Beatles' Records' Reviews

Please Please Me

The Beatles first LP. Nice and cute, contains songs such as Twist & Shout, Do you want to know a secret and, of course, Please Please me. Worth buying.

With the Beatles

Also a nice and cute record. Contains George Harrison's debut as a songwriter, Don't Bother me.

A Hard Day's Night

Contains the soundtrack of the film plus 6 more songs. A very good record, it is also the first one to feature only songs written by the Beatles themselves-none by other artists.

Beatles for Sale

A sweet record, the second the Beatles made in 1964. Nice to listen to.

Help!

Contains the film soundtrack plus 7 more songs. A very good record in my opinion. Yesterday is on this LP.

Rubber Soul

As time went by, the Beatles progressed more and more. Rubber Soul contains Norwegian Wood, the first Beatles song to feature a sitar-more songs would soon follow.

Revolver

A very important record in the Beatles' career. Contains one of the Beatles most progressive songs, Tomorrow never knows, backward melodies and is proof of the Beatles' rapid progress throughout the years. It led the way to Sgt.Pepper's.

Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

What can I say about this record- you probably have already heard that it was a major landmark in the Beatles career, that it revolutionized the role of the album in pop/rock music-and music itself-, that it was the most innovative record of it's time... All this is true, I just want to add that this was one of the Beatles' best records and a must-buy for every fan. Buy it, listen to it and bear in mind that this was only 4 years after She Loves You.

Magical Mystery Tour

Though the TV film Magical Mystery Tour wasn't a great success, the record Magical Mystery Tour (in a way its soundtrack) certainly was. It was released as a double EP in England as as an LP in America. The CD version is like the LP, which is the double EP plus four songs from Beatles' singles: Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane, All you Need is Love and Baby You're a Rich Man. A very good collection of songs either way.

The Beatles

During the recording of the Beatles' so-called White Album, the Beatles were pretty near the point of break-up (although that didn't happen until 1970), so this record is a quite different from the usual Beatles' records-more like 4 solo albums in one than a record made by the Beatles as a group. Nevetheless it is a good record which is enjoyable to listen to. Available in 2 editions, the classic 2CD edition and the limited 30th anniversary edition which is an exact miniature of the original LP. I recommend buying the second one if you find it, unless you already have the first one.

Abbey Road

Although the Beatles' break-up was close, the Beatles managed to cast their differences aside for the greater part of the Abbey Road recording sessions and to produce a record that sounded like the work of the band as a unit, unlike it's predecessor, the White Album. The result was a record that -again-I can't find the words to describe. You must buy this record and after listening to it you will have no more doubt of the Beatles' genius, or of the fact that they were the greatest band of the 20th century.

Yellow Submarine:Songtrack

A very good record which I certainly recommend. Contains all the Beatles songs of the film which range from 1965 to 1968. Most of the songs also feature on other LPs, however this is a good buy because it is a good collection of songs and is certainly for Yellow Submarine fans.

Yellow Submarine(original LP)

The original Yellow Submarine LP contained the title song, the 4 new songs writen for the film and George Martin's orchestral score for the film. The Yellow Submarine Songtrack renders this record useless in my opinion (unless you want to hear the film's orchestral score).

Let It Be

Let It Be was the Beatles final released album, even though it wasn't the last one recorded (that being Abbey Road). It was recorded during a time of great friction within the band, when they were trying to repair realtionships but failing. It was then left for over a year and finally released after some production work by Phil Spector. For this reason the record has a sort of "unfinished" feeling to it which reflects what the way it went from being recorded to getting tossed around to - finally - getting released. My friend Shona from the Internet said, "When I first listened to Let it Be, I realised the Beatles were breaking up." When I first listened to the record, I realised why he felt that way. Still, the record has some excellent songs and I would certainly recommend buying it.

Let It Be - Naked

This is the Let it Be record minus the big production Phil Spector did on the songs. It does not contain Maggie Mae and Dig It, which are on the original Let it Be, but has Don't Let Me Down instead. What everyone would really like to know, I suppose, is whether it's worth buying this record if you already have the original Let it Be. My answer would be: only if you're a hard-core Beatles fan (or if you REALLY hate the production work Phil Spector did). The only noticeable difference between this and the original version is The Long and Winding Road, which is a different version of the song-different even from the Anthology version. (I bet Paul McCartney was dead pleased to finally get this one out just as he liked!) The other songs are like the original ones with less production work (no "wall of sound")- sort of like the Anthology versions completed. The package also contains a CD called Fly on the Wall, which contains interesting bits and pieces of the Beatles rehearsing the record in the studio in January 1969.

The Beatles 1962/66

A collection of the Beatles greatest hits during the years 1962-1966 (also known as The Red Album). This is a nice record which I recommend buying.

The Beatles 1967/70

A collection of the Beatles greatest hits during the years 1967-1970 (also known as The Blue Album). A very good record in my opinion, also worth having because it is a very nice collection of songs. Certainly worth buying.