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The Beatles Singles A Sides and B Sides
The Beatles
The Beatles Albums
Please Please Me
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Their first-ever album , Please Please Me is raw and rough and still very rock & roll.
Having already scored two hits when this appeared, Lennon and McCartney were only
just beginning to flex their writing muscles and so relied heavily on the cover material
to see them through. Their insecurity about their own abilities seems curious in
hindsight since they'd pulled the title song and "I Saw Her Standing There" (with
thanks to Little Richard) out of their hats. But they were an unknown quantity, still
to launch a million bands and take pop music to places it had never dreamed off.
A small step for four men, a giant leap for music. --Chris Nickson
Click inside the box for Track Listings, Reviews, Comments and Biographies.
With The Beatles
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With the Beatles
They still had plenty of covers to fill out the running time, but the Lennon-McCartney
writing team was gathering steam and beginning to knock out pop classics as if they
were pulling them out of thin air. "All My Loving" and "I Wanna Be your Man" come
from this record, issued hurriedly to capitalise on Beatlemania. But even when they
were laying into some classic Chuck Berry, by this time the Beatles had acquired
a unique sound in the blend of John's and Paul's voices, while George was coming
on by leaps and bounds as a guitar player. While not absolutely essential, as a snapshot
of a band in a place and time, With the Beatles is good for a smile. --Chris Nickson
A Hard Day’s NIght
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Strummmmm! That dramatic guitar chord that kicks of A Hard Day's Night (album, song,
movie) still jumps right out at you, slaps you in the face, and jump-starts your
heart. And you know what? Both the music and the film are still as crisp and lively
as they were in 1964. Of course, only the first seven songs are actually in the movie
(and they are the strongest of the bunch, from the rousing rock & roll of title track
and the hit single "Can't Buy Me Love", to the beautiful ballads "If I Fell" and
"And I Love Her"). But nobody's going to complain about having songs like "I'll Cry
Instead" and "Things We Said Today" in the second half of the record; they certainly
don't feel like leftovers. Yet another high-point for John, Paul, George, and Ringo--four
fab fellows who hit the highest heights imaginable. --Jim Emerson
Beatles for Sale
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Banged out in a hurry for the 1964 Christmas market, Beatles for Sale sometimes sounds
it, loaded with ill-conceived covers and some of John Lennon's most self-loathing
lyrics. On the other hand, the people doing the banging-out were the Beatles, whose
instincts for what worked musically were so strong that they could basically do no
wrong--any record that has "Baby's in Black", "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" and
the delectable "Eight Days a Week" on it is only "minor" in the most relative sense.
And, though their voices had been frazzled a bit by constant touring, they revved
them up for some joyous shouting, and indulged their fondness for American country
in subtle, playful ways. --Douglas Wolk
Help?
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Help?
How John Lennon's confessional song became the title for a silly James Bond spoof
is still inexplicable. The funny thing is, it works both ways--as a young man's personal
statement about learning to open up to others, and as the frantic theme for an exotic
espionage chase comedy starring those loveable mop-tops (this time in COLOUR). Like
A Hard Day's Night, only the first "side" of this album actually contains songs from
the movie--the biggest hits being the eponymous cry for assistance and "Ticket to
Ride". But part two has a few nice tunes as well, like "It's Only Love", "I've Just
Seen a Face" and a little ditty called "Yesterday". And it's always fun when they
do an all-out screamer like "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", which sounds like John's raucous
answer to Paul's "Kansas City / Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" vocal on Beatles for Sale. --Jim
Emerson
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Rubber Soul
Rank 'em how you like, Rubber Soul is an undeniable pivot point in the Fab Four's
varied discography no matter where, or how, you first heard it. So many classics:
"Drive My Car" and "Nowhere Man" merge the early combustible Beatifics to a burgeoning
studio consciousness; "The Word" can be read as a pre-psych warning shot; the sitar-laden
"Norwegian Wood" and the evocative "Girl" (the latter written on the last night of
the sessions) stand as turning points in John Lennon's oeuvre. George finally emerges
too, with the McGuinn-ish "If I Needed Someone". --Don Harrison
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band
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Revolver
Revolver
Revolver wouldn't remain the Beatles' most ambitious LP for long, but many fans-
Before Sgt. Pepper's, no one seriously thought of rock music as actual art. That
all changed in 1967, though, when John, Paul, George and Ringo (with "A Little Help"
from their friend, producer George Martin) created an undeniable work of art which
remains, after 3-plus decades, one of the most influential albums of all time. From
Lennon's evocative word/sound pictures (the trippy "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds",
the carnival-like "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite") and McCartney's music hall-styled
"When I'm 64", to Harrison's Eastern-leaning "Within You Without You", and the avant-garde
mini-suite, "A Day in the Life", Sgt. Pepper's was a milestone for both 1960s music
and popular culture in general. --Billy Altman
The Beatles
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The Beatles.
