Please Please Me
This album, like a few of their early ones, contains quite a few covers. On this album, there are 6 covers and 8 original songs. One interesting note is that on this album, the original songs were credited to McCartney/Lennon as opposed to Lennon/McCartney which is what they did for the rest of their careers together.
They recorded this album in one day (9 hours and 45 minutes) They were in a rush to do an album to capitalize on the success of their singles, "Please Please Me" and "Love Me Do".
I Saw Her Standing There- The album starts strong with this gem written primarily by McCartney. He conceived this idea while driving home from a Beatles concert in Lancashire. McCartney had, originally, written "She was just seventeen/ Never been a beauty queen". Lennon asked him if he was joking about that last line. He then gave him the idea for "you know what I mean." This song gave them a good chance to open with a little rocker.
Misery- They go for a bluesier feel for their next song on the album. "Misery" is a song both Lennon and McCartney say was 50/50. This was one of their true collaborations. In 1963, The Beatles were on the bill for Helen Shapiro's nationwide tour of the United Kingdom. Her manager needed a new song for her. Therefore, they wrote "Misery" for her to sing. Her manager didn't think it would fit her so she never recorded it. The Beatles, in return, recorded it for this album. It's not a bad song. However, it's one of my least favorites of their originals on this album.
Anna (Go To Him)- This is the first cover on this album and was written by Arthur Alexander. This was an early favorite of John Lennon. They included this in their live stage show repertoire. I'm, personally, not a fan of this song and haven't heard any other renditions of it. Lennon was battling a cold the day they recorded this album and you get the feeling that something's not quite right with his lead vocal.
Chains- This cover was written by the songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. This song gives George Harrison his first crack at lead vocal on the album. He does a very good job vocally on this song. It isn't their best cover song but is well done.
Boys- This is Ringo's song on the album. They tried to give him one song on each album and this was the winner. This is probably his song because it's the weakest song! It was written by Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell and was, originally, recorded by The Shirelles. This was a song that they did in their old Cavern days and was always a fan favorite. They recorded this song in one take.
Ask Me Why- This is, principally, a John Lennon composition. He was influenced by Smokey Robinson. This is a wonderfully written and performed song. It was tge B-side of the "Please Please Me" single. This is one of their lesser known songs that really shines.
Please Please Me- "Please Please Me" was the second single that The Beatles released. This was written, primarily, by John Lennon as an attempt at a bluesy, slow tempo song. It didn't have any of the harmonies or the harmonica bit. Their producer, George Martin, heard it and thought that it could really use some pepping up and asked them to make some changes to it. It was, then, sped up, with harmonies, and the harmonica bit, and became what it is. George Martin, correctly, predicted it to be their first major hit.
Love Me Do- This was the first single that they released. This was, principally, written by Paul McCartney when he was 16 years old. John Lennon wrote the middle eight part. Lennon and McCartney sang joint lead vocals on this song (a-la the Everly Brothers). This version of the song does not feature Ringo on drums. Andy White was asked to come in because George Martin wasn't happy with how Ringo was doing on it. Ringo was, then, relegated to playing the tambourines. Like "Please Please Me", this was one of their first major hits.
PS, I Love You- "PS, I Love You" was, principally, written by Paul McCartney. George Martin asked Andy White to do drums on this song, not knowing that their drummer, Pete Best, had already been replaced by Ringo Starr. Therefore, Andy White played the drums while Ringo rocked with the maracas. McCartney didn't write this about anybody in particular. He found that writing in a love letter format came easily to him, so he wrote this great song.
Baby It's You- This cover was written by Burt Bacharach and Luther Dixon. This song is an R&B song that was, also, recorded by The Shirelles. I find this particular song to be a bit boring and find it to be one of their worst covers on this album.
Do You Want to Know a Secret- This is a real gem of a song written, primarily, by John Lennon. This song was inspired by Disney's classic, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". The song "I'm Wishing" opens with the line, "Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell?" George Harrison does a wonderful lead vocal job on this song. In 1980, Lennon said that they gave it to George Harrison because "it only had 3 notes and he wasn't the best singer in the world." He, then, added "he has improved a lot since then". This is a wonderful song that is worth quite a few listens.
A Taste of Honey- This standard was written by Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow. They perfomed this song in the 1962 live show repertoire. This is a song that is well done by The Beatles. It is done well instrumentally and vocally.
There's a Place- This song was written by Lennon and McCartney. It was influenced by the song "Somewhere" from West Side Story. The song includes the line, "there's a place for us" which is the first line of this Beatles song. Recorded at McCartney's home, it was a part of their 1963 repertoire.
Twist and Shout- This is, in my opinion, their best cover. It was the last song that they recorded on that long day. Since Lennon had a cold, they saved this for last, knowing that it would finish his voice off for the day. They used this as their rousing song to end numerous concerts. This version really became a standard in Rock.
This album is a great first album for The Beatles. Their original songs easily surpass the majority of their covers. That just goes to show how talented these 4 Liverpudlians really were. This album is a great springboard for the rest of the decade.
