Reissue of red, blue albums revisits Beatlemania | Life happens
In the music industry, it’s common for artists to release a “Greatest hits” package containing not only their best work, but remixes, bonus tracks and/or unreleased alternate takes of songs.
The British rock band, The Beatles, never produced such a compilation prior to disbanding in 1970. In January 1973, two pirated Beatles box sets appeared in the U.S., Alpha Omega Volumes I & II: The Story of The Beatles. This collection was advertised on TV and sold by mail order.
Instead of taking legal action, the Beatles’ multimedia corporation, Apple Corps Limited, offered two double disc compilations. Known as the red and blue albums (because of the album covers), these albums chronicle the band’s professional growth from explosion to implosion and offers something for fans who recall the hysteria this legendary band generated in the 1960s.
I remember witnessing that hysteria during the group’s first American debut TV performance on the Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 9, 1964 – their high-octane energy, barely audible amid scores of screaming teenage girls, their mop top haircuts a harmless, but defiant in-your-face gesture as seen by the raised eyebrows of conservative parents.
Gawd, am I dating myself, or what?
The original vinyl pressing of 1962-66 offered 26 group-penned compositions, while 1967-70 offered 28 tracks. The compilations contained their 20 U.S. number one singles (I Want to Hold Your Hand, Penny Lane, Let it Be) interspersed with many of the group’s immensely popular tracks (Michelle, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Back in the USSR).
To the Beatles aficionado, both albums were the holy grail of Beatledom, a magical mystery tour of British rock ‘n’ roll yesteryear. For many, it was like experiencing Beatlemania all over again.
My only heartburn was the exclusion of George Harrison’s compositions “Taxman” (from Revolver) and “If I Needed Someone” (from Rubber Soul) on 1962-66, and John Lennon’s heavy metal “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” (from Abbey Road) on 1967-70.
For its 50th anniversary, both compilations have been expanded with 11 additional tracks on the red album, and eight on the blue album. Happy am I to report that the beforementioned excluded tracks now have a home on these compilations. Also, covers by other artists (Chucky Berry, Isley Brothers, Smokey Robinson) compliment the red album.
Other tracks, such as Harrison’s Indian-influenced “Within You, Without You (from Sgt. Pepper’s), ballads “Blackbird” and “Dear Prudence” (from The Beatles), heavy metal “Hey Bulldog” (from Yellow Submarine) and reflective “I Me Mine” (from Let it Be) are included on the blue album.
The last ever Beatles song, Lennon’s refurbished 1970 vocal and piano demo “Now and Then,” concludes the compilation.
To die-hard Beatlemaniacs, each track recalls an era when music about peace and love poured from radio and stereo speakers everywhere, and protest demonstrators sporting beads, bell bottoms and promoting flower power dominated the 10 p.m. news (there I go dating myself again). Certainly, fans are getting their money’s worth.
I have heard it said that compilation albums are cheap, low-end rip-offs. I don’t know where that narrow-minded thinking originated, only to say these compilations best chronicle the personal and professional growth of these musicians who, in less than 10 years, were catapulted from mere pop idol status to the most celebrated and influential act in entertainment history.
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William J. Dagendesh is an author, writer and retired U.S. Navy photojournalist, editor and public affairs officer. He has lived in southern Colorado 24 years. Contact William with comments or ideas for his column at nutmeg120395@yahoo.com.
William J. Dagendesh
The Beatles perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in New York on Feb. 9, 1964.
