Posted: 02/26/2010

Live From Abbey Road, Premiering On Sundance on Feb. 26

(2010)

by Laura Tucker

David Bianculli of The New York Daily News said, “If you love music, you’ll love this Sundance Channel show.” He’s right. Sundance’s original series “Live From Abbey Road” is for people who love music, love all music, and just like to be entertained and sit back and listen to art. For those people, season three begins Friday night with a very special tribute.

The series features musicians, both ones that have made it and ones that are still waiting for their success, filming at the Abbey Road Studio, the same one where the Beatles recorded their last album together. The artists all say as they walk in that they can just feel the history of the place. Along with the Beatles, The Hollies, Glen Miller, Iron Maiden, James Taylor, Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, and U2 have also recorded there, among many others. This place is packed with history.

For the season premiere, a handful of the famous musicians who will be featured throughout the season appear singing selections from the Beatles Abbey Road album. Seal sings Something, Country Crows The Medley (Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight,  The End), Sugarland Come Together, and Matchbox Twenty She Came In Through the Bathroom Window, as well as some lesser known artists singing tunes from the album as well.

These great artists taking on these tunes made me me look back on the “American Idol” episode I had just finished watching, thinking this is how you perform an iconic hit, yet put your own spin on it. Perhaps they should all be forced to watch this episode. Along with the performances, is also memories from the Beatles producer Sir George Martin, and shots of these more recent artists walking across the “Zebra Crossing” featured on the front of the Beatles album.

That’s just all in the first episode. The rest of the season will feature three separate artists each week recording their own music at Abbey Road. Next week features Seal, Sugarland, and Imelda May. The rest of the season will feature Green Day, Counting Crows, The Fray, Lyle Lovett, The Killers, and Michael Bublé. While the special premiere episode features eight performances, the resulting episodes feature a little less music and more interviews with the artists on what it means to be there in the studio, as well as discussing their own music.

You can either watch these artists perform at Abbey Road and make history for themselves, or just leave the series on in the background as your go about your business, like leaving a CD play, a great CD, or playing your iPod filled with great tunes. That’s the beauty of it. As Bianculli said, it’s for people who love music.

Live From Abbey Road premieres on Sundance Channel on February 26 at 7 PM ET.

Laura Tucker is the webmaster of Reality Shack and its accompanying Reality Shack Blog, provides reviews at Viewpoints, and provides entertainment news pieces at Gather. She is also an Associate Instructor and 2nd dan black belt in tae kwon do with South Elgin Martial Arts. Laura can be reached at LauraBelle@realityshack.com.

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