There are tribute albums, and then
there are Beatles tribute albums, ever
sprouting like mushrooms. And boy, do
we love to consume those ’shrooms! Some
fresh ones picked for your pleasure after the jump.
Cheap Trick: Sgt. Pepper Live (Big3).
Yup, the entire album, with orchestra — and
with Geoff Emerick co-producing/mixing.
Bonus “Medley Song” is “Golden Slumbers,”
“carry That Weight,” and “The End.”
Various Artists: Abbey Road Now! (MOJO, U.K. import). That is, given away free
with the October issue of the British music
magazine MOJO. collection includes Gomez’s
“Sun King” and Robyn Hitchcock’s “I Want You
(She’s So Heavy).”
Joshua Rifin: The Baroque Beatles
Book (Nonesuch). Released in 1965 and first
reissued by collectors’ choice in 2006, this
curio now returns to its original Nonesuch
home. Do the math: Beatles + Bach. Pick hit:
“Les Plaisirs (Ticket to Ride).”
Beatallica: Masterful Mystery Tour (Oglio). Do the new math: Beatles + Metallica. Pick hit: “Everybody’s Got a Ticket to Ride
Except for Me and My Lightning.”
Rockabye baby! More Lullaby Renditions
of the Beatles (Rockabye Baby!). And I quote
them: “These instrumental interpretations
will glide your little one across the universe,
through an octopus’s garden, and lay them
down in a golden slumberland.”
But before it’s time to say good night,
check out my fave tribute in this batch, from
a bunch of Various artists: Easy Beatles —
Irresistible In-Sound Interpretations from
’the 60s and ’70s (Bureau B, German import;
bureau-b.com). From last year, but I’m still
diggin’ it. Not just Easy Listening but soul,
jazz, jet-set pop, and more. What’s crazier,
the Lettermen doing “I’m Only Sleeping” or
Ella Fitzgerald doing “Savoy Truffle”?! Great
liner notes in English. — K.R.
-- Ken Richardson
