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Please Please Me (Remastered)

The Beatles - Please Please Me (Remastered) Audio CD

A fair review of the The Beatles "Please Please Me (Remastered)" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Beatles reviews here, or go back to the The Beatles tabs.

Band: The Beatles
Title: Please Please Me (Remastered)
Rating:

Release Date: 2009-09-09
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: I Saw Her Standing There 2: Misery 3: Anna (Go To 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 15: Please Please Me Documentary

All In A Days Work
Four lads from Liverpool, England walk into Abbey Road Studios on Monday morning February 11, 1963 to start work in Studio 2 at 10:00 AM. Hands down a rock-n-roll milestone record. By 10:45 PM that evening all the songs on Please Please Me are recorded!! Seems simple enough but couple that with the fact that John Lennon had symptoms of the flu that day and could only give one vocal performance for Twist And Shout before his voice would be completely gone. Thankfully it was the last song of the days work in Studio 2. You can literally hear John's voice shredding. There would be no second take for Twist And Shout. A stunning rock vocal performance ranking high in the tops of all time on record. From the opening track's energetic 1-2-3-4 (Paul's count into I Saw Her Standing There) you get the feeling there is truly something magical happening. There was so much raw energy packed into those 14 hours that day in Studio 2 with each track being cut live on the spot. It is as close to the live sound as we would get to The Beatles until their final album Let It Be nearly 7 years later (save for a few reasonable sounding bootleg recordings). Please, Please Me is remarkable in that sense you feel as if John, Paul, George, and Ringo are after something from their very own hearts. They desired to make this one count in every way. This would be the same group that would only 3 years later record Revolver!! Who would've known that that very day in Abbey Road Studio 2? From that day they never looked back and began a wonderful musical recording odyssey unmatched in sheer out-put. Please, Please Me is where the party started and it is remarkably timeless in that sense. Brilliant!! .

Changing the Face of Pop Music
Opening with the breathless rocker "I Saw Her Standing There" and finishing with "Twist and Shout" (a remarkable first-take performance from John Lennon), the group's auspicious debut album still packs a sonic wallop. The Beatles' "Please Please Me" (1963) proved that the four lads from Liverpool would be around for the long haul. Along with "Love Me Do" and the title hit are Lennon-McCartney classics such as "Misery" and "There's a Place" - plus memorable covers of "Baby It's You," "A Taste of Honey" and "Boys" (Ringo's first lead vocal). The original mono version remains preferable to the weird stereo mix. Shortly before his death, Lennon acknowledged "Please Please Me" as one of his favorite Beatle albums.

Just the beginning
The other four: "Love Me Do", "P. What makes the Fab Four's debut album special is that 10 of the 14 tracks took less than a day to record. S. I Love You", "Ask Me Why" and the title track had already been recorded several months before. Here, like their next album and "Beatles For Sale", eight tracks are their own compositions while the other six are cover versions. One track, "Do You Want To Know A Secret" was written by John and sung by George. Since this was recorded with just two track technology, many of the songs feature the vocals on one channel with most of the instrumentals on the other. However, the stereo mixes of "Love Me Do" and "P. S. I Love You" no longer exist so they are presented here in their mono versions. The stereo versions of those songs on the 1965 US album "The Early Beatles" were actually fake stereo. Finally, the original liner notes have been reprinted as well as recording and historical notes.

This is definitely an essential album. They weren't rock pioneers just yet but that would soon change. The music here is as simple as it gets but the best was yet to come.

TT 32:31

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The mono mix is still far better
If ever there was a person to earn the title of "5th Beatle". . . it would surely have been George Martin and Brian Epstein. . . . and NOT New York radio DJ, Murray the K.

Martins invaluable knowledge of musical theory and arrangement, as well as his vast overall familiarity with each of the instruments and vocalizing; plus his willingness to bet on a longshot and take risks.

It was Brian Epsteins original interest in the band that convinced them to change their appeance/image and got them in the doors at Parlophone in the first place.

When you listen back to 1962 to the Decca Tapes, the Tony Sheridan recordings and the Star Club in Hamburg,Germany. . . . . It doesn't take a genius to figure out that NOBODY transcends from being a barely competent musician to the Beatle level in only 14 or 15 months. Also keep in mind that short of Paul McCartney, no one in the band had any formal musical training.

I believe this is where George Martin and Brian Epstein come into the picture. . . . Their guidance and vision took a group of 4 very ambitious young men who were extremely talented; yet raw and and transformed them into the biggest band of the century. In very short order, they became better than any of their peers. The bands appearance took on a new look. . . . as well as their sound. .

In the studio. . . . Martin undoubtedly helped them to polish their vocal and musical skills. . . showing them the tips and secrets only the pros were familiar with. It was Martin who helped them accelerate their prowess of the piano and organ. . . as well as giving them tips on how to accentuate their playing style on guitar, bass and drums. . This is the job of a good producer. . . . to get the most out of the performer and to capture it all on tape.

So. . . . . If there ever was ANYBODY who deserved to be referred to as a "5th Beatle". . . . It would have to be George Martin and Brian Epstein. These 2 men were every much a Beatle as the 4 who you saw on all the records and cd's.

When I think back to all the hoopla that was associated with Beatlemania. . . . I am really convinced that it wasn't all hype at all. . . . These guys (with the help of Brian and George) really deserved all that attention and they truly were a phenomenon and destined to be the BAND OF THE CENTURY.

If you doubt me. . . . just listen to the music.
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If it were me. . I would have opted for the MONO mixes in lieu of the hokey "music-left/vocals-right". . . . . . I have the original cd's in both stereo and mono. . . . and these new stereo versions are no better than the stereo versions I grabbed as imports back in the early 90's. . . aside from the cool new packaging. . . .

All in all. . . . I think Capitol is back to their old tricks. . . They should have released the PLEASE PLEASE ME. . . WITH THE BEATLES and RUBBER SOUL in MONO and pitched the hokey stereo mixes.

Another point. . . the remaster of PAST MASTERS has From Me To You and Thank You Girl in that hokey stereo mix. . . whereas the ooriginal Past masters are in MONO. . . and sound much better. . . . I went with that. . . and also found that using my mastering software. . I was able to remaster the old mono versions to at least equal or excell over these new stereo remasters. .
.

Scratches Already!
I've only played this twice, and it already has two scratches on it. I take excellent care of all my cds and dvds, but this is a new one for me. What is the serious collector supposed to do with these crappy paper sleeves? I don't want to put them in something else, as this ruins the whole mood of the set.
All this aside, some of the remasters are really good. Well, so far my favorites are 'The Beatles For Sale' and 'The White Album'. These two are quite impressive and are easy to listen to because they are not having one particular instrument 'jumping' out at me all the time. For example on 'Love Me Do', Paul's bass is a little too pronounced. But, I am glad to have these, regardless of some quirks here and there.

You can see a complete list of all The Beatles discography, or go back to the The Beatles tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.