In reply to nai06

nai06 said:

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Not done yet?

My brother you haven't even gotten to the picture disks yet that were released during that time period. I wouldn't even try and document the 7in/45s

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No. LOL Not even going to attempt those.

Nothing but albums really. I only did the xmas thing because they made it into a compilation album.

US Album Covers vs UK Album Covers

Note: I had to add 2 collections to the UK one as it was 13 albums (including the MMT EP) to balance it.

The UK versions win easily - just much more classic look.

In reply to Zombie Jon Snow

Zombie Jon Snow said:

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Seems like from what I've seen that those are only valued in the $600-$1200 range today so probably not worth it from an investment point of view. But from a nostalgic point of view it would depend on what it meant to you I guess.

It's pretty cool. I'd love to find one.

I saw a reddit thread where someone found one (in decent shape) in a vinyl used record store in NJ for $30 like 3 years ago. The store obviously had no clue what they had.

My wife will hate this - so I have not brought it up yet - but I'm thinking about making an album cover collage of the Us Capitol releases in my office/man cave for one wall. I know I railed on the covers from the US versions in many cases but I think they are so interesting from how bad they are and people these days do not know them so it would grab your attention. I would want both the butcher cover and the steamer cover of Y&T.

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As someone who has done this, check Michaels and hobby lobby for the frames. They will often have a buy one get one free sale for those. Spring for the ones with real glass as the plexiglass ones never look quite right

A quick post today as I have not much to offer on this subject.

I have never owned nor even heard any of the Beatles Live albums except snippets from movies or shows and what was shown of the rooftop concert in the Get Back documentary.

Here are there 5 official Live albums although there are many bootlegs.

In reply to Zombie Jon Snow

Zombie Jon Snow said:

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A quick post today as I have not much to offer on this subject.

I have never owned nor even heard any of the Beatles Live albums except snippets from movies or shows and what was shown of the rooftop concert in the Get Back documentary.

Here are there 5 official Live albums although there are many bootlegs.

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I had Live at the Hollywood Bowl. Incredible energy. Girls screaming thoughout the songs. A real sense of Beatlemania.

Have you seen the Get Back documentary on Disney Plus? Close to 9 hours but really gives you a window into the recording of the album.

In reply to Ferg

Ferg said:

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Zombie Jon Snow said:

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A quick post today as I have not much to offer on this subject.

I have never owned nor even heard any of the Beatles Live albums except snippets from movies or shows and what was shown of the rooftop concert in the Get Back documentary.

Here are there 5 official Live albums although there are many bootlegs.

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I had Live at the Hollywood Bowl. Incredible energy. Girls screaming thoughout the songs. A real sense of Beatlemania.

Have you seen the Get Back documentary on Disney Plus? Close to 9 hours but really gives you a window into the recording of the album.

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Yes I watched it when it came out - but I'm actually rewatching it now. Having done this thread and the other one with my fan made Beatles Next album it is fascinating to rewatch and see the genesis of so many songs.

I find the concept of EPs fascinating. It was never as a big of a thing in the US but there were some of course.

But in the UK EPs were a big thing until 1968. And the Beatles released a lot of EPs in the UK. Unlike the US where singles were used to sell albums in the UK albums were more often sold as products to sort of compliment singles. You made your hit records into singles and packaged up a lot of your other tracks into albums. I don't really get the logic as the US method of using a hit single to sell and album was so standard here

In the UK they regularly used EPs to package up either 4 singles (both A and B side) OR 4 songs from an album into 4 songs packages as an EP. They would wait a few months after sales had fallen off for those singles or that album and then package them together offering a bundle basically for discounted price. The Beatles still never usually put those singles onto an LP album until they started doing some compilations and greatest hits packages (of which the first was in late 1966 and most were in the 70s).

Conversely EPs in the US were typically for something different than just packaging singles or album subsets. It was often used as a way to get more music out following an album but before they had another full album ready. Or some special versions of songs. Or when a label had limited material from a band (like Vee-Jay did with The Beatles in 1964).

The cost of an EP was pretty affordable on a per song basis. This is the prices I found for singles, EPs and LPs in the 1958-1968 period. They started to rise after that through the 70s and 80s.

single $0.98 for 2 songs A and B side
EP $1.49 for 4 songs typically but could be 5
LP (mono) $3.98 for 11 or 12 songs
LP (stereo) $4.98 for 11 or 12 songs

EPs and mono LPs were pretty much gone by 1968.
EPs were usually charted on the singles chart in the US and UK although I think the UK had an EP chart (top 10) as well.

So here are the 15 UK (counting the double EP 2x) and 3 US Beatles EPs (I'll note the specific US ones all others are UK).

Twist and Shout - July 1963 - 4 songs from Please Please Me released in March 1963

Side one
1. "Twist and Shout" 2:33
2. "A Taste of Honey" 2:05
Side two
1. "Do You Want to Know a Secret" 2:00
2. "There's a Place" 1:53

The Beatles' Hits - September 1963 - four singles

Side one
1. "From Me to You" 1:56
2. "Thank You Girl" (originally released as the B-side to "From Me to You") 2:01
Side two
1. "Please Please Me" (originally released as a single b/w "Ask Me Why") 2:03
2. "Love Me Do" (originally released as a single b/w "P.S. I Love You") 2:22


The Beatles No. 1 - November 1963 - four more songs from Please Please Me
The cover was a version of the Please Please Me cover photo.

Side one
1. "I Saw Her Standing There" 2:55
2. "Misery" 1:47
Side two
1. "Anna (Go to Him)" 2:54
2. "Chains" 2:23


All My Loving - February 1964 - 2 songs from Please Please Me and 2 from With The Beatles

Side one
1. "All My Loving" (from With the Beatles) 2:10
2. "Ask Me Why" (from Please Please Me) 2:28
Side two
1. "Money (That's What I Want)" (from With the Beatles) 2:52
2. "P.S. I Love You" (from Please Please Me) 2:02


US EP Vee-Jay Records
Souvenir of Their Visit to America - March 1964 - four songs from Introducing The Beatles released in January 1964
This EP failed to chart in the US.

