My plan to listen to the entire catalogue of The Beatles will be slightly more complicated than just listening to their studio albums. The Beatles also released a lot of non-album singles. I'm going to break the singles and albums into groups and listen to them in blocks as if they were one continuous release. This may not be accurate, but the way I'm breaking it up at the very least the songs are part of a similar recording period. The first block starts with the Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You single, then the Please Please Me Album, finishing with the From Me To You/Thank You Girl single.
The original single release of "Love Me Do" is slightly different from the album version. For some reason back in the day it was standard practice for the band's drummer to be replaced by a studio drummer who understood the "studio system." To me it just sounds like another asshole-ish way for the producers to impose their control over a band. So basically for "Love Me Do" The Beatles recorded one version with Ringo Starr, then were called back a week later to re-record it with a "proper" studio drummer (Andy White) to ensure a recording fit for their debut single. In the end the single was released using the Ringo version anyway, so I guess it was a dumb idea. The Andy White version was used on the Please Please Me album. The remarkable thing is how similar the two versions sound. The best way to tell if you're listening to the Ringo version or the Andy White version is on the White version Ringo played tamborine.
(UPDATE: I've since read that the real reason Andy White was hired was because Ringo did a terrible job playing drums on the first recording of "Please Please Me" which was going to be the B-side for "Love Me Do". At the time EMI management didn't trust The Beatles and their producer to choose a third drummer after replacing Pete Best with Ringo, so they used someone they knew could get the job done. What I originally wrote is the most popular story of how White wound up drumming on "Love Me Do", so I decided to keep it in this review.)
Anyway, "Love Me Do" is a catchy song with a decent hook, a blaring harmonica over a slow-shuffle beat. Lennon and McCartney show off their fantastic harmonizing. Maybe it's a bit early to blast The Beatles, but does anyone else think these lyrics are kinda terrible? It pretty much just loops over and over again the nonsensicle title line, which makes the song kinda drag despite only being about two and a half minutes long. Oh well, it's an early Beatles tune so I'll give them a pass.
I must say though the B-side is quite awful. I know B-sides are supposed to be throw-ins , but I guess I expected more from The Beatles debut record. "Love Me Do" had some nice boppy energy to it. "PS I Love You" was a real drag.
Now for the Please Please Me album. Thankfully it starts off with one of my favorite Beatles tunes, "I Saw Her Standing There". It has a nice chunky riff, suggestive lyrics, and a cool twist on the 12-bar blues rock standard. The song relies on both subtle-complex harmonies and Lennon and McCartney belting out pretty solid lyrics.
I remember someone saying at one point that the amazing thing about The Beatles is their albums contain no filler, as if every song was expertly crafted and performed. Whoever said that probably hadn't heard Please Please Me all the way through in some time. Or that guy was something of a Beatles fan. There's nothing really wrong with this album, it's just not all that great either. Aside from "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Love Me Do," which was already released as a single, there's "Twist and Shout" and a bunch of relatively listless tunes. I particularly hate their cover of "A Taste of Honey", but that's not fair because I kinda hate that song anyway.
If you love The Beatles I'm sure you've already heard this album. If you like a few Beatles tunes you probably already know the good stuff on this album and don't need to hear the rest. If you don't like the Beatles I can't imagine anything on this album will change your mind. Though "I Saw Her Standing There" is a great song whether you like The Beatles or not.
Finally, the From Me To You/Thank You Girl Single. I have to wonder why only a couple weeks after releasing Please Please Me it was decided to release these songs on their own. I like "From Me To You", but "Thank You Girl" is standard throw-in fair.
Overall this is a decent collection of songs, but it is a bit strange thinking this was enough to drive everyone nuts in the mid 60s. It's not a bad debut, but with the kind of legend that surrounds The Beatles today I'd expect more punch out of the gate. 3 stars.
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