I’m at the age where The Beatles are not crucial to me, but the memory that the band brings is much more essential and lively. I was born in 1954, so when the Fab Four hit America, I was at the right age to hear and see this incredible spectacle. Obviously a generational change, but my memory is that both grown-ups and children were into The Beatles, or at the very least, had thoughts on their music, image, or both. For many, it went beyond their music; they were simply The Beatles, the greatest band in the world. Before that, it was the Walt Disney World where I got hit with the by-products of that spectacle, including Disney children’s record player, Disney comic books, and Disney toys; and keep in mind, even up to this day, I haven’t seen any Disney cinema - all by-products of that culture that affected my childhood.
Being a native of Los Angeles, my first exposure to a vinyl record of The Beatles was their first U.S. album, Meet The Beatles. And then, of course, The Beatles’ Second Album and so forth. It wasn’t until last night that I heard and now own The Beatles’ first official British album; Please Please Me. It’s hard to believe that it took 60 years for me to listen to the “proper” version of this record. And using the word “proper” is due to the band’s official version of their recordings. The U.S. and other locations had their versions of putting albums together. The route to accurate history for the connoisseur is getting the British releases from the Fab Four. Now that I have done so, I can map out their work in a time placed by John, Paul, George, and Ringo, and never forget George Martin and all of their creative recording engineers at EMI.
Revision always leaves a bad taste, significantly if you have grown up reading the song credits to Lennon/McCartney, but now the reissue of this album reads McCartney/Lennon. By his nature, John Lennon was a verb in action. At times a bully, but one who consistently questioned himself and others in the framework of time and its culture. Lennon was very much the mouthpiece of The Beatles. It was his sharp and, at times, painful wit that made them more than just a musical band. McCartney is a noun who feels and thinks about his role and how others think of it. But then again, that is the beauty of a family of artists working together. It will always be debatable who did what or why, or when.
Please Please Me is fourteen songs that seem shorter than the first Ramones album. Eight original “McCartney/Lennon” songs and six covers. And the covers sound like Beatle compositions. There is nothing misplaced or odd about their choices because it falls right into their aesthetic. While The Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, and The Animals were making blues music, The Beatles were very much Rock n’ Roll with a strong taste for commercial pop music. I think that gives them the edge in popularity stakes at the time. What stands out is their arrangements, especially when it comes to their vocals, which are beautifully designed and performed by the voices in the band. Like their distant Southern California cousins, The Beach Boys, Harrison, McCartney, and Lennon have a beautiful tonality that blends into one voice for some of the songs. Sometimes, it isn't easy to know when it’s McCartney or Lennon singing.
Placed in cultural sensibility, Please Please Me is a radical work of art, but it’s a perfect pop album. Looking back in real-time now, it is still hard to believe how they started, and then their sound on such future albums as Sgt Pepper or Magical Mystery Tour moved so quickly within four years. Nowadays, if a significant artist does a new album, it will be very much like the record they released four years ago. Only a few, such as Bowie, Prince, and I would also add Miles Davis, would do something new or different on their next recording. The Beatles did this regularly from 1963 to 1970.
Listening to this album in 2023 doesn’t remind me of the past because this is not the album I grew up with, so this is, by design, a new work for me. Songs such as There’s a Place and Misery are extraordinary observations of being young and in touch with your feelings. And even their nod to Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s Baby It’s You shows the scope of their world and that anything is possible. George Martin’s production touches, especially on the piano (whoever is playing it), and how he mikes the drums, are superb. Please Please Me is a great album, and I will make a note to myself to see what the others sound like.