The Cavern
Rock & Words
PLEASE PLEASE ME (The Beatles, 1963)
Artist: The Beatles (A)
Recording Date: 1963
Release Date: March 22nd, 1963. UK
Record Label: Parlophone (EMI)
Producer: George Martin
Rating: 7
Era: Rock & Roll II, Early Sixties (1960-1966)
Subgenre: British Invasion
Best Song: Twist & Shout or Please Please Me
Tracklist: 1) I Saw Her Standing There; 2) Misery; 3) Anna (Go With Him); 4) Chains; 5) Boys; 6) Ask Me Why; 7) Please Please Me; 8 ) Love Me Do; 9) P.S. I Love You; 10) Baby It's You; 11) Do You Want To Know A Secret; 12) A Taste Of Honey; 13) There's A Place; 14) Twist And Shout.
And the Beatles said, “Let's make Please Please Me,” went into the studio, and recorded their first album in 12 hours and saw that it was good… Hahaha, OK, it's not that big of a deal. Ultimately, Please Please Me isn't the Beatles' best album musically speaking, but it's the one that would define their style in many ways during their early years and also catapult them to fame outside of Liverpool and England.
The Beatles were a whirlwind in Liverpool at that time. They had already become the best band in town, packing The Cavern, the venue where they performed, night after night. Young people lined up for more than a block to get in and see this local band that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere with a surprisingly professional and wild sound. It's worth mentioning that the Beatles live leaned much more towards wild, energetic rock than what this first album suggests. The thing is, after that initial bad-boy image with their leather jackets and ripped jeans, and later, after the image makeover by their manager Brian Epstein— forcing them to wear Mao-collar suits and forbidding them from smoking and getting drunk on stage—the Beatles seemed like a band from another planet because of the quality and energy of their sound. And in a way, that's true. The guys didn't come out of nowhere; they spent years refining their sound in seedy Hamburg bars, sometimes playing for up to eight hours straight at night, backing Tony Sheridan, providing music for strippers, or headlining the show. So the sound the band had after returning home wasn't accidental or spontaneous.
With all the noise Liverpool was making (literally and metaphorically), Brian Epstein, a tycoon who owned a furniture and record store, decided to hear them in person, tired of the boys asking about a single they'd recorded with Tony Sheridan called "My Bonnie." So Epstein went into the Cavern and was captivated by the band's presence and energy (particularly John's), and soon became their manager. He revamped their image and secured them a record deal for their first album with Parlophone, a subsidiary of EMI. The label's producer was George Martin, who had experience producing comedy and classical music, but not rock bands. However, he was never closed to new ideas, and on the contrary, his extraordinary ear and creativity gave rise to one of the most effective collaborations in rock history. The Beatles went into the studio to record this album on February 11, 1963, without knowing what they would achieve in just 12 hours. A record time, considering that Sgt. Pepper's would take them more than seven months just four years later. But the speed was partly due to the fact that they were all completely comfortable performing the songs live, and there were very few mistakes in the first takes. Furthermore, it was recorded almost entirely live in the studio, not instrument by instrument as on later albums.
In my opinion, the album suffers from a heavy self-censorship regarding their live sound. It's not that the Beatles weren't known for playing beautiful ballads with tremendous harmonic and vocal arrangements, but their defining characteristic was the raw power they unleashed with rock and roll. There are some recordings with terrible sound quality from their performances at the Star Club in Hamburg that showcase this raw energy I'm referring to, which is lost on their debut album. In short, partly due to marketing decisions imposed by Epstein, Martin, or even themselves, the album presents a Beatles leaning towards ballads and melodic pop, but ultimately the highlights are the rock and roll tracks and more upbeat songs like "I Saw Her Standing There," "Please Please Me," and, of course, "Twist & Shout." Interestingly, despite not possessing the same raw power as their performances at The Cavern, this album saved rock from imminent demise, and that's partly why it receives such a high rating. The music industry was once again under the control of businessmen after the rock & roll boom of the late 1950s, during which figures like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, and Little Richard, to name a few, dominated the charts and dance halls despite the puritans. In the early 1960s, businessmen on both sides of the Atlantic managed to promote singer-songwriters with a more ballad-oriented style, and the old idols, considered a threat, gradually faded away. There was a conspiracy to eliminate rock, and in the absence of a strong presence to breathe new life into it or give it a new sound, rock bands were disappearing in the face of the rise of ballad singers. It sounds like something out of a bad spy movie, but it's true. This is where Please Please Me takes on greater value, as this album was a smash hit and a game-changer in the United Kingdom, largely due to Epstein's astute marketing, but it still managed to be the spearhead of the British Invasion, giving new life to rock, renewing its sound, and preventing the bands of this genre from dying out in England, and reaching its influence in the United States almost a year later, already together with the band's second album and with the phenomenon called Beatlemania, which would give a new direction to the whole decade.
