The Beatles: 1

Excellent Album

Back in 1994, Apple's Neil Aspinall said 'Anthology is a ten year project'. When '1' was released in 2000, many bemoaned the lack of a DVD of promo films to accompany that CD, though there was the belief such a thing would eventually be released as part of that plan. That anticipation has now been realised. The 2015 '1' project is available in seven different configurations, and whilst it's part of the deluxe set reviewed here, reviews on the CD can be read elsewhere. It's the videos everyone is interested in.Until now, other than the 'Anthology' series, everyone has been able to watch a lot of what's here on line but not necessarily in its entirety and, for the most part, it's usually been a painful viewing experience; but no more. Not only have the films been fastidiously restored to 4K standard, each has a 5.1 surround audio mix too. And that's one reason why it's taken this long to come to fruition. When it comes to anything Fab Four related, it has to be perfect. Unfortunately for me, I don't have a 5.1 system so cannot comment on the sound regarding that. On top of the 50 videos, this deluxe package also includes a lavish 124 page book on each track, and an essay from Mark Ellen.The first 27 are related to the songs on the '1' CD and some have had videos especially prepared for this, whilst the 23 on the second disc are a decent selection of tracks. However, though some songs might be duplicated on the first disc, the videos are completely different, and again, some have been made exclusively for this release editing in previously unused film. All the same, it's this second disc that will probably be the most interesting of the two. As if you needed any, both discs have 'extras' of Paul giving audio commentaries on 'Penny Lane', 'Hello Goodbye' and 'Hey Jude', whilst Ringo filmed introductions to those same three songs plus 'Get Back'. Disc 2 has a commentary by Paul on 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and a Ringo intro.Albeit in black and white, when I watched the restored 'AHDN' film it looked as if it was made the previous week; much on here has a similar feel in that the restoration has removed all traces of scratching, jumping and the detritus that accumulates on film over time and each one is now very watchable. No wonder it's taken years to finish. What you see is the group's progression from nicely turned out boys (appearance did matter) to doing things their way, foibles and all. Strangely, only five of the 50 are live, on stage performances and it's good to hear 'From Me To You' without screaming – the Royal Variety Show wasn't the place for that.'Twist And Shout' is unusual in that their positions on stage are reversed, whilst 'She Loves You' from Sweden grinds into the dirt with a well heeled Cuban boot the oft held view of some that the group weren't much live. The version of 'A Hard Day's Night' is the best on stage rendition of that song, 'Can't Buy Me Love' utilises a slightly different vocal, and the second 'I Feel Fine' is the one that had the Beatles making no attempt to mime to the music, which is why it was never originally shown. The BBC version of 'Words Of Love' combines footage of the boys with some clever animation. The non UK single of 'Eight Days A Week' (a strange choice for a single) was never performed either on stage or for television, so it's an amalgamation of footage from the '65 Shea Stadium show. On the other hand, 'Eleanor Rigby' is taken directly from the Yellow Submarine film.Though not shown until a fortnight later, 'Please Please Me' was the second song performed on their first filmed appearance for the Ed Sullivan show. 'Rain' is seen in both colour and a newly created black and white edit performed straight to camera that hasn't been seen for 50 years, and try miming to backwards singing, whilst their most celebrated videos of both 'Penny Lane' and 'Strawberry Fields' are full of colour and no longer look 'washed out' (the tree in the latter is no longer there). To get some idea of what they might have looked like had they carried on touring into 1968, 'Revolution' is the teaser (the film itself bitch slaps any performance since - mimed or otherwise - by anyone on any song firmly back in its place), and 'Hey Jude' is an edit of two other performances to the one usually shown (it also has a different introduction). Look out for John's knowing look when the hula girl dances in front of him on 'Hello Goodbye'. By far the worst thing here, and one that probably unknown by many (including me), is a rather silly animation of 'Come Together', commissioned for the launch of thebeatles.com, but it is the first time it's been seen properly. The other side of that single, 'Something' is ironic in that though this was the final time all four collaborated on film, no two Beatles are shown together. It's the simplest of films and, watched retrospectively, shows how far apart they had now grown. Two videos many might not be familiar with are 'Get Back' and 'Don't Let Me Down', both collected to promote 'Let It Be...Naked' in 2003. 'Free As A Bird' and 'Real Love' are the videos from '94 and '95 but this time with improved quality. Not only that, but the former has a different George vocal and the latter different guitar and drums, and that's what rabid Beatles fans like.As good as each one is, there is one, albeit minor, negative to this. Having three videos of 'Day Tripper' and 'Hello Goodbye' does seem a bit excessive. I'm sure another couple of live performances of something could have been found, as we know there is enough that exist. (Maybe Apple are planning a live release, or didn't want to impinge on the up and coming film documentary.) But it is what it is and Apple obviously had their reasons for including what they have. Included here is a Jukebox 1 and Jukebox 2 option that allows you to programme what you want to watch in any order. Grainy some of them might be, but that's what it was back then.Has the wait for those elusive promo films (and more) been worth it? Whilst there a few bits and pieces we haven't seen before, enough of it has been, let's say, difficult to come by and certainly never commercially released before. That this package includes so many previously hard to see films makes it worth the admission price. If you have a Blu ray player that upscales to 4K (most do) and an appropriate television, with this most sumptuous collection of music videos, you're in for a visual (and audio) delight.Buy it. It's the Beatles!

