The Beatles Anthology

It's true. They were, with all the complicated glories implied by that intriguing word "romance". Maybe it's the quality of the music, maybe it's the power of the legend, but I always come away from encountering the Beatles feeling like I've just ended a wonderful, intense, electrifying but all-too-brief love affair. They can make you sad and happy at the same time. I'm happy that I've heard the songs, sad that there aren't more of them (and that a few of the existing ones aren't even better than they are), regretful that I was born after they split up and never got to see them, glad that they never stayed together and ended up getting old ... (OK, I don't much like "Free as a Bird", but I notice it's actually been covered by those monsters of rock terror King Crimson, another fave of mine, so there's another point on their card)...I could go on. Either way, the Beatles have an incredible capacity for making me feel more alive, that no other band has ever come near. They were the first band I ever liked and they'll always be my favourite.

The "Anthology" series' greatest virtue is also its greatest flaw - that it's told almost entirely by the band itself (Lennon appearing in archive footage or voice-over.) We never get to hear from the women, for example, because Yoko Ono didn't want to take part - imagine what Cynthia Lennon might have contributed! ...Of the fans, almost the only contribution is some old B&W footage of a hapless Cavern denizen named Cathy, who you can see fearing that her beloved lads are being taken away from her - "I just want it to be like it was before," she wails, but it was too late even then.

I watched this on British TV when it was first broadcast and it's not quite as great now as it seemed then. There seems to be an awful lot of not very interesting footage of the band performing "All My Loving" (never my favourite Beatle song) on some forgotten TV show or other. But it's balanced by a blistering live performance at the Washington Coliseum, in which the band truly wigs out, plus a generous selection of stuff from the great Shea Stadium film. (Why isn't it on video? I remember seeing it telly in the early 70s...) There's a lovely shot from that show of Brian Epstein, standing near the stage, calmly chewing gum, observing the teenage insanity around him and nodding to himself in quiet satisfaction - yeah, this is pretty much how popular I thought they would be.

As the series goes on, you start to wish that the inevitable won't happen, but of course it does. They get swamped with acid and produce the gloriously poised "Sgt Pepper", but from then on it's increasingly tragic; no Beatle of 1964 would let something as dull as "Rocky Raccoon" or "Bungalow Bill" onto a proper album. They'd have saved it for the fan club discs. And for every three moments of glory in their later work, there are things like the dreary "Blue Jay Way" or the mean-minded "Piggies" to be taken into consideration. The Beatles at their best were so great, that at their worst it's heartbreaking how ordinary they could be. Watching scenes from "Let It Be" in which they bicker about guitar parts (Paul pompous, George sullen, John uninterested) is like overhearing your parents having a row in the next room. Fortunately they got it together for "Abbey Road"; but the second side of that album is notably less inspired than the first. Ringo always kept this band in perfect time, and when they broke up, it was with an immaculate sense of rhythm. (There used to be a joke that Ringo not only wasn't the best drummer in the world, he wasn't even the best drummer in the Beatles. But the joke betrays a tin ear. Ringo was in this band because the others knew talent when they heard it.)

The coda, in which all four Beatles get to deliver a verdict of sorts, is for me the most touching part of the whole series. George is typically reflective, remarking on the spiritual and emotional cost of the whole thing to the Beatles themselves. Paul is just glad it was all done with such a great spirit of love and understanding behind it. (Granted, Paul, and there's no doubt that "Hey Jude" is as good as it gets; but please explain "Maxwell's Silver Hammer".) John, in what from its slightly defensive tone sounds like an interview from the very early 70s, says that they were just a rock band and breaking up isn't the end of the world - true, but this was no ordinary rock band. However, in my book Ringo steals the moment, clearly moved as he recalls the deep, private, four-way connection that this band forged during the maddest and hugest career any band ever had.

They were the best. This is a priceless haul of Beatle stuff, more than any but the most rabid fan could ever want. But there were always generous like that. Don't worry, lads, you passed the audition.

Change is never easy and society occasionally elects gurus to help with that burden. The Beatles were pushed into that role sometimes willingly but just as often not. As a long time fan of the band, I found Anthology engrossing and fun to watch. When I purchased the videotapes I found I didn't return to them very often. This kind of surprised me but I discovered that I didn't have much desire to watch them twice much less three or four times. Perhaps it's the media overkill society we live in. More than likely, it's simply the fact that I appreciate the history but the music means much more to me. What I occasionally will do is dip my foot in one part or another of the Anthology, swim for a couple of laps and then I return to the music refreshed.

