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	Please Please Me
	Released 1963
	Track listing:  1) I Saw Her Standing There; 2) Misery; 3) Anna (Go With Him); 4) Chains; 5) Boys; 6) Ask Me Why; 7) Please Please Me; 8) Love Me Do; 9) P.S. I Love You; 10) Baby It's You; 11) Do You Want To Know A Secret; 12) A Taste Of Honey; 13) There's A Place; 14) Twist And Shout.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 11 Record Rating: 6 Band Rating: 5
So in the beginning, the Beatles were a pop band.  Well that was a heck of a lot cooler then that it is now, mostly because pop music as a whole was cooler then.  It was Rock!   The most common misconception was that Beatles started bubblegum rock, so to speak.  Whoever says this should take a listen to 'Live at the BBC', which I think is very indicative of what they REALLY started, which is a lot of R&B covers done in that Liverpool Mersey Beat style.   (if you think R&B = R Kelly, Sisqo, Aaliyah, or Usher, this page is not for you.  Please get out).   The song that best represents this style is actually There's a Place.  Cant you just see them at the cavern bouncing away to this one?   And I Saw Her Standing There? They STILL play that one at every hockey game, its just as rockin today.   When I hear that song it just pisses me off that people regard Paul as the one who sings only sappy ballads.  Seriously, there is NO way John, or George (or God forbid Ringo) could have pulled this song off, and that goes for just about the hardest Beatle material in general.  Again I refer you to 'Liva at the BBC', where you can hear Paul ripping his vocal chords on Clarabella or Lucille.   So in the end, IMO, 'Please Please Me' was just a polished up version of what the Beatles sounded at the time.  They had to learn to be professionals when they were signed on to a label, and back then being professional meant having a cleaner sound with a formula.  But even then they were trying to break out of their shell.  This album has a lot of covers on it, but it also has a lot of original compositions, actually quite a lot for a new band at that time.   And speaking of covers, they did the original authors a HUGE service, because they blow away every single one.  Please dont ever tell me that you like the original Twist and Shout better than this version.  I'd have to strangle you.

	With the Beatles
	Released 1963
	Track listing: 1) It Won't Be Long; 2) All I've Gotta Do; 3) All My Loving; 4) Don't Bother Me; 5) Little Child; 6) Till There Was You; 7) Please Mr Postman; 8) Roll Over Beethoven; 9) Hold Me Tight; 10) You Really Got A Hold On Me; 11) I Wanna Be Your Man; 12) Devil In Her Heart; 13) Not A Second Time; 14) Money (That's What I Want).
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 13 Record Rating: 8 Band Rating: 5
Wow what an improvement over the first album.  And since the first one was pretty damn good, thats saying a lot.   I never ever ever get tired of the first four songs on here, it could be played on a loop for all I care.  The vocal harmonies are just fan-bloody-tastic.  Even the so called 'low' points, like Little Child, are fast and beat-y at worst, and very sing-able at best.   Remember, people, this was 1963 for God's sake!  The only other good band at the time were the Beach Boys, and they were even 'poppier' than the Beatles, so for the times, this was pretty dang crazy.  Lets not forget all that Beatlemania stuff too, you think the Cavern went crazy?  You should have seen these guys on tour!  I wouldnt be a bit surprised if the earliest forms of mosh pits started here, with all the crazyness that went on at the concerts.   OK back to the music.  I still like the more unknown tracks on this album, like Dont Bother Me.  I know George Harrison hates it when people overly praise this song, cause he just wrote it as a throw-away, but I think its brilliant.   You Really Got a Hold on Me has really grown on me over time (I'll avoid the obvious pun here), I really dug it when I saw them ressurect that song on the Let it Be video.  And lets not forget I Wanna be Your Man, which they initially gave to the Stones as their first single, then decided to put it on their album anyway, with Ringo singing, no less!!  (Theres also versions of John singing it, which is even better, and is funny cause it puts the Stones' version to shame).    I've heard Roll Over Beethoven to death on all the compilations, so I usually skip that one here.   But Devil in her Heart never gets old, the harmony there is just magnifico.  Funny how we get to hear so much of George singing in the early days, he was regarded as having a good voice for all these covers they did.  Its only because they started writing their own stuff that we heard him less and less later on.  Of course, by being the 'third string writer' in the group, he did have the advantage of not ever having a bad song (in his Beatle-Years), because it had to be really good everytime they included one.  Then again, Paul and John never had a bad song either until maybe 1971, eh?

