The idea of a new Beatles album is something simultaneously scary and thrilling. Given that the Beatles created the most brilliant, original and influential discography in the history of rock music, the idea of a new Beatles album is one of the most exciting things conceivable. At the same time, given that the Beatles broke up 36 years ago and this new album is primarily made up of previously released material, people have more than enough reason to think Capitol Records is just repackaging old material as a way to make a quick buck off people ready to buy anything Beatles-related.
Fortunately, this album is a complete blast. Love—named after the Cirque du Soleil show this album accompanies—is a mash-up of Beatles studio material, unreleased demos and a small amount of newly recorded music, George Martin's addition of understated strings to ""While My Guitar Gently Weeps."" (The only ""new"" song here is ""Gnik Nus,"" which is actually just one minute of ""Sun King"" backward.)
The fact that the surviving Beatles and the widows of John and George agreed to license this material at all is a bit of a shock: Paul, Ringo, Yoko and Olivia have all been famously, and rightfully, protective of the Beatles catalogue, making it so we haven't had to see a song like ""I Want You (She's So Heavy)"" used as the soundtrack to a commercial for a plus-sized women's store.
It's hard to say why they allowed Cirque du Soleil to use their material, but whatever the reason, the end result is knee-weakening in terms of quality. The architects of this project—George Martin and his son Giles—have created a fantastic soundscape of Beatles material that is familiar yet fresh. The best moments on Love are when George and Giles produce mash-ups in the truest sense of the term, working in the field pioneered by Freelance Hellraiser with his life-changing mix-up of Christina Aguilera's ""Genie in a Bottle"" and the Strokes' ""Hard to Explain,"" (perhaps not coincidentally, Hellraiser was the opening act of sorts on McCartney's last U.S. tour).
Such a song is ""Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows,"" which puts the vocals and sitar of the former with the bass line and killer drumbeat of the latter. This combination is hardly earth-shattering, as both songs found the Beatles delving into Eastern music and psychedelia, but the result is a completely original and engaging new Beatles song. It carries on in the Beatles tradition of experimentation and subversion of familiar song structure, but it makes sure never to sacrifice fun in the pursuit of something new.
The album begins with an a cappella version of ""Because,"" which would probably be more revelatory had the same thing not been included as part of the Anthology series, but before long Love is off to a killer start. The opening riff of ""Hard Day's Night"" gives way to Ringo's drum solo on ""The End"" which gradually segues into the country-rock stomp of ""Get Back,"" which the Martins brilliantly augment with the orgasmic cacophony of orchestral noises from ""A Day in the Life.""
Many of the songs here—""Revolution,"" ""Back in the U.S.S.R."" and ""I Am the Walrus""—are simply remastered versions of existing classics with minor alterations only diehard fans will notice. Given the quality of the true mash-ups, one can't help but wish each song on Love was a re-interpretation, but even here it's great to hear some of the best songs ever recorded sound so good. For God knows what reason, the Beatles catalog hasn't been remastered for nearly 20 years, and so even the straightforward songs are a delight to hear. The demented strings and garbled music of ""I Am the Walrus"" has never sounded this good on CD, and why their entire catalog hasn't been reissued like those of Dylan or the Stones defies common sense.
Does the mixing of existing, mostly available Beatles material make this a new Beatles album? Perhaps not, but it's certainly more interesting than just placing one song after another and calling that the soundtrack to the Cirque du Soleil show. Nothing could more appropriately honor the legacy of the Beatles. For a band that constantly pushed popular music forward in terms of quality and experimentation, Love is wholly fitting: It is one of the first officially sanctioned mash-up compilations released by a major artist and will hopefully spur other artists to re-imagine their classics in terms of 21st century music.
