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The thing to
remember about “The Unseen Beatles” is that it’s strictly a documentary
for the hardcore fans of the fab four. Anyone else looking from the
outside in will hardly find that much value to this, but for the
hardcore Beatles fans that pride themselves in being completists, “The
Unseen Beatles” is an interesting approach to their fame. When the
Beatles took the stage it’s like the gods were shaking the Earth. Their
names brought about screams and howls, their pictures brought frantic
reactions of tears and cheers, and whenever they were on stage
performing, chaos ensued, and soon the chaos became too much to bear.
Whenever the Beatles performed the cheers and screams were so wild they
couldn’t even hear themselves sing. In one instance during a performance
at Shea Stadium, they could barely hear the songs they were singing so
they basically performed by their cues and relied on their skills to get
through the music before retiring.
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After a
short stint in front of live audiences which cued frantic
reactions of fans attempting to grab at them and rush the
stages, the Beatles quit touring altogether and vowed never
to give a live performance again. In effect, the touring of
the musician became a much different system and the Beatles’
air of mystique and sheer edge only improved. |
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The interviews with
concert goer Barry Hood and roadie Ed Freeman really give us a
spectator’s view of the band that shaped music, as they gain a unique
perspective on the foursome and their slow deterioration from band of
brothers, to a band apart. The material here is a wonderful way to spend
an hour with great interviews, interesting recollections and sightings
of the fab four. The aura that the Beatles bring to film still gives me
goose bumps. They’re funny, they’re charming, they have great charisma,
and the cameras love them, and the pressures of fame were sadly a
leading cause of their split. The bedlam and fanaticism really weighed
on the Beatles who were so flooded by crowds they quit touring
altogether. There is also shocking foreshadowing to John’s murder,
especially with the attack by a fan with a cherry bomb that happened to
launch at John, which many in the group and entourage thought was a
bullet meant for him. “The Unseen Beatles” is strictly for us hardcore
fans.
The problem with “The Unseen Beatles” is that you simply will not find
anything here that you don’t already know. The Beatles stopped touring
because of the frantic audiences. John Lennon made a passing comment
about religion and religious idiots took offense. Uh… we know all of
this already! Any Beatles fan worth their weight knows that the Beatles
stopped touring because of the crazed fans that didn’t let them perform;
it’s just common knowledge. And with “The Unseen Beatles,” it becomes
the central topic and it’s basically just an hour of telling us more of
what we already know and then some! While it’s all well and good to see
idiotic Americans attack a subversive mind like Lennon who summed up
religion and the religious in their nutty shell, I’ve seen this all
before. Beyond the home videos, there’s nothing very new to discover
here.
There's simply not much here hardcore Beatles fans will find new and
refreshing, but for those who simply want to know everything about The
Beatles, and celebrate their sheer legendary impact on the music world,
"The Unseen Beatles" is a fun hour long refresher course.

- My favorite
Beatles song is “Ticket to Ride,” followed by “Helter Skelter,” and
“In My Life.”
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