Customer Ratings & Reviews

Let's face facts. Nineteen sixty-five was a heady year for the Beatles. Early in the year they had toured western Europe giving 16 concerts in eight cities. Their movie "Help!" had been released in the early summer to both record crowds and critical acclaim. The movie's namesake single dominated the pop music charts while its B side, the rocker "I'm Down" locked up the second position. Near mid-August the group began its second invasion of America. The fabled Shea Stadium concert was first, followed by a return appearance on Ed Sullivan's Sunday night TV show, then came concerts in Toronto, Atlanta, Bloomington, Chicago, Houston, the Hollywood Bowl, San Diego, Portland. The tour ended at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. It was Beatlemania at its peak. For the past 7 years I've been listening to all three Beatles concerts at the Hollywood Bowl courtesy of a 2 CD bootleg set I bought and downloaded on my iPod. Warts and all, this CD set has been...and continues to be...well worth the listen. Now in 2016, Capitol/EMI/Parlophone has finally decided to remaster and expand their '77 vinyl and cassette release of the ballyhooed Hollywood Bowl concerts. For years the studio and supposedly the Beatles themselves had demurred, claiming the '64 and both '65 concerts were of subpar quality. Less-than-enthused, a compliation of 13 remixed and edited songs from the three concerts was nonetheless released in 1977. The tapes and concert videos were then trundled back to the vaults. Since the beginning of the digital era Beatles fans have sat by patiently waiting and debating which would be remastered and released first, the legendary Shea Stadium concert or the much maligned Hollywood Bowl tapes? An average Beatles concert lasted less than 40 minutes, never featured an encore and almost never exceeded 10-12 songs. In spite of increased digital technology Capitol/EMI/Parlophone in 2016 hands us the same jumbled 13 songs released in '77 along with 4 out of sequence "bonus" tracks tacked on at the end. In reality they should have remastered the entire '64 and one, or a spliced together "one," of the Beatles two '65 performances. Two complete Hollywood Bowl concerts = 20 songs, almost certainly totaling less than 80 minutes. A single CD can handle this easily. Why reissue another so-so live-in-concert disc now when with a little more work and a few extra songs you could have a very good one? In 2016 we're still deprived of performances of "If I Fell," "I Feel Fine," and ""I'm Down." One further bit of pique. Over the years I have noticed and become increasingly irritated that the studios have always edited the Beatles' intro of the next song in with their just finished song. Since we're listening to a mix of '64 and '65 concerts, this patter is out of synch and endlessly confusing. Their introductory and between songs patter could easily have been edited in a way so it would have its own number in the soundtrack. We are also deprived of much of John's in-between songs humour as well as his comments about Paul's faulty mic or amplifier. The warts of the Beatles Hollywood Bowl concerts lie primarily in their first (29 August) '65 show. During their first three songs, the truncated opener 'Twist & Shout', 'She's A Woman,' and 'I Feel Fine," Paul's mic or his mic and amplifier are dead. Lennon's mic picks up only echoes and a faint hint of Paul's singing. Only prior to the set's fourth song "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," when Paul asks "Can you hear me now," do we know he's not referring to the audience noise but to the failure of his sound system. Such are the hazards of a live performance and no pre-concert sound check. Inasmuch as "She's A Woman," the second song, is a McCartney song, Paul's dead mic or sound system is a monumental flub. Even knowing they were being taped, the Beatles never bothered to stop the concert, get a new mic or check their sound system and re-perform the three muffed songs. With all the screaming going on, who would have noticed...or cared? Only bootleg copies of the concert will have these flubs and this interesting bit of Beatles concert trivia. Now, how about more live concerts?Capitol/EMI/Parlophone should set about remastering both the video and audio of the Beatles Shea Stadium concert (live soundtruck feeds exist and are are very good) to go forward with the long delayed release of the remastered flim "Let It Be." In the interim true Beatlemaniacs should invest in bootlegs of the Beatles in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and their two August '65 shows in Houston. The latter features excellent sound and a character of its own. After finishing "A Hard Day's Night" the Houston afternoon crowd rushes the stage, halting the performance for nearly 10 minutes. It's also well worth listening just to hear Paul intone "Howdy, Y'all," and John Lennon screw up the lyrics for "Help!" You can almost hear Lennon nonchalantly laugh off his flub. I'll still continue to listen to the Hollywood Bowl concerts on my iPod and all 32 tracks of the Beatles rooftop concerts. Maybe some time in the next decade Giles Martin will get around to remastering these too.

