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All This and World War II is a 1976 musical documentary directed by Susan Winslow. It juxtaposes Beatles songs covered by a variety of musicians with World War II newsreel footage and 20th Century Fox films, in a manner meant by the filmmakers to be similar to the 1975 documentary Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
The film was severely mauled by critics and lasted just two weeks in cinemas before being pulled.
All but lost to the footnotes of pop culture history largely due to its unavailability on home video, 1976's All This and World War II was, to put it mildly, an odd film. Cobbled together almost entirely from newsreel footage of World War II, all taken from the vaults of Movietone News, the film wasn't a documentary or an exercise in nostalgia, it was constructed as an anti-war film thanks to the presence of Beatles music which functioned as commentary on the events as they unfolded. Beatles music it may have been, but it wasn't performed by the Beatles: the Fab Four's classic tunes were covered by an all-star cast of pop and rock stars, assembled under the direction of record exec Russ Regan and produced by Lou Reizner.
These artists were teamed up with a bunch of studio pros, highlighted by pianist Nicky Hopkins, along with the London Symphony Orchestra, who gave this music the bombastic pomp a project like this deserved. If the film itself was quite odd -- most notoriously, it featured Nazi soldiers being run in reverse as "Get Back" played on the soundtrack -- the soundtrack itself isn't particularly strange or compelling. Far from being as fascinatingly grotesque as the disco-fied soundtrack to 1978's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, this is nevertheless similar to that fiasco in how it epitomizes the sound of its era.
Only two years separated Sgt. Pepper's and All This and World War II, but where the former was a gaudy tacky embodiment of disco-rock and burned-out arena rock, the latter is a self-important, humorless encapsulation of pre-punk album-oriented rock.
This is a Brit-centric soundtrack -- it was a British production after all -- so it shouldn't be a surprise that it's heavy on British prog rockers and pop songwriters with an arty bent: Peter Gabriel, Bryan Ferry, Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, Elton John, David Essex and Leo Sayer are all here, as are Ambrosia who may not be British but fit in well with that contingent.
Then, there are mainstream superstars and middle-of-the-road artists like the Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, Helen Reddy, Frankie Laine, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (separately, mind you), the forgotten Lynsey de Paul, Henry Gross, with the Brothers Johnson and Tina Turner added for some diversity. But the fact of it is, it doesn't really matter who is singing here: it all sounds roughly the same thanks to the London Symphony Orchestra, who gives every song here altogether too much pomp and circumstance. That means that anybody enticed by the prospect of Peter Gabriel reinventing "Strawberry Fields Forever" or Roy Wood running wild on "Lovely Rita" will be disappointed by the perfectly fine versions here because they are, at the core, Reizner and the London Symphony Orchestra's interpretations of these songs; Gabriel and Wood are merely invited guests.
That's the case throughout All This and World War II: with the exception of Elton John's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," which existed prior to this soundtrack, and Rod Stewart's "Get Back," the only cut here that features electric guitars playing loudly.
The rest all mushes together in a hazy murk of pompous strings and blaring brass. As a reinterpretation of the Beatles, it's a bit muddy: it's as if all involved decided that since this was for an important film -- a film that really is trying to say something -- the music should be treated in a stodgy fashion, as if it were middlebrow classical music.
But as a curio, it certainly evokes its time; and almost too well, as a matter of fact, since once it's done it's hard not to see exactly why punk rock happened.
All songs by Lennon–McCartney.
Single releases
- Elton John’s rendition of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", when previously released as a single in 1974, became a US and Canadian number-one hit.
- Rod Stewart’s version of "Get Back" was subsequently released and became a UK hit single (#11).
- Ambrosia's cover of "Magical Mystery Tour" reached #39 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Side one
1. Ambrosia - Magical Mystery Tour - 3:52
2. Elton John - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - 6:11
3. Bee Gees - Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight - 3:12
4. Leo Sayer - I Am The Walrus - 3:49
5. Bryan Ferry - She’s Leaving Home - 3:07
6. Roy Wood - Lovely Rita - 1:13
7. Keith Moon - When I’m Sixty-Four - 2:36
Side two
1. Rod Stewart - Get Back - 4:24
2. Leo Sayer - Let It Be - 3:43
3. David Essex - Yesterday - 2:44
4. Jeff Lynne - With A Little Help From My Friends / Nowhere Man - 6:56
5. Lynsey De Paul - Because - 3:24
6. Bee Gees - She Came In Through The Bathroom Window - 1:54
7. Richard Cocciante - Michelle - 4:00
Side three
1. The Four Seasons - We Can Work It Out - 2:39
2. Helen Reddy - The Fool On The Hill - 3:37
3. Frankie Laine - Maxwell’s Silver Hammer - 3:27
4. Brothers Johnson - Hey Jude (Vocals – The Watts Line) - 4:58
5. Roy Wood - Polythene Pam - 1:30
6. Bee Gees - Sun King - 2:03
7. Status Quo - Getting Better - 2:19
Side four
1. Leo Sayer - The Long And Winding Road - 4:45
2. Henry Gross - Help 3:07
3. Peter Gabriel - Strawberry Fields Forever 2:30
4. Frankie Valli - A Day In The Life 4:04
5. Tina Turner - Come Together 4:08
6. Wil Malone & Lou Reizner - You Never Give Me Your Money 3:04
7. The London Symphony Orchestra - The End 2:26
Personnel
- Barry Gibb – vocals
- Robin Gibb – vocals
- Maurice Gibb – vocals
- Nicky Hopkins – piano
- Les Hurdle – bass
- Barry Morgan – drums
- Ronnie Verrell – drums
- Wil Malone – orchestral arrangement
- Harry Rabinowitz – conductor
- David Measham – conductor
Companies, etc.
- Phonographic Copyright ℗ – 20TH Century Records
- Phonographic Copyright ℗ – MCA Records, Inc.
- Phonographic Copyright ℗ – United Artists Music And Records Group, Inc.
- Published By – Maclen Music, Inc.
- Published By – Comet Music Corp.
- Published By – Unart Music Corp.
- Recorded At – Olympic Studios
- Mastered At – Allen Zentz Mastering
Credits
- Arranged By, Orchestrated By – Wil Malone
- Bass – Les Hurdle
- Composed By – John Lennon-Paul McCartney
- Conductor – David Measham, Harry Rabinowitz
- Design, Illustration – Clyde Terry, Jack Room
- Drums – Barry Morgan, Ronnie Verrell
- Engineer – Anton Matthews, Bruce Swedian, Dave Smith, Dee Robb, Doug Bennett, John Kelly (16), Phil Chapman, Sheridan Eldridge, Steve Maslow, Tom Trefethen
- Engineer [Assistant] – Benny King, Nigel Brooke-Hart
- Orchestra – The London Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Piano – Nicky Hopkins
- Producer – Lou Reizner
- Recorded By, Mixed By – Keith Grant
Notes
Released: 1976
Format: 2LP
Genre: Rock, Pop
Label: Warner Bros. Records
Catalog# WB 66 049
Vinyl: VG+
Cover: VG+ (Gatefold)
Prijs: €10,00
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