The inclusion of footage of the "Threatles" (as critics referred to them as a result of the Free As A Bird and Real Love sessions)jamming makes this collection much more essential than the previous version. It's a chance to see Paul, George and Ringo perform together for the first time since the break up of the band. A note of caution, however, is that these are exactly that--jamming with two yukes and percussion courtesy of Ringo's hands & pants. They aren't finished songs nor were they ever. It's still kind of cool is hear Paul occasionally perform with his acoustic (or electric) on a given tune to illustrate a point.

Given Harrison's recent death, there's a sense of closure now that this footage has been released. These are just three guys playing songs they love because they want to not because they're trying to recapture the past. Likewise, the video footage on the making of Free As A Bird and Real Love. Both songs neither hurt nor hinder the Beatles legacy but give long time fans what they've been clamoring for all these years--a reunion of sorts where John, Paul, George and Ringo "perform" together.

The inclusion of the footage from the recording sessions for Real Love and Free are also quite interesting. It provides a glimpse into the altered dynamic of the band. Without Lennon, they weren't quite The Beatles even with his ghostly voice haunting the studio monitors. In many respects, Paul, George and Ringo were paying tribute to a fallen comrad. All of that perspective was lost due to the media saturation and expectations when Anthology came out. Each member of the band had carved out a life and career and still managed to come to terms with a rewarding but difficult past. The bitterness of the divorce was more of a distant memory and the surviving trio was just trying to recapture that feeling of fun they had before they became an industry.

Jeff Lynne faced much criticism at the time for his production of the two "new" Beatles songs. In fact, his sympathetic production ushers the material into the 90's without losing the very qualities that made the band's music so special. While the songs themselves aren't the best Lennon ever wrote (in fact Lennon, McCartney and Harrison wrote much better material during their often uneven solo careers), it's not the quality of the song that matters: what matters is the feeling brought to the performance of the tunes. It's not groundbreaking nor was it meant to be and it shows The Beatles as they really were--a really good band that made it very very big (to paraphrase John).The insights into the making of the Free video are particularly interesting. Director Joe Pykta discusses the origin of the concept, various additions, subtractions made to the video. It's a loving valentine to the band with witty references to oodles of Beatles songs.

The impact of the band on popular music is put into perspective by Ringo when he commented that there were lots of big acts and very few monster acts (to paraphrase him). They were the monsters of rock music at a time when there was a lot of popularity for a lot of bands. It all came down to their level of success and their cultural impact as a result.

The sound quality is terrific and although the remix to 5.1 will continue to generate debate amongst Beatles fans. Tampering with the past is touchy business much less a fan's memory of "how it was". Luckily, The Beatles themselves recognized that they were some mythical Holy Grail nor are they some sort of ancient artifact. The remix breathes new life into the older material allowing a new generation to appreciate how groundbreaking much of what the band accomplished really was.

While there's a lot of essential material here, the Anthology really could have been edited down to a two or even three disc set. There is considerable repetition. That was necessarily, no doubt, because each member had not only their own recollections to share but their own agenda about the past as well.

Nevertheless, the wealth of material is worthwhile having for hardcore Beatles fans and rock historians. Is it essential? Well that all depends on how important the era was to you and whether you feel the need to relive it again. As I said sometimes a short dip in the pool of memory refreshes both the soul and makes us appreciate the importance of what is past.

The DVD is less awkward than the videos and more user friendly than both the laserdisc & videotape formats. The importance of the Anthology for fans goes beyond the music or any need to recapture the past. It's comfort video for the soul. Anthology manages to digest an important era in history with a fair perspective. The Beatles themselves recognized they weren't the pied-pipers of the era. They were just for guys making music they thought was important and trying to live down a reputation that was hoisted upon them by the media and a adoring world. Anthology is like an old coat you keep around because it's smells and touch bring life to distant memories.

Now for the nasty stuff--criticism. The picture verges from fair to excellent. The earlier interviews of Paul, George & Ringo look like they were shot without either adequate lighting or on early digital video. The quality doesn't hold up to some of the other footage. The inclusion of the band's promotional videos and performances are great--but it would have been nice to have an option to play them without commentary or as supplements on the 5th disc. No doubt, Capitol plans on re-releasing the Red and Blue albums on DVD with the assorted collection of promo videos included (and there were quite a few).

Anthology is a link to the past not buried by the past. Enjoy Beatles fans, at least some of the band's music has jumped into the DVD age.