Tuesday, March 30, 2010

“BSO Beatles show satisfies sold-out crowd (Bangor Daily News)” plus 3

“BSO Beatles show satisfies sold-out crowd (Bangor Daily News)” plus 3

BSO Beatles show satisfies sold-out crowd (Bangor Daily News)

Posted: 29 Mar 2010 08:22 PM PDT

There's something fundamentally satisfying about hearing the cello-driven thump that anchors "I Am the Walrus" being performed by full orchestra. The music of the Beatles is permanently ingrained in our cultural DNA, so giving it a real orchestral treatment is as close to hearing it with a fresh pair of ears as possible.

Last Saturday night the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, led by guest conductor Martin Herman, performed a selection of classic Beatles tracks with the Classical Mystery Tour, a group of musicians who look and sound quite spookily similar to John, Paul, George and Ringo. A sold-out crowd responded with peals of applause to the hit parade, which included not unexpected choices such as "Hey Jude" and "Eleanor Rigby" as well as less likely songs such as "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away."

It's easy to forget how much the Beatles used orchestral arrangements in their songs. "Hello Goodbye" wouldn't sound right without the viola melody underneath the vocals, while the snazzy horn lines of "Ob La Di, Ob La Da" lift the song into sublime silliness. Indeed, the horn section of the BSO got to shine Saturday night, with everything from concert opener "Got To Get You Into My Life" to the poignant warmth of "The Long and Winding Road," to the instantly recognizable trumpet solo in "Penny Lane."

Several songs were left glaringly off the playlist, including the groundbreaking cello and trumpet arrangement of "Strawberry Fields Forever," and the clarinet-driven "When I'm 64," the latter of which perhaps seeming too painfully appropriate to perform, given the average age of audience members. And while most concert-goers were undoubtedly aware of the fact that "Live and Let Die" and "Imagine" are not Beatles songs, their inclusion nevertheless was a fun departure.

Judging by the sold-out crowd and the overwhelmingly positive audience reception, it appears that it would serve the BSO and the Collins Center for the Arts well to bring in more pop concerts of this sort. It not only strengthens and expands the BSO's audience — it also provides an important showcase for music outside of Brahms, Bach and Beethoven. Orchestras can play more than just the standard classical repertoire, and, especially in the case of the Beatles, such concerts can be as much fun for the symphony as for the audience.

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The Beatles Rarity Of The Week (MOG)

Posted: 29 Mar 2010 05:20 AM PDT

Welcome to yet another installment in the Beatles Rarity Of The Week series.

When The Beatles Anthology 1 CD set was released in November 1995, I was truly in awe over it. While I had heard some of the recordings on my own unofficial releases, there were many that were new to me. And in most cases, the quality of the recordings I already had in my possession were significantly upgraded.

One fascinating example of a historically significant set of songs is explained in the set's accompanying booklet. In the spring or summer of 1958, The Quarry Men (John, Paul, George, John Lowe & Colin Hanton) heard about a guy named Percy Phillips. Read more here.

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Review: Many exciting moments as symphony helps re-create Beatles album (Akron Beacon Journal)

Posted: 28 Mar 2010 02:16 PM PDT

Most people don't expect to rock out at an orchestral pops concert. But that's exactly what happened Saturday night with Classic Albums Live and the Akron Symphony in a note-for-note performance of the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Joining in a baby boomer-driven trend that joins classical orchestras with classic rock, the Akron Symphony played backup to a visiting six-piece rock band that drew an enthusiastic crowd enticed by the chance to hear in its entirety one of the greatest albums of all time live onstage.

The Toronto-based Classic Albums Live was founded by Craig Martin in 2003 to re-create classic 1960s and '70s albums note for note and cut for cut. In Akron, expectations were undoubtedly high for rock lovers who have every nuance of the Beatles' influential 1967 concept album engraved in their brains. For the most part, Classic Albums Live delivered.

But in the opening title song Saturday night, the sound balance was off among the Classic Albums musicians, who consisted of two guitarists, a bass player, drummer, percussionist and keyboard player. The keyboard sounded shrill and overamplified in both Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds and Getting Better. Even worse were the underwhelming, under-pitch vocals of bass player Mark Stewartson, singing lead in Lucy.

It was a rough start, and the orchestra was sitting around doing nothing for a while until the repeat chorus of Lucy. But things picked up with Marty Morin's ultra-cool vocals in Fixin' a Hole and the orchestra's beautiful strings in the lyrical She's Leaving Home, which also highlighted harpist Melody Rapier.

The 36-piece Akron Symphony came close to the 40 live orchestral musicians the Beatles used to record their groundbreaking A Day in the Life. From the orchestra's careening carousel sounds in Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite to the mellow clarinets in When I'm 64, it was fun to hear the synergy between orchestra and rock band.

But the true partnering came with concertmaster Alan Bodman playing the sitar's melody on violin in the exotic Within You Without You, which also had an awesome call-and-response section between strings and synthesizer. Most brilliant were the tension and excitement in A Day in the Life, complete with wildly extended orchestral crescendos and an offstage alarm clock replicating the album's shift in music from John Lennon to Paul McCartney's vocals.

Rock album re-creations are rare, Akron Symphony folks say, because few bands have taken the time to create the charts, or sheet music, for their material. Creating the charts for Sgt. Pepper as well as the Beatles' Abbey Road and Revolver exactly as the albums sound was a gargantuan task, CAL founder Martin said.

Saturday night, his band didn't engage in much patter and the musicians certainly weren't trying to impersonate the Beatles. For Classic Albums Live, it's all about a deep respect for the original music.

The Akron Symphony hasn't done a pop rock concert since its 2003 performance of The Music of Led Zeppelin: A Rock Symphony. Last weekend, the orchestral musicians and the visiting rockers thrilled audience members with a rowdy second act filled with a variety of Beatles hits. Concertgoers sang along and swayed with lit-up cell phones to Hey Jude and jumped up to dance for the first of two encores, the Beatles' cover of Twist and Shout.

 

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

 

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WWE stars talk the Beatles ahead of WrestleMania, Wrestlers rip Frank Mir (Lords of Pain)

Posted: 28 Mar 2010 03:13 PM PDT

-- With legendary Beatles member Paul McCartney playing Glendale, Arizona later tonight, AZCentral.com has an article featuring various WWE Superstars talking about their favorite songs by the iconic band.

"Hey Jude" was the most popular selection from the songbook, receiving mentions from Kelly Kelly, Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler. Shawn Michaels and Kofi Kingston both identified "Let it Be," with a number of other classic Beatles songs all receiving one mention. CM Punk, meanwhile, said he hates the Beatles.

-- Gregory Helms' tweet, notably re-tweeted by Matt Hardy, regarding Frank Mir's crushing UFC 111 knockout loss to Shane Carwin: "For all the Mir fans out there, I just got word that he was released from the hospital and his vaginal reconstruction was a success."

Huge WWE WrestleMania Match Outcome *SPOILERS* + Live Play-By-Play Results & News!

  • VIDEO: Backstage Celebration for Shawn Michaels after WrestleMania

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