	A Hard Days Night
	Released 1964
	Track listing: 1) A Hard Day's Night; 2) I Should Have Known Better; 3) If I Fell; 4) I'm Happy Just To Dance With You; 5) And I Love Her; 6) Tell Me Why; 7) Can't Buy Me Love; 8) Anytime At All; 9) I'll Cry Instead; 10) Things We Said Today; 11) When I Get Home; 12) You Can't Do That; 13) I'll Be Back.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 14 Record Rating: 9 Band Rating: 5
ahh yes, the "Pop Masterpiece".  I cant believe this is only their 3rd album.  The only reason it didnt get a 10 is because they had surpassed even themselves in later releases.   If you love the movie, get this soundtrack.  If you love the soundtrack, go see the movie.  This is Beatlemania at its absolute highest.  At this time nothing in the world could touch them, and it was with this movie, that they spawned thousands of ideas in on-the-brink musicians around the world, and especially in England, that being a nobody and turning yourself into a rock star WAS a possibility, and not an impossible dream.   Just about every group from then on cited this movie (including the Melody-Man himself, Mr Ray Davies) as a jumping off point of their dreams to be a rock star.   It is for this inspiration that we must thank the Beatles the most, for even if the leader stumbles and falls (cut to: the Breakup after Abbey Road), the followers must be ready to shoulder the burden and keep advancing (thank you Art and Prog-rock).   Theres not one bad song on here, and whats more, not one unsingable song, which is even better. (think about the difference).   Despite all the other tracks The Things We Said Today might be my favourite one, because there is no break in it for guitar soloing, and I thought that was kind of new and clever.  The words and idea behind that song are amazing too.    No actually  If I Fell might be my favourite one, (the highlight of the movie for me, as John says "I'll show him!"....btw isnt it scary how close the lyrics really hit home????).  Ok wait, maybe its And I Love Her, one of the greatest love songs ever (its always Paul, isnt it?  Just shows ya, John wasnt really in love till Yoko, despite his marriage).  Or maybe I Should Have Known Better, with John's amazing harmonica work.   No wait, its.......

	Beatles For Sale
	Released 1964
	Track listing: 1) No Reply; 2) I'm A Loser; 3) Baby's In Black; 4) Rock And Roll Music; 5) I'll Follow The Sun; 6) Mr Moonlight; 7) Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey; 8) Eight Days A Week; 9) Words Of Love; 10) Honey Don't; 11) Every Little Thing; 12) I Don't Want To Spoil The Party; 13) What You're Doing; 14) Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 12 Record Rating: 7 Band Rating: 5
ok this is where I have to include my gripe about the American 'bastardized albums', because only recently have I heard this album as it should be, with the tracks listed as above.   If you dont know, Capitol had this rule for albums being released in America: they can only be 12 songs in length.  This caused some songs to be cut from albums, and included in later 'all new' american albums, which werent really new at all in Britain or anywhere else, so the track listing got all srcewed up.  This is why we have albums like The Beatles: 'Yesterday and Today', which I actually owned and got to know as THOSE set of songs, which was of course all wrong.  Anyway what I knew as the 'Beatles 65' plus most of 'Yesterday and Today' is ACTUALLY THIS ALBUM, 'Beatles for Sale'.  Now the problem is that I thought some of 'Yesterday and Today' was kind of weak, for instance tracks like What You're Doing, and Every Little Thing.  However, 'Beatles 65' was perfect.  So combining these 2 gives a little unfair rating to 'For Sale', but what can I do.  I really like I Dont Want to Spoil the Party, however, and who can resist Everybody's Trying to be my Baby, especially when George is singing it and you know how true that probably was.  Kansas City is not really my cup of tea, and I actually prefer Carl Perkins' version of Honey Dont to Ringo's, but I cant say anything bad about the rest.  John especially shines here with 2 of his best:  No Reply and I'm a Loser.   Another thing: on Rock and Roll Music check out how that piano REALLY starts bangin' when John sings 'keep on rockin that PIANO!!"  Thats some classy rock and roll when you start to invoke all kinds of instruments like that, and no one was better at that than these pudlians.

