The Beatles have been undergoing something of a media push these past few weeks. The center of the storm, of course, was 09/09/09, when the entire catalogue was rereleased in remastered form and The Beatles: Rock Band hit store shelves.

My history with the group is a little curious– even to me. Early on, I wasn’t that much of a fan and would have counted myself firmly in the “They’re overrated” camp. Maybe it had to do with the people I knew who were absolutely obnoxious fanatics and– as is so often the case– I was reacting to them and not so much the group. Of course, my family wasn’t that big of a fan of theirs, so that might have prejudiced me, as well. (For years, Rubber Soul was the only Beatles album in the house that was on CD. We’ll ignore vinyl.)

Over the past few years, though, as I took a more active interest in the genuine history of rock and roll (from the really early days, not just the advent of Buddy Holly and Elvis, mind you), I started to reevaluate The Beatles more. If nothing else, I thought it negligent that Rubber Soul was all the Beatles I had in my music collection. So a quick perusal of a CD section revealed the album 1 which had most of the Beatles songs I knew (and thought I was interested in), so I picked it up and considered the matter settled. Only then I saw Revolver and Abbey Road on sale and I was curious. And then I wondered if I should really stop without The White Album in my collection. Maybe I should get more? I still wouldn’t call myself a Beatles fan, but I certainly was recognizing and respecting their work more than I had been.

Then, of course, 09/09/09 hit and their entire catalogue was right there, front and center in every store, and discounted to somewhere in the realm of $12 apiece. And, well… here’s where I wound up.

My collection now boasts all of the remastered albums. Which means I’ve wound up double-dipping on about half of their albums when all is said and done (and to add insult to injury, I’d finally taken the plunge on The White Album just two days before hearing about the remasters. Doh).

If you want my opinion of the remastered CDs, it’s a largely favorable one. The sound quality is fantastic and I’ll probably only use my old copies for the car or something. Were they worth double-dipping? For me, sure. But I’m a geek with a serious case of “collector-itis”. Probably not the best gauge.

Of course, I didn’t stop there. I also picked up The Beatles: Rock Band because… well, I’m a Rock Band fan. (I guess that’s surprising to some people, but I don’t think it should be.) From my POV, the Beatles edition was set to address one of the biggest issues with plain ol’ Rock Band– I actually know the words to most of the songs. To me, that’s a big plus. Just wish I had a second microphone so we could give harmonies a try.

Downside, the game isn’t that long– 45 songs or so (46 with “All You Need is Love” DLC). But that’ll be addressed with album DLC in the coming months– Abbey Road in October, Sgt. Pepper in November, and Rubber Soul in December. Hopefully singles will be forthcoming, as well. The length is beneficial in earning the “Day Tripper” achievement, which requires you to complete the story mode within 24 hours. I had to do it. So I did. 😉 What can I say?

Bottom line, somewhere along the way I went to being a fan of The Beatles. I’m not quite sure when or how it happened, but it did. Beatlemania, ’09 style indeed.

So, to close us off, let’s do a countdown of  my top 10 Beatles songs. (After very quick deliberation, so outside of the top few on the list, the others may fluctuate. 😉 ).

• 10) I Am the Walrus (Magical Mystery Tour). I’m not sure why. I was shown the video of the group singing the song and next thing I know it’s stuck in my head and I actually want to hear the thing again. It’s psychedelic to the nth degree. Oh, and utter nonsense besides. Goo goo g’joob.
• 9) Love Me Do (Please Please Me). This is here largely to give representation to the early Beatles– which I noticed, despite my gravitating towards the era more often than not,  was absent from the list. Love Me Do has great instrumental backing with a classic melody and while it was neck and neck with She Loves You for this slot, Love Me Do had the instrumental portions backing it up.
• 8] Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Rubber Soul). This song is simple and one of the oldest I can remember hearing. It’s not one of their more famous songs, but the low key elegance keeps bringing me back to it. Typifies the transitional quality that Rubber Soul and Revolver had.
• 7) Yesterday (Help!). A melancholy song of regret that has you dwelling on what once was and what has been lost. Those kinds of songs are my bread and butter. So much inspiration can bubble up from that wellspring.
• 6) Revolution 1 (The Beatles (White Album)). Why Revolution 1 instead of Revolution? Or Revolution 9? Well, because 9 is crap, first of all. And I just favor the acoustic backing of 1 over the rock of the single. Simple as that. On the song itself, it’s hard to not start tapping your foot to this one and I like the lyrics more and more. “But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain’t gonna make it with anyone anyhow.”
• 5) In My Life (Rubber Soul). See Yesterday. Bread and butter, I tell you. I was exposed to this song through a cover– Bette Midler, I think– before I realized it was one of the songs on Rubber Soul. I like the Beatles version more and more. Great song for reflection.
• 4) While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles (White Album)). The guitar steals the show in this one. Is it the addition of Clapton? Or is it George asserting himself more? Whatever the case, the lyrics hit me as incidental in this one and simply contribute to the mood of the song. The guitar’s weeping is the star.
• 3) Here Comes the Sun (Abbey Road). Another song I was first exposed to via a cover, but I loved it even then, too. This song shows how much George Harrison had grown as a songwriter over the course of the group’s years together. Still inspires a sense of nostalgia in me, but infused with hope, as well.
• 2) Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Abbey Road). Okay, I’m fudging a little, but these two songs simply cannot be taken separately. They’re a matched set and flow into each other so perfectly that, by rights, they should be one track. I could listen to it over and over– and, indeed, have. The soft and slow lullaby of Golden Slumbers giving way to the drum heavy Carry That Weight surprisingly complement one another extraordinarily well.
• 1) Let It Be (Past Masters). I love this song. There’s a personal level on which it speaks to me, while also conveying the strength in the wisdom of stepping back and letting things run their course. One of the hardest life lessons to learn is that sometimes you can’t fix everything and, in some cases, shouldn’t try to. It’s something I could write a whole book on if given the time. This song encapsulates it in a quick, easy to understand format. I like all versions of it, but definitely favor the single version found on Past Masters (or 1) over the Phil Specter-produced version on Let It Be (ironically enough).

So, there you have it. Some insight into my musical tastes, maybe? Beatles overload, perhaps? Shock that I actually got a post with some meat to it done? (Me too.)

The noting of my changing tastes is actually something I’ll be getting into sometime in the future, hopefully. It’ll be, by far, the most introspective post I’ve done, but it’s a subject that fascinates me. More later.