Love: The Beatles

Every one and a while I like to go to Portland's Central Library and browse through their CD selection. Most of the CD on the shelf are real duds because all the best ones are reserved by patrons and never find their way to the dusty rows of the third floor. But sometimes you get lucky. I did a few days again when I found a 2006 release of the Beatles tunes complied on a disc entitled "Love". And if you are a Beatles fan like me you will definitely LOVE this CD. Here a review I found in Amazon written by Thom Allott:

It begins with a twittering of birdsong lifted from "Across the Universe." And once the triple-tracked a capella harmonies of "Because" enter, followed by snatches from "A Hard Day's Night" and "The End," leading into a fired-up "Get Back," it becomes obvious that this is far more than just another Beatles compilation. This is Love, conceived by the Fabs' former producer George Martin and son Giles as a stageshow soundtrack to Cirque de Soleil's Las Vegas spectacular of the same name, but appears to have taken on a life of its own. Whereas the Beatles' last release, 1, delivered the (over?) familiar hits in a nice, simple package, Love is a mélange of the familiar and obscure, all literally mixed together in one 78-minute audio collage which succeeds in reminding the listener just why the Beatles truly are, as Lennon put it, "toppermost of the poppermost." There's no new Beatles material per se, but the songs are all approached differently--some are cut together in a flawlessly mixed medley (check out "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!/I Want You/Helter Skelter"), some reassemble different backing tracks and vocal performances to create new spins on old classics; but all the songs are revitalized considerably. Even in its weakest moments (which probably work better in the context of the show itself), Love is still a formidable prospect, and one has to admire Martin's willingness to go out on a limb with such a project. While purists may complain that the cut 'n' paste nature of the project is simply tampering with perfection, at the very least it'll make them reach for the originals and enjoy them all over again. For newcomers and everyone else, it makes a fine listen, both in its sonic clarity (the actual tracks are the best they've sounded on CD) and audacious nature.

Amen brother! But don't take our word for it, go out and buy it and take a listen, and if you don't like it, leave me a comment. Hoefully, you can find the CD at your local library, but if not, you can count on finding it at: http://www.amazon.com/

Now, here's a poem you can sing about:


Not To Mention The Trees

She says a moonless night is one that looks inward.

We're in the trunk of a tree playing doctor and nurse.

I have oysterman fingers and she has ocean water in

her coffee cup every time it rains. 'I often feel that my

fruit seed grows up to be a skyscraper', she says, over

the noise of a chainsaw in the distance. Not one bird

sings with its feathers. Nowadays, all the owls wear

contact lens. 'Do you think trees can tell approaching

weather just by looking up at the sky', she goes on to

say, as we wonder which exotic plant found in the thick

underbrush might be an aphrodisiac. 'Does a cello mind

being made of wood if it means making cherries orphans',

I ask back, sure that the forest is brindled with creeks

and a few dirt roads.

And the color of brown bark is broken by gray rocks. And

the blueprint to the surrounding grass is universal. And at

times, the wind causes the leaves to ring like a telephone.


Poem first published at: http://www.stridemagazine.co.uk/
Visit my ezine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and music blog: http://www.medleymakersant.blogspot.com/
Copyright 2008 by Maurice Oliver. All Rights Reserved.