Due to extreme laziness I'm virtually retired from Ciao, although I'll still read and post the odd o...
Due to extreme laziness I'm virtually retired from Ciao, although I'll still read and post the odd op every now and then......
Member since:16.01.2001
Reviews:369
Members who trust:124
This is a companion review to the Beatles’ Red Album. As stated in that review EMI / Apple released two excellent compilation albums The Red (1962-1966) and The Blue (1967-1970) which is this one. When released they were in vinyl format , and thanks to TallTone I know that the albums are contractually stipulated to be issued in this defined form.
One major problem with the Red Album is that it clocks in at around an hour for two CDs. The Blue is more reasonable at around ninety minutes, so you couldn’t make it a single CD without losing some tracks, although there is plenty in the Beatles canon that could have been used to enhance this compilation.
The gripe about cost , however, does hold with this album. You can easily pay between twenty and thirty GBP for this (It’s 23.99 GBP plus postage from Amazon), and this is for previously released material. However if people are willing to pay, the record companies and shops will continue to rip them off.
OK enough of the gripes. This compilation concentrates on the latter half of the Beatles’ career , presenting the listener with an excellent selection of singles and album tracks, which are more accomplished than the material on the Red album, although whether the music is better is very subjective. Everyone has their own preference and I do prefer this to the Red. It mixes album tracks with singles, and actually scores over the “1” compilation because it contains both “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields”.
The full track listing is as follows:
Disc: 1 1. Strawberry Fields Forever 2. Penny Lane 3. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 4. With a Little Help from My Friends 5. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds 6. A Day in the Life 7. All You Need Is Love 8. I Am the Walrus 9. Hello, Goodbye 10. The Fool on the Hill 11. Magical Mystery Tour 12. Lady Madonna 13. Hey Jude 14. Revolution
Disc: 2 1. Back in the U.S.S.R. 2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps 3. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 4. Get Back 5. Don't Let Me Down 6. The Ballad of John and Yoko 7. Old Brown Shoe 8. Here Comes the Sun 9. Come Together 10. Something 11. Octopus's Garden 12. Let It Be 13. Across the Universe 14. The Long and Winding Road
Although I like this album better than the Red it does have, in my opinion, one enormous clanger, the absolutely awful “Octopus’s Garden”, surely one of the worst songs ever recorded, beloved of family oriented Djs like Ed Stewart everywhere, but that’s what the CD skip facility is for.
The compilation includes some great “B” sides such as “Revolution” and album tracks such as “A Day In The Life”, probably the most important song the band ever recorded. It has the full length version of “Hey Jude” and the gorgeous “Let It Be”, the cod calypso reggae of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”, and manages to include some excellent George Harrison compositions such as the stunning “Something” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.
All in all and excellent compilation apart from you know what, but again the punter is being ripped off if asked to pay above twenty notes for it. After this there were a few Beatles themed compilations released such as “Love Songs” and “Rock and Roll”. I’d love to see these on CD, but as single CDs PLEASE. No doubt they’ll make their way to the shops one Christmas.
So as with the Red album, I have to state that this is a superb compilation (with one duff track) , but vastly overpriced, so although I’ll give it an excellent rating I cannot recommend that you buy it. Go and get “1” instead.
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I absoloutely adore this album. I would have to disagree about recommending 'One' over this album. Though for the casual Beatles fan, I admit 'One' would be the better and more economical choice.
Standout tracks on this album for me are:
Revolution
Hey Jude
and of course the almighty 'A day in the life'
Excellent review :-)
Elainebaba 10.10.2001 13:27
Such talented men!
Avril
TallTone 10.10.2001 12:02
Never heard of "Octopus's Garden" and it sounds like a good thing (which is clearly more than can be said for the track itself). So let's see, "1", "Sergeant Pepper" and "The Beatles" (aka "The White Album"). Would that cover everything? Certainly a large part of it - and still cost less than Red & Blue together. Good review (again). TT.
Even as the Beatles began heading toward an inevitable break-up, their prolific ways ... more
continued; this two-disc look back only skims the surface of their later achievements. Excerpts fromSgt. Pepper,Magical Mystery Tour, the white album,Abbey Road, andLe...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Even as the Beatles began heading toward an inevitable break-up, their prolific ways ... more
continued; this two-disc look back only skims the surface of their later achievements. Excerpts fromSgt. Pepper,Magical Mystery Tour, the white album,Abbey Road, andLe...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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