THE BEATLES: 50th Anniversary "Real-Time" Discussion Thread

[Gaith]

So, Slate has just started a 50th Anniversary "real time" Beatles blog:

Starting today, Brow Beat will follow the Beatles every week in “real time,” 50 years later, from their first chart-topper to their final rooftop concert. We begin with the Fab Four’s first No. 1 hit, “Please Please Me,” recorded on Nov. 26, 1962.

... And, since we here at the BBS also follow things, I thought we might as well follow this, too. (At any rate, it'll be a good warm-up for the "real-time" centenary World War I experience starting in a few years, and a good deal more accessible.) First up:


Week 1 - November 26, 1962: The Fab Four record their first British #1 hit, "Please Please Me", on the last of eighteen takes. After "Love Me Do", it was their second single.

My take on the song: it may not be a classic, but it's much better than the thoroughly bleh "Love Me Do", their first single, which even their producer thought was "crap".

Gaith Grades The Beatles

Love Me Do: An immensely cloying ditty. I can't tell which is worse, the shrill harmonica or the second-grade lyrics. Oh well, even the longest of journeys begin with a single step. C

Please Please Me: A little funky, and even the harmonica adds more than it detracts. (Hear a version without it here: it's still good, but it does lack a certain kick.) B+

[gblews]

Gaith wrote:

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Love Me Do[/I]: An immensely cloying ditty. I can't tell which is worse, the shrill harmonica or the second-grade lyrics. Oh well, even the longest of journeys begin with a single step. C

Please Please Me: A little funky, and even the harmonica adds more than it detracts. (Hear a version without it here: it's still good, but it does lack a certain kick.) B+[/INDENT][/INDENT]

You thought Love Me Do had a shrill harmonica? It didn't sound shrill at all to me. One might say that about John's harmonica in Please Please Me in some spots, but really this is just the way the harmonica sounds.

I liked both Please Please Me and Love Me Do more than I liked I Want to Hold Your Hand, which to me sounded like the epitome of a teenybopper record. I preferred the darker sound of "Do" and the (I think) catchier melody of "Please".

[bigdaddy]

My mom know feels old.

[LitmusDragon]

Still listen to the Beatles, after "discovering" them 15 years ago (I'm 38). I have about half the albums on vinyl.

[Count Zero]

I love Please Please Me. It's one of those early pearls in the band's catalogue.

[Forbin]

Always on my playlist - here on my computer at work, at home, and in the car.

[Allyn Gibson]

Love Me Do. A simple, uninspired song. Compared to other things they had written by that time, it's bland and plodding. The B-side, "P.S. I Love You," is more interesting, both musically and lyrically.

Please Please Me. Now, this is more like it! The harmonica, the harmonies, the interesting guitar work, the energetic drum work. The B-side, "Ask Me Why," is a rambling, meandering song. It's not bad, but it's not on the level of "Please Please Me."

[Owain Taggart]

On a related note, my favourite podcast, Coverville has their annual Thanksgiving Beatles show:

http://coverville.com/archives/podca...t-cover-story/

[Count Zero]

Allyn Gibson wrote:

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The B-side, "P.S. I Love You," is more interesting, both musically and lyrically.

That's one of my faves among their early songs even though it's kind of kitschy.

[stoneroses]

Still the most important band ever.

[Emh]

When I was a kid, the early years of the Beatles were amongst my favorite songs such as "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You," and "Ticket to Ride," but as I got older, the Rubber Soul and beyond years have largely become my favorites with only "Yesterday" and "Help!" standing out from the earlier years.

[Praetor_Shinzon]

i prefer the albums from Rubber Soul and beyond as well. never cared too much for the early stuff.

[Nerys Myk]

Revolver Soul is the best double album ever.