VA - All This And World War II: Original Soundtrack (1976) {2015, Limited Edition, Remastered}

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VA - All This And World War II: Original Soundtrack (1976) {2015, Limited Edition, Remastered}

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Record executive Russ Regan, instrumental for his behind-the-scenes work with Harriet Schock, Genya Ravan, and producer Jimmy Miller, was involved in the creation of this soundtrack to the 20th Century Fox documentary film All This and World War II. Produced by Lou Reizner, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, arranged by Wil Malone and conducted by Harry Rabinowitz, back up an amazing array of stars on Beatles covers. What this is, truly, is one of the first Beatles tribute albums, and it is extraordinary. Peter Gabriel performing "Strawberry Fields Forever" should be a staple on classic hits radio stations. It's a natural, but how about David Essex doing "Yesterday," Leo Sayer on "Let It Be," or the Four Seasons interpreting "We Can Work It Out"? Where the dismal soundtrack to the film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band had hits and misses, this is a very cohesive and impressive work of art. The Brothers Johnson re-create "Hey Jude," and its soulful reading is not what Earth, Wind & Fire did to "Got to Get You Into My Life" – their Top Ten 1978 hit from the Sgt. Pepper's soundtrack – but it is just as cool. In 1994, BMG released Symphonic Music of the Rolling Stones, which had Marianne Faithfull sounding like Melanie Safka on "Ruby Tuesday" (or is it the other way around?) and Mick Jagger re-creating "Angie," but that was 18 years after this, and doesn't have the marquee value of this double-vinyl LP chock-full of stars. This is four sides of orchestrated Beatles, with Status Quo, Ambrosia, and Bryan Ferry on a version of "She's Leaving Home" and Helen Reddy's take on "Fool on the Hill." Leo Sayer gets to do "The Long and Winding Road" as well as "I Am the Walrus," while Frankie Valli does "A Day in the Life" to augment his Four Seasons track. It is nice to see Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood on the same album again, Wood with "Polythene Pam" and "Lovely Rita," and future Beatles co-producer Jeff Lynne cutting his teeth on about seven minutes of "With a Little Help from My Friends"/"Nowhere Man." Tina Turner reprises her classic "Come Together," Elton John, of course, has to weigh in with "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," while the Bee Gees are spread out over the record doing bits and pieces of the Abbey Road medley, "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight" on side one, less than two minutes of "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" on side two, and two minutes of "Sun King" on side three. Frankie Laine, Status Quo, and a delirious Keith Moon add to the festivities, but it is the Peter Gabriel track which gets the nod as the over-the-top performance here; Moon's rant is so out-there and off-key it disturbs the momentum. We have to give him a pass, though. It's Keith Moon, and he never made it to 64. Keep in mind that, two years later, the Bee Gees, Helen Reddy, Frankie Valli, and Tina Turner would show up in the Sgt. Pepper's soundtrack and film, so maybe this is where the idea for that came from. Utilizing the Elton John number one hit from two years earlier, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" ensures that a Beatle is involved in this project, as John Lennon performed on that single under the name Dr. Winston O'Boogie, though it might have been interesting had they added the Royal Philharmonic to the original tape. On second thought, though, maybe not. Still, it is a classic, classic album that deserves a better place in rock history, certainly more so than the aforementioned Sgt. Pepper's soundtrack. Definitely worth seeking out.

~ All Music