I'm 34 and have never been a huge Beatles fan. They've always been there, overheard in other people's lives, on the radio, growing up. I never discovered them for myself and everything they ever pioneered I heard first in other people's music. What I'm trying to say is that I never really learnt to appreciate the splendour and the genius that were the Beatles.

Love, then, is ideal for someone like me. Comissioned and created for the Cirque de Soleil, a gathering of performance dance artists. The whole thing then landed up in Las Vergas onstage and was, apparently such a success, that EMI decided to release the thing on vinyl. Well actually it was really meant for a surround sound DVD-A. There has then been a belated vinyl release. Obviously and perhaps this is a stereo only release. I guess it could have been a quadrophonic release. A few years ago there was a technology called Q-sound which gave pseudo quadrophonic sound through normal stereo equipment. Roger Waters' 'Amused to death' was one such release and there was a Madonna release too. But anyway i digress.

Love is not just a series of Beatles songs. It is a collage of snippets and excerpts of Beatles songs, mixed up mashed up and overlaid. In the stereo version at least though, nothing sound out of place and all is more or less instantly recognisable. other sites will go into the details of what is added where  but suffice to say that the whole reocrd sounds like a typical mix party tape of some of the best music ever. For me, a non-believe, it simply teaches me that some of the best music ever comes from this one band, four individuals with a relatively vbrief recording career.

Ideal for me then. For Beatles fans? I don't know. You won't be hearing anything that you've never heard before. the difference are mild, not earth shattering. And yet those differemces might annoy you. Or you might relish the thought of hearing such familiar favourites ina slightly different context.

Or you might be a completist and never remove this from teh shrinkwrap.

The record is designed to be loud but neverthless offers quite respectable sound and doesn't grate for me at least. The music does not in nay way sound like it was recorded 40 years ago.

The packaging is quite nice but not spectacular. For such an expensive package you get well pressed records, 2 180grm discs, silent, in a gatefold sleeve. Inner sleeves are my favourite platic lined paper sleevs. The most impressive aspect of the packaging is a 12" colour booklet filled with pictures of
 the Beatles and the dancers nicely mashed up in themselves.