PLEASE PLEASE ME

"Please Please Me" is the debut full-length studio album by UK pop/rock act The Beatles. The album was released through Parlophone i March 1963. After playing lots of shows since their formation in 1958 (which included two longer touring periods in the infamous Reeperbahn district in Hamburg, Germany), The Beatles released two well received singles in "Love Me Do" and "Please Please Me" (both tracks are also included on this album), which created an intense demand for a full-length studio album, and on the 11th of February 1963, The Beatles recorded the remaining material for the album in one long session. A few overbubs were done by producer George Martin on the 20th of February 1963 and then the album was ready to be released. Eight out of the fourteen tracks on the album are original John Lennon/Paul McCartney penned songs, while the remaining six tracks are covers of 50´s/early 60s rhythm´n´blues, rock´n´roll, and doo-wop songs.

The tracks are structurally simple vers/chorus formats and the instrumentation is sparse too. It´s the vocal melodies and the harmony and choir vocal parts which make The Beatles stand out and their great youthful energy. The two singles are among the most well known tracks from the album, but the cover of "Twist and Shout" is also legendary, featuring an almost orgasmic screaming vocal part, which send more than one teenage girl into a vivid dreamlike state (not to mention the number of girls passing out to this particular track during the band´s early live shows). So while the material is to say the least a little rough around the edges and quite a few tracks aren´t that remarkable, the highlights make up for at lot of that.

"Please Please Me" is probably an album best understood and appreciated by those who experienced Beatlemania, because to my ears it´s an uneven quality album and the raw recording quality isn´t that pleasant on the ears either. No one can take away the legendary status of the album and the huge influence it had on pop/rock music, but as a product, the quality really isn´t that high. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.