	Help!
	Released 1965
	Track listing: 1) Help!; 2) The Night Before; 3) You've Got To Hide Your Love Away; 4) I Need You; 5) Another Girl; 6) You're Going To Lose That Girl; 7) Ticket To Ride; 8) Act Naturally; 9) It's Only Love; 10) You Like Me Too Much; 11) Tell Me What You See; 12) I've Just Seen A Face; 13) Yesterday; 14) Dizzy Miss Lizzie
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 12 Record Rating: 7 Band Rating: 5
I like Help a lot actually, its just those 1 or 2 'Yesterday or Today' songs that crept in once again.  Damn those American bastardized albums!!!   Anyway the first half is basically the movie soundtrack, all of which are above excellence.   I know the movie kicks ass because I cant decide what I like the best:  the studio bit of You're Gonna Lose That Girl, or the beach scene where Paul sings Another Girl, or the masterpiece You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (John's best song ever?  yeah, easy to say...until you hear the rest of them!  haha thats what I always say).     George's I Need You always reminds me of the scene with the tank, haha.   Then of course there is Yesterday, which is only included on this album because they never released it as a single.  Think about it.  The going was so good they didnt NEED to.   Incredible.    Ive Just Seen a Face (included on Rubber Soul in American bastardized form) is a terrific song, it could have easily been a single, were it released by any other group.  But then that goes for a lot of Beatles stuff. You Like Me Too Much, Tell Me What You See, and Dizzy Miss Lizzie could have been omitted and this album might have gotten a 10 easily.  And Lets not even discuss Act Naturally.   Seriously, does Ringo have to sing on EVERY album?  This aint no Octopus' Garden or Yellow Submarine, his voice just sounds so monotonous here.  And its a cover too.  Haven't we had enough covers by now?  C'mon boys, we all know you can WRITE!

	Rubber Soul
	Released 1965
	Track listing: 1) Drive My Car; 2) Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown); 3) You Won't See Me; 4) Nowhere Man; 5) Think For Yourself; 6) The Word; 7) Michelle; 8) What Goes On; 9) Girl; 10) I'm Looking Through You; 11) In My Life; 12) Wait; 13) If I Needed Someone; 14) Run For Your Life.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 12 Record Rating: 7 Band Rating: 5
Why, oh why, did I rate this album so low?  Well, part of it is that I hate to skip over that Ringo song every time, What Goes On (geez why am I always so hard on poor Ringo?  Thats ok he'll redeem himself on 'Abbey Road'.)   ,and the other part is that the John and Paul songs arent the ...well, best they could be. Thats not saying they're bad, Paul and John could probably write better stuff in their sleep (actually, literally they did, Yesterday comes to mind) than most songwriters could at their creative peak.  But I think they could have done better than Drive My Car. Actually, George's songs are the saving grace of this album for me, Think for Yourself and If I Needed Someone are the two stronger cuts on the album, remarkably. Now before I commit any blasphemy, let me say that I still never get tired of Norwegian Wood or Nowhere Man. Surprisingly, my man Paul only has one track on here that I REALLY dig, and thats You Wont See Me.   Michelle is of course always good, but kind of repetative, and if you're not in that lazy mood it just doesnt work. Drive my Car, The Word,and I'm Looking Through You are your average Beatles great catchy songs, but to the seasoned listener you're really looking forward to stuff like In My Life and Girl, which are still reflective of John's strong writing of this period. (I think this was really HIS period, from about 'Hard Days Night' until 'Revolver', because starting on 'Pepper'' Paul started to really take over with the better stuff)

	Revolver
	Released 1966
	Track listing: 1) Taxman; 2) Eleanor Rigby; 3) I'm Only Sleeping; 4) Love You To; 5) Here There And Everywhere; 6) Yellow Submarine; 7) She Said She Said; 8) Good Day Sunshine; 9) And Your Bird Can Sing; 10) For No One; 11) Doctor Robert; 12) I Want To Tell You; 13) Got To Get You Into My Life; 14) Tomorrow Never Knows.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 14 Record Rating: 9 Band Rating: 5
Revolver is kind of a part 2 to Rubber Soul. I'm not saying anything new here, youve all heard this before. There's definitely a similarity of the style of Beatles sound here, no question. However the strength of tunes itself is much stronger on this album. Just about the only thing thats even mindly unpleasurable is Good Day Sunshine, which i'm sure sounds fine to play over and over when you're stoned, but otherwise its a little flat. Everything else is just first rate, not even mentioning that this is probably the most diverse Beatles album out there, with George contributing 3 songs (his most on any album, and these are some of his best), Paul 6 (Ringo sings one), and John 5. The thing about this album is it contains some of my fave Beatles songs of All Time! I'm Only Sleeping couldve been written about me, and I just love everything about that song. Here, There and Everywhere was John's favourite McCartney song ever, and its mine too, as well as the second greatest love song of all time. (nothing can top I Will, a Paul song on the White Album). I thought Love You To was just about the greatest song George ever wrote, until I listened to all the other ones. (thats the thing about George, he only gets about 2-3 cuts per album, but all of them are absolute gems) For No One NEVER gets old, no matter how many times I hear it, which is more than I can say for Yellow Submarine, which is a great song, but I think its a bit overplayed. (or maybe I just overplayed it by watching the movie too much, who knows) All in All, just about the strongest album of their early period. Well actually it would probably be more towards the border of their middle period, which is my favourite Beatle Period, so it bodes well in my Hall of Fame. :)

	Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
	Released 1967
	Track listing: 1) Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; 2) With A Little Help From My Friends; 3) Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds; 4) Getting Better; 5) Fixing A Hole; 6) She's Leaving Home; 7) Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite; 8) Within You Without You; 9) When I'm Sixty-Four; 10) Lovely Rita; 11) Good Morning Good Morning; 12) Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise); 13) A Day In The Life.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 14 Record Rating: 9 Band Rating: 5
Yeah yeah, I'm going to be blasted for giving this album ONLY a NINE!  What kind of crazy lunatic am I, anyway?  heck I dont know.  I looked and looked at each song trying to find a weak point, and I just cant find one.   ok so Mr Kite is kinda iffy in my book (thats right, I said it......more blasphemy coming, I know), but I love all the other tracks.  I can even take Ringo's singing on this one without shoving a nail in my foot.  It all works.  This album is all that the critics said it was, and more.  I just took a point off because Let it Be and Abbey Road are just so much better that this was the only place that was a step down from it.  Dont take it personally. :) I used to not like Within You Without You, but I love it now.  Its brilliant.  I also read that When I'm 64 is one of the first songs that Paul ever wrote.  Cool huh.  In college when I was in my top prank form, I would sometimes wake people up with an extremely loud Good Morning Good Morning.   It wasnt so fun when they got me back though, heh.   Brian Wilson once said that Fixing a Hole  was his favourite Beatles song.  Thats good praise, its one of my faves on this record as well.

	Magical Mystery Tour
	Released 1967
	Track listing: 1) Magical Mystery Tour; 2) The Fool On The Hill; 3) Flying; 4) Blue Jay Way; 5) Your Mother Should Know; 6) I Am The Walrus; 7) Hello Goodbye; 8) Strawberry Fields Forever; 9) Penny Lane; 10) Baby You're A Rich Man; 11) All You Need Is Love.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 15 Record Rating: 10 Band Rating: 5
This could very well be my favourite album of all time.  Its a toss up between this one, Let it Be, and Abbey Road. One of my favourite T-Shirts I own is of this album cover, although everyone else seems to despise it. :) I love the album, and I'm actually glad its so short. If this were a double cd or something, it wouldnt be so good. So this way its more like a (better) extension of Sgt. Pepper.  And hey! This is only the SECOND album without a Ringo-sung song on it!  I'm not saying thats the reason for the 10, heck he did a good job with Boys and I Wanna Be Your Man, but you know....its just refreshing.  (although all you seem to hear on Blue Jay Way is a seemingly drunk sounding Ringo drowning the other 3 out, lol...) The sides were kindof split up; Paul got most of the first side and John most of the second, with a groovy George thrown in for good measure.  "There's a fog upon LA".   'Fog' back then, or was it smog already?    I really cant single out songs here, because truly no one of them is any worse than any other one.   I am The Walrus is one of the highlights of the movie though, its worth it for that performance alone (Paul says so).   When I went to visit Liverpool I got to see Strawberry Fields (An orphanage) and Penny Lane (yep, there WAS the barber shop with the photographs).   I also believe everyone should have a theme song for themselves. All You Need Is Love used to be mine for many many years. (for my current one, see the review for Quadrophenia by the Who)

