Showing posts with label the beatles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the beatles. Show all posts

In His Life - The John Lennon Story (2000) Review

In His Life - The John Lennon Story (2000)
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In His Life - The John Lennon Story (2000) ReviewThis is a capably directed, better than average television movie about the beginnings of The Beatles, as seen through the eyes of John Lennon. The focus of the film is always on John and some of the people, places, and events that shaped his early life and made him the man he was to become. As its focus is on John Lennon, the other members of The Beatles take a back seat to John in the film.
The film, shot in the gritty, port city of Liverpool where John and the other Beatles grew up, shows how John (Phillip McQuillan) was reared by his devoted Aunt Mimi (Blair Brown), his mother Julia's older sister. His mother, Julia (Christine Cavanaugh), also lived in Liverpool and he would visit with her, but his father was an absentee one and would remain nothing but a distant memory. John grew up in his Aunt Mimi's household, and it was she who governed much of his early life. It was his mother, however, who was instrumental in John getting his first guitar.
The film shows the viewer some of the childhood places and people that would someday be memorialized in the music of The Beatles: Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, Eleanor Rigby, and Julia. John's courtship of Cynthia (Gillian Kearney), the girl who would become his first wife, is also grist for the mill, as are his reasons for marrying her. The early popularity of The Beatles in Germany is touched upon, as is the tragic end of one of its original members and John's best friend, Stuart Sutcliffe (Lee Williams). Stuart was an artist who, while performing with the band in Germany, fell in love with a German girl named Astrid (Palina Jonsdottir) and left the band in order to marry her and remain in Germany.
The film shows how John and Paul McCartney (Daniel McGowan) met, as well as how George Harrison (Mark Rice-Oxley) came to join the group. The film deals with the issue of the replacement of their original drummer, Pete Best (Scott Williams), with Ringo Starr (Christian Ealey), when on the brink of success. It also shows how their local popularity brought them to the attention of record store owner, Brian Epstein (James Glover), and what he did to help make them them the most popular rock band of all time. One sees their arrival in America and their auspicious and memorable debut on the Ed Sullivan show.
Phillip McQuillan, whose physical resemblance to John Lennon is slight, at best, gamely tackles the lead role of John Lennon with much bravado, playing him as a bit of a bad boy with a good heart and a dream of rock and roll fame. He also manages to get John's intonations and inflection down pretty pat. Blair Brown does a wonderful job with the role of Aunt Mimi, the woman who managed to put some structure and order to John's early life. Christine Kavanaugh whimsically plays the role of John's mother, the woman from whom John appeared to have inherited his creative juices. Gillian Kearney gives an excellent portrayal of John's first wife, Cynthia.
Daniel McGowan, who actually resembles Paul McCartney in a peculiar sort of way, infuses the role of Paul with an intelligence that is palpable. Mark Rice-Oxley, however, is wooden and does nothing to bring the role of George Harrison to life. As he does not even resemble him, his portrayal of George is jarringly out of place. Christian Ealey, who somewhat resembles Ringo, fares better and does a more than passable job in the role of Ringo Starr, the Johnny come lately who was in the right place at the right time. Last but not least, James Glover give an excellent portrayal of Brian Epstein, the man who shrewdly and firmly set them on the road to rock and roll stardom.
All in all, this is a better than average made for television film. If you are not a fan of The Beatles, especially John Lennon, however, you would do well to deduct one star from my review.In His Life - The John Lennon Story (2000) Overview(2005) In His Life: The John Lennon Story includes unprecedented access to such authentic landmarks as the actual house where John grew up and learned how to play guitar; St Peter's Church Hall (where John first met Paul); The Liverpool Art College and Quarry Bank High School where John was a student; and numerous musical venues where the young Beatles performed; including the recreated Cavern Club. Other locations include those that inspired future Beatles hits such as Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane and the cemetery where Eleanor Rigby is buried.

