Andrew's Albums No.8: "Please Please Me" by The Beatles

It's very easy to look at the body of work that constitutes the Beatles albums and cite specific critical classics. "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", one of the first concept albums. "A Hard Day's Night", the first and still one of the best rock'n'roll movie soundtracks. "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver", two albums that show the Beatles in full artistic flight. But I'd like to add another partly less-recognized album to the mix..."Please Please Me"


When you listen to "Please Please Me" I strongly believe even under the ad hoc production of George Martin, as well as the gloss applied by Brian Epstein over the Fab Four's image, the sheer creative exuberance of John, Paul, George & Ringo yells at you with a freshness that gives at least a small aural glimpse as to the mad spring of 1963 when Beatlemania began to spread. In fact, the album begins and ends with bookending vocal bangs, starting with Paul's count in on "I Saw Her Standing There", and finishing with John's one take only raw screaming of "Twist and Shout".

Whilst I can appreciate these tracks, it's actually some of the less spectacular songs which give me more enjoyment when I listen to "Please Please Me". Tracks 2 and 3, "Misery" and "Anna (Go To Him)" are a pair of classic early Beatles' tracks in that they encapsulate the ability of Lennon/MacCartney partnership in the first instance, then in the latter case a cover version of (in this case an Arthur Alexander composition) someone else's song demonstrates the Beatles' knack of turning another act's song into their own.

More pleasures I take from this album include John showing his licks with the harp, which whilst not quite as good as Paul Jones of Manfred Mann, is certainly up there with Keith Relf from The Yardbirds and Brian Jones from "The Rolling Stones. Then there is Ringo's workman-like willingness to contribute vocally on "Boys". For a big-nosed ring-in who'd replaced Pete Best he may not have been as good a drummer, but from the get-go Ringo showed he could warble more than adequately. And then of course there are the four fave hit singles: "Please Please Me", "Do You Want To Know A Secret", "Love Me Do" and "PS I Love You". Many successful contemporary bands to the Beatles would have been lucky to record four similarly successful songs in their entire career. Here we get four classic Brit-Beat tracks in one go.

Now as for my personal history or exposure to this album, "Please Please Me" was one of the very first Beatles albums I bought (on cassette, in simple two channel stereo). I've probably been a bigger fan of the early Beatles than the latter era, and you don't get too much earlier than this in their oeuvre. My cassette copy was worn out long ago, after lots of sessions played in car stereos or in my room at uni in the 80s. Now I have the Apple/EMI issued CD in glorious mono, also replicating the classic cover (see above). Accompanied by all other Australian released Beatles CDs, it may not get as high rotation as "Revolver" or "Rubber Soul", but I certainly bring it out for a listen more often than "Magical Mystery Tour" or "Let It Be". My only complaint...George is drastically under-utilized.

• Nostalgia Score: 7/10
• Music Score: 7/10
• Fave Tracks: "Misery", "Anna", "P.S. I Love You", "Baby It's You", "A Taste of Honey"

Andrew's Albums No.7: "Fifth Dimension" by The Byrds

Is there any other song that literally screams at you "I'm from the 60s, and you better accept it man!" like "8 Miles High" from The Byrds? Possibly...just possibly. But when those initial chords jumble and flow like a hypnotic Indian-raga infused through your speakers and soak into your consciousness, it's almost a certain you'll find paisley checks and psychedelic patterns swimming past your mind's eye. And all this from a song which was based on The Byrd's experience as they landed in the UK for the first tour in 1965. And also this was from the the album "Fifth Dimension", featuring folk-rock adaptations of classics such as "Wild Mountain Thyme" and comic space pop such as "Hey Mr Spacemen".


Be that as it all may be, as a child of the 1960s I find it very easy to listen to "Fifth Dimension" and marvel at how good The Byrds were and how almost criminal was their lack of commercial success from this point on in their career. Yes, McGuinn, Clarke, Hillman and Crosby weren't the same band of the radio glory days of "Hey Mr Tambourine Man" (Gene Clark, writer of "8 Miles High" had left the band by this album's release), but as a purveyor of new exciting influences on pop/rock music from this period on then they have few equals. Except maybe The Yardbirds. But more on that later.

My interest in The Byrds was (to be honest) limited to "Hey, Mr Tamborine Man" and "Turn Turn Turn" until the BBC series "Dancing In The Street" in 1995. It was whilst watching this show that my mild appreciation turned into sincere admiration, thanks to the remarkable way that Roger McGuinn detailed in episodes dealing with folk and psychedelic rock how The Byrds built their sound. The whole 12 string Rickenbacker/Bach & Dylan-influenced/half-frame granny glasses persona underpinned a band which had imagination to burn far beyond so many of their British Invasion rivals. After dipping into a "Greatest Hits" compilation, I was happy to pick up "Fifth Dimension" in an expanded format from Columbia Legacy not long thereafter.

So, aside from "8 Miles High" and "Wild Mountain Thyme" what else would bring the Byrds-listening neophyte on side with "5D"? "Whats Happening!?!?" has prototypical sounds that could be heard again in the "Sweetheart of the Radio" era, when the country-rock cred of The Byrds would emerge and then get passed on down the years to bands like The Eagles. "Hey Joe" is that same song performed by Jimi Hendrix, but of course way, way different. In fact, it could be argued that there is a jazz undertext to track recorded by The Byrds on this album. "Captain Soul" is a classic Byrds instrumental (when bands weren't frightened of releasing records that weren't filled with lyric-riddled tunes). Finally, for the obverse "I Come and Stand At Every Door" is a melancholic lugubrious track that hardly makes you want to hit rewind or return the needle to the song's beginning and "John Riley" is a slightly muddied take on the traditional English folk song.

All things considered, why should one listen to or purchase this album? Simple..."8 Miles High" and one of the best 60s bands spreading their artistic wings and soaring in a way that no one could have seen just on the evidence of "Hey Mr Tambourine Man".

• Nostalgia Score: 6/10
• Music Score: 7/10
• Fave Tracks: "8 Miles High", "Wild Mountain Thyme", "What's Happening", "Hey Joe, "Mr Spaceman"