Customer Reviews

Liverpool Sound Collage

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Ok. Since the only other review here at the moment is a one-star review by someone who hasn't heard the disc, I suppose I should do my public duty and give some folks an idea of exactly what this is.

It's really not bad. If you're a Beatles fan who has no interest in music that doesn't sound like the music you grew up with, of course you're not going to like it. Bits of studio dialogue and music samples are stitched together to create a sound tapestry. It's not really dance music. Some of it doesn't even have a beat. It sort of fits in with some work by artists like Amon Tobin, DJ Food, or Kid Koala (although there is no turntable work on this disc). Some of it is a collaborative work with the group Super Furry Animals, and Youth (with whom Paul collaborated on his Fireman projects) is also involved. Basically, you get a similar feeling listening to this as you do listening to some of Paul's classical work; you have to give him credit for trying, and it's not BAD (at least most of it isn't), but he sounds slightly out of his element. He tries, he doesn't fall flat on his face, but there's something about this form of music that he doesn't quite grasp. At least not as naturally as those who perform this sort of music on a regular basis. Some of it kind of sounds kind of like McCartney II with looping.

If you're reading this and you're a way-back Beatles fan who doesn't know or care about this kind of music, you probably won't like this. I can sort of equate it with the first Fireman album (which I liked). It doesn't sound like Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest, and it's not as repetative, but there are common threads. But, if you're interested, it's not bad. Just don't buy it expecting to hear "new Beatles music" (at least not in any recognizable form). Geoff Baker can't be trusted. If you don't know that by now, I've got a copy of Ringo The 4th to sell you.

I've listened to this album three times now since getting it yesterday (I never like anything the first time I hear it, so the first time is always perfunctory just to get through it) and since I happen to LIKE constructed-tape-loop-pastiche-style songs, I'm pretty impressed. None of this is gonna get 18-year-old ravers out on the dance floor, but it's fun to see McCartney spread his wings (sorry) a bit and try something new.

But is it the Beatles? Technically, yes. Especially Paul and Ringo, as an oft-repeated sound you hear on this disc is Paul playing a kind of funky bass riff and Ringo's trademark hi-hat-dependent beat supporting it.

(I gotta wonder. Paul says he used tracks and sound bites of the Beatles that he had on tapes he's kept in his house all these years. If he's got all this non-related junk on tape, what SONGS have we yet to hear? And it must be nice for Paul to know he's finally making some money again off the Beatles, rather than SONY or Michael Jackson before it.)

Listening to this, I'm reminded of "Lumpy Gravy," Frank Zappa's far-superior work, which wasn't exactly like this but did have tape snippets spliced together between orchestral takes to help make a cohesive whole.

If your music doesn't require solid threes and fours and a recognizable tune to be enjoyable, then you're going to like this. Don't know how many more times I'll listen to it before giving it some air, but right now I like what I hear. Take it for what it is and be happy that in his old age, Sir Paul is still willing to take some chances.

Liverpool Sound Collage is just what the title sounds like. It is not a "proper" studio album, but more like Paul McCartney's "Fireman" projects from the 90's. Artist Peter Blake (Sgt. Pepper cover) asked Paul to come up with a "sound collage of Liverpool" for an exhibition he was giving. So, Paul and some friends went in the studio and created some new sounds as well as "Free Now" (which ends the CD)which is the closest thing on the album to a song. They also dug in the archives for various "Beatles Recording Studio" chatter which is spread and repeated throughout! Anyone thinking this is a studio followup to the great "Flaming Pie" album will be disappointed.

For the millions of fans buying "Beatles 1", you are better off starting out with Paul's solo CD highlights like "Band on the Run", "Tug of War", or "Flaming Pie" and you won't be disappointed. Sir Paul even said this is not for everyone. However, the Grammy voting board thought so much of this album, that it is nominated for "Alternative Album of the Year" (what other "classic rocker can claim that")alongside the likes of Fiona Apple and The Cure. Good for you Sir Paul for pushing the envelope again!