Side one
1. "Misery" 1:48
2. "Taste of Honey" 2:04
Side two
1. "Ask Me Why" 2:28
2. "Anna" 2:58

US EP Capitol Records
Four By The Beatles - April 1964 - four songs from Meet The Beatles released in January 1964
Peaked at #92 on the US billboard Hot 100 singles chart

Side one
1. "Roll Over Beethoven" 2:44
2. "All My Loving" 2:03
Side two
1. "This Boy" 2:11
2. "Please Mr. Postman" 2:35

Long Tall Sally - June 1964 - unique in that these four songs had not previously been released in the UK. Side one songs had been on the US Beatles Second Album in March 1964 and Side two were on the forthcoming US Something New Album in July 1964. They would finally appear on the Past Masters in LP form in 1988.

Side one
1. "Long Tall Sally" 2:03
2. "I Call Your Name" 2:09
Side two
1. "Slow Down" 2:56
2. "Matchbox" 1:58


Extracts From A Hard Day's Night - November 1964 - four songs from the film and soundtrack

Side one
1. "I Should Have Known Better" 2:43
2. "If I Fell" 2:19
Side two
1. "Tell Me Why" 2:09
2. "And I Love Her" 2:30

Extracts From A Hard Day's Night - December 1964 - four songs from the album but not in the film
This release used the exact same title as the previous but a different cover

Side A
"Any Time at All" 2:14
"I'll Cry Instead" 2:06
Side B
"Things We Said Today" 2:38
"When I Get Home" 2:19

US EP Capitol Records - the last Beatles EP released in the US
4 by the Beatles - February 1965 - all four songs were from Beatles '65 released in December 1964
a nearly identical name to the previous Capitol EP which had charted, this one also charted as high as #68.
The cover reused the Beatles '65 primary photo.

Side one
"Honey Don't" 2:56
"I'm a Loser" 2:30
Side two
"Mr. Moonlight" 2:39
"Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" 2:25


Beatles For Sale (EP) - April 1965 - the four songs were from the album of the same exact name
The cover photo also used the same photo as the album but a different tint

Side A
"No Reply" 2:15
"I'm a Loser" 2:30
Side B
"Rock and Roll Music" 2:32
"Eight Days a Week" 2:43


Beatles for Sale No. 2 - June 1965 - another four songs from the same album

Side A
"I'll Follow the Sun" 1:46
"Baby's in Black" 2:05
Side B
"Words of Love" 2:04
"I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" 2:34


The Beatles' Million Sellers - December 1965 - this comprised 4 singles that had hit #1 in the UK and sold over a million copies

Side one
"She Loves You" 2:19
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" 2:24
Side two
"Can't Buy Me Love" 2:15
"I Feel Fine" 2:20

Yesterday (EP) - March 1966 - like the US Yesterday and Today album this looked to capitalize on the huge single Yesterday. The tracks were all from the B side of the UK Help! album but not the movie.

Side A
"Yesterday" 2:03
"Act Naturally" 2:33
Side B
"You Like Me Too Much" 2:40
"It's Only Love" 1:53


Nowhere Man - July 1966 - contains four songs from the UK Rubber Soul album

Side one
"Nowhere Man" 2:44
"Drive My Car" 2:25
Side two
"Michelle" 2:40
"You Won't See Me" 3:22


Magical Mystery Tour (double EP) - December 1967 - the last UK EP from the Beatles during their active recording period. Contains the 6 songs from the film.

Side one
1. "Magical Mystery Tour" - 2:48
2. "Your Mother Should Know" - 2:33
Side two
1. "I Am the Walrus" - 4:35
Side three
1. "The Fool on the Hill" - 3:00
2. "Flying" (Instrumental) 2:16
Side four
1. "Blue Jay Way" - 3:50

OTHERS:

There was a planned EP for Yellow Submarine that was conceived but never released.
Track Listing: Only A Northern Song, Hey Bulldog, Across The Universe, All Together Now & All Too Much


There was an untitled bonus rarities EP included in the 1981 EP Box Set that contained all of the UK EPs.



It contained these songs in stereo for the first time in the UK:

Side one
The Inner Light 2:39
previously included on the Lady Madonna single and "Rarities" album in mono, this stereo mix was the first such available release in the UK.
Baby You're A Rich Man 3:04
previously issued in mock stereo on the All You Need is Love single and Magical Mystery Tour album, this true stereo mix was first issued on The Beatles Box for the first time.
Side two
She's A Woman 3:06
previously included on the I Feel Fine single and "Rarities" album in mono, Also issued for the first time in stereo on The Beatles Box. This stereo mix is slightly longer and includes a "1, 2, 3, 4" count-in from Paul.
This Boy 2:14
previously included on the I Want To Hold Your Hand single and "Rarities" album in mono. The sleeve claims this is the first stereo release available in the UK, but this mix was previously used on Love Songs.


This was the cover of the EP Box Set mentioned above:

EPs in the US don't make any sense to me at all.

At the time I was living through it all, I never heard of an EP or saw one for sale.

What size were they? Were they 33 1/3 or 45?

In reply to OldArmy71

OldArmy71 said:

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EPs in the US don't make any sense to me at all.

At the time I was living through it all, I never heard of an EP or saw one for sale.

What size were they? Were they 33 1/3 or 45?

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I'm not an expert by any means.

From what I know originally there were 45 rpm 7" singles and 33 and 1/3 rpm 12" LPs. The EP was introduced as a way to compete with the LPs somewhat. There were different sizes though at times including both 7" and 10" which could hold 15 minutes per side.

But the 7" became more standard by the 60s and could hold about 7 minutes per side. Apparently most of it just has to do with the cost of producing an EP vs a single so that it uses tighter grooves and fits more music. Because otherwise they are fairly interchangeable with singles. So it was a single size but typically held 2 songs per side instead of 1 but could even be 3 depending on song length.

Some EPs were made with the larger hole like a 45/single in the middle. But some had the smaller hole and actually the most common was a smaller hole like an LP but the center part could be punched out to play on a smaller record player meant for singles.

45 rpms had a large center opening and needed an adapter either inserted in the record or sitting on the usual spindle making it fit correctly on players for larger LPs. Kids often just bought singles and had smaller record players than their parents so for a while EPs were popular because they got more songs on the same size record.

