Love
THE BEATLES
Apple/Capitol
You hear that Cirque du Soleil is working on a new Las Vegas show set to two dozen or so Beatles songs, and your first thought is: This could go horribly wrong. But praise the Maharishi, they got it right. Very, very right.
So right, in fact, that Love is a revelation even for longtime, hardcore fans of the Fab Four. The songs are remastered, the bass and drums pumped up to give these old chestnuts a modern feel, the guitars and voices more crystalline.
That's only the start. The Beatles' producer Sir George Martin — assisted by his son, Giles — has created a mash-up of memorable tunes that sonically stands up to today's best efforts and melodically blows them away. For the Beatles novice, or for those who never understood the excitement of the band in its youth, this disc somehow recaptures that moment in time. For Beatlemaniacs, the joy is in deciphering the brew of song fragments that have been blended to perfection. Take the disc's second cut. It starts with the banging opening chord from "A Hard Day's Night," which covers the quick edit to Ringo Starr's drum solo from "The End." Under that sonic bed sneaks the final piano crash from "A Day in the Life," all of which resolves into John Lennon's chugging guitar introduction to "Get Back," which seems to rock harder than I've ever heard it before. "Eleanor Rigby" is intertwined with "Julia;" the acoustic guitars of "Blackbird" with "Yesterday;" "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" with "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "Helter Skelter." Twice, Sir George and Giles go back to archival tapes for early demos, for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Strawberry Fields Forever," gaining new insights.
Love could have proved blasphemous; instead, it has released the full genius of The Beatles on a new century. 4 stars —Wayne Garcia
The Autumn Defense
THE AUTUMN DEFENSE
Broadmoor Records
The Autumn Defense's eponymous third record begs the question: well-crafted mellow rock or Adult Contemporary schlock? Your answer will depend upon your tolerance for the record's '70s touchstones: CSN&Y harmonies, smooth bossa nova, acoustic Brit-folk and Poco-like Topanga Canyon twang. Whichever side of the fence you land on, there's no denying the exquisite arrangements — featuring lush strings and flute — created for the side project of full-time Wilco members John Stirratt and Pat Sansone. But some songs descend into treacle, and the simplistic lyrics rarely resonate. Overall, a well-made mixed bag with mostly memorable — but some forgettable — elements. 3 stars —John Schacht
OC Mix 6: Covering Our Tracks
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Warner Bros.
A 90210 for the '00s, Fox's The OC has offered up suntans and anorexia every week for a few years, along with some of the best rock music programming this side of Gilmore Girls. Covering Our Tracks is the sixth in a series of compilations of tunes from the show. This time, though, all of the tracks are covers, so we get Rogue Wave tackling the Pixies' "Debaser," for example. The originals picked out to remake are solid, from bands like Spoon and The Sex Pistols, but the artists don't always do a whole lot with the source material. Rock Kills Kid de-funks Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On," basically eliminating the original's tastiest element. There are some nice spots here, like Mates of State's morose re-imagining of Phantom Planet's "California," the show's theme song, but ultimately the album is just as disposable as the TV show itself. 2.5 stars —Cooper Levey-Baker
Theories of Sun & Rain
THE NEW MEXICAN REVOLUTION
This Portland, Ore.-based six-piece has self-released its second record, another collection of lonely and drawling country-rock to set on the shelf alongside its predecessor, The Promise of Mutiny. Lead singer Wes Shirley delivers the lyrics in an aching monotone, sounding either bored or wasted or spent, while the band plunks along behind him. The band expertly evokes wide-open prairies, drizzling gray skies and long rumbles in the pickup truck, but there's little to set the band apart from the myriad others plowing the same earth. 3 stars —CLB
This article appears in Jan 3-9, 2007.