And now...here they are...The Beatles!
The summers of 1964 and 1965 are now more than fifty years in the rearview mirror, yet the music made by four lads from Liverpool over three evenings at Los Angeles' famous Hollywood Bowl now sounds so fresh and so immediate, you could believe it was recorded yesterday. Such is the work of the sonic wizards on Capitol/Apple/UMe's first-time-on-CD, retitled, remixed and expanded reissue of The Beatles' Live at the Hollywood Bowl (B0025451-02, 2016).
Capitol Records first captured John, Paul, George and Ringo at the venerable Los Angeles bandshell on August 23, 1964 during the height of Beatlemania. The tapes, however, proved to be of less than optimal quality, though the label utilized less than a minute of "Twist and Shout" for the docu-album The Beatles Story. When the Fab Four returned to the venue on August 29 and 30 of the following year, their American label was once again rolling tape, but the finished results once again were deemed inadequate for commercial release.
More than a decade passed before George Martin was enlisted to review the tapes to fill the gaping hole where a live album should have existed in the band's discography. (A reported 1971 attempt by Phil Spector never panned out.) Martin found the August 29, 1965 recording to be the least useable of the three performances, selecting only "Ticket to Ride" and "Help!" from that date as well as part of "Dizzy Miss Lizzy." Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick assembled what was originally titled The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl primarily from the August 23, 1964 and August 30, 1965 tapes, and upon its release in May '77, the group's first ever authorized live album became an instant success.
Despite being the only true live album in The Beatles' catalogue, the album remained lost in the CD era and perhaps best-known for the screams of Beatlemaniacs which very nearly overwhelmed the music. Thanks to the advance of technology, the original record as conceived by the late George Martin can now be enjoyed anew. For sure, the first sound heard on Live at the Hollywood Bowl is that of screaming. The incessant howls continue throughout the entirety of the 17-track release. But what's now a cushion of historically-accurate background noise was once at the forefront, defining the record.
Giles Martin, George's son and his collaborator on The Beatles' LOVE spectacle in Vegas, has produced this new version aided by mixing engineer Sam Okell and remastering engineer Alex Wharton. The wonder of their work is evident from the very first track. "Twist and Shout" - barely a minute and a half long - threatens to explode from the speakers with joyous abandon. Though The Beatles wore no monitors and likely couldn't hear each other onstage, they played like a true, tightly-attuned band with no studio enhancement. Giles Martin's team has lowered the yelps and brought the band forward with remarkable clarity in both vocals and instrumentation. (For the record, Capitol's Voyle Gilmore produced the initial recordings.) The soundstage makes good use of stereo, lending true dimension to the 50+-year old tapes.
The din of the shouting might have proven distracting, but likely it was inspirational as well. Compare the performances here to those on the two volumes of Live at the BBC; without an audience's energy, there's less sheer frisson from the band. The Hollywood Bowl, for a brief half-hour or so each night, became as intimate as the Cavern Club, bringing newly-empowered young fans close to their heroes. In these uptempo, rough and raw live takes of both Beatle originals and tried-and-true covers from Little Richard, Chuck Berry and others, there's no compensating from the band to "fill" the enormous venue - just straight-ahead, unvarnished, potent rock-and-roll.
If anyone ever doubted that the Fab Four could rock as hard as The Stones or The Who, there's ample evidence here, whether Paul's ferocious lead on "She's a Woman," George's garage licks and John's throat-shredding vocals on "Twist and Shout" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," or Ringo's loose and engaging step to the microphone for "Boys." The band modulates the then-new "Things We Said Today" like a three-act play, ratcheting up the excitement with the furious bridge, and makes sure their perfect pop harmonies are intact on "Boys," just to name one. The back-to-back punch of "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!," almost impossibly fresh and throbbing with urgency, reminds the listener even now of why The Beatles changed the game in popular music.
Four newly-remixed bonus tracks not on the 1977 release have been appended for this edition, all of which are as essential as the thirteen core songs. "You Can't Do That" and especially "I Want to Hold Your Hand" crackle with energy. Carl Perkins' "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" is a sprightly dose of rockabilly, while the waltzing "Baby's in Black" is about the slowest item on this set.
