These CDs really make it a Fab Four Christmas

by Dave Haber, What Goes On Managing Editor

As the Beatles said, Christmastime is here again, and on this special day I'd like to share with you one of my newest and most favorite holiday traditions.

Way back in the olden days of December of 2002, there took place an event in Pasadena California called something like "Magical Mystery Weekend" or "Liverpool Days", I think, Apple made them change the name at some point, I recall. The Beatlefest had stopped coming to Southern California, and this was an attempt to bring a new show to the Beatles fans of the Los Angeles area. Alas, it turned out to be a one-time event.

However, appearing at the show were the fabulous Fab Four, America's ultimate Beatles tribute from Southern California, if they do say so themselves. But it's not hype, these guys quickly became one of my fave Beatles tribute bands. Some bands sound like the Beatles, this band really sounds like the Beatles! The voices, the instruments, close your eyes, and you can imagine it's really John, Paul, George and Ringo.

The Fab Four in concert

So, as the weekend was winding down, right outside of the main hall, I chanced upon a table piled high with festive looking CDs and the guys from the Fab Four! Going over to chat with my favorite Beatles tribute band, I saw the CDs they were selling were a 2 CD set called A Fab Four Christmas. Hm. Christmas Beatles music? What could this be? But, I liked the Fab Four, so I bought a copy.

Well, when I got home, I discovered I had bought something really special. What they are, and this is sort-of hard to explain, so bear with me, are traditional Christmas songs performed as if the Beatles had done the songs, in the styles of their hits. Hard to really do the concept justice by describing it, so here's one small example:

Joy To The World (Excerpt)

See, that's the Christmas carol Joy To The World, but it sounds like Please Please Me. Get it?

Sounds like a silly idea, and it could have possibly been in the hands of someone else. But with their talent and knowledge of how to make a performance sound like the Beatles, the Fab Four really pull it off. This CD is full of tracks that are really fun to listen to.

Some tracks are semi-serious like the one above, and some are a bit more fun.

Away In A Manger (Excerpt)

But what gave them the idea to do something so unlike anything ever done before? Ron McNeil, who is John Lennon in the group, and is also Manager of the Fab Four, picks up the story:

"In March of 2002 we were approached by Delta Ent. (Laserlight) after one of their employees saw our group perform. It was their idea of doing a Beatles-style Christmas CD. We signed a deal to record the 20 tracks and deliver the masters by May. So we took the advance money (which was not really that much), and bought a computer, a good mic, and a Vox-AC 30. In that short time, we recorded and mixed all the tracks. During this same time we still had to squeeze in 32 regular Fab Four live shows, so we took the equipment to the Hilton in Vegas and recorded a lot of parts there, as well as the studio we built here in California, which we call Fabby Road Studios."

Of the two CDs in the set, the first CD is earlier Beatles songs, and the second CD was songs from later Beatles albums. Ron told me all the tracks were recorded together, and it was made into two CDs by Delta. But how did they go about matching the Christmas songs to the Beatles songs?

"It was different for every track. Some were Christmas first, others were Beatles first. We also thought it'd be cool to have an Indian one (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen). But, there was no set formula, they just kinda blended themselves together."

On the first CD, I think my favorite track is the Fab Four's rendition of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, because it's so like the Beatles track.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Excerpt)

I told Ron McNeil I think their version may actually have more energy in it than the Beatles version. It sounded like they had a real good time recording that track. About that track, Ron said, "We like that one, too. I distinctly remember us all worrying that it wasn't gonna work! Then, it turned out to be one of our favorites."

Most of the songs on the CDs are one Christmas song combined with one Beatles song, but on the second CD, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town is actually two different Beatles songs, When I'm 64 and the middle of Honey Pie. Ron pointed out another combined Beatles song that I had missed, their rendition of Joy To The World is Please Please Me but has Little Child in the middle. Ron said these combinations weren't really planned, "both were thought of on the spot."

One of the things I really admire about these two CDs is that the Fab Four melded the music of Christmas and the music of the Beatles without (except in a very few specific places) making fun of either. The songs could have easily been parodies insulting Christmas songs or Beatles songs or both. But their creations do neither, and tracks like Good King Wenceslas and Feliz Navidad are just beautiful. They can be totally appreciated by anyone who just loves Christmas music.

Good King Wenceslas (Excerpt)

I asked Ron, when you were doing this project, were you specifically mindful of the feelings of fans of both genres, that you were doing something that could so easily cross over the line from fun to insulting? He said, "We were certainly aware of insulting people. Just being a Beatles group period, has a great potential for cheesiness. We perform every show as if one of the Beatles were in the audience. And we recorded the albums with the same respect."

Also on the second CD is What Child Is This to the Beatles song While My Guitar Gently weeps, and is one of the many excellent examples on these CDs on how much these guys sing and play like the Beatles, as they capture George's guitar solos on this track beautifully. I asked Ron if they've gotten compliments from George fans on the guitar playing on this track from fans? Ron said, "Oh yeah, we got a lot of comments on the sound of this track compared to the Beatles, especially the guitar parts. Interesting how the chord progression is almost the same except for one chord."

Like "real" Beatles albums, Ringo has song on each of these CDs. For the second CD, they did something special, and included a version of Ringo's song, Dear Santa, from his album I Want To Be Santa Claus. Ron remembers how this came about:

"Well, we had two possibilities for Oh! Darling as a Christmas song. But, we chose Ringo's song (released a year before ours), because we thought it'd be cool to see "Richard Starkey" printed on our CDs. We also thought we might win some brownie points by paying him some songwriting royalties. LOL. But seriously, we all love Ringo's Christmas CD. Great arrangements from Mark Hudson."

The final track on the second CD, Jingle Bells, is my favorite of all the tracks on these CDs. I swear, now five years after first hearing the track, it still cracks me up. I can't tell you too much about it and I won't include a sample because to do so would give away the joke. You just have to get the CDs and hear it for yourself. Without giving away too much, for those who have heard the track, Ron said, "We thought it would be funny to put the most popular Christmas song with an obscure Beatles track. We had a blast recording this one! The flipped around guitar solo took some time."

What's the future of A Fab Four Christmas? There is good news and bad news. The bad news is that the CDs are currently out of print, but the good news is you can still find them on Amazon. The even better news is that Ron told me they're looking for a new label (sort of like Paul?), and he said they should have a new product sometime next year. Even more exciting, this new set will include at least 5 new tracks! Also, watch for the Fab Four's version of Sun King to be featured on the TV show House in the next couple of weeks!

So, as we gather round the family and celebrate Christmas, I'd like to personally thank Ron McNeil, Ardy Sarraf, Michael Amador and Rolo Sandoval, the Fab Four, for giving us all this wonderfull new Christmas tradition! Happy Crimble everybody, and Merry Goo Year!

More information:
• The Fab Four Official Site

Published December 24, 2007

This article is Copyright © 2007, David Haber, and may not be reproduced on other web sites or in print, in whole or in part, without expressed permission

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