Not London, but Seattle's Pike Place Market Photo: Creme Tangerine
The new Beatles remasters have captured the media attention of late. If that’s not enough to satisfy you, here are two new Beatles-related releases from Seattle area tribute acts.
Crème Tangerine captured some national attention when they recreated the Beatles’ Apple rooftop gig at Seattle’s Pike Place Market last January 30 (the 40th anniversary of the original rooftop performance). The group is a “tribute act” only in the sense that they perform Beatles songs; they don’t try to look like the Beatles or sound exactly like them. What they are is a tight, five piece band that turns out powerful covers of Beatles songs, with lead singer Dan Grant a wailer in the fashion of Joe Cocker (and who also has a great time interacting with the audience when the band performs live).
The Abbey Road Project is a straightforward recreation of Abbey Road from start to finish, stand outs being “Come Together,” “Oh! Darling,” and the harmonizing on “Because.” It’s like hearing the classic album reinterpreted as a blues record (aside from the English accent that creeps through on “Octopus’s Garden). And yes, they go right through to “Her Majesty.” Overall, it’s an affectionate nod to the original record, and the fun Crème Tangerine has in performing readily comes through on record.
The band at work in Robert Lang Studio Photo: Apple Jam
Apple Jam are a tribute act successfully emulate the Beatles’ jangly Merseybeat sound, though they’re not impersonators either (and they also perform solo Beatles material). They’ve hit on a wonderful idea for their latest release, Off The Beatle Track; covering 15 songs that were written by John and Paul and George, but were never officially released by the Beatles.
The best-known of these “songs the Beatles gave away” to American ears will be “World Without Love,” a hit for Peter & Gordon. The Apple Jam version is more plaintive; one could see Paul performing this in A Hard Day’s Night. In fact, this album makes you wonder whether these are songs the Beatles should have given away. In Apple Jam’s reimagining these songs as Beatles tracks, the strength of the songs become more obvious than they were in the original versions (especially so in the case of Tommy Quickly’s “Tip of My Tongue”). What would it have been like if the Beatles chose to release “Bad To Me” (given to Billy J. Kramer), “Hello Little Girl” (given to the Fourmost), or “One and One is Two” (given to the Strangers)? It’s intriguing to contemplate, and Apple Jam help fill in the holes. If you’re a fan of the early Beatles years in particular, you should enjoy this album, which is classic ‘60s pop-rock.
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