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16 illinoisentertainer . com december 2023
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bining unparalleled pop sensibility with the boldness to shake things up and experiment . The set begins with the singles “ Strawberry Fields Forever ” and charttopper “ Penny Lane ,” which preceded Sgt . Pepper ’ s Lonely Hearts Club Band . Paul McCartney ’ s lighter-waving singalong and non-album single “ Hey Jude ” was another chart-topping song from this period , later joined by George Harrison ’ s elegant “ Something ” and Lennon ’ s brash Chuck Berry nod “ Come Together ” from Abbey Road . The updated Blue album is expanded with nine extra tracks , including the essential “ Blackbird .” McCartney ’ s Fats Domino homage “ Oh ! Darling ” and Lennon ’ s heavy and twisted “ I Want You ( She ’ s So Heavy )” must have been strong contenders for the original set as well . The collection winds its way toward the nonalbum single mix of the ballad “ Let it Be ” ( augmented by Billy Preston ’ s Gospel organ ) and Phil Spector ’ s heavy thumbprint on “ The Long and Winding Road ” from the Beatles ’ final album release Let it Be . Many fans will be tempted by the inclusion of the melancholy and reflective “ Now and Then ,” billed as the final track ever to be released by the Beatles . Work on the song was first undertaken in 1995 by McCartney , Harrison , and Starr during the production of the Anthology documentary series . Similar to “ Free as a Bird ” and “ Real Love ,” the source material was a 1977 cassette demo recorded at home by John Lennon of a notquite-finished composition . The interleaving of Lennon ’ s vocal and piano and the inferior recording quality proved too difficult to manage in 1995 , but the same AI technology used by Peter Jackson ’ s team when working on the Get Back documentary allowed Lennon ’ s voice to be isolated . Lennon ’ s original arrangement was trimmed of its uplifting but incomplete bridge sections , adding a new middle section for McCartney ’ s slide guitar solo in homage to Harrison . Giles Martin produced orchestral production in the style of his father , George Martin , not telling the studio musicians that they were performing on a Beatles track . The strings dovetail with Harrison ’ s guitars from 1995 and with instruments and vocals provided by McCartney and Starr in 1995 and 2022 . In addition to the expanded track lists , the best reason to pick up this new set is to hear the detail that is newly revealed by the mixing and remastering work overseen by Giles Martin and Sam Okell at Abbey Road Studios . No performance on any song has been altered , added , subtracted , or “ corrected .” No AI is deployed to fix Lennon ’ s botched lyric in the final verse of “ Please Please Me .” No Autotuning is used to correct McCartney ’ s flubbed bass note in “ All My Loving .” Macca ’ s potty-mouthed reaction to some otherwise inaudible error at the 2:58 mark during “ Hey Jude ” remains . These minor flaws would have been easy repairs with current technology , but who would want the names of Desmond and Molly Jones to be corrected in the final verse of “ Ob-La- Di , Ob-La-da ?” These fleeting instances remind us that the revered Beatles were human beings , after all . The sole aim of the retooled audio is to allow listeners to discern more of what the band committed to tape .
Like the Beatles ’ other recent 50th anniversary offerings , the songs enjoy increased clarity and body , with particular improvements to the presentation of McCartney ’ s bass and Starr ’ s drums . 1962- 1966 and 1967-1970 are available separately and bundled in a hardback slipcase . The collections are presented as half-speed mastered 3xLP sets on 180-gram vinyl .
– Jeff Elbel
9
THE VINCE GUARALDI QUINTET A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving : Original Soundtrack Recording
( LMFP )
Following 1965 ’ s A Charlie Brown Christmas and 1966 ’ s It ’ s the Great Pumpkin , Charlie Brown , 1973 saw the arrival of the third Peanuts holiday special with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving . Fifty years after first airing , the cartoon ’ s complete soundtrack is released as a vinyl LP for the first time . Millions are familiar with the Vince Guaraldi Trio ’ s evergreen soundtrack for the animated Christmas program , which popularized jazz for a new generation and continues to serve as an accessible and engaging gateway to the genre . For Thanksgiving the pianist ’ s band expanded to include five players with a new rhythm section . In addition to the core of Guaraldi ’ s piano , Mike Clark ’ s drums , and Seward McCain ’ s bass , the ensemble featured Tom Harrell ’ s trumpet and other brass and Chuck Bennett ’ s trombone . Guaraldi worked with arranger and orchestrator John Scott Trotter . The main themes and cues for the 25-minute cartoon comprise 19 minutes of music on the LP ’ s A-side . Side B includes reprised themes used in the special , plus previously unheard alternate takes and bonus mixes . The set begins with “ Charlie Brown Blues ,” an uptempo stroll featuring Clark ’ s brushed snare and McCain ’ s walking bass as Guaraldi ’ s piano dances across the top . Befitting the music ’ s use in a series , Guaraldi ’ s score includes audible callbacks to earlier Peanuts themes while using his broadened sonic palette . “ Thanksgiving Theme ” includes some of the nimble motion , arpeggiated and harmonized top lines that marked the sound of “ Skating ” from A Charlie Brown Christmas . A glistening electric piano colors the sound here . The “ Peppermint