BEATLES FOR SALE

Following A Hard Day's Night, the Beatles went on their first world tour which was very exhausting. The conditions were often claustrophobic and nightmarish, their schedule was tough, and whereas they had been given plenty of time to compose songs for A Hard Day's Night, the songwriting and recording for Beatles For Sale had to be squeezed in between concerts, TV appearances, and so on. Consequently, The Beatles went back to recording cover versions of songs they had played by heart since the Hamburg days. After a whole album with original material, they went back to the format of the first two albums with eight original songs and six covers.

The hysteria and pressure was beginning to take its toll on the Beatles, and Beatles For Sale really shows. For a start, just look at the album cover. None of them look happy. On the flipside they almost look frightened as if someone was threatening them with a gun. Then we have some rather dark and pessimistic song titles such as "No Reply", "I'm a Loser", "Baby's In Black" or "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party". The fatigue and time pressure produced what is generally considered one of their weaker outputs. It is not their worst album - that award clearly goes to the 1969 Yellow Submarine soundtrack, if calling that an album even makes sense - but it is just not very convincing judged by the Beatles' standard.

That being said, there are still some really good songs on it, and some that are even pointing forward. Especially Lennon was beginning to abandon the clichéed I-love-you-and-you-love-me lyrics, especially in the autobiographic "I'm a Loser" with lines such as "And I've lost someone who's near to me" (the 'someone' probably being his dead mother Julia, or alternately their original bass player Stuart Sutcliffe), rhyming with "And I'm not what I appear to be". Is it subtle? Not really, but on the other hand it feels honest. "No Reply" is probably a more cohesive story, even if the theme of being burned by your girlfriend is nothing new in the world of pop music.

But clearly the main focus for the Beatles was still the music. None of the songs are as original as those found on A Hard Day's Night, but the best of them are still very engaging. Getting back to "I'm a Loser", the song's ambiguous harmonic base, and especially the dramatic melody, chords and playing in the chorus really underline the sense of despair felt in the lyrics. "No Reply" is another fine composition by Lennon, showing him from his more melodic side. The finest moment in the song is probably the energetic middle eight ("If I were you, I would realise etc.") which is also very well performed by the band.

An interesting musical feature of the album is the inspiration from country and western in some of the songs, probably a result of the US part of their world tour. Apart from "I'm a Loser" (with an excellent guitar solo by George Harrison), there's also "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party", as well as the Carl Perkins rockabilly numbers "Honey Don't" and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby".

At this point of their carreer, John Lennon seems to have been the main driving force, with Paul McCartney standing somewhat in the background. Most of the hit singles in 1964 and 1965 were Lennon's. McCartney does have some pretty solid songs on the album though. "Every Little Thing", while far from a masterpiece, is quite a catchy song with a strong melody, and the use of timpani in the chorus adds a lot of musical energy. "Eight Days a Week" - the most well-known song of the album - is very catchy indeed, but essentially a throwaway - too light to really make a lasting impression. But it is a good band performance, and the "sunrise" fade-in deserves all the praise it can get. "I'll Follow the Sun" is a down-to-earth, Buddy Holly-like acoustic ballad. Charming enough, but all in all not very memorable, and actually it was a very early number which he brought up for this album - another sign of the preassure they were under. His best song on the album is "What You're Doing" which has a very intense, almost angry melody, suggesting that the song was written out of inner necessity (according to Ian Macdonald it was reflecting a crisis with his then girlfriend Jane Asher). The song is a hidden gem, and one of the more accomplised tracks on the album in terms of production; there's a very effective use of the piano for instance.

At the other end of the spectre, there is the downright hideous 50/50 Lennon/McCartney collaboration "Baby's In Black" with a very unconvincing guitar riff, messy studio production, and some rather clumsy and repetitive lyrics ("I think of her / But she thinks only of him / And though it's only a whim / She thinks of him").

Then there are the covers which are of very mixed quality. "Mr. Moonlight" is often regarded as the worst of all Beatles recordings. Personally I don't mind it that much, but it does sound a bit unfinished, and all in all it is rather boring. I quite like the organ sound though, and I actually think it works better than the two Carl Perkins covers. "Honey Don't" does not sound as if they really care, and especially George Harrison's monotonous guitar work is boring. Ringo, who sings it, even sounds frustrated at the lack of conviction from the band with his "Rock on for Ringo!" outbursts before the solo parts. "Everyone Is Trying to Be My Baby", the final track on the album, is a bit more convincing, but still not a very engaging listen, and it also showcases Harrison's then rather limited vocal abilities. Well performed, just unimaginative and boring. A very anticlimactic way to end the album.

On the other hand, the Beatles deliver a stellar performances of the Little Richard medley "Kansas City / Hey Hey Hey Hey", with excellent singing by McCartney. And John Lennon's rendition of "Rock And Roll Music" is probably even better than the Chuck Berry original. It is very well performanced by the band, and Lennon sings the hell out of the song. Between these extremes there is "Words of Love" which - to be honest - doesn't really add anything to the original Buddy Holly song, but the peformance is fine enough, containing another fine example of Harrison's guitar playing.

So all in all we have quite a mixed album with some highlights. The album is clearly a product of their early period, but things like the autobiograpic lyrics in "I'm a Loser" or the studio fade-in in "Eight Days a Week" are pointing forward to their later work. Apart from that, it feels like a standstill compared to A Hard Day's Night and - in particular - the singles and albums that were released in 1965. But it's an enjoyable listen overall.