PLEASE PLEASE ME

Yes. As a previous reviewer wrote, this album was recorded in one day, and with John Lennon having a cold and taking pills for this condition. But their energy was there, despite this, and as an album recorded in one day it is very good, despite the raw quality. The tracks on this album were selected from their live repertoire, so they were played very well, of course, without many recording takes needed to get the best one to end on the album.

The album starts with the energetic "I Saw Her Standing There", one of my favourites from the early years. It starts with Paul counting "one, two, three, four". A very good idea, it calls for the attention of the listener. A very good opener, which Paul also played and maybe he still plays in his solo tours. It was also performed by John Lennon with Elton John in one of Elton`s concerts in November 1974, on which Lennon was invited to play three songs to celebrate Elton`s success with his own single version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and also the success of Lennon`s single, "Whatever Gets You Through the Night", on which Elton also appeared. Apparently, that concert was the last public performance in concert by Lennon, although he later briefly appeared in one benefit event performing "Imagine", in 1975.

"Mysery" is a sad song, really, but very good, too. "Anna" is a ballad, composed by Arthur Alexander. "Chains" is another cover, sung by George Harrison. "Boys", another cover, this time sung by Ringo Starr."Ask Me Why" is a very good ballad, one of their earliest ballads. "Please Please Me" is a song which was released as a single before, and it became their first hit single, reaching No. 2 in the U.K. charts. "Love Me Do" was previously released as their first single, and as history says, there are two versions of this song: one with session drummer Andy White and Ringo on tambourine, and one recorded with Ringo on drums and without tambourine. The most played version was the version with Andy White on drums. "P.S. I Love You" is another ballad, not very interesting. "Baby It`s You" is another cover with good harmony vocals. "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" was composed by Lennon and he gave this song to George. It became a hit when it was released as a single by Billy J.Kramer and the Dakotas. "A Taste of Honey", another cover, is a very good song with very good arrangements. "There`s a Place" has good lyrics and good harmony vocals too. The album`s last song is "Twist and Show", which apparently was recorded at the end of the sessions, with John`s vocals very affected by his cold. It was recorded in one take!

Obviously, this album is not Progressive, but I agree with previous reviewers here that it is "progressive" in the sense that McCartney/Lennon were composers with a very own style, the band was very good from the start which also had their very own style from the beginning, and their charisma was already there. Also, producer George Martin was "progressive" in the sense that he had the talent to see in The Beatles something special. He recognized their potential and gave them support to develop their music. Without Martin`s talent and support, The Beatles maybe could have experiened a harder way to success.