Rating: 4/5
Reviewed by: Ashley Frieze
Buy it now.

This double CD is a treat. As a more mature gentleman pointed out to me recently, the Beatles are, for the likes of me, history. It's only been over the last couple of years that I have taken a serious interest in acquiring the works of the prolific fab four. Buying CDs of their studio albums has been excellent, but much of their personality is constrained by the discipline of producing such fine studio work.

For me, born in 1974, there was little chance of ever hearing the Beatles as they rose to fame. By the time I'd heard of them, they were already history. This CD helps understand how it might have felt being a fan of the Beatles in the sixties. Owing to the quality of the audio, the way that the songs are performed and the occasional bantering with the presenters (mainly Brian Matthew and Alan Freeman), the atmosphere of hearing this as a live show, coming from a battered wireless, is truly captured.

The actual sound quality is excellent, considering these recordings' origins. The sound does not offer the full frequency response of a studio recording; it's lacking the far extents of bass and treble, but it is no barrier to the experience of hearing four young lads from Liverpool doing their thing for the nation's radio listeners.

I was disappointed at the lack of Rolf Harris on this CD. The Beatles version of Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport is an absolute classic.

Overall, I'd say this is an album to have and to treasure. There are several songs on there which you will not find on any of their studio albums, along with a number of live versions of album tracks, which go to prove that they were more band than product.

11 December 2001
Ashley Frieze