The Early Beatles

Last updated

The Early Beatles
TheEarlyBeatlesalbumcover.jpg
Compilation album by
the Beatles
Released22 March 1965
Recorded4 September 1962 –20 February 1963
Studio EMI, London
Genre Rock and roll
Length26:26
Label Capitol
Producer George Martin
Compiler Dave Dexter Jr.
The Beatles North American chronology
Beatles '65
(1964)		The Early Beatles
(1965)		 Beatles VI
(1965)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Rolling Stone Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]

The Early Beatles is the Beatles' sixth album released on Capitol Records, and their eighth album overall for the American market. All eleven tracks on this album were previously issued on the Vee-Jay Records release Introducing... The Beatles , released in January, 1964. The front cover photo for this album features the same back cover photo for the British LP Beatles for Sale .

Contents

The album is included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981). [4]

Background

Vee-Jay Records had gained American distribution rights to the tracks on this album before the group became popular in America (because Capitol Records, the US subsidiary of EMI which owned the Beatles' record label Parlophone, had declined to release the group's records in America), and their releases had initially failed to chart. But after the group became famous, Vee-Jay, still holding the rights to the early material, was able to reissue them in America and this time the records sold in the millions. Capitol filed a lawsuit attempting to stop Vee Jay from distributing the tracks, but was unsuccessful. In October 1964, Vee-Jay's license to distribute the Beatles recordings it possessed expired, thus giving Capitol the distribution rights for the tracks on the album.

Release and reception

Although Vee-Jay (and subsidiary, Tollie Records) had compiled four albums, ten singles and one EP in the space of just fifteen months from these Beatles tracks, when issued by Capitol, The Early Beatles sold well, but its highest position on the Billboard chart was only number 43, making it the only original Beatles album issued by Capitol or United Artists Records not to reach numbers 1 or 2 in America (with the exception of the Capitol documentary album, The Beatles' Story, which peaked at number 7). Capitol did little to promote The Early Beatles since the label merely viewed it as a replacement for Introducing...The Beatles, rather than a "new" Beatles album. The Early Beatles was certified Gold ($1 million in sales) on 8 January 1974 and Platinum (1 million copies sold) on 10 January 1997 by the RIAA. [5] The album was released in both mono and stereo versions. As no stereo masters of "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" exist, Capitol used duophonic mixes of both songs. The mono pressing of the album was made with a two-to-one fold-down of the stereo tapes, as evidenced by John and Paul's vocal collision and chuckle heard in the third verse of "Please Please Me". The original mix on the UK mono issue of the Please Please Me album uses an edit to correct the mistake, while the stereo version of the same album does not. So the existence of the vocal error in a mono mix is unique to The Early Beatles as well as a short-lived Capitol Starline 45 rpm single released in October, 1965 and deleted only two months later.

Compact disc

The Early Beatles is available on compact disc as part of The Capitol Albums, Volume 2 boxed set (catalogue number CDP 0946 3 57498 2 3), in both its original stereo and mono fold-down Capitol mixes. In 2014, a second CD version of The Early Beatles containing the 2009 remastered UK stereo and mono mixes, was issued individually and as part of the Beatles The U.S. Albums boxed set.

Personnel

Track listing

The album consists of eleven of the fourteen tracks from the Beatles' first American album Introducing...The Beatles as well as their first British LP Please Please Me . All songs written by Lennon-McCartney except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Love Me Do"2:23
2."Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley and Bert Russell)2:33
3."Anna (Go to Him)" (Arthur Alexander)3:00
4."Chains" (Gerry Goffin and Carole King)2:27
5."Boys" (Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell)2:25
6."Ask Me Why"2:28
Total length:15:16
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Please Please Me"2:00
2."P.S. I Love You"2:05
3."Baby It's You" (Burt Bacharach, Mack David, and Luther Dixon, credited as Barney Williams)"2:38
4."A Taste of Honey" (Ric Marlow and Bobby Scott)"2:04
5."Do You Want to Know a Secret"1:59
Total length:10:46