I think the 7" size is why it was sometimes also included in singles charts. But the UK and US both had EP charts at one time as well. It was never considered the main format though and was always for either collections of previously released songs or promo type things or new material when they only had a few songs.

Elvis apparently released over 25 EPs in his career.

Check these sites for some Beatles specific EP where you can see the packaging and the spindle hole which is sometimes small with a punchout option and sometimes larger.

Good picture of the disc for Nowhere Man on this one with the punchout.
https://ontherecords.net/2017/08/beatles-picture-sleeves/

Here are images and labels for a bunch of the UK EPs
https://www.yokono.co.uk/collection/beatles/uk/guide_ep_y_parlo.html

In reply to OldArmy71

OldArmy71 said:

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EPs in the US don't make any sense to me at all.

At the time I was living through it all, I never heard of an EP or saw one for sale.

What size were they? Were they 33 1/3 or 45?

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45s. Mostly 7", but some 10"

Thank you for the info.

As I said, I never heard of EPs or saw one for sale or knew anyone who had one.

You would think that "American Pie" would have been a natural for it, though that song was pretty late in the game.

On the 45, you had to flip the record to hear the whole song. The first side faded out in the middle of a verse! Crazy.

The Village People's first release was an EP.

One side was big at dances at the height of the disco era.

San Francisco/In Hollywood.

Heck I recall a few EPs in the 80s.

U2 had some EPs although by then the standard was to release them on 12 inch vinyl but it had just 4 songs.

I owned one called Wide Awake in America it had 2 live tracks and 2 B sides from singles.

Side one
1. "Bad" (live) 8:00
2. "A Sort of Homecoming" (live) 4:05
Side two
1. "The Three Sunrises" 3:50
2. "Love Comes Tumbling" 4:45


More recently bands have taken to releasing EPs in digital format only as a way to combat bootlegs. Foo Fighters release a lot of EPs and I have some of them they mostly are either Live tracks or B sides. They call them Foo Files and they just have a long number not an identifying name.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foo_Files


They aren't really advertised much if at all but big fans of bands like those know about them and sometimes there are real gems on them. you can find them on most streaming services though. On Apple music they are usually under the Singles and EPs section and I doubt most people bother searching them out.

Pearl Jam has one EP I know of called Merkin Ball with Neil Young and just two songs "I Got Id" and "Long Road". It was a companion to Neil Young's "Mirror Ball" album with Pearl Jam as his backing band but Eddie Vedder sings lead vocals on those.


TOOL had an EP called Opiate. It had 6 songs (2 live) and a hidden 7th song. It was in 12 inch format also.

Ok we've talked about the US vs UK chronology and the compilations done during the 1963-1970 active recording period plus the various EPs.

Here are the only UK compilations during that time



Here are the various US compilations during that time




Well let's talk about the Beatles many compilations after the breakup now. Incredibly they have released many more compilations now than the original UK albums (12 plus an EP) or the US albums (18 counting the different versions of the first UK album Introducing The Beatles / The Early Beatles as one and including the compilation Hey Jude).

Following the Beatles taking back control of their catalogue and releases there they also started to control these compilations more and for the most part they were the same. But some US or Uk specific versions still existed partly due to the history of the previous studio material and their configuration.

Here are the 24 combined UK and US compilation releases (not including what I consider box sets like re-releases of albums with expanded demos versions of the songs, etc.). I consider Let It Be...Naked also a re-mixed release not a compilation.



The last album Let It Be was released in May 1970 and the last release of any kind for a while was the Christmas packaging of the previous Christmas flex-discs into an LP in December of 1970.

Between 1971 and early 1973 there was nothing released by the Beatles. Not in the UK or US anyway.

The first major compilations were the 2 double albums 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 more commonly and infamously called the "red" and "blue" albums. They were the brainchild of Allen Klein the guy that took over managing Apple Records and its related business ventures and really the guy who made The Beatles once again highly profitable even after their breakup.

He commissioned the creation of these albums to combat bootlegs that were out there even one Alpha Omega that was marketed and sold in TV ads. The Beatles were missing out on some serious sales potential and he was determined to rectify it.

And they were huge sellers each going multiple platinum in the UK (3x and 4x platinum ) and US (15x and 17 x platinum where they count each one sold as 2x since they are double albums). It was clear the market was there for Beatles compilations given the nature of all of their releases of singles, albums and EPs.

Here are the original Red and Blue covers and the inner gatefold that was the same for both but had the respective track listings under that wide image. It also included sleeves and in red and blue that contained the lyrics to every song for the first time.

The red cover image was of course from the original Please Please Me album. During the Get Back sessions the Beatles had the photo taken that would become the Blue album cover with their look at that time in 1969 in the same place (an EMI offices stairwell). It was intended to be the cover for the Get Back album which was later called Let It Be of course and used in studio images of the four separately instead.







Track listing Red album:

Disc 1, side 1
1. "Love Me Do" (originally a single released October 1962, track used is album version later included on Please Please Me, 1963) 2:22
2. "Please Please Me" (single released January 1963, included on Please Please Me, 1963) 2:01
3. "From Me to You" (non-album single, 1963) 1:57
4. "She Loves You" (non-album single, 1963) 2:22
5. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (non-album single, 1963) 2:26
6. "All My Loving" (from With the Beatles, 1963) 2:09
7. "Can't Buy Me Love" (from A Hard Day's Night, 1964) 2:13
Total length: 15:30

Disc 1, side 2
1. "A Hard Day's Night" (from A Hard Day's Night, 1964) 2:34
2. "And I Love Her" (from A Hard Day's Night, 1964) 2:31
3. "Eight Days a Week" (from Beatles for Sale, 1964) 2:44
4. "I Feel Fine" (non-album single, 1964) 2:20
5. "Ticket to Ride" (from Help!, 1965) 3:11
6. "Yesterday" (from Help!, 1965) 2:05
Total length: 15:25

Disc 2, side 1
1. "Help!" (from Help!, 1965) 2:20
2. "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (from Help!, 1965) 2:11
3. "We Can Work It Out" (non-album single, 1965) 2:16
4. "Day Tripper" (non-album single, 1965) 2:49
5. "Drive My Car" (from Rubber Soul, 1965) 2:28
6. "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" (from Rubber Soul, 1965) 2:05
Total length: 14:09

