Apple Jam are possibly the most arcane Beatles tribute band in the world. While most of these Moptop manqués are content to replicate the best-known songs from the Fab Four’s rich catalog (not that there’s anything wrong with that), Apple Jam dig way deeper. For example, their latest album, Off the White Album, finds Apple Jam tackling 11 songs that the Beatles cut when in sessions for 1968’s The Beatles, a fertile time of exploration. Some of the tracks were recorded by other artists (“Goodbye” by Mary Hopkin, “Step Inside Love” by Cilla Black, “Sour Milk Sea” by Jackie Lomax), while some outtakes simply eluded all but the most ardent Beatles fans. Thankfully for them, Apple Jam have the skills to recreate the Beatles’ melodic magic and vocal sonority in order to spotlight the obscure corners of their evergreen output. by Dave Segal