Please Please Me: John & Paul’s Early Original Songs
March 3rd, 2011
A huge part of what really set The Beatles apart from other bands early ’60s was that they wrote their own songs. Eight of the fourteen songs included on their debut 1963 album, Please Please Me were written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. This article takes a track by track look at those eight Lennon/McCartney originals.
“I Saw Her Standing There” – The first track on The Beatles first LP. This track was written and sung by Paul but John did help Paul out with the lyrics by replacing the line “never been a beauty queen” with “you know what I mean.” It’s “1, 2, 3, 4″ intro was later referenced in 1966 with the intro of Revolver (a very different feeling although it’s the same words.)
“Misery” – The final original Beatles song recorded for the album, but it was the second one on Pleas Please Me’s tracklisting. It was originally written by Lennon/McCartney to be sang by Helen Shapiro but it was turned down so they recorded it for their debut album.
“<a href=”http://www.musicbyday.com/ask-me-why-the-beatles/697/”>Ask Me Why</a>” – This Lennon original was first released as the b-side to the “Please Please Me” single which was their first number one hit in the UK.
“<a href=”http://www.musicbyday.com/please-please-me-by-the-beatles/684/”>Please Please Me</a>” – The song their first album was named after is considered to be the best song on the album by a majority of music critics. This song is the one that really made The Beatles huge stars in Great Britain. Over a year later “I Want to Hold Your Hand” would do the same thing in the United States.
“Love Me Do” – This was the band’s very first single and because of that it’s certainly very historically important. That said, I think the song is actually among their worst originals and I think it receives far more attention than it really deserves.
“P.S. I Love You” – This was the b-side to “Love Me Do.” I think I prefer it, but that is probably mostly because I haven’t heard it nearly as many times.
“Do You Want To Know A Secret?” – Certainly this song is way too “cute” but that doesn’t stop it from being extremely memorable.
“There’s A Place” – This song has the most mature lyrics on their debut album. It’s an early hint that the Fab Four wouldn’t always sing about how much they loved a young woman.
With the release of the new <a href=”http://myspacebandreviews.blogspot.com/2009/08/beatles-remastered-box-sets.html”>Beatles Remastered CD Box Sets</a> all of these tracks can be heard in deliciously remastered mono and stereo mixes.
Categories: Music and Gadget
