Once it was released and I had a chance to peruse the tracklist, I put off buying it for quite a long time. For one thing, it replicated some of the performances previously issued on the first collection, on the Baby It's You EP and on Anthology 1. It also featured far fewer cover versions of songs by other artists who had influenced the Beatles, which had been one of the strongest reasons I had come to love Live at the BBC. And it contained much more of the banter from the boys with the hosts of the various programs which, enjoyable as that sometimes is, leaves less space for actual music from the group.
I eventually gave in to temptation and purchased a used copy in near perfect condition when I came upon it in one of the shops I frequent. And, while I was happy that I finally had it in my possession, my initial misgivings about it were largely confirmed, though there are a few delights to be had in its sixty-three tracks. While the copy I possess is on 2 CDs, I will discuss the contents as they appear on the 3-LP vinyl edition, as I have done in past entries for other collections.
And Here We Are Again - Host Rodney Burke introduces the group at the top of an episode of their own program Pop Go the Beatles, which was broadcast for fifteen weeks in the summer of 1963, long before we even knew who they were here in the USA.
Words of Love - The boys played this Buddy Holly number on Pop Go the Beatles more than a full year before recording it for their fourth album Beatles for Sale. Paul and John perform the breathy harmonies and George replicates Holly's guitar part exactly as they did on that later occasion.
How About It, Gorgeous? - Rodney Burke and George read letters from listeners, one of them making reference to a children's BBC television program called The Flowerpot Men for some odd reason.
Do You Want to Know a Secret - A brisk rendition of a song Lennon wrote for George to sing on the group's first album Please Please Me. Instead of fading out as on the original, a suitable ending is played by the band.
Lucille - Paul does his best Little Richard impersonation on Pop Go the Beatles.
Hey, Paul... - Paul chatting with a host by the name of Lee Peters. Off the air, the Beatles referred to him as Pee Litres.
Anna (Go to Him) - As on the album Please Please Me, John puts his all into this torch song by Arthur Alexander.
Hello! - More nonsense from John and Lee Peters.
Please Please Me - The group's exciting second single and the title song of their first album was performed often on the BBC, always without John's harmonica. Instead, George plays the distinctive riff on guitar, as he had done on the demo/first version of the number.
Misery - An early performance of this McCartney/Lennon original for the program Here We Go in front of a studio audience that would not yet be familiar with the number in advance of its release on Please Please Me.
I'm Talking About You - One of the true highlights of the collection is this live-on-the-air performance of a Chuck Berry number from an early appearance on Saturday Club.
A Real Treat - While reading a fan letter, Ringo cracks everyone up with some off the cuff remarks when they interrupt him. "College?...You're posh."
Boys - Though they played this Shirelles number seven times on various BBC programs, this is the very same one previously released on the EP Baby It's You.
Absolutely Fab - More of Lee Peters, this time with George.
Chains - A fine rendition of a song by a girl group called the Cookies that the boys covered on Please Please Me, with George handling the solo verses.
Ask Me Why - This performance is a truncated version of the group's second B-side, a rather old-fashioned composition by Lennon.
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