by Scott YanowThe Swingle Singers began their existence in 1963 as an a cappella group performing accessible if challenging versions of Bach melodies. Their enthusiasm and musicianship made them popular from the start, and they have since explored a wide variety of superior music. This project from 2002 has the eight singers digging into 16 songs from the pens of Lennon and McCartney, ranging from famous Beatles hits to a few relatively obscure songs (if anything the Beatles ever recorded was really lesser known!). Although the tunes all found their origin in the rock world, the Swingle Singers come up with a series of inventive vocal arrangements that transform the music into jazz, sometimes in surprising ways. No matter how familiar one is with these melodies and lyrics, they sound brand new in this a cappella format. Highly recommended.