So some Beatles albums are going on sale at A&B Sound...

[Adam Crocker]

As far as has been my experience with music stores, the Beatles albums tend to range somewhere in the full price range, even though they haven't been remastered, when non-remastered albums by similar artists have been selling at bargain prices. (And even some remastered albums.) But anyways A&B Sound, which usually has them at around $19 or $17 Cdn, is selling some of them for roughly $11 this week and they are as follows:

-- Rubber Soul
-- Revolver
-- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
-- Magical Mystery Tour
-- Abbey Road

The compilation Beatles #1 is also on sale as well for the same price. Anyways the Beatles have always been a big gap in my collection and if I were to take advantage of this in order to take steps to rectify this problem, which two of these albums would be the best ones to get?

[Ilash]

Abbey Road and Revolver are the Beatles' two best albums in my opinion. Sgt Peppers may have more cultural importance but Revolver was the real turning point for the band. Revolver is filled with memorable tunes (three of which were from George) but the experimentation on it is unmatched by any other Beatles album. It still astounds me that Tomorrow Never Knows was recorded in 1966.

Abbey Road, on the other hand, isn't really revolutionary at all but it is the best collection of songs AND overall album they ever put out. The first side consists of first rate (yes, I'm including I Want You and Maxwell's Silver Hammer in this) , very diverse Beatles tracks but it's the second side that makes this album really worth it. The medley of discarded half-songs is an emotional and musical rollercoaster and by far one of the most compelling pieces of music I have ever heard. Golden Slumbers still sends shivers down my spine, especially when placed within the context of the album's role as the Beatles' swansong. Also, Abbey Road is the best sounding Beatles album and features the best performances all four Beatles ever commited to tape.

I would of course recommend all of those albums you listed but these are the easy two winners to me.

[leonaozaki]

As far as has been my experience with music stores, the Beatles albums tend to range somewhere in the full price range, even though they haven't been remastered, when non-remastered albums by similar artists have been selling at bargain prices. (And even some remastered albums.) But anyways A&B Sound, which usually has them at around $19 or $17 Cdn, is selling some of them for roughly $11 this week and they are as follows:

-- Rubber Soul
-- Revolver
-- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
-- Magical Mystery Tour
-- Abbey Road

The compilation Beatles #1 is also on sale as well for the same price. Anyways the Beatles have always been a big gap in my collection and if I were to take advantage of this in order to take steps to rectify this problem, which two of these albums would be the best ones to get?

Definitely get REVOLVER. Song for song it's probably their best album. After that...Ilash is right (shock!) about the second half of ABBEY ROAD but I will have to respectfully disagree (shock redux!) about the first half. Yes, "Come Together" and "Something" are great but then there's "I Want You" which I absolutely cannot stand.

SGT. PEPPER'S gets a lot of undeserved press, both good and bad; there're folks who will hype it to the skies and others who think it's a piece of crap. I could go the rest of my life without ever hearing the first three songs again, but some of my favorite Beatles songs "Feeling Better," "Mr Kite," "She's Leaving Home," and "A Day in the Life" are on it too. On the other hand there is that crap George song. So it's probably best avoided for now. The less said about MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR the better.

Really that leaves RUBBER SOUL. It's not the masterstroke REVOLVER was but I listened to it several times in the car a few weeks ago and...man, those are some great pop songs. I personally detest "Little Girl" and am bored by "Michelle" but the rest of the album is just chunky power-pop goodness.

So: RUBBER SOUL and REVOLVER would be my suggestions.

rob

[Adam Crocker]

Definitely get REVOLVER. Song for song it's probably their best album. After that...Ilash is right (shock!)...

What!? Rob and Ilash agree on something!??!

*Head explodes*

[howyadoin]

A&B Sound, which usually has them at around $19 or $17 Cdn, is selling some of them for roughly $11 this weekDid that cheap fucking prick who runs Apple these days actually lower the prices, or is this a store initiative?

As for choices - Revolver and Abbey Road.

[Adam Crocker]

Did that cheap fucking prick who runs Apple these days actually lower the prices, or is this a store initiative?

I think it's a store initiative, at least that's the impression I got from the flyer.

[Jonathan Bogart]

The less said about MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR the better.
A record that contains "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Penny Lane," "I Am the Walrus," "Hello Goodbye," "Fool on the Hill," and "All You Need Is Love?" Yeah, it's an EP plus a bunch of singles, rather than a real album, but it's still a really good record. I even love the title track.

My vote would be that and Revolver.

