WITH THE BEATLES

The second album of the Baetles traces the same structure of the first, so as to seem the bad copy, if it were not that the songs of the first side are of the same quality (while the second side holds less), and there is less rock and roll and more Mersey beat. Certainly the opening song and the ending are not comparable to those of Please Please Me (in both cases, the incipit is an original, the ending is a successful cover), but With The Beatles places inside it a typically beat masterpiece, "All My Loving", who emancipated from the rock and roll of the 50s of the masterpiece of the previous album, "I Saw Her Standing There", being much more original and in step with the times. For the rest, the album is even more linked than the previous to the soul of Motown (Smokey Robinson in particular) and has, on average, songs with a greater speed: the Beatlemania had begun.

The first piece, "It Won't Be Long", is a perpetual vocal piece in the musical style of Lennon, the typical piece with the contagious exuberance of the Beatles, which here mix the best rock and roll, beat, and 50s vocal ensembles. It is a song that could have been a single, with the usual yeh yeh in the foreground (like "She Loves You"). "All I've Got to Do" is a new ballad written and sung by Lennon (which is the first voice in 7 songs), which tries to imitate the sound of Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, succeeding in part. Arrangement thin, good the sung, especially in the refrain. Third track: here is the masterpiece of McCartney, sung only by him, with excellent lyrics, good rhythm, contagious guitar accompaniment, which determines the sound, good solo; the soul refrain, little developed, in the hands of black gospel singers would become a pleasure. Fourth song: first and excellent song by Harrison, who sings a very personal text and that does not go for the subtle, avoids romanticism and expresses his own feelings without embarrassment. Nice song and very original, has an excellent progression in the bridge and in the solo. One of the best original pieces.

"Little Child" is a song with a frenzied rhythm of Lennon, guided by his song and his harmonica, an instrument that is much less present in this album than in the previous one (it could be associated with There's a Place of LP Please Please Me). "Till There Was You" is the second song sung by Paul (who sings in three pieces, in total, like George), and it is a slow, Spanish cover, with voice and acoustic guitar in the foreground. The melody and the arrangement are very good: it is an almost masterpiece. In the next album Paul will write a slow with Spanish guitar that will outclass this cover: "And I Lover Her". "Please Mr. Postman" is a rock and roll cover that closes the first side raising the volume and the rhythm, good but too repetitive in the final.

Side A: 1) It Wont Be Long 8; 2) All I've Got To Do 7; 3) All My Loving 8+; 4) Dont Bother Me 7,5; 5) Little Child 7; 6) Till There Was You* 7,5/8; 7) Please Mr Postman* 7; * = covers.

The second side quality is much lower than the first, no song goes beyond 7+. Start George, singing a very famous cover of Chuck Berry: the performance is scholastic, and considering the goodness of the song, the Beatles version is pleasant but flows away without leaving a mark. "Hold Me Tight", by McCartney, brings up the rhythm, remembering for speed and beat and vocal response "It Will not Be" Long by Lennon: unfortunately the monotonous arrangement, very percussive, and the almost unsuspected singing lead soon to make the exuberance of the rather unpleasant song. "You Really Got ..." is a soul cover of S. Robinson, a ballad, sung well by Lennon, but which does not reach great pathos because it lacks the proper arrangement; good the piano phrase. "I Wanna Be Your Man", a light song written on a par with Paul and John, is sung by Ringo, and it's a bit of chorus and rhythm, with a good George guitar solo and George Martin organ backing: this time the arrangement elevates the quality of a compositional piece easy and weak. "Devil in Her Heart" is another sliding soul cover (almost unknown), pleasant but rather "flat", sung by George, who in the second side sings 2 songs, against one of Paul. "Not a Second Time", written and sung entirely by Lennon alone, is a quite strange beat-soul, with an unclear but well arranged melody, thanks again to George Martin's piano. Finally, the cover "Money", at the time a great hit Motown, as sung with frenzy by Lennon, and arranged in a savage way, can not close with a bang, because the song over time appears more and more shouted, repetitive, forced. The comparison with "Twist and Shout" is clearly lost.

Side B. 8) Roll Over Beethoven* 7+; 9) Hold Me Tight 6,5; 10) You Really Got a Hold on Me* 7; 11) I Wanna Be Your Man 7; 12) Devil in Her Heart* 6,5/7; 13) Not a Second Time 6,5/7; 14) Money* 7+.

Overall, "With the Beatles" is an LP that follows the structure of the first album, is faster, has less country harmonica and a more soulful sound, less rock and roll and more Beatles style: mix between pop, rock and vocal harmony; has a good first side, up to the previous album, and a modest second side, slightly lower than the (already modest) side of the debut album both for the quality of the covers and the originals.

Medium quality: 7,23. Rating: 7. Two (and a half) stars.