Disc 2, side 2
1. "Nowhere Man" (from Rubber Soul, 1965) 2:44
2. "Michelle" (from Rubber Soul, 1965) 2:42
3. "In My Life" (from Rubber Soul, 1965) 2:27
4. "Girl" (from Rubber Soul, 1965) 2:31
5. "Paperback Writer" (non-album single, 1966) 2:19
6. "Eleanor Rigby" (from Revolver, 1966) 2:08
7. "Yellow Submarine" (from Revolver, 1966) 2:39
Total length: 17:30


Track listing Blue album:

Disc 1, side 1
1. "Strawberry Fields Forever" (non-album single, 1967 (UK); later included on Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1967 (U.S.)) 4:08
2. "Penny Lane" (non-album single, 1967 (UK); later included on Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1967 (U.S.)) 3:01
3. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967) 2:02
4. "With a Little Help from My Friends" (from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967) 2:44
5. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967) 3:29
6. "A Day in the Life" (from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967) 5:07
7. "All You Need Is Love" (non-album single, 1967 (UK); later included on Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1967 (U.S.)) 3:48
Total length: 24:19

Disc 1, side 2
1. "I Am the Walrus" (B-side, 1967; included on Magical Mystery Tour EP and LP, 1967) 4:35
2. "Hello, Goodbye" (non-album single, 1967 (UK); later included on Magical Mystery Tour LP, 1967 (U.S.)) 3:29
3. "The Fool on the Hill" (from Magical Mystery Tour EP and LP, 1967) 3:00
4. "Magical Mystery Tour" (from Magical Mystery Tour EP and LP, 1967) 2:49
5. "Lady Madonna" (non-album single, 1968) 2:18
6. "Hey Jude" (non-album single, 1968) 7:11
7. "Revolution" (non-album B-side, 1968) 3:25
Total length: 26:47

Disc 2, side 1
1. "Back in the U.S.S.R." (from The Beatles, 1968) 2:46
2. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (George Harrison; from The Beatles, 1968) 4:46
3. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (from The Beatles, 1968) 3:11
4. "Get Back" (non-album single, 1969) 3:12
5. "Don't Let Me Down" (non-album B-side, 1969) 3:35
6. "The Ballad of John and Yoko" (non-album single, 1969) 3:01
7. "Old Brown Shoe" (Harrison; non-album B-side, 1969) 3:21
Total length: 23:52

Disc 2, side 2
1. "Here Comes the Sun" (Harrison; from Abbey Road, 1969) 3:07
2. "Come Together" (from Abbey Road, 1969) 4:19
3. "Something" (Harrison; from Abbey Road, 1969) 3:03
4. "Octopus's Garden" (Richard Starkey; from Abbey Road, 1969) 2:52
5. "Let It Be" (non-album single, 1970) 3:52
6. "Across the Universe" (from Let It Be, 1970) 3:50
7. "The Long and Winding Road" (from Let It Be, 1970) 3:40
Total length: 24:42

They were really great double albums with 26 (red) and 28 (blue) songs respectively. As a part of making more money from them though for the Beatles they do not include ANY of the many covers the Beatles did in their early days (like "Twist and Shout" or "Roll Over Beethoven"). They are all 100% Beatles tunes and include most of the big hits. On the red album in particular they also do not include any Harrison songs but one Ringo ("Yellow Submarine written by Lennon/McCartney). The blue album has three Harrison tunes ("Something" "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Here Comes The Sun") plus two Ringo ("With a Little Help from My Friends" also written by Lennon/McCartney and "Octopus's Garden").

Those are some of the criticisms of the albums, especially the red album as Harrison had some great contributions that could have been included (since the Red album was shorter on runtime) up through Revolver including:

'Don't Bother Me' With The Beatles
'I Need You' Help!
'You Like Me Too Much' Help!
'Think For Yourself' Rubber Soul
'If I needed Someone' Rubber Soul
'Taxman' Revolver
'Love You To' Revolver
'I Want To Tell You' Revolver


This would actually be about the last thing Allen Klein did as things fell apart in their business relationship. Klein had loaned them money personally and was also due some payment he did not get. So he sued The Beatles and they sued him back. It got messy in court and Klein won a $5 million settlement. But that was the end of his tenure running Apple Records. At least he made it highly profitable before he left and showed that Beatles music was still very marketable.



Well the criticisms were rectified a bit in a 2023 re-releases of the red and blue albums that added 12 more tracks to the red album and 9 more to the blue album turning each into triple albums. they even released special red and blue vinyl disc and compact disc versions.



Added songs on each re-release 2023 version:

Red album with 2 Harrison tracks and some of those missing cover songs:

I Saw Her Standing There (2023 mix)
Twist And Shout (2023 mix)
This Boy (2023 mix)
Roll Over Beethoven (2023 mix)
You Really Got A Hold On Me (2023 mix)
You Can't Do That (2023 mix)
If I Needed Someone (2023 mix)
Got To Get You Into My Life (2022 mix)
I'm Only Sleeping (2022 mix)
Taxman (2022 mix)
Here, There And Everywhere (2022 mix)
Tomorrow Never Knows (2022 mix)

Blue album with again 2 more Harrison tracks and the "new" song Now and Then

Now And Then (2023)
Blackbird (2018 Mix)
Dear Prudence (2018 Mix)
Glass Onion (2018 Mix)
Within You Without You (2017 Mix)
Hey Bulldog (2023 Mix)
Oh! Darling (2019 Mix)
I Me Mine (2021 Mix)
I Want You (She's So Heavy) (2019 Mix)


As I started buying records in 1979 these were the first Beatles records I owned. They were a great way to get the most Beatles songs for my money although I never really was familiar with what song was from what album back then. I definitely wss a bigger fan of the blue album personally even then.

Great summary. On the blue album though I think Ringo sang 3 songs. Yellow Submarine, Octopus's Garden and With A Little Help From My Friends,

Yall both said that Yellow Submarine is on the blue album, when it is on the red.

In reply to TXAG 05

TXAG 05 said:

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Yall both said that Yellow Submarine is on the blue album, when it is on the red.