[Adam Crocker]

Really that leaves RUBBER SOUL. It's not the masterstroke REVOLVER was but I listened to it several times in the car a few weeks ago and...man, those are some great pop songs. I personally detest "Little Girl" and am bored by "Michelle" but the rest of the album is just chunky power-pop goodness.

Why do the simple words "chunky power-pop goodness" cause me to lean towards this album over the others suggested?

(I guess REVOLVER is sealed.)

[Lubichev]

Revolver and Abbey Road. Straight up.

[berk]

I'd consider all of 'em essentials, so I'd recommend Rubber Soul and Revolver (earliest two in that list), myself. The Beatles are tough to collect because, even if you get all the albums, there are a ton of great songs you're missing. They're all available on comps, etc, but it's almost impossible to get em all without some overlap.

[Jonathan Bogart]

I'd consider all of 'em essentials, so I'd recommend Rubber Soul and Revolver (earliest two in that list), myself. The Beatles are tough to collect because, even if you get all the albums, there are a ton of great songs you're missing. They're all available on comps, etc, but it's almost impossible to get em all without some overlap.
Huh? The Beatles have the most streamlined catalog in popular music, at least on CD. To wit:

Please Please Me
With the Beatles
A Hard Day's night
Beatles for Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles
Yellow Submarine
Abbey Road
Let It Be
Past Masters vol. I
Past Masters vol. II

That's not only all you need, that's all there is. (Discounting the latter-day Anthology discs, only recommended for hardcore fans, or various bootlegs, ditto.)

I count only two overlapping songs: "Yellow Submarine" is on both Revolver and Yellow Submarine, and "All You Need Is Love" is on both Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine. Really, Yellow Submarine is the only inessential/rip-off album, with only four fairly undistinguished songs you can't get anywhere else.

Man, now I've talkd myself into needing some more Beatles. Thanks a lot.

[howyadoin]

Huh? The Beatles have the most streamlined catalog in popular music, at least on CD. To wit:

Please Please Me
With the Beatles
A Hard Day's night
Beatles for Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles
Yellow Submarine
Abbey Road
Let It Be
Past Masters vol. I
Past Masters vol. II

That's not only all you need, that's all there is.Wow, I had no idea so many of their albums were out of print. I used to have 22 Beatles albums on vinyl.

But are you excluding compliations? I can think of 3 CDs offhand that aren't on your list.

[Spike-X]

Revolver and Abbey Road, with Rubber Soul a close third.

[Buried Alien]

My favorite Beatles album/CD was PLEASE PLEASE ME.

I'm serious. I love simple, bare bones, old school rock 'n roll more than anything else. An album that opens with "I Saw Her Standing There" and closes with "Twist and Shout," and "Please Please Me" thrown into the middle for good measure? That's definitely my kind of music.

Actually, however, I prefer MEET THE BEATLES to PLEASE PLEASE ME, but the former isn't canon anymore (although it is available through a special box set).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Ilash]

Wow, I had no idea so many of their albums were out of print. I used to have 22 Beatles albums on vinyl.

But are you excluding compliations? I can think of 3 CDs offhand that aren't on your list.

The only comps you need are the Past Masters series because with those two and all 13 of their albums, you will have the entire Beatles catalogue. Maybe you're thinking of the American butcher versions of their albums, which should forever remain deleted because they do seem to be significantly worse than the original UK editions. They have started "correcting" this though by releasing a box set of their first four or so US albums, which is soon to be followed by a second volume but I am prett firmly against this. We already have one screwed up legendary 60s catalogue from the Rolling Stones by releasing both US and UK versions of their albums with no good definitive (non-overlapping) singles collection. I've always liked that the Beatles CD discography was nice and streamlined by just having the UK editions on release with all the remaining tracks thrown on the two Past Masters discs.

Incidentally, to anyone who doesn't own these Past Masters albums, you NEED at least the second one in your collection as it contains some of the greatest singles ever released: Day Tripper, Hey Jude, Let It Be, Revolution, Don't Let Me Down, Rain (the group's best b-side) and Get back as well as many more besides.

[Adam Crocker]

My favorite Beatles album/CD was PLEASE PLEASE ME.

I'm serious. I love simple, bare bones, old school rock 'n roll more than anything else.

If it was among the albums being offered at bargain prices I'd probably go for PLEASE PLEASE ME alongside REVOLVER myself. Sad that doesn't seem to be the case (at least according to the flier). Over everything else I usually prefer concise three minute pop songs be they by Chuck Berry, the Kinks, the Jam, the Clash, David Bowie, Husker Du, or Pavement. And yes, most of it is guitar-based. However, I want to take advantage of the deals while I can. (Especially since otherwise I'm paying full price for CDs that aren't even re-mastered.)


