::With The Beatles

[kylestyle]

I adore the Carpenters version too! There, I've said it...

[Bluebird]

It wont be long !!! IS one of their greatest openers I think. I love the change between the hig "Yeah" and the low " yeah" very innovative and nice to hear to. I love that song so much.

[dsnito]

I adore the Carpenters version too! There, I've said it...

There's nothing wrong on what you said...SOMETIMES I also like to hear Karen Carpenter's "velvet" voice...BUT not more than three songs in sequence.

[kylestyle]

Yes, I think Karen's voice was so expressive, so rich and warm. I love songs like We've Only Just Begun, Superstar, Beechwood 45789, Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft and Close To You. And I also downloaded some bootlegs of their jazz stuff recorded before they were signed. Caravan (1965), I'll Be Yours (1966), and All I Can Do (1967) are fantastic songs to me, and also shows off Karen's drumming skills in a jazz-pop environment.

Bluebird, I Agree, I love the yeah yeahs in It Won't Be Long - some of it almost sounds joyous...some of the higher pitched screams. Great stuff.

[EddieV]

There are many good "unknown" songs on this album eg. Not a second time, Devil in her heart and Hold Me tight.

[james1985]

First three songs on this album are absolutely knockout. Bang bang bang, three classics inside 8 minutes. I can only imagine listening to this when it first came out. People must've been gob-smacked. Astounding

[linclink]

First off this is better than the greatest debut ever, "Please Please Me" (though both "All Things Must Pass" & "Plastic Ono Band" are easily as good... but is it a debut album if you are just going solo & it's not really your first album?)..and...no it's not as good as "A Hard Day's Night".
Interestingly, yeah, we still have lots of covers here again. I say interestingly, because there was no shortage of originals to have included here. There are 4 covers here that are incredibly strong, so strong that they actually surpass the originals (You Really Got A Hold On Me; Money; Please Mr. Postman; Roll Over Beethoven), and that is no small feat considering that the originals were incredible themselves. Then there are two, which are just plain low water marks for their recording career (Devil In Her Heart; Til There Was You). They aren't awful, per se, but they are so far below the quality of everything else here...and more to the point, so far below the quality of lots of other covers that they has at their disposal that you have to scratch your head and just wonder why those two got chosen?
As far as originals go, there are 8 here. 4 are just breathtaking classics (All I've Got To Do; It Won't Be Long; All My Loving, and to a little lesser extent- Not A Second Time). And the other 4 are truly great, and all outright rockers to boot (Little Child; Hold Me Tight; Don't Bother Me; I Wanna Be Your Man).
Singles generally weren't included on albums...though we get to hear them on "Meet The Beatles" & "The Beatles Second Album" for sure. So remember that these absolutely incredible songs really come from those sessions/that era, that they are just killer tracks, and that they comprise the a & b-sides of two of the greatest singles ever released...they are, of course, "She Loves You"/"I'll Get You", and "I Want To Hold Your Hand"/"This Boy". Imagine dropping those two lesser covers and adding these 4 originals!! Well if you burn off a CD version of this era, you should add these on, as they came from those sessions, and man do they ever jackboot this baby over the top. It's still a great album, but with those 4 it'd give "A Hard Day's Night" a run for it's money; though I'd still prefer "A Hard Day's Night".
My general breakdown would go, approximately (It's hard for me to asses covers alongside originals), as such
Level I: It Won't Be Long; All I've Got To Do; All My Loving; You Really Got A Hold On Me; Please Mr. Postman; Money: Roll Over Beethoven;**She Loves You; **I'll Get You; **I Want To Hold Your Hand;** This Boy
Level Ia: Not A Second Time
Level II: Little Child; Hold Me Tight; Don't Bother Me: I Wanna Be Your Man
Level IIIa: Til There Was You; Devil In Her Heart
Blessings!!

[linclink]

Just a quick post to get this back on the board...what with all the Israel show & Fireman album excitement...Blessings!

[bobrocks]

The classic cover photo is only the topper for a landmark album. Like Please Please Me before it, and Beatles For Sale, later, this has a few songs that don't hold up too well. Devil in Her Heart, Til There Was You, and Hold Me Tight would fall into that category. But classics like It Won't Be Long, All I've Gotta Do, and All My Loving more than make up for that. And some of my favorite Beatles covers are here too. Please Mister Postman, You Really Got a Hold on Me and Money are all spot on remakes.
And did I mention the cover is great.

[Brainwashed]

I find this album to be very interesting. At first when I bought I only got it because of "All My Loving". But after listening to the album over the years other songs grew onto me like "It Won't Be Long", "Please Mr Postman", and "Don't Bother Me" and a few others. So in my oppinion this album is a classic album and its one of my favorites.