At The Hollywood Bowl - THE BEATLES****

Twist & Shout/She’s A Woman/Dizzy Miss Lizzy/Ticket To Ride/Can’t Buy Me Love/Things We Said Today/Roll Over Beethoven/Boys/A Hard Day’s Night/Help/All My Loving/She Loves You/Long Tall Sally

Somewhat belatedly At The Hollywood Bowl was the first Beatles live release. The songs are all taken from the 1963-65 period. Although of significant historical interest, the group’s performance is rather drowned out by the screaming of fans. (US:2 UK:1)

“As one might easily understand, the recording quality was (to put it mildly) quite inferior, whereas the girls' screaming was quite superior. That said, once your ears get attuned to the noise, there's no doubt about it - it's definitely a live Beatles performance, signed, sealed, and delivered.”

“The band battled fans for the spotlight on that and it really shines a bright light as to what Beatlemania was.”

“If one were to describe this meeting between The Beatles and their fans as a battle, the fans clearly win. There are several reasons for this. The most important being that at the time, live concert equipment was a far cry from what it later became.”

“Because The Beatles were nothing more than a straight-up pop band at this point, Live At The Hollywood Bowl ends up being moderately underwhelming. The live arrangements hardly vary from the studio versions. At the time, though, that’s what concert attendees demanded. On these terms, the shows were a success. The Fabs are pretty tight musically, but one area in which they struggle throughout the set is their vocals. It is hard for them to approximate the harmonies found on their records.”

“The overall energy is absolutely insane, almost incomparable. It's like listening to space shuttle taking off, it's a blast, the fire is bursting right from everywhere and you're right in the centre of action.”

“What does come through is the incredible energy they could generate in live performance. Most of these songs are taken at a faster tempo and are done in a more basic way. There was no room for subtlety during these concerts.”

“Considering the Fab Four could barely hear themselves it's incredible that they were able to play and sing as well as they did. Their voices are ragged and hoarse at times, but it only adds to the appeal.”