[SET Man]

Hey!

    It was 50 years ago the Beatles performed for the first time in the US.

    Well, it is on right now on CBS. I'm watching this right now. Man! Wish John and George were still around, it could be what most people dream to see.

Take care,
Buddy

[jseymour]

The tribute was terrible.  Starting with Maroon 5 who can play the songs, but only Adam Levine sings, so without harmonies it is a shallow reproduction of the Beatles.  Vocal harmonies were essential to the Beatles sound through 1967. The rest of the artists are even worse.  But its in the same vein as the Grammy's.  The major networks have no clue when it comes to doing music right.  If I was the producer, I would have had Cheap Trick do all the music.  They know how to nail the Beatles sound.

[soundbitten1]

A lot of the performances are dorky.

[orthobiz]

I'm not usually this cynical in another person's thread, but who cares about a special about the anniversary? Like I need some watered down, sanitized, homogenized, depoliticized tribute with a bunch of dignitaries in the audience to watch performances that I don't need to see. I'll see if Bob Lefsetz has a performance or two to recommend in his blog tomorrow, otherwise, count me out.

I love and cherish the Beatles, just don't need the American Idol version of a commemorative program.

Rant over.

And if George and John were around, there'd be no tribute, too much of a sellout for their tastes.

Paul

[EV-MAN]

Thought it was good. My opinion means as much as the rest of you. Who cares what we think. Relax and put on your favorite music. Life's too short.

[Rob Babcock]

I like the Beatles but I guess I don't "get it".  To me they're just another band, albeit above average.  Maybe they were innovative for the day (I'm only 44 so I wasn't there) but nothing they did hits me like a thunderbolt.  Boil their stuff down to one CD and it would be a badass CD.  But that one disc would be all the Beatles I'd ever need to last me my whole life.

[dB Cooper]

NPR did a special: There was actually an earlier performance that same day in 1964, not broadcast. At that performance, the CBS and Beatles' sound crews had tweaked the mix to the nines for the broadcast and marked all the slider settings with chalk. They all went to dinner and returned only to find that the cleaning crew had zeroed all the sliders and wiped off the chalk marks. The broadcast engineers  had to set it up live-and cold. (Good work, guys!)

[SET Man]

Hey!

   Well, I do respect everyone opinions here.

   Personally I thought it was enjoyable. Love the insight behind the scene interview of Paul and Ringo and etc. Of course nobody will ever top the original Fab Four. But it was good to see younger generation of musicians come together and celebrated. I don't even know the name of some of the performers there... who the heck is that guy with Smokey the Bear hat? 

   Love seeing Dave Grohl behind the drum. Seeing Paul and Ringo playing together was fun. But I have to say that Kathy Perry butchered that song, she sound like she constipated or something... I just wanted her to finish the song. 

   One thing I agreed is that if John were still around, is going to be hard to get him to do this and maybe not at all. Well, I'll spinning some Beatles LPs tomorrow and enjoy.

Take care,
Buddy

   
   

[Chazro]

I forgot that it was on.  I watched the 15 min. preview of Game Of Thrones at 8:45 (looks fantastic!), realized the tribute was on and watched bits and pieces during commercial breaks in The Walking Dead.  Didn't feel I missed much, caught snippets of the interview with Letterman, and watched Paul & Ringo at the end.  I think what was shown BETWEEN the music numbers was infinitely more interesting than the music.  I get such a huge hit of douche-baggery from Sean Lennon, especially in lieu of the treatment of Julian.  I've always felt that with Julian's voice sounding so much like his Dad, a duet between him and Paul would sound magical!  It shoulda happened!  I'm a big fan of Steve Lukather so it was cool seeing him do his thing.

[jonbee]

   Personally I thought it was enjoyable. Love the insight behind the scene interview of Paul and Ringo and etc. Of course nobody will ever top the original Fab Four. But it was good to see younger generation of musicians come together and celebrated. I don't even know the name of some of the performers there... who the heck is that guy with Smokey the Bear hat? 

   Love seeing Dave Grohl behind the drum. Seeing Paul and Ringo playing together was fun. But I have to say that Kathy Perry butchered that song, she sound like she constipated or something... I just wanted her to finish the song. 
 
 

I had much the same reaction. I enjoyed it overall, but some of the musicians (yes, Katy Perry, that british guy on solo guitar and a couple others) really don't have the chops to stand up in this company. I liked Stevie Wonder, Joe Walsh, and most of the performers, but in the end, Paul and his band were the powerhouses, and Ringo brought his characteristic positive vibe, and a good vocal on "...Friends".
Good sounding feed, too. Pretty good nostalgia trip, IMO.

[charmerci]

I like the Beatles but I guess I don't "get it".  To me they're just another band, albeit above average.  Maybe they were innovative for the day (I'm only 44 so I wasn't there) but nothing they did hits me like a thunderbolt.  Boil their stuff down to one CD and it would be a badass CD.  But that one disc would be all the Beatles I'd ever need to last me my whole life.

Simply listen to pop music (top 40) before 1964 for a few days/weeks/months and nothing else - then put on The Beatles first album. You'll understand. Unfortunately, we've all heard it a thousand times for 50 years now - kind of hard to remove it from your brain.

[spence]

Nitpicking aside, it was the best prime time music show I've seen in years, thanks to the Beatles music. NONE of the performers on that show (and most others for that matter) have a scope of work that can hold a candle to the Beatles. 

[JLM]

I'm listening to the 4 CD red/blue greatest hits collection that was issued years ago.  I'm just old enough to remember that night and spent many elementary recesses in the next couple of years with my buds on air guitar for the girls (who would chase us after each 'performance').  What amazes me is how much they lead to rock to evolve in just 6 years and just how much great music was produced in those years.  I honestly didn't remember Ringo having such a good voice.

[fridays]

The show was better than I expected, I'll watch it agin in another 50 years

[GerryD]

I enjoyed the show and many(not all) of the performances.  The John Legend/Alicia Keys duet on "Let It Be". was moving.  CBS is replaying this show tomorrow night(Wed.) if you missed it.