Remaining Vee-Jay tracks issued on LP by Capitol in the US

TitleSingleAlbum
"I Saw Her Standing There"Capitol 5112–1964
(released prior to The Early Beatles)		 Meet the Beatles! —1964
(released prior to The Early Beatles)
"Thank You Girl"Capitol Starline 6064–1965 The Beatles' Second Album —1964
(released prior to The Early Beatles)
"From Me to You"Capitol Starline 6063–1965 1962–1966 —1973
"Misery"Capitol Starline 6066–1965 Rarities —1980
"There's a Place"Capitol Starline 6061–1965 Rarities —1980

Charts and certifications

Notes

  1. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1511
  2. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
  3. ↑ Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (Editors). The Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1st edition, Random House/Rolling Stone Press, 1979, p. 26.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   0899190251 . Retrieved 16 March 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  5. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  6. ↑ Whitburn 2010 , p. 64.
  7. ↑ "The Beatles Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – The Beatles – The Early Beatles". Music Canada . Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "American album certifications – Beatles, The – The Early Beatles". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 15 September 2013.

Related Research Articles

<i>Please Please Me</i> 1963 studio album by the Beatles

Please Please Me is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released in the UK on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963. The album's 14 tracks include cover songs and original material written by the partnership of band members John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

<i>With the Beatles</i> 1963 studio album by the Beatles

With the Beatles is the second studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, eight months after the release of the band's debut album, Please Please Me. Produced by George Martin, the album features eight original compositions and six covers. The sessions also yielded the non-album single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" backed by "This Boy". The cover photograph was taken by the fashion photographer Robert Freeman and has since been mimicked by several music groups. A different cover was used for the Australian release of the album, which the Beatles were displeased with.

<i>A Hard Days Night</i> (album) 1964 studio album by the Beatles

A Hard Day's Night is the third studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 10 July 1964 by Parlophone, with side one containing songs from the soundtrack to their film of the same name. The American version of the album was released two weeks earlier, on 26 June 1964 by United Artists Records, with a different track listing including some from George Martin's film score. Unlike their first two albums, all 13 tracks on A Hard Day's Night were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

<i>Help!</i> 1965 studio album by The Beatles

Help! is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965 by Parlophone. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride", appeared in the film and take up the first side of the vinyl album. The second side includes "Yesterday", the most-covered song ever written. The album was met with favourable critical reviews and topped the Australian, German, British and American charts.

<i>Hey Jude</i> (Beatles album) 1970 compilation album by the Beatles

Hey Jude is a 1970 collection of non-album singles and B-sides by the Beatles. Originally released in the United States and various other markets, but not in the United Kingdom, it consists of non-album singles and B-sides not previously issued on an American Beatles LP; this includes "I Should Have Known Better" and "Can't Buy Me Love", two singles released by Capitol Records whose only previous American album appearance had been on the A Hard Day's Night soundtrack album, which had been released by United Artists Records. The Hey Jude LP has been out of print since the late 1980s, although it remained available on cassette during the 1990s. The album was issued on CD for the first time in 2014, as an individual release and in a box set titled The U.S. Albums. It is named after the Beatles' longest-running No. 1 single "Hey Jude", itself the seventh track of the compilation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">From Me to You</span> 1963 single by the Beatles

"From Me to You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in April 1963 as their third single. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The song was the Beatles' first number 1 hit on what became the official UK singles chart but the second, after "Please Please Me", on most of the other singles charts published in the UK at the time. "From Me to You" failed to make an impact in the United States at the time of its initial release. Instead, a 1963 cover version released by Del Shannon resulted in the song's becoming the first Lennon–McCartney track to enter the US pop charts. The Beatles' original was re-released in the US in January 1964 as the B-side to "Please Please Me", and reached number 41.

<i>Meet the Beatles!</i> 1964 studio album by the Beatles

Meet the Beatles! is a studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released as their second album in the United States. It was the group's first American album to be issued by Capitol Records, on 20 January 1964 in both mono and stereo formats. It topped the popular album chart on 15 February 1964 and remained at number one for eleven weeks before being replaced by The Beatles' Second Album. The cover featured Robert Freeman's iconic portrait of the Beatles used in the United Kingdom for With the Beatles, with a blue tint added to the original stark black-and-white photograph.

