LIVE AT THE BBC - side two

Radio played a vital role in the British public's initial awareness of the Beatles in 1962 and had an even bigger impact in 1963, contributing greatly to the explosion known as Beatlemania.  Manager Brian Epstein secured John, Paul, George and Pete their first BBC appearance in March of '62, months before their inaugural recording session/audition at EMI.  Not only did the group's revised lineup with Ringo Starr eventually appear on all of the top programs like Saturday Club and Easy Beat, but they even headlined their own shows such as Pop Go the Beatles in 1963 and From Us to You in 1964.

A Little Rhyme - One of the delights of the collection for me is the bits of banter between some of the songs, giving a sense of what the actual broadcasts were like.  Here, John reads (and comments on, by his delivery) a poetic fan letter.

Clarabella - Paul performs one of his specialties, a screaming rocker originally done by the Jodimars.

I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You) - John and Paul duet on this Elvis cover which the Beatles play at an absolutely manic tempo.  Those critical of Ringo's drumming should give this one a listen.

Crying, Waiting, Hoping - George handles the lead vocal on this Buddy Holly number, backed by John and Paul.

Dear Wack! - Another interpretive reading of a fan letter by John.

You Really Got a Hold on Me - A performance of the Smokey Robinson tune from around the same time the group recorded it for their upcoming album With the Beatles.

To Know Her Is to Love Her - John sings lead and he, Paul and George apply their three-part harmony skills to this Teddy Bears number written by Phil Spector.

A Taste of Honey - Paul once again handles the lead on this standard which the group had included on their album Please Please Me.

Long Tall Sally - The Little Richard rocker was performed here by Paul and the band almost a year before it appeared on their EP of the same name.  Of course, this version was also played live in the studio, but without producer George Martin's piano contribution as on the vinyl release.

I Saw Her Standing There - Paul's original rocker, the opening track of Please Please Me, was very well known by the time they played it for this October 1963 broadcast.

The Honeymoon Song - Like A Taste of Honey, this is one of those obscure standards that Paul would pull out during live sets for a change of pace.  According to the excellent liner notes by Kevin Howlett, a version of this song was released by Marino Marini and his Quartet in 1959.

Johnny B Goode - This is perhaps the weakest performance on the entire package, which is shocking given John's admiration for Chuck Berry.

Memphis, Tennessee - However, John and the boys do right by Mr. Berry with this fine rendition of another of his classics.

Lucille - A brief introduction by host Brian Matthew overlaps the opening bars of the Little Richard screamer sung by Paul.

Can't Buy Me Love - The group performs their brand new single on From Us to You in early '64.

From Fluff to You - On the same program, host Alan "Fluff" Freeman asks Paul about his influences as John repeatedly attempts to change the subject to his book In His Own Write.

Till There Was You - The third of Paul's standards on this side is this beautiful number from the Broadway show The Music Man, which the group had released on With the Beatles.

LIVE AT THE BBC - side one

It had been a long wait since the last official release from the Beatles - six years, in fact - and even longer since fans had had the pleasure of hearing something completely "new," but in 1994, that wait was finally over.  Was it worth it?  Sadly, many were unimpressed by this collection when it first appeared and quite a few maintain that opinion to this day.  And while I must admit that it took a while for it to grow on me, I now consider it to be an indispensable part of the group's canon - not for the renditions of their own numbers, mind you, but rather for the many covers of songs by other artists, revealing more than ever the Fab Four's encyclopedic knowledge of popular music.

Though this package was conceived as a two-CD release, it was also issued on vinyl.  Thus, as usual, I will be making my entries as the tracks appear on the four sides of the records, even though they are incredibly long sides.

Beatle Greetings - The band members introduce themselves to the radio audience from a 1963 broadcast.

From Us to You - The title song of a 1964 series, derived from their third hit single, of course.

Riding on a Bus - A brief discussion of life as celebrities.

I Got a Woman - The first real number on the collection is this great version of a Ray Charles song with John handling the lead vocal.

Too Much Monkey Business - John sings lead again on this high-energy Chuck Berry number.

Keep Your Hands Off My Baby - John yet again (with Paul and George backing him up this time) on a tune from Goffin and King.

I'll Be on My Way - One of the real finds of the collection is this Lennon/McCartney original first recorded by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, sung as a duet by the composers.

Young Blood - George sings lead on this comedy number from Lieber and Stoller originally done by the Coasters.  Paul and John join in the vocal antics.

A Shot of Rhythm and Blues - John and Paul tackle a song released by Arthur Alexander, whose Anna (Go to Him) they had covered on their album Please Please Me.

Sure to Fall (In Love with You) - Paul takes the lead on a Carl Perkins cover.

Some Other Guy - This song and the next were recorded in front of an audience at the Playhouse Theatre in London.  John and Paul share the lead on this Lieber and Stoller rocker that was a favorite of every band in Liverpool.

Thank You Girl - At the time of this performance, this song was the B-side of their most recent single.

Sha la la la la! - The group engages in some amusing banter with Lee Peters, host of their Pop Go the Beatles series, before launching into...

