On Air – Live At The BBC Vol. 2
Apple/ Universal
On Air comes about as Brian Epstein had the good fortune and business savvy to sign an ‘Application For Audition By Variety Department’ with the British Broadcasting Commission in January 1962. Passing this audition led to The Beatles having a national audience by March of the same year, months before they had signed with EMI and recorded their debut single.
The second volume of On Air – Live At The BBC collects tunes from the era of March 1962 to July 1965 where they would play songs, read letters and conduct interviews with the plum-mouthed announcer to make the BBC a little less sterile that it had previously been.
There is plenty here for collectors and passing fans alike with 10 of the songs from these sessions never having been recorded by the band for EMI. The Beatles show what great interpreters they were as they take on old standard Beautiful Dreamer and Chuck Berry’s I’m Talking About You.
This snapshot of the youthful Beatles highlights that George had plenty of admirers, and Ringo enjoyed his moment to shine behind the microphone on tunes such as Boys. Plenty of feelgood moments are interspersed with classics like Do You Want To Know A Secret, I Want To Hold Your Hand and Please Mister Postman.
The internet may have made music disposable and ‘on tap’ but there is something special about having a new release by The Beatles that you can hold in your hand. There is no reason not to own this snapshot of history.
_CHRIS HAVERCROFT