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Revolver (Remastered) Review

Revolver (Remastered)
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Revolver (Remastered) ReviewThe Beatles' overall achievement is rivaled by no one. In a course of only seven years, they produced 12 and ½ albums (I don't count YELLOW SUBMARINE as a full album), one of which was a double album, and enough independent singles to make up two other albums. Very prolific, and the single most important band ever to grace the rock'n'roll scene. There is countless debates on what is their most important, but to me every one of those albums from Rubber Soul on (excepting YELLOW SUBMARINE) is a self-contained masterpiece.
That being said, REVOLVER gives us the most balanced view of The Beatles that we ever get. Everything that made The Beatles great is here in the right proportions. We have the three tracks of Harrison, including an Indian song of his, we have the ultimate Ringo song (everyone should know what song I'm talking about here), we have Paul's melodious love songs that would overwhelm his solo career, and we have the standard Lennon experimentation. On no other record do we get such a clear picture of what each Beatle brought into the equation. Everyone of them shine for their individual talents. The direct opposite of this is THE WHITE ALBUM, when The Beatles were in the process of breaking up.
In terms of artistic growth (remember, this was released almost a year after Help!, which was released August 6, 1965 and this August 5, 1965) we knew The Beatles were onto something. It foreshadows everything that will happen on SGT PEPPER, and is as important as its successor. And in terms of what made The Beatles great, this is the record to go too, because it gives you the most balanced view of the most important band in rock'n'roll history.Revolver (Remastered) OverviewDigitally remastered digipak edition of this classic 1966 album from The Beatles featuring 'Yellow Submarine, 'Taxman', 'Good Day Sunshine', 'Eleanor Rigby', 'Tomorrow Never Knows' and many more. The album has been remastered at Abbey Road Studios in London utilizing state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. Within the CD's new packaging, the booklet includes detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. A newly produced mini-documentary on the making of the album is included as a QuickTime file on each album. The documentary contains archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere. Capitol.

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Let It Be (Remastered) Review

Let It Be (Remastered)
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Let It Be (Remastered) ReviewFor those who don't know the story, the tension and frustration experienced by The Beatles during the "White Album" sessions reached new heights during the GET BACK sessions. In an attempt to bring spirit to the band, Paul was pushing to have The Beatles play live again. Perhaps his thinking was that playing together (as they used to do) would reunite them (as they used to be). Instead, there was much talk of breaking up. It was decided that the group should at least rehearse together while being filmed, but George Harrison actually walked out and quit the group for a few days. Apparently what John said regarding The Beatles at this time was indeed a group reality: "It had become a job."
Excluding the filming that took place at Twickenham Studios (brought to a close by tension within the band and George's walkout), the GET BACK sessions began on January 22, 1969, and ended just nine days later, all of it taking place at the band's Apple headquarters rather than Abbey Road studios. Although The Beatles behaved a little better when keyboardist Billy Preston was brought in, the sessions did not go well, being mostly jamming--meandering from song to song. As George Martin appropriately pointed out, "they were rudderless at this time." Martin was not on hand for much of this, and even when he was present, it is unclear how involved he was. Engineer Glyn Johns was asked to compile the album--not George Martin. Though Johns complied, the ill-fated GET BACK was never given the group's stamp of approval and was left unreleased for over a year.
In January 1970--after the release of the glorious ABBEY ROAD but prior to Phil Spector's involvement--Glyn Johns was given another shot at compiling the album, but this turned out to be another futile attempt to make presentable the sessions that Paul has called "the break-up of The Beatles on film."
Early in 1969, Allen Klein became involved with The Beatles; it was agreed (excepting Paul) that he should run the group's finances and business affairs. Klein, who profited from any additional Beatles releases, was the most likely impetus behind the release of LET IT BE and the involvement of Phil Spector, with whom Klein had worked previously. Klein was notorious for bringing in his own people; George Harrison himself recalled that it was in fact Allen Klein who suggested to John and George that they should have Spector listen to the tapes. John and George, being Spector fans, certainly approved of the idea. So unbeknown to Paul or George Martin, Phil Spector was brought in to have a go at it. Martin recalled that it was all very sneaky and done behind people's backs at a time when "Allen Klein was running John."
Spector produced the LET IT BE album in seven days, beginning on March 23, 1970, and ending April 2. His version involved many edits and an abundance of remixing. The orchestrated overdubs on "Across The Universe," "The Long And Winding Road," and "I Me Mine" were done in one session--the arrangements were by Richard Hewson, not Spector. Two songs on LET IT BE did not come from the GET BACK sessions. John's vocal on "Across The Universe," along with some of the rhythm instruments, came from the original takes recorded in February 1968; and "I Me Mine" was recorded in January 1970, a full year after the project.
Overall, I don't think that the GET BACK sessions were particularly great, nor do I think that they should be trivialized. Although the performances are perhaps not quite representative of what The Beatles were capable of, the songs themselves are strong enough to overcome these less-than-ideal renditions. Spector essentially took the music from the rehearsal-like sessions, dressed it up, and powdered its nose. I never did believe that the orchestra and choir added to "The Long And Winding Road" turned Paul's song into something phony. This great song holds up under Spector's treatment, and I'm glad that Paul finally admitted it wasn't so bad: "I don't think it made it the worst record ever."
I enjoy Spector's LET IT BE and think it worthy of a five-star rating, probably because I'm such a Beatles fanatic. My gripes, however, are that (1) the recordings of "Get Back" and "Don't Let Me Down" released as the single should have made the album (instead, Spector's mix is solid but inferior on "Get Back," and he sidestepped "Don't Let Me Down"); and (2) the mix of "Let It Be" that became the single is superior to the one on the album, and I also prefer George's guitar solo on the single.
LET IT BE... NAKED, the latest attempt at presenting the material, does not address the inherent problems with the GET BACK sessions--the reasons that caused them to be rejected in the first place. Instead, this cleaned-up version again exposes a band that was focusing more on problems than on music. Why is LET IT BE thought by many to be the group's weakest effort, and ABBEY ROAD (recorded a few months later) thought by many to be one of the greatest rock albums ever made? I think it is clear that in the case of the latter, (1) the band members put aside their differences to focus on the music; and (2) George Martin was allowed to fully work his magic.
Without getting into further details and writing pages here, suffice it to say that I will always wish that George Martin had been given a serious shot at producing this album from the beginning. Maybe then we would have had another Beatles masterpiece.
Let It Be (Remastered) OverviewDigitally remastered digipak edition of this classic 1970 album from The Beatles featuring 'The Long And Winding Road', 'Across The Universe', 'Let It Be', 'Get Back' and many more. The album has been remastered at Abbey Road Studios in London utilizing state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. Within the CD's new packaging, the booklet includes detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. A newly produced mini-documentary on the making of the album is included as a QuickTime file on each album. The documentary contains archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere. Capitol. NOTE: Let It Be was never released in mono and is not available in The Beatles In Mono boxset.

