 "Definately worth it, only if you're a fan of the later years" | 2009-02-15 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1TVOY69YXX02E |
| Before I bought anthology 3, I expectations were high. I love the White Album, Let It Be, and Abbey Road. This album is definately not scraping the bottom of the barrel, but it didn't live up to what i thought it was going to be. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of moments on this album that make it worth the money. A few are George Harrison's acoustic version of While My Guitar Gently weeps, George Harrison's acoustic version of Something, Get Back (live from their infamous rooftop concert), two of us (my favorite beatles song). Helter Skelter is definately not as good as the White Album's version, but is interesting in a slower beat. George Martin's A Beginning, is not as good as the intros to the other two anthologys who have free as a bird and real love, but it is a beautiful intro. The low points for me were Step Inside Love/Los Paranoias, Mailman, bring me no more blues, What's the new mary Jane. Overall, this cd is not as good as the second anthology...although I still haven't bought or listened to the first anthology yet. This is definately a great album to buy because it has different renditions of every song. Some songs are different takes, some are demos, some are remixes, some have overdubs taken out, etc. Buyer Beware, DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU THINK THIS IS A GREATEST HITS COLLECTION, BECAUSE IT IS NOT. The CD you want is 1 if you want a greatest hits, or the red or blue album. This is also not an album for you if you haven't listened to all of the white album, let it be, and abbey road, because you have to know what the master takes are to appreciate the demos, different takes, etc. Do not buy this if you are a beginning beatles fan. This is for fanatics like me. Even if you are not a full blown fanatic, you will like this if you love the last three albums the beatles made. Can you believe these three albums were made as the band was disbanding? It proves that as the beatles aren't at their best, they still make magic happen. I hope this review helps you. |
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 "More from the vaults" | 2008-09-30 |
| - Reviewed By heas@alltel.net |
The Fab Four had the tightest quality control in the business, as this final installment of "The Beatles Anthology" demonstrates. It covers, roughly, the period from the White Album sessions to the end of the group, including material that would be released as early solo efforts by Paul McCartney and George Harrison. There's a reason why "What's The New Mary Jane" was never foisted on the public--it's awful. The group respected its audience.
This collection, however, is nevertheless indispensible for Beatlephiles and rock historians alike, as it also reveals the most important group in music at work in the studio during its last phases developing songs we all know and love.
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| "Wonderful" | 2007-09-30 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1GJ1ZWG57WVLV |
| As usual, the Great TALENT of the "BEATLES" is very evident in this CD,as well as all the other anthologies. It is especially interesting because there are unreleased versions of their hits while the FAB 4 were rehearsing during their recording sessions. |
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| "Great Great Great" | 2007-08-10 |
| - Reviewed By jhallenu |
| This is a great set of songs. It is really cool to hear how the recording of the songs progressed prior to the final takes which were on the studio releases. |
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| "The Evolution of later Beatles Songs" | 2007-08-10 |
| - Reviewed By jhallenu |
This is a great set of songs. It is really cool to hear how the recording of the songs progressed prior to the final takes which were on the studio releases.
Having heard the songs for a longer period of time, since I first purchased this set, my opinion has only gotten better of this Anthology 3. If you are a Beatles fan, you should most definitely purchase this release. |
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| "Yes a notch below the other two volumes, but still a very good collection" | 2007-01-12 |
| - Reviewed By wac01 |
The Beatles need no introduction when it comes to the elite of Rock/Pop music. When trying to "rank" the greatest artists of the Rock/Pop era, there is no doubt that the quartet from England ranks number one on just about every list. Going even further, the Beatles might be the top act in the history of modern music - among any genre. Some quarter-century after their breakup, the Beatles began to consider their place in history. This impetus played a key role in the release of the three volume, "Beatles Anthology" CD set and corresponding television documentary. One of the main attractions of this project was that it would bring the three surviving Beatles together for the first time since the famous breakup. Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr would collaborate together on two unfinished John Lennon songs: "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" - creating a "virtual" reunion among the four band members. This three volume set would not be an ordinary greatest hits collection - it would provide a historical retrospective to the band through rare and unreleased material. , "Beatles Anthology 3" covers the latter years of the Beatles focusing on the last three albums: "The White Album", "Abbey Road", and "Let It Be".