Great cd of the Beatles performing live, with the new sound technology applied to the tracks you can really appreciate just how great the Beatles were!

Everyone knows so much has been written and said about the Beatles and their impact on popular as well as rock music. It is difficult to believe the impact they had primarily in only a ten year period! I have an aunt and a cousin who were lucky enough to have attended one of the Hollywood Bowl concerts and they always talked about it so of course when the live LP was released in 1977 we all immediately snapped it up. The performances are strong and of course one of the things that made the Beatles so endearing was the on stage banter, joking, and comments made to the fans! Now we get that cleaned-up even better than the original release of 13 songs, along with four additional tracks (“You Can’t Do That”, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Everybody’s Trying to be My Baby”, and “Baby’s in Black”). Along with nice packaging and an informative booklet, this is a must have if you are a fan and just plain fun!

The Hollywood bowl was released on record in 1977. It has never been released on CD until now. Long wait, but the sound has been upgraded and they have added 4 bonus tracks. The cover has been changed to tie in with the Ron Howard film Eight Days A Week. I think Apple missed an opportunity to release a comprehensive live Beatle set. As usual fans have to settle for less when it comes to the Beatles. That said, this is the only live set on the official market and is definitely worth picking up. Fans will have to continue to look to bootlegs for more live material.

I have seen the record of this in stores when I was younger and as I got older in collectable record stores for the big $$$. Now, finally, we get this long overdue album on CD. The concert sounds great, better than the bootlegs I have. Giles Martin did some modern magic to make it sound so great. The most curious aspect of the album is it is a combination of two concerts performed about a year apart. My advice to potential purchases of this album are to collect the Beatles standard albums first. If you still want more, then branch out into these others.

For those of us who were lucky enough to see the Beatles live, this CD brings back some great memories. The Beatles seemed to truly enjoy playing on stage. This CD also brought back memories of the warm up acts from the 1966 tour. Tommy Roe (Dizzy) and the The Cyrkle (Red Rubber Ball). The bonus tracks on the CD are a plus. Apple / Capitol did this right. Not only are there new liner notes, the liner notes from the original issue are included.

I purchased the album when it was originally released (1977?). The new CD sounds, obviously, much better, and the inclusion of additional tracks is a bonus. The sheer energy and confidence of the performances amazes me even more today, especially the tunes sung by George ("Roll Over Beethoven") and Ringo ("Boys"). Way back, I remember thinking the live version of "Can't Buy Me Love" was great...listening again, my opinion hasn't changed...it rocks! It's almost impossible to listen to these tunes, and not sing along with a huge smile on my face!

I had the original version released back in 1977. While never a must have due to the crowd noise overwhelming the poor sound quality, this was a great artifact of the Beatles in concert. Never re-released on CD until now, Giles Martin (the son of George Martin, legendary Beatles producer) makes their music sparkle now. Included are 3 bonus live versions that have never been available until now. A definite recommendation for both Beatlemaniacs and newbies, this CD & Ron Howard's accompanying film illustrates the power of the band and the '60s.

You have to listen to this, and see the film. It's such a common argument to hear people refer to The Beatles as a studio band and the Stones as a live band, but watch this and you'll realize that The Beatles were a phenomenal live band. I love the Stones, but the Beatles' music is more complex, (including the earliest stuff) had great harmonies, was sung by all four members, AND was performed under conditions where they could barely hear themselves. Despite that, the just rocked, and were tight as any band I've ever heard.

This latest Beatles release is fun to have as it showcases the band in the 64-65 time period. It's a great set list and also includes 4 bonus tracks. The only minor detraction I have, and others may notice, that the remix of Dizzy Miss Lizzy is different from the 1977 vinyl version, where George's guitar is dominant and has a sustained ring to it. On this release, the lead guitar is buried in the background behind the vocals. Still, long time Beatle fans will have fun with this release.

