Please Please Me
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
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
Reviews
It All Started Here
Review date: 2010-04-24 Rating: 6 out of 10
The Beatles are a group like no other. They matured as a group from teen pop to progressive and they took a large part of a generation with them on the ride. Nor is their influence limited just to that generation, as the echoes of their greatness still resound today. "Please Please Me" is the album that took them from obscurity to a UK sensation, and paved the way for their global success. Originally released on March 22nd, 1963, in Mono (April 26, 1963 for the stereo version), the album featured 14 tracks, 10 of which were recorded on February 11th, and the remaining four were recorded at other times. The version I am reviewing is the digitally remastered version of the stereo release of the album
The album opens with "I Saw Her Standing There", one of eight McCartney-Lennon pieces on the album. Paul is the lead vocalist, and the song is from take 1 of the session on February 11th, while the count-in from take 9. George Martin wanted to capture a life feeling, and it sets the tone for the entire album. Next is "Misery" (McCartney-Lennon) with Paul and John sharing the vocals. This song was written for Helen Shapiro, but she turned it down, it was the first song to be covered by another artist as Kenny Lynch recorded it just days after The Beatles recorded it, and released it as a single before "Please Please Me" was released. This song is the first to have George Martin play on it as he added the piano. "Anna (Go To Him)" (Arthur Alexander) is next and features John on vocals, it is the first of the non McCartney-Lennon compositions on the album.
Up next is "Chains" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) is the first of two songs to feature George Harrison on vocals. "Boys" (Luther Dixon, Wes Farrell) is the only song to feature Ringo on lead vocals. It is an odd choice since the lyric is intended for a female to sing, but Ringo pulls it off. "Ask Me Why" is a return to the McCartney-Lennon compositions, with John on lead vocals. The song had been recorded as early as June 6th of 1962, but this take is from November 26th of the same year. It was the B-Side of their second single, "Please Please Me" which is the last song on the first half of this album and was recorded on the same day.
The second half of the album opens with two mono tracks, even on the stereo version of the album. "Love Me Do" starts it off, their first single. This version is the one with Andy White on drums and Ringo playing tambourine. John and Paul share the lead vocals on this one. The second track is the B-Side, "P.S. I Love You", which once again has Andy White on drums and Ringo on maracas this time. Paul has the lead vocals on this track. These two tracks were recorded on September 11th of 1962. "Baby It's You" with John on vocals is next. It is a cover of a song written by Burt Bacharach (music), and Barney Williams (a.k.a. Luther Dixon) and Hal David (lyrics). This is the second song that The Beatles included which was done previously by The Shirelles. George Martin plays Celesta on this track. Next up is "Do You Want to Know a Secret", the second song that George handles the vocals.
"A Taste of Honey" (Bobby Scott, Ric Marlow) was originally an instrumental piece, but had vocals added when Lenny Welch recorded it a few months before The Beatles did. Paul handles the lead vocals on the track. "There's A Place" is the final McCartney-Lennon piece on the album with John and Paul sharing the vocals. The album closes with "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Russell), a song on which John excels and pushes his vocals to the extreme. This CD also includes a short documentary about the making of the album. It is a nice add-on, but I would rather have had the stereo and mono tracks on a single CD.
There is no doubt that this album is historic, and important to the legacy of the group for all the firsts which are included on it. But when it comes to rating the album I think one has to look at it on its own. The songs are a bit dated, though not nearly as bad as other songs from the era, so I would say that the album has aged gracefully. Still, overall it is a fairly standard pop album. There is no experimentation in the studio on this one, and the songs are all less than three minutes in length. Nor is this even the best pop album from The Beatles, and if this album were the only one from the group, it would not have been remembered the way it has been. Taking everything into account, I would say that this is an above average pop album, but not enough above average to justify four stars, and when rating albums by The Beatles, this one is closer to the bottom than the top.
An exciting beginning...
Review date: 2010-03-24 Rating: 10 out of 10
During a time when albums were bought for one or two tracks and the rest were fillers, when the same song would occupy the chart by several artists, when singers tended to perform a core pack of existing material rather than new stuff - a bunch of scousers entered the scene and started to do something exciting - write their own songs.
George Martin initially wanted to record them performing live at the Cavern but time limitations meant they recorded it at the studio instead - he still managed to get the live sound though. That means that there's a rough edge to this quickly recorded album and listening to it gives you a sense of what it must have been like to have experienced them live in Liverpool or Hamburg.
