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Could any other group draw a crowd as big as the one that congregated around
"The Beatles Anthology"? Probably not, or at least not for six to 10 hours of
visuals and sound, particularly since the Beatles created it out of little more
than a bunch of old recordings and film clips - unused "rough drafts", if you
will. But then, the Beatles were never like anyone else. From the very beginning
they looked, sounded, sang and acted differently from all who had gone before.
Only Elvis had so personally revolutionized pop music.
There can be no doubt that the Beatles are exactly what Billboard's Joel
Whitburn has called them -- "The world's #1 rock group" -- and his facts and
figures demonstrate their Olympian status: more U.S. number one singles, albums,
and gold singles than any act in history; second only to Elvis Presley on
Billboard's list of top 100 singles artists since 1955; second in total top 10
hits; top album artists of the rock era; and by far the biggest sellers in the
1960s, all within a recording career of less than eight years. In that brief
time, the Beatles released some 213 songs, about 26 per year, something that
would overwhelm contemporary artists. And most of those songs have stood the
test of time quite well.
Just before "Anthology" was televised, Forbes predicted that the Beatles would
earn more than $100 million in 1995, and money is certainly one potent measure
of the group's sustained drawing power and sales potential. After ABC-TV had
paid $20 million for "Anthology" broadcast rights, the network sold 80 percent
of the series' commercial slots in less than three weeks at premium prices, with
thirty-second spots commanding fees over $300,000. At the time, Apple expected
to realize $75 million from "Anthology" television broadcasts alone. Even
recycling the original Beatles albums in their present compact disc editions
earns the group an estimated $12 million annually.
No one, not even George Martin, who helped create their music, can articulate
what is so special about the Beatles. Nor is it easy to explain why their
mystique continues to grow, recruiting new fans with each generation. Perhaps
the timeless fascination with the Beatles and their music defies explanation,
but a few factors do shed some light on the group's lasting appeal.
The Beatles redefined the parameters of rock and roll music and demonstrated
that its possibilities were limitless. Once albums like "Rubber Soul,"
"Revolver," and "Sgt. Pepper" conquered the charts it was clear that rock and
roll could be just about anything that anyone wanted it to be. The Beatles may
have been partially shaped by Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Chuck Berry, but
they did not confine themselves to that early form of teen rock and roll for
very long. As those pioneers had captured the frivolous teenage spirit of the
fifties, the Beatles bent and shaped their music to match the mood of '60s
youth, which had moved from the malt shop and teen hop to the more dangerous
battlefields of sit-ins and political demonstrations.
The Beatles revolutionized studio recording methods, proving that there was no
sound, mood or effect that could not be achieved if all possibilities were
explored. Today, many of those innovations are taken
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for granted, but the
Beatles had to imagine or invent them on the fly. "We didn't have any magic or
electronic boxes to plug into," their engineer Geoff Emerick points out. "We had
to make it all mechanically ourselves. Most of the gadgets you can buy today are
just based on the things we used to do mechanically. The artificial double
tracking and the flanging and all that sort of stuff." The Beatles added their
own experimental innovations, including endless tape loops that combined
multiple layers of sound, backward effects, and the introduction of instruments
like the sitar, the mellotron and the synthesizer. They did not hesitate to
bring any instrument or musician into their sessions, whether it was a lone horn
player, a string quartet, or a full symphony orchestra. After the Beatles, the
only limitations were those of imagination, creativity and effort. The Beatles
even managed to break the long-standing three-minute time limit rule that had
applied to virtually all previous hit singles by clocking in with the 7:11 "Hey
Jude." And, along the way, they invented the modern outdoor stadium concert.
The Beatles seldom, if ever, repeated themselves. Unlike many rock and roll
singers who preceded them, they did not attempt to continually recycle the sound
or "formula" of their first hit over and over, a mindless strategy that was
followed by far too many artists and producers in the '50s and early '60s, and
which spawned a legion of one-hit wonders. Each new Beatles record, particularly
after their first two albums, showed significant creative growth.
The Beatles "died young" by calling it quits while still at their peak. They
didn't dwindle down to a second- or third-rate act. Despite 25 years of solo
work, they are still frozen in that 1960s image, the top group in the world with
lots of remaining potential, albeit unrealized - enough to fuel decades of "what
ifs."
The Beatles' music has been made more special by the group's lasting breakup.
When they closed shop at Abbey Road in 1970, it was really for good. There was
no reunion album, no reunion concert, no one-off charity gig. When Lennon died
in 1980, all chance of a real reunion died too. Fans may enjoy "Free As A Bird,"
but the Beatles can never really come together again. That leaves a finite body
of work comprising 13 albums and 22 singles that represent all of the real music
the Beatles ever produced together for public consumption. The "Anthology"
packages of outtakes, demos, and home recordings lends insight into the creation
of that music, but does not really enhance it. That finite status adds a special
preciousness to the Beatles' music.
The closer one gets to the Beatles' sessions, the more elusive is an explanation
for their longevity. Those who worked most intimately with them seem unable to
resolve it. Allan Rouse, the EMI archivist who worked on both the "Live At The
BBC" and "Anthology" projects with George Martin, is similarly stuck for an
explanation. "I've heard that question asked of far better qualified people than
me, and even George Martin has struggled to come up with an answer. The simple
fact is that great music lasts forever."
The Beatles were extremely creative artists, and the combination of their four
personalities gave rise to a rare studio environment that none of them could
later duplicate individually, nor has any succeeding group recaptured it. More
than anything else, it is the lasting quality of the Beatles' music that
accounts for their continued magnetism. "It's the songwriting," Emerick agrees.
"Like Cole Porter and Gershwin - it's just there forever. I don't think we'll be
playing Oasis' stuff in 30 years, but we'll be playing Gershwin and Cole Porter
and Lennon-McCartney."
And Emerick believes that there was an intangible magic to those sessions.
"Whenever they are in a room together there's just an energy there, and I guess
that's really the only word I can use to explain that." Emerick witnessed the
same thing when Harrison, McCartney and Starr returned to the studio to work on
"Free As A Bird." "We hadn't been in the same room together for 25 years, and it
was just like it had been a week ago. We just carried on recording." by Allen J. Wiener
