Bring Back The Beatles

Bring Back the Beatles was as close to a commercial album as David Peel had ever generated up to that time. Where his previous satirical barbs at musical figures were incidental to his broader political messages, on this album he shifts his aim somewhat -- his two-pronged message expresses an appreciation, even a level of respect, for the Liverpool group, but is also includes an implicit vicious swipe at the efforts in the mid-'70s to remarket and repackage their music. Not quite everything here directly concerns the Beatles, and if Peel isn't quite as animated as he is when going after a political target, his songwriting ability isn't restricted at all, and in the relatively lush production he manages to come up with some surprisingly good (and excruciatingly funny) pop songs, including "Coconut Grove"; he also turns in a rocking version of John Lennon's "Imagine," reimagined as a punk piece. "The Wonderful World of Abbey Road" shows Peel acknowledging their psychedelic period, especially "Penny Lane," but he also works in a deconstruction of "With a Little Help from My Friends" and some fresh barbs aimed at Paul McCartney. ~ Bruce Eder