All You Need is "Love"

Over the years there have been several Beatle compilations unleashed on the public. Since the group split up the casual fan could get collections of rock and roll music, love songs, and even their number one hits. For the casual fan, I suppose those were good things.

But, what about the life long Beatle fanatic? We got the Anthology series back in the 90's, which provided a brief look into how some of the Beatles songs were constructed, thanks to the alternate takes and demos included in each set. Plus, we did get two "new" Beatle songs out of the deal.

Which brings us to "Love," a project assembled by Beatle producer George Martin and his son, Giles. Call me crazy, but I think this is a great collection.

If you haven't heard this collection of songs yet, "Love" is a 78-minute tour de force. As George Martin writes in the liner notes, the goal was to "create a soundscape . . . .using any sound I needed from the original Beatles multi-track recordings."

Martin's idea of a soundscape is pretty clear from the start. "Love" begins with the vocal track of "Because," which leads right into the opening chords of "A Hard Day's Night," Ringo's drum solo from "The End," and builds up to "Get Back."

From there, father and son take Beatle tracks and mix them together to create a sound that is both familiar and new. The blending of "Drive My Car," "The Word," and "What You're Doing" is perfect. The use of "Blackbird" as an intro to the oft-recorded "Yesterday" breathes life into this McCartney standard and makes it sound fresh.

A very early version of Lennon's "Strawberry Fields Forever" is used for the "Love" collection. As the song reaches the ending we've come to expect, more songs are introduced faster than you can say "I buried Paul." No less than the sounds of five other Beatle songs join with Ringo's fine drumming to bring "Strawberry Fields" to a rousing finish.

There are so many moments like the one described above. After listening to this a dozen times since its release, I still hear things I missed on previous listens.

Maybe listening to this set is tougher without seeing the Cirque du Soleil performers on stage. I haven't seen the show, but have heard it's quite the experience. It may put this soundscape into its proper context.

Just the same, if I never see the Cirque du Soleil production, I will always enjoy the magic that was constructed from some of the best music of our generation.