BEATLES 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: A MIXED REVIEW

The other half: Paul and Ringo performs

Last February 9th,a tv special was aired in honor of the Beatles' 50th anniversary of coming to the United States.It was aired in the same time the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show half a century ago as rock music took a turn in front of our very own eyes and was changed forever the way it was presented.

Though many were delighted seeing Paul and Ringo together again, a few of the performances have raised eyebrows on many who saw how each artists interpret the fab four's songs according to their own style.And one would say that some "tributes" made there were more sacrilegious instead of being respectful of Paul and Ringo's presence.Perhaps most of us would realize that none has ever done near as good as what the Beatles did back in the sixties.Let's face it,most of the interpretations there suck and one could  point  out  on what some artists were doing there,the ones that should be there and the ones that shouldn't.

Maroon 5 sticking to the original version as much as possible was quickly noticed and  we can say that Adam Levine and his buddies must be worried or scared of what Paul might think of their own rendition of "Ticket To Ride" and "All My Loving".No stranger to controversy,Levine was obviously overwhelmed by the fab twos presence.

Stevie Wonder,on the other hand,performed a 'funky' version of "We Can Work It Out" in which didn't fare well to some Beatles fans(including my facebook friends).But perhaps unknown to everyone,Stevie made a cover version of the song on his 1970 album Signed,Sealed and Delivered.Issued as a single,it even reached number 13 on the charts in 1971 and his latter day works probably made his rendition forgettable that most people especially non-fans must've heard his version for the first time.

Dhani Harrison was among the beatle kids who were in the party apart from Sean Lennon who chose not to perform.Together with Jeff Lynne,who also performed at 2002's Concert For George,plus another friend,former Eagles guitarists Joe Walsh drew the crowd's adoration with their own rendition of "Something".Though Walsh's hand was noticeably shaky when it comes to Harrison's trademark riffing,perhaps old age could be the reason,but nobody does it better than Marc Mann's own tribute,with his cool riffs and solo twelve years earlier at Concert For George.

New kid on the block Ed Sheeran performed an acoustic version of In My Life which turned out that the original version from the album Rubber Soul has always been the best version there is.

The show's diversity was so intense that the 50th special was filled with some people who shouldn't even be there,like what the hell are Katy Perry,John Legend and Alicia Keys doing in there?!!! Katy Perry's own rendition of "Yesterday" was noticeably the worst cover tribute ever done in the show.And some other rap artists like Pharrell Williams are a starking contrasts to the bands and guitarists who were there to pay their huge respects.Well at least the good thing is that some people outside the rock music genre were present and at  least got a little more respectable,I'm sorry but I was never a fan of rap and would never consider one as real music.For a person who does some "fast talkin" over a background of vinyl scratches and other people's music--it would be disrespectful and I would find it hard to digest if they will ever be called as musicians.

While we were on the "worst" and "dry" moments of the show,John Legend and Alicia Keys' own rendition of Let It Be can be ranked alongside with that of Katy Perry's-such worst renditions and performances would make you think if these artists really went there to pay respect to the Beatles or just to boost their own.As embarassing as it may sound,those "artists" shouldn't have been there.One would notice John Legend was obviously overwhelmed when Sir Paul took the stage and tore the place apart.Legend probably shook his head realizing that he is not worthy to be there.

Other tributes made were considered to be moderately,if not culturally diverge was that of Eurhythmics,whose own rendition of "The Fool On The Hill" made a one time reunion for Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox.Lennox,while we're on the subject fits just right into the song-not to mention  how she preferred her style of singing to shock and  scare some people by pretending to be out of her mind. I gotta admit her solo works and videos scared the shit out of me.

Dave Grohl and Jeff Lynne's "Hey Bulldog" was a full blast of adrenaline,it really made the others sheepish and humble.Grohl,who was a former drummer for Nirvana recently collaborated with  McCartney on the grammy award winner "Cut Me Some Slack".

Other artists on the "not bad" category  were John Mayer and Keith Urban with their own rendition of "Dont Let Me Down" with the original version and video clip preceding their tribute.Folk rock group Imagine Dragons pulled a surprising acoustic version of  Revolution.Though the track is a certified "electric guitar" song famous for its use of distortion,its nice to hear an acoustic version which was never issued or perhaps even thought by the fab four themselves.

So the time came when Paul and Ringo finally took the stage and proved that they were of no retirement material.The guys who paid tribute was obviously in awe and debased by the genius and timeless appeal of the Beatles.The fab two certainly made it clear that they're not gonna stop as with their peers in the Rolling Stones and other contemporaries who continue to mesmerize crowds fifty years after all these madness has started.

Everybody would agree with Ringo as the show's crowd charmer when he sang "Yellow Submarine" to the delight of the audience.And with Paul doing some serious rocker and finally "Hey Jude" which turned out to be the perfect closing song.

Though the show's overall aura was somewhat mixed,with some less talented artists joining in and turning out to be just an eye sore,its nice to know that Paul and Ringo was always there to save the day.

Fifty years ago,a group of young girls was holding a banner with the words Beatles Forever and yet nobody had imagined(at least at that time) that we'll still be singing their songs half a century later and that the band would still be a top seller.The Beatles had indeed changed everything from the way we listen  to our attitude towards life.


(c) Keith Vernon Adagio