	The White Album
	Released 1968
	Track listing: 1) Back In The USSR; 2) Dear Prudence; 3) Glass Onion; 4) Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da; 5) Wild Honey Pie; 6) The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill; 7) While My Guitar Gently Weeps; 8) Happiness Is A Warm Gun; 9) Martha My Dear; 10) I'm So Tired; 11) Blackbird; 12); Piggies; 13) Rocky Raccoon; 14) Don't Pass Me By; 15) Why Don't We Do It In The Road; 16) I Will; 17) Julia; 18) Birthday; 19) Yer Blues; 20) Mother Nature's Son; 21) Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey; 22) Sexy Sadie; 23) Helter Skelter; 24) Long Long Long; 25) Revolution 1; 26) Honey Pie; 27) Savoy Truffle; 28) Cry Baby Cry; 29) Revolution 9; 30) Good Night.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: (15+13) / 2 = 14 Record Ratings: 10, 8 Band Rating: 5
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	Hey Jude
	Released 1968
	Track listing: 1) Hey Jude; 2) Old Brown Shoe; 3) Dont Let Me Down; 4) Ballad of John and Yoko; 5) Cant Buy Me Love; 6) Should have known Better; 7) Paperback Writer; 8) Rain; 9) Revolution; 10) Lady Madonna;
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 15 Record Rating: 10 Band Rating: 5
This album is one of the great Beatle mysteries that I still dont understand.   Why has this album NEVER made it onto cd????   It was released on vinyl in 1970, and I guess all the SONGS made it onto the cd in the form of Past Masters, Vol 2.  However, it is this album which is so charming: 5 singles and their respective B Sides, played sequentially as far as I can figure, starting with Cant Buy Me Love.  See, the Beatles had so much firepower, they didnt put their singles on their albums like band do today (or even back then).  The public bought their singles anyway, then they went and bought their albums, and from the Beatles' perspective, they wanted to give the public the most for their money.  (Of course later on the Beatles could do whatever they wanted, and singles like The Long and Winding Road ended up on the 'Let it Be' album anyway).   So this is why you never see She Loves You or I Wanna Hold Your Hand on ANY album, except Past Masters 1, which was released in 1988!!!  you had to wait 18 years to hear it again after these guys split up, and there was no Napster in these days either.  Tough for the fan, I know. Anyway lucky for us, we CAN get this album (not on cd of course, which baffles me) in vinyl form, and what a treat it is!  Isnt Dont Let Me Down the best Beatle song EVER?  It sound slike it belongs smack dab in the middle of 'Abbey Road'.   Old Brown Shoe is one of George's 'lost' gems, which means it isnt lost at all, it just never made it onto a proper album.  Same as his stuff from the Pepperland album.  Hey Jude is one of the most famous Beatle tunes, and lets not forget, the first one that shattered the 3.5 minute 'radio rule', cause they went ahead and played it anyway at 7.5 minutes.  Thank goodness for that, or else we might not have heard Stairway to Heaven on the radio, who knows.   I'm not really sure why Cant Buy Me Love and Should Have Known Better is on here, seeing as they were already on 'Hard Days Night'.  This could again have something to do with the issue of American vs British releases, I'm not sure what went on the American version of 'Hard Days Night'.   Ringo constantly, I mean CONSTANTLY praises his own drumming in Rain, and I dont blame him, cause it rocks, but seriously let it go, Ring.  You dont hear Paul brag about his piano work on Lady Madonna, even though it WOULD be something to brag about.   And Revolution, come on, who in the WORLD has written such a bad-ass song as Revolution????   Thats right, nobody.   If the Beatles had been a mediocre band in the 60s and the only good song they ever wrote was Revolution, they would still be in the forefront of Rock history.   Kind of like the Who with Wont get Fooled again.  (even though this analogy doesnt work because the Who deserves much more respect than that, but thats the song they are most famous for)

	Let It Be
	Released 1970
	Track listing: 1) Two Of Us; 2) Dig A Pony; 3) Across The Universe; 4) I Me Mine; 5) Dig It; 6) Let It Be; 7) Maggie Mae; 8) I've Got A Feeling; 9) One After 909; 10) The Long And Winding Road; 11) For You Blue; 12) Get Back.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 15 Record Rating: 10 Band Rating: 5

	Abbey Road
	Released 1969
	Track listing: 1) Come Together; 2) Something; 3) Maxwell's Silver Hammer; 4) Oh Darling; 5) Octopus's Garden; 6) I Want You (She's So Heavy); 7) Here Comes The Sun; 8) Because; 9) You Never Give Me Your Money; 10) Sun King; 11) Mean Mr Mustard; 12) Polythene Pam; 13) She Came In Through The Bathroom Window; 14) Golden Slumbers; 15) Carry That Weight; 16) The End; 17) Her Majesty.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 15 Record Rating: 10 Band Rating: 5

	Past Masters Vol. 1
	Released 1988
	Track listing: 1) Love Me Do; 2) From Me To You; 3) Thank You Girl; 4) She Loves You; 5) I'll Get You; 6) I Want To Hold Your Hand; 7) This Boy; 8) Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand; 9) Sie Liebt Dich; 10) Long Tall Sally; 11) I Call Your Name; 12) Slow Down; 13) Matchbox; 14) I Feel Fine; 15) She's A Woman; 16) Bad Boy; 17) Yes It Is; 18) I'm Down.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 12 Record Rating: 7 Band Rating: 5

	Past Masters Vol. 2
	Released 1988
	Track listing: 1) Day Tripper; 2) We Can Work It Out; 3) Paperback Writer; 4) Rain; 5) Lady Madonna; 6) The Inner Light; 7) Hey Jude; 8) Revolution; 9) Get Back; 10) Don't Let Me Down; 11) The Ballad Of John And Yoko; 12) Old Brown Shoe; 13) Across The Universe; 14) Let It Be; 15) You Know My Name (Look Up The Number).
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 14 Record Rating: 9 Band Rating: 5

