ALBUM REVIEW: The Beatles - Yellow Submarine

    The Beatles were under contract with United Artists to release three films, and they had finished two of them - the group, however, was hesitant to get involved with another film after their disappointment with Help!. Solution? Don't star in the movie! The group's third and final contractual movie ended up being a 90-minute psychedelic fantasy adventure through the imaginary world of Pepperland, complete with deeply druggy and British humor through and through. Of all The Beatles' films, Yellow Submarine is, by some measure, their most beloved and acclaimed, and it some ways it is a significant film in the world of animation - of course, I'm not here to praise the movie. While the songs from Yellow Submarine were initially planned to release as an EP of some sort, that ultimately was canned, and instead we got this half Beatles half George Martin project in January of the following year, releasing right in the midst of The Beatles' next ambitions for a return to live performances and a back-to-basics style. While you were waiting for The Fab Four to get back to touring, however, you were left with what is by some distance the group's most maligned album... but one that isn't so deserving of its reputation.

    Don't get me wrong, I see where this album's reputation comes from - it only makes sense that people put so much flack on this record because half of it is a George Martin album, and that's not even that unnecessary of an evaluation. I myself have been critical of similar albums like The Graduate for doing very similar things (this album even has previously released songs! The horror!). Of course, The Graduate is essentially a half-assed greatest hits album, whereas Yellow Submarine isn't - four new songs present themselves on here, and I'm going to go ahead and say that these songs are more on the "hidden gem" side of the group. If there are hidden Beatles gems, some are on this album, and they're from Harrison. George's two songs are excellent tunes that really carry their weight, from the psychedelic and fourth-wall breaking of "Only a Northern Song" to the pounding and distorted rock of "It's All Too Much", George really does deliver on the album, and I'd wager his tunes are easily the best on the record. If not those, than look at John's now beloved "Hey Bulldog", yet another driving rock number with a killer riff and guitar solo, and all that wonderful weirdness of John's brand of psychedelia. Paul's "All Together Now" may lean a little on the childish side, but you can't deny it's appeal and great hook are effective. Throw in the title track and the continuously big and unifying "All You Need is Love" and you have a great first half of an album.

    But it's the second half that draws the ire of people, isn't it. George Martin's orchestral score just doesn't seem to excite many people, and perhaps rightfully so (you bought a Beatles album, after all). Sure, there's no great backbeat to the instrumentals, and "Sea of Holes" could use a better riff, but if you give this stuff a chance, some of it is actually pretty neat. The expositional "Pepperland" is a colorful start to this, and I'll stand by "Sea of Time" and "Sea of Holes" as being fascinating instrumental pieces that are kinda fun to listen to removed from the context of the film. Sure, "Sea of Monsters" and "Pepperland Laid Waste" are a bit drab, but give these instrumentals some credit - these are far more colorful and filled with life than damn near anything off of any other load of soundtracks from the time (looking at you, The Family Way). If one is willing to with the second half, you'll find a decently worthwhile set of compositions that I frankly feel gets overlooked sometimes.

    I'm tempted to call this The Beatles' most underrated album, however that would imply that I don't find it to be their weakest. For as much as I am willing to defend this album and its shortcomings, there comes that part of me that has to swallow that doubt and admit that this is The Beatles' weakest album, and it would've been far better as a tight EP - during my re-listening, I almost forgot this was an album that released. Perhaps it's just weird coincidence that their weakest album was released during what may be their most tumultuous time as a group. Yellow Submarine is worth exploring in its own right, taken as it is, but in the context of the rest of their catalog, it's laid waste.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Yellow Submarine.