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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Forgotten Beatles "rejects" given new life, 18 Feb 2004
This finely crafted album is one of those tribute albums of new recordings, bringing a fresh outlook to some well known and some not so well known Lennon & McCartney songs, rather than a compilation of already issued stuff.All the songs on this album were effectively given away by the Beatles, either intentionally, as to Badfinger, Mary Hopkin and Cilla Black, or unintentionally, being songs they rejected but good enough to give momentary fame for such as Billy J Kramer or the Fourmost or even P J Proby. The three main vocal performers are Kate Pierson (of the B52s), Bill Janovitz (of Buffalo Tom) and Graham Parker, and they each stamp their own unique personality on the songs. Some arrangements are faithful or only subtley altered from the originals, usually the removal of the sickly orchestrations, as in "It's For You". Others, principally the lesser known numbers, are more radically attended to; "Tip of my Tongue", a poor imitation of Beatle music, gets a rock steady beat, "Hello Little Girl" gets a touch of punk, and "I'll Keep You Satisfied" sounds very Rolling Stones. Bill Janovitz's gruff voice is something of an acquired taste, but you get used to it, and Kate Pierson keeps her B52 falsetto largely at bay. The sound production is what I would call neutral, allowing the songs and arrangements speak for themselves rather than trying to sound spectacular or dabbling in special effects. It is great to hear these largely neglected songs given a fresh-airing; Beatles cast-offs they may have been but most of today's songwriters would love to be able to write such tunes. The album may by its nature appeal only to old Beatles nuts like myself, which is a shame; it is far more worthy than recent attempts to tinker with their original stuff.
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![The Beatles - Help! Limited Edition [DVD] [1965]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51OuXZ9p7zL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ The Beatles
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