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Yup you are correct. 2 Ringos on the Blue then.

I've been listening to the Red and Blue 2023 Remix versions the last few days (thanks OP) on youtube music with headphones.

The remasters are great and the Red Album songs that were mono sound stereo now, and with the remix you can hear so many more parts of the song individually. Also, on Youtube, the comments on the remasters are great and educational. For instance, Old Brown Shoe was recorded by George and Paul only. Lots of little tidbits in the comments. Evidently the remix was done by George Martin's son Giles

In reply to Ferg

Ferg said:

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TXAG 05 said:

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Yall both said that Yellow Submarine is on the blue album, when it is on the red.

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Yup you are correct. 2 Ringos on the Blue then.

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Oh damn. My bad. I was thinking Yellow Submarine from the timeframe of the album and not the song (it appeared on both Revolver and Yellow Submarine albums).

In reply to Zombie Jon Snow I own that U2 EP, was looking at it yesterday. The Three Sunrises is an underrated cut.

Also have Cheap Tricks "Found All The Parts" EP. To stay somewhat on subject, it contains their cover of Day Tripper.

In reply to 85aggie777

85aggie777 said:

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What an amazing thread you've created!

As a huge Beatle fan for 50 years of my life, I was enthralled by the incredible amount of information you have compiled on the album releases. I have read and seen countless books and documentaries over the decades, but I learned A LOT of new information from your post. You must have worked on gathering all this history for years!

Thank you so much for adding it to the Entertainment Board!

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Wow thanks. But I've just been coming across most of it myself in the last few weeks. I started down a rabbit hole online and found these interesting web sources that had a lot of info. I bookmarked them and kept a tab group with all of the links. I open that tab group when I am writing one of these and search out more info on the next album. It's been fascinating for me and I'm thrilled anyone else is enjoying it.

Back in the day I had a book called Beatle Songs and it detailed information on the recording sessions for every Beatles song, who wrote and played and what credit should be given per track, etc. It fascinated me and was a companion of sorts to the those early Red and Blue albums I had. I still have the book and I made notes in it back in high school.

I always loved the Beatles but never went this in depth and never the US albums until now. I think just trying to experience them as American teens would have at that time is very engaging for me. And I'm finding so much in the deeper album tracks.

I do tend to keep lists, links, spreadsheets and other ways to track things I get into so I've just kind of been building that as I go. Personally I know I'll use this as my own online resource now to look back at. I've already done so a few times when trying to recall certain albums for example or a song order.

I also follow The Beatles community on Reddit and have found it to be a great resource as well. This entire thing actually started because somebody posted their "next beatles album" if they had done something after Let It Be and I thought I can do better than that as his used a bunch of obvious A side singles and songs that weren't really Beatles songs (when they were written). That was a whole different thread I started if interested here:

https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3547251/replies/70443118 it is here:

In reply to Zombie Jon Snow

Zombie Jon Snow said:

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Ferg said:

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TXAG 05 said:

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Yall both said that Yellow Submarine is on the blue album, when it is on the red.

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Yup you are correct. 2 Ringos on the Blue then.

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Oh damn. My bad. I was thinking Yellow Submarine from the timeframe of the album and not the song (it appeared on both Revolver and Yellow Submarine albums).

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That got me also. I remember seeing Yellow Submarine at the movies as a kid.

Great thread! Nice work ZJS! I guess only releases left are the 3 Anthology releases and then Beatles Love soundtrack!

In reply to Big Al 1992 There's a bunch of compilations. Scroll up and I posted a picture. 24 in total although I covered 4 of them with the original and re-release of the red/blue albums.

Not sure how detailed I'll be on some of them depends how interesting they are. Past Masters is actually the next big one imo.

Many of them are out of print or circulation now as the red/blue, Past Masters, 1, and Anthology cover it all pretty well.

ZJS, this is a big question and you of course need to pursue your own interests, but I will ask it anyway:


What do you make of all the remastered/remixed stuff?

I would really like to know what is out there and how it differs, etc.

For instance, I much prefer the "Remastered 2009" version of Let it Be with George's great guitar solo. I am not sure I had even heard the other version until some years ago at a little gathering when my son was playing music and the more organy version popped up and I said, "What's wrong with your player" or something like that.

I have listened on Youtube to some of Giles Martin's remixing and I'm not sure what the differences are. (I noticed that he did not use the "remastered" Let It Be in his remix.)

"Remastered" and "remixed" are confusing in themselves!

I feel as confused as I am in trying to decide which version of Beethoven or Wagner I prefer.



What are your thoughts on all that?

Next up is Rock 'n Roll Music which was released as a double album in 1976 three years after the red/blue albums in both the US and UK.

It was sort of the antithesis of the red/blue albums covering their more rocking tunes and includes 12 cover songs which were all excluded from the red/blue. Only 4 songs overlap if I see it right (Revolution, Drive My Car, Back in the USSR and Get Back although this uses the album version of that song whereas Red/Blue used the single version). It has one Harrison track "Taxman" and 3 Ringo as lead vocal tracks with "Boys" written by Lennon/McCartney and two covers "Matchbox" and "I Wanna Be Your Man".

It is also notable for the first appearance of several songs:
- the only album appearance for the song "I'm Down" up to that point in both the US and UK. It was the B side of the "Help" single released in 1965. It is said to be a Little Richard style attempt at a song by Paul.
- all four songs from the Long Tall Sally EP which were never on an album in the UK previously
- "Bad Boy" which had only previously been on the 1966 "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" in the UK


Covers songs are in bold
**Long Tall Sally EP songs


Side one
1. "Twist and Shout" Phil Medley, Bert Russell 2:31
2. "I Saw Her Standing There" 2:56
3. "You Can't Do That" 2:38
4. "I Wanna Be Your Man" 1:59
**5. "I Call Your Name" 2:09
6. "Boys" Luther Dixon, Wes Farrell 2:28
**7. "Long Tall Sally" Enotris Johnson, Richard Penniman aka Little Richard, Robert Blackwell 2:00

