Let It Be... a Vegas Mashup
05-30-06, 02:42 PM
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DVD Talk Limited Edition
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Let It Be... a Vegas Mashup
Let It Be... a Vegas Mashup
For an authorized project, ''Love'' tweaks Fab Four tunes to a
surprising degree, says Chris Willman by Chris Willman
MYSTERY TOUR Most of the Beatles-based Cirque du Soleil show ''Love''
is under wraps until previews in June
Are you ready for legitimate, authorized-by-Apple Beatles mashups and
remixes? Incredibly, surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr
and widows Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison have agreed to let outsiders
mess with the quartet's music in a significant way for public
consumption. One catch, though: This ''new'' Beatles music isn't
coming to an iPod or even a record store near you. You'll have to go
to Las Vegas to hear it. And you may have to get ''wanded''
beforehand.
Journalists were invited to the Mirage this week for a media event
previewing Love, a show that brings together two highly prized brand
names, the Beatles and Cirque du Soleil. Before entering the new in-
the-round theater that was designed specifically for the
extravaganza, reporters had to turn in their cell phones and tape
recorders, pass through metal detectors, and even submit to
individual searches, the kind of procedures usually reserved for
meetings with heads of state. But it soon became evident what all the
paranoia was about: The Beatles' music in the show has been tampered
with to a far greater degree than anyone on the outside has realized,
and producers aren't about to let these altered versions of some of
the world's most beloved recordings get leaked to file-sharing
services for early consumption and debate among Beatlemaniacs.
Only about 15 minutes of the 90-minute production were previewed.
Critics will have to wait till the June 30 gala premiere, though
previews begin shortly at the Mirage, on June 2. But, based on what
we saw (and heard), it's safe to say that the Fab Faithful, as well
as Cirque-aholics, will soon be flocking to the desert by the tens of
thousands for the first authorized ''live'' ticketed Beatles event
since the band gave up touring in 1966.
The modus operandi is evident in the opening number, which has the
Anthology demo recording of ''Strawberry Fields Forever'' eventually
morphing into the official release version; riffs culled from at
least a dozen other Beatles songs are then mixed into the tune's last
section, as the full cast takes over the stage. The production design
is partly, though far from entirely, inspired by the Sgt. Pepper
cover imagery, which meshes well with Cirque's original circus-style
origins. Rusted horn instruments have been cleverly incorporated into
just about every costume and prop; one stilt-walker appears to be
traversing the stage on a pair of trumpets.
Another previewed number had George Harrison's ''Within You Without
You'' set to the backing track of John Lennon's ''Tomorrow Never
Knows.'' Sir George Martin, who produced the original tracks and
worked on this show, was on hand for the event and explained that the
Harrison tune ''wasn't [fans'] favorite song on Sgt. Pepper... but in
this form, it would have been one of the good ones.'' Martin added
that the surviving Beatles were wary of what was being done with the
music till they heard this ''Within You Without You''/''Tomorrow
Never Knows'' mashup — and ''then the problem was, they wanted them
all like that.'' Martin and his son, Giles, who did the lion's share
of the remixing, weren't able to blend many songs so
completely. ''The problem was, there aren't many Beatles songs that
stay on one chord,'' the elder Martin noted.
Yet they managed a similar effect with a number that begins with the
familiar orchestration for ''Good Night,'' the closing number of the
White Album, sung by Ringo. Only, when the vocal comes in, it's Ringo
singing... ''Octopus's Garden.'' Martin said they wanted to ''create
a fantastic world under the sea... but if you use the track as it
was, it's a bit too rock & roll'' — hence, making the transition a
bit more phantasmagorical with the orchestrated intro. Visually,
expect to see lots of floating jellyfish, rays, and eels as a group
of children passes through the undersea kingdom in a wagon, marveling
at the sights. (But sorry, kids, no SpongeBob.)
