listening (another day in the life) ...

... I thought the 'new' Beatles album, Love was supposed to be released on Monday (Nov 20th) but my local had it for sale yesterday. So, I bought it.

It's a terrific work of imagining, or re-imagining if you want - just like any mix-tape or mash-up or sample-based work. I'm not sure it would mean much (matter much) to anyone who hadn't gotten into the originals, or at least grown up with them. Tho' one of the guys at my CD store, the youngest guy, waxed enthusiastic over it and I'm sure he wasn't born when this stuff was released. So the nostalgia factor isn't the only one (I have most of this material on an old kind of material called vinyl, anyway, some of it 'mono', if anyone knows what that is).

The sound is sharp and you can hear things you've never heard before. Some of the originals are alternate takes as well. As I said, it's a mash-up, essentially. So if you hate mash-ups don't go there. I love 'em. It's nearly 80 minutes worth and I didn't pay full price, so I'm happy.

It goes from the very obvious ('Yesterday', 'Lady Madonna') to the not-so ("What You're Doing', 'Blue Jay Way'). So, 'Gnik Nus' is 'Sun King' played backwards (very Beatles) and sounds a bit like The Beach Boys. Look, you could even get to (almost) like 'Octopus's Garden' in its new setting, and that's saying a lot.

Anyway, more later. I'm going to play it again. By the way, I think the title 'Love' is pretty stupid and the packaging is very ordinary.

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CLAY BANES said…
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18/11/2006, 18:21
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