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Post by lonelysummer on Nov 9, 2022 19:40:52 GMT
Meet the Beatles: Best - "I Want to Hold Your Hand" - With "This Boy", "All I've Got To Do", and "All My Loving" up next. Worst - "Hold Me Tight" - Probably the only amateurish sounding vocals the Beatles ever released. If it weren't for that, I'd probably have gone with "Don't Bother Me". Either way, I like 'em both. Love everything else. "Hold Me Tight" is up there with "Do You Want to Know a Secret" as my least favorite Beatles vocals. Which leads me to the next album? Or is it? I'm confused about when the Vee-Jay album was actually released here in the USA - and then deleted and replaced with The Early Beatles on Capitol, and eventually, Please Please Me. Love Me Do Twist and Shout Anna Chains Boys Ask Me Why Please Please Me P.S. I Love You Baby It's You Taste of Honey Do You Want to Know a Secret and the two left off the Capitol version, Misery and There's a Place. I Saw Her Standing There was already used on Meet the Beatles.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 9, 2022 19:55:17 GMT
Best: "Please Please Me."
This is one of those (many) early Beatles tunes I was talking about before, where despite it being nothing but the basic rock instruments (plus harmonica), it feels like a bigger arrangement because of those great little things they did. Like Ringo's flourishes in the "come on, come on" part, for example, or the verse harmonies (where one is just the one note!), or the guitar parts between lines in the verses. Such excitement packed into the performance/recording, too.
Worst: "A Taste of Honey." I just don't care for the song.
"There's a Place" was left off? Where did that end up on American albums? I love that song, too.
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Post by kds on Nov 9, 2022 20:38:34 GMT
Best - Also going Please Please Me, for many of the same reasons as Kap
Worst - Taste of Honey - There's not a song here that I dislike. In fact, with very few exceptions, I can say that about the entire catalog, but it's probably my least favorite.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 9, 2022 22:25:50 GMT
Which leads me to the next album? Or is it? I'm confused about when the Vee-Jay album was actually released here in the USA - and then deleted and replaced with The Early Beatles on Capitol, and eventually, Please Please Me. Love Me Do Twist and Shout Anna Chains Boys Ask Me Why Please Please Me P.S. I Love You Baby It's You Taste of Honey Do You Want to Know a Secret and the two left off the Capitol version, Misery and There's a Place. I Saw Her Standing There was already used on Meet the Beatles. So, we are currently voting on the 1965 Capitol album, The Early Beatles (per the tracklist above), along with the two tracks left off, "Misery" and "There's A Place" (which weren't released until Rarities in 1980)? Boy, can I say, what screwed up sequencing! I'm starting to think Beach Boys fans weren't so far off in their endless criticisms of Capitol Records. It really does look like they just picked out of a hat or something. And it's not like the UK albums didn't exist to help them along. Anyway... Vee-Jay's Introducing the Beatles was released before Meet the Beatles. The sequencing was identical to Please Please Me except "Please Please Me" and "Ask Me Why" were omitted (Vee-Jay released them as a single). Although, almost immediately after release, for legal reasons, they had to remove "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You", so "Please Please Me" and "Ask Me Why" were reinstated. So, although Capitol failed to release "Misery" and "There's A Place" until 1980, at least they were available on the million-seller Introducing the Beatles.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 9, 2022 22:31:54 GMT
I'm having a hard time following this, I must be dense. Basically I'm just picking based on whatever songs lonelysummer lists!
But yeah, the alternate track listings, release dates, etc., were absurd.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 9, 2022 23:33:00 GMT
I'm having a hard time following this, I must be dense. Basically I'm just picking based on whatever songs lonelysummer lists!
But yeah, the alternate track listings, release dates, etc., were absurd.
Oh, it's hard to follow! To make matters worse, I pulled my LP of Introducing the Beatles off the shelf (I had inherited it, like much of my vinyl collection) and then proceeded to entertain the idea that I might have an authentic stereo copy of the first version. As I struggled to research online, I started to feel like I'd been down this road before. In fact, I'm sure I have, but it was many years ago. Finally, I found a website that set me straight. I've got a counterfeit! Not a $7,000 rarity. (Shocker.) This stuff will make your head spin... www.rarebeatles.com/photospg/introvj.htm
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Post by B.E. on Nov 10, 2022 0:36:09 GMT
Best - "Twist and Shout" - Boy, this is tough. Could have gone with "Please Please Me" or, even, "Baby It's You" for entirely different reasons. There's no denying how iconic this one is, though. And even after all these years, it's still got that magic!