Baby It's You - ...this Burt Bacharach tune which they had covered on Please Please Me.

That's All Right (Mama) - Paul boldly tackles Elvis Presley's debut single.

Carol - This Chuck Berry tune is given a surprisingly lackluster performance by John and the band.

Soldier of Love - A wonderfully strange song that had been recorded by Arthur Alexander.  With strong backing by Paul and George, John puts his all into this one.

PAST MASTERS VOLUME TWO - side two

Get Back - The huge hit single from April of 1969.  It was originally intended to be the title song of a live project begun in sessions in January of that year.

Don't Let Me Down - Lennon's best song from those sessions wound up only being released as the B-side of this single.  Both sides bear the credit "The Beatles (with Billy Preston)."

The Ballad of John and Yoko - Only John and Paul appear on this track, singing and playing all of the instruments.  This single was released at Lennon's insistence in May of '69, hard on the heels of Get Back.  Though it was eventually followed by two great singles, it managed to be the group's final number one in the UK during their career.

Old Brown Shoe - Harrison's second B-side is this nifty uptempo rocker.

Across the Universe - From the World Wildlife Fund charity album No One's Gonna Change Our World.  Apart from its appearance on that album, it had been made available on both the UK and US versions of Rarities.  Producer George Martin had deliberately sped up the tape and added bird sounds onto the beginning and end of the song for the WWF release.

Let It Be - The group's final single in the UK was the version of this song produced by Martin and featuring brass, more vocals and a mellow guitar solo overdubbed by George Harrison three months after the track was originally laid down at the live Get Back sessions.

You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) - The final B-side was this comedy number from Lennon that was gradually put together over two and a half years.  It is the only track presented in mono on Past Masters Volume Two.

With the release of Past Masters Volumes One and Two, the group's entire catalog was now available on CD.  It would be six years before the next official Beatles product appeared, and it was one that would showcase them in a manner that most of us had never experienced before.

PAST MASTERS VOLUME TWO - side one

As great as Past Masters Volume One is, many feel that Volume Two is even better, probably because it features more hit singles and less deep cuts.  In The Mammoth Book of the Beatles, Sean Egan goes so far as to state: "For this listener, Past Masters Volume Two constitutes the greatest collection of music ever assembled." 

Day Tripper -This stellar album kicks off with both sides of the double A-sided single from December of 1965.  This side went to number one in the UK...

We Can Work It Out - ...while this side was a US number one.  Both of these great songs were recorded during sessions for Rubber Soul. 

Paperback Writer - This single was recorded in April of 1966 during the Revolver sessions.

Rain - The amazing B-side of that single.

Lady Madonna - We jump 1967 entirely and pick up with this rocking single from March, 1968.  It was recorded during a series of sessions specifically designed to create a single for release while the group was in India studying transcendental meditation.

The Inner Light - The B-side features George Harrison's first song to appear on a Beatles single.  The Indian instruments were recorded at EMI's Bombay studio during sessions for Harrison's soundtrack for the film Wonderwall.  Vocals were added a month or so later at Abbey Road.

Hey Jude - The monster single from August 1968 was recorded during sessions for The Beatles, aka the "White Album."

Revolution - The B-side of that single.  Lennon had pushed hard for this to be an A-side, but once McCartney brought in Hey Jude, John acquiesced.  This could easily have been another double A-sided single, though.  Few acts have ever had the ability to produce two such widely different songs, each strong enough to be a hit, let alone put them back-to-back on the same record.

PAST MASTERS VOLUME ONE - side two

For anyone who might be wondering why I am still issuing these posts as "side one" and "side two" even though I am now covering material released on CD, the fact is that these collections were also available on vinyl and cassette.  I owned Past Masters Volumes One & Two on cassette years before purchasing my first CD player.  Furthermore, it is my hope that keeping each of my entries relatively brief will make for a more easily digestible experience for my potential audience.

Long Tall Sally - This Little Richard cover was only available on an EP of the same name in the UK.  It was recorded in one astonishing live take on March 1st, 1964 during sessions for the soundtrack of A Hard Day's Night.

I Call Your Name - This Lennon composition was also recorded on March 1st and appeared on the Long Tall Sally EP.

Slow Down - Side two of Long Tall Sally featured this Larry Williams cover recorded on June 1st, 1964 during sessions for the non-soundtrack side of A Hard Day's Night.

Matchbox - Rounding out the Long Tall Sally tracks was this Carl Perkins cover recorded in the composer's presence on June 1st.

I Feel Fine - The band's eighth single boasted this progressive pop song by Lennon.  It was recorded during sessions for Beatles for Sale in October of 1964.

She's a Woman - The B-side of that single was this bluesy composition from McCartney.

Bad Boy - Another Larry Williams cover.  This one was recorded on May 10th, 1965 following a request from Capitol Records in the US for a few new songs for their album Beatles VI.  It did not appear in the UK until A Collection of Beatles Oldies in December of 1966.