	Live at the BBC
	Released 1994
	Track listing: CD I: 1) Beatle Greetings; 2) From Us To You; 3) Riding On A Bus; 4) I Got A Woman; 5) Too Much Monkey Business; 6) Keep Your Hands Off My Baby; 7) I'll Be On My Way; 8) Young Blood; 9) A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues; 10) Sure To Fall (In Love With You); 11) Some Other Guy; 12) Thank You Girl; 13) Sha La La La La; 14) Baby It's You; 15) That's All Right (Mama); 16) Carol; 17) Soldier Of Love; 18) A Little Rhyme; 19) Clarabella; 20) I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry; 21) Crying Waiting Hoping; 22) Dear Wack; 23) You Really Got A Hold On Me; 24) To Know Her Is To Love Her; 25) A Taste Of Honey; 26) Long Tall Sally; 27) I Saw Her Standing There; 28) The Honeymoon Song; 29) Johnny B. Goode; 30) Memphis Tennessee; 31) Lucille; 32) Can't Buy Me Love; 33) From Fluff To You; 34) Till There Was You. CD II: 1) Crinsk Dee Night; 2) A Hard Day's Night; 3) Have A Banana; 4) I Wanna Be Your Man; 5) Just A Rumour; 6) Roll Over Beethoven; 7) All My Loving; 8) Things We Said Today; 9) She's A Woman; 10) Sweet Little Sixteen; 11) 1822; 12) Lonesome Tears In My Eyes; 13) Nothin' Shakin'; 14) The Hippy Hippy Shake; 15) Glad All Over; 16) I Just Don't Understand; 17) Top So How Come (No One Loves Me); 18) I Feel Fine; 19) I'm A Loser; 20) Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby; 21) Rock And Roll Music; 22) Ticket To Ride; 23) Dizzy Miss Lizzie; 24) Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey; 25) Set Fire To That Lot; 26) Matchbox; 27) I Forgot To Remember To Forget; 28) Love These Goon Shows; 29) I Got To Find My Baby; 30) Ooh! My Soul; 31) Ooh! My Arms; 32) Don't Ever Change; 33) Slow Down; 34) Honey Don't; 35) Love Me Do.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: (13+13) / 2 = 13 Record Rating: 8, 8 Band Rating: 5

