A bad version of a must-have performance

For any real die-hard fans, the Beatles' performance at The Star Club in december 2002 is a must-have. No doubts about it.

But I have few CD releases of the show and I have some problems with THIS particular release.



1) it contains just 23 songs, but CD-releases which contain 28-30 songs are available (it seems the group performed 34 songs); moreover it contains 'Hully Gully' which is not performed by them (see Allen Wiener's book "The Beatles Ultimate Recording Guide")

2) versions of some songs are not complete

3) sound quality is definitely worse than in other CD-releases I have; I even managed to make a better version with a simple sound equalization (with Cool Edit software), so I expect that a MUCH better version could be made by digital sound enhancement

4) although I don't mind so much, sleeve notes are absolutely fictional: you can find the REAL history of Kingsize Taylor's tape reels anywhere in the web.



Apart from that, some songs of Star Club concert(s) are really well performed and in my opinion the overall performance is much better than in Hollywood Bowl concerts from a technical point of view.

So if you have problems in finding other releases you can start here (as I suppose this release is easily available). Anyway I suggest you to try to find a more complete and better sounding CD.

still a good deal

Well...it seems most everybody has their reasons for shooting down this cd....



1 point I'd like to make....this recording of THE BEATLES in Hamburg 1962...is pre-Ringo....and has Pete Best drumming...and it is possible that Stu Sutcliffe is still playing bass...at least on some tracks.



I have the complete Hollywood Bowl 2cd set (containing all 3 shows)....from which the Capitol lp was derived.....it is a great archive to have...but it represents another musical chapter in the life of The Beatles....1964 and 1965....and it also represents them after they conquered America....Hamburg is before they even conquered their homeland of Britain.....they didn't become well known till AFTER they returned from Hamburg in late 1962 and early 1963.



I have a double lp set on Japanese vinyl of the hamburg shows (which is mint)...complete of all tracks..and it sounds much better and cleaner than the American "ling a song" version....you have to admire the Japanese for always using virgin vinyl to press lp's onto...I just need to transfer it to cd....



The Beatles were always a top notch performing band....and great showmen.....Hamburg is just a testimony to that fact.

Still looking for the definitive Star Club release

First thing first, I have to admit that I am COMPLETELY obsessed with the Beatles' Star Club recording (as well as the Decca Sessions and the Tony Sheridan sessions)....the circumstances behind the recording, the sound quality, the endless repackagings in the eighties and beyond, the fact that the tape exists which is of incredible historical value. I first heard part of the recording on a tape I used to own called THE BEATLES EARLY YEARS (Volume 1) from Phoenix Records. It is amazing that someone prior to Beatlemania had the foresight to record a complete set featuring lots of cover tunes which never made their way onto an EMI Parlophone release. But only ONE recording from the Hamburg era exists. I wish I could go back in time with a state-of-the-art recorder and record every show they played there every night. I wish I was alive in 1962 and living in Hamburg just for the sole purpose to see the Beatles in action and set up recording equipment in front of them every time they played. Oh it's just a dream, can't do anything about it now!!!!!!



Consequently I have purchased quite a few versions of the Star Club tapes on both vinyl and CD. Unfortunately the various record companies (unknown labels such as Lingasong and Audiofidelity) have failed to produce the ultimate complete album of the show with all the songs and no cuts, splices or edits. Every version I have comes up short. When I came across this release entitled BYE BYE STAR CLUB 1962 LIVE AT THE STAR CLUB, I knew from looking at the back sleeve that this was far from complete....only 22 tracks whereas the complete tape apparently contains about 35 (by the way the intro and HULLY GULLY do not count as tracks). I handed over my blood money to the clerk at J&R Music in New York City anyway because I had to buy it anyway since it seemed to be an elaborate package complete with liner notes and photos.



The sound quality is about the same as all the other releases. There are definite limits to improving the sound because the original tape was naturally tough on the ears. This makes me wonder why Adrian Barber, the original recorder did not get his microphones closer to the stage. Luckily to my ears the sound is not really that bad, and sometimes the guitars or the vocals sound pretty good (A TASTE OF HONEY sounds the best!!!). Therefore the fault of this release is, once again, the failure of the record company to release the complete show without edits and cuts. John and Paul's intro to I SAW HER STANDING THERE ("She was just seventeen...you know what I mean") once again has been removed. In addition, it's about time that HULLY GULLY was eliminated forever. It's way obvious that the track is NOT the Beatles. I do like the track and it has a wailing saxophone, but, it ain't the Beatles.



By the way, the liner notes are pitful!! Can you believe they invented a fake person called "George McIndoe" (John Doe???) and dubbed him the recorder of the tape? Any Beatles scholar knows that Adrian Barber, a soundman at the club recorded the show and gave it to Ted Taylor. There is a fake interview and lots of perjurious material that can anger any Beatles fan. They go as far as suggesting that this was the first release of this recording, which is patently untrue as it was first released in 1977.



This is not the definitive Beatles Live at the Star Club release and we must go on waiting until those tiny semi-legal record companies get their act together and put out the entire recording without the cuts and edits.