As mentioned, this CD serves as a historical retrospective to the band. One of the strengths of "Beatles Anthology Volume 1" was that there was material that was prefaced with spoken words by the likes of Lennon, McCartney, and Brian Epstein. These spoken words helped set the stage for the material to follow. Unfortunately like "Beatles Volume Anthology 2", "Beatles Anthology 3" does not have any spoken words with the exception of some comments that are on the demo cuts.
There is no doubt that Beatles fans will enjoy the content of Volume 3 but when you put it up against the content in the first two volumes, it does fall a little short. Like the first two volumes, Volume 3 does contain a 42 page booklet that helps to supplement the listening experience. This collection should not be confused with a traditional "Greatest Hits Collection". Instead of studio cuts, this collection consists of outtakes, demos, and rarities that construct a terrific listening experience.
Here are 10 things to look for - in no particular order:
1) This is the only volume of the three volume Anthology collection that does not contain an original song. (The original song "Free as a Bird" is found on Volume 1 while "Real Love" is found on Volume 2.)
2) Like Volume 1 and 2, George Martin does a masterful job at providing continuity and fusion to the collection. While he didn't actually produce every individual cut, he did produce each of the three volumes of the Anthology collection as a whole.
3) For the most part the first disc of Volume 3 revolves around "The White Album" and the associated recording sessions. The second disc revolves around the "Let It Be" and "Abbey Road" albums. As many know, "Let It Be" was the final Beatles album to be released, but it was shelved and "Abbey Road" would actually be released before it. I found it amazing how much material did not make it on to "The White Album".
4) Much of the material could easily be mistaken for "Beatles Unplugged". Many are acoustic guitar cuts that were used as demos. While a lot of the material on Disc 1 falls into this category, there is some material on Disc 2 that also falls into the "unplugged" category. Most interesting was George Harrison's solo demo of "Something".
5) Like the previous two Anthology volumes, there are also some covers. Volume 1 would contain the most covers, but Volume 3 includes a three song medley ("Rip It Up", "Shake Rattle, and Roll", "Blue Suede Shoes"), "Mailman Bring Me No Blues", and "Ain't She Sweet". These are "throwbacks" to the Beatles' early days (as evidenced on Volume 1). I personally liked the cover of "Ain't She Sweet". "Come and Get It" is included, but this was an original McCartney composition later made famous by Badfinger.
6) This volume reflects a period where the Beatles were doing more songs as "narratives" and began to introduce "characters" in their songs. These "characters" provided a great avenue for the Beatles. Some of the more popular characters we hear about on Volume 3 include "Maxwell Edison", "Polythene Pam", "Mr. Mustard", "Desmond and Molly Jones", "Sexy Sadie", "Jude", "Rocky Raccoon", and "Mary Jane".
7) There aren't as many alternate takes as I would have liked to have seen. "Glass Onion" is the only song we are given multiple takes on. Volume 2 did a much better at the multiple outtakes in showing how the song developed.
8) Despite the fact that this was the time the Beatles were coming apart at the scenes, you wouldn't seem to know it from these cuts. There are plenty of examples of the members laughing and joking around.
9) There is a shorter and stripped down version of "Hey Jude". It isn't as good as the final product, but it still is interesting to hear. I'd also put "Something" in the same category.
10) While some of the material on this version is unfinished or interrupted by spoken words, it is what adds to the charm of the collection. I heard a disc-jockey in "New York" so impressed with this collection as he said "...and this is the junk!" It's amazing how stuff that didn't make it through editing could sound so good, but in this case it works.
This is a good collection. However, when you compare this to Volumes 1 and 2, it just isn't as strong overall. This is not a knock on Volume 3 - just a testament to how strong Volumes 1 and 2 are. Overall, this is still a very good collection and one Beatles fans will surely want in their collection. Highly recommended. |
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