Love, the Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil show currently dazzling midwestern tourists and curious stoners alike in Vegas, doesn't open with "Let it Be." It doesn't open with "Yesterday", "Hey Jude," or "Strawberry Fields Forever" either. The show's creators chose to kick things off with "Because," a haunting John Lennon ballad. It's a relatively obscure choice, or at least as obscure as a song from Abbey Road can be. It pains me to say it, but those French clowns were on to something.
The version of "Because" that appears on Abbey Road, for many years the only version available, is marked by a truly bizarre arrangement: electric guitar, bass, harpsichord, and Moog synthesizer. John, Paul, and George sang the lyric in three-part harmony, then overdubbed their parts twice more. According to legend, Lennon composed the song by reversing the chord progression of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata." "Because" is a strange but vital segueway between "Here Comes the Sun" and Abbey Road's closing medley.
In 1996, the uneven but mostly wonderful Anthology set presented us with a striking a capella remix. With all the instruments stripped away, the exquisite nine-part vocal track can be heard in perfect detail. You can actually hear the lads inhale before each line. It's heavenly, spine-tingling stuff, arguably the band's finest vocal performance. (With honorable mentions going to "If I Fell" and "Nowhere Man.")
Ever wonder why these guys get so much attention? Get two friends and try to sing an F#m6 chord.
TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION: "Because" by the Beatles (remix)
AVAILABLE ON: Anthology 3
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