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Across the Blogosphere

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Lately my passion for the Beatles has been flaring up again in a big way. Rather than blog about it to no end here and tweet about it on my main Twitter account, I decided it made more sense to create a new outlet to channel my thoughts on all things Beatlish. The result is @BeatleRamblings paired with beatleramblings.tumblr.com. I'll be giving my spur-of-the-moment thoughts, comments, and reactions on the Twitter account, and blogging and sharing links, pictures, and other media on the Tumblr page. I'm also looking into starting a Beatles podcast. More on that at a later date. For now, please follow, friend, and comment. Thanks!
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Star Wars in Concert: A Review

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ep•ic (adj.): heroic; majestic; impressively great

Epic. That's the best word I can use to describe Star Wars in Concert. As I write this, the show ended about and hour and a half ago. What an amazing show! For those who aren't aware, Star Wars in Concert is a travelling show consisting of a 86-piece orchestra, a huge choir, lasers, lights, the live narration of Anthony Daniels (a.k.a. C-3PO), and a 100-foot high-definition screen displaying clips from all six films synchronized to the music. To call it a fun and unique experience would be an understatement.

Read my full review after the jump.

The show appropriately began with the THX sound and 20th Century Fox Fanfare followed by the words, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." Naturally the Star Wars Main Title came next, with the iconic yellow letters fading into the distance. It was a majestic opening to an incredible evening. After the music ended, the voice of Darth Vader introduced Anthony Daniels, who took the stage and set the scene for a re-telling of the Star Wars saga through the music of John Williams.

The show was broken into segments that reflected major themes and events from the films, with each segment being introduced by Daniels. His commentary was generally direct and to-the-point, but there were some moments of levity. First, before a segment about droids, Daniels got carried away in extolling the wonders of C-3PO, which prompted conductor Dirk Brosse turned and shot him a disapproving look, at which point he stopped mid-sentence and said "right....anyway...." before continuing. It was clearly scripted, but still hilarious. Another fun piece of narration came when Daniels opened his tuxedo jacket to reveal a gold vest and slipped into the character of C-3PO, saying that the chances of survival were 3,720 to 1. He added that some people prefer never to be told the odds. Fanboys all throughout the arena laughed and cheered.

The music was, of course, exquisite. Some of the best musical moments from all six films were represented. The orchestra and choir sounded absolutely perfect. At times, I forgot that I was listening to a live performance. It really sounded that tight. The music cues were perfectly synchronized with scene changes and cuts in the video on the gorgeous screen above the orchestra. It was done freakishly well. The thought of performing this show every night, sometimes more than once a day, and executing it so perfectly every time is absolutely mind-boggling.

This was a totally unique experience. I've never seen anything quite like it before, and I don't know if I ever will again. The audience absolutely loved it. People of literally all ages smiled, laughed, and genuinely enjoyed themselves. The music was superb and the lights and video were beautiful. It was something really special. I really applaud George Lucas for allowing this wonderful show to take place. It brought people together to celebrate the amazing music of Star Wars.

Star Wars in Concert was an evening of pure gold. I heard my favorite pieces of music from my favorite film saga performed live by an incredible orchestra and choir, along with video clips from said saga, narrated by a supremely talented actor who was a part of every film from said saga. Could I have possibly asked for anything more? There was even an encore! My only complaint about the show was that I had so much fun, the night just flew by. Including a 20-minute intermission, the concert clocked in just under 2 hours, but it felt like almost half of that. So do yourself a favor and see this show if you can! Find out if there's a performance in your area and see if tickets are available. You'd be surprised how tickets become available even days before a show. You never know until you try! And you'll be glad you did! May the force be with you!

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Beatlemania 2009

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So let's talk music, shall we? It's been a while since I've blogged about it. I consider the Beatles to be the greatest band that ever was or will be, period. Call me closed-minded or biased, but that's what I think. I'll admit I'm a bit of a music snob. I've been anticipating the re-release of the British versions of the Beatle albums since I heard about it earlier this year. Appropriately, they were released this past Wednesday, 9/9/09.

I listened to every album in chronological order over the course of two days, and let me tell you, this is the way to listen to these albums! Never before have they sounded so crisp and so clear, and never have they been mixed to such perfection. The 1988 CD releases pale in comparison to the new ones. For over 20 years, those releases were the only way these albums could be heard on CD, but now they sound muddy and bland compared to the 2009 editions. I've been waiting for something this amazing literally all my life, and I am very pleased indeed.

I found that the biggest improvements could be heard on songs that were heavy in acoustic guitar or piano. There was a freshness and a cleanness to those tracks that I've never heard before. Songs like "Yesterday," "Blackbird," "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," and "Till There Was You" sounded especially crisp. "Yesterday" brought me to the verge of tears; I really felt as though Paul and the string quartet were in the room with me. I could hear every breath, every strike of a pick against a guitar string. Some of the better-sounding piano songs included "The Fool on the Hill," "Golden Slumbers," and "Martha My Dear."

Of course, the louder songs sound amazing, too. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and "She's So Heavy" blew me away, as did "Helter Skelter" and the end of "Hey Jude." More complex selections like "A Day In The Life," "Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite," "And Your Bird Can Sing," "Because," and the Abbey Road closing medley ("Golden Slumbers," "Carry That Weight," "The End") were brought up to a whole new level, chiefly because of the excellent use of the stereo field. The rich sound and presence of those songs is more enjoyable than ever.

There were several instances where I noticed small details that had previously been buried, especially on the earlier albums. On the Please Please Me album, for example, I noticed John half-laughing as he sang, Ringo's voice cracking, and on two or three occasions, a little bit of background noise in the studio. There were occasions on other albums where I could hear someone (presumably John) tapping on his guitar to keep time, and once I even heard Paul whispering as he counted the beats. These imperfections don't detract from the music at all. In fact, they make it more real. Listening in the best headphones I own, I really felt the music surround me physically. This speaks to the brilliance of the remixes and shows how much was missing from the 1988 versions.

Perhaps what helped me to enjoy this re-issue so much is the fact that I imported it into my iTunes library in Apple Lossless format instead of the usual MP3 or AAC. The best music demands to be heard in the best quality, so I turned to lossless to preserve the remastered edge. I've never really considered myself an audiophile, but I had to give this particular collection the Red Carpet treatment. Put simply, Apple Lossless is software that compresses audio files without sacrificing the sound quality. The files are about four times larger than MP3s, but the audio quality is exponentially better. I'm really glad I made that decision, because it enhanced the experience more than I can put into words.

So at the end of the day, I'd call the 2009 Beatles Stereo Box Set a necessary part of any music collector's library. Apart from vinyl, which will always be special to me, this is the only way anyone should ever experience the Beatles from now on. You haven't heard these songs until you've heard them as they are presented in this set.