So I'm listening to the Beatles...

Cafe Society
1

Alrighty, so I decided to listen to everything the Beatles have done, from “Please Please Me” to “Let it Be”. NineToTheSky said that I should start a thread talking about my thoughts and reactions as I go through the catalog, so here I am. :slight_smile:

Before this little undertaking, I had heard some of their songs and liked them, but never thought to go through and see everything they had done. Then I saw Across the Universe with a friend, which spurred my interest somewhat. If a group is as popular and well-loved as the Beatles, listening to their stuff couldn’t be that bad, could it?

I’m doing this chronologically with the albums released in the U.S., and I’ve already gone through Introducing… The Beatles and Meet The Beatles!.

So, thoughts…

“I Saw Her Standing There” was a really great start to a great album. It was such a fun, rocking song that I’m sure was perfect for a bonfire on the beach. I can already tell I’m going to like Paul McCartney’s voice. It’s clear and smooth, with a nice pitch.

“Misery” wasn’t my favorite song. The beat and lyrics weren’t very memorable or interesting, but the vocals shone through even more than on the first song.

“Anna (Go To Him)” was a very sweet, romantic song. Even though it had a very 50’s sensibility, it didn’t feel outdated. I was really impressed with John Lennon’s vocals. Paul’s voice seemed like it would fit into a fun, party song, while John’s is perfect for this kind of slow crooner.

“Chains” was fun as well, with some nice guitar work throughout. George Harrison’s vocals weren’t bad, but I still prefer Lennon and McCartney.

“Boys” I didn’t really like. It wasn’t so much that the Beatles did anything wrong, it was just that the song itself was annoying. I listened to the original version by The Shirelles, and found I had the same reaction. The ‘bop bop shoup’ along with the music was grating.

“Love me do” Now this is a song I can get behind. It’s really infectious; the guitar and tambourine were good, but the harmonica work just made the whole thing fantastic. Love the vocals on this; smooth and cool throughout. I found myself whistling the melody this morning.

“P.S. I Love You” was okay. Seemed a little too cheesy and cutesy, more geared for the girly-girls listening than anything. The maracas were a cool touch, though.

“Baby It’s You” Another one that was pretty meh. Repetitive, uninteresting, and the sha la la’s got old fast.

“Do You Want To Know a Secret?” Good guitar work, and George Harrison vocals were much better in this than in “Chains”. The song was upbeat and kind of sexy, weird as that sounds. But the fact that a song can hold up for more than 45 years and still have the same effect is pretty impressive.

“A Taste of Honey” Loved this one; a great cover of a great song. Instruments were top notch, and vocals sounded fresh and, well, sweet (like honey).

“There’s a Place” is probably my favorite one on the album, which is saying something. Showed off all the talents (writing lyrics, music, and vocals) very well, and came together beautifully.

“Twist and Shout” is impressive. Even though it’s a classic, it’s still so much fun to listen to today. Lennon’s somewhat scratchy (don’t know if that’s the right word) vocals were perfect, and the backing vocals were great as well. It was a great, exciting song for the young talents that made up the Beatles, and a great end to the album.

So overall, Introducing… The Beatles had a few songs that were just okay, but a good number that were fantastic. Definitely the best album I’ve heard in quite some time; puts most of today’s singers to shame.

Onto Meet The Beatles!:

“I Wanna Hold Your Hand” was fun and mellow. Good start to the album; no real complaints, but it wasn’t too memorable, either.

“This Boy” Didn’t really like this one at first, because it seemed too slow. It grew on me after I listened to it a few more times. Lennon’s vocals were very sweet, and the harmony was lovely, I didn’t really like the background guitar.

“It Won’t Be Long” This one got on my nerves quick. The yeah – yeah – yeah’s throughout were annoying, and the instruments weren’t great either.

“All I’ve Got to Do” was very nice and mellow. I am officially in love with John’s voice, especially with McCartney and Harrison as backing vocals.

“All My Loving” wasn’t bad, but I doubt I’ll remember it when thinking of the Beatles. It was too peppy by half, and the lyrics weren’t the best.

“Don’t Bother Me” Harrison’s voice was impressive, and the somber tone and music were actually a nice departure. Wouldn’t mind hearing it on the radio.

“Little Child” had a very 50’s sound, but it was still very fun. Great harmonica playing by Lennon; the vocals didn’t really stand out on this song.

“Till there was You” Great instrument work, and Paul’s voice is as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Beautiful, romantic, and uplifting.

“Hold me tight” Wasn’t one of the best. Seems like the kind of song you hear once and like, then hear on the radio a few times and get very tired of it. Vocals were a little off throughout the song.

“I Wanna Be Your Man” This one was a little cheesy, but so much fun. Completely different from anything else they did, but somehow it worked and turned out great. Probably the best one of the album.

“Not A Second Time” I liked the piano work, but this one was pretty unremarkable.

So I didn’t like this album as much as the first one, but it was still pretty solid work. I would like to continue this thread as I keep listening to the albums, just to get my thoughts together and see if you all agree with me on this stuff. Also, it’ll be cool to look back and see how my appreciation of the band has grown.

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I can’t think of The Beatles without thinking of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

‘The girl with colitis goes by’

Thank you, Cecil!

:smiley:

3

Why are you going with the American versions rather than the UK versions, if I might ask? Nearly everybody (not least of which The Beatles themselves) finds the US hodgepodges inferior.

4

Where did you even find the American versions? Are you listening to old vinyls? Or are they releasing those versions on CD now? When I put my collection together 12-14 years ago, you couldn’t even find the American releases on CD.