An attractive 24-page booklet printed on heavy, glossy stock is enclosed within the digipak which, in one of the collection's only missteps, bears the artwork for Ron Howard's upcoming documentary film Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years rather than a Hollywood Bowl-themed cover. (The movie premieres next week, on September 16.) The booklet contains David Fricke's informative and entertaining essay as well as photos, replicas of period articles, and George Martin's liner notes for the original 1977 LP. (Of particular amusement are the concert tickets with a face value of $3.00 and $5.50!)
With this release, Beatlefans (and who isn't?) can check this long-lost LP off their CD wish lists. (A deluxe vinyl edition is also available for pre-order, arriving November 18.) An insert promises the November DVD/BD release of Ron Howard's film about the Fabs' touring years, but Live at the Hollywood Bowl happily stands on its own as a document of an era the likes of which will never be seen again. Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Live at the Hollywood Bowl is available now at the links below:
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Vinyl (due 11/18): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
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Terrific review. Where there are Beatles fans there is nitpicking, and I can locate several pickable nits with this release. This should have been a stand-alone release, with an anthology of live tracks to accompany the Ron Howard film. The cover isn't ugly, exactly, but it doesn't look like a record cover. It looks like an ad for a movie. The bonus tracks should have been interspersed into the main running order (they changed everything else about the 1977 album, they could have changed the running order too). And why couldn't they squeeze those last four songs onto the album?
But, nits aside, "Hollywood Bowl" is a vital document of the Beatles as a live band, and it's better to have it on the shelves than out of print. Possibly the only multi-track live recordings of the band (there have been conflicting stories of how they recorded Shea Stadium in 1965). Giles Martin would be in for withering criticism no matter how he handled the project, but I think he did a good job on this record.
Now if they could just collect all the acoustic White Album demos in time for the 50th anniversary. . . .
You don't have acoustics versions of The White Album songs. It'terrific. Regarding the Hollyood Bowl album. I love it, but have some of the same quibbles as you...on song placement, etc. Having "Baby's In Black" at the very end is anticlimactic. Those 4 songs could easily have been integrated. I do have one major question: Why did The Beatles perform so few songs at the concerts???? Was the screaming so intense and their being unable to hear themselves sing or play and sometimes have to guess if they were all in the same place in the same song at the same time....since they had no monitors. Longer shows would have been great. If posle
From what I've heard, most bands' concerts in this era were fairly short. It wasn't until the later '60's that bands starting playing longer sets....
Today most concerts have one main act, and maybe an opening act. The main act might play for a couple of hours.
Back then however concerts featured a number of acts. (Check out some of the tour posters from the 50's and 60's.) So in 1964 The Beatles show at the Hollywood Bowl featured five other acts, plus The Beatles.
That's why their set seems short by today's standards.
At the time, package shows with short sets by multiple acts were common. The Beatles only played for a half hour or so, but they also had numerous opening acts. The poster for their 1966 Candlestick Park show listed the Cyrkle, the Ronettes, and the Remains, "plus two other acts to be determined." The Monkees' 16-song, 60-minute 1967 set was considered long at the time. Headliners were not expected to play for two and a half hours like they are today.
It's always about out-takes, demos and general "mistakes" with a release. Universal bought the catalogue and can do what they want. We're only a couple funerals away from hearing everything you ever wanted released.
The present changes the past like a backwards time machine.
I'll take what I can get from The Beatles. A long, long time ago I listened to Hollywood Bowl. Thought there would be music, but no. Now I finally get to hear The Beatles live.
Cheap cardboard. Ugly cover. Too short. Bonus cuts at the end, rather than in logical playing order. Glad to have it! Also, I wish the book had included the (superior) LP foldout sleeve.
Ugly, ugly cover. How has Ron Howard managed to get his name on a Beatles album cover? Not even Spector managed that!
Got my copy today!
I put it on and cranked my Bose system, right out the gate I noticed the Boom of McCartney's bass!
I have so many thoughts about what I'm hearing that I almost don't know where to start!
First off, Giles Martin deserves high fives from everyone! The sound improvement cannot be denied, the vocals on this album come thru loud and clear! In fact the entire band comes thru!
This album absolutely ROCKS!