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Help Review

Help
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Help ReviewBeatles for Sale and Help! are considered "holding pattern" works and are less revered by critics because they didn't introduce any great innovations or ground-breaking ideas. But I don't think that does these albums justice. Sure, most of the lyrical concerns are still love-oriented, but many of the lyrics are becoming increasing complex. Even a song like Yesterday shows a real maturity in the lyrics.
The songs offered here are the Beatles at the top of their game, in my opinion. Gorgeous melodies, catchy hooks, great harmony singing and sharp musicianship abound. The Beatles were becoming increasing facile in the studio, and it shows. The strength of songs like Help, Ticket to Ride and Yesterday are legend, but there are many other real gems on this album. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, It's Only Love and Your Going to Lose That Girl are classic mid-period Lennon; McCartney answers with the rocking Another Girl and The Night Before, not to mention the beautiful, folky I've Just Seen a Face, all extremely underrated.
Harrison gets two songs on this album, and asserts himself well with the lovely pop of I Need You and You Like Me Too Much. Maybe not up to the dizzying heights of Lennon & McCartney songsmithing, but getter closer.
This leaves "filler" like Act Naturally, Tell Me What You See and Dizzy Miss Lizzy. Just listen to Lennon's vocal performance on Dizzy Miss Lizzy and try calling it filler...though admittedly, the guitar riff grates on one after a while. Ringo's "aw, shucks" reading of Act Naturally is PERFECT (and SO appropriate) and Lennon & McCartney's magical harmonies lift Tell Me What You See well above the pedestrian.
That's it. Overwhelming evidence, well presented, that this is not just a mediocre holding pattern album, but classic mid-period Beatles. It's now up to you, members of the juke-box jury.
I'll say no more.Help OverviewDigitally remastered digipak edition of this classic 1965 album from The Beatles featuring 'Ticket To Ride', 'Help!', 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away', 'I've Just Seen A Face', 'Yesterday' and many more. The album has been remastered at Abbey Road Studios in London utilizing state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. Within the CD's new packaging, the booklet includes detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. A newly produced mini-documentary on the making of the album is included as a QuickTime file on each album. The documentary contains archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere. Capitol.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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