The Beatles Albums – The Beatles Anthology 1

The king of compilations has to be The Beatles Anthology; no other album has ever come close to cataloging the dazzling musical career of the Fab Four. Three double albums were released to accompany a fine tuned documentary and dazzling book in 1995. Beautifully packaged and bursting with outtakes, demos and bootlegs the Anthology collection is an immense playground for Beatles fans.   

The Anthology is broken down into three parts. Anthology 1 contains ‘Free as a Bird’ the latest musical offering from McCartney, Harrison and Starr based upon one of John Lennon’s unfinished recordings. It was certainly a buyer’s hook to hear new music from the band decades after their tear jerking split. Yet Anthology 1 is a mixed bag of goodies; the emphasis seems to be on showcasing their 50’s rock and roll era with the Hamburg sessions in place and even some rare glimpses into ex Beatles members Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe. From the all-out raucous rock and roll to the soft flamenco twang of Besame Mucho, this is a whirlwind ride back into the past and gives a new edge of nostalgia to the notorious mop tops. It’s certainly not a beginner’s album, but fans will lap it up with a silver spoon and feel satiated.   

The Beatles Albums – The Beatles 1

The Beatles Albums – The Beatles 1   

Perhaps more aptly titled “The Beatles’ #1 Singles,” The Beatles:1, issued on November 13, 2000 (on the 30th anniversary of the Beatles’ highly-publicized break-up) is simply a collection of 27 Beatles singles that hit #1 on the UK and US charts between 1962 and 1970. (The B-side single “I Am the Walrus,” which has the distinction of simultaneously holding both the #1 and #2 slots on the charts is oddly missing from the package, as is the phenomenal “Strawberry Fields Forever” which according to the criteria used, only reached #2 on both charts.)   

Beginning with “Love Me Do” (released in the UK on October 5, 1962 and April 27, 1964 in the US), and ending with their swan-song offering “The Long and Winding Road” (released in the US on May 11, 1970), The Beatles:1 essentially tracks the Beatles’ sensational career across nine years as their music climbed to the top of the record charts, reigned as the archetype supreme of quality and creativity, and then took fans on one unimaginable ride after another–until their own journey came to its heartbreaking end.   

Beatles Instruments: the Basics

Tell me why the Beatles used the instruments they did, you have asked?  Here’s why!   

Although the Beatles used the standard guitar/bass/drums instrumentation line-up common to the early Rock ‘n’ Roll genre, the brands of instruments they chose speak as much to their final product as their musicianship itself. Indeed, as emulators and imitators of their music quickly discover, the texture and timber (quality of tone) of their songs was the result of purposeful instrument selection. And accordingly, as their musical genius expanded, so did their choices of expression.   

For many fans and fellow musicians, it was Paul’s Hofner semi-hollow “violin” bass that first drew the attention in publicity shots and live performances. Custom-ordered during one of the band’s early stints in Hamburg, Germany, this beautiful left-handed instrument was his weapon of choice until late in 1965 when he switched to a Rickenbacker model 4001S for the recording of RubberSoul, its distinctive sound easily distinguishable on singles like “Paperback Writer.” While Paul briefly used a Fender Jazz bass during The Beatles/“White Album” and Abbey Road sessions, the Rickenbacker became his primary instrument for the remainder of his Beatles career—though he revisited his trademark Hofner during rehearsals and recording of Let It Be, wielding it masterfully during the famous “Rooftop Concert.” (Paul is said to have also recorded with an old upright bass once belonging to Elvis’ bassist Bill Black.)   

Beatles Memorabilia (items auctioned/sold)

Although the Beatles had already stirred considerable interest within days of releasing their first Parlophone single “Love Me Do”/“P.S. I Love You,” it was their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, February 9, 1964 that elevated that interest to fanatical proportions—rightfully deemed, “Beatlemania.” (An estimated 73 million Americans tuned in to see what all the fuss was about.) And once this mania began to spread, anything and everything “Beatles” became like holy relics to be collected and coveted. Following their stay at the Whittier Hotel in Michigan in September of 1964, for example, the sheets the four slept on (and their untold guests) were cut into 164,000 1″ squares that, though originally selling for $1 each, have reportedly brought hundreds of dollars per square. And since that time, virtually anything the Beatles touched–or in many cases, simply bears their names—have drawn enormous fees from fans and professional collectors of the memorabilia market.   

