Poor Beatles fans. Rather than get a proper re-mastering job of all the Beatles albums (like Brian Wilson’s Smile was remade a few years ago) they get this. This mix of Beatles songs, remastered and remixed courtsey of George Martin and his son Giles, is basically a studio engineers wet dream. Half the Beatles, unfortunately, are dead. Other people with the legal right to do so have gone in, taken the Beatles’ works, and put it through a blender. Songs which stood as independent, finished works are now combined in ways that would cause Lennon and/or Harrison to roll over in thier graves. Or maybe not. Harrison’s “Something” is probably the only song here that sounds improved over the original, with some orchestral flourishes that make it grander than before. And some of the other songs details are wonderful, like a stripped down vocals only version of “Because.”
Unfortnuately, this album makes me really feel cheated. I really would like all the albums (not included on the Capital box sets), remastered properly. The Beatles are as a group ceased to exist in 1970 and they produced a finite amount of work. Every last bit of blood has been squeezed from this stone via “The Beatles Anthologies.” Martin has deliberately taken songs that we know and love and sliced them together a la Frankenstein. So purists like myself are horrified by this monster.
On the other hand, it allows a new generation to listen to these songs with fresh ears. After all, this release is the soundtrack to the Love Cirque Show, not a proper Beatles album. If you accept the Love Soundtrack as “a re-imagining” of Beatles tunes, then it works quite well. Fans will have fun identifying a bass line or sound effect from one song intermixed with another. And younger fans will love the seamless integration of musical themes. On that level, it earns a high rating. You can buy this one anywhere.