The Beatles: Live at the Hollywood Bowl is one of the best Beatles live albums that we have been waiting for years. Fully remastered and remixed with the best sound quality. Now you can hear the Beatles sing in front of the screaming fans. The CD album also included 4 unreleased tracks that were not included on the previous 1977 LP album. The Beatles: Live at the Hollywood Bowl marked the release in conjunction to the Beatles: Eight Days A Week-The Touring Years.

Another welcomed addition to your Beatles LPs or CDs collection. All 17 songs are recorded with some added comments making it sound unique. Twist and Shout has a nice start to a live recording and is not impeded by the screaming fans. The remaining songs were also one of a kind that can be enjoyed above the din of the crowd noise. Can't wait to add the upcoming DVD documentary from director, Ron Howard that will be available on Nov. 18th.

I had the pleasure of seeing them live at Shea stadium and all four as solo acts live. To see the young people of today buying the Beatles music shows that they were and always will be the best music group ever. Many groups have been said to be the next Beatles and have come and gone, nameless being a one or two hit wonder. Being at Abbey Road Studio sitting at the piano Paul played Let It Be on a thrill. This took me back to yesteryear.

The remaster by Giles Martin is a significant improvement over the 1977 LP version produced by his father George w/ '70's technology. The sound is as good as it will ever be w/ just the right balance of vocals, instruments, and crowd noise. The booklet w/ comprehensive liner notes is excellent, much of it lifted from the Ron Howard documentary film. By the way, the cd cover is awkwardly confusing. The movie is NOT the Hollywood Bowl concert, but rather an overview of the Beatles touring years. Some theaters show the Bowl concert as a separate double feature to Howard's film. And the cd is NOT a soundtrack to the film. My four stars reflects the mindboggling mishmash of titles on the cd packaging. Buy the DVD when it appears in November. Pair it w/ this cd and you're good to go.

Technical advances have enabled the engineers to suppress the screaming thus enhancing the Beatles' live performance which includes four bonus tracks ( "You Can't Do That", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" and "Baby's In Black"). The Touring Years leaves the door open for The Studio Years :-) Get this CD, see the movie and pre- order the blu-ray. Beatlemania is alive and well in the 21st century. JC

Excellent quality re-master of THE legendary Beatles concert !! Clear, clean audio, that brings the vocals & instruments up front at last. Yes, the high decibel teen audience screaming is still there, but now you can hear more of the Beatles, and not just the frenzied audience. This is the one Beatles live recording you must have! This new re-master is much better than the the original release. TURN IT UP and enjoy!!

This CD is a recording of many of the old favorites from a famous concert held at the Hollywood Bowl. If loud screaming noise is a deterrent to the way you like to listen to music, don't buy this CD because the screaming is a part of every track (just like it was at the real concert). If that won't bother you, then there is hardly a better CD to own which encapsulates most of the early Beatles' hits.

It is great to finally have the Beatles Live at the Hollywood Bowl on CD. It was great when this was finally released the first time, on vinyl in 1977. It is good that the 2016 version has four additional songs. But it is unfortunate that only some of the songs performed at the three shows in 1964 and 1965 are contained on the CD. Reportedly the sound quality of the not-included songs was considered to be not good enough for release. However, even if that is true (we do not know because we have not heard the songs), the entirety of each of the three concerts should have been released. Now that the Beatles' Hollywood Bowl concerts (at least portions) have been released on CD, hopefully other Beatles concerts will also be released on CD.

Its The Beatles. If you love them, you'll get it without question. If you have no idea what they sounded like outside of the studio and have never seen video or hear their live show, here it is! Just remember, this is the early 60s. No huge sound systems, no huge stage video screens, nothing. Just four guys, amps, mics and lots of guts. Katy, Britney, Taylor and One Direction...never would have survived this....

Something new under the sun! A listenable recording of a Beatlemania era concert. The song selection is very interesting. More of an emphasis on old time rock and roll than I would have suspected. The interstitial comments by the band are witty and engaging. The songs have slightly simplified arrangements, but this seems to make them sound even more energetic than the radio singles. A homerun. Buy it, ya'll.