They have started "correcting" this though by releasing a box set of their first four or so US albums, which is soon to be followed by a second volume but I am prett firmly against this. We already have one screwed up legendary 60s catalogue from the Rolling Stones by releasing both US and UK versions of their albums with no good definitive (non-overlapping) singles collection.

This is true.

And does anyone else considering fucking retarded that they are releasing a re-mastered boxed set of the American versions of the Beatles' early albums BEFORE actually remastering their back catalogue while continuing to charge about full price for non-remastered CDs?

[berk]

I must have had the wrong idea about Past masters: I thought it was alternate versions of the songs, demos and all that kind of thing. Now I know which cd's I'll be looking for next.

I'm another one who loves the early, pre-Rubber Soul stuff even more than their more varied and sophisticated later material.

[Lubichev]

My favorite Beatles album/CD was PLEASE PLEASE ME.

I'm serious. I love simple, bare bones, old school rock 'n roll more than anything else. An album that opens with "I Saw Her Standing There" and closes with "Twist and Shout," and "Please Please Me" thrown into the middle for good measure? That's definitely my kind of music.

Actually, however, I prefer MEET THE BEATLES to PLEASE PLEASE ME, but the former isn't canon anymore (although it is available through a special box set).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)
One of the great things about Please Please Me is that it was recorded in one day (except for Love Me Do, Please Please Me, PS I Love You, and Ask Me Why) with "Twist and Shout" getting recorded last around 3 or 4 in the morning. You can hear the exhaustion and strain in Lennon's voice as they completley rock through it.

[Ilash]

I'm a big fan of early Beatles myself but I'm surprised that Please Please Me is getting recommended over the generally higher regarded (by myself too) Hard Days Night, which is pretty much the peak of their early years.

[leonaozaki]

A record that contains "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Penny Lane," "I Am the Walrus," "Hello Goodbye," "Fool on the Hill," and "All You Need Is Love?" Yeah, it's an EP plus a bunch of singles, rather than a real album, but it's still a really good record. I even love the title track.

My vote would be that and Revolver.

No, you're right. (How many times has that been said on the Internet?)

I was thinking of my CD collection, and since I own the 1967-1970 compilation I don't need MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR. I even find myself wishing sometimes that the 'blue' album didn't have "Magical Mystery Tour" on it, but there you go.

rob

[Buried Alien]

Maybe you're thinking of the American butcher versions of their albums, which should forever remain deleted because they do seem to be significantly worse than the original UK editions. They have started "correcting" this though by releasing a box set of their first four or so US albums, which is soon to be followed by a second volume but I am prett firmly against this.

I'm not, because as poorly organized and unapproved by the Beatles as those American albums were, they did feature different and in some cases *superior* mixes of key songs. The American mix of "I Want To Hold Your Hand," in my opinion, was better than the British mix because it had more pronounced guitars. The British version (which is now the international standard) always sounded too tinny and "wimpy" to my ears; it's hard to convince anybody that that recording revolutionized rock 'n roll in 1963/1964. The American mix, however, mixed the guitars and drums so far forward that you can almost hear the first cornerstone of modern hard rock being laid.

Also, there's just something irresistable about an album whose running order opens with "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and follows with "I Saw Her Standing There," "This Boy," "It Won't Be Long," and "All My Loving." MEET THE BEATLES was the ultimate iconic Beatlemania album.


Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[JeffreyWKramer]

Me personally, I'd go with REVOLVER and SGT. PEPPER'S, with RUBBER SOUL a close third. ABBEY ROAD is an excellent album, for reasons others have noted, and MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR does indeed include some great stuff, but I prefer the mid-period Beatles to either the earlier or the later stuff. It's all good, though. Really, you can't go wrong with purchasing any of those.

[howyadoin]

The only comps you need are the Past Masters series because with those two and all 13 of their albums, you will have the entire Beatles catalogue.No, you won't. You won't have Rarities, Yesterday... and Today, or Live at the Hollywood Bowl, to name three.

(You won't have Live at the Star Club either, but that's basically a glorified bootleg anyway.)

[Lubichev]

The Beatles: Live at the BBC is a wonderful collection. Proves that these guys really worked hard over there in Hamburg.

[Buried Alien]

No, you won't. You won't have Rarities, Yesterday... and Today, or Live at the Hollywood Bowl, to name three.

(You won't have Live at the Star Club either, but that's basically a glorified bootleg anyway.)

Other than the two live albums, RARITIES and YESTERDAY AND TODAY don't really offer anything that the 13 British studio albums and PAST MASTERS # 1 and # 2 do. Maybe RARITIES has an unusual mix or two that might make it worthwhile, but YESTERDAY AND TODAY was basically just a few parts of the British HELP, RUBBER SOUL, and REVOLVER albums and the "Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out" single thrown into the blender.

