Past Masters Volume Two

The Beatles' discography spans a period in which the Tin Pan Alley / Bobbysoxer mentality of the previous generation gave way to modern business practices, where the artist has some say in what gets done with their catalog. (You can thank the Fabs themselves for most of that change, but that's neither here nor there.) As a result, the Beatles' releases were extremely haphazard; EPs, LPs, singles, special promo releases, mono and stereo mixes of the same songs, redubbed tunes, different packaging in every country, etc. etc. Figuring it all out was a task suited to only the most die-hard collector.

When it became obvious that vinyl records were soon to go the way of the wax cylinder and the 78, Capitol decided that it would be best to finally collect all the non-album tracks in one place. Hence, Past Masters One and Two. While fans griped about the packaging, which was literally as plain as black and white, the CDs are about all one could expect from a post-Apple, pre-Apple Beatle juggernaut; it was enough for most of us to finally have these songs without having to buy ten or twelve albums. And in digital quality, yet!

So, PM 1 and 2 take their place as albums 14 and 15 in the modern age. But while it might be tempting to write them off as another collection of odds and sods, the fact is, the Beatles straddled those above-mentioned eras so completely that they have several classic singles never contained on an officially released album. These two CDs contain oddities like "Sie Liebt Dich", but they also give you "Hey Jude", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and "She Loves You" -- not only essential parts of the Beatle legacy, but parts of the summit. For the record, and as they say on TV commercials for similar products, here's what you get!

The Singles

Alternate Mixes

We Can Work It Out The B-side (or double A, depending). A gentle folkish number, with what is supposed to be the first change in time signature on a Beatle record. Supposedly, John came up with the bridge... "Life is very short..."

Paperback Writer The Beatles' monster riff song of their mid-Sixties output (maybe of all their output). A typically engaging bit of sardonic fiction from Paul, and a sign that social commentary, even some as embryonic as this, was possible and profitable. That is "Frere Jacques" being sung in the background vocals. Possibly the kickoff to the Beatles' "middle period".

Rain Hands down, one of the finest songs ever recorded -- a metaphorical treatise on the status quo, set to a track that is so flawless it sounds like the product of one set of hands, not four. Ringo himself considers it far and away his best-ever drum performance, and Paul's bass is no less than amazing. John had the idea of running the tape backwards at the end after accidentally threading a vocal track backwards one day.

Lady Madonna Paul's fantastic ode to Fats Domino, but with typically Paulie storyline, steeped in everyday struggle and Catholic imagery. Featuring one of Ringo's all-time funkiest beats at the end. Fats repaid the homage by covering this and "...Me And My Monkey."

The Inner Light The third in George's Indian troika usually gets a bad rap, but it's actually melodically superior to the other two entries ("Love You To" and "Within You Without You"). Also features nice harmonies from the lads and some wonderful (and very Eastern) backing on the verses.

Hey Jude (Original Title: Hey Jules) The A-side of what was quite possibly the band's greatest 45; it contained high points for John and Paul's songwriting, and remain testaments as to how one band can occupy such varied musical territory. Originally written by Paul about Julian, John's son (hence the original title) but it soon became bigger than that. John insisted that Paul leave in the nonsense, place-marking line about "the movement you need". Paul vamps like a man posessed at the end, turning in his finest vocal ever. A monolith in the fields of Rock and Roll, and an incredibly, daringly long single, even by today's standards.

Revolution The electric, sped-up version of John's anti-revolutionary polemic, and far superior for it. Changed only so that a single could be gotten from it, but Thank God; this is a real world-championship jam. That incredible sound is supposedly attributable to George and John scraping the paint off of a certain guitar. Or so they claim. Nicky Hopkins on electric piano.

Get Back (single version) The single version of the classic shuffling Paul boogie. Does not feature the tacked-on rooftop ending, or rehearsal beginning, like the album version, but it DOES include the "Your mama's waiting for you" ending. Otherwise, it's almost identical.

Don't Let Me Down One of John's most heartfelt odes to Yoko. A searching, yearning, and tender expression of the vulnerability of new love. A standout of the Rooftop Concert. So why, oh why, was it relegated to a B-side?

The Ballad Of John And Yoko An extremely controversial (but fun!) look into the way John And Yoko's media messages got misunderstood by the media themselves. Banned on many stations because of the "blasphemous" allusions to Christ and the crucifixion. This track consists entirely of John and Paul, splitting the instruments and vocals. That's Paul on drums. (Some say you can hear John call Peter Brown's office in the background of this track. I've yet to hear it. Can you?)

Old Brown Shoe Another George song fallen by the wayside, this odd little number essays The Quiet One's off-kilter blues a lot better than "For You Blue". It's still not very well known among casual fans, though. More's the pity. Dig George's bottleneck-sounding guitar, which is actually a regular guitar run through a Leslie speaker.

Across The Universe (World Wildlife Fund version) The original version of this Let It Be highlight isn't much better produced than the more familiar, Spectorized version. It's too fast, the wildlife effects are gratuitous (it was recorded for the WWF charity album), and the backing vocals provided by two female fans hanging around the studio (the "Apple Scruffs" of lore) are childlike and grating. Still a fine song, however.

Let It Be To me, this single version is inferior to the Spector version on LIB, mainly because of two things: This song actually got a tasteful arrangement from Phil, unlike "Long and Winding Road", and 2) The album version has the far superior George guitar solo. Now, as to whether or not you like Ringo's tribal drums in the last verse...