The Beatles – Free As A Bird Review

One of the three now-released tracks which for decades were left under wraps and in pieces, Free As A Bird did not mark the finality of The Beatles but put the band on course to finish things right. Dragging along with it a Christmas B-Side, make no mistake when it comes to Free As A Bird, it is as monumental an achievement – if not moreso – than the recent release of Now and Then. Although it may be of the utmost importance, there is not as golden a slumber for this piece which involves three of the Fab Four in the recording studio. Put it down to poor vocals from Paul McCartney or a sign of playing up material to the times, but it sounds frankly Britpop in nature, with twee guitar works and electronic manipulation made abundantly clear. 

This is not a tech change or a pace-breaking decision but a noticeable divide between The Beatles of old and their efforts decades after the death of John Lennon. No need to compare, of course, the projects can grow wider with the likes of Peter Jackson picking over material over and over – but the selection of Free As A Bird for McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison to work on is a fascinating one. It sounds idle and closer to a Blur B-Side than an actual, fully-fledged release from one of the world’s most influential bands. Vocal manipulation or electronic finagling has nothing to do with the quality expressed here, or the lack thereof from the dullard lyrics sprinkled through this instrumental mess. 

Luckily enough, this is The Beatles. Free As A Bird survives through sheer reputation alone at times and though it is nowhere close to the quality expected of the band, expectations are impossibly high for any release or remaster of the group. At its core this is a very plain but solid track – as is the strangely paired Christmas Time (Is Here Again). Clearly Harrison wanted in on the rakings and takings of Wonderful Christmastime and whatever hellscape Starr created with his Grinch-like Christmas record from days gone by. Another sick-to-the-stomach bit of twee work from The Beatles on that one, though this time a dependence on the Lennon-inclusive vocal works is clear as day. Dipping out of the way of repetitive instrumentals to bid a Merry Christmas is a sign of the times which is, somehow, left in. 

Thankfully The Beatles did not end it all with Free As A Bird, a horridly aged set of tracks which bring about little of what made The Beatles so remarkable. No wonder it was cast aside all those years ago and never finished – there was barely anything in it worth considering. Now and Then is proven as the immaculate favourite and a real way to put a final flourish to a legacy now six decades old. McCartney, Starr and Harrison do no wrong on Free As A Bird though it must be said they do little right either. An absolutely fine entry into their discographies – though the words “alright” and “The Beatles” should never meet. They do on this overhaul of a discarded track from all those years ago.