The Ultimate Beatles Show – The 'White Album' On Stage, Note For Note
It’s been 55 since the Beatles split up, but a show that’s coming to Guildford in September could possibly be the next best thing to hearing them perform.
An audience at G Live will hear all 30 songs from the “White Album” played by a Canadian touring company just as they sound on the record, note for note.
The “White Album” – officially titled simply The Beatles – must surely be one of the most diverse music projects of all time, containing styles as varied as folk, country rock, blues, old time music hall, hard rock, psychedelia and avant-garde. So this performance by Classic Albums Live could be the ultimate Beatles challenge.
Craig Martin – “We pay the album the ultimate respect”
CAL is no tribute band in the usual sense. Their founder, Craig Martin, says: “The concept take is simple: perform classic albums exactly the way they were recorded – note for note, cut for cut, as the original artists intended it to be. No gimmicks, just pure musical excellence.”
From that first few seconds when you hear the rushing sound of a jet coming in to land (in the opening track, Back in the USSR) the audience is transported through 93 minutes of some of the Beatles’ finest music.
CAL is considerably bigger than most touring outfits. “When we perform the Beatles, we hire a great many musicians to get every sound just right,” says Martin. “When it comes to properly performing ‘Glass Onion’ or ‘Revolution 9’ it’s all hands on deck. Our string and horn sections have become well versed in orchestral percussion.”
Ah yes, Revolution 9. How do they handle that surreal cacophony of sound effects and tape loops that goes on for eight minutes and 22 seconds?
Martin acknowledges the difficulty. “We have been working our way through Revolution 9 since the series began,” he says. “Seeing this performed live confuses half the audience and thrills the other half.”
So what are the main challenges involved in performing such an iconic album?
“Getting the beautiful sound of the voices is always the most daunting task,” Martin says. “We take our time and find the musicians for the right part. Matching the musician to the album is crucial. When we say note for note, we mean it.”
Source: guildford-dragon.com/David Reading
