Monday, January 12, 2009

PLEASE PLEASE ME: The Album

"Love Me Do" had been only a moderate success, but when "Please Please Me" reached number one on Great Britain's music charts, the Beatles interrupted their tour to record Please Please Me in a one-day marathon recording session on February 11, 1963. The album was released on March 22, 1963. Seven weeks later, it charted at number one, where it stayed for twenty-nine weeks.

George Martin said that the album was essentially a reproduction of the Beatles' Cavern performance. A two-track tape machine was used, with live performances for all tracks. No vocals were overdubbed, and no more than four takes were done for any of the songs. A jar of throat lozenges was left on the piano, and because Lennon had a sore throat, the recording of "Twist and Shout" was saved for last since Martin knew that the song would "shred" Lennon's vocal chords. The strain on McCartney's voice can also be heard on some tracks. The following day, the Beatles returned to touring. Sound engineer Norman Smith claims that even at this early stage in the Beatles' careers, Paul was keenly interested in the recording process and carefully watched what he and Martin were doing in the control booth.

Vee-Jay records a version of the album in the United States, minus "Love Me Do" and "P.S., I Love You."

The tracks on the UK album included:
I Saw Her Standing There
Chains
Misery
Anna
Boys
Ask Me Why
Please Please Me
Love Me Do
P.S. I Love You
Baby It's You
Do You Want to Know a Secret
A Taste of Honey
There's a Place
Twist and Shout

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