Beatles Rock Band

I've had a change of heart. If you asked me two weeks ago what I thought of all the "Guitar Hero" & "Rock Band" games, I'd be a total purist jerk and say it was all designed to numb the minds and sensitivities of our youth. For the most part, I still believe that. But then I witnessed Beatles Rock Band.

When my daughter & I went to see Paul McCartney at Fenway Park back on August 5th, we happened upon a kiosk that was demonstrating Beatles Rock Band (considering the company that helped design it - Harmonix - is based in Cambridge, no big shocker that it was there). And the fact that all the principal players in The Beatles' family have all endorsed Beatles Rock Band, again, not surprising that the demonstration was set at a Paul McCartney show.

As we made our way over to the sounds of familiar - actual - Beatle music coming from the stage, we were immediately struck by the graphics. Granted, they're not exactly spot-on likenesses of John, Paul, George & Ringo, but they were close enough. But more important than that, the care and research that went into the backgrounds of each "Beatle Era". That impressed the hell out of me (The Ed Sullivan Theatre, Shea Stadium, The Cavern, etc...).

Once I got past the atrocious singing of the various volunteers that went up there to "Play Beatle", I found myself actually enjoying myself. And once Tess (my daughter) got up there and "BROUGHT IT" - a Harmonix employee's critique of her singing "Octopus' Garden" - I was completely sold...and I finally got it: This is just this generation's version of a transistor radio, a 45 Single, or an album - in either LP, 8-Track, Cassette or CD form. A new, more interactive way to appreciate The Beatles. Paul McCartney is behind it 100%. So is John Lennon's second wife, Olivia & Dhani Harrison, and the luckiest man in show business - Ringo. And the fact that George Martin's son, Giles, is overseeing the music production & presentation, what's not to say YES to?

BUT, I still think it should be a requirement for anyone who plays Beatles Rock Band to actually learn how to play an actual instrument...actually.