Meet The Beatles!: An introduction to the greatest band ever.
Written: Dec 27 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It's the Beatles, man! What more do you want?
Cons: Not exactly for the die hard of us.
The Bottom Line: If you're a die-hard Beatles fan, you'll nitpick about the tracklisting too much to enjoy. But if you're a casual fan, pick it up and become a not-so-casual one.
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| LindsayBW's Full Review: 1 by The Beatles |
Is there really anything better than a really good greatest hits collection? When you combine a great artist, fantastic packaging, and just the right mix of songs, often times a greatest hits album can be better than any actual albums an artist recorded.
Of course with the Beatles, it's a different story. As we all know, the Beatles catalogue is muy impressivo, all of their albums containing treasures that never made it to radio (this, of course, not qualifying them as "hits"). For every Beatles fan, there are millions of opinions on what their "best" songs are. I'm among millions of Beatlemaniacs and am yet to find one that agrees much with my favorite Beatles songs. It's easy to see that making a Greatest Hits or a Best Of collection of the Beatles would be near impossible, and, really, in the end, no one would be satisfied.
That's why, when the Beatles decided to release a new compilation in 2000, they decided to keep it simple. 1 is simply a collection of the Beatles' #1 singles on both sides of the ocean, plain and simple. And while this collection will hardly fill you in on all the great things the Beatles did, it's a simple compilation and a fantastic introduction to the band.
1 starts off with a few of the band's early songs, covering Please Please Me through Help! in the first eleven tracks. Most of these songs are simplistic, short but sweet pop numbers, but there are definite highlights and obvious progression as you listen to the tracks. Of course, a highlight is one of the boys' most successful singles, I Want To Hold Your Hand. This is the song that really put the Beatles on the map here in America, and it still stands strong even forty years after its release. When that bridge comes, you can't help but sing along and shake your head as the boys jubilantly exclaim "I get that feeling that, my love, I can't hide! I can't hide! I can't hiiiiiide!" The amazing thing is that almost every track is just as irresistable in this first third of the album. That crashing opening chord of A Hard Day's Night sets you reeling for a rocking two and a half minutes of pure Beatley goodness. And Ticket To Ride still stands as a fantastic midtempo, with its somewhat heavier pounding percussion and vocals from John Lennon that sound sorrowful and longing, perfectly blending with Paul McCartney's harmonies, all held together by a catchy, unforgetable guitar riff. Can't get much better than that.
Of course, the Beatles didn't always sing about love in poppy, sugary, easy to swallow form, and the nail was put in that coffin by the well reknowned Yesterday. Seriously, even dogs must know this song. In my opinion, I think Yesterday is a little bit over rated, but for what it is, it is still a fantastic song, and easily one of the boys' best ballads. Paul's hollow, confused, and all together haunting vocal, combined with that desperate melody and perfectly orchestrated strings make this song unforgetable, and prove that the Beatles were indeed a force to be reckoned with.
The Beatles were on pot, of course, by the time they released Day Tripper, a pretty obviously drug influenced ode to... well, nobody really knows. Around this time the Beatles started to get more progressive with the releases of their classic Rubber Soul and Revolver albums, and while those albums aren't represented very well (only 2 from Revolver make the cut, and a surprising none from Rubber Soul), it's obvious by these singles that the band was experimenting and at the same time, just getting better and better. A classic example, of course, is Eleanor Rigby, containing some of the best Beatles lyrics about "all the lonely people", specifically two of said people meeting under the most unfortunate circumstances. This has a fantastic double tracked vocal and an ever better string quartet backing up the entire production.
Things just got even wackier and more psychadelic from then on, with the release of the classic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, and even though none of the songs from this album reached #1, the singles from this era, again, represent which way the band was heading. Penny Lane falls a little flat, not making much sense and... well, there's something I just don't like about this song, but I can't really place my finger on it. John's simplistic All You Need Is Love sends a fantastic (albeit, a little confusing at times) message containing a full blown orchestra and tons of extra voices throwing in encouragement. Lady Madonna is actually one of the Beatles' less popular singles, but I love it, with its romping piano and somewhat insane Paul vocal, I think it stands the test of time better than some of their other songs.
Eventually, the boys took off those bright colored Sgt. Pepper outfits and settled into the times, recording back to basics rock classics and ballads that stand the test of time very admirably. Notably Hey Jude, a fantastic Paul ballad pushing 7 1/2 minutes, over half of them being the sing-along trademark "Na na na na na na na, na na na na, hey, Jude!" It's a simple ballad and one of the band's best. Another fantastic ballad is George Harrison's Something, one of the Beatles most honest, simple, and romantic ballads, and unfortunately, the only representation of George's immense talent gracing this collection. The boys took their rocking to new levels too, with Get Back, a toe tapping, rockabilly tune with a catchy, simplistic chorus that you can't help but sing along too. And of course, John's strange Come Together, with its inane lyrics and classic "shoop shoop", the undeniably classic guitar riff and that demand of "Come together right now over me", make this one extremely memorable.
Overall, 1 accomplishes just what it was setting out to do, and that's compile the Beatles #1 singles onto one disc. While some are less memorable than others (The Ballad Of John & Yoko), some aren't as good as others (Yellow Submarine), and some represent double A-sides perhaps unfairly (Hello, Goodbye), this is still a great way to introduce those who aren't as familiar with the band to a few of their best songs and get them hooked on them just as much as most others in the world. Beatlemaniacs can argue and disagree, lose sleep at night wondering why I Am The Walrus and Please Please Me aren't here, why Penny Lane is, but let's be honest, fellow fans: this album isn't for us. It's for those unfamiliar with the band, looking for a reason to like them. And this album, in every way, gives them tons of reasons to.
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Tracklisting
1. Love Me Do
2. From Me To You
3. She Loves You
4. I Want To Hold Your Hand
5. Can't Buy Me Love
6. A Hard Day's Night
7. I Feel Fine
8. Eight Days A Week
9. Ticket To Ride
10. Help!
11. Yesterday
12. Day Tripper
13. We Can Work It Out
14. Paperback Writer
15. Yellow Submarine
16. Eleanor Rigby
17. Penny Lane
18. All You Need Is Love
19. Hello, Goodbye
20. Lady Madonna
21. Hey Jude
22. Get Back
23. The Ballad Of John & Yoko
24. Something
25. Come Together
26. Let It Be
27. The Long And Winding Road
Skip It: Eight Days A Week, Yellow Submarine, The Ballad Of John & Yoko
Repeat It: Every other song.
Get Your Beatles On!: Please Please Me, With The Beatles, Beatles For Sale, A Hard Day's Night, Help!, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles (The White Album), Abbey Road, Let It Be, Past Masters Vol. 1, Past Masters Vol. 2
Great Music To Play While: Deciding to buy all of the albums listed above.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
LindsayBW
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Member: Jessi Coplin
Location: Colby, KS USA
Reviews written: 116
Trusted by: 52 members
About Me:
I'm really poor. Please read / rate me!
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