Review:
THE BEATLES AND THE GREAT CONCERT AT SHEA (HMC Label 001) 2 CDS
Finally! The unedited in-line mono recording of the Beatles live from Shea Stadium on August 15, 1965, direct from the public address feed onto reel-too reel taple as the event happened. This is not the usual transfer of the film’s soundtrack with the much overdubbed and re-recorded soundtrack (which is also presented here on disc #2 and will get to later). What we get here is not only the Beatles, but all the supporting opening acts as well
as NY DJ Bruce (Cousin Brucie)Morrow and of course Ed Sullivan who has the honor of officially introducing the Beatles (as seen in the film). I won’t go into detail about the supporting acts as in my opinion they pale in comparison to the Beatles, but historically it’s nice to put the concert and year all in context.
The audio at times can seem as about excellent as one could expect from tapes this old that probably weren’t stored correctly and were done without much preperation or technical sophistication in those days. There are a few volume fluxuations/drop outs but they are few and really not distracting. The balance of the audio is imperfect, with some songs having harmony vocals mixed very low or lead guitars low. It’s a bit bass heavy, but still…c’mon, this is the Beatles unedited from the first baseball stadium concert ever! And…we get the audience noise further in the background compared to the film. That’s a real bonus! It’s a rawness that’s terribly exciting! What’s great about this tape is we get to hear songs cut from the film, or replaced by the record version, and songs before the studio overdubs done 5 months later for the film.
The liner notes I’m told are from the ”It’s Only Rock and Roll” auction house where, these tapes eminate from. Seemingly they seem accurate and suffice. They detail which tapes had which performaces too. At the end of the 2nd CD we have “The Beatles Live At Shea As Described By Erupting Fans”. These are actually interviews of fans going to the concert or at the concert….in 1966! So, it really doesn’t belong here, but it does include interesting and astute observations by some crazy and rationale fans, both pro and con about the Beatles. It was far more interesting that I imagined and a nice time capsule to being there….in 1966!
We also get the BBC soundtrack to the film which is inferior to the newly found mono PA recording. I wished they could have used the audio to Darthdisc’s fantastic new find of the ABC TV video master which is head and shoulders above any other film soundtrack from this film to date that’s available on bootleg of the entire film. Darthdisc’s DVD makes a great and timely companion to this 2 CD set!
Packaging is first rate on this 2 CD set. Comes in a hardcover book and rivals anything Vigotone and YD has done before. This new label is an off-shoot of Yellow Dog and is commended that their first effort is up to such high standards. Only drawback is my CDs came in a paper sleeve not attached to inside of book front and back.
Here’s the complete set for the 1965 concert on disc #1 (mono)taken from the PA audio system’s feed:
1)Intro
2) Twist and Shout (never before released—film used Hollywood Bowl audio)
3) She’s a Woman (never before released)
4) I Feel Fine (never before released—re-recorded for film 1/66)
5) Dizzy Miss Lizzy (no bass overdub)
6)Ticket To Ride (no instrumental overdub)
7)Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby (stereo mix available on Anthology CDs)
Can’t Buy Me Love (no bass overdub)
9) Baby’s In Black (never before released—re-recorded for film)
10) Act Naturally (never before released—record version used in film)
11) A Hard Day’s Night (never before fully released—audio obscured by voice over in film)
12) Help (never before released—re-recorded for film)
13) I’m Down (no bass and organ overdubs)
(Any corrections on the above details please feel free to correct!)
This set is a must have for all Beatles collectors! Highly recommended/must own, and a joy to listen to aside from being an historic concert to own! It’s nice to see that the well isn’t dry as we were all thinking of late This set is worth the expense not only for the audio but the rare and incredible packaging! Go get it!
Regards,
Cal
aka "Beatle Bob"
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