Music - Rediscover the Beatles

February 1, 2007

I recently bought a compilation of 26 Beatles tracks called "Love". The Beatles were the first band I grew up with. I remember buying the "Abbey Road" LP when I was 14 years old in 1980. At the time, all my contemporaries and friends were listening to horrible disco and euro trash music. I had a choice - either go with the crowd or let my freak flag fly. For better or worse, I chose the latter option, and life hasn't been the same since. "Abbey Road" ushered me into a troubled adolescence from what had been a relatively quiet, unremarkable childhood.

Of course, later, I discovered many others - including the Rolling Stones, the Clash, Graham Parkar and the Rumour, Fairport Convention, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan and my favourite, the Who. I knew my journey had ended with the Who, because Pete Townshend seemed to know exactly what was going on in my head - except he expressed what I felt much more articulately. The band's peculiar mix of wit, identity crisis, intelligence, exhibitionism and rage, coupled with the greatest rhythm section in the history of rock 'n' roll pretty much did it for me. Townshend has moved into late middle age, and his concerns still reflect how I feel. Talk about growing old with somebody!!

But coming back to the latest Beatles compilation "Love". One of the main reasons to buy this album are its' production values. If the later Beatles albums could be faulted for one thing, it was poor production - the sound was muddy and indistinct. While the sound quality of albums by their contemporaries such as the Stones and the Who were improving in leaps and bounds, the Beatles' sound production quality stagnated after 1967 - the year "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was released. By the late 1960s, Pete Townshend and Mick Jagger were using cutting-edge technology and young, hip music producers such as Jimmy Miller, Jon Astley and Glyns Johns. Townshend went on to become a much sought after music producer in his own right. The Beatles on the other hand, were stuck with George Martin - who had a posh, upper class accent but not much knowledge of sophisticated recording techniques.

The new compilation remedies that. Using modern-day post-production techniques, the old songs sound..well... powerful. Some of my favorite Lennon songs such as "I Am The Walrus" and "Glass Onion" from the underrated yet excellent 1968 "White Album" come alive, as does Paul McCartney's bass line from "Hey Jude". Lennon's chilling "Tomorrow Never Knows" from 1966 sounds ominous - the way it was supposed to.

Listening to these tracks, you see the maturing of John. His songs become progressively darker, from about 1965 onwards. He increasingly starts writing songs about things that haunt him - his abandonment by his parents, loneliness and his own paranoia. Not exactly cheerful stuff, but compelling all the same. Harrison starts writing more and more about how much he loves Krishna and starts devoting his time to becoming a better guitar player (and what a great guitar player he became!!), while McCartney's obsession with staying at the top of the pops remains unchanged - though contrary to what many people think, he was and is, a great songwriter and a master of crafting catchy tunes. Ringo, of course, remains himself, and the compilation captures his one blinding moment in the limelight - his drum solo at the end of the "Abbey Road" album.

George Harrison's identity as a guitar player finally crystallized after the Beatles broke up. He stepped out of John and Paul’s shadow. I bought his last album "Brainwashed" recently - released just after he died in 2002. On that album, his electric slide guitar prowess is simply awesome - he finally overtakes his guitar idol, the great Chicago blues guitar player Elmore James, in terms of skill and musicianship. George could make the guitar wail as well as anybody in the business.

So, I hope that you enjoyed this review and will go out and buy the album. This one is for George and his friends, the yogis in the Himalayas. Krishna, Krishna, Hare, Hare.