Last September 3,2013,Rolling Stone had put out its Top 25 Best Soundtracks Of All Time List and the Beatles' 1965 album Help! made it to the top spot.However,several Beatles experts yet again criticized the publication arguing the fact that the Beatles album wasn't really a soundtrack.The 14 track album which was first released in 1965 contains the first seven tracks which were sung in the movie and another seven which were not in the movie.
One can argue the fact that the Beatles' first seven albums were released in a different format in the US back in the sixties wherein its American distributor Capitol Records has been accused of butchering the original British releases to create more albums for the American market.The 14 track Help! was then chopped down to seven songs and included with it instead was the background instrumental used in the film's chase scenes.The Beatles' reaction by then was a mixture of dismay and aghast that they got their revenge with the release of Yesterday And Today with its controversial butcher cover-which many believed as the band's reaction to what Capitol did to the albums the fab four themselves created according to their own artistic vision.Lennon himself even made a few sentiments over the "butchery". However,a unification made by EMI in 1987 had standardized the Beatles catalogue worldwide, thereby deleting the Capitol versions of the Beatles LPs and made the original format of the first seven albums(including the 14 track Help!) available locally in the US and has been the format since.*
Even with a 14 track lineup and a half set of songs that were neither on the movie,Help! is still very much considered as a soundtrack album,after all, it was all the fab four's brainstorm with a little help of course,from producer George Martin.
The following were Rolling Stone magazine's complete list of its Top 25 Best Soundtrack Albums Of All Time.It was after all,a publication's opinion.Take note that they had included a rap album on the list (RS was also criticized for declaring rap as real music and calling Eminem,50 Cent and other rap artists as "rock stars" and "musicians")
1.HELP!--The Beatles
2.PURPLE RAIN--Prince
3.THE HARDER THEY COME--Jimmy Cliff
4.A HARD DAY'S NIGHT--The Beatles
5.SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER--The Bee Gees
6.SUPERFLY--Curtis Mayfield
7.PULP FICTION--Various Artists
8.RUSHMORE--Various Artists
9.THIS IS SPINAL TAP--Spinal Tap
10.O BROTHER,WHERE ART THOU?--Various Artists
11.PRETTY IN PINK--Various Artists
12.WILD STYLE--Various Artists
13.TRAINSPOTTING--Various Artists
14.EASY RIDER--Various Artists
15.GOODFELLAS--Various Artists
16.THE GRADUATE--Simon And Garfunkel/Dave Grusin
17.AMERICAN GRAFITTI--Various Artists
18.BOOGIE NIGHTS--Various Artists
19.MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR--The Beatles
20.SINGLES--Various Artists
21.24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE--Various Artists
22.LOST IN TRANSLATION--Various Artists
23.JUICE--Various Artists
24.ROCK N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL--Various Artists
25.HEAD--The Monkees
(c) Keith Vernon Adagio
*RELATED LINKS:
The Beatles Chronology
Rolling Stone Magazine Official Website
I don't often agree with the Rolling Stone magazine's lists or their opinions, but I'm glad they recognised the cinema contributions of the greatest band ever!
ReplyDelete