THE UNRELEASED BEATLES

Reviewed by Steven H Silver

Richie Unterberg's The Unreleased Beatles may be one of the most frustrating books ever published. Between the release of their first single of "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You" in 1962 and their last LP, Let It Be, in 1970, the Beatles officially released 217 songs. However, in addition to those songs, the band recorded numerous other songs, some of which can be found on bootlegs, some of which were eventually released on the Anthology CDs or the fiftieth anniversary versions of the albums, or recordings that have never left the vaults of Abbey Road Studios. Unterberger provides an extensive listing of these songs as well as lengthy discussions of when the songs were recorded and why they weren't released.

In many cases, the songs discussed were unreleased takes of the songs that were eventually released, an orchestral version of "Glass Onion" or early versions of songs that John, George, or Paul would eventually release on their solo albums. However, there are also cases of the Beatles playing some of the own compositions that haven't been released or covering other artists songs, some of which have come to light, such as the quartet singing "Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellenbogen by the Sea" during the Get Back sessions, which as featured on the Peter Jackson documentary of the making of the album. While in the more than fifty years since the band broke up, or even the seventeen years since Unterberger's book was published, the internet has made tracking down many of the songs discussed in the book easier, they aren't all available, or necessarily easy to find.

Frustration at the inability to have the soundtrack described in the book aside, Unterberger's research and descriptions are masterful. Even if the reader can't hear all the versions of songs Unterberger discusses, the book provides the context for the versions that were released, looks at how the songs evolved from their initial concepts to final forms, and how the band worked together, a process which Jackson's Get Back documentary reinforces. Unterberger also uses these descriptions to discuss myths about the Beatles process and the importance of the various band members, George Martin, and others who were involved in the production of the albums that were released.

While their unreleased music is the focus on the book, Unterberger also spends time talking about the unreleased films the featured the Beatles. While the mind naturally goes to potential feature film projects this section actually covers documentary footage of the band ranging from silent, thirty-second color film of the band performing in the early 1960s, most likely with Pete Best on the drums, to footage shot for televisions, news stories, or documentaries. He outlines what is known to exist and indicates the points at their career that it is possible to see what the band looked like when performing, whether for an audience or for the cameras.

The book is, perhaps, oo detailed for the casual Beatles fan, but for the fan who has watched the various documentaries, listened to their albums (and some of the bootlegs), and read books such as Mark Lewisohn's >The Beatles: All These Years: Tune In, The Unreleased Beatles provides a fresh look at the band's ouevre and process. This also makes the book an excellent source for songwriters and musicians to get a glimpse into the way one of the most successful bands of all time managed to achieve their songs.

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