Assembling a compilation of the Beatles is a difficult task, not only because they had an enormous number of hits, but also because singles didn't tell the full story; many of their album tracks were as important as the singles, if not more so. The double-album 1962-1966, commonly called The Red Album, does the job surprisingly well, hitting most ...
If boiled down to a simple synopsis, the Beatles' LOVE sounds radical: assisted by his father, the legendary Beatles producer George, Giles Martin has assembled a remix album where familiar Fab Four tunes aren't just refurbished, they're given the mash-up treatment, meaning different versions of different songs are pasted together to create a new ...
It was inevitable that the constant grind of touring, writing, promoting, and recording would grate on the Beatles, but the weariness of Beatles for Sale comes as something of a shock. Only five months before, the group released the joyous A Hard Day's Night. Now, they sound beaten, worn, and, in Lennon's case, bitter and self-loathing. His ...
Once "Please Please Me" rocketed to number one, the Beatles rushed to deliver a debut album, bashing out Please Please Me in a day. Decades after its release, the album still sounds fresh, precisely because of its intense origins. As the songs rush past, it's easy to get wrapped up in the sound of the record itself without realizing how the album ...
If boiled down to a simple synopsis, the Beatles' LOVE sounds radical: assisted by his father, the legendary Beatles producer George, Giles Martin has assembled a remix album where familiar Fab Four tunes aren't just refurbished, they're given the mash-up treatment, meaning different versions of different songs are pasted together to create a new ...
The first in a series of three double-CD sets of previously unreleased and rare Beatles material, released in conjunction with the mammoth Anthology video documentary. This covers the late '50s to the end of 1964, mixing studio outtakes, live performances, primitive recordings from the Quarrymen/Silver Beatles days, excerpts from the famous 1962 ...
When Capitol decided to release the original British editions of the Beatles' albums instead of the bastardized American versions, they were left with a bit of a quandary. Since the Beatles had an enormous number of non-LP singles, some of their greatest hits -- from "I Want to Hold Your Hand" through "Hey Jude" -- would not be included on disc if ...
From 1962 to 1965, the Beatles made 52 appearances on the BBC, recording live-in-the-studio performances of both their official releases and several dozen songs that they never issued on disc. This magnificent two-disc compilation features 56 of these tracks, including 29 covers of early rock, R&B, soul, and pop tunes that never appeared on their ...
Greatest Hits is a budget-priced, ten-track selection of some of Peter & Gordon's hits, and while there are plenty of essential items missing, it still functions as a good, affordable sampler, featuring such hits as "A World Without Love," "I Go to Pieces," "True Love Ways," "Lady Godiva" and "Knight in Rusty Armour." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, ...
With the Beatles is a sequel of the highest order -- one that betters the original by developing its own tone and adding depth. While it may share several similarities with its predecessor -- there is an equal ratio of covers-to-originals, a familiar blend of girl group, Motown, R&B, pop, and rock, and a show tune that interrupts the flow of the ...
When it first appeared on CD around 1987, this 16-song compilation was easy to justify, as there are no other domestic compilations of the group's work and imported CDs were difficult to come by. And it isn't bad, as far as it goes -- encompassing all of the significant American chart singles and their most recognizable songs. This disc is ...
The selection and sequencing strategy adopted by compiler Ron Furmanek for The Ultimate Peter & Gordon is easy to see. Allowed to pick 20 tracks, he has chosen all 14 songs by the '60s British duo that reached Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart, from major hits like "A World Without Love," "Lady Godiva," and "I Go to Pieces" to minor ones like "To ...
The second installment of Capitol's long-awaited, ongoing series of reissues of the Beatles' American albums covers the four Fab Four albums Capitol released in 1965: The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, Help!, and Rubber Soul. The first of these, The Early Beatles, was a quick roundup of all the material from Please Please Me that hadn't been put on an ...
This compilation, whose release was sparked by the 1972 success of "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress," the Hollies' most successful American single, contains 12 of their 14 biggest U.S. hits, 1964-1972, missing only "Jennifer Eccles" and "I Can't Let Go," for which it substitutes the slightly lower-charting, but perhaps more familiar "Dear Eloise" ...
Apparently, there was a gap in the Beatles' catalog, after all -- all the big hits weren't on one tidy, single-disc compilation. It's not the kind of gap you'd necessarily notice -- it's kind of like realizing you don't have a pair of navy blue dress socks -- but it was a gap all the same, so the group released The Beatles 1 late in 2000, ...
Fans of Birmingham, England's Merseybeat/British Invasion quintet the Fortunes who are looking for a definitive best-of will have to keep looking, but for the money, this lovingly crafted collection from the Taragon label does pretty well for itself. Focusing on the late-'60s/early-'70s output from the group, The Very Best of the Fortunes (1967 ...
Herman's Hermits are widely seen as a lightweight, novelty cousin to the Beatles, fronted by a lovably dorky moppet and musically negligible. Sure, they are lightweight at times, Peter Noone is a lovable moppet, and their popularity would never have been possible without the Beatles, but one listen to Retrospective proves that they were not ...
In the United States, the Hollies don't always get their due as one of the truly great acts of the British Invasion era, but while the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Kinks may have more hip cache, few bands consistently made better or more memorable singles, and this compilation proves the point with ease. Boasting 25 great tunes, On a ...
When the Beatles' albums were reissued on CD in 1987, the group seized the opportunity to standardize their catalog internationally, choosing to release the British version of their LPs on CD in every territory throughout the world. From their standpoint, it made sense creatively, since these were the albums they intended to make, and it also made ...
There are already so many "best-of" collections of Gerry & the Pacemakers -- including previous releases from EMI, Capitol, and Collectables -- that this double-CD set from EMI's U.K. division probably won't seem very impressive or important. Actually, very little of the band's history is left out, at least in terms of the various facets of their ...
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.