	Anthology 1
	Released 1995
	Track listing: CD I: 1) Free As A Bird; 2) Speech by John Lennon; 3) That'll Be The Day; 4) In Spite Of All The Danger; 5) Speech by Paul McCartney; 6) Hallelujah I Love Her So; 7) You'll Be Mine; 8) Cayenne; 9) Speech by Paul McCartney; 10) My Bonnie; 11) Ain't She Sweet; 12) Cry For A Shadow; 13) Speech by John Lennon; 14) Speech by Brian Epstein; 15) Searchin'; 16) Three Cool Cats; 17) The Sheik Of Araby; 18) Like Dreamers Do; 19) Hello Little Girl; 20) Speech by Brian Epstein; 21) Besame Mucho; 22) Love Me Do; 23) How Do You Do It; 24) Please Please Me; 25) One After 909 (Sequence); 26) One After 909; 27) Lend Me Your Comb; 28) I'll Get You; 29) Speech by John Lennon; 30) I Saw Her Standing There; 31) From Me To You; 32) Money (That's What I Want); 33) You Really Got A Hold On Me; 34) Roll Over Beethoven. CD II: 1) She Loves You; 2) Till There Was You; 3) Twist And Shout; 4) This Boy; 5) I Want To Hold Your Hand; 6) Speech by Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise; 7) Moonlight Bay; 8) Can't Buy Me Love; 9) All My Loving; 10) You Can't Do That; 11) And I Love Her; 12) A Hard Day's Night; 13) I Wanna Be Your Man; 14) Long Tall Sally; 15) Boys; 16) Shout; 17) I'll Be Back (Take 2); 18) I'll Be Back (Take 3); 19) You Know What To Do; 20) No Reply (Demo); 21) Mr Moonlight; 22) Leave My Kitten Alone; 23) No Reply; 24) Eight Days A Week (Sequence); 25) Eight Days A Week; 26) Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: (13+11) / 2 = 12 Record Rating: 8, 6 Band Rating: 5
There was a lot of hype surrounding this anthology set, of which this is the first of 3 double albums of outtakes, live stuff, rare stuff, and even a new single! Free as a Bird is not a bad song, but not really noteworthy in these times, lets face it, although the video was almost more enjoyable than the song itself, with the bird flying over the story of the Beatles' history. Anyway this is a good cd set, by all means. The problem is that Live at the BBC is just loads better, in that it captures the youthful energy of those crazy times a lot better than this one. What this cd set brings you however, in the first 10 tracks or so, is the experimentation of John and Paul writing songs. Bad as the recordings are, you can almost feel them coming into their own as songwriters even at that early age. There is a lot of dialogue in these cds too, and that gets annoying after a while. But let me tell ya, the version of Besame Mucho on cd 1 is almost worth the price of the cd itself. I also like Paul's (very) early tunes: Like Dreamers Do and Hello Little Girl. By the end of the first cd the tunes should start to get familiar to everyone. Love Me Do, Please Please Me and all the other staples are of course featured here, not much different than their polished versions you've heard before. The surprises, however, include early versions of One after 909 (thats right, one of the first songs they ever wrote, even though it didnt surface until Let It Be), and a couple cool ones that George sings like Shiek of Araby, and Three Cool Cats. The second cd chugs along after the first one, with familiars like She Loves You, This Boy etc. Can't Buy Me Love is a really good version though, as Paul forgets some words and just dum dee dums it along for a while, hehe. Shout is of course, always nice to hear, and the Beatles do it as good as anyone. However, the live stuff, like All My Loving would be nice, but the screams are a little much, and after hearing such lovely versions on Live at the BBC, these performances kindof pale. And I Love Her has some kind of wierd electric piano thing accomplanying it that doesnt sound right. I Wanna Be your Man has Ringo singing, (not very well), but it still rocks as usual (good thing Paul chimes in occasionally with a few woohoos for good measure). The best part of the second cd is the different tempo version (before they 'figure out' the tempo) of I'll Be Back ("it's too hard to sing", shouts John). George has another surprise with a great ORIGINAL composition, You Know What to Do, which in my opinion is every bit as good as Dont Bother Me and most of the Lennon/McCartney ones at the time. I cant see why they never released this one.   The end of the second cd gets better and better, as cool demos of No Reply, Mr Moonlight, and Eight Days a Week make this a very enjoyable end to a promising 3 double cd anthology.

