Koch Records
2008
B-Sides The Beatles
About This Album
So just how did the Smithereens become a Beatles tribute band? It's no great surprise that they owe a debt of influence to the Fab Four, but instead of absorbing the lessons of their music, lately the Smithereens are content to simply play their songs, generally as close to the original arrangements as they can muster, and B-Sides the Beatles is the second album in two years from the Smithereens that's devoted entirely to Beatles covers. Released in 2007, Meet the Smithereens! was a song-by-song re-creation of the Beatles' first American LP, while 2008's B-Sides the Beatles takes a slightly less derivative approach, featuring a dozen songs that appeared on the flip sides of Beatles hits in the United States. While these songs are a bit less familiar than the stuff on Meet the Smithereens!, most will be immediately recognizable to anyone who likes rock & roll, and as on Meet the Smithereens!, the band plays these songs with skill and enthusiasm but little imagination, following the originals with the crowd-pleasing determination of a true bar band. What most clearly sets these versions apart are the vocals, and while Pat DiNizio's moody style made for an interesting contrast on the Smithereens' first Beatles tribute, he sounds a bit rough here and has a hard time with "There's a Place" and "If I Fell," which demand a higher and clearer register than he has to offer.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9)

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