''Lady Madonna'' has a pregnant black woman and her mate at the
center of the action, while all around them white flower children in
old-school boots and headbands do an exuberant soft-shoe routine,
slapping their thighs. (Listen for the guitar riff from ''Hey
Bulldog'' mixed in here.) ''Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds'' focuses
on — no surprise here — a female trapeze act. Maybe the oddest visual
effect previewed involved a giant white sheet that comes up from the
center of the stage and is handed to the audience members, who
dutifully pass it from the front to back rows; the entire crowd is
under this sheet — Christo style! — until the massive wrap is sucked
into the ceiling.
As for the aural wrap, ''The brief was, I could use any sound at all
that I recorded with the Beatles,'' said George Martin — which means
that, while there are only about 25 songs in the show, there are bits
from about 130 of the group's 1960s recordings. ''I'll probably get a
few brickbats from people for what we've done,'' Martin said, ''but
the people behind us — Paul, Ringo, Yoko, Olivia — love everything
they've heard... Ringo was 100 percent in saying, 'It's fantastic.'
Paul said, 'It's great, but I think you should go farther out.' We'd
gone pretty far out already.'' As a gag, then, Martin put together a
bizarre mix of ''Hey Jude'' that was set to a reggae beat. ''He was
horrified. I said, 'You did ask me to go farther out.' Then he
realized it was a joke.''
Giles Martin ended up doing more of the aural work than his father,
who had said years ago that he was retiring from producing because of
being nearly deaf. ''For me, it's been an experience of going through
my dad's closet,'' he said. But Martin senior was heavily involved
and determined to create a seamless, nonstop blend of songs, ''rather
like what we did at the end of Abbey Road.''
No one pretended that getting the approval of all the notoriously
protective parties involved over the last four years hasn't been a
nightmare — or at least a ''long and winding road'' — but, said
Cirque founder Guy Laliberte, ''It was difficult in the paperwork of
making it happen, but worth the pain.'' It may not have been just
artistry that got the principles or estates involved to agree on the
show: A Beatles boutique located right next to the Mirage's theater
provides a reminder of how powerful a motivator merch can be.
(Posted:05/25/06)
http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1198202_4_0_,00.html
For an authorized project, ''Love'' tweaks Fab Four tunes to a
surprising degree, says Chris Willman by Chris Willman
MYSTERY TOUR Most of the Beatles-based Cirque du Soleil show ''Love''
is under wraps until previews in June
Are you ready for legitimate, authorized-by-Apple Beatles mashups and
remixes? Incredibly, surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr
and widows Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison have agreed to let outsiders
mess with the quartet's music in a significant way for public
consumption. One catch, though: This ''new'' Beatles music isn't
coming to an iPod or even a record store near you. You'll have to go
to Las Vegas to hear it. And you may have to get ''wanded''
beforehand.
Journalists were invited to the Mirage this week for a media event
previewing Love, a show that brings together two highly prized brand
names, the Beatles and Cirque du Soleil. Before entering the new in-
the-round theater that was designed specifically for the
extravaganza, reporters had to turn in their cell phones and tape
recorders, pass through metal detectors, and even submit to
individual searches, the kind of procedures usually reserved for
meetings with heads of state. But it soon became evident what all the
paranoia was about: The Beatles' music in the show has been tampered
with to a far greater degree than anyone on the outside has realized,
and producers aren't about to let these altered versions of some of
the world's most beloved recordings get leaked to file-sharing
services for early consumption and debate among Beatlemaniacs.
Only about 15 minutes of the 90-minute production were previewed.
Critics will have to wait till the June 30 gala premiere, though
previews begin shortly at the Mirage, on June 2. But, based on what
we saw (and heard), it's safe to say that the Fab Faithful, as well
as Cirque-aholics, will soon be flocking to the desert by the tens of
thousands for the first authorized ''live'' ticketed Beatles event
since the band gave up touring in 1966.
