brendan2's Full Review: Real Love [Single] by The Beatles
The Real Love single was released on March 4, 1996, a few weeks before the release of The Beatles' Anthology 2, which, like Anthology 1 before it, was a collection of outtakes, live performances, and unreleased songs. For Anthology 1, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr had gotten together and added their vocals and instruments to an old John Lennon recording, Free As A Bird. This was the first time all four Beatles had appeared on one recording since their breakup in 1970, and after Lennon's tragic death, this was the closest possible thing to a Beatles reunion.
About a year after "Free As A Bird", the surviving Beatles took another of Lennon's demo tapes and fixed it up a bit. This time, the song, Real Love, had already been written in its entirety by John ("Free As A Bird" was missing the bridge), so Paul, George, and Ringo did not contribute any new lyrics to this one. They did of course contribute new vocals and instruments.
In 1979, John recorded the demo of Real Love on a simple cassette tape. The instruments included only a piano and a drum machine, and Lennon's voice was double-tracked, which is probably why his vocals sound so much stronger here than on "Free As A Bird." Paul, George, and Ringo, along with coproducer Jeff Lynne, took this mono cassette into the studio and first removed the static and other background noise. They then transferred the tape to two 24-track analogue tapes and began adding the new instruments and vocals.
Ringo's drums, two bass tracks by Paul, George's lead guitar, and acoustic guitars by George and Paul were all added to John's piano and drum machine. George, Paul and Ringo also added some percussion sounds to the song. Paul recorded new vocals to accompany John's lead, and George and Paul added backing and harmony vocals. The result is very beautiful, and a lot of fans prefer this song over "Free As A Bird."
Real Love starts out with only the piano, John's vocals, and acoustic guitars. It already sounds great, then Ringo's drums and George's lead electric guitar chime in. John's vocals are much better than on "Free As A Bird," and his voice perfectly fits the song's poignant, emotional lyrics. Speaking of which, the lyrics for this song have to be some of the best in a Lennon love song. "Thought I'd been in love before, but in my heart, I wanted more. Seems like all I really was doing, was waiting for you. Don't need to be alone, don't need to be alone. It's real love, it's real."
The harmony vocals from George and Paul are just gorgeous, and they nicely complement John's lead. The music for this song sounds like what I suspect the Beatles would be doing now, if it were possible for them to still be together. The piano, guitars and drums are played perfectly, and George has an amazing guitar solo that is one of the highlights of the song. Real Love is a very moving piece of work, and it is obvious that a lot of love and care went into making it.
This single also features three tracks that did not appear on Anthology 2, so even if you already own the Anthology, you'll have to pick this up too. The three extra tracks are different versions of Baby's In Black, Yellow Submarine, and Here, There and Everywhere.
Baby's In Black
This is a live version of the song which originally appeared on Beatles For Sale. John introduces the song, then the guys launch in, accompanied by screams from teenage girls. This was taken from the Beatles' performance at the Hollywood Bowl in August 1965. Interestingly, the intro and the actual song were taken from two different concerts (the Beatles performed on August 29 and 30). I guess maybe the performance wasn't that good the first night, but John's witty intro couldn't be sacrificed for this record. It sounds pretty good for a live performance, although Paul does scream the lines a little too loudly.
Yellow Submarine
This is a new mix of the master of Yellow Submarine, which appeared on the Revolver album. This new version includes a spoken rap-style intro from Ringo, accompanied by some marching sounds. There are also a lot more sound effects than on the released version. The background shouting is louder, too, but otherwise, the music and vocals are the same.
Here, There And Everywhere
This is a new mix of another song that appeared on Revolver. This version is a blend of Take 7 and a 1995 remix of the harmony vocals, overdubbed onto Take 13. Take 7 features only Paul's guide vocal, and with the remix, the harmony vocals are brought more to the forefront.
The Real Love single is out of print in the U.S., but you can find it easily online. The best place to look is eBay or another auction site, but if you really want a new one, you can try amazon.com or similar sites. You can expect to pay around $12 or $13 for an imported one, though. I would recommend this single to anyone who liked the Anthologies or wants to see what types of tracks are on the Anthologies without paying the $30+ per set. And the cover photo, featuring a rarely-seen photo of the Fab Four, is really cute.
NOTE: The video for Real Love can be found on the bonus disc of the Anthology DVD set.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
![Real Love [Single] by The Beatles](http://img.shopping.com/cctool/PrdImg/images/pr/177X150/00/77/55/18/63/2002065507.JPG)
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.