Side two
1. "Rock and Roll Music" Chuck Berry 2:30
**2. "Slow Down" Larry Williams 2:54
3. "Kansas City" / "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" (medley) Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller / Richard Penniman aka Little Richard 2:35
4. "Money (That's What I Want)" Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy 2:47
5. "Bad Boy" Larry Williams 2:20
**6. "Matchbox" Carl Perkins 1:59
7. "Roll Over Beethoven" Chuck Berry 2:44

Side three
1. "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" Larry Williams 2:53
2. "Any Time at All" 2:13
3. "Drive My Car" 2:29
4. "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" Carl Perkins 2:26
5. "The Night Before" 2:37
6. "I'm Down" 2:32
7. "Revolution" 3:25

Side four
1. "Back in the U.S.S.R." 2:44
2. "Helter Skelter" 4:30
3. "Taxman" George Harrison 2:39
4. "Got to Get You into My Life" 2:31
5. "Hey Bulldog" 3:11
6. "Birthday" 2:43
7. "Get Back" (album version) 3:09

Producer George Martin was "appalled" to learn that EMI planned on using twin track mono mixes for several early tracks. Rather than approve the album as it was presented to him, Martin remixed every track, modernizing the sound on Twist And Shout, I Saw Her Standing There, I Wanna Be Your Man, Boys, and Roll Over Beethoven by moving the vocal track in the mix and reversing the stereo. The Capitol US release used these remixes; Parlophone would not use them as the Beatles at the time required all reissues had to be released exactly as originally recorded.

But then in 1980 this was reissued as two single LP albums and in that re-release Parlophone used Martin's mix.

The cover art and interior gatefold was not without controversy - the band hated it and very publicly dismissed it saying it was too much in a 1950's style even including Marilyn Monroe on the inner gatefold image and 50s like diner scenes. Ringo said to Rolling Stone, "It made us look cheap and we never were cheap. All that Coca-Cola and cars with big fins was the Fifties!" John hated the cover so much that he wrote to Capitol suggesting photos by Astrid Kirchherr be used and even offered to design the cover himself but was turned down.

The original album was Platinum in the US and Gold in the UK. Both of the re-release vol 1and 2 also reached Platinum and Gold status respectively as well.


Original cover and back and interior gatefold:






The re-releases in single albums in 1980 was called Volume 1 and Volume 2 respectively and had similar but different covers in the US and UK. the song tracks were the same just separated on two albums.

US Vol 1



UK Vol1 - released by EMI subsidiary Music For Pleasure which was their bargain basement label

Side note on several singles released in 1976 showing that the Beatles singles were still charting in the mid 70s.

Two singles were released in the UK and US simultaneously in 1976 with the compilation album Rock 'n Roll Music and were packaged together if you bought the album in the initial run.

In the UK it was "Back in the U.S.S.R." backed by "Twist and Shout" which hit number 19 on the UK singles chart.

In the US it was originally intended to be "Helter Skelter" on the A-side and "Got to Get You into My Life" on the reverse, but when the Helter Skelter TV movie (about the Manson Family murders) was announced for April 1976, Capitol thought better of it and flipped the sides. "Got to Get You Into My Life" hit number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Unrelated to the album Parlophone also released one "new" single in the UK in 1976 and several re-issues.

On 8 March 1976, "Yesterday" was released by Parlophone as a single in the UK for the first time, featuring "I Should Have Known Better" on the B-side. The single peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The release came about due to the expiration of the Beatles' contract with EMI, which allowed the company to repackage the Beatles' recordings as they wished. The Beatles had previously forbidden release of "Yesterday" as a single in the UK due to it being 100% a Paul recording and an overdubbed string quartet. But none of the other Beatles played on the released version although they did play it in concert.

EMI reissued all 22 of the original Beatles' UK singles, plus "Yesterday", on the same day, leading to six of them placing on the UK chart.

Capitol also released "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" as an A-side single in 1976 with "Julia" as the B side. It had previously been a B side to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". It charted at #49 in the US.

The next compilation released in both the US and UK just a year later was another attempt at targeting a specific genre of songs - love songs this time.

The double album Love Songs was released in October 1977 and was identical in the US and UK.

It contained mostly Lennon/McCartney ballads with the exception of one cover song (Buddy Holly's "Words of Love" that had been on Beatles for Sale/Beatle VI) and two Harrison songs that were both about his first wife Patti Boyd ("I Need You" from Help! and "Something" from Abbey Road).

Disc one
Side one
1. "Yesterday" 2:03
2. "I'll Follow the Sun" 1:47
3. "I Need You" (George Harrison) 2:27
4. "Girl" 2:30
5. "In My Life" 2:24
6. "Words of Love" (Buddy Holly) 2:12
7. "Here, There and Everywhere" 2:22
Side two
1. "Something" (George Harrison) 3:00
2. "And I Love Her" 2:28
3. "If I Fell" 2:18
4. "I'll Be Back" 2:21
5. "Tell Me What You See" 2:35
6. "Yes It Is" 2:38

Disc two
Side three
1. "Michelle" 2:40
2. "It's Only Love" 1:55
3. "You're Going to Lose That Girl" 2:16
4. "Every Little Thing" 2:01
5. "For No One" 1:59
6. "She's Leaving Home" 3:35
Side four
1. "The Long and Winding Road" 3:37
2. "This Boy" 2:12
3. "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" 2:02
4. "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" 2:07
5. "I Will" 1:46
6. "P.S. I Love You" 2:02

The album sold very well in the US reaching #24 in the chart and staying in the top 100 for 31 weeks and 3x platinum, but only achieved Silver status in the UK. It was discontinued in the 80s and is no longer part of their active catalogue.

There was a planned US single to accompany it with "Girl"/"You're Going to Lose That Girl" but it got cancelled for some reason. There are printed sleeves for it that are a collectors item.

In the UK it was the first time B side singles "This Boy" and "Yes It Is" appeared on an album. In the US they had been on Meet The Beatles and Beatles VI respectively.

The LP's original packaging included an 11 x 11" booklet, with the songs' lyrics printed, calligraphy-style, on simulated parchment paper. For the first several pressings, the cover itself was simulated leather, and the Beatles' image was in simulated gold-foil. A limited number were also available on yellow vinyl. Later runs only had a cardboard cover printed to look similar and black vinyl.