For example, in April of 2013 a signed copy of the Beatles’ 1967 LP Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sold for $290,500 at a Texas auction. In 2011, a Lennon fan (reportedly a dentist) paid $31,200 for John’s extracted, rotted tooth; in 2009 a pair of John’s trademark round “grannie” glasses sold for $97,000; and in 2009 a watercolor John painted at age 11 sold for $123,000! In 2011 an anonymous bidder paid $154,000 for one of the hand-scrawled “Bed Peace” posters from John and Yoko’s famous “Bed-In for Peace.” And extraordinary as these fees may seem, they were mere “drops in the proverbial bucket” compared to some other Beatles sales.   

Another Contender for the Title ’5th Beatle’ – George Martin

Throughout the extraordinary career(s) of the Beatles, a number of peripheral players and insiders have been honored with the “Fifth Beatle” designation, including Klaus Voormann (bassist and artist who designed the famous Revolver cover), Derek Taylor and Neil Aspinall (the Beatles’ public relations manager and road manager-turned-business-executive, respectively), Eric Clapton (after his intuitive contribution to “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”), and Billy Preston (following his masterful work on “Get Back,” “Let It Be,” “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” and “Don’t Let Me Down”). But few would dispute that the true Fifth Beatle was George Martin—the mastermind behind the Beatles’ sound. Record producer, musical arranger, conductor, audio engineer, composer, and fellow musician (a graduate of Guildhall School of Music in London), Sir George Henry Martin (January 3, 1926–) was not only responsible for creating the Beatles’ public appeal (musically-speaking), he was instrumental in bringing their creative ideas to fruition—which once started, flooded out at an astounding rate.  

As an A&R man (Artists and Repertoire talent scout) for EMI’s Parlophone record label, it had been Martin’s job to make Parlophone competitive with Columbia and HMV/RCA records, but as of the spring of 1962 had only managed to keep the label afloat by creating a stream of comedy albums (one of his best-sellers, Peter Ustinov’s Phoney Folklore Mock Mozart). The fundamental obstacle was that the more successful labels were already cashing in on the Skiffle and Rock-music teen market, having signed popular stars like Cliff Richard (“Living Doll”) and Tommy Steele (“The Writing on the Wall”)–who Martin had a chance to sign but thought too derivative of Elvis Presley. So George was essentially waiting for the next great “thing” to walk through the door when talent manager Brian Epstein approached him in May of 1962 with a demo from a band who had already been turned down by Decca and several other British labels.   

The Beatles Album Covers – Abbey Road

The Beatles Album Covers – Abbey Road

It’s the most famous pedestrian crossing in history, and the home to the studio where the Beatles recorded almost all of their albums and singles between 1962 and 1970. No album cover has inspired more imitations, conspiracy theories, and tourist stops than Abbey Road, the Beatles’ eleventh and final studio album (although Let It Be was technically the last to be released). The now-iconic cover photograph, which was based on a series of impromptu sketches by Paul McCartney, features all four members of the band crossing the street in tandem. John Lennon leads, from left to right, followed by Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison.

Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan published a book in 1966 that featured a photo of Yoko Ono, Yoko introduced him to John Lennon, and John subsequently invited Macmillan to photograph the album cover for Abbey Road. On the morning of August 8, 1969, Macmillan had a mere ten minutes to snap the photo from his position atop a stepladder while police held up traffic. There were only six takes, and the fifth photo was selected for the cover. It was the only shot in which John, Ringo, Paul, and George’s legs were all in perfect formation, and the only one in which we see Paul McCartney smoking.

The Beatles Movies

As is now part of popular Beatles lore, virtually from the beginning of their phenomenal climb to super-stardom, cameras were constantly rolling; indeed, videography paralleled and documented most every facet of the Beatles’ lives and creative processes. Thus it comes as no real surprise that the “Fab Four” (and individual Beatles) accumulated a considerable amount of rehearsal, studio, and live performance footage, and subsequently gravitated into feature films (A Hard Day’s Night and Help!), the promotional film/“music video” genre (with “Strawberry FieldsForever” and “Penny Lane”), art-house film-making (The Magical Mystery Tour), animation (Yellow Submarine), and documentary format (Let It Be).   

A Hard Day’s Night   

In the fall of 1963, movie producer Walter Shenson of United Artists films approached Beatles manager Brian Epstein with the idea of the Beatles starring in feature film about their phenomenal popularity, with the working title, Beatlemania. Widely considered the first time a movie was made primarily for the resulting soundtrack (UA thinking that even if the film was a flop they would recoup their investment through the music), the Beatles began shooting in March of 1964, with production ending about four weeks later. The final product (basically the behind-the-scenes goings-on surrounding a performance at Scala Theatre in London) premiered on July 6, 1964 in London (August 11 in New York City), with a reported 1 ½ million copies of the soundtrack sold by July 17 and the “A Hard Day’s Night” single certified gold by August 25.