Howie, did Canada not go with the international standardization of Beatles CDs in 1987? It sounds like some of the old North American releases are still generally available up there.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Buried Alien]

The Beatles: Live at the BBC is a wonderful collection. Proves that these guys really worked hard over there in Hamburg.

It's also the only (legitimate) album where you'll hear the Beatles cover old Elvis songs ("That's All Right Mama") and some Chuck Berry gems ("Johnny B. Goode" and "Memphis") that weren't covered in the Beatles' recorded canon.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Spike-X]

And does anyone else considering fucking retarded that they are releasing a re-mastered boxed set of the American versions of the Beatles' early albums BEFORE actually remastering their back catalogue while continuing to charge about full price for non-remastered CDs?

I can't believe they have the nerve to charge full price for non-remastered albums released forty years ago that have collectively made more money than the GDP of most countries.

But then, this is a record company we're talking about.

[Jonathan Bogart]

I wanted to mention that, while the Beatles CDs haven't been officially remastered, there are audible differences between the first generations of Beatles CDs and the newer ones. Everything's louder these days. The sound quality on a just-out-of-the-plastic Beatles CD isn't quite as good as on the recently remastered Stones or Dylan CDs, but it holds up fine compared to, say, Bowie's catalogue.

[ZombieHavoc]

i didnt read what anyone else wrote, so i may echo somebody, but of the albums listed i would get revolver and rubber soul. however, i will say that i think the beatles are pretty overrated and you would do well to buy something else. really what you should get is the white album, as thats the only album that really merrits any of the insane hype around the beatles...and even that could be trimmed down to one single discs worth of music.

in my opinion, anyway. and obviously i am in the minority.

actually, the let it be album is pretty good too, for the most part. excepting, of course, the title track and the long and winding road.

[Adam Crocker]

The sound quality on a just-out-of-the-plastic Beatles CD isn't quite as good as on the recently remastered Stones or Dylan CDs, but it holds up fine compared to, say, Bowie's catalogue.

I'll have to compare my purchases then to my copy of Heroes then, which has been re-mastered along with the rest of his back catalogue.

[bert]

If you can only get 2, I'd go w/ "Revolver" and "Sgt. Pepper"

but all of those one sale are good. . "Rubber Soul" is excellent, and I've always loved "Magical Mystery Tour" -- I used to listen to the title track over and over and over (drove my Mom nuts).

[SUPERECWFAN1]

As far as has been my experience with music stores, the Beatles albums tend to range somewhere in the full price range, even though they haven't been remastered, when non-remastered albums by similar artists have been selling at bargain prices. (And even some remastered albums.) But anyways A&B Sound, which usually has them at around $19 or $17 Cdn, is selling some of them for roughly $11 this week and they are as follows:

-- Rubber Soul
-- Revolver
-- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
-- Magical Mystery Tour
-- Abbey Road

The compilation Beatles #1 is also on sale as well for the same price. Anyways the Beatles have always been a big gap in my collection and if I were to take advantage of this in order to take steps to rectify this problem, which two of these albums would be the best ones to get?


Jesus...you can only get 2 ? I'd have to go with 3 . ;)

I'd get Rubber Soul , Sgt.Pepper and Abbey Road. All 3 are great albums and in Rubber Soul you see the band making some changes. I love " Paperback Writer " personally. :D

[Adam Crocker]

Well I went today, and lucky me they still had copies of Revolver and Abbey Road but not much else. It seems that they all sold very well on this sale. So I decided to get three and snatched up the only other remaining album Sgt. Pepper's. Thanks for your suggestions all.

[Jonathan Bogart]

Hey now. This isn't over, not by a long shot. You've gotta report back and tell us what you think of them, you know.

[Adam Crocker]

Hey now. This isn't over, not by a long shot. You've gotta report back and tell us what you think of them, you know.

What? I to listen to them and report on them now? Geez!

[Jonathan Bogart]

What? I [have] to listen to them and report on them now? Geez!
Five hundred words at least. And we're not grading on a curve this time.

[Spike-X]

Come on, Jonathan. You know how much Crocker hates writing about music.

[Adam Crocker]

Come on, Jonathan. You know how much Crocker hates writing about music.

Yeah! Writing about music is gay!

Anyways, the Beatles are good...I suppose. But not as good as the Buzzcocks.

[zombie]

Yeah! Writing about music is gay!

Anyways, the Beatles are good...I suppose. But not as good as the Buzzcocks.

Tee hee hee.