Beatles flashbacks conjured by Classical Mystery Tour
CONCERT REVIEW

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Published: November 10, 2009

Tune in to a radio station that spotlights music of the 1960s and ’70s, and you’ll probably hear an occasional Beatles tune. Devote an entire evening to the Fab Four, as the Oklahoma City Philharmonic did on its recent collaboration with Beatles tribute band Classical Mystery Tour, and you begin to understand the profound influence the Beatles had on the baby boomers’ generation.

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Classical Mystery Tour’s song list spanned 10 years, from 1963’s "I Saw Her Standing There” to 1973’s "Live and Let Die.” Remarkably, 18 of the spotlighted hits dated from just four years: 1966 to 1969. Hearing this music in one sitting also illustrated how musically sophisticated many of the Beatles’ songs were.

In "All You Need Is Love,” John Lennon and Paul McCartney alternated between 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures, relatively common in classical music but highly innovative in pop. George Harrison took a similar approach in "Here Comes the Sun,” mixing common time with measures of 3/8 and 5/8. Each song featured a distinct rhythmic hook that captured the ear.

Then there are the Beatles’ clever orchestrational touches, from the use of a string quartet in "Yesterday” to a string octet in "Eleanor Rigby” and a piccolo trumpet in "Penny Lane.” Or the dramatic upward spiral figure featured in "A Day in the Life.” This was clearly no formulaic approach to songwriting.

Magical Mystery Tour’s band members — Tony Kishman (McCartney), Jim Owen (Lennon), John Brosnan (Harrison) and Chris Camilleri (Ringo Starr) — also proved adept at comedy. When Camilleri asked for the starting note to "Yellow Submarine,” Brosnan played the opening phrase to "Dueling Banjos” instead.

Or when one of McCartney’s most famous songs was introduced, Kishman began singing "Feelings” before switching to "Yesterday.” A band member later asked how many in the audience remembered the decade of the sixties. "If you remember the ’60s, then you’re probably in your ’60s,” he said disarmingly.

One could witness the passage of time by the outfits worn by Mystery Tour band members. Starting out in black suits, they later reappeared in the neon-hued costumes featured on the "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album. And when Owen returned to the stage to sing "Something,” he sported Lennon’s long hair and classic white suit.

Perhaps what sets Classical Mystery Tour apart from other Beatles tribute bands is their unflagging devotion to musical accuracy. Vocally, the quartet was solid throughout. Conductor Martin Herman created most of the orchestral charts, each crafted to showcase the tribute band’s musical stylings while simultaneously creating a rich harmonic tapestry.

The audience roared its approval with a lengthy ovation that prompted two encores: the classic "Hey Jude,” for which band members invited the audience to sing along during the repeated refrain, and the lively "Twist and Shout,” a 1963 work whose title audience and orchestra alike took as an invitation to participate.

Each generation has a body of music with which it most strongly identifies. Baby boomers can lay claim to such classics as "Imagine,” "Something,” "Yesterday” and "The Long and Winding Road.” These songs have reached beyond the terms "popular” and "classic” to become iconic. Has any generation before or since been quite so lucky?

— Rick Rogers