The Anthology Series seems like a stupid idea... (The Beatles Anthology Vol.3 - The Beatles)

Member Name: markhobbs

Product:	The Beatles Anthology Vol.3 - The Beatles
Date:	20/06/01 (14 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Amazing songs

Disadvantages: Bit of a cash-in

The Anthology series seems like a stupid idea. Just early versions of our favourite songs, why not just give us the proper ones?

Well, after listening to this, I think they were entirely justified in releasing them. They’re huge cash ins but they’re good, and isn’t that the main thing.

This particular one spawns from the last recording sessions from the guys, from The White Album to Let it Be. It features the Beatles’ most complex and amazing songs, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, Come Together, While My Guitar Gently Weeps they’re all here.

Some of them, particularly Happiness… are very much the unfinished product, but they’re recorded live so they sound absolutely brilliant.

A lot of the songs also feature some sound bites from the band, suggesting how they should change the song, commenting on how good it is or, in the case of Oh! Darling, singing ad lib after the song should have finished. This was prompted by the news that Yoko’s divorce had gotten through.

It also features a lot of songs that ended up as solo material, All Things Must Pass and Junk being the best of those. It shows the depth of songs the guys had to choose from, a lot of great songs ended up not ever being properly recorded.

The album showcases the musical coming of age of George Harrison, who contributes nine songs, all of them being very listenable. He steals the song of the album with Something, it comes across as much more passionate than the album version, and in my opinion, surpasses it.

All in all, it’s a good album with a lot of tracks and different enough to warrant buying.

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