The Beatles – Love Review

We must never question the purpose of a release, for that is to bring the creative process kicking and screaming into the spotlight. But we must ask George and Giles Martin, whose work with The Beatles’ back catalogue is so careful and consistent, what they were thinking when piecing together Love. It is worth a listen as a one-off, though its appeal is based entirely on the one-note premise. What would a mash-up of The Beatles’ biggest hits and brightest demos sound like? Once answering that question, it is hard to squeeze much magic out of repeated listening. Cirque du Soleil and The Beatles seem like a match for those who cannot merely sit and listen to music. For those who need a visual aid to keep them engaged, seeing flips, clown cars, and former professional wrestler Mason Ryan may work. None are included in the album release, sadly.  

What is included is a decent experiment in blurring songs together with fresh context. If Bob Dylan asset strippers are set to do the same eternally with his earliest releases, then it is only fair to give talents like Martin and Martin a shot, too. Love starts with Helter Skelter if you forget to turn the shuffle button off. It begins proper with a stripped-back Because, a haunting piece which is lifted from the Medley section of Abbey Road. In isolation, it improves. Mash-ups featured throughout Love are never going to replace the favourites of a hardened Beatles fan, but the sense of fun which comes from the overlap is what keeps Love going. A Hard Day’s Night briefly in the introduction to a familiar-sounding Get Back is a sweet spot, one of many that Martin and Martin manage to uncover. Love begins to lose a bit of steam not because the mashups are poor but because they feel a tad aimless. 

Something and Blue Jay is more a performance of the George Harrison classic with a few instrumentals added to the end, rather than an overlap. It’s somewhat like listening to the radio without advert breaks, one song bleeds into the other, often subtly enough not to notice. That is the sole strength of Love, and it is this which the Martin pair hopes will tide a listener over. At its best, like with Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite, the album is capable of crafting new layers to the story of these songs. That is where Love is at its most entertaining, and thankfully, it is often at that high point. Inevitably beautiful moments mashing up Blackbird and Yesterday feel like cheap choices, but their wonderful overlap cannot be ignored.  

Some surefire hits are not what they seem and are, in fact, dud choices. Strawberry Fields Forever takes a slowed tempo and some sliding guitar work, but the emotional value is limited after hearing how many times the string sections and isolated vocals are implemented. That sound loses its way. What Love provides are harmless and often fun adaptations of The Beatles’ best works. A selection of their greatest moments, which does not, by the end, amount to anything which can overshadow the originals. They were never meant to, not really, but there is little reason to return to Love unless you have a spare seventy minutes and want a mashup of very specific songs by the Fab Four. It serves a purpose, however niche it may be, and remains a quality listening experience.