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List Price: $60.49 | | Label: EMI Int'l
Salesrank: 427775
Released: August 14, 2001 |
| Our Price: $113.08 |
| Used Price: $76.54 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Editorial Review:
Australian 2 LP set. Live At The BBC was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Historical Album. Although the guitars are often electric, Live At The BBC is, essentially, the Beatles Unplugged--yanked out of the recording studio, gathered around a few microphones and encouraged to show off their raw craft, naked voices and rock'n'roll roots. MTV didn't exist in the early '60s, but the BBC did, and between March 1962 and June 1965 (a period that spans their first four albums and takes them from the simplicity of "Love Me Do" to the complexities of "Ticket To Ride") the Beatles performed 52 times on England's national radio network. Although they had honed their craft in British and German rock clubs, the Beatles were mostly known as a studio band, and the radio shows served as a sort of behind-the-curtains glimpse of the studio wizards. Most of these performances are covers of early rock, pop and country songs, and the scope of them is wider and deeper than the covers the Beatles put on their albums. There are obvious influences--Chuck Berry, Elvis and Little Richard rockers, and traditional pop ballads--along with lesser-known pop footholds that hint at how/where the Beatles bridged the gap between rock's teen-age years and its adulthood. They covered soul singer Arthur Alexander only once on their original records ("Anna"), but twice here, and the combination of R&B drive and complex pop changes that fuels both "Soldier Of Love" and "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues" gives away one of the primary sources of Beatles style. John Lennon's vocal on "I Just Don't Understand," an Ann-Margret pop song, foreshadows the downbeat folk-rock with which the Beatles made their mark in the mid-'60s. A baker's dozen of Lennon/McCartney originals are spread through the set, including one, a jangly folk-rocker titled "I'll Be On My Way," that they never recorded. The John-Paul-George harmonies are in full bloom, as is the Beatlesque sense of humor. There's one terribly obvious overdub, but the rest of Live At The BBC sounds like rock'n'roll's greatest living-room sessions. EMI. 2005.
Live at the BBC Reviews:
DON'T BUY FROM GO! HASTINGS! 
2008-10-26 - This Is a Warning to other Beatle Fans out there who want the vinyl version of this album: Don't Order It From Go!Hastings! They deceptively list this item as "L.P. record" and ship you the CD! In their "apology" email they mention they no longer carry vinyl records in stock and will update their listings. Ha! it's already been a week and they still list this as an "L.P. record"! Don't Be Fooled!
young Beatles at their best
2008-10-06 - Often overlooked, this essential collection of early, live Beatles studio recordings is a treasure trove. The definitive version of "She's a Woman" is worth the price by itself, add to that dozens of original songs recorded in one take without overdubs, and dozens more covers that don't appear anywhere else, and this is definitely a good album to turn to when you need that innocent, British invasion magic as only the Beatles could bring it. Buy this on vinyl and do yourself a favor, this music was meant to be enjoyed on analog equipment.
The next few minutes are in the laps of the gods and the hands of the Beatles. 
2006-07-10 - Between March 1962 and Jube 1965, the Beatles were featured performers in fifty-two BBC radio programmes and sang eighty-eight different songs, thirty-six of which they never recorded for a record. The reason that they made so many "live" appearances on radio is, the Musicians Union had a deal with the BBC, so that a certain percentage of airtime each day had to feature live musicians. In other words, they couldn't just play records all day. This collection features 56 songs that the Beatles recorded especially for radio, including 29 songs they never commercially recorded. There are also a few bits of chat between the Beatles and the radio hosts. But the highlights, of course, are the otherwise unrecorded songs. Almost all of these songs are covers of other artists' songs, although there is one Lennon-McCartney original. The most covered performers are Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. They also cover other legends like the Coasters and Buddy Holly, plus some very obscure artists that you probably never heard of. The BBC didn't save many of these shows, so some of the songs are taken from home recordings that people made off of their radios. Consequently, the sound is a bit sketchy on some of the songs. Regardless of that, this is an essential collection for any Beatlemaniac.
Beatles History 101
2005-09-11 - Between March 1962 and June 1965, the Beatles performed on 52 BBC radio programs recording a total of 88 different songs-36 of which never appeared on disc. With the release of LIVE AT THE BBC, 56 of those performances are presented for the first time, including 30 songs that had never appeared on an official Beatles' release. [Note: Quality recordings of the Beatles' four 1962 appearances do not exist and were not included.]
These radio broadcasts provide the listener with a close-up look at the growth of the most influential band in pop music history. While the Beatles routinely included their current hit singles, the real treats are the songs recorded by their early influences. There are five previously unreleased recordings of Chuck Berry covers, a couple Little Richard songs, as well as songs by Carl Perkins, Ray Charles, and their only recording of a Buddy Holly song ("Crying, Wishing, Hoping") other than "Words of Love." Of special note is John's vocal performance on Arthur Alexander's "Soldier of Love." There's also the only recording of the Lennon-McCartney tune, "I'll Be on My Way," which was given to Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas.
In addition, there is plenty of unscripted banter between the Beatles and the program hosts, which adds a dose of humor to the proceedings. Unlike the ANTHOLOGY series, LIVE AT THE BBC can be enjoyed by neophyte and hardcore fans alike. ESSENTIAL
Raw, live, and it's the Beatles
2005-02-18 - Better sound quality would bring this rating up to 5 stars but it is live and the song selection just shows how multi talented this group really was. Rocking from their roots and doing some Beatles songs, this is worth having for any Beatle fan or any rock fan in general. Reminds me of a bootleg type of release and it is just a bit different from traditional releases by the Beatles. That being said, you will enjoy it.
