next twenty years, even as a whole host of Best Of's began to crop up. However, when the band's catalog was finally released on compact disc, this album went the way of SOMETHING NEW, 'YESTERDAY'...AND TODAY, and all the rest of the US-only records; relegated to the dust bins of memory.