Yes It Is - This is the only song appearing out of sequence on Past Masters.  It was recorded in February of 1965 during sessions for the soundtrack of Help! and released as the B-side of Ticket to Ride in April of that year, a full month before Bad Boy was even recorded.

I'm Down - McCartney's screaming rocker was recorded in June of 1966 during sessions for the non-soundtrack side of the Help! album.  It appeared as the B-side of Help!, the group's tenth single.

PAST MASTERS VOLUME ONE - side one

The job of assembling all of the Beatles non-album tracks for release on CD was handed to a fellow by the name of Mark Lewisohn.  In the mid-1980's, Lewisohn had been granted unprecedented access to the vaults at Abbey Road Studios and had listened to every known take of every song officially recorded by the group in order to prepare his astonishing book The Beatles: Recording Sessions.  Though there are many experts when it comes to the career of the Fab Four, none can match Lewisohn for his exhaustive first-hand research.  Indeed, much of my second-hand knowledge comes from his book and his insightful liner notes, especially those on the Anthology series.

Thirty-three tracks were selected by Lewisohn - enough to stretch over two CDs.  And though, as usual, die-hard fans could quibble over a few omissions, Past Masters Volumes One and Two quickly became as indispensable as the albums they were designed to accompany.

Love Me Do - The group's very first single featured this version, recorded on September 4th, 1962 with Ringo on drums.  For the album Please Please Me, it was replaced by the September 11th version with Andy White on drums and Ringo on tambourine.  In the US, this original recording had only appeared in 1980 on the Capitol album Rarities.

From Me to You - The third single, recorded on March 5th, 1963 - the first unqualified number one.

Thank You, Girl - The B-side of that single, recorded on the same day.

She Loves You - The fourth single, which ushered in Beatlemania.  It was also their biggest seller in the UK during their career.

I'll Get You - The fourth B-side, recorded on July 1st, 1963, the same day as She Loves You.  Oddly, the number of takes for these two songs is undocumented - a rare omission for the Abbey Road staff.

I Want to Hold Your Hand - The fifth UK single and the one that conquered America.  It was the first song to be recorded on four-track tape, all earlier material having been recorded on two tracks.  Starting with this song, everything on the rest of the CD is stereo, even though, as I stated in reference to the albums in my previous post, producer George Martin and the Beatles only cared about the mono mixes up through Get Back in 1969.

This Boy - The flip side of that single is also the first truly great B-side released by the group.

Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand - The German version of I Want to Hold Your Hand featured new vocals and handclaps over the original four-track tape.  It was produced at the request of EMI's Odeon label in West Germany.

Sie Liebt Dich - The German version of She Loves You was a complete remake.  Both were recorded at EMI's Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris on January 29th, 1964.  They also laid down the basic track for Can't Buy Me Love on this date.  This marked the only time that the Beatles made a record as a group outside of England during their career.

The Beatles on CD

It took the advent of the compact disc for the Beatles to regain control of their own destiny.  Before EMI could begin to re-release the group's catalog on this new format, they had to obtain permission from Paul, George, Ringo and Yoko.  The surviving members had not been happy with the many compilations issued between 1973 and 1982, and took this opportunity to make a few demands.  First and foremost was that they would now decide what was and was not going to be made available to the public.  And Sean Egan surmises in The Mammoth Book of the Beatles that they probably also renegotiated their low royalty deal - pathetically low considering that they had been the biggest act in the world.

All of this took time.  A lot of time.  The first commercial music CDs in the world were issued around 1982.  By 1985, David Bowie had re-released his entire catalog on CD, and still there was nothing from the Fab Four.  Oh, there were the inevitable bootleg CDs in circulation, including a version of Abbey Road that I recall seeing, but fans were waiting with bated breath for the real thing.  Of course, producer George Martin took advantage of the delay and remastered every title ever officially issued by the group.  Finally, in 1987, we were rewarded for our patience.

The first four albums - Please Please Me, With the Beatles, A Hard Day's Night and Beatles for Sale - were finally released on CD on February 26th, 1987.  To the dismay of many undiscerning fans (and I must count myself among them at the time), they were issued in mono.  But remember that up through 1968, Martin and the Beatles themselves always concentrated on the mono mix - stereo was an afterthought to them.  The case can therefore be made that until the CD version of Abbey Road, only these four were issued as they were truly meant to be heard.

The public's voice was heard, and when the next batch - Help!, Rubber Soul and Revolver - were released on April 30th, they were now only available in stereo.  Sgt. Pepper, as befitting its status, was issued alone on June 1st, the twentieth anniversary of its original release.  One surprise occurred when Magical Mystery Tour appeared (out of sequence, in fact, after The Beatles and Yellow Submarine) in its American version, but the Capitol album had always been preferred over the Parlophone double EP even by British fans.  This was Capitol's one and only victory in 1987, but even that would change with time.

When Abbey Road and Let It Be came out on October 19th, the collection of albums by the Beatles on CD was at last complete.  But many of the group's singles had never appeared on albums in the UK, and they were still nowhere to be seen.  How would EMI and the Beatles handle the release of the thirty or so titles yet to be issued?  With two of the most incredible packages ever assembled, of course.