"Anthology 2" put Beatles back on track

By Steve Marinucci
Published March 19, 1996 in San Jose (CA) Mercury News

'THE BEATLES Anthology 2'' (Capitol), the group's second archival return to yesterday, goes on sale today. And even Beatles collectors who think they've heard it all will find plenty of new material to rave about.
The set opens on a high note with ''Real Love,'' the second song reconstructed from a John Lennon demo by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr and co-producer Jeff Lynne. Released as a single two weeks ago, ''Real Love'' is much better than the first reconstructed song, ''Free As a Bird,'' thanks to some expressive instrumental work by Harrison and Starr. If nothing else, at least it sounds like the Beatles.
What sounds good
Other highlights of the double-CD, double-cassette, three-LP set:

(box) ''I'm Down'': Early track listings had this as the sixth track on the first disc, but it was later moved to third. Why? My guess is that the reason is simple: It's a real rocker that gets the set off to a good start. Unlike Master Take 7, the heavier version that first appeared on the flip side of the ''Help!'' single, this one, Take 1, has more of a '50s feel to it. McCartney's almost reckless vocal fits well, although the track ends cryptically with his comment, ''Plastic soul, man.''

(box) ''Yesterday'': The set features two of the song's milestones, studio Take 1 and its first performance on stage, on the television show ''Blackpool Night Out'' on Aug. 1, 1965. The studio recording, during which McCartney can be heard discussing what to him must have been a still-new chord progression, is done without the string quartet that was added later. It also includes a change in lyrics. McCartney sings, ''There's a shadow hanging over me, I'm not half the man I used to be,'' which reverses the order in which those two lines appear on the familiar version.
The live version (with the string quartet) includes a comic introduction by Harrison that proved to be prophetic. ''And so, for Paul McCartney of Liverpool, opportunity knocks.'' How true. ''Yesterday'' is Lennon and McCartney's most enduring composition.

(box) ''Got To Get You Into My Life'': Take 5, a lighter and completely different arrangement than the released version heard in Take 9, is propelled by McCartney's soulfully buoyant vocal. One of the biggest surprises and most enjoyable tracks in the set.

(box) ''You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)'': One of the group's most unusual songs becomes even more so with the addition of a two-minute section of Lennon vocals, which also appears here in its first-ever stereo version. The song marks one of the times the Beatles took their music less than seriously.

(box) ''I Am the Walrus'': A bare-bones version, just the Beatles playing with no chorus or sound effects.

(box) ''And Your Bird Can Sing'': In Take 2, included here, Lennon and McCartney erupt in a fit of unexplained giggling.

(box) ''Penny Lane'': Not much difference - until the instrumental break when oboes replace the usual horns. The ending restores the trumpet riff heard on the original promotional single and includes some unheard dialogue.

(box) ''A Day in the Life'': An intriguing composite of unreleased takes that includes John's count-in to the rhythm of ''sugar plum fairy, sugar plum fairy'' and Paul's muttered expletive when he forgets the lyrics in his ''woke up, fell out of bed'' segment of the song.
What doesn't sound good
A few songs in the set don't work. ''If You've Got Trouble'' and ''That Means a Lot,'' which follow each other on disc one, are two of Lennon and McCartney's most embarrassing songs. And (like some of the other tracks on ''Anthology 2'') the version of ''Yes It Is'' here was created by joining pieces of takes - in this case, Take 2, which broke down before the end, with the tone pedal guitar and three-part harmony ending from the version eventually released, Take 14. When the two parts don't fit, as here, the effect is jarring.
Generally, though, ''The Beatles Anthology 2'' is a much more interesting and enjoyable experience than ''Anthology 1,'' which was marred by sub-par quality recordings and interview segments. Collections such as this - tracks that weren't meant to be released - are always a risky proposition, especially for the casual listener. Fortunately, most of the tracks here have a charm that should stand up to repeated listenings.

KEYWORDS: MUSIC REVIEW