5

You still have a lot of good songs to go through. :slight_smile:

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While the early Beatles’ CD’s are fun and great in their own right - after all, it is the material that catapulted them to the “toppermost of the poppermost” (their rallying cry back in Hamburg), only a few songs truly capture their energy. Kinda surprised you thought I Want to Hold Your Hand was “fun and mellow” - because its high energy pop perfection is what blew open the U.S. on Ed Sullivan back in Feb '64…but I suppose it comes across as less raucous with all of the music that has come after it since.

Anyway, if you REALLY want to experience the early Beatles’ sound, you would be very well served to get their Live at the BBCsessions (Amazon link). Great versions of their songs - with much more energy and fire - and amazing cover versions of classics and songs you wouldn’t have heard of like The Hippy Hippy Shake and Just a Shot of Rhythm and Blues…and their version of You Really Got a Hold on Me is perfect…

Glad you are enjoying the music. One other thought: you might consider tackling the huge, very well-written biography of The Beatlesby Bob Spitz. There are tons of stories behind the music you are listening to and the book does a decent job of telling many of them…

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Maybe Stauderhorse is trying to experience the Beatles as an American of the Sixties would have? I actually prefer the sequencing on some of the US versions. And if you listen to the UK versions, you miss out on a lot of key tracks unless you also listen to the “Past Masters” discs.

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Well, yeah. The Beatles wanted to make sure that people would get 12-14 new songs on each album, not an album that’s already been mined for singles. That’s downright considerate of them, if you ask me. If somebody in the OP’s position asked me where to start, I would tell them to get the regular UK CD’s (I’m still boggled that the American versions are even available), Past Masters vol 1 & 2, and as already mentioned the Live at the BBC set. The I would suggest getting A Hard Day’s Night and Help! because they’re awesome movies, and give an idea of the energy they brought to the stage (though I wouldn’t worry about Magical Mystery Tour. Unless you are in love with the band and also high. Hey, they were high when they filmed it!).

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Sure, but if you listen to the US versions you have the same problem - you have to listen to “Yesterday and Today” and “Hey Jude”, which are far worse collections than the “Past Masters” discs, mainly because they threw chronology out the window on the American compilations.

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The Beatles first album Please Please Me contains 14 tracks.

Of these, 4 had been previously released as singles, namely Love Me Do/PS I Love You and Please Please Me/Ask Me Why. The album itself was subsequently mined four months later in July, 1963 when 4 other constituent songs were released as the Twist and Shout (EP).

Just to put the record straight.

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Yes, but the difference between Please Please Me and the subsequent albums was that the Beatles actually had control over what they wanted to record and release as singles.

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They were pretty high for Help also.

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Wow, this is going to be a long thread.

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pepperlandgirl, they released the US versions of the LPs on CD as part of two box sets, called The Capitol Albums, released in 2004 and 2006 (as far as Rubber Soul). I know one person who has them; I didn’t have him do a comparison between the mastering of those to the original CDs, but I was glad to hear the false start back on “I’m Looking Through You” like when I was a kid.

Oh, and the CDs also have the mono versions.

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Thanks. Now that you mention that, I recall hearing about it, but I guess it was an “out of sight, out of mind” thing. Of course, my inner-geek wants to get the box sets now just so I have the complete library.

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Pretty much what Thudlow Boink said. I’d like to experience the albums as the American audience did. It also didn’t even occur to me that the order of the songs would make much of a difference.

I’m cheating a little bit with this. I go to Wikipedia to see the song listings for the albums, then onto Youtube and make a little playlist and listen to it that way. Easy and free. :smiley:

Thanks for those recs, WordMan. One of the reasons I’m listening to the music is to get to know the people and stories behind it, so I’d love to get my hands on that book. Also, the energy and verve in some of the songs (especially “Twist and Shout”) gives the music a whole new dimension; I’ll definitely try and find that CD.

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Stauderhorse, I’m along for the fun and glad you are doing this!

The first time that I heard of the Beatles was about 1963 or possibly 1964. I’m a little slow to catch on to new things. My college roommate asked me what I thought about the Beatles and I didn’t know who she was talking about. So she showed me a picture in a magazine. I was totally bewildered by their long hair and couldn’t imagine why any guy would wear it down to his ears rather than in a flat top. We thought it was hysterical! Certainly, we couldn’t take their music seriously. As another of my friends said (I’m paraphrasing), “I want to hold your hand…” I don’t get it. So what?

Yet forty-five years later, my old roomate and I have managed to get together for a couple of trips to the beach. What did we take with us? The Beatles, of course. And Across the Universe soundtrack too. I like that version of “Let It Be.”

I’m glad that you are reading about the songs. Some of them are really interesting in themselves.

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All good - there are TONS of stories about how they recorded, whether it’s their first stuff like Love Me Do where three different drummers played for George Martin (Pete Best, which led to his sacking; Ringo, who Martin was dodgy on simply because he was new and Andy White the session player hired, which put Ringo off), to the last songs on Abbey Road. You might also get Here, There and Everywhere by Geoff Emerick - he was the engineer (actual recording-studio knob twiddler working for Martin the producer) and he discusss a bunch of behind the scenes recording stuff. Also, Lennon’s Playboy Interview published right when he was killed has a bunch of stuff on Lennon’s perspective at the time regarding who wrote what and other good stuff…

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**Stauderhorse **- I’ve just come across this thread. I never thought you’d comment on *every *track! Kudos to you, and I’ll be reading along with you.

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Not quite true. Sgt Pepper ended up not quite being the album it should have been because EMI needed a single in late '66, and all (all?) the Beatles had was Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. So, because EMI’s policy was not to have tracks on albums that had been released as singles, Sgt Pepper was denied what to my mind would have been two key elements.