The album has a carefully selected tracklist. It opens with the lively and engaging rock 'n' roll number, "I Saw Her Standing There". This is one of the band's original songs, a fan favorite at the Cavern Club, and one that Paul still occasionally plays in concert. It's true, the opening "one, two, three, four" intensifies the rhythm and is one of the song's highlights. The song is a bit silly, but it's catchy, and you can't help but tap your foot or nod your head to the beat. Then there's the "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!" at 1:32, which leads into the guitar solo, creating a kind of ecstatic feeling within the song. You can almost picture John and Paul headbanging during this part. In short, the song is infectious, radiating energy and positive humor. I think they couldn't have chosen a better track to open the album.
Next up is "Misery", a more pessimistic song written by John (who else?). However, it's not exactly an introspective song, but rather one about a more adolescent and innocent kind of heartbreak. One doesn't quite perceive the sincerity from John that he would later achieve, for example, in "Help!" While not a ballad or rock & roll, it's more of a melodic pop song, where George Martin already contributes with small piano arrangements, but it's not one of the most memorable songs from the Liverpool quartet.
The third song is "Anna (Go To Him)", the best ballad on the album. This is a cover of Arthur Alexander sung by John, with that raspy, throaty vocal style so typical of his early work. Here, although the lyrics aren't his, there's at least a greater sense of emotion and sincerity in the delivery. The ballad features a beautiful riff that repeats almost the entire song without becoming tiresome, and it has perfectly blended backing vocals from Paul and George (I love how that slightly muffled "Aaaaaana" sounds, with that almost childlike quality). The song itself is very well done and would perhaps be the best cover on the album if it were to end with the best cover in the Beatles' discography.
Next come two unremarkable songs: "Chains", which is set at a medium tempo and features George on vocals, marking the beginning of Harrison's tradition of singing at least one or two songs per album. It's not bad; the execution is good, especially the harmonies, but the song itself is rather bland and forgettable.
Then there's "Boys", sung by Ringo. It's a fairly lively little rock and roll number, but musically a bit lackluster (I don't know why it doesn't quite do it for me), and vocally it sounds very strange to hear the deepest Beatles voice impersonating a woman. Ringo has an unusual voice; it's not bad at all, but I don't think every song suits him. If anything manages to give the song any vibrancy, it's Paul's screams in the background and the delightful backing vocals by John and George: Bap Shuba, Bap bap Shuba…
They continued with "Ask Me Why", and don't ask me why they included this in the setlist when there were so many better options. The song is barely interesting harmonically, but it's slow, repetitive, with no highlights, no catchy lyrics, and no melodic hooks. Nothing. It even contains one of the most idiotic lines John ever wrote: "I can't believe it happened to me, I can't conceive of any more misery..." although, in reality, the entire song is stupid.
Fortunately, another standout track follows: "Please Please Me". the album's title track. The tempo changes in this song are flawless, shifting from a medium to a faster pace, with changes in the bridge and a return to the beginning. George's guitar progressions on each "Last Night I Said These Words to my Girl…" are particularly noteworthy, ascending before the verse and descending afterward to lead into the "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," which proves to be a captivating hook. John takes the lead vocally, but Paul and George provide excellent backing vocals throughout the song's nearly two-minute duration. The song is, therefore, perfectly structured, catchy, rhythmic, and bears the unmistakable Beatles style in every note.