The modus operandi is evident in the opening number, which has the
Anthology demo recording of ''Strawberry Fields Forever'' eventually
morphing into the official release version; riffs culled from at
least a dozen other Beatles songs are then mixed into the tune's last
section, as the full cast takes over the stage. The production design
is partly, though far from entirely, inspired by the Sgt. Pepper
cover imagery, which meshes well with Cirque's original circus-style
origins. Rusted horn instruments have been cleverly incorporated into
just about every costume and prop; one stilt-walker appears to be
traversing the stage on a pair of trumpets.
Another previewed number had George Harrison's ''Within You Without
You'' set to the backing track of John Lennon's ''Tomorrow Never
Knows.'' Sir George Martin, who produced the original tracks and
worked on this show, was on hand for the event and explained that the
Harrison tune ''wasn't [fans'] favorite song on Sgt. Pepper... but in
this form, it would have been one of the good ones.'' Martin added
that the surviving Beatles were wary of what was being done with the
music till they heard this ''Within You Without You''/''Tomorrow
Never Knows'' mashup — and ''then the problem was, they wanted them
all like that.'' Martin and his son, Giles, who did the lion's share
of the remixing, weren't able to blend many songs so
completely. ''The problem was, there aren't many Beatles songs that
stay on one chord,'' the elder Martin noted.
Yet they managed a similar effect with a number that begins with the
familiar orchestration for ''Good Night,'' the closing number of the
White Album, sung by Ringo. Only, when the vocal comes in, it's Ringo
singing... ''Octopus's Garden.'' Martin said they wanted to ''create
a fantastic world under the sea... but if you use the track as it
was, it's a bit too rock & roll'' — hence, making the transition a
bit more phantasmagorical with the orchestrated intro. Visually,
expect to see lots of floating jellyfish, rays, and eels as a group
of children passes through the undersea kingdom in a wagon, marveling
at the sights. (But sorry, kids, no SpongeBob.)
''Lady Madonna'' has a pregnant black woman and her mate at the
center of the action, while all around them white flower children in
old-school boots and headbands do an exuberant soft-shoe routine,
slapping their thighs. (Listen for the guitar riff from ''Hey
Bulldog'' mixed in here.) ''Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds'' focuses
on — no surprise here — a female trapeze act. Maybe the oddest visual
effect previewed involved a giant white sheet that comes up from the
center of the stage and is handed to the audience members, who
dutifully pass it from the front to back rows; the entire crowd is
under this sheet — Christo style! — until the massive wrap is sucked
into the ceiling.
As for the aural wrap, ''The brief was, I could use any sound at all
that I recorded with the Beatles,'' said George Martin — which means
that, while there are only about 25 songs in the show, there are bits
from about 130 of the group's 1960s recordings. ''I'll probably get a
few brickbats from people for what we've done,'' Martin said, ''but
the people behind us — Paul, Ringo, Yoko, Olivia — love everything
they've heard... Ringo was 100 percent in saying, 'It's fantastic.'
Paul said, 'It's great, but I think you should go farther out.' We'd
gone pretty far out already.'' As a gag, then, Martin put together a
bizarre mix of ''Hey Jude'' that was set to a reggae beat. ''He was
horrified. I said, 'You did ask me to go farther out.' Then he
realized it was a joke.''
Giles Martin ended up doing more of the aural work than his father,
who had said years ago that he was retiring from producing because of
being nearly deaf. ''For me, it's been an experience of going through
my dad's closet,'' he said. But Martin senior was heavily involved
and determined to create a seamless, nonstop blend of songs, ''rather
like what we did at the end of Abbey Road.''
No one pretended that getting the approval of all the notoriously
protective parties involved over the last four years hasn't been a
nightmare — or at least a ''long and winding road'' — but, said
Cirque founder Guy Laliberte, ''It was difficult in the paperwork of
making it happen, but worth the pain.'' It may not have been just
artistry that got the principles or estates involved to agree on the
show: A Beatles boutique located right next to the Mirage's theater
provides a reminder of how powerful a motivator merch can be.
(Posted:05/25/06)
http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1198202_4_0_,00.html
