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Rating: Saying the Beatles were not all that great is considered quite cool. Those who say it earn a quick entry into the Olympus of those who understand a lot, who know "real music," the kind of niche bands with names full of consonants and a discography ignored by most.
The equation lots of sales = little substance, lots of fame = just advertising, leads to the demagogical path trodden by know-it-alls like "Scaruffi," who, by the way, would mostly remain unknown if they hadn't embarked on the crusade of Beatles = trash.
Live at the BBC will certainly not change the minds of those from the Olympus of "only the right" music. Because it's a collection of very light tracks, mostly 50s rock & roll, played by 4 young men on the brink of interplanetary fame, which perhaps they didn't even dream of at the time.
But it is an enjoyable and useful work, recommended for those who want to go against the tide and dedicate half an hour to listening to how 4 BEardless, barely out of their teens, handled their instruments. The news that hasn't yet reached the Olympus where I hope never to enter is that the Beatles knew how to play, and how. As everyone knows, they were a band that came from the real grind, the one involving hours and hours on stage, after which you feel the instrument you play as any other part of your body, like an extension of your limbs and senses. Their school, their life, was the rock & roll of Berry, Elvis, Holly, and it's precisely on the classics of these pillars that the Beatles built the foundations of their climb to history.
Live at the BBC tells the story of the 3/4 years (from 62 to 65) when the 4, cheerful and lively, went on the radio almost for fun, presenting themselves as great performers of the classics (that was their job) and showcasing their first originals with rare contaminations of that POP that would be born soon after.
In the album, there are no pieces of absolute brilliance (like J.H., if you know what I mean); but anyone who has played at least a bit of anything in their life cannot help but be captivated by the extraordinary instrumental cohesion of the group. Led by an unexpected Ringo, powerful, incisive, and precise as a "drum machine," the Beatles exude freshness, power, carefreeness, and great mastery of the limited means of the time. They are sparkling, cheerful, positive, and above all, GOOD, or at least much better than what history says about them.
Paul, in his twenties, is like a precious flower about to bloom and, diligent and precise on the bass, climbs the vocal lines of Berry & Co. (prohibitive for most), with disarming ease. John is the leader and makes it clear to everyone with sharp demonstrations of vocal skill and a tough and highly effective rhythm guitar. George, without even a hair on his face, wins the "employee of the year" award. His riffs, the embellishments, and those deliberately stumbling "solos" cry out for revenge in how precise they are, and the few vocal tries are impressive because it will take years for the "gardener" to emerge in that department with his originals.
All this, strictly, LIVE! And it's this that leaves one stunned. The Beatles were mainly a cover band, and I believe there were few like them around at the time. I have played a lot. And I've seen many performances, feeding on live music in venues around the world. Playing like this is the stuff of few, indeed very few.
For completeness, I must mention that a good part of the recordings comes from sessions at Abbey Road since the BBC had very few technical means at the time. However, chronicles certify that these were completely live performances (the "4-tracks" had yet to revolutionize music), with "overdubs" limited to the minimum.
There are many tracks. For those who don't have time and just want to see if I wrote nonsense, I recommend: "I Got a Woman, Too Much Monkey Business, Some Other Guy, Long Tall Sally, Nothing Shaking, Memphis Tennessee, I'm Gonna Sit..., Glad All Over."
Gems? Many, perhaps too many. The comments, the laughter, the fooling around. I leave them to the die-hard fans. For the record, I note that some tracks, later excluded from the final version, featured Pete Best on drums, who, honestly, had nothing to envy about good old Ringo.
That's it. Yes, yes, I know... long and boring review and blah blah blah. My intention wasn't to enter the clique of star-struck reviewers but rather to share a bit of my love for the Beatles for free, talking about an album not yet reviewed, underestimated by most, but all to be discovered for the skeptics.
Rock On!
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