The Beatles

• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [Capitol, 1967] A
• Hey Jude [Apple, 1970] A
• Let It Be [Apple, 1970] A-
• The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl [Capitol, 1977] A
• Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany, 1962 [Lingasong, 1977] B-
• Rarities [Capitol, 1980] C+
• Live at the BBC [Capitol, 1994] B+
• Anthology [Apple, 1995] ***
• Anthology 2 [Capitol/Apple, 1995]
• Anthology 3 [Capitol/Apple, 1996]
• The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1 [Capitol, 2004]

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Hey Jude [Apple, 1970]
A commercial ripoff it is, pastiching together singles separated by over five years. And I could care less. Show me an album featuring songs as good as "Can't Buy Me Love" and "I Should Have Known Better" and "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" and "Don't Let Me Down" and I'll show you The Beatles--Yesterday and Today. A

Let It Be [Apple, 1970]
"I hope we passed the audition," says the leader as the record ends, and they do. Their assurance and wit would be the envy of veteran rock and rollers, and though this is a little lightweight, it makes up in charm what it lacks in dramatic brilliance. Even when the arrangements get tricky--"Let It Be" is a touch too ornate in this version--their spontaneity of impulse comes through. And while fave rave "One After 909" is pure teen simplicity, it sounds no fresher than "Two of Us," an adult song about couple bonding that I hope applies to their songwriting duo. The one mistake is "The Long and Winding Road," sunk in a slush of strings worthy of its shapeless philosophizing. But even the great are allowed to falter now and then. A-

The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl [Capitol, 1977]
A tribute not only to the Beatles (which figured) but to George Martin and Capitol (which didn't necessarily figure at all). The sound rings clearly and powerfully through the shrieking: the segues are brisk and the punch-ins imperceptible; and the songs capture our heroes at their highest. Furthermore, though the musicianship is raw, the arrangements are tighter (faster, actually) than on record; Ramones-haters should note that the thirteen tunes take less than twenty-nine minutes, including patter. A

Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany, 1962 [Lingasong, 1977]
I don't know exactly how you rate documentary value, especially with a subject as interesting as this one, but I do know that nothing I had read prepared me for the abysmal sound quality of this record, especially how far down (and away) the voices are. Nor for the occasional listlessness of the performances themselves. B-

Rarities [Capitol, 1980]
The Brit version made sense, because lots of Beatle songs are unavailable on U.K. LP. In the U.S. the group's been cannibalized more efficiently--not counting the curious two-second Sgt. Pepper outgroove, only five of fourteen songs here are unknown to owners of their Capitol albums catalogue. Two early Lennon-McCartneys, the assured close-harmony "Misery" and the fragile quavery "There's a Place," are very much worth your acquaintance. "Sie Liebt Dich" is fun, "You Know My Name (Look Up My Number)" is a goof, and "The Inner Light" is a B side--George's B side. Except for "Across the Universe," which Phil Spector did not improve, not one of the nine alternate versions differs from the original by more than a whit. The U.K. Please Please Me includes "Misery" and "There's a Place." I regard it as a superior investment. C+

Live at the BBC [Capitol, 1994]
Only a grinch would deny the intrinsic entertainment value of this significant-by-definition package. For one thing, these are the first known radio tapes where the talk is more precious than the music--in addition to everything else, they were the funniest rock stars ever. A few of the covers--"A Shot of Rhythm and Blues," "Soldier of Love," "Lucille," and a "Baby It's You" that proves once and for all that John was the cute one--are among their greatest. But a number of the more obscure songs (Ann-Margret? the Jodimars?) never reached vinyl for the simple reason that they were too lame, and I bet most of the seven Chuck Berrys were vetoed for redundancy. What's more, these drop-in sessions give off none of the adrenaline rush of the screaming meemies at the Hollywood Bowl or the amphetamine intensity that breaks out of the dim Hamburg tapes--the audience is missing, and no one else is powerful enough to take its place. So in the end the chief historical beneficiary is George Martin, who may just have driven his lads to heights they were too relaxed to scale on their own. B+

Anthology [Apple, 1995]
after the hype has cleared, this--their inalienable right to juvenilia, historical context, and live ones where you can hear the words ("Money [That's What I Want]," "Can't Buy Me Love," "Shout," "Moonlight Bay") ***

Anthology 2 [Capitol/Apple, 1995]

Anthology 3 [Capitol/Apple, 1996]
"I've Got a Feeling"; "What's the New Mary Jane"

The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1 [Capitol, 2004]
See: Blender review.

See Also

• Living Without the Beatles [1972]
• The Beatles: Love [2006-11-30]
• The 40 Essential Albums of 1967 [2007-07-12]