Search - Beatles :: Last Night in Hamburg

A Real Treasure

Julie A Ross | Pleasant Hill, CA United States | 11/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Before they became famous, the Beatles were building up to their enormous success in America by playing various clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg. Among the clubs they were playing was the Star Club in Hamburg. On December 31, 1962, their last scheduled date there, Adrian Barber used homemade equipment to record the Beatles. The tapes he made are beautifully preserved here. The interaction between the band and the audience is much different here than in other live shows they did later on. This seems like a much more relaxed atmosphere. And since there were no screaming girls yet, the music could be heard. Twenty-eight songs ae presented here in great quality. This album is a real treasure to any Beatles fan, so enjoy."

Good songs, but HORRIBLE sound quality

VICTOR ANDRES PEREYRA SALVADOR | 09/08/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, I know it is The Beatles live, and it's my opinion that The Beatles are the greatest band of all time and that no one else can even come close to how good The Beatles were, but seriously, how can you enjoy this? All you can hear is the drums and the lead guitar. The bass, rhythm guitar, and vocals are most of the time, inaudible. The lead guitar has that screeching, bad-quality sound that is common to most live recordings. This is definitely my least favorite of all Beatles releases. I know it's a part of history, it's The Beatles in Hamburg, blah, blah, blah....But the live recordings on the Anthology albums are SO much better."

Masterful Performance: They passed the audition!

Julie A Ross | 01/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"(If you listen to this CD through speakers,
not headphones, the sound quality is okay.) I really like this recording of an early
Beatles performance. They show a prodigious
amount of talent and ability. Even through
the muffled lens of a poor original recording
you can tell that these guys are putting
out the real thing with tremendous energy.
They were unspoiled by all the hype and
promotion and show a professionalism that
we will probably never hear again in a
small club setting. As such, this recording
is an historical document that will be
revered by present and future generations.
True, the sound quality is far from 192 kHz
sampling frequency by 32 bit digital surround.
Remember, these guys probably had a total of
100 watts of amplifier power on stage. The
work they did with what they had at the time
was remarkable! True, they can be heard tuning
up the guitars. But they did it by ear without
a handy digital quartz guitar tuner -- and
they have better tuned guitars than Chuck
Berry (whose Gibson was always a little bit
out, but he bent the strings into tune as
he played). Given the fact that most vocals
released in the past few years have been
"sweetened," or digitally pitch-corrected,
the great harmonies of the four from 'Pool
don't require the modern refinements.
This collection of 28 tunes contains 26
covers of the "jukebox hits" of the time and
two originals -- "I Saw Her Standing There"
and "Ask Me Why." The first was better
recorded on "Live at the BBC," but both tunes
show the world-conquering ability of the four
respectful lads.
Until we have the sonic reconstruction
techniques equivalent to the photo-enhancing
methods shown in the futuristic "Blade Runner"
movie, this CD is the best available that shows
how it was way back when... and it was very
good indeed!"