Tom Caruana vs. The Sacred Cows

If you ask Lonnie Donegan, a man cited by the Beatles as a major influence, he'll tell you that "The Beatles' first records were old-fashioned, archaic rock 'n' roll, and I was resentful at the way they stopped my cash flow." If you ask the lawyers at Capitol/EMI, they'll probably just send you a cease-and-desist letter. If you ask Raekwon The Chef, he'll twitter that shit. But as the short and heralded life of "Wu-Tang Clan vs The Beatles: Enter the Magical Mystery Chambers" reminds; The Beatles cannon will not be exploited by anyone, except the highest bidder.

Tom Caruana has a crafted a thing that shatters the mixtape moniker. This is an album that's about the Beatles. The Wu-Tang Clan is the star, but it's about the Beatles. It's the story of an event that was unprecedented; the hysteria and the controversy told through brilliant audio clips grafted into re-covered, nudged, and twisted Beatles tracks while The Wu hovers above like a Greek Chorus. The Clan's ferocious rhymes refract inside the arching narrative and illuminate the gritty subtext of women, money, struggle, resentment, and dispossession. A new sensitivity is coaxed from the verses without losing an inch of that Shaolin swagger. In the remix of "Back in the Game" (that I swear could rival the album version...and you know I love you, RZA) when Method Man croons about being "Young dumb and thuggin', give a f--k about nothin'," the vivid picture is that of frustrated youth growing up on the poor side of a poor town, insert John or Meth respectively. "City High" spins The Beatle Boycott. Incensed media sound bites punctuate a cut up Bobby Bryant cover of "Happiness is a Warm Gun" featuring Inspectah Deck's rhymes about the walk through fire complete with a refrain to "Trust in no one but us..." These moments permeate the album (and by "permeate" I mean I might have a tendency to over analyze and draw allusions that probably aren't there, but....) in that sly attention to detail, the depth and sophistication of Caruana's effort mesmerizes.

Though none of that matters. The powers that prevail forced Magical Mystery Chambers back into the ether. I understand they have a legal right, but it's the legality of the creation itself that puzzles me. Part of Tom's brilliance is that the album is a tribute to The Beatles influence layer on layer. Many of the songs (19 out of 27!) sample other people covering Beatles songs. Tracks by everyone from Ernest Ranglin to The London Jazz Four to Dionne Warwick have been tacked together in this elegant Beatles Frankenstein, but did all of these artists have legal rights? If so, where do these artist's recordings fall in the kingdom of The Beatles protected property? In the remix of "Smith Bros", the track that might be the centerpiece of the weirdness that cloaks this whole affairs, Caruana samples a song by Arthur Wilkinson who combined Tchaikovsky and The Beatles in "The Beatlecracker Suite" (the first mash-up ever, check my indie cred). Where does something that is part public domain and part licensed song fall in the legal sampling maze? Does Wilkinson or his estate have the right to take down Magical Mystery Chambers because a sample was used of his song that is a combination of two unoriginal songs? ...and did I mention that Caruana made no effort to sell this album?

The legality isn't as much the issue, I understand that there is an insufferable bottom line in all of us, but it's the underlying notion that Band/Artist/Writer "X" (in this case The Beatles) is a holy relic. The Beatles are undoubtedly a phenomena. They rode the over-exposed-star-making youth culture to the heights and then delivered repeatedly with intellectual, artful, and chart ready singles. Their influence lives in popular music on a molecular level. But at that point, doesn't a bands influence transcend their ownership of it? Does no part of their success belong to the generations of fans? This effort offered up by Caruana is a thoughtful and sincere hymn to the Fab Four, so much more so than the countless schlock covers harnessed to commercials and aggressively mediocre movie trailers. Perhaps the Beatles have decided to measure the protection of their legacy in monetary terms only, and that is their right, but even the most lifeless cover of "All You Need is Love" (and the price tag that goes with it) could never diminish the Beatles place. In turn, this free download, a genuine celebration of The Beatles music, couldn't either, yet one is beamed into our homes without compunction, and the other is hung from the scaffold by red tape.

The Beatles are incorruptible, but they aren't untouchable. Because lest we forget, the Golden Calf was hewn down eventually.