Beatles

Jazz; rock’n’roll; blues; music hall; guitar instrumentals; tin pan alley; rockabilly; dance band; soul; bolero; skiffle; trad; R&B; country; old-time; Broadway; doo-wop; folk; high school pop; Motown - the Beatles’ early influences are so wide-ranging that the Beatles Beginnings series of discs could quite easily pass for an introduction to the history of twentieth century popular music. Covering the period 1957-60, the first disc in the series Quarrymen One investigates skiffle and the other music that the individual members of the group grew up listening to before rock’n’roll burst on to the scene. Alerting all Beatles fans! In fact, alerting anyone with even just a passing interest in music of Twentieth century popular music, for here’s a terrific series of albums they may well want to check out... superbly researched booklets, each volume will delve into the music that inspired, influenced and shaped the Beatles individually and collectively...here’s the very stuff that changed the world and forged the greatest band of all time. As the music rings out ... you can almost hear the Beatles metamorphosing inside your ears as they listened, learned and immersed themselves, letting these songs open doors and fire their imagination: there was to be no looking back - an absolute gas. Colin Hall R2 Every baby-boomer whose life has been soundtracked by pop will be more than merely familiar with most of the items here, whether ‘Long Tall Sally', 'Roll Over Beethoven', 'Matchbox', 'Honey Don't' and 'Words Of Love', all revived on disc by The Beatles after they'd left the runway. Almost as potent a selling point is Nick Duckett's entertaining and informative thirty-page essay within a package that is as likely to engross the general cultural historian as much as fans of this particular act. Alan Clayson - The Beat RANDB004