Though it spans a broad range of music–from “Love Me Do” to “The Long and Winding Road”–“1”’s selection process (only songs that reached No. 1 in America and/or the UK made the cut) creates a somewhat incomplete picture of the Beatles. For instance, the band’s “Sgt. Pepper” album goes unrepresented, since, even with songs like “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “A Day in the Life,” it wasn’t really a singles kind of record. Beatles fans who might have hoped this album would correct the Capitol crime of putting the so-called “Red Album” collection of the band’s early hits on two discs (when it would have fit, with bonus tracks, on one) get two-thirds of their wish: of that set’s 26 songs, 16 are featured on “1.” Even better, another failing of some Beatles CDs–sparse liner notes–is corrected, though the lavishly illustrated booklet does neglect to identify the singles’ original LP appearances.
Frankly, it’s hard to be negative about a collection of the Beatles’ greatest hits. At a time when bestselling artists are punished commercially for making even the most cosmetic of changes, “1” evokes a remarkable period–incredibly, only eight years–when the most popular band in the world went from skiffle to sitars without missing a beat, bringing millions of listeners with them as they reshaped popular music.
