Album

One might be forgiven for thinking Beatles Baroque III by Les Boréades would actually sound Baroque, as it and two previous volumes are billed, but such is not the case. Even though this Canadian early music ensemble has impressive credentials, and plays the repertoire from Frescobaldi to C.P.E. Bach with aplomb, its performances on this disc are overwhelmingly modern in feeling and not too far removed from the actual music produced by the Beatles and George Martin in the 1960s. Unlike Joshua Rifkin, who in 1965 used Lennon and McCartney songs as the raw material for his witty pastiches for The Baroque Beatles Book, arranger and director Eric Milnes has stayed remarkably close to the originals and offers up slick instrumentals that almost resemble MUZAK in their blandness and artificiality. Only in short passages do these arrangements have anything approaching a Baroque style, but this is practically obscured by the omnipresent bass and percussion backing and the thick reverb that is more reminiscent of Phil Spector's records than Martin's. In its faithfulness to the Beatles' hits, this album is a curiosity that may be amusing or charming on one hearing, but it won't bear repeated play except as background music in retail or restaurant settings.

© Blair Sanderson, Rovi

CD 1
George Harrison Composer Here Comes the Sun Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
1	Here Comes the Sun	3:06			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer Across the universe Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
2	Across the universe	3:47			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer This Boy Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
3	This Boy	2:23			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer Here, There & Everywhere Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
4	Here, There & Everywhere	2:27			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer Oh! Darling Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
5	Oh! Darling	3:02			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer In My Life Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
6	In My Life	2:28			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer Sun King Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
7	Sun King	2:42			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer And I Love Her Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
8	And I Love Her	2:33			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer All You Need Is Love Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
9	All You Need Is Love	3:32			$0.99
John Lennon Composer Mother Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
10	Mother	4:03			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer The Long and Winding Road Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
11	The Long and Winding Road	3:32			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer Why Don't We Do It in the Road? Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
12	Why Don't We Do It in the Road?	1:34			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer If I fell Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
13	If I fell	2:29			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer Happiness Is a Warm Gun Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
14	Happiness Is a Warm Gun	2:45			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer Hey Jude Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
15	Hey Jude	4:28			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer I Want You Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
16	I Want You	7:02			$1.49
Paul McCartney Composer Goodnight Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
17	Goodnight	3:36			$0.99
Paul McCartney Composer Her Majesty Work Eric Milnes Conductor, Les Boréades de Montréal Ensemble
18	Her Majesty	0:23			$0.99