If you're a big fan of the Beatles then you may be aware of an outfit called The Beatnix, an Australian power-pop/Beatles tribute band who released an album in 1994 called 'It's Four You'. This comprised songs written by Lennon & McCartney but never actually recorded by the Beatles (other than 'That Means A Lot' which eventually turned up on the aborted 'Sessions' album), instead being given away to other artists for them to enjoy the chart successes. Bands including The Applejacks, The Fourmost, and Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas, and singers such as Cilla Black, Tommy Quickley, Peter And Gordon, and P J Proby all benefited from Lennon & McCartney's generosity, and although the songs were never recorded by the Beatles themselves you probably already know them from the hit versions. It was a great idea for an album, but they weren't actually the first to come up with the concept, as Liverpool band Revolver had already done it 15 years earlier, when they issued their 'Northern Songs' album in 1979. Both records obviously feature the same songs, but there is a big difference in the styles in which they are performed, with Revolver giving them a more authentic feel, being how I imagine they would have sounded had the Beatles recorded them in the mid-60's. The Beatnix versions are perfectly fine, but some of the arrangements are a bit too modern, and there is a 90's production sheen to the album, whereas you need the songs to sound as raw as possible to get the right atmosphere. I've had my vinyl copy of this album for many years, and have never seen another one since, so it's extremely rare, but it is definitely worth hearing if you're either a Beatles fanatic or just have a passing interest. The Beatnix version is also worth hearing, so I'm posting that as well so that you can compare the two. I always felt that the only thing that let the album down was the disappointing artwork, so I've given it a bit of a boost for this post, while still keeping the original concept.
Original cover
Original back cover
Track listing
01 One And One Is Two 02 Bad To Me 03 World Without Love 04 Love Of The Loved 05 I'll Keep You Satisfied 06 That Means A Lot 07 I'll Be On My Way 08 I Don't Want To See You Again 09 Hello Little Girl 10 Goodbye 11 Tip Of My Tongue 12 Nobody I Know 13 From A Window 14 Step Inside Love 15 Like Dreamers Do 16 It's For You 17 I'm In Love
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