Albums

Index

The Fab Four

Paul McCartney

George Harrison

John Lennon

Ringo Starr

Albums

Beatle Sites
The Great Recording Artists that they are...
The outlet for passion was in music, or rock 'n' roll. The obession with rock became infectious. At the heart of music is the rythmn that drives the beat within. Lennon and McCartney were a creative and unique writing team who were both in love with music. With the wealth of material the Beatles produced, it is shocking they they only lastest a total of seven years. Each album had its own nooks and crannies. The order of songs gave shapes to the experience that the listener was to undertake. There was personality behind the lyrics and it played out of the concept that "the beat can set you free." "We were just a band that made it very very big, thats all" (Lennon).
Please, Please Me
For the Beatles very first album most was recorded in a single session on Feb. 11,1963, which lasted 15 hours. When this album was cut the Beatles were seasoned performers, but it was their first real attempt at recording. Released on March 22,1963 it had that garage band kind of feel. Titled Please Please Me, it mixed the the youthful spirit of rock 'n' roll that came before with the Beatles own unique sound. Its cover photo was dashing with four happy youths peering from the balcony of EMI headquarters in London. The differences of Lennon and McCartney emerged from this creation. Paul could be anyone, while John always had to be himself while singing. However, their voices complemented each other beautifully. The first ('I saw her standing there') and last ('Twist and Shout') songs became its bookmarks, with each one revolving around falling in love on the dance floor. Please, Please Me quickly reached the top of British charts and remained there for 30 weeks. It became their first number one single. However, while they were reaching the top of the British charts, the Beatles were just being introduced to America. This album was released in America under a little known Vee Jay label, and did not include 'Please, Please Me' or 'Ask Me Why'. Despite the albums roughness, it brought the Beatles into Britain's spot light.
With The Beatles
The Beatles had five years to prepare for their first album and five months for their second. Due to their immense popularity, they found themselves writing at every chance they got. That meant that their creativity would have to come while in hotel rooms, on tour buses, and in dressing rooms. This actually proved to be quite stimulating for John and Paul. They knew exactly what their public wanted to hear. They recorded this album in sessions spread out over a 3 month period. Shortly after its release in November of 1963, it went number one in Britain. It became the first pop album to sell over a million copies. A version of this album, titled Meet the Beatles, was released in America in January 1964 and went number 1.
A Hard Days Night
A Hard Days Night was the first Beatles Album where every single song was a Beatles original. It was completed in June of 1964 and was a great accomplishment for John, who ended up composing ten of the thirteen songs. It wasn't until later in life when John realized that this was a period of great dominance. John also claimed that most of the groups singles had been written by him or he had been the lead singer. The only reason Paul sang as lead vocalist on 'A Hard Days Night's because John couldn't reach the high notes. Seven of the songs were written for the film A Hard Days Night. Even though the movie was made to promote the album, it was a huge hit. It generated profits of over 30 times the expense it took to create. The movie was not like ordinary pop albums. It recreated the groups rise to fame like a black and white documentary.  Despite the fact that the Beatles were writing pop songs as requested, they were putting more of themselves into their lyrics. This album was released in Britain in July 1964 and in June in America. It quickly became number one in both countries. The American version was different and only featured seven songs, and made up to be a 12 track album by adding orchestra numbers of Lennon and McCartney songs.
Beatles For Sale
Beatlemania was in full swing and it began to wear on the four young lads. The inside sleeve of Beatles For Sale shows a weary group, who seemed to be fighting for that spark. Only eight of their 14 songs were Beatles originals. Songs of their rock 'n' roll idols filled the rest of the album. The songs they did produce seemed to be the product of pressure. 'Eight Days a Week' was titled that because of a comment Ringo had made about wishing for superhuman type powers in order to cope with being a Beatle. John's songs seemed to lack something compared to previous songs and Paul had searched for songs in his old school notebooks ('I'll Follow the Sun'). Bob Dylan influenced this album immensely and John and Paul finally met their idol in 1964. Beatles For Sale was begun two months after completing A Hard Days Night. It was started in mid August and on August 19 they left for a Britain tour in America. They picked up a month later only to complete the album 2 and half months later in December of 1964. It reached number one in Britain while being released in America as Beatles '65 which also hit the top spot and sold millions the first week.
Help!
The second film, Help!, was filmed between February and May 1965 at a number of places including the Bahamas, Austrian Alps, London's Cliveden House and Twickenham Film Studios. Ringo was given the star role in help. The plot portrayed Ringo was the inheritor of a magic ring which was wanted by members of a evil cult. Songs for the film were written prior to the screen play. Songs were dropped in the script whenever it seemed like a good excuse for them to start playing. This album and film, although dissatisfying to the Beatles, proved to be one of their finest moments. With John's song 'Help!' using a single word to express his anxiety. 'Help!' still remains a very popular Beatles song as well as Paul's 'Yesterday'. The was also a period where the Beatles began to experiment heavily in pot. They smoked the drug regularly and often parts of the film had to be discarded because of their uncontrollable fits of laughter. The album was released in August of 1965 and hit the top spots in Britain and America's charts. However, once again the American version differed and only featured songs from the film and a few orchestral tracks.
Rubber Soul