Worst - "A Taste Of Honey" - Easy choice. But I'm glad they included it. They had such diverse influences, and abilities, but only so much room on a studio album. It's cool to hear them stretching out, stylistically. They could do it all! And I think it's cool to hear them do stuff that they performed pre-Beatlemania.
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Post by lonelysummer on Nov 10, 2022 3:46:19 GMT
It's too bad they were only given one day to complete the first (in the UK) album (some accounts say they recorded it in 20 minutes). John and George were suffering from head colds, and it hinders their performancees on Anna, Baby It's You and especially Do You Want to Know a Secret. There are better recordings of those songs on the BBC albums. DYWTKAS is the one I like least, because our local oldies stations play it all the time. It's not a great song to begin with. John's ragged voice actually enhances Twist and Shout.
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Post by lonelysummer on Nov 12, 2022 9:08:04 GMT
Well, this thread has died down, so I'll move on to The Beatles' Second Album.
Roll Over Beethoven Thank You, Girl You Really Got a Hold On Me Devil in Her Heart Money You Can't Do That Long Tall Sally I Call Your Name Please Mister Postman I'll Get You She Loves You
This one is heavy on covers, with only one big hit - the closing track. And that probably is the BEST song on the album, but my personal favorite is either Thank You Girl or I Call Your Name. Least favorite? There aren't any I dislike; probably my least favorite is Please Mister Postman. Or Devil in Her Heart.
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Post by jk on Nov 12, 2022 11:36:40 GMT
Most memorable? I think I'd choose their take on "You Really Got A Hold On Me", which I heard first and (therefore?) prefer to the original.
Definitely least memorable: "Roll Over Beethoven", one of the worst Chuck B covers by a name act.
"Please Mr. Postman" is a great cover too, but I prefer the original, which I bought in 1961. Still, I appreciate that John sings "Deliver ze letter, ze sooner ze better", which inexplicably got changed in a later version by The Marvelettes. Has anyone else noticed how closely John's throaty delivery resembles that of their lead singer Gladys Horton? His voice was perfect for this song!
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Post by B.E. on Nov 12, 2022 15:11:12 GMT
Best - "She Loves You" - But I could just as easily go with "You Really Got A Hold On Me". By the way, combine that with the other With the Beatles covers ("Please Mister Postman" and "Money") and "Long Tall Sally" and you've got, arguably, their best covers all in one place - heck, some of the best covers ever recorded by anyone!
Worst - "Roll Over Beethoven" - I considered "Thank You Girl", but I suppose that one's just more interesting. "Roll Over Beethoven" suffers from a lack of backing vocals.
As for Capitol's work here, that is a TERRIBLE album title. Not only the epitome of unimaginative but devoid of the most basic, rudimentary arithmetic. Then there's the sequencing - how do you not open with "She Loves You" and close with "Money"? Not only that but they manage to kick things off with, arguably, the two weakest tracks.
Worth noting - the US album used the stereo mix of "Thank You Girl" which includes extra harmonica overdubs. I like those extra lines. It's really too bad they weren't on the mono version.
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Post by kds on Nov 12, 2022 16:11:33 GMT
Best - She Loves You. Classic.
Worst - Thank You Girl. I like it, but its another one of those early tracks I almost never listen to.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 12, 2022 16:27:00 GMT
The Beatles' Second Album:
BEST SONG - "She Loves You"...not many Beatles' songs are better than this one. In some ways, it IS The Beatles from that first phase.
WORST SONG: "Devil In Her Heart"...it's not a bad song, but I think it's a step down from the rest on the album.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 12, 2022 16:35:54 GMT
I've got a soft spot for "Devil In Her Heart". Above all, I probably just find it really charming. But it's a catchy tune, with a nice band performance, and I really like George's youthful lead and the robust backing vocals from John and Paul. (That said, I acknowledge it is probably closer to the bottom than the top of the tracks here.)
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Post by lonelysummer on Nov 13, 2022 3:50:43 GMT
I've got a soft spot for "Devil In Her Heart". Above all, I probably just find it really charming. But it's a catchy tune, with a nice band performance, and I really like George's youthful lead and the robust backing vocals from John and Paul. (That said, I acknowledge it is probably closer to the bottom than the top of the tracks here.) The thing that stands out on this song for me is George's guitar playing. The intro to the song is the highlight for me. And now I always think of the BBC version that was included on the Baby It's You EP in 1995 - the guys mess up the word's several times.
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