THE BEATLES
Yellow Submarine (1969)
Apple/Capitol
Produced by GEORGE MARTIN

This delayed film soundtrack is much less a Beatles album than similar packages for A HARD DAY'S NIGHT and HELP!... in England, at least. In the U.S., in order for Capitol to squeeze maximum sales potential out of each and every recorded Beatles track, the soundtracks removed all non-film numbers and padded out the running time with George Martin's scoring and orchestral tidbits. On HELP!, these were actually kind of interesting, enough to introduce George Harrison to the sitar; on A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, they were the kind of half-baked Muzak that appeals only to sickos like me. (When I was a kid I preferred Martin's strung-out "And I Love Her" to the Beatles'.) But this obviously wasn't Beatles music and, by a lot of standards, was therefore something of a ripoff. Only MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR improved on the European issue (and since there was no longform European issue, that wasn't hard).

YELLOW SUBMARINE finds the Beatles, in the midst of a shortage of new material following the no-holds-barred double album, opting for the American "filler" option. As with HELP!, though, George Martin's score, occupying all of side two, is quite interesting. In fact, it's excellent. Unfortunately, it's also far better than side one, which is all Beatles material.

They have six songs here, two of them previously released -- the title cut, of course, and "All You Need is Love." Thrown in are four new recordings, all rejects from the SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND era. Listening to the Beatles' albums in sequence, these songs sound laughably anachronistic. That doesn't mean they're bad... but two of them are. Indeed, those two are quite terrible.

Paul's "All Together Now" manages to exhibit all of his worst tendencies; it's as bad as "Hello, Goodbye" but shorter. At least he seems to be enjoying this one, in contrast to the labored pomposity of "Hello." Still, the Beatles fans who see this as more important or vital than "Let 'Em In" are fooling themselves. Being stupid is fine, but cute... I can't take that.

"Only a Northern Song" is absolutely the worst song George Harrison wrote until DARK HORSE, and is in the running as the worst composition released by any of the Beatles in the '60s. The production is haphazardly pretend-ambitious. "Lazy" is another way of putting it... the same word applies to the songwriting, particularly the lyrics. "If you're listening to this song / You may think the chords are going wrong / But they're not / He just wrote it like that." "We just play it like that." Excuses, excuses. The melody is typical Harrison... descending notes and a whole lot of self-imposed misery.

Harrison, though, also contributes a far better song, "It's All Too Much." It's not all that memorable, but it does find the Beatles toying with feedback and power chords, a rewarding combination, and it's the kind of obscurity you expect the NME or something will suddenly start blabbering about any day now.

The silly crown of "best song" is almost by default John's "Hey Bulldog" in this set of throwaways. It's a strong rocker that, with its Keith Richards riffage, reminds me a bit of "Day Tripper," and with its driving piano, also "Money."

$17 is a lot to pay for four songs... and everything about this package is slightly off-key and stupid, like the fact that the liner notes are just a perversely hyperbolic review of the White Album (comparing the band to Schubert, of all people) and some mythological nonsense explaining Apple Bonkers and Blue Meanies which Capitol didn't even bother putting in the CD booklet.

So if you're primarily interested in the Beatles songs here, you will probably find the 1999 Apple YELLOW SUBMARINE SONGTRACK CD much more of a bargain than this standard edition. It adds all of the songs heard in the film, even "Think for Yourself."

Alas, that doesn't mean this album is devoid of value, and if you are a fan of the genuinely intoxicating feature film, a masterwork of animation and imagination and a true feast for the senses, George Martin's extremely innovative score is a must. You may as well skip the Beatles stuff entirely and prepare to be transported. I don't really grade film scores because my standards aren't very well-defined, but that aspect of this disc alone I'd rate at at least ****½. You decide if it's worthwhile for you.