<i>The Beatles Second Album</i> 1964 studio album by the Beatles

The Beatles' Second Album is the second Capitol Records album by the English rock band the Beatles, and their third album released in the United States including Introducing... The Beatles, which was issued three months earlier by Vee-Jay Records. Following its release in April 1964, The Beatles' Second Album replaced Meet the Beatles! at number 1 on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the US. The album was compiled mostly from leftover tracks from the UK album With the Beatles and the forthcoming UK Long Tall Sally EP, which are predominantly rock and roll and R&B covers, and rounded out with several Lennon-McCartney-penned non-album b-sides and the hit single "She Loves You". Among critics, it is considered the band's purest rock and roll album and praised for its soulful takes on both contemporary black music hits and original material.

<i>Something New</i> (Beatles album) 1964 studio album by the Beatles

Something New is an album by English rock band the Beatles, released in 1964 for the North American market only.

<i>Beatles VI</i> 1965 studio album by the Beatles

Beatles VI is the seventh Capitol Records studio album by the English rock band the Beatles in the United States and Canada. It was the ninth album released into that market in less than one and a half years. The LP was released in both mono and stereo versions.

<i>Introducing... The Beatles</i> 1964 studio album by the Beatles

Introducing... The Beatles is the first studio album released by the English rock band the Beatles in the United States. Originally scheduled for a July 1963 release, the LP came out on 10 January 1964, on Vee-Jay Records, ten days before Capitol's Meet the Beatles! The latter album, however, entered the U.S. album chart one week before the former. Consequently, when Meet The Beatles! peaked at No. 1 for eleven consecutive weeks, Introducing...The Beatles stalled at No. 2 where it remained for nine consecutive weeks. It was the subject of much legal wrangling, but ultimately, Vee-Jay was permitted to sell the album until late 1964, by which time it had sold more than 1.3 million copies. On 24 July 2014 the album was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA.

<i>Long Tall Sally</i> (EP) 1964 EP by the Beatles

Long Tall Sally is the fifth UK EP release by British rock band the Beatles and the band's first UK EP to include songs not previously released on an album or single in the United Kingdom. It was released by Parlophone in mono, with the catalogue number GEP 8913, and released in the United Kingdom on 19 June 1964. It was also released in Spain and France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thank You Girl</span> 1963 single by the Beatles

"Thank You Girl" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It was issued as the B-side of the single "From Me to You", which was recorded on the same day. While not released on an LP in the United Kingdom until Rarities in 1978, the song was the second track on The Beatles' Second Album in the United States. As the B-side of the single "Do You Want to Know a Secret", it hit No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Please Please Me (song)</span> 1963 song by the Beatles

"Please Please Me" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was their second single in the United Kingdom, and their first in the United States. It is also the title track of their first LP, which was recorded to capitalise on the success of the single. It is a John Lennon composition, although its ultimate form was significantly influenced by producer George Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">If I Fell</span> 1964 single by the Beatles

"If I Fell" is a song by English rock band the Beatles which first appeared in 1964 on the album A Hard Day's Night in the United Kingdom and United States, and on the North American album Something New. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. "That's my first attempt at a ballad proper. ... It shows that I wrote sentimental love ballads way back when", Lennon stated in his 1980 Playboy interview. Paul McCartney stated that he contributed to the song: "We wrote 'If I Fell' together."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">And I Love Her</span> 1964 single by the Beatles

"And I Love Her" is a song recorded by English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It is the fifth track of their third UK album A Hard Day's Night and was released 20 July 1964, along with "If I Fell", as a single release by Capitol Records in the United States, reaching No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Saw Her Standing There</span> 1963 single by the Beatles

"I Saw Her Standing There" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It is the opening track on the band's 1963 debut UK album Please Please Me and their debut US album Introducing... The Beatles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ask Me Why</span> 1963 single by the Beatles

"Ask Me Why" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles originally released in the United Kingdom as the B-side of their single "Please Please Me". It was also included on their 1963 debut album Please Please Me. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">There's a Place</span> 1963 song by the Beatles

"There's a Place" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their debut album, Please Please Me, released in March 1963. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to McCartney–Lennon. In the United States, the song was released in July 1963 on the group's first US LP, Introducing... The Beatles, later reissued in January 1964 as Beatlemania surged there. It was also issued as a non-album single in the US, in March 1964, as the B-side to "Twist and Shout", reaching number 74 in the Billboard Hot 100.

Rarities is the name of two separate and unrelated compilation albums by the English rock band the Beatles. The first was released in the United Kingdom in December 1978, while the second album was issued in the United States in March 1980.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.