She's A Woman is absolutely bad to the bone! The Beatles are tight, hot and laying it down! It is absolutely amazing that they were this tight and played this good under the conditions they were in. Anyone who says the Beatles weren't a good live band is just wrong!
Dizzy Miss Lizzy is Heavy Metal in 1964! When Lennon screams the Beatles are taking no prisoners, this is absolute hard rock, in fact this is one of the hardest rocking performances I've ever heard of the Beatles! What Giles Martin has done allows you to really hear the band, and man what a hard rocking band the Beatles really were!
One of the things I always hold against all of the Beatle tribute bands is they don't really rock as hard as the real Beatles.
The sound is just so much improved, listen to Harrison's guitar solo in Roll Over Beethoven, now you can hear it so clear!
Ringo's drumming can be heard much better.
McCartney's vocals shine in Can't Buy Me Love !
As I said, I love the boom of McCartney's bass behind it all! I've always thought that you should be able to hear McCartney's bass, Giles Martin deserves credit.
I could go on and on about the songs, but I'll just say they were right, this does bring the thrill of a Beatles concert! The improved sound let's you really hear how powerful and absolutely hard rocking the Beatles really were live!
To me, this is a must have album, what they've done should change how anyone looks at this album now! This album isn't the stepchild anymore, these are absolutely hot hard rocking performances that sound better than they ever have!
I like the four additional songs as well, I really love Lennon's vocals on You Can't Do That!
I am actually excited, this sounds way way better than I was expecting! I still don't like the cover, but this has easily become one of my very fave Beatle albums!
To my ears, this is a proper and very very good live album!
Performance and (re)engineering A+ / song sequencing B / Package design and graphics D- (at LEAST they put a photo of them "from the road" on the front cover) . A musical treat, but dreadful visuals, which is so wrong for a Beatles' release. Their covers always took you away as you listened (yes, EVEN Let It Be!). This is throwaway Sunday newspaper ad fodder. Pity. But thank you Giles & company and The FABS for the music that propelled my life!
small nitpick: no one "wore" monitors back then. If bands had them they were low-lying speakers at the lip of the stage, aimed back at the band.
Huge opportunities missed in many ways for the Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl!!!!
For a start, the cover is...Dreadful, McCartney or Starr had NO INPUT re this cover, as a Beatles album cover matched the songs!
This doesn't!
Missed opportunity No.1
As for the song listings, they could have had a very good Double album, the tracks were available to do so!
What was the point of messing with "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" by the way, the original,on the very good Bootleggs, sounds absolutely fine in its original form!
Are we been told the truth about "New tracks of the Hollywood Bowl" ?
Were they really "found" in Capitol Records or just more spin?
Giles Martin only allude to that "fact" once or twice on the many intervies and articles on the subject, so are there really new tapes in existence ?
The 1977 tracks were also 3 track stereo and the boys in Abbey road had new technology andy to "de-scream" the sound in the concerts for the release?
So, did someome not get the "Spin" right???
Missed opportunity No.2
Ron Howard having such influence on the H.Bowl project?
Considering his prime project was the Movie, why is he all over thw album album, he wasnt even a fan???
The fans know more about thw album, where as McCartney or Starr's input in all of this project is null and void, other than sitting at pseudo "buddy chats " or Mock PR appearances with Howard??
Someone who was there or worked intensley on the album should have been at the press conferences not these three, they are usless
Ron Howard was like a spare Prick at a wedding, McCartney & Starr looked like extras after their own concert!
Bizzare!!!!
Misses opportunity No. 3.
The second "extra disc" on the DVD?????
Who was responsible for that?
What was new to learn?
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
It was just another attempt to garner more cash for Apple,because the other two dont need the money, nor do the Lennon estate or The Harrison family, a basic cash cow really.
I have said to friends over many years, the Bootleggers should be let organise the albums because, they know what the fans want, presumably they are fans too, where as Apple are a business and dont give a damn about the fans!
Missed opportunity No.4
Oh, a short one this time, no chance of a book on the Hollywood Bowl concerts appearing anytime soon?
I asked Brice Spizer but he is NOT doing anymore with the Hollywood Bowl other than what is in his Book, "Swan songs"
Any takers?????
Opportunity Missed No.5.......ans still many more!!!!!