The Beatles:
John Lennon: Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
George Harrison: Lead Guitar, Vocals
Paul McCartney: Bass, Vocals
Ringo Starr: Drums, Vocals
I found this cd very luckily while I was in a used cd store. Well actually my pappy found it. It was a very good find, and an amazing surprise considering what I was expecting. I expected their songs from the poppier era, but in fact it’s full of covers of Elvis, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Ray Charles, and probably a bunch that I don’t know the name of.
It’s very simple to distinguish the covers from the originals. The originals are as I thought, more poppy, while the covers were old school rock ‘n’ roll. I am a huge lover of old school rock, and the Beatles do it very well. There are also some very amusing breaks in between some of the songs like: Riding on a Bus, Sha la la la la!, Dear Wack!, From Fluff to You (not funny but a nice look into who inspired Paul), Have a Banana, Set Fire to That Lot!, Love These Goon Shows!, and Ooh My Arms.
There are two things I don’t like about this cd, and I’m going to get them out of the way right now as they are the only bad things. First off, the originals sound a little too much like the studio versions. A big example is A Hard Days Night, which they notice and to prove it wasn’t they have to do some odd thing at the end. The second is: some of the slower tracks can be very boring, Baby, It’s You is a good example of this. It’s not a terrible song but it just isn’t interesting and doesn’t captivate in any way. The same goes for I’m a Loser. It’s a great song but doesn’t keep me as interested as I would like. But a great exception to this is: I’ll Be on My Way. The lyrics are very beautiful and rhyme very nicely. Also the old fashioned guitar fills compliment the song very nicely. Also the solo is a very nice classic slow solo that fits the feel of the song very wonderfully. It’s also nice that you can hear the bass so nicely. It also does a great job of keeping a great groove. To know her is to Love her is also a really beautiful piece. It’s a simple quiet love song. It slowly builds volume and then goes back down. The vocal harmonies are also very nice on this track.
The best things about this cd are the fast songs. They’re very energetic and provide a beat that makes you want to dance. A shot of Rhythm and Blues is a great song to make you want to dance and get you in a nice groove. The lyrics speak about just dancing and having fun and they really are the perfect lyrics for such a beat. I Got a Woman is a very nicely played version of Elvis’ version of Ray Charles’ song. The lead guitar is very nice and has a cool honky tonk feel to it. I loved it the second I heard it. The solo is also a great solo. I find them so good they’re hard to describe. You’d have to hear for yourself. They really have that old style beach music feel to them. Johnny B. Goode is a great Chuck Berry song and if Chuck ever heard this version he would be proud. I have heard better vocals from the Beatles, but the song is just so good that it doesn’t matter. I really enjoy the lyrics to this song. They are pretty much classic lyrics. Another great energetic song with a cool lead guitar is Dizzy Miss Lizzy. The vocals are a little hard to heard but they are very good, basically being shouted in that o-so awesome way that the Beatles sang in. My favorite riff on here is definitely the one in Slow Down. Although it’s not much different from the other riffs on the cd it’s just got something more, its got more catchiness to it.
If you like Elvis, Chuck Berry, and Carl Perkins you’d probably love this. It’s a great session and I consider it one of my best cds. It’s loaded with classics and funny intervals. The guitar is nice and un produced (obviously), the bass keeps a great grooves and has some great fills, and Ringo does a much better job than I expected from him. His drumming was actually a big surprise. He really proved himself as a drummer her.
