In hindsight, the 1980's are the most frustrating decade in the history of music. Even though some of the most interesting, eclectic and enjoyable music of the 20th century emerged from the 80's, the general public seems content in listening to the same clichéd hits that are a staple of Jack FM playlists, VH-1 countdowns & karaoke nights. Damn it, people! Dig deeper! There's a treasure-trove of things that have been overlooked, underappreciated or dismissed outright by the masses. It is my goal to find some of these forgotten gems and cram them down your throats until you never have the urge to Wang Chung again. With that, I bring you the first installment of The Eighties Excavation Project...

The Better Beatles - Mercy Beat

The Better Beatles were, in the loosest sense, a Beatles cover band that formed in Omaha around 1981. They played a few shows to mixed reviews and their self-released 45 of Penny Lane/I'm Down got some sporadic airplay around the country and eventually made it on John Peel's Radio 1 show in England. And then...nothing. The band lasted an estimated 12 weeks.

Audiophiles and collectors of obscure records kept the legend alive and in 2007, The Better Beatles' Mercy Beat was released, featuring 10 songs recorded during the band's short tenure: Penny Lane, I'm Down, Can't Buy Me Love, Lady Madonna, Paperback Writer, Hello Goodbye, Baby You're A Rich Man, Eleanor Rigby, With A Little Help From My Friends, and Get Back.

This is no ordinary collection of Beatles cover songs. First and foremost, most of the band didn't even like The Beatles. One band member described them as "an oppressive influence," while another stated that "the adoration of the Beatles had gone on quite long enough." The musical arrangements are anything but faithful to the originals, with all the familiar trimmings stripped away and replaced by discordant drum beats, bizarre synthesizer arrangements and vocals that range from deadpan chanting ("Penny Lane") to pure vitriol ("I'm Down").

While Mercy Beat might be easy to dismiss as a not-so-high-concept novelty record, there are more than a few poignant moments on this album. The best example is "Paperback Writer." The Beatles recorded their version in 1966 at the height of their fame. A song about being desperate enough to compromise artistic integrity for the sake of financial security is hardly something that The Beatles knew anything about at this point in their history.

In the hands of The Better Beatles, "Paperback Writer" becomes a dark, angry & desperate plea about trying to hang on to a dying dream. This makes much more sense coming from four kids in Omaha than it does from a band that had it's own cartoon series.

Likewise, The Beatles' "Hello Goodbye" is a simple pop song full of pointless contradictions. The Better Beatles' version puts one of the stupidest songs in The Beatles' catalog in an entirely new context: With a rapidly ascending then descending synth beat, combined with the clearly distraught female vocals, it becomes the ravings of an emotionally disturbed young woman who's at her wit's end. She really doesn't know why you say goodbye and she says hello, and it's obviously driving her insane.

The cover version of "Eleanor Rigby" is, ironically, the most upbeat song on the album and is highlighted by a brilliant polka beat and drumming that sounds like what would happen if you gave a 5 year old coffee and set 'em loose on a drum set.

Not all the songs go out of their way to tear down The Beatles' legacy. "Lady Madonna" is relatively faithful to the original in both musical & vocal arrangements. In my opinion, The Better Beatles improved upon "Baby You're A Rich Man" by giving it a darker edge. It ends up sounding like a post-punk cover of a James Bond movie theme song.

The Better Beatles aren't for everyone. I imagine those that unquestioningly believe The Beatles were the greatest rock band of all time would have a hard time with this album. The material is all on the experimental side, so if that isn't your cup of tea, you'd do well to skip this. But if The Flying Lizard's version of "Money" was just too showy for you, or you cite The Residents or Lydia Lunch as some of your favorite artists, you'll probably enjoy this collection. Don't take my word for it; you can download The Better Beatles covers of "Penny Lane" and "Paperback Writer" from their website.

This isn't the easiest album to get your hands on. iTunes doesn't have it, nor does Amazon. The record label that released it has "temporarily" gone out of business, but it does link to a site that sells it.