I can remember my best friend in high school being such a Beatles fan that the highlight for her one summer was taking a trip with her family to Liverpool.  Not quite understanding what the attraction was, I didn’t get it.  Sure, I liked the Beatles’ music, but I wasn’t a fan the same way she was.

Perhaps that is why I came away from The Beatles Liverpool – A Magical History Tour with mixed feelings.  It’s something that can really be enjoyed best by rabid fans of the band, who seem to soak up everything they can about the artists they love.

Before I say anything else, however, let me impress on people that there is absolutely no Beatles music to be found anywhere on these two discs.

The two discs seemed to be something of a travelogue about Liverpool.  It shows the city as a tough Northern British town that weathered the Second World War and all that was thrown at it by Germany.

Spencer Leigh narrates.  He was born and raised in Liverpool and does a local radio program for the BBC.  He has a local historian, Ray O’Brien, who has authored several books on the band, including There Are Places I’ll Remember.

The two join together to take a tour of the city to places that were pivotal moments in the history of the band, such as the Empire Theater, Walker Art Gallery, Anglican Cathedral, the Art College, and many more.  Along the way, they talk to local personalities who share anecdotes about the Beatles both before and after they rose to fame.  There are a few locations that aren’t open to the public and are more intimate, such as Brian Epstein’s apartment and John Lennon’s childhood home,

Leigh and O’Brien take viewers to more notable areas of the city that pay tribute to the band, such as Liverpool John Lennon Airport with the giant Yellow Submarine and a drive down Penny Lane.  At times, the city seems to have become a Disney World of sorts with the central topic being The Beatles rather than cartoon characters.  When I thought about Liverpool from that perspective, I could sort of understand the need for fans to travel here, except that there are no rides.

The two don’t stick to covering just the early years of the band but show the square where the John Lennon Memorial was held in 1980.  

As they walk around, there are interviews with people who knew members of the band in and around Liverpool.  These are not always sit-down interviews where people seem to be comfortable.  Some of them are just happenstance while it’s obvious others were planned.  Leigh and O’Brien interview Bill Harry, a fellow student with John Lennon and Stu Sutcliffe from the Art School who was also the creator of Mersey Beat magazine in a doorway at a business.

Some of the interviews seem to be a bit inane and are like talking to the locals in any town that has produced someone famous.  There’s an interview with the manager of a Beatles shop in Liverpool.  Many of the people are just recounting chance encounters with one or more of the Fab Four.  At one point they happen across a Washington Post writer in Liverpool who’s writing a book about Brian Epstein. I can’t believe their question to him was “Why have you come to Liverpool to write a book about Brian Epstein?”  – DUH!

Allan Williams, the Beatles’ first manager sits down for an interview.  These types are a bit more interesting, but many of the other interviews aren’t tight and the discs seem to drag a lot at times.  I also wasn’t impressed with the camera work.  The camera movements are often terribly jerky and as they are walking along this is anything but a steadi-cam.  There are times when they are on the street and lose the view of who is talking entirely,  while at other times the camera seems entirely too close to the subject.

For someone who is a real fan, I think they will enjoy The Beatles Liverpool – A Magical History Tour.  I could see giving this to my friend from high school and she would probably love me.  I liked seeing what Liverpool looks like as it’s a city that interests me and I’ve never had the opportunity to visit.  I think this DVD set has a very narrow audience who will appreciate it, though, and not find it boring.