Take It Easy: The Fab Four Go Loungecore [Castle]

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: Navarre

Notes: Take It Easy: The Fab Four Go Loungecore is cheesy, silly, and totally inessential to all but the most rabid Beatles collector. It is also a hilarious collection of ridiculously smooth easy listening versions of Beatles songs that fans of obscure and strange music will dig. The tracks were cut between 1966 and 1974 and feature some of the cream of the English easy listening scene. Each of these artists treats the Beatles songs with a different style of abuse. Cyril Stapleton & His Orchestra absolutely murder classics like "She Loves You" and "Ticket to Ride," smothering them in strings and turning loose an overly enthusiastic vocal chorus. The way they hit the "yeah, yeah, yeahs" in "She Loves You" is a guaranteed side-splitter. Stapleton also manages to turn the aching "Nowhere Man" into a perky cha-cha number that sounds like it came straight off of an Xavier Cugat record. Paraffin Jack Flash drags "Norwegian Wood" to Tijuana kicking and screaming all the while. Sounds Orchestral blend nightclub jazz piano and bass with syrupy strings on "Michelle." The London Pops Orchestra gives the group's more ponderous numbers like "Eleanor Rigby" and "She's Leaving Home" the full swooning orchestra sound for maximum handkerchief-wringing effect. Tony Hatch's contributions are the closest to actual music here. He turns "With a Little Help From My Friends" into an almost legitimate jazz number and gives "Hey Jude" a highly arranged, almost inventive folk-rock meets the orchestra sound. Elsewhere the John Schroeder Orchestra makes an interesting attempt at "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" that may be the best track on the record; at least it is the only one that won't force the listener to chuckle a bit. The orchestra also makes some heavy rock noises on "Back in the U.S.S.R.," which features vocals by a young David Bowie. Not really, but the singer does kind of sound like him. The only group who lets down the side is Dennis Lopez and his Liquid Latin Sound. If by "Liquid" he means unable to carry a tune if it was welded to his hand, then Dennis is very liquid as he mangles "Fool on the Hill" and "Something." Take It Easy: The Fab Four Go Loungecore is not for the faint of heart nor the kind of Beatles fan who thinks of their songs as sacred texts. It is for fans who aren't afraid to get ankle deep in cheese, because the cheese is threatening to flood the whole darn city. ~ Tim Sendra

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