The Beatles Tapes IV: Hong Kong 1964 Review

07/13/2005 6:13 AM, AMG


This disc (the fourth in the series) consists of a previously unreleased Beatles interview conducted after a jet-lagged flight from London while getting ready to play Hong Kong for the first time. With "Beatle for a Week" Jimmy Nicol standing in for an ailing Ringo, this puts us right into the cauldron of hysteria (both positive and negative) that was Beatlemania as it slowly conquered the world. How that world was changing -- and adults' reaction to it -- is what fuels this interview from June 8, 1964, and makes us realize that the whole world didn't just roll over and play dead once the group appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and everyone heard "She Loves You." Of course, their haircuts were the big issue here ("with hair so frightfully long it would be enough to give Sergeant-Major of the Guards Division a heart attack!"), and the way this drives the "these guys can't possibly last" dialogue that ensues transports us all to a squarer, more simplistic time. The Fab Four handle it all with great aplomb, displaying charm, humor, wit and loads of great patience while dealing with nasty questions and jabs from reporters who not only don't get it, but actually don't want to get it (an exchange with George Harrison is particularly noteworthy for its mean-spiritedness). How the story ended everybody already knows, but this frozen moment in time shows how the press couldn't believe it could possibly get any bigger and would all be over soon. Ah, but we know different now, don't we? ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide