Listening to it now, Please Please Me, The Beatles‘ initial album release in the United Kingdom, sounds like one of the first times a rock and roll act properly took advantage of the long-playing format. That the group achieved that feat almost unconsciously testifies to their unmatched brilliance.
Videos by American Songwriter
The Beatles recorded the bulk of Please Please Me in a single session at EMI’s Abbey Road studios in London. In the process, they inadvertently boosted the album as a format within the rock genre.
When Albums Were Secondary
We now think of rock and roll as being an album-driven medium, as countless artists have attempted to make complete statements over the course of two sides (sometime more) of vinyl. In the early days of the genre, however, the rock album was an afterthought. Please Please Me helped to change that, even if the four lads that created it didn’t necessarily intend that to happen.
Circa 1963, which is when The Beatles recorded and released Please Please Me, rock albums were only granted to artists who’d already banked successful singles. Adding a few more songs of filler allowed them to milk more sales out of a popular song. Since the Fab Four had already delivered one modest hit (“Love Me Do”) and one massive hit (“Please Please Me”), EMI gave them this opportunity.
But they weren’t going to go overboard about it. The Beatles would get a single session to record this album. If it were any other artist, the album would have been filled with the two killer singles and a bunch of forgettable fluff. But these guys were too good for that.
A Session for the Ages
Although the actual time of recording has long been debated, it seems like The Beatles took roughly 10 hours to record 10 songs on February 11, 1963. (“Love Me Do,” “Please Please Me” and B-sides “P.S. I Love You” and “Ask Me Why” were already in the can and would be included as well). Since the possibility of making an album was remote until the success of the two singles, they didn’t have much time to plan. Their idea, which was backed by producer George Martin: Recreate, within the studio setting, the typical set they’d play at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.
The Beatles managed to outstrip those limitations via the sheer force of their talent. When they played cover songs, they had such a firm grasp of the material, and played them with such energy, that the songs often came out sounding fresher than the originals. “Twist and Shout,” notable for John Lennon’s shredded vocals due to it being the last song recorded during the session, became a rock standard in this manner, even though it was already an R&B classic thanks to the original by The Isley Brothers.
The real ace in the hole for Please Please Me was that Lennon and Paul McCartney could add their own material to the mix. Few other rock acts of the time wrote their own stuff. Lennon and McCartney were already polished enough to deliver songs like “I Saw Her Standing There” and “There’s a Place” as album tracks, even though they were sharper than most singles of the day.
The Impact of Please Please Me
The immediate thing you notice about Please Please Me is there just isn’t any filler. You won’t find cover versions that sound like they were cobbled together without rhyme or reason. Nor will you hear any originals that sound as if they were written in less time than it takes to sing them.
It’s important to note that Please Please Me didn’t immediately change the status of the album overnight. Remember the U.S. versions of Beatles albums were often jumbled compared to what the group intended. And it would be a few years before the group themselves actually started making albums with their overall thematic impact as a group of connected songs front of mind.
But Please Please Me certainly indicated The Beatles were raising expectations for what an LP could be. No longer could rock bands get away with throwing together a group of tracks haphazardly, not unless they expected to be compared poorly to the standard the Fab Four set. Just think what they might have done if they had more time.
Photo by Roy Illingworth/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.