Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles

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Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles
Studio album by
Brad Mehldau
Released10 February 2023
RecordedSeptember 2020
VenuePhilharmonie de Paris
GenreJazz
Length48:28
LabelNonesuch
ProducerBrad Mehldau
Brad Mehldau chronology
Suite: April 2020
(2020) 		Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles
(2020) 		Jacob's Ladder
(2020-2021)

Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles is a solo piano album by Brad Mehldau.[1][2] It was recorded in September 2020 and released by Nonesuch Records on 10 February 2023.[3][4]

Music and recording[edit]

The album was recorded live on the stage of the Philharmonie de Paris in September 2020 where Mehldau played a program of Beatles songs that were previously unperformed by him. Also Mehldau recorded the David Bowie's 1971 track "Life on Mars?."[5]

Release and reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86%[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz[5]
AllMusic[7]
The Guardian[8]
Jazzwise[9]
Mojo[10]
PopMatters9/10[11]
The Times[12]
Tom HullB[13]

Matt Collar of AllMusic commented, "...Mehldau treating each Beatles tune as he might a jazz standard, reconsidering the harmony of the song and using the melody as jumping-off point for his own bold, endlessly lyrical improvisations. What's particularly enjoyable about Mehldau's approach is how he keeps each song recognizable while making it his own..."[7] Selwyn Harris of Jazzwise stated, "Recorded live at the Philharmonie de Paris, it focusses mostly on a selection of the Fab Four's lesser-known album tracks, none of which have been recorded by him previously. Throughout, Mehldau is at his most succinctly refined, as if he has chipped away at anything non-essential or that sounds like it's falling into the trap of merely jazzing up The Beatles, as those before him have too frequently done."[9]

Martin Johnson of The Wall Street Journal wrote that "The new album aims for smaller changes rather than full-blown reinvention."[14] Steven Wine writing for Associated Press added, "The album pairs jazz’s most lyrical living pianist with songwriting masters of melody, and Mehldau finds fresh radiance in the familiar tunes by exploring their elasticity, which is considerable. These performances show how Beatles songs invite improvisation thanks to their lilt, sturdy construction and sophisticated chord changes. Plus, as Mehldau observes in his liner notes, they swing."[15]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Lennon–McCartney except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Am the Walrus" 4:14
2."Your Mother Should Know" 2:18
3."I Saw Her Standing There" 3:54
4."For No One" 2:28
5."Baby's in Black" 7:19
6."She Said She Said" 2:42
7."Here, There and Everywhere" 3:58
8."If I Needed Someone"George Harrison2:25
9."Maxwell's Silver Hammer" 6:42
10."Golden Slumbers" 8:17
11."Life on Mars?"David Bowie4:09
Total length:48:28

Personnel[edit]

  • Brad Mehldau – piano

Chart performance[edit]

Chart (2020) Peak
position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 30
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17] 150

References[edit]

  1. ^ Farbey, Roger (10 March 2023). "Brad Mehldau: Your Mother Should Know - Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles". Jazz Journal. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. ^ Briger, Sam. "Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau shares his love of The Beatles on a new album". NPR. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Live Solo Album 'Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles' Due February 10 on Nonesuch | Nonesuch Records". Nonesuch Records. December 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  4. ^ Lynch, Kevin (24 February 2023). "Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays the Beatles". The Shepherd Express. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b Jurkovic, Mike (27 January 2023). "Brad Mehldau: Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles album review @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays the Beatles by Brad Mehldau". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Brad Mehldau - Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays the Beatles Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  8. ^ Fordham, John (24 February 2023). "Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays the Beatles review – classy jazz homage". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  9. ^ a b Selwyn, Harris. "Brad Mehldau: Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles". Jazzwise. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Brad Mehldau: Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles". albumoftheyear.org. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  11. ^ Ingalls, Chris (1 March 2023). "Brad Mehldau: Your Mother Should Know (Album Review)". PopMatters. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  12. ^ Pearson, Chris (1 February 2023). "Brad Mehldau: Your Mother Should Know review — a revelatory set of Beatles covers". The Times. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Tom Hull: Grade List: Brad Mehldau". Tom Hull. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  14. ^ Johnson, Martin (7 February 2023). "'Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays the Beatles' Review: All You Need Is Jazz". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  15. ^ Wine, Steven. "Review: Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau and Beatles come together". ABC News. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Brad Mehldau – Your Mother Should Know Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  17. ^ "Ultratop.be – Brad Mehldau – Your Mother Should Know Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
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