Long time ago when they was fab

fter eight Guitar Heroes, four Rock Bands, eff knows how many karaoke games, and DLC tracks with an estimated street value of 99 zillion dollars, there is a sense among the fans, developers and publishers of music games that the genre may finally be getting played out.

But it’s not dead yet. In fact The Beatles: Rock Band is probably more alive than any RB or GH before it and is a uniquely rewarding gaming experience.

It’s not the type of game that will bring out your competitive edge—few Beatles RB players will be comparing scores or posting taunts in internet forums, I’m pretty sure. “A hundred percent on Paperback Writer, bitch” just doesn’t sound right. Nope, this game is different. To be experienced rather than played.

But in experiencing it, my thought was that Beatles freaks, music nerds, and Guitar Hero addicts would all potentially be interested in owning it, and since I wear all three hats on occasion, I wrote about the game from those perspectives.

There are great little clips of authentic Beatles studio and stage banter before and after every song in the game, and they always fit the song selected.

Coming soon to an ironic t-shirt near you

Hearing producer George Martin in the control booth fiddling with the texture of a dirty guitar tone, getting it just right, as John Lennon clears his throat and noodles around on the guitar before a take, just makes the experience of playing Revolution more immersive. Other times we hear Paul saying “Right; can we hear that one back?” and the distinctive ambient sound of screaming girls in Shea Stadium. The addition of bonus material used as ambient noise to the game is a first for the genre, and it’s greater than the sum of its parts. For lack of a more tangible word, there’s just a magic to it. Yes, Magic. And it’s like going on a tour, a mysterious tour. A magical mys… Yes, I’ll shut up now.

Most of the outtakes, sound bytes, photos and movies which get unlocked as you progress through the game are new to me and, without being one of those obsessive weirdos, I know my Beatles stuff—I already owned much of the collector’s material on the “Anthology” discs before those sets were released—and with Beatles RB, as a fan I feel I’ve been well-serviced. I got chills.

There’s a subset who will buy anything with the word Beatles on it, and step on your grandmother’s neck to be first in line to do it. These people, while terrifying, are easy prey for those selling Fab Four merchandise of any kind. Harmonix could have abused this fact, they could have shoveled us a carbon copy of Rock Band 2 with Beatles songs in it…we would have still paid a premium for it. But they didn’t; instead they gave us a multimedia feast bursting full of memorabilia and easter eggs and concept art that is so good, they could sell it all by itself… and a brand-new game mode.

I play a little real guitar, and went through a Beatles phase, as many, many beginning guitarists have. I know many of these tunes inside and out, backwards and forwards… Beatles songs are still very satisfying to play in video game form, very different mind you.. after all, a rock band guitar peripheral is not a guitar, it’s a video game controller. But they’re still Beatles songs and as a musician I like playing along because the material is great, and familiar. It feels really cool to play Beatles stuff on a real guitar, and that feeling transfers to Rock Band.

But here’s the thing: new things are revealed when the songs are presented in this way. Interesting harmonies, great guitar fills. A sense for how a Beatles bassline works. Things I never noticed before, things of interest to me as a musician, were drawn to my attention by the gameplay.

And for getting the hang of singing 3-part harmonies, the vocal trainer tutorial built into the game has legitimate merit as a musician’s teaching tool. I’m not kidding. Anyone looking to better their understanding of how harmonies work, before getting into heady stuff about roots, thirds and fifths, would benefit from exploring the harmonic teaching tool in this game, which uses a ‘guide pitch’ that overlays any vocal line you choose, to isolate and highlight any harmony part you want to learn. It does a terrific job doing what it’s supposed to—teaching you how to sing the harmony parts in Beatles songs.

Also, I totally have no doubt that ‘fab solo’ will become part of the popular lexicon among guitarists.

As I alluded to in the intro to this piece, if you’re considering buying this one because you love the genre, yes, The Beatles: Rock Band offers enough of what you love (in addition to a pile of new stuff) to make it worth your while.

Difficulty wise, the harder songs on Expert mode are no Through the Fire and Flames but they’re a good challenge. The set list is a bit short at 45 songs, but on the other hand, they’re Beatles songs… some of the most playable, singable songs in rock music history. My point is you aren’t going to get this one to conquer it, but instead for the journey.

I was pretty sure—no, positive—that the three-part harmony feature would fail. Luckily I was wrong, and Harmonix is big and successful and able to hire focus groups, which reassured them that enough people would be able to deal with it.

With the vocal trainer and the 3 distinct vocal parts for every single song, the singing component is almost a game within a game..when I got excited about Beatles RB I imagined myself playing guitar and maybe a bit of drums, not so much singing. So this comes as a bonus and a great surprise. Singing along in harmony just makes you feel good. For the first time since the original RB, vocals are a standout feature.

And yes, to you purists: even if you never touch the mic and drums, you’re still in for a good time, on the strength of tried-and-true guitar mechanics beneath exceptional material.

The average age of gamers continues to climb but teens and twentysomethings probably still drive software hype and sales and a lot of them aren’t familiar enough with the Beatles to be as excited as I am right now. It’s a mild disappointment to me that analyists are predicting The Beatles: Rock Band will sell half as many copies as Guitar Hero 5… because in my mind GH 5 is merely solid, while The Beatles Rock Band is special.