A Hard Day's Night

"A Hard Day's Night" was the Beatles third LP to be released on Parlophone by EMI in the UK. It was also the first soundtrack to the first (and arguably the best) Beatles full length motion picture. It was and remains the only UK LP to feature all original material whereby the songs were written exclusively by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

The sessions for the LP were started as early as January 1964 and continued well into June 1964. Most of the recordings were done in early March, mid to late April, one session in May and a few in early June. Of course, during the recording of the third LP and first movie soundtrack, The Beatles also played the USA, filmed the movie, performed for various BBC radio shows, did television appearances, tons of interviews were conducted and they were also recording their latest EP which was previously reviewed in earlier posts.

The "A Hard Day's Night" LP was released on Friday July 10 1964 as Parlophone PMC 1230 (monuaral) and PCS 3058 (stereo). Both versions were released on the same day.

In the United States and Canada, the "butchering" of the Beatles' LPs continued. "A Hard Day's Night" was released as a United Artist soundtrack on June 26 1964. The LP was released in both mono UA 6366 and stereo UAS 6366. The weird thing is that only eight songs were actually performed by the Beatles ( four on each side )and four of the tracks ( two on each side )were instrumentals by the George Martin Orchestra. Not only that: the stereo version of the United Artist soundtrack had the Beatles' recordings in mono only - including the so-called "stereo" version of the LP. In fact, the only stereo recordings on the stereo version were the George Martin instrumentals. How Tacky !!

Of course, Beatlemania was in full stride in the States and Capitol Records took full advantage of it. They released their own version of the soundtrack via an LP entitled "Something New". This LP was released on July 20 1964 in mono (T-2108) and stereo (ST-2108). It contained only four tracks from the movie, four tracks from the B side of the UK version, the second side of the "Long Tall Sally" UK EP and the German vocal dubbed "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand". You would have thought they could have also included "Sie Leibt Dich", No? Anyway, typical Capitol Records mis-matching. This atrocious way of released North American counterpart LPs would continue until 1967.

There were two single released from the tracks recorded for the movie soundtrack: In the UK, the first single was "Can't Buy Me Love/ You Can't Do That" which was put out on March 20 1964. The next single was released on the same day as the LP: "A Hard Day's Night/ Things We Said Today". Both singles were on the Parlophone label.

In North America, several singles were released by Capitol records which contained tunes recorded for the movie soundtrack: "Can't Buy Me Love/ You Can't Do That" was put out on March 16 1964, "A Hard Day's Night/ I Should Have Known Better" was put out on July 13 1964, "I'll Cry Instead/ I'm Happy Just to Dance With You" was put out on July 20 1964, "And I Love Her/ If I Fell" which was also put out on July 20 1964. All three of these soundtrack singles boast very beautiful picture sleeves which are now very collectible.

Needless to say, the LP in all configurations hit number 01 all over the world.

We'll be looking at each individual track in the next few posts.

I Ain't Got No Matches, But I Sure Got A Long Way To Go

The last song on the "Long Tall Sally" EP was another cover by The Beatles. "Matchbox" was originally written and recorded by the late, great Sun Records artist Carl Perkins. The Beatles admired Perkins (especially George and Ringo) as there were many covers by him performed and recorded by the Beatles. Certainly some BBC performances as well as other Perkins hits would be performed live by not only the Beatles as a group, but in later years as solo artist.

"Matchbox" was recorded on Monday June 01 1964 and five takes were performed with only three takes complete. Ringo not only played drums on this, but also sang simultaneously. His voice was double-tracked and there are slight variations between the mono and stereo mix as far as double-tracked timing is concerned.

"Matchbox" was mixed for mono three days later on June 04 at EMI Studio two. The song was mixed for stereo later in the month from EMI studio one on June 22 1964. "Matchbox" was also tape copied from the earlier mono mix at the same session.

During the recording of "Matchbox", the author of the song - Carl Perkins - was present in the studio as an observer althought Perkins sadly did not participate on the recording. It would have been nice for him to do the guitar solo perhaps.

"Matchbox" is availabel on the North American Capitol LP/CD "Something New