Please Please Me. What an interesting album. The Beatles introductory album. The one that skyrocketed the four Liverpudlian kids into International icons.
Song Reviews:
1) I Saw Her Standing There - What a kickass song. Paul and John's duet harmonies are among the most famous dual harmonies ever. From start to finish, this song keeps going and going. The verses are fantastic: the choruses are great: the guitar solo is fabulous: what more can you ask for. Of course, being The Beatles first album, there are some mistakes here and there, but who gives a shit. What a tune.
Rating: 8.5/10
2) Misery - Awwww, what a cute love song. But the sad thing is, this album is littered with this type of 'drag'ging love songs. This song feels a little slow. There's some cute harmonies in there. The guitar is discernible enough to make it a rock song, but the most prominent part in the song is the piano. Interesting, but this song is good enough for me to listen through.
Rating: 6.5/10
3) Anna (Go To Him) - Now, this song is incredibly underrated. A nice little song written by soul artist, Arthur Alexander. His version is in a lower key, there aren't as many harmonies, and the lead vocals are much better. John's trying a little too hard in this one. And guess what...it's a slow dragging love song. The Alexander version is a lot better, but what else would you suspect from a cover.
Rating: 6.5/10
4) Chains - Another one...yes. It's true. This one is a little faster, but this is another cover. I thought this one was a little better then the previous ones. The Cookies version is fantastic. The harmonies are 100x better than The Beatles versions. John did a great job of singing it, but it's in a lower key and doesn't feel love songy enough. Meh.
Rating: 7/10
5) Boys - KICK-ASS! I fucking love Ringo (he's my fav beatle) and this shows how much of a singer he can actually be. But it's a cover! Damn it. The Shirelles version is very nice, but lacks the tone of rock. Even though the original has a GREAT sax solo in place of a guitar solo, the guitar solo is a lot better. This is a song where the cover is better original. Good thing the boys remembered to change the pronouns or they would've been questioned...a lot.
Rating: 8.5/10
6) Ask Me Why - This does not sound like a Lennon/McCartney song at all. I give them credit for writing such a unique tune, but it doesn't cut it personally. The woo-woo backing vocals are something out of a 40s record and it's just boring. Not musch else to say, except the Beatles did a good job writing it.
Rating: 6.5/10
7) Please Please Me - KICK-ASS! This is the quintessential American Beatlemania theme. FANTASTIC TUNE! Ringo plays like a pro on this record! I just love this song and once I start listening to it I can't stop. This is a fabulous tune on every instrument and really showcases some of the falsetto notes the boys can hit. Incredible song.
Rating: 9/10
8) Love Me Do - Woah-oh! Love Me Do! Another great Lennon/McCartney song. This will recieve lower ratings because Ringo doesn't play drums on this record (session drummer Andy White plays drums on it), he plays tambourine. George Martin's an asshole...but it's whatever. I still thinks it's a great tune. This song was one of the first songs I ever heard by these guys and I always no every bit of this song. Very nice song.
Rating: 8/10
9) P.S. I Love You - Meh. AGAIN, Ringo doesn't play drums, neither does Andy White though. White played woodblocks and Starkey had maracas. A cute little tune with some cute harmonies, but other than that there isn't much else going on.
Rating: 7/10
10) Baby It's You - Another cover, but after listening to The Shirelles version I can deduct that the Beatles one is far superior. The sha-la-la's in this are extremely annoying and this whole song is kind of annoying. I never really liked this song. Meh.
Rating: 6/10
11) Do You Want To Know A Secret - Oh hai, George! He does a great job on this song, but it's got MORE annoying backing vocals (Doo-Da-Doo). Not a great song, but it's a good song for George at this time in his career. Slow chord progressions, non-complex vocals, slow tempo, etc. Not bad.
Rating: 7/10
12) A Taste Of Honey - This song has a strange past. First written as a instrumental (this particular version is not the actual instrumental) for the play, A Taste Of Honey. Then Lenny Welch took the song and added vocals to it. Then the Beatles covered it for Please Please Me. Both versions are very similar in arrangement, but Lenny Welch's version has this cool Hammond Organ in the bridge/chorus thing that the Beatles version lacks. A very favourable version and has always been a favorite of mine. Very nice.
Rating: 8/10
13) There's A Place - Another fast-paced rocker. This song is a great one and it's a short song. They jam-packed a hell of a song. Nice harmonies and a killer ending, this has all the ingredients of a good Beatles song. This has a really good bridge in the middle of it. Nice song.
Rating: 8.5/10
14) Twist And Shout - Well, shake it up a baby now! Oh man. The Top Notes version ain't got nothin' on Johnny and the Moondogs. Everyone though The Isley Brothers did this first, but with careful investigation (thanks Wikipedia), I found out The Top Notes did this first. The Beatls version is more closely related to The Isley Brothers version, but the Beatles eclipse every version ever. John fights through a cold and everything. Fantastic and a KICK-ASS (i love that word) to end the album.
Rating: 9/10
Final Note: Well, I ended up being mean on some songs, but lenient on others. All in all a good debut album and stay tuned for next album, With The Beatles.
Album Rating: 7.5/10
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