Lennon was full of cold and McCartney sounds a bit nervous at times, like all rock and roll bands they were there to hit the big time but they had no way of knowing how important they'd become. Although Lennon had the throat-busting `Twist And Shout', McCartney was the rocker and he lets us know with the very first track (`I Saw Her Standing There') and it's a Lennon/McCartney original.
It's probably worth nothing that some of the songs which feature John Lennon as lead vocalist (and therefore were probably written primarily by him) seem to feature elements of darkness and self doubt; `There's A Place' tells of how he escapes into his own head when he's feeling low and the title of `Misery' speaks for itself. This is a common theme throughout the Beatles' recording history, as is McCartney's tendency to record more upbeat numbers.
Over half of the tracks on this album are Lennon/McCartney songs and although some aren't as strong (P.S, I Love You), most have remained fresh and are rightly regarded as solid contributions to modern music.
In a nutshell: This album created a buzz and when you consider how the music scene had started to be stimulated by the likes of Elvis over the pond, The Beatles threw something new into the mix and the worlds first supergroup was born. It wasn't through hype, it wasn't through slick PR - it was because of some of the greatest song writing of all time and the energy of four guys who had the personalities to perform them.
Beatles and rock 'n' roll personified
Review date: 2010-03-11 Rating: 10 out of 10
There is little to add to what has been said about this album over the almost 50 years since it was released except perhaps to say - it's as good today when I am in my swinging sixties as it was when I first heard it as a member of the Swinging Sixties!
THE BEGINNINGS OF BEATLEMANIA - REMASTERED IN STEREO
Review date: 2010-02-19 Rating: 8 out of 10
I have previously reviewed the 1987 CD version of this album and I still think this is an enjoyable release. This is where Beatlemania really all begins. The remaster in stereo is quite a pleasant surprise for the most part as I'm now hearing elemments otherwise buried in the mix or previously unnoticed by myself. I particularly refer to the subtle echo on some tracks, Ringo's hard & intricate drumming especially on the title track, Paul's bass playing & George's guitar playing such as on the dynamic opener "I Saw Her Standing There", Do You Want To Know A Secret" and "Anna (Go To Him)". John's harmonica is also prominent throughout the album and would be a feature of their recordings for another year or so until "A Hard Day's Night". You can hear John really tear shreds off his voice on "Twist & Shout", a legendary one take wonder. The stereo sound is brighter and has more oomph. I haven't properly compared it with the excellent mono remaster yet but the sound quality of both leaves the 1987 version for dead even allowing for that also being in mono..and I was one that quite enjoyed the '87 CD's at the time.
This album was recorded in 2 track so the stereo image is mostly instruments left, vocals & some harmonica right or vice versa however the sound is still widened enough to not make it sound too odd though for younger listeners it may take some getting used to. I listened to it on headphones so that left/right thing is really more emphahsised. However I have the original stereo LP of Please Please Me so I sort of knew what to expect. Those that expect a "more dynamic" stereo image don't take into account the 2-track technology it was recorded on at the time (1963) so I don't really see a possible 5.1 Mix of this or it's fellow 2-track followup "With The Beatles" as being really anything to look forward to.
It should be noted that the remade "Love Me Do" & it's B-side "P.S. I Love You" are in mono on this CD. This is explained in the booklet and the reason given is that the original 2-track masters were wiped and those tracks were released in "fake stereo" at the time of the original stereo LP release, however this practice was ceased much later on. The change to mono for those 2 tracks does come as a slight shock & it sort of jars the flow of the album a little though it's more evident listening through headphones.
The packaging is excellent and a lot more satisfying than it's 1987 counterpart. I love the replica "Gold & Black Parlophone" label on both Stereo & Mono discs for their "historical accuracy" but then I'm a bit geeky that way...lol
Overall this 2009 remastered version is an enjoyable experience and one that will will have me listening more closely than before.
Product Details/Specifications
Artist(s):
The Beatles
Recording label: EMI
Manufacturer: EMI
EAN: 0094638241621
Binding: Audio CD
Format: Original recording remastered,
Release date: 2009-09-09
Universal product code (UPC): 094638241621
Number of discs: 1
Disc 1 Tracks:
1. I Saw Her Standing There
2. Misery
3. Anna (Go To Him)
4. Chains
5. Boys
6. Ask Me Why
7. Please Please Me
8. Love Me Do
9. PS I Love You
10. Baby It's You
11. Do You Want To Know A Secret
12. Taste Of Honey, A
13. There's A Place
14. Twist And Shout
15. Please Please Me Documentary
Publishers: EMI
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