| The Early Beatles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 22 March 1965 | |||
| Recorded | 4 September 1962 – 20 February 1963 | |||
| Studio | EMI, London | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 26:26 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | George Martin | |||
| Compiler | Dave Dexter Jr. | |||
| The BeatlesNorth American chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
| The Rolling Stone Record Guide | [3] |
The Early Beatles isthe Beatles' sixth album released onCapitol Records, and their eighth album overall for the American market. All eleven tracks on this album were previously issued on theVee-Jay Records releaseIntroducing... The Beatles, released in January, 1964. The front cover photo for this album features the same back cover photo for the British LPBeatles for Sale.
The album is included inRobert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published inChristgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).[4]
Vee-Jay Records had gained American distribution rights to the tracks on this album before the group became popular in America (because Capitol Records, the US subsidiary ofEMI which owned the Beatles' record labelParlophone, had declined to release the group's records in America), and their releases had initially failed to chart. But after the group became famous, Vee-Jay, still holding the rights to the early material, was able to reissue them in America and this time the records sold in the millions. Capitol filed a lawsuit attempting to stop Vee Jay from distributing the tracks, but was unsuccessful. In October 1964, Vee-Jay's license to distribute the Beatles recordings it possessed expired, thus giving Capitol the distribution rights for the tracks on the album.
Although Vee-Jay (and subsidiary,Tollie Records) had compiled four albums, ten singles and oneEP in the space of just fifteen months from these Beatles tracks, when issued by Capitol,The Early Beatles sold well, but its highest position on theBillboard chart was only number 43, making it the only original Beatles album issued by Capitol orUnited Artists Records not to reach numbers 1 or 2 in America (with the exception of the Capitol documentary album,The Beatles' Story, which peaked at number 7). Capitol did little to promoteThe Early Beatles since the label merely viewed it as a replacement forIntroducing...The Beatles, rather than a "new" Beatles album.The Early Beatles was certified Gold ($1 million in sales) on 8 January 1974 and Platinum (1 million copies sold) on 10 January 1997 by theRIAA.[5] The album was released in both mono and stereo versions. As no stereo masters of "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" exist, Capitol used duophonic mixes of both songs. The mono pressing of the album was made with a two-to-one fold-down of the stereo tapes, as evidenced by John and Paul's vocal collision and chuckle heard in the third verse of "Please Please Me". The original mix on the UK mono issue of thePlease Please Me album uses an edit to correct the mistake, while the stereo version of the same album does not. So the existence of the vocal error in a mono mix is unique toThe Early Beatles as well as a short-lived Capitol Starline 45 rpm single released in October, 1965 and deleted only two months later.
The Early Beatles is available oncompact disc as part ofThe Capitol Albums, Volume 2boxed set (catalogue number CDP 0946 3 57498 2 3), in both its original stereo and mono fold-down Capitol mixes. In 2014, a second CD version ofThe Early Beatles containing the 2009 remastered UK stereo and mono mixes, was issued individually and as part of the BeatlesThe U.S. Albums boxed set.
The album consists of eleven of the fourteen tracks from the Beatles' first American albumIntroducing...The Beatles as well as their first British LPPlease Please Me. All songs written by Lennon-McCartney except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Me Do" | 2:23 |
| 2. | "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley andBert Russell) | 2:33 |
| 3. | "Anna (Go to Him)" (Arthur Alexander) | 3:00 |
| 4. | "Chains" (Gerry Goffin andCarole King) | 2:27 |
| 5. | "Boys" (Luther Dixon andWes Farrell) | 2:25 |
| 6. | "Ask Me Why" | 2:28 |
| Total length: | 15:16 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Please Please Me" | 2:00 |
| 2. | "P.S. I Love You" | 2:05 |
| 3. | "Baby It's You" (Burt Bacharach,Mack David, andLuther Dixon, credited as Barney Williams)" | 2:38 |
| 4. | "A Taste of Honey" (Ric Marlow andBobby Scott)" | 2:04 |
| 5. | "Do You Want to Know a Secret" | 1:59 |
| Total length: | 10:46 | |
| Title | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "I Saw Her Standing There" | Capitol 5112–1964 (released prior toThe Early Beatles) | Meet the Beatles!—1964 (released prior toThe Early Beatles) |
| "Thank You Girl" | Capitol Starline 6064–1965 | The Beatles' Second Album—1964 (released prior toThe Early Beatles) |
| "From Me to You" | Capitol Starline 6063–1965 | 1962–1966—1973 |
| "Misery" | Capitol Starline 6066–1965 | Rarities—1980 |
| "There's a Place" | Capitol Starline 6061–1965 | Rarities—1980 |
Chart performance[edit]
| Certifications[edit]
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