| When They Was Fab - A Tribute to the Solo Beatles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compilation album by none stated | ||||
| Released | 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 70's-80's | |||
| Genre | Pop, Rock | |||
| Label | Hallmark Records | |||
| none stated chronology | ||||
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When They Was Fab – A Tribute to the Solo Beatles is a 2002 compilation of Solo Beatles covers recorded for the Top of the Pops record series (not to be confused with the British TV series). The covers were recorded during the 1970s and early 1980s, and the album was released on Hallmark Records. In his review of another Top of the Pops album called The Best of Top of the Pops '81, Allmusic reviewer Dave Thompson said that "of the three John Lennon songs wrapped up within, either "Imagine" or "Woman" could have given Roxy Music's version of "Jealous Guy" a run for its money in the brokenhearted sincerity stakes".[1]
The title is a reference to the George Harrison song "When We Was Fab".
From 1968 to 1985, Hallmark Records released nearly 100 albums consisting of covers of Top 40 hits. According to session singer Tony Rivers, "In those days, more often than not, you had to do 3 songs in 3 hours then you were out of there!! Not much chance of getting good at it!"[2]. However, he also notes that "there was good and there was bad"[3], and that the studio singers and musicians usually tried their best. Dave Thompson for Allmusic says that "it becomes apparent that the trick is not to look upon the songs as straightforward attempts to copy the hit song, but as interpretations rendered in the style of the hit"[4]. Part sound-alikes, part true covers, the series sold well, and two of the albums reached hit No. 1 on the UK album charts. In 2002, Hallmark Records went back to the mastertapes, re-issuing several of the original albums, and releasing compilations using the recordings, which have a following of their own.