Hold Me Tight (Anthology 1965-1973) - Lynn Taitt & The Jets

Advantages: Excellent archive material
Disadvantages: More Speech Than Other anthology albums

...and inventive music that I understood that The Beatles were very special. In listening to Anthology 1 you are listening to the earliest recordings and some interview archive material. This is very much an album which shows their earliest work and it therefore sits within the context of what they achieved later. Early recordings prepared for their audition for Decca records who turned them down are comprehensively covered. It also graphically shows the huge influence George Martin was to have later in the production of their classic albums. The album comes with comprehensive notes on all the featured recordings so I will not merely copy what these notes say. In reviewing the Anthology album I will use my own ears, heart and thoughts on what the album says to me. It is a double-CD with over 2 hours of archive material. It is unfortunate that... Read review

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Advantages: Many unreleased curiosities, some great songs
Disadvantages: A bit 'serious' and like a documentary, some pretty bad songs

...hand" etc) from the period up to October 1964 are here, sometimes as alternate takes. "A hard day’s night" is a first run-through – interesting to hear the "When I’m home, feeling you holding me tight, all through the night" lyric, which appeared in the finished version as "feeling you holding me tight, tight, yeah" – sounds like a bit of censorship, there. There are several tracks which, like this one, dissolve into disarray or laughter when something goes a bit wrong. The highlight of the whole collection is, in my opinion, the previously unreleased "Leave my kitten alone", a cover of a 1959 Little Willie John R&B song, that really rocks, with searing, throat-wrenching vocals from Lennon - it leaves you in no doubt of The Beatles’ roots. For me, it makes the whole set worth having, even though some... Read review

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Advantages: First 3 Songs
Disadvantages: Nigh on everything else

...of mine. Scoring Get Born is a bit of an odd note for me, because for a while I was unsure of really what it deserved. I've settled on 2-Stars and not recommended however, basically because I feel it's good songs are too good to languish in a 1-Star review, but they aren't enough to redeem it from being a pretty poor record overall, and it certainly wasn't getting any worse a score than I've given The Hives. So, Get Born, enter at your own risk, it isn't the worst album ever, not by a long shot, and it even includes some genuine highlights, but it just simply isn't good enough as an album to satisfy. If they put out a second LP, I wouldn't totally write it off without hearing it, but I'd definitely listen to it before actually giving money for it. Rather hilariously, Jet are actually about the only people who still actually hold... Read review

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