I have not had this much fun at a blog ever. We’ve talked before on these pages about the pros and cons of covering Beatles songs, but Roger Greenawalt and Dave Barratt (a.k.a. Roger And Dave) have totally altered my thoughts on the subject with their slated 3-1/2 year project, The Beatles Complete On Ukulele. Their mission? “Record & perform on ukulele all 185 original compositions by The Beatles with 185 guest artists” (a new one each week). Now, the whole ukulele angle might pique your interest, or… it just might send you running. Resist that temptation. These are not simply homemade strum and hum renditions (like McCartney’s uke version of “Something”). Since Jan ’09, Roger And Dave (and a lot of friends) have created 43 (so far) absolutely wonderful, full-blown covers, from “I Saw Her Standing There” to, yes… “Revolution 9,” sporting inventive arrangements fronted by various singers & bands (think of Roger And Dave as the George Martins here), all performed with gobs of wit and imagination. I’ve included three tracks below (that I can’t stop listening to) to give you an incentive to investigate further. Along with the free downloads are some amazingly insightful ruminations about the roots, rhymes and reasons behind the tunes, delivered with a fresh, utterly irreverent, sometimes professorial, expertise. To be honest, I’m still working my way through the site, but what I’ve already seen, read and heard has my once-jaded senses reeling. Highly entertaining and highly recommended!
Elaine Caswell #043 Day Tripper
Megg Farrell #041 Dig A Pony
Jessie Murphy In The Woods #025 No Reply
Songs & Text: http://thebeatlescompleteonukulele.com/
Just The Songs: http://thebeatlescompleteonukulele.podbean.com/
12 Comments
Cool beans! Thanks for tipping us off to this stuff!
If the other 42 covers are as cool as Elaine Caswell's excellent version of Day Tripper, then we're in for a treat (and a lot of down-loading). There goes the weekend…
An appropriate tribute considering that George Harrison was himself a fan of the instrument
Brilliant stuff….Never a dull moment in your hands Willard well found Sir
Man, I'm a long-time Beatles fanatic who usually disdains covers of their work — they're either slavish copies or arbitrary reworkings done just for shock's sake.
These, so far, are neither — they're imaginative, whimsical, and a helluva lot of fun to listen to.
Another great choice, Willard. You have great taste, thank you!
You've read my mind and penned my thoughts, Gummo. I still call them my favorite group to this day and am usually the first to just keep on walking when it comes to how others approach covering that holy material. But this concept is a pure delight, and performed with so much insight that – even when any particular cover doesn't quite hold up – you can't help but appreciate the sincerity and effort. Read what they have to say about the songs… they know of what they speak, even when they get all weird about the details (one of the reasons I didn't just upload all the songs and post them here). We've got them in the blogroll so no one forgets them when visiting here. Thanks for all the comments.
Thank you all for your kind words chaps and chapesses.
R&D
http://www.TheBeatlesCompleteOnUkulele.com
Very kind of you to stop by fellas. You're truly doing the Lord's work over at your place.
I think it'd be fun to do this to the Rolling Stones.
fantastic, love the uke,cheers
Just superb! Thank you so much for this. Have just been pleasantly blown away by Martha My Dear. Just wonderful.
That’s a nice one.