Well, the Beatles "1+" box set is absolutely phenomenal. I've loved these lads from Liverpool for so long that it's actually pretty easy to forget exactly what it is that made me love them in the first place. Today I got well and truly reminded about how fantastic they were in the eight short years they were making records.These days I tend to enjoy the album tracks, the less obvious Fab Four tracks hiding away on their studio albums, but watching the two DVDs on "1" really hit home how brilliant and diverse their chart-topping singles really were. To watch their styles, both visually and musically, change so rapidly and their songwriting abilities evolve so significantly was awe-inspiring.I've become a little more coy about my fandom of The Beatles over the last decade. It seems such a cliché to respond with "The Beatles" when people ask you to name some of your favourite bands, but it's true. Their lesser tracks are better than most bands' best songs. They weren't perfect, they weren't even all, technically, masterful musicians, but they still provide the benchmark that the media (albeit lazily) compare the success of every other subsequent band by.The videos are an absolute delight. From their early days of being told what to do, where to stand (Hey, Ringo, how about we film this with you on an exercise bike?) to the mid-period magnificence of Rain and the sheer beauty of Penny Lane and glorious moodiness of Strawberry Fields Forever, I was utterly hooked to my screen. I'm not ashamed to say that tears came to my eyes during All You Need Is Love and that I laughed, out loud, many, many times at the humour that shone from their personalities - you could see that they appreciated the sheer absurdity of their success. They were so young, so talented... and to finish with Real Love, with the surviving three Beatles together in the studio, well, when Paul embraced George, I have to confess that I got a bit unnecessary and emotional.There are very few bands who deserve their elevated greatness and legendary status, but on the evidence of this magnificent box set, The Beatles are one of them... and, I would say, these singles only scratch the surface of what they achieved and the sheer quality of music they gave us between 1962 and 1970. As an overview, however, it is untouchable.

This collection represents the best of the Beatles. It charts their development from American parody to greatness and, sort of, back again at the tail end of their career. I'd like to point out why the 5 stars.1. Development - there is no better way to capture the development of the Beatles than from their singles. The first traunch of tracks is relatively weak, but by 1965, they hit the heights. Nothing better than 1965-66 Beatles, best band in the world. Then they started to fight and quality became more iffy and parody.2. Immediacy -probably the best singles band of all time, every track graps your attention immediately and holds you there- whether with a voice or guitar line.3. Variety - once the train got going, there was no telling where it would go. No 2 songs sound the same, really amazing.4. Production - except at the end, the Beatles had great production and arrangements, and George Martin was a genius.5. Recording - the songs sound fabulous, so well recorded, it's frightening.6. Lennon and McCartney - the quality of the songs, great till the end, and the singing - immaculate.7. Ringo's drumming - much derided when I was a player, it is just fabulous on every track, full of taste, unusual, memorable.8. The singing - yes its the Everly Brothers and the Byrds, but so what? Lovely vocal doubling in just the right places. especially McCartney's voice.For me, the highs are from I Feel Fine to Lady Madonna. But there are few dud tracks (OK, Love Me Do, Yellow Submarine, John and Yoko, Long and Winding Road, perhaps) but on the whole, really fab four.The one Beatles record to own.