Notable (Good or Bad) Anthology Songs or Song Fragments | Page 5 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

Among the three Anthology sets, I have to say #2 is the best according to me. #1 is quite fascinating nevertheless but #3 left me starving. So here are the greatest tracks on them in my opinion:

#1

Cayenne / Cry for a shadow : amazing tracks, far from what would end up being beatlemania. I love both.

Three cool cats : I like the way John spills the lyrics a little tongue in cheek

Besame Mucho : Even though it feels weird, I like it ! The band’s arrangement is simple but effective, and Paul’s voice is right on point.

#2

I’m Down : I prefer by far this version. No backing vocals, just raw Paul getting into it right from the start (”Let’s hope this one turns out pretty darn good, huh?”). The band is tight all along, the guitar solo has got feel, Paul’s voice is great, this track is great !

I’m Looking Through You : Even if it misses the bridge (”Why tell me why you do not treat me right…”), I appreciate this one. The feel is quite different from the released version and it is interesting.

It’s Only Love : For that little shy giggling (John?) at the beginning when not getting it ok with the guitar and then flawlessly starting over and nailing it. I like the drumming on this one, too.

A Day In The Life : For that Sugarplum fairy cout-in that sets the mood so rightly after some technical messing around and of course for the astonishing performance that follows. John is supernatural on this one.

Sgt Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) : It has a loosy feel that I like, it feels like Paul was trying out ways of making it different from the opening track and you can sense he’s having a ball at pretending not to care. Hahaha.

I Am The Walrus : For that part before the Yellow mother custards verse where John almost coughs himself to death but finally gets on his toes and goes on. I also like the sound of the electric piano and the clenching sound of what seems to be a set of car keys shaken in a pan we can hear through the whole song. Having heard a thousand times the original, it feels weird not to have the cellos but at the same time I ”hear” them anyway in my head everytime I listen to this anthology version.

#3

Helter Skelter : No matter if the guitars are out of tuned and undecided, the feel of this version is quite good. Paul’s voice is great and the unbothered guitar licks are kinda cool in their ”Look at how I’m bored” way. You can feel that the track is still lacking a direction but as a piece of a work in progress it is very interesting. I wonder when Paul finally came with the well known two-note descending guitar chords he uses in the verses of the released version.

Junk : The version here is way better than what is on McCartney. It has this little supplement of presence and committment that his later solo work will always be in short deficit of. The feel is poignant, authentic, the guitar itself is plaintive and beautiful and full of melancholia, not to speak of the way he sings it, as if he was sorry for something. Pretty nice track. Makes me think a little of ”Goodbye”, another song that shoul have been put into Anthology in my opinion.

Julia : For the way John is lovingly shy of not being able to make it through. You can hear he’s struggling to get it right and when the take breaks down he has a short half-laugh of despair which I find is very demonstrative of how vulnerable this guy was, after all.

She Came In Through The Bathroom Window : That slower tempo feels good to me. The guitar sound and playing is great, too.

Come together : John’s soared voice is amazing, you can hear it is only a matter of when is it going to break down and it finally comes quite far into the song, after some great stretching. It has a ferocity that is really enjoyable.

There you go, folks !