Beatles - Help - Review

Beatles - Help - 1965

Songs:  Help, The Night Before, You´ve Got To Hide Your Love Away, I Need You, Another Girl, You´re Going To Lose That Girl, Ticket to Ride, Act Naturally,It´s Only Love,You Like Me Too Much,Tell Me What You See,I've Just Seen A Face, Yesterday,Dizzy Miss Lizzy.

Type of Music: Mid Sixties Quality Pop. 

Comments:

The first seven songs on the Album form the Soundtrack of the Film of the same name, you´ve heard about but probably never saw. If you like a pleasant Pop album this is the place to be. Only two covers this time and, as usual, they don´t impress me. Ringo is allowed to sing Act Naturally and John rapes his own voice in Dizzy Miss Lizzy. 

But the Lennon/McCartney songs are mostly well done. The Title Track, Ticket to Ride and Yesterday are all Classics. It´s worthwhile to follow Ringo´s percussion in Ticket to Ride. Ringo is absolutely the underrated Beatle while in fact many times his drumming carries the songs. George participates in the party with two songs. Both I Need You and You Like Me Too Much are Okay. It´s also interesting to observe the Dylan influence in songs like You´ve Got To Hide Your Love Away and I´ve Just Seen A Face.      

In short, tons of fun on this album that is not superb all the time but hardly ever disappointing.  

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record:  Everyone who enjoys a pleasant  Sing-Along Sixties Pop-Album.

With the Beatles - Beatles - Review

Beatles - With the Beatles - 1963

Songs: It Won´t Be Long, All I´ve Got To Do, All My Loving, Don´t Bother Me, Little Child, Till There Was You, Please Mr. Postman, Roll Over Beethoven, Hold Me Tight, You Really Got A Hold On Me, I Wanna Be Your Man, Devil In Her Heart, Not A Second Time, Money.

Type of Music: Early Sixties Pop Music.

Comments:

Another mix of covers and original Lennon/McCartney compositions following their debut  Please Please Me. The covers are performed with mixed results. Both Please Mr. Postman and You Really Got A Hold On Me have become Beatles songs over the years. And you might argue the same goes for Money. But their version of Roll Over Beethoven pales next to Chuck Berry´s original. The songs written by John and Paul are more or less OK. Nothing here really impresses me. George makes his first contribution with Don´t Bother Me and indeed, it doesn´t bother me but that’s all.

One early Classic here namely All My Loving. That´s not enough to make this album worth owning unless you want to collect everything the Beatles ever produced. Which, by itself, is a very nice hobby!

Rating: ****** (6 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record: Beatles Collectors Only.

Beatles - A Hard Day' s Night - Review

Beatles - A Hard Day's Night - 1963

Songs: A Hard Day’s Night, I Should Have Known Better, If I Fell, I’m Happy Just To Dance With You, And I Love Her, Tell Me Why, Can’t Buy Me Love, Anytime At All, I’ll Cry Instead, Things We Said Today, When I Get Home, You Can’t Do That, I’ll Be Back. 

 

Type of Music: Early Sixties Pop Music.

Comments:

The Third Beatles Album and what a vast improvement over the first two!! The first seven songs are from the film but the rest isn’t just filler either. No Way!! And, also for the first time, all songs are written by John & Paul. The result is a Feel Good Album packed with excellent compositions and filled with memorable hooks. It’s difficult to point out highlights because A Hard Day’s Night, I Should Have Known Better, Can’t Buy Me Love, Anytime At All and the beautiful ballads If I Fell, And I Love Her, Things We Said Today and I’ll Be Back are all genuine Beatles Classics, at least in my book. Of course not all of the remaining songs are in that same league but they still aren’t bad!! A less brilliant Beatles song is still much better than most pop music around.     

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record: An Excellent place to start your Beatles collection. Every Beatles Fan and every one else who enjoys good pop music should own this one. 

Beatles - Beatles For Sale - Review

Beatles - Beatles For Sale - 1964

Songs: No Reply, I’m a Loser, Baby’s in Black, Rock and Roll Music, I’ll follow the Sun, Mr. Moonlight, Medley: Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey, Eight Days a Week, Words of Love, Honey don’t, Every Little Thing, I don’t want to Spoil the Party, What You’re Doing, Everybody’s Trying to be my Baby. 

Comments:

Beatles for Sale!! They even look sad at the Front Cover. I’m sure this Album was released under commercial pressure back in 1964. Lennon & McCartney did not have the time to write all the material and therefore the covers are back. There are six of them out of the total of 14 songs on the Album. And with the exception of Chuck Berry’s Rock and Roll Music they are a bore. The songs written by John & Paul are generally Okay with Eight Days a Week shining out. Songs like No reply, I’m a Loser, and Baby’s in Black are quite different from the happy sound on the earlier albums and point in a new direction. They are quite good though. As a whole, Beatles for Sale is not a balanced album and has too many weak spots. Mind you though that in 1964, the weak spots of the Beatles were infinitely better than most music that appeared on the market.     

Rating: ******* (7 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record:  Not an Essential Beatles Album. But I’m sure all Beatles Fans own it anyway!

Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Review

Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Beatles (1967)

Songs:  Sgt. Pepper´s Lonely Hearts Club Band, With a Little Help from my Friends, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Getting Better, Fixing a Hole, She´s Leaving Home, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite, Within You Without You, When I´m Sixty-Four, Lovely Rita, Good Morning Good Morning, Sgt. Pepper´s Lonely Hearts Club Band Reprise, A Day in the Life.

Type of Music: Quality Pop with Psychedelic Influences.

Comments

It´s been called by some the greatest record ever made. Others consider it to be the first concept album. Many people regard it to be the best of the  Beatles Records.

Well, for me it´s non of the above. It´s not in my All Time Top 10 of Classic Rock Albums. And the fact that the title track is revisited at the end of the album is clearly not enough to consider Sgt. Pepper to be a Concept Album. There are too many styles represented here. And, for me at least, the best of the Beatles was still to come.     

Since we have now established what Sgt. Pepper is not, we can concentrate on what it does represent. First of all I consider it to be a Work of Art. Never before in my opinion was so much attention paid to the presentation of a record. I´m sure that many of you can at least partly describe the cover of the Album. The same attention was paid to the sound quality.

Sgt. Pepper is also a fine collection of songs. The variety of styles avoid the record to become boring even after many spins. There is the acid-rock of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, the Indian Chant Within You Without You written by George, the Circus Music of Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite, the Vaudeville of When I´m Sixty-Four, the power pop of Lovely Rita and the sad but lovely pop-ballad She´s Leaving Home.

There are a few minus points as well. Everybody who saw the Woodstock movie will agree that Joe Cocker made With a little help from my Friends his Song. Sorry Ringo!!

I also rate Good Morning Good Morning as a weaker song and the reprise of Sgt. Pepper is irrelevant.

And although I consider A Day in the Life one of the best songs on the record, there are inexplicable irritating flaws in the way John´s voice was recorded.

But these observations do not prevent Sgt. Pepper from being an essential Beatles Album. As such it should be part of any Pop/Rock collection.       

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Rating:******** (8 out of 10)

Who should buy this Record: Everybody.