Forty (!) Beatles covers: Some good, some okay, some "Ouch!" Or just plain strange, like The Johnny Mann Singes'She Loves You (which sounds like a multi-tracked Lurch), Tennessee Ernie Ford's Yesterday, and The Mortier Dance Hall Organ medley excerpt. The Mann side is interesting as one of the earliest Beatles covers, a category which includes The Ray Charles Singers' 1964 Do You Want to Know a Secret, Jimmy Griffin's All My Loving (same year), and 1965's Can't Buy Me Love by Henry Mancini, I Feel Fine by Enoch Light, plus And I Love Her by David Rose. These are adult-pop efforts which hew to the mood and tempi of the originals, whereas George Chakiris' 1965 She's a Woman takes off into territory best described as, um... better left unvisited? His take not only speeds things up, it perhaps gives us an idea of 1965 Broadway's concept of 1965 teen pop.
Also painfully inappropriate: Steve and Eydie's A Little Help From My Friends, which is arranged to accommodate their usual style. Nothing against their usual style, except that it doesn't fit the material.
But some excellent pop-orchestral interpretations: The always-reliable Andre Kostelanetz and Paul Mauriat, assorted Readers Digest box set conductors like Norman Percival and Ken Thorne, and the superb Peter Knight, maybe best known for orchestrating Days of Future Passed. On the fine-but-amusing side: Ken Thorne's jaunty A Day in the Life (at least Peter Knight's cover gives it some gravitas).
But some excellent pop-orchestral interpretations: The always-reliable Andre Kostelanetz and Paul Mauriat, assorted Readers Digest box set conductors like Norman Percival and Ken Thorne, and the superb Peter Knight, maybe best known for orchestrating Days of Future Passed. On the fine-but-amusing side: Ken Thorne's jaunty A Day in the Life (at least Peter Knight's cover gives it some gravitas).
I haven't decided whether or not I like Petula Clark's Rain and We Can Work It Out, though they're certainly interesting. Nancy Sinatra and the Buckinghams provide adequate covers, Johnny Mathis delivers a fine Eleanor Rigby (as we'd expect), and Tom Jones... Well, I forgot to include Tom. Maybe next time.
John Davidson is barely so-so, while Lena Horne gives Rocky Raccoon a lot of highly dated soul. The big surprise is Noel Harrison, whose contributions should be the epitome of camp but which are downright good. Penny DeHaven's Countrypolitan I Feel Fine (1970) is a lot of fun, and I guess I have to rate Frank Chacksfield's as the best of the Discotheque versions, as much as I love Enoch Light.
As for Phyllis Newman's When I'm 64, the track's professionalism can't be faulted, but the original was a send-up to begin with, and so it's sort of a send-up of a send-up. Or... maybe the problem is that it takes the faux-1920s sound of the Beatles track too literally. I don't know...
The one "fake hit" in our list is the excellent Hit Records knockoff of Nowhere Man, from 1966. The good ol' Jalopy Five.
The one "fake hit" in our list is the excellent Hit Records knockoff of Nowhere Man, from 1966. The good ol' Jalopy Five.
Some of the tracks I spared you: Let It Be (Ray Conniff Singers), My Sweet Lord (Jim Nabors), The Long and Winding Road (Wayne Newton), and Your Mother Should Know (George Burns).
She Loves You--The Johnny Mann Singers, 1964
The Fool on the Hill--Andre Kostelaentz and His Orch., 1969
Do You Want to Know a Secret--The Ray Charles Singers, 1964
Yesterday--Mantovani, 1966
With a Little Help From My Friends--Steve and Eydie, 1969
Rocky Raccoon--Lena Horne and Gabor Szabo, 1969
Lady Madonna--Paul Mauriat and His Orch., 1969
All My Loving--Jimmy Griffin, 1964
Can't Buy Me Love--Henry Mancini Orch. and Chorus, 1965
A Day in the Life--Peter Knight and His Orch., 1967
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds--Noel Harrison, 1967
She Loves You--Mortier Dance Hall Organ, 1965
Something--John Davidson, 1970
Strawberry Fields Forever--Noel Harrison, 1967
I Feel Fine--Penny DeHaven, 1970
Day Tripper--Nancy Sinatra, 1966
Penny Lane--Paul Mauriat and His Orch., 1967
Help!--Andre Kostelanetz and His Orch., 1966
Come Together--Charlie Barnet and His Orch., 1970
Lovely Rita--Peter Knight and His Orch., 1967
Rain--Petula Clark, 1966
Yesterday--Tennessee Ernie Ford, 1968
And I Love Her--David Rose and His Orch., 1965
We Can Work It Out--Petula Clark, 1966
When I'm 64--Phyllis Newman, 1968
I Feel Fine--Enoch Light and the Light Brigade, 1965
All You Need Is Love--Norman Percival and His Orch., 1970
Hey Jude--Paul Mauriat and His Orch., 1969
Eleanor Rigby--Johnny Mathis, 1967
I'll Be Back--The Buckinghams, 1967
A Day in the Life--Ken Thorne and His Orch., 1970
Get Back--Frank Chacksfield and His Orch., 1970
Penny Lane--Paul Mauriat and His Orch., 1967
Hello, Goodbye--The Longines Symphonette, 1968
Getting Better--Peter Knight and His Orch., 1967
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band--Peter Knight and His Orch., 1967
Yellow Submarine--The Hank Levine Singers and Orch., 1968
Got to Get You Into My Life--Frank Chacksfield and His Orch., 1970
Nowhere Man--The Jalopy Five, 1966
She's a Woman--George Chakiris, 1965
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