Album

Please Please Me

The Beatles

1963 · Rock, Pop

124 collectors on Gatefold own this

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Please Please Me by The Beatles

Please Please Me is a Rock album by The Beatles, originally released in 1963. On Gatefold: 899 pressings tracked, owned by 124 collectors.

About

You have to hand it to The Beatles: They didn’t really know what they were doing. Their first single, “Love Me Do,” had fared pretty well, but was considered a little rough next to the soppy, Broadway-influenced stuff that constituted English pop at the time. Their second, “Please Please Me,” seemed like more of a sure bet: Simpler, sweeter, something to get the kids’ blood going. (After asking John Lennon to overdub harmonica on top of George Harrison’s guitar line, producer George Martin congratulated the band from the control room on their first Number One.) A few weeks later, as the national mind was cheerfully unraveling, the band went into the studio for a 10 am session at Martin's urging, and, about 13 hours and countless cigarettes and Zubes cough drops later (Lennon had a cold), finished their first album—essentially a studio snapshot of the material they’d been playing at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, right down to the set-opening count-off. That much of it was Black American R&B and soul—Arthur Alexander’s “Anna (Go To Him),” Gerry Goffin and Carole King’s “Chains” (popularized by The Cookies), The Isley Brothers’ “Twist and Shout” (the day’s last take, hence Lennon’s shredded larynx)—was novel, if not straight-up aberrant, especially when framed in such spartan sonic terms. (Bless The Everly Brothers and Bobby Darin; <i>Please Please Me</i> was neither.) That Lennon and McCartney’s originals showed such innate versatility—polite then raw, buttoned-up then scandalously loose, a synthesis of American rock, pop, and soul played with teenage guile and veteran poise—was cause for the culture to take a deep breath. (“Between them The Beatles adopt a do-it-yourself approach from the very beginning,” the album’s sleeve notes chirped. “They write their own lyrics, design and eventually build their own instrumental backdrops and work out their own vocal arrangements.”) The morning after the session, the band resumed their position as fourth slot on an 11-act bill supporting a 16-year-old pop singer named Helen Shapiro. (Lennon’s voice hadn’t healed; George and Paul did most of the singing.) <i>Please Please Me</i>—yes, The Beatles’ first album—was rush-released that March and stayed at the top of the charts for about six months. It was replaced by their second.

via Apple Music

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Tracklist

Side A

  1. A1I Saw Her Standing There2:50
  2. A2Misery1:44
  3. A3Anna (Go To Him)2:52
  4. A4Chains2:20
  5. A5Boys2:20
  6. A6Ask Me Why2:20
  7. A7Please Please Me1:58

Side B

  1. B1Love Me Do2:15
  2. B2P.S. I Love You2:00
  3. B3Baby It's You2:29
  4. B4Do You Want To Know A Secret1:52
  5. B5A Taste Of Honey1:59
  6. B6There's A Place1:46
  7. B7Twist And Shout2:30

Sound DNA

  • Rock
  • Rock & Roll
  • clean
  • celebratory
  • heartland

Album notes

Discogs page for these notes (opens in a new tab)

The English rock band The Beatles existed from 1962 to 1970 and has recorded 12 studio albums.
The debut album by The Beatles. Released under the name "Introducing The Beatles" in the United States with a slightly altered tracklist.
First US LP Release: January 10, 1964
- First releases easily recognizable by the (later withdrawn) advertisement for other "Vee Jay" records on back-cover:
- Introducing The Beatles (US 1964) (opens in a new tab) and Introducing The Beatles (US 1964) (opens in a new tab) (Mono Versions)
- Introducing... The Beatles (US 1964) (opens in a new tab) and Introducing The Beatles (US 1964) (opens in a new tab) (Stereo Versions)
For the US releases, here's a guide to distinguish genuine releases from counterfeits:
(The US variations submitted so far can be found here (opens in a new tab))
Deadsure Method:
☞ If title and artist are separated on the label by the spindle hole, it's a counterfeit.
☞ If it is stereo and has ''Love Me Do'' on the back cover, it's most likely a counterfeit. (See additional "HONEY" test below.)
☞ If ''stereo'' appears only on the cover and not on the label, it's a counterfeit.
☞ If the record claims to be in stereo, but plays mono, it's a counterfeit.
☞ If the label is all black/silver and has a large brackets logo, it's a counterfeit.
☞ The runout etching on almost all genuine copies should contain at least one of the following:
''Audio Matrix''
''MR'' in a circle
''ARP'' in italics
Easy Method By Cover:
☞ If George casts no shadow, it's a counterfeit.
☞ If the background contains no gradient and the colors seem off, it's a counterfeit.
☞ If the cover has a brown border, it's a counterfeit.
☞ If the front cover does not wrap around completely underneath the back cover slick, it's a counterfeit.
☞ If the back cover print is blurry in whatever way, it's a counterfeit.
☞ If printer marks (colored dots) are visible on the top of the back cover, it's a counterfeit.
☞ If the ''H'' and/or "E" of ''Honey'' in "A TASTE OF HONEY" on the back cover shows a printing deficit, it's a counterfeit.
Easy Method By Label:
☞ If title and artist are separated on the label by the spindle hole, it's a counterfeit.
☞ If the label has a flat textured rainbow/colorband design, it's a counterfeit.
☞ If the dead wax after the last track is wider than an inch, it's a counterfeit
☞ If the label is all black and on glossy paper, it's a counterfeit.
☞ Any significant loss of color in the rainbow on the label (especially green) indicates a counterfeit.
There are 37 variations of the genuine pressing (including both mono and stereo) known.
First US CD release: Feb. 26, 1987

Credits

The people behind it.

Performers

124 collectors on Gatefold own this · 899 pressings tracked on Gatefold

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