Think of this as Paul's formal response, after all those years, to John's "Revolution #9" mixed with a contemporary (techno, hip-hop) dosing of all that playful Beatles Christmas Records studio fun. It's NOT a case of Sir Paul needing to prove that he is still avant garde and funky while he noodles onward with his Working Classical oeuvre. Maybe he is still a bit insecure about history regarding him as the "safe" Beatle and Saint John being remembered as the gutsy rude boy, but all Fans know that Paul was the London Beatle listening to Stockhausen while John was off doing endless drugs at his estate in the country. John admitted to being stoned and drunk out of his mind - far from creatively adventurous - when he stumbled home and played "Rain" backwards accidentally. And, yes, maybe John, together with Yoko, "composed" various Apple & Zapple "sound collages" back in 68 and 69 but do you listen to these? Is it good? Is it art? It has a good beat and, in places, you can dance to it. Extraordinary late night driving "music", I might add.

Although I think that advertising this as a Beatles release is highly problematic (since it is mostly between-take chatter from Beatles session tapes -- hardly compositions), "Liverpool Sound Collage" is a fun record. It is better than the pleasant but redundant Fireman albums, and it is the most forward-looking project Macca has been a part of since he was in the Beatles. This album is high on irony as well. Wasn't Paul the one who wanted "Revolution 9" removed from "The White Album"? And here is Paul, 32 years later, doing "Rev 9" (especially on "Plastic Beetle" where all the studio chatter is guided by John's overdramatic singing on "Mr. Moonlight" -- remind any one of the "ALL RIGHT"'s from "Rev 9"?). Is it cutting edge? Hardly. It is fun. Definitely.

Honestly, I didn't like this one quite as much as the prior 'Fireman' releases, but it's still great. It's really cool to hear the old familiar voices of the Beatles when listening to modern ambient music.

Oh yeah, it would be great if every Beatles/McCartney album would sound like "Sgt. Pepper", "Band On the Run", "Tug of War" or "Flaming Pie". . .but would it really be great? If U2 never changed their sound, than everything they would put out would sound like "I Will Follow". . . I loved that one but it would get boring.

So here you have Paul's "Liverpool Sound Collage". Not at all like "Flowers in the Dirt", but very experimental with Beatles in there. Shame to the people who only know Paul with "Silly Love Songs", this album is experimental like Revolution 9 and has an Anthology-esqe mix in there. Good for you, Paul. Keep us guessing and throw us a "Flaming Pie" and some classical pieces once in a while.

I was more than pleasantly surprised to hear this one. Haven't heard The Fireman stuff yet, but from prior reviews, it seems to be in the same realm musically. This is experimental stuff to be sure, and not everyday listening (but then what realy is, eh?) but highlights Paul's much neglected (critically at least) avant-garde side. If you can handle drum samples and a beatbox generated rythym or two, give this a piece of a chance. Your kids will be proud of you, and think that you are cooler. Now if we can just persuade Richard H. Kirk (Cabaret Voltaire)and Bill Nelson (Be Bop Deluxe) to approach Sir Paul (for a one-off supergroup scenario) then we'll be all set as a species. Wishful thinking to the max!!

Don't listen to this after eating any deep-fried food or greasy stuff. It's quite a ride -not for everyone (what is?) but for those of us who like a challenging audio experience this is an 'E' ticket! Having been a long standing Beatles fan, it's a treat to hear the fab-four in an up-to-date sound-college context. I guess it's becoming fairly common knowledge that McCartney was exploring avant-garde music and art years before Lennon dished up number nine. Well, he's been at it again and along with collaborators Super Furry Animals and Youth a long strange trip reveals itself, grounded by a steady bass-and-drums beat which provides a method to the madness. There are moments when things reach a sublime manic pitch as interviewed voices from Liverpool and voices from the Beatles in their glory days of yore collide with diabolic electronic assaults and recurring loops of haunted choral singing. It's funny, scary and absolutely wild! If you're into this kind of thing, by all means get it!

As you may recall, Paul had a large output for less "commercial" solo fare in the early '90s, where he went under the alias of "The Fireman." It was a "Sgt. Pepper" affair, in that he played a fictitious character to free up his musicality. Now, thankfully, the so-called "Silly Love Songs Balladeer" no longer needs to depend upon facade for more adventurous musical fare. He also released his first classical work under a different psuedonym--but switched over in 1994 with his "Standing Stone," and then again 1999 with "Working Classical," both classical bestsellers. This is an album more of sounds than of music, more of rhythms than refrains. It is an experiment, and I feel a successful one: at one point, he changes a spoken line to a bass riff, then adds drums in, and he has a mix. The refrain (the album's one discernable refrain) "Free now" follows, along with a flurry of flutes and other extraneous noises. The words move in and out of the music as if being carried in a shifting ocean; they are merely another musical instrument for the collage. I can't wait for his next album.