Original cover with faux leather and gold-foil


Limited run yellow vinyl and back cover




Original portrait used - from LOOK magazine in 1967 (Richard Avedon photographer) - was actually stitched together from 4 separate photos. That is the reason the album was able to switch it up and make Paul more prominent swapping him and Ringo (Avedon agreed ot it).

Paul was a Capitol artist in the US for his solo stuff and was heading out on a tour that year for with Wings so they wanted his image more prominent on the album cover.




Rolling Stone Magazine print ad for the album

Just a year later EMI was back at it again packaging up another single LP compilation they called Rarities. It was only available in the UK although a different Rarities would be released in the US in 1980.

It was part of a larger boxed set called The Beatles Collection which included the 12 original LPs (but not the Magical Mystery Tour EP) and this Rarities album which included a lot of the B side singles and the two German singles as well as a few remixes. But it was only available initially by buying the entire box set.

As many fans already had most or all of those albums, the demand for just this album caused record store owners to separate it from the box set and sell it by itself at a high price and then discounted the remaining 12 album set. As a result in 1979 EMI decided to re-release Rarities by itself so they could get those profits directly.

The album is now out of print as everything on it was later superseded by the Past Masters collection in the UK. Even then only about half of the songs were not previously on either the red/blue albums or the Rock n' Roll compilation. As such and due to the unaccounted sales when it was part of the box set it only went Silver in the UK as a separate album.




The cover for the UK version was very basic with just the title and tracks listed





In early 1980 Capitol decide to release a different single album Rarities compilation as nearly all the songs from the UK album were previously released in the US. Only 4 songs are the same as the UK version but two of those have different Mono mixes. It included tracks not previously issued on a Capitol or Apple LP in the US and alternative versions of several well-known songs which were also not readily available in America. So it was more of a "Rarities" than the UK one was. A highlight of the album was the gatefold sleeve featuring the controversial "butcher" photo from the 1966 Yesterday and Today album.

It sold only modestly well in the US and went Gold. Like the UK one most of it's tracks are now superseded by either Past Masters, Mono Masters (the mono version of Past Masters), or the Beatles in Mono collection.

It did include the two tracks from Please Please Me and Vee-Jays Introducing the Beatles that Capitol had never released "Misery" and "There's a Place". It also included the other German single Capitol had never released "Sie Liebt Dich". And finally the "Love Me Do" version with Ringo on drums as the original US single he had been replaced for that recording session by Andy White.

The other interesting "track" to me is the inclusion of the Sgt. Pepper's inner groove noise that had been left off the US release of Sgt Pepper. It is mostly (intentional) noise intended to play on record players that did not have an auto return at the end of an album and would play this noise on an infinite loop.






It had a different cover as well.

Just a year after the release of the individually sellable version of Rarities in the UK, EMI was at it again packaging up another compilation. It's amazing all the grief that Capitol Records got for their money making mishmash of albums during the Beatles run, and then EMI is the one throwing out anything throughout the 70s and into the 80s.

This album is such a retread and yet it comes with a few interesting and unfortunate side notes. This is another album that would end up in the dumpster when the catalogue was unified and cleaned up.

October of 1980 saw the release of The Beatles Ballads only in the UK just three years after Love Songs.

The redundancy on this album is off the charts. 10 of the 20 songs were on Love Songs, and 10 were also the Red/Blue albums with some overlap leaving only 5 songs that had not been on one of those compilations.

After saturating the 70s with big compilations (Red/Blue, R'n'R Music, Love Songs were all double albums and Rarities originally was only with the box set) they thought it was time to scale back a bit and they might get more sales with a single album. In fact in the same month they (EMI and Capitol) decided to also re-release the single album versions of Rock n' Roll Music separated into volume 1 and 2 separately which I mentioned before. What they found was that the market was probably over saturated with options anyway.


Some interesting notes:
It's the first Beatles album to feature 20 songs on one LP. That seems an astounding number and clocks in at 30ish minutes per side. Normally albums don't have that much content due to audio issues but technology had made it such that they could do it better by this time with smaller grooves basically. But also the tracks closer to the inner groove just have to be songs with less dynamic range meaning fewer highs/lows or loud/soft changes. More melodic ballads lend themselves to that and they put songs like Hey Jude, Here There and Everywhere and Let It Be near the inner groove. So it is also not chronological at all.

Sales of this album were dismal. As well as for the Rock n' Roll Music vol 1 and 2 releases throughout October and November. The Beatles Ballads did not even crack the Top 30. But that all changed due to the unfortunate and tragic murder of John Lennon on December 8, 1980. As it was the most recent release and well stocked in record stores in the UK sales of this album were huge in the following months jumping it up to number 11 despite the fact that only 4 (out of 20) songs on this album were John lead vocal songs and one other co-vocal track (the Greek chorus part of "She's Leaving Home"). Most of the album was Paul songs and even George (3) had nearly as many as John. John's songs were "Norwegian Wood", "Nowhere Man", "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away", and "Across The Universe" and only "Nowhere Man" was not on a previous compilation.

The Rock n' Roll Music vol 1 and 2 individual records in the US saw a similar bump due to the availability and actually reached Platinum status (each).

Unrelated to these compilations but of course John's solo release also in October with Yoko (Double Fantasy) his first in 5 years also saw a massive jump going triple platinum in the US despite initial poor reviews (many of which were later pulled or retracted). Initial sales were sluggish. In the UK album charts, it had peaked at number 14 then slipped to number 46, while in the US, it had risen to number 11. Upon Lennon's murder, the album jumped to number 1 in the US Billboard chart, where it stayed for eight weeks, and in the UK, it jumped to number 2, where it remained for seven weeks before finally spending two weeks at number 1.

The album was preceded by the single "(Just Like) Starting Over" originally peaking at number 8 in the UK chart, after Lennon's murder the single reached number 1. In the US, the single was inching upward in the top 10 before reaching number 1 following Lennon's death. Other singles released posthumously included "Woman" which hit #1 in the UK and #2 in the US. And "Watching The Wheels" which hit #10 in the US and #30 in the UK.

