An Alternative 4 from The Beatles

 

OK, I realize that the point of this release is to promote upcoming remastered music, but, c'mon, the song selection could have been a bit more imaginative. iTunes recently offered up a free four-song EP of solo material by those guys who used to be in The Beatles: John's “Love," from 1970’s John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Paul's “Call Me Back Again," from Wings’ 1975 Venus and Mars, George's “Let It Down,” from 1970’s All Things Must Pass, and Ringo's “Walk With You," from 2010’s Y Not.

A much more darkly amusing quartet of tunes would have included "How Do You Sleep?" and "Too Many People," John and Paul's respective musical "fuck you" directed toward each other right after the band's breakup. Also, George's "Sue Me, Sue You Blues," his desperately frustrated reaction to the legal wranglings that roiled within the Beatles camp post breakup, and poor Ringo's "Early 1970," the loveable drummer's message of "I miss you guys, let's get back together," would have nicely rounded out four solo Beatles tunes that revealed the Fab Four's individual takes on a difficult time in their personal and musical lives.

My Morning Jacket Dude Takes on Harrison

Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and lately of Monsters of Folk, recorded a handful of George Harrison covers several years ago, and just got around to releasing them. This sparse, kinda echo-y collection only has six songs on it, and four are from All Things Must Pass, but it's interesting, nonetheless. And hey, it's only $.99! Dig it...

Take this, brother, may it serve you well...

In celebration of this Number 9 Day, check out the Top 10 Beatles Lullaby Albums, as well as the Best Beatles Sing-Alongs from their newly-refurbished catalog.

Celebrate Fab-ruary with Beatles Music for Kids!

In honor of the 45th anniversary of The Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, I've compiled two lists of Fab Four music over at About.com to share with your little ones. You can doze to the Top 10 Beatles Lullaby Albums, then Sing Along with The Beatles to your heart's content. Yeah, yeah, yeah!

What? More Christmas Music for Kids?!?

That's right, more Xmas tunes, Beatles-style! The Butties formed at Syracuse back in the early eighties, but you may know them as The Blanks, the a cappella band that pops up on Scrubs every once in a while. The Butties' 2005 Fab Four-influenced Christmas album, 12 Greatest Carols, sticks closely to the trademark Beatles sound and harmonies, and covers their entire career chronologically, from "Joy to the World"/"Please Please Me" to "Let It Snow"/"Let It Be." Dig especially their version of "A Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" melded to "A Day in the Life."

Rubber Band are a Beatles tribute band from Denmark that have been performing for almost 20 years. Their 1994 album Xmas! The Beatmas sounds more like any typical Mersey Beat band than vintage John, Paul, George, and Ringo, but it's rockin' holiday fun, nonetheless. Standout tracks include their version of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" done up like "Taxman," and a cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas."

***The Fab Four***

OK, I'm gonna sneak this one onto KidsMusicThatRocks because it's just too much fun to pass up. The Fab Four, a Beatles tribute band from Southern California, released A Fab Four Christmas in 2002, their first holiday CD done up a la JohnPaulGeorge&Ringo. You could even consider it a mashup album, as the band mix spot-on renditions of early-era tunes like "And I Love Her," "Help!" and "Baby's In Black" with classic Christmas songs. And you just gotta hear "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to the tune of "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Joy to the World" done in the style of "Please Please Me."

What makes it extra fun for Beatledorks like me is that fact that the band went to the trouble of using relatively obscure tunes like "Mr. Moonlight" and "Tell Me What You See" to spice up oldies like "Frosty the Snowman" and "Good King Wenceslas." Merry Christmas, and crank it up!