THE BEATLES' SECOND ALBUM

Again, let me say it up front. This isn't prog music but it's here and it deserves a decent review. It's easy to criticize this album in retrospect but, at the time, we youngsters in the USA didn't care about packaging. We just wanted more Beatles music. Period. We wanted more of that uptempo merriment that "With the Beatles" had given us and this LP delivered in spades. Just look at the lineup. There's not a slow song to be heard, just intense rock and roll from front to back. I'm sure the Fab Four weren't happy with the label taking liberties with the English versions of their albums and repackaging them for the states as they saw fit but it still got the job done as far as we fanatics were concerned. Beatlemania was in full swing and this "2nd" collection of songs hardly ever left our turntables unless it was to replay the first album. It definitely rocks, even today.

The story about The Beatles`relationship with Capitol Records (their U.S. label) is well known today: First, Capitol refused EMI`s and Brian Epstein`s offer to sign The Beatles to release their first singles and their first album in the U.S. So, Epstein and EMI looked for smaller labels to release The Beatles`music in the U.S. (among them, Vee Jay Records, Swan Records, etc.). It wasn`t until The Beatles`success started in other parts of the world that Capitol was interested in them. So, not wanting to lose more time and the opportunity to earn a lot of money, and also taking advantage of their strongest monetary power, they asked EMI and Epstein to sign The Beatles for Capitol, Capitol then sued Vee Jay Records (a modest record label) to have the rights for all The Beatles`recordings in the U.S., and started to release their own versions of The Beatles`albums in the U.S. which only had 12 songs or less per album (in comparison to 14 per album as in England), releasing one album after the other, using remaining songs from previous albums, singles and their B-sides, to release more Beatles` albums than in the U.K. They also did they own mixings of the songs for their albums!

After EMI released their original U.K. albums on CD, they released their fist four albums only in Mono, so since then the old Fans who wanted to listen to the Stereo mixings of these albums had to listen to the old U.K. LPs, or to buy the U.S versions, which were available until 5 or 6 years ago in the cassette format. I was one of those Fans who thought that, but I discovered in the Web that the mixings were different, so before purchasing those cassettes (which I didn`t buy in the end) I was disappointed by this. One has to buy those 4 U.K. Stereo albums in the used LPs shops!

I really don`t give the same importance to these U.S. albums. IMO, they were more "marketing exercises" done by Capitol (and other labels in the U.S., like Polydor, MGM and Atco with the Tony Sheridan recordings) in the `60s with the goal to earn more dollars from the U. S. Fans (with the exception of the "Magical Mystey Tour" and "Hey Jude" albums which IMO are very good albums). So, I only comment that this "The Beatles` Second Album" is another collection of songs selected from their U.K. albums available then, plus songs from singles and their B- sides and English E.P.s., with different mixings in comparison to the U.K. releases.

If the old American Fans of The Beatles are nostalgical to listen to their first eight Capitol albums, now they can buy them in 2 Boxed Sets in the CD format, called "The Capitol Albums" Vols. 1 and 2.

This album was a US release only. It will top the US charts and dethroned no other album than "Meet The Beatles". It is was a unique example in music that the same band was replacing himself on that spot!

Actually, this is a compilation album which comprises songs already released in the UK. But as usual, the US and the UK releases were not the same (covers, title, track list).

There are no less than six cover songs of which my favourite ones are the rocking ones "ROB" and "Long Tall Sally". On The melodic side "Please Mr. Postman" is of course very good as well.

Some of the material available here was also dropped from their album or were unreleased at that time. "You Can't Do That" is one of them (should have sit on "A Hard Day's Night"). Its career will be limited to the B side of "Can't Buy Me Love". You can understand why when listening to his.

Same applies to "I Call Your Name". Written by John for another artist; namely Billy Kramer, a Liverpool citizen who sung successfully several unreleased songs from the Fab Four ("Do You Want To Keep A Secret", "I'll Keep You Satisfied" and "I'll Be On My Way" amongst others. The latter topping the British charts!).

This album is not a must own of course. Only one great Fab Four song with "She Loves You". This is a bit "thin". For collectors and die-hard fans only. Two stars.

This is actually misleading because this album was basically released in the USA only. My friend loaned me the CD and it was surprising that the songs were basically taken from the band's previous four albums. It's good that newbie do not need to buy each individual album - just purchase this one and you will get the essence of The beatles music from this compilation. As for my personal taste, actually this compilation does not suit me perfectly because "I Saw Her Standing There" and "I Should Have Known You Better" are not here in this compilation. It's probably my taste does not fit with USA taste, and I can understand that because I do not like Bruce Springsteen who is adored widely in the USA. That's just different taste.

But you will get a good song "Please Mr, Postman" which shows how pop music can be composed in such a way that can transcend into something a bit of rock but still maintaining the premise being a pop song. That's basically the core competence of The Beatles: making a pop music so lively and it sounds like a rock music. You will find it also in songs like "You Can't Do That", "She Loves You", "Roll Over Beethoven". As the main intent of this CD was the band's introduction to the USA market, the list of songs served the purpose quite well.

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW