Everybody knows about the Beatles playing "The Ed Sullivan Show." Indeed, seeing the Fab Four on the Sullivan show was a seminal experience for countless American fans, most of whom had no other hope of catching the band in concert.
Back home in Britain, however, it was much easier to have a sense of what the Beatles sounded like live. It wasn't just that the group did more touring there than here; it also taped no less than 52 programs for BBC radio between March 1962 and June 1965. Unfortunately, although the BBC taped each of the performances, the only fans with access to the recordings were those who invested heavily in bootlegs.
Until now, that is. For with the release of "Live at the BBC" (Capitol 31769, arriving in stores today), the average American Beatle fan not only gets a taste of what's in the BBC archives, but a chance to hear just how good this band really was.
With 56 songs spread across two CDs, cassettes or LPs, "Live at the BBC" opens up a new aspect of the Beatles' legacy. It isn't just that it includes 30 titles not found among the band's studio recordings; "Live" gives a vivid sense of the group's musical roots in R&B; and rockabilly.
Nearly all the songs the Beatles didn't cut are covers -- many originally recorded by Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley -- but there are also a few oddities on hand, including a version of Mikis Theodorakis' movie theme "The Honeymoon Song" and the only known recording of the Beatles performing "I'll Be on My Way," a song John Lennon and Paul McCartney had given to Billy J. Kramer.
The Beatles didn't just sing and play on these shows; they clowned around between numbers with their BBC hosts. One of the great pleasures of "Live at the BBC" is hearing the lads crack wise during introductions.
"This is a Dorsey Burnette number, brother of Johnny Burnette, called 'Lonesome Tears in My Eyes,' " Lennon says at one point, adding that it was "recorded on their very first LP -- in 1822!" His band mates respond with a mixture of laughter and goat noises. In another segment, BBC presenter Lee Peters is coaxed into doing the introduction to "Baby It's You" in his "famous James Mason impersonation voice."
"Very good," McCartney says with a laugh after Peters obliges. "Can you do Mickey Mouse?"
It's the music, though, that ultimately makes "Live at the BBC" worth hearing. As a testament to the band's instrumental prowess, it's quite a document, for the Fabs play with remarkable power and precision, whether ripping through such favorites as "She's a Woman" and "I Saw Her Standing There" or taking on such cover material as "I Got a Woman" or "Glad All Over."
Needless to say, the band's trademark vocal harmonies come across loud and clear, from "Love Me Do" to "Help." In fact, "Young Blood" finds the four more than capable of copying the variety of voices found on the Coasters' original.
More impressive, though, is George Harrison's guitar work, which seems more varied and inventive than on the band's studio recordings. His playing on "Johnny B Goode" manages to avoid most of the usual cliches, while "Nothin' Shakin' " puts a fairly radical spin on some of that song's rockabilly riffs.
Unfortunately, the album doesn't let us hear how he handles one of the trickiest riffs in the Beatles repertoire -- the piano unison break in "Help," which was (somewhat awkwardly) dubbed in from the studio version by the BBC.
Although the novelty of hearing the Beatles tackle unfamiliar tunes will probably be lure enough for some listeners, hard-core fans will be fascinated by the subtle differences between these versions and their studio counterparts. For instance, although "Honey Don't" was sung by Ringo Starr on the album "Beatles for Sale," it was Lennon who sang the song live, and Lennon who does it here.
Best of all, "Live at the BBC" reminds us of just how exciting the Beatles could be. Considering how comforting and familiar the rest of the band's catalog has become over time, that's quite an achievement.
THE BEATLES, LIVE
To hear excerpts from the Beatles' "Live at the BBC," call Sundial, The Sun's telephone information service at (410) 783-1800. In Anne Arundel County, call 268-7736; in Harford County, 836-5028; in Carroll County, 848-0338. Using a touch-tone phone, punch in the four-digit code 6120 after you hear the greeting.