6B - The Michigan Daily - Wue.i , 4. - Thursday, November 30, 1995 I Beatlemania hits area stores again Local fans have mixed feelirgs about new material Photo curtos The Beatles (George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr) in one of their lighter moments. ABC's Anthology' series lacks depth By Heather Phares Daily Arts Editor How do you stage a comeback for a band that never went away? The Beatles are one of the most culturally and musically important and influen- tial groups of all time. All the media hype and commercial overkill around "The Beatles Anthology" rings hol- low in light of how classic the group sounds decades later, and how mag- netic their appeal as personalities re- mains. The fact that the Beatles (as a group and as individuals) never really left the spotlight after they first exploded into popularity in 1963 makes new revela- tions or discoveries about the group difficult to come by. Add to that the numerous filims, books and documenta- ries already existing about the band and it begs the question "Why 'The Beatles ,,Anthology'?" Arguably, the reason behind this new documentary was for John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr to explain the Beatles phenom- enon in their own words. And while it was interesting to hear about Beatlemania and just how impossible touring became for the group from the inside, the addition of a narrator would have added a focus that the sprawling six-hour program lacked. Instead, the Beatles' own commen- tary on this part of their lives worked unpredictably; none of them remem- bered details about that time in quite the same way. Sometimes this shifting defi- nition of the truth was telling: Very little was said about the group's rela- tions with the prostitutes and strippers in Hamburg's red-light district, other than that there was the occasional "girl- friend that happened to be a stripper." The amount of hard and psychedelic drugs that the group took was also downplayed-the Beatles remembered these details in the way that they want to remember them, from the viewpoint of well-respected, middle-agedrock icons. Other times, the differing viewpoints and memories of the group were just confusing. Their concert at New York's Shea Stadium, for example, had as few as 40,000 people in attendance or as many as 70,000 depending on which of the Fab Four was asked. No clear figure was given as to how many actually were at the concert-that it was left out eitier assumes t fat the audience knows how many went to the show, or that in the scheme of things it isn't important how many were at the concert as long as r 1 ill Y. The Beatles Anthology 20, 23 and 24, 9 p.m. ABC ments of the special certain albums and time periods were glossed over. "Rub- ber Soul" and "Revolver," two of the group's very finest works, get lumped together and were dismissed quickly. "Abbey Road" was also skimmed over in favor of increased coverage of "Let it Be," which was also a great album but best remembered for the group's disso- lution while recording it. However, "The Beatles Anthology" wasn''t a complete fetdown. Bits ofrare footage made it worthwhile, especially the film of Lennon reading the story "The Wrestling Dog" on aTV show and the group's triumphant performance at Shea Stadium - so good it should be released on its own video. All of the concert footage showed just how dynamic the Beatles were as performers, something that younger fans don't have firsthand knowledge of. Whether they played to thousands at Shea Stadium, millions on "The Ed Sullivan Show" or just to passersby on the roof of Abbey Road, their presence and performance came through even after three decades. And the movies the Beatles did for songs like "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" as well as the musical parts of "Magical Mystery Tour" (such as "I Am the Wal- rus") are not only entertaining and in- novative in their own right, but also point towards the development of mu- sic videos. The Beatles' recollections about their time together also added a nostalgic sparkle to the storytelling. Learning why Ringo Starr looked so sad during "A Hard Day's Night" (a bad hangover), how George Harrison got into Indian music and what Paul McCartney thinks about the group's move from leather- clad teddy boys in the earliest stage of their career to a well-suited pop combo were only a few of the moments that elevate "The Beatles Anthology" into a memorable, if uneven, TV event. they were crying and screaming their heads off. Since this documentary was the Beatles' version of their own story, it was doubly disappointing that there was very little rare or unreleased vi- sual material; the overwhelming ma- jority of film footage and photos have already been used in specials and documentaries on the group, most notably in "The Compleat Beatles" (which in two hours seems to capture more of the fact and fantasy that makes the Beatles so special), the documen- tary that PBS runs the sprockets off at pledge time. For longtime fans of the group, it was a letdown. Also disappointing was the amount of time allotted to some parts of the Beatles' history. While their rise from Liverpool's Cavern Club to starring in their own movies in less than three years is certainly important and given a fair amount of time, in the later install- By Elan Stavros Daily Arts Writer Picture it: Rumors of security guards standing watch over CDs in a factory to prevent anyone from smug- gling them out before the release date. Now all we need are girls fainting. That hasn't happened since ... well, since 1964. Accompanying the Beatles "reunion"-a new song, two more double albums to come and a biographical TV special-the hoopla surroundingthe Fab Four has returned. Borders Books and Music even held a release party Nov. 20 to allow cus- tomers to buy "The Beatles Anthol- ogy Volume 1" at exactly 12 a.m. on its release date of Tuesday Nov. 21. The store stayed open late for fans, playing the anthology early and giv- ing out prizes with refreshments. "Release parties were a worldwide phenomenon," said Borders music clerk and Beatles fan Steve Leggett. "And we're selling a lot of their older albums." Kathy Franklin, Schoolkids Records store manager, said the an- thology was their second-biggest seller during a first week of release. "It's nice for the Beatles junkies to have something new." The anthologies are made up of two brand-new songs by the "reunited" Beatles using an old John Lennon vocal track, early versions, alternate takes and other rarities. The first anthology (with "Free as a bird" as the new single) chronologically follows the first install- ment of the TV special aired last week on ABC, or "A Beatles C" as they have recently dubbed themselves. Volume II will be released in Feb- ruary (with the second new release "Real Love") and volume III is set for later in 1996. Extra footage of the TV special will be released next fall in a video and CD box set. "The promo- tional stuff is kind of ridiculous," LSA junior Scott Kagan said. "But at least everyone could watch the TV show for free." "This whole business of new songs is garbage," he said. "With so much hype, the new songs were such a let- down. I swear I've heard one of them before." Leggett compared the Anthologies to the similar "Live at the BBC" al- bum, which covers the same time pe- riod as volume 1. Released late last year with the same format, "BBC" included obscure interviews, outtakes and cover songs. Perhaps to help an- thology sales along, "BBC" is no longer in stores, Franklin said. "Aitremendous fresh energy comes through (on volume I)," Leggett said. "It's almost 'BBC II.' Their songwriting shows more in the later songs. A lot of this stuff was on boot- legs, now being officially released." Many fans find it interesting to hear how earlier songs evolved into their final versions on volume I, which will be out on vinyl this Tuesday. Others say it's a waste of time to listen to the same old songs and don't care for the cover pieces. "The staff here generally feels that the sound quality is uneven," Franklin said. "You can tell which songs are older." "It's nice to have the old unreleased gems on the anthology for the older fans that appeals to," Kagan said. Critics are quick to point out that the remaining Beatles recorded Lennon's songs to make money and ON'T FORGET YOU MOTMi' OVER THE HOLIDAYS Campaign with SIERRA CLUB to keep public lands and wilderness areas open carn $225-$350/%%,k cal(313) 662-65 that the new releases hae been artifi- cially hyped. Some say *nnon would not approve of such treunion and fans are simply holdingn to the past. "The cynic can say Bey did it to make money, and the tw song isn't that great," Leggett