ASIDE
On a personal note: As I've said I mentioned before I started playing drums/percussion in 1978 and got my first stereo then too. I started collecting records for the first time and the Red/Blue albums were among my first purchases. The death of John Lennon was the first stunning celebrity death I recall. I sort of recall when Elvis died but I was younger then and not really into rock and roll yet and my parents never played his music. But by 1980 I had listened to the Beatles Red/Blue albums back and forth many times. I had not gotten into any of their solo stuff yet but I was a big Beatles fan already (and Ringo as a drummer). I can vividly recall hearing about Lennon's murder on the school bus on the way to school one cold morning in December. It had been late the previous night (a Monday infamously broken on air during the MNF game) and I guess we weren't watching and did not have the morning news on (we never did). Our daily paper in that small town came in the afternoon. So I heard about it only via word of mouth. I recall being shook at school all day and rushing home to read about it and play my Beatles records. Ugh.

Anyway. I did go out and buy Double Fantasy. What a tough listen that was. Not because of John's songs but because every other song was a Yoko Ono painful tune imo. And skipping songs was not easy to do every few minutes on a turntable. I liked albums that I could play all the way through. And this one I could not. UGH. I literally listened to it once and never again except on the radio when his songs were played.

Album listing for The Beatles Ballads:



The cover art was taken from the book The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics and is a painting by playwright John Patrick Byrne who had also done album covers for other artists in the early seventies (notably Stealers Wheel and Gerry Rafferty solo albums).

Next up are a couple of albums from the UK and US with the same name but different track listings. It was another single album with 20 tracks and was called The Beatles 20 Greatest Hits released in 1982.

I'm going to also cover another album called 1 which was released in 2000 and superseded both of these albums in the unified catalogue.

EMI and Capitol separately compiled 20 songs that were #1 hits (mostly) in the respective countries. They share 14 tracks but each has 6 unique tracks that reached #1 only in either the UK or US but not both.

In the UK the Beatles only had 19 #1 hits technically including both sides of the double A-side singles "Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out" and "Yellow Submarine"/"Eleanor Rigby". For the 20th song they included the Beatles' first chart hit "Love Me Do", which peaked at number 17 in the UK. Not included were three songs that surprised people a bit - "Please Please Me", "Penny Lane", and "Strawberry Fields" all reached #2 on the main UK singles chart but were #1 in every other magazine and publication at the time.

In the US they had a different problem as they had 21 #1 hits in the US and several of the songs were of a longer duration than those UK hit singles particularly "Hey Jude", "Let It Be" and "The Long and Winding Road" none of which went #1 in the UK. Their solution to this was to include an edited version of Hey Jude at 5 minutes instead of 7 and they left off "Something" which would have been the only George Harrison track on either album. It may have been left off due to the fact "Something" only peaked at #1 for 1 week. Another Harrison track "For You Blue" also hit #1 technically but was a B-side single and so it too was left off as Capitol never promoted the song.

All songs were presented in their original stereo mixes except for "Love Me Do" and "She Loves You", which used the Duophonic versions the last time a new Beatles release would use such mixes.

They sold well and went Platinum in the UK and 2x Platinum in the US.

Personal note: I started driving by 1980 (in Kansas you could drive at 14) and had my own car by early 1983. I recall buying this collection on cassette tape as I wanted something for the car - had a case with 30 or so tapes (some homemade) for the car.

These albums predated CD's barely by a couple of years but that was the reason the album length was an issue for vinyl specifically. That was finally rectified in 2000 with the release of 1 which included "Something" and also the full 7:12 version of Hey Jude. That 27 track CD was compiled by George Martin with Paul, George and Ringo in full stereo.

1 was the first compilation to hit #1 in the UK on the album chart amazingly and did so in it's first week of release. It also his #1 in a dozen other countries. It is one of the best selling albums of all time at over 31 million sold - 11+ million in the US and 3.1 million in the UK. It was one of the last contributions (and recognitions) for Harrison as he passed the following year in 2001.

Not in order of the album track listing due to cross listing 3 albums here:





Cover for the UK and US version of 20 Greatest Hits

Front (except the song listing is different on US version)

Back



Covers of 1 - it also included a 32 page booklet with a foreword by George Martin, and a page of picture covers for each of the singles.

The package of 1 was intended to be simplistic and ambitious at the same time. Its cover was designed by Rick Ward, and consists of a pop art-style yellow number one on a red background. The emphasis on the 1 digit was used on many of the compilations of number-one hits by different artists that followed this album; for example, ELV1S by Elvis Presley. The album's back cover features the famous psychedelic photos of the Beatles taken by Richard Avedon (who did the iconic LOOK magazine shoot that was used for the Love Songs album and also the band photos. on the gatefold of the White Album).

Front


Back


Original and psychedelic versions of photos

Welcome to the CD era - CD's were introduced in 1982 but didn't really start becoming a big thing until late 1984 or 1985 in the US.

I was the first person on my dorm wing (Aston 3rd floor) to have a CD player and I got it in late 1984 or early 1985. By then my stereo was a component system and I added an Emerson CD player (model CD175R) to it. Most of the CD's being released originally were new releases. Older catalogue stuff for many bands started later and that included The Beatles. But they were later than most.

The Beatles in the period from 1983-1989 were bogged down in multiple lawsuits they had filed against EMI and/or Capitol records for royalties and various contract disputes as well as Nike (for the ad campaign using "Revolution"). Part of that involved the release of the catalogue on CD which The Beatles claimed was a legal tactic to get The Beatles to drop the lawsuits (missing out on the extra potentially huge CD revenue in the meantime).

Not until early 1987 did The Beatles back catalogue start to be released on CD.


But those were not actually the first Beatles CDs released. In 1984 in the UK only Polydor made another cash grab attempt by again re-releasing (now on CD) what was originally called The Beatles First with Tony Sheridan (a 1964 German compilation) as The Early Tapes of the Beatles and under that it said The Beatles and Tony Sheridan and Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers. With the added space on CD's they added two more songs to the original LP and an extended version of one song. Honestly it's not even worth giving the track listings. Hardly any of it was Beatles really. 6 of the 14 songs were with the other backing band (Beat Brothers) and John sang lead on one song, another was an instrumental with just the Beatles playing.

Just a terrible release and it did not sell well.



Believe it or not their parent company would release it again on the 40th anniversary in 2004 with a new cover on Universal Music's Spectrum label.