John referred to Rubber Soul as the Beatles transition from a "child-like" state to a "self-concious" state. Rubber Soul marked a period of transition. The cover suggested use of such drugs as LSD and pot, but this was not quite yet their psychedelic era. It did explore a new realm of types and sounds in music. Paul introduced the fuzz base and George incorporated the sitar into their music. It was the first time they had actually tampered with their records to produce a certain effect. Humorous songs began to appear on the album as well as new love songs showing a sign of maturity. It was recorded over a four week period in autumn of 1965 and was released in December. It was a hit in both America and Britain. Four of the tracks were left off the American version and replaced with tracks from Help!
Revolver
Revolver marked the end of a era as all their songs from now on would be produced in the studio. The hippy movement was in full swing and influenced the Beatles on this album. They were now targeting a different kind of audience. The use of psychedelic drugs also influenced their style and sound. George's interest in Indian music increased and he began to explore theater, painting and film. Revolver was bursting with creativity. It had a wild mix of topics such as taxation, Tibetan Buddhism, law breaking doctors, lonely spinsters, sleep, submarines, and sunshine. John, Paul, and George all seemed to reach peaks with very popular music. They had reached a new stage of becoming recording artist rather than performers. None of the 14 songs were played on stage. Revolver was released in August of 1966 and became top in Britain and America. This was the last time the version would differ.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
This was the first time the Beatles were totally devoted to recording in a studio as they were no longer on tour. It took over 105 hours to create the singles and another five months to complete the album. Paul was the genius behind Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He pictured it as a brass band transported through time into the psychedelic age. It was finally release in June of 1967. It was an album that seemed to draw out the beads and aroma of marijuana. There were on four songs, 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds', 'She's Leaving Home', 'Within You Without You', and 'A Day in the Life', that made references to the social change supported by the youth. Almost the entire album was of great innovations. It was the first records to have a gatefold sleeve, printed lyrics, decorated inner bag, a free gift, and a incredibly cover photo. It reached number one in Britain and America. It still is regarded as one of the best rock albums ever.
Yellow Submarine
Yellow Submarine film was released in July of 1968 and became a huge success in America. The album was released in Britain in January 1968. The full version of the album was not release in version. It featured the Beatles as well as other artists and only reached the number three spot in Britain and the number two spot in America. The film produced along with the album was a full length animation. The Beatles loved the idea of being turned into cartoon characters. The plot consisted of a happy kingdom called PepperLand which is taken over by the Blue Meanies. Riding in a yellow submarine, the fab four come from Liverpool to save the kingdom with the power of Love and Music.
Magical Mystery Tour
After Sg. Pepper the Beatles started producing Magical Mystery Tour along with Yellow Submarine. Magical Mystery Tour was a 50 minute television feature. Originally Paul's pet project but all the Beatles joined in. They did most of the film themselves including financing, directing and scripting as well as acting. The songs from this album are of the most crazy and psychedelic of all. The album was released in Britain as a double extended play disc in December 1967. It was a single album released in November in the US. The film was first played on British Television on December 26,1967. It was criticized and received little exposure in America. However the music was much more successful. It reached number two in Britain and number one in America.
White Album
The Beatles, more commonly known as The White Album, turned out to be the complete opposite of Sgt. Pepper, with a short title and plain cover. They used acoustic guitars and sung about cowboys, piggies, chocolates, and doing things in the road. George's wife had attended a lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and encouraged the Beatles to attend. Afterwards, they attended a ten day course in Transcendental meditation. Unfortunately while on this course, on August 27, 1967 Brian Epstein was found dead. Epstein had managed their career since 1962. They returned to London. With this loss, they became even more open to the guidance of the Maharishi. They made a trip to India in February in 1968. For the first time in their lives they had time to reflect. The Beatles came back from India with 30 songs which they were to use on their next album. It also brought about the use of a Indian guru in their songs. Not all 30 songs were on the album. However, a significant amount were written while they were away. It was released as a double album in November 1968 and rose to number one quickly.
Let It Be
Because they were required to complete one more album, the Beatles produced Let it Be. An 80 minute documentary was filmed of the group rehearsing at Twickenham Film Studios and recording at Apple Studios, and playing live on the rooftop of the Apple Office. It was filmed in January of 1969, but was not released until May 1970. It was released with the album in a box set. The album itself was not available for purchase until November 1970. The original plan was to create a album called Get Back and to film the recording process. However it ended up being a record of how they fell apart trying to finish it. Fights over the album eventually would lead to the break up of the group. The album itself was scrappy and was the last album released. Amazing as it seems, despite the arguments they went on to record Abbey Road. However by the time this album was released in May of 1970 the Beatles had broken up. It had the largest advance orders of over 4 million copies of the US were the largest ever. This album like many others reached the tops of the Britain and American charts.
Abbey Road
The final album produced by the Beatles was released in September 1969 and stayed at number 1 for 18 weeks. In America it was released in October and was at number 1 for 11 weeks. They created the album Abbey Road by attempting to recreate the way things used to be. They wanted to have the kind of feeling that they had when they worked together. However the songs reflected their frustration and had a very negative mood associated with it. It did feature two of George's best songs, 'Here comes the sun', and 'Something'. The album was to be the last as the Beatles moved on to solo work and changes in their lives.

Please send me email on my site...
Tanya M. Brethour
Copyright 1998 All Rights Reserved
Last Updated 10/24/98 16:25
[Top]

[The Fab Four] [John Lennon] [Paul McCartney] [George Harrison]
[Ringo Starr] [Albums] [Beatle Sites] [Main]