LIVE AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL

There has long been a debate over just which band was/is the greatest ever rock and roll band of all time. One band has even forged out an entire career under the epithet of being "the greatest rock and roll band in the world" (yes I had to look up epithet too!). The argument has raged for ever and it will go on too for some time. I now want to add a familiar, if not entirely obvious choice to the argument - THE BEATLES.

This live album proves that they were light years ahead of anyone else at the time and all anyone could do was just hang onto their coat-tails as hard as they could. They commanded enormous audiences for the time, turning massive USA football stadiums into their own backyard. TV appearances became a security nightmare as every girl wanted to have a piece of a Beatle. They worked hard at portraying a clean-cut image, which was in contrast to their challengers at the time, a small-time band called The Rolling Stones, who delighted in making themselves as seen to be the "bad boys of rock n roll". This rivalry spurred each band on to so many great things. There was admiration on both sides, indeed Lennon and McCartney gave a song to the Stones to record. "I Wanna Be Your Man" was the first top-20 song for the Stones. The Beatles re-recorded the song the following year (1964) with Ringo Starr on lead vocals.

So to "Hollywood". The original tapes were in fact the only official live recordings made of the band. Their producer, George Martin had kept them on a shelf for around 12 years before he decided to do anything with them. He felt the quality was not good enough but was moved by the "raw energy" the recordings captured and along with re-mix engineer Geoff Emerick in 1977 set about re-setting the music to be produced on vinyl. What this means to you dear listener, is that these are all true recordings. No overdubs or over-anything! They are as you would have heard had you been at the Hollywood Bowl on those nights. That is raw rock and roll.

I can only imagine the excitement of being at a Beatles gig. In the early 1960s, shows didn't last very long. maybe 10 or 12 songs long or about 40 minutes. However there may have been two or sometimes even three shows an evening. Their last ever show was at Candlestick Park, San Francisco on 29th August 1966 to a crowd of 25,000. It lasted half an hour.

So to the songs. All recognisable, all songs you'll know, almost every one you'll know the lyrics to - if not the whole song then the chorus will have you belting it out in the confines of your bedroom. Their set always included at least a couple of classic cover tunes. The album starts with "Twist & Shout" and ends with "Long Tall Sally". See, a rock and roll band! In between are tunes to make you wobble. Take your pick from amongst others "Ticket To Ride", "Can't Buy Me Love", "Help" and of course. "She Loves You". Every beginning, chorus, riff and ending is greeted with an unbelievable cacophony of screams from the audience. It was confirmed later by Ringo Starr that he played almost every show by memory. He simply could not hear what was being played, so he battered his way through every song hoping that the others were able to keep up with his beat. This confirms to me anyway that as musicians they had no peers. Where they went, others followed. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were fantastic players. George Harrison was the lead guitarist adding even more colour to songs when it was needed. Starr was a far better drummer than he has been given credit for. So, two guitars, a bass and a drummer = a rock and roll band!

I bought this album because my father owned a cassette of it, sadly lost quite some time ago. So to own this brought me memories also of him. He was no great fan of The Beatles, but he liked them. Were they the best ever? Let's end by saying they were the best at the time, utterly untouchable. This album is one you can listen to and admire, so Lie Back And Enjoy It.

Track Listing:

Twist and Shout

She's A Woman

Dizzy Miss Lizzy

Ticket To Ride

Can't Buy Me Love

Things We Said Today

Roll Over Beethoven

Boys

A Hard Day's Night

Help

All My Loving

She Loves You

Long Tall Sally

Members:

Paul McCartney - Bass & Vocals

John Lennon - Guitar & Vocals

George Harrison - Guitar and Vocals

Ringo Starr - Drums