The Beatles had an exceptional ability to graft both high and low art into brilliantly melodic packages, creating classic songs that are among the most durable (and versatile) in pop history, and thanks to those amazingly flexible melodies, covers of Beatles songs have been attempted in almost every style under the sun. This brief Compendia collection gives ten Beatles songs a classical spin, and it probably should come as no surprise that the most successful of these are songs like "Eleanor Rigby," "Yesterday," and "Here, There, and Everywhere" that already had light pop classical arrangements built into the original recordings. Songs like "Yellow Submarine," while it might shine in a brass band setting, come across as simple and childish (ingredients the Beatles deliberately built into the song in the first place) when layered with a string section. Fine for background music, this compilation hardly brings anything new to the table, but it does highlight the timeless sturdiness of these familiar melodies -- in case anyone needed reminding. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