The White Album was meant to be the record that brought the Beatles back to earth
after three years of studio experimentation. Instead, it took them all over the place,
continuing to burst the envelope of pop music. Lennon and McCartney were still at
the height of their songwriting powers, with Lennon in particular growing into one
of music's towering figures. But even McCartney could still rock, and the amazement
on "Helter Skelter" was that he had vocal cords at the end. From Beach Boys knock-offs
to reggae and to the unknown ("Revolution #9"), this has it all. Some records have
"legend" written all over them; this is one. --Chris Nickson
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Yellow Submarine
Yellow Submarine
To the horror of their most obsessive fans, the surviving Beatles have proven more
than willing to tamper with their pop legacy, as witnessed by the various facets
of their massive, occasionally myopic mid-
Beatles 1962 - 1966
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1962-
The Beatles' original 1973 compilation 1962-
This superb compilation, often called "the red album", brings together the majority
of the Beatles' hits from the early to mid 60s. Consequently, it plays like an overview
of some of the most popular and indelible rock songs of all time. From the "yeah,
yeah, yeah"'s of "She Loves You" through the amped-
1967-1970 (The Blue Album)
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The companion piece to the 1962-1966 singles compilation, this set (often called
"the blue album"), as opposed to its chronological predecessor "the red album"),
brings together the Beatles best known songs from 1967 through 1970. The Beatles
were fiercely, relentlessly experimental during these years, and the swirling, visionary
soundscapes of "Strawberry Fields Forever", which opens the collection, sets the
tone with its effects-heavy production and backward tape loops. John Lennon's psychedelic
songwriting, which emphasised crystalline melodies and surreal wordplay, can be heard
on tracks like "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" and "Across the Universe".
Paul McCartney's
fascination with English music hall and novelty numbers is clear on "Penny Lane"
and "Ob-la-Di, Ob-la-Da", and the set also has some of his finest ballads, including
the mega-hits "Let It Be" and "Hey Jude". George Harrison emerged as a fine songwriting
talent during these years with "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun". Yet despite
evidence of their diverging individual directions, the Beatles still rock as a band
on cuts like "Revolution". (The set includes the single versions of "Revolution",
"Lady Madonna", and "Hey Jude"). The Beatles set the tenor of the late-'60s with
this spectacular soundtrack, and it remains--even after years of overplaying--original,
beautiful music.
Paul McCartney's fascination with English music hall and novelty numbers is clear on "Penny Lane" and "Ob-
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Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring the Beatles [DVD]
Book - The Beatles: The Authorised Biography
Nearly 50 years after the historic live performances of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, those legendary appearances are now all yours to own on DVD.
This digitally remastered two disc edition runs to over four hours, complete with all 15 songs performed by the band over the four appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, including: "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "Help" and "Yesterday" and available to view with a brand new 5.1 surround soundtrack and carefully restored video.
There’s only one book that ever truly got inside the Beatles and this is it. The landmark, worldwide bestseller that has grown with the Beatles ever since. During 1967 and 1968 Hunter Davies spent eighteen months with the Beatles at the peak of their powers as they defined a generation and rewrote popular music. As their only ever authorised biographer he had unparalleled access – not just to John, Paul, George and Ringo but to friends, family and colleagues. There when it mattered, he collected a wealth of intimate and revealing material that still makes this the classic Beatles book – the one all other biographers look to. Hunter Davies remained close with the band and as such has had access to more information over the years. This 40th anniversary edition contains new material which has never been revealed before, from the author's archives and from the Beatles themselves, that will bring new insights to their legend.
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