Next up is "Love Me Do". Personally, I have mixed feelings about this one. I must admit it's one of the most monotonous songs ever, with barely two chords throughout and lyrics worthy of a kindergarten poetry student declaring his love to his first girlfriend. However, there's something about the song that compels you to listen to it from beginning to end without you even considering skipping ahead. I don't know if it's the hook Lennon creates with the harmonica or the structure they achieve by combining their voices, with John and Paul taking the lead alternately and occasionally finding each other.
Next comes "P.S. I Love You", another well-crafted ballad, written and sung by McCartney. It's true, it couldn't be more saccharine, but it's well-structured harmonically and vocally. In fact, if you haven't noticed by now, the vocals dominate the entire album more than the instruments. Anyway, it's a kind of bolero where I can't help but hear Ringo's simple drumming, almost like maracas, and a trio like the ones used to play serenades here. You could say it's a "cute" or pretty song, without being one of the quartet's greatest creations. George's constant guitar scales are a highlight. And this is already becoming a distinctive feature of Harrison, who often uses steps of four or five chords to change from one key to another. That is, he creates melodic embellishments where other guitarists would have simply made a simple change, and this "semi-complexity" eventually becomes part of the Beatles' style.
They continue in the ballad style with "Baby It's You", another cover sung by John. It's also fairly standard and maintains the album's overall feel: the vocal interludes, the lead vocals, and the backing vocals are the highlights. We could say that 90% of the song's charm comes from the "Shala lala láaaa Shalalala láaa" sung by George and Paul.
Next up is "Do You Want To Know a Secret", by John, but sung by George. And he does it well, with a style that at times sounds a lot like Lennon's! The song is lovely, very melodic, with the chord progressions that were so popular in their early days. John and Paul provide the backing vocals in harmonies, "Do ra doooo." The song is charming, like the vast majority of their early tracks. It's adorable, catchy as bubblegum, innocent, and has a ton of hooks. The thing is, many of the Beatles' songs from this period are adorable, simple, and perhaps a little too innocent. One day I might mark it in red.
Next up is "A Taste of Honey", which I find incredibly boring from beginning to end. This is another cover performed by Paul. It's quite lackluster and one of the lowest points on the LP. You'd think it's the song itself, but I've heard covers of this track by other bands that don't sound nearly as bad… Fortunately, it's only two minutes long.
Then comes a more upbeat song, "There's a Place". It's hardly a masterpiece. In fact, its most notable feature is that it follows a soporific track like "A Taste of Honey." The best of the album is saved for last: the Beatles that people know and love arrive on stage, aggressive, wild, with their best vocal harmonies.
"Twist & Shout" is a cover that they undoubtedly made their own, and their interpretation made it more famous than the original. Powerful, with a delicious riff, catchy lyrics, John's raw, powerful vocals (which he barely managed to record in two takes), and impressive vocal harmonies in the bridges. It's astonishing how the voices alternate in that "Ahhhh Ahhhhh Ahhhhhhhh" that builds to a three-part scream before immediately returning to the original structure. It's impossible to listen to it without consciously or unconsciously following Paul and George's backing vocals, which respond to every phrase John sings. Unless I'm forgetting another song, I dare say this is the best cover the Beatles ever recorded, a truly worthy closing track for an album that was already straying too far from its rock essence. Given the limited number of rock and roll tracks on this debut album, it's worth highlighting that this particular cover was vital in the process we mentioned earlier: rescuing rock from its impending demise.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's not the best album in the universe, but the Beatles had a far more auspicious debut than many other bands of their time. Although they would continue to evolve with almost every album, they were already clearly in top form, with a well-defined style and a musical vision that didn't exist back then. And despite the noticeable self-censorship and the fact that it might sound corny to us today, this album contained some very aggressive sounds for its time, and its success helped many other bands emerge from obscurity and begin to elevate rock once again on both sides of the Atlantic. It's not a masterpiece, but its value lies not only in the music itself, but also in what this LP, recorded in just 12 hours, meant for the history of music. Without it, the Beatles' role in music history might have been taken by Paul Anka. Imagine that!
By Corvan
Jul/12/2008
