The Fab Three

Paul McCartney has the right idea in being firm about not making any new “Beatles” music without John Lennon’s participation, i.e. using Sean or Julian Lennon as a “replacement” (Pop Eye, May 14)). But what he really should be doing is recording fresh, spontaneous material with the surviving trio under a new moniker, completely differentiated from the Beatles.

As for the two new songs scheduled for the six-CD set, the prospect of having “a new Beatles record” is exciting and inviting to the public, but completing a song on that basis is not enough. To honor the Beatles’ legacy, anything “new” should be either groundbreaking, creative or influential, and none of these seem initially apparent here. They should be cautious in not “dredging up stuff from the vaults” under the ridiculous notion that their legacy must be incomplete. While the outcome has yet to be heard, it cannot be said that the most creative works emerge this way, and there hardly seems to be the most original ideas involved (think: “Free Bird” and “Blackbird,” not to mention an oversaturation of (mundane) songs titled “Real Love”). Unless the results are spectacular, the Fab Four faces the danger of going out on a whimper instead of a bang.

FRANK BEESON

Los Angeles