LOVE

I can understand why many people look to this release as to just antoher speculation on the Fab Four's name, and maybe EMI had that sole purpose in mind. I can also understand that many listeners be appalled to hear their favourite classics being tampered with.

Anyway, although I deeply love The Beatles' music and I consider them the main source of inspiration to over 90% of modern music, I am absolutely no purist, and I personally consider this release to be an excellent addition to my music collection.

I just love the way George Martin and his son merged the various songs together, and I enjoyed the challenge of discovering the uncredited excerpts inserted in the tracks (for instance the "Hey Bulldog" riff inside "Lady Madonna").

The first time I heard "Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!/I Want You (She's So Heavy)/ Helter Skelter" I almost fell off the edge of my seat: the way the first song transforms into the following is absolutely perfect and amazing, just like they always were intended to be performed that way.

Other standout tracks are "Drive My Car/The Word/What You're Doing", "Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows" and the aforementioned "Lady Madonna".

In my opinion this is a splendid work of art, and George Martin's pure genius shines on through its entire span.

Naturally, if you are a purist you should steer away from this and similar initiatives. But if you like something more daring and you don't consider music masterpieces to be like standing, unmodifiable monoliths, give this album a try! You might be pleasantly surprised!