BY GILLIAN G. GAAR

Seattle's Apple Jam aren't your typical Beatles tribute band. For one thing, while they play Beatles songs, they're not lookalikes/soundalikes. For another, their star guest has a bonafide Beatles connection - drummer Alan White, who played on the solo records of John Lennon and George Harrison before moving on to Yes (and, eventually, the greater Seattle area, where he now resides). Finally, in their latest endeavor, they've given things a final twist by releasing an album of songs that were written by Lennon/McCartney but weren't played by the Beatles.

Their sold out August 7 show at Seattle's Triple Door celebrated the upcoming release of Off The Beatle Track, featuring 15 songs Lennon and McCartney passed on to other artists, like Peter & Gordon, Cilla Black, and Billy J. Kramer. The five piece band kicked the evening off with a set of songs by the solo Beatles, including not just the hits ("Jet," "My Sweet Lord," "Imagine"), but also lesser known tracks: Lennon's "Crippled Inside," George Harrison's "Dark Horse," and Ringo Starr's "Early 1970." Such a mix is guaranteed to hold the interest of even Beatle geeks who love impersonators but might just have seen a band play "I Want To Hold Your Hand" one too many times.

Lead vocals are shared by bassist Rick Lovrovoch, and drummer Jon Bolton, with Bolton the livelier of the two, twirling his drum sticks at every opportunity and bouncing with energy. The classic rock riffs had the crowd holding the candles on their tables aloft like an old school (i.e. pre-cell phone) arena rock show. When Alan White was invited onto the stage, he also shared anecdotes between numbers, such as how he ended up playing drums on "My Sweet Lord" instead of Ringo.

The second set had the band playing all the songs on their new CD. Some songs were reworked; "Like Dreamers Do" was taken at a brisk pace when The Applejacks performed it, but Apple Jam gave it a slower, "This Boy"-style arrangement, while their version of "It's For You" made it a more conventional rock song, without the jazzy overtones of Cilla Black's version. A number of the songs also revealed how canny John and Paul were. They might be happy to write material for other acts their manager handled, but they weren't about to give them their best stuff; so let Tommy Quickly have "Tip of My Tongue," The Strangers have "One and One Is Two," and Billy J. Kramer have "Bad To Me." On the other hand, they should've scrapped "Hold Me Tight" (on With The Beatles) for something better, like the lyrical "I'll Be On My Way" (given to Billy J. Kramer) or the infectious pop of "Hello Little Girl" (given to The Fourmost).

After the Merseybeat material, it was back to more solo Beatles, with some other off-beat choices - McCartney's "Another Day," Starr's T-Rex influenced "Back Off Boogaloo." Alan White returned (to a shout of "Freebird!" from the audience) for a few more Lennon and Harrison numbers, closing with the anthemic "Instant Karma." Dragged back for an encore, Lovrovich announced, "We don't have any more songs - but The Beatles did," the band then launching into "Twist and Shout" (perhaps something of a John Hughes tribute as well, given the song's prominence in the late director's Ferris Bueller's Day Off).

Apple Jam's next engagement sees them playing three high profile dates during Liverpool's annual Beatles Week later this month. Off The Beatle Track is set for release on September 9, 2009, sharing the date with The Beatles themselves, who release their remastered catalogue and Rock Band game at the same time.

On the web: www.offthebeatletrack.com