The second album by the four squirts from Liverpool, England. The underappreciated of all the albums, but maybe for a reason.
Song Reviews:
1) It Won't Be Long - This song, if listened closely enough, is a mess. Missed cues, wrong harmonies, vocal cracks, the whole nine yards. I guess they were having a good time, but maybe they should've been having a not so good time. This song is truly managed by a six-note descending chord on the guitar. Just sounds like a mess. Good song, though.
Rating: 7/10
2) All I've Got To Do - This doesn't sound like a Beatles song. Sounds like a song maybe by The Zombies, another British Invasion group. This just doesn't feel like a Beatles tune. It Won't Be Long kicked-off the album and then this came on and I was like "hm...where's the rock?" This song is not bad, but it's just a little slow.
Rating: 6.5/10
3) All My Loving - Triplets! I fucking love triplets and I love this song. My father subscribed to a Time Life collection where they would send VHS tapes of The Ed Sullivan Show. "All My Loving" was the official first song I ever heard by the fab four. It still gives me chills. This is where I started wanting to play the drums (Ringo), and just write, enjoy, and play music. I love this song to death, mainly because of the extreme nostalgia it gives me. Also, it's pretty kick-ass. This will be my first...
Rating: 10/10
4) Don't Bother Me - The first Harrison song, huh? Not bad. A cute little bluesy tune. Nice guitar, but a very somber tune. Basically he's saying everybody get away from me...whatever. I give credit to George for writing his first tune and it's not bad.
Rating: 7.5/10
5) Little Child - Come on! Hell yes! This is what I'm talking about. Cute harmonies, and a great harmonica solo in the middle of the song. This is in no way a filler. I think it's fantastic. Fun fact: This was written for Ringo to sing. Weird. Never could see Ringo singing this.
Rating: 8/10
6) Till There Was You - Ugh. How dare Paul try to sing a classic from a musical? The Music Man? My god. I love musicals and when I heard that Paul had covered "Till There Was You", I got excited. Then I heard it. Ugh. Never. Paul's vocals just sound like he's trying to hard. The song sang by Barbara Cook and Robert Preston is fantastic. Please soothe your ears with this, and not the McCartney version.
Rating: 5.5/10
7) Please Mister Postman - Another cover of an all girls group, The Marvelettes. Interesting. They really enjoyed the Motown babe music. This is a really good cover and John does a great job singing it. Paul and George do a good job on the backing vocals. The Marvelettes version is worth a listen, but the Beatles did a better job.
Rating: 7.5/10
8) Roll Over Beethoven - Alright! More covers! I love comparing to the two. 1. Harrison's vocals aren't that great, especially compared to Chuck Berry. 2. This one is waaay more of rock song then the Berry version. Berry focuses mainly on the guitar and vocals, but the Beatles had a very prominent drum part and bassline. 3. The Berry version is much better, due to the fact its just more classic. The Beatles did a great job on it, though.
Rating: 7.5/10
9) Hold Me Tight - No. Another dud. Another example of the Beatles trying too hard. This starts with a false ending. A very cliche guitar chord. A very boring middle-bridge shit. Just not a good song and does not fit in with the rest of the material on the album. Ugh. Trust me. It's nothing on Paul, he just did really bad on this song.
Rating: 5/10
10) You Really Got A Hold On Me - Awww. This is a really cute song and it's not a bad slow song. The harmonies on "And all that I want.." are fantastic. They did a very good job on this, and the Smokey Robinson version might be a little more musical but the Beatles did it a little better. A very nice little song.
Rating: 8/10
11) I Wanna Be Your Man - Hello Ringo! How are you? Good? SWEET! This song is kick-ass. Not the greatest Ringo song ever, but shows Ringo at his very best speedwise. The two main songwriters in the group, Lennon and McCartney, saw it as a total throwaway. I don't. I think it's awesome. Fast-paced and kick-ass.
Rating: 8/10
12) A Devil In Her Heart - Another cover. A good one, and I guess this counts as George's second lead vocal on the album. This is based off the song, "Devil In His Heart" by another all-girls motown group, The Donays. The Donays version has a really cool intro beat, which the Beatles couldn't match. The Beatles did do a good job, especially on the harmonies, but it's a slow, dragging song. Okay.
Rating: 6.5/10
13) Not A Second Time - This should be changed to "Not A Third Time" because this is the third major dud in this album. Quite frankly, i'll say it's the worst of the trio of suck. A cute drum fill will not bring me into this song. This song is very messy sounding. Just not good. Sorry John.
Rating: 4.5/10
14) Money (That's What I Want) - A nice ending to the album. A little slower than the original. The Barrett Strong version is pretty damn good. The Beatles did a fine job on it, but it sounds like they're trying a little too hard. A strong ending of the song really does a good job of ending the album with a bang.
Rating: 7.5/10
Final Note: I will admit this album does have some great song, but three complete duds that make the album not worth listening to. Underappreciated? I know why now. Hopefully A Hard Day's Night will have some fresh air for me.
Album Rating: 7/10