	Anthology 2
	Released 1996
	Track listing: CD I: 1) Real Love; 2) Yes It Is; 3) I'm Down; 4) You've Got To Hide Your Love Away; 5) If You've Got Trouble; 6) That Means A Lot; 7) Yesterday; 8) It's Only Love; 9) I Feel Fine; 10) Ticket To Ride; 11) Yesterday; 12) Help!; 13) Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby; 14) Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown); 15) I'm Looking Through You; 16) 12-Bar Original; 17) Tomorrow Never Knows; 18) Got To Get You Into My Life; 19) And Your Bird Can Sing; 20) Taxman; 21) Eleanor Rigby (strings only); 22) I'm Only Sleeping (Rehearsal); 23) I'm Only Sleeping (Take 1); 24) Rock And Roll Music; 25) She's A Woman. CD II: 1) Strawberry Fields Forever (demo); 2) Strawberry Fields Forever (take 1); 3) Strawberry Fields Forever (take 7 and edit piece); 4) Penny Lane; 5) A Day In The Life; 6) Good Morning Good Morning; 7) Only A Northern Song; 8) Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite-1; 9) Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite-2; 10) Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds; 11) Within You Without You (instrumental); 12) Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise); 13) You Know My Name (Look Up The Number); 14) I Am The Walrus; 15) The Fool On The Hill (demo); 16) Your Mother Should Know; 17) The Fool On The Hill (take 4); 18) Hello Goodbye; 19) Lady Madonna; 20) Across The Universe.
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: (10+12) / 2 = 11 Record Rating: 5, 7 Band Rating: 5
Lets start off by stating that Real Love is a FANTASTIC song, by today's, yesterday's, or tomorrow's standards. In the Beatles' day it probably wouldve reached number 1, i'm sure, but anyway its a great way to kick off this second Anthology. It beats the heck out of Free as a Bird and that was a good song too. Some of the songs here are actually superior to their original versions, for example Yes It Is, which starts out as a demo from john, and during the bridge is somehow morphed with the final version which is like a sudden addition of vibrant color to a black and white picture. Both are beautiful in their own right but the finished product is astounding. Then there's You've Got To Hide Your Love Away, of which there is no better version anywhere except right here, on track 4 of this cd. (by the way if you have even a shadow of a doubt that the Beatles are the greatest band of all time, consider this: this masterpiece was taken from conception to completion in 2, thats right TWO hours. I rest my case) I'm down is such a damn good song, and Paul's delivery here is "pretty darn good" as he calls it. If You've Got Trouble is a funny tune. The Beatles cut it, and most everybody puts it down for being too generic, but I say c'mon, i'd take this any day over Act Naturally, which replaced it on the Help! album. Oh well. Another mystery is That Means a Lot, one of Paul's songs which I think is every bit as good as any of Paul's other stuff at the time. Why it was cut is beyond me, but I'm glad its on here, at any rate.    The live tracks on here I dont really dig, just like on the first anthology there is too much screaming, and of course we know that the Beatles at this time were not a very good LIVE band, in fact for all the screaming they couldnt even hear themselves, so who could blame them. The recordings on here kinda show it, although Ticket to Ride still rocks (and always will) the rest could be better enjoyed as a studio version anyway. Norwegian Wood is better here than on the album, there is extra sitar all over the place, and Paul's extra harmony. (there's nothing more kick ass in John's songs than when Paul decides to chime in with him on the bridge or something. That applies here, and is also what has always made Ticket to Ride the best song of this period).    I dont really like this version of I'm Looking Through You, its nowhere near finished and it shows. 12 Bar Original is a cool addition just to prove that the Beatles can ad lib any crap and make it sound like a masterpiece. Towards the end of the first cd there is a LOTof experimentation going on, musically and...er, otherwise. Just check out the messed up versions of Tomorrow Never Knows, and And Your Bird Can Sing where they're laughing uncontrollably. For my money, they could have left off the crappy version of Got To Get You Into My Life, and Taxman is almost identical to the one on Revolver, except for the "Everybody got a bit of money" part. However, the Eleanor Rigby string only track was something I think EVERYONE has wanted to hear. (Is there ANY other rock song that plays ONLY to strings and is this badass?) The Second cd is entirely Pepper and Mystery Tour, which, I dont need to tell you, could be the cream of any crop, but for the Beatles just a passing phase. This cd is my favourite of all the Anthology cds, there is no bad track on here (thankfully they cut the live stuff by now). Even three tracks of Strawberry Fields Forever just seems to flow together naturally, you just want it to take you away.... Penny Lane has a neat psychadelic ending, as well as more horns, which are always better. There are many experimental takes of Pepper songs here, all of which are enjoyable and interesting at the same time, but what I loved even more was which somehow sounds much better here (and the lyrics are better too) than on the real album, which actually I dont have, so its all good, lol. The Best stuff comes at the end, with 2 takes of Fool on the Hill and some other Paul classics, Your Mother Should Know, Lady Madonna, Hello, Goodbye. Of course anyone who just bought this album and was not a Beatles fanatic would hear You Know My Name (look up the number) here for the first time, and be their favourite track at least for a while, I guarantee it, cause its just so fun.

	Anthology 3
	Released 1996
	Track listing: CD I: 1) A Beginning; 2) Happiness Is A Warm Gun; 3) Helter Skelter; 4) Mean Mr Mustard; 5) Polythene Pam; 6) Glass Onion-1; 7) Junk; 8) Piggies; 9) Honey Pie; 10) Don't Pass Me By; 11) Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da; 12) Good Night; 13) Cry Baby Cry; 14) Blackbird; 15) Sexy Sadie; 16) While My Guitar Gently Weeps; 17) Hey Jude; 18) Not Guilty; 19) Mother Nature's Son; 20) Glass Onion-2; 21) Rocky Raccoon; 22) What's The New Mary-Jane; 23) Step Inside Love/Los Paranoias; 24) I'm So Tired; 25) I Will; 26) Why Don't We Do It In The Road; 27) Julia. CD II: 1) I've Got A Feeling; 2) She Came In Through The Bathroom Window; 3) Dig A Pony; 4) Two Of Us; 5) For You Blue; 6) Teddy Boy; 7) Rip It Up/Shake Rattle And Roll/Blue Suede Shoes; 8) The Long And Winding Road; 9) Oh Darling; 10) All Things Must Pass; 11) Mailman Bring Me No More Blues; 12) Get Back; 13) Old Brown Shoe; 14) Octopus's Garden; 15) Maxwell's Silver Hammer; 16) Something; 17) Come Together; 18) Come And Get It; 19) Ain't She Sweet (Rehearsal); 20) Because; 21) Let It Be; 22) I Me Mine; 23) The End.
Roland's review: Overall Rating: (12+12) / 2 = 12 Record Rating: 7, 7 Band Rating: 5

	The Lost Pepperland Reel
	Released ...?
	Track listing: 1)
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	Beatles Oldies
	Released ...?
	Track listing: 1)
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