By Thomas E. Davis
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of The Beatles' first album "Please Please Me." The four lads from Liverpool were the biggest thing in popular music during the 1960s, and many folks still think they're the biggest thing in pop. Nearly everything they played, sang, said, and did was recorded, so there's a deep back catalog of words and music, a remarkable quantity of it still unissued by the copyright holders. Bootlegs exist, of course, but their quality and provenance are highly variable, and their cost can be exorbitant. "The Complete BBC Sessions," for example, a rare nine-CD box set produced in Italy in 1993, contains portions of 44 BBC appearances, but it will set you back hundreds of dollars - if you can find it.
John, Paul, George, and Ringo appeared no less than 52 times at the Beeb between 1962 and 1966, performing for "The Light Programme" at the beginning of their careers both in studio and before audiences on a variety of live shows. However, it's been nearly 20 years since the first volume of selected recordings from that era was officially released in 1994. "On Air - Live at the BBC Volume 2" at last brings us more of these broadcasts, two CDs full of great music, youthful exuberance, wit and humor. As on the first set, a 48-page booklet is enclosed, this one with an introduction by Paul McCartney. There's also a long essay, numerous photos, session details, and track-by-track commentary.
This package contains 40 musical performances, 37 of them never before issued by the BBC, EMI, Apple or Capitol (the first volume had 56 songs, 30 of them previously unreleased). Between the songs are 19 short clips of banter among the boys and their rather plummy radio hosts in which they tease one another, respond to fan requests, and discuss a variety of topics such as the making of the film "A Hard Day's Night" in 1964. These interpolations give you an experience very much like the one you would have had listening to the programs on the radio. You are a witness to the birth of British Beatlemania.
Seventeen of the tracks are Lennon-McCartney classics like "She Loves You," "And I Love Her," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "I Saw Her Standing There," "You Can't Do That," and "I'll Follow the Sun"; the remainder are covers of songs by the likes of Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Arthur Alexander, Goffin & King, and Lieber & Stoller. So many of my favorites are here: "Chains," "Words of Love," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Twist & Shout", and "Long Tall Sally," together with delightful surprises like Chan Romero's "The Hippy Hippy Shake," Ray Charles' "I Got A Woman," Carl Perkins' rockabilly number "Lend Me Your Comb," and his country ballad "Sure to Fall (in Love with You)." There's even a tune that appears nowhere else in the Beatles discography, Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" in the form of an utterly transformed rave-up.
Extended interviews with each of the four lads are appended as "Pop Profiles," two at the end of each disc, totaling 35 minutes of relaxed, down-to-earth charm. Recorded in November 1965 just before the release of "Rubber Soul" and in May 1966 during the "Revolver" sessions, these conversations saw the Beatles talking candidly about their musical influences and the processes of composing and recording as well as their families and living situations. They discuss the activities they were enjoying, how the public seemed to perceive them, their childhood memories, and their hopes for the future.
The monophonic sound is pristine throughout save for a couple of slightly muffled tracks included for historical reasons ("Beautiful Dreamer" and the Chuck Berry rarity "I'm Talking About You"). The playing and singing, needless to say, are top-notch. You won't be able to resist Ringo's full-throttle vocals and George's guitar solos on "Boys" and "Honey Don't," and you'll thrill to John's raucous voice on "Money (That's What I Want)" and Paul's iconic leads on "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Lucille." You might even find yourself screaming along with the girls in the audience when you hear the boys' harmonies on "From Me to You."
In his introduction, Sir Paul expresses great pleasure at this collection: "There's a lot of energy and spirit. We are going for it, not holding back at all, trying to put in the best performance of our lifetimes." He explains that their fascination with American music and their first attempts at songwriting were inspired by listening to the BBC and Radio Luxembourg, browsing manager Brian Epstein's record shop, and hearing about new sounds from peers. Since there's so much talk on the set, it may not be quite as wonderful as Volume One, but no one can say that all of the world-changing music and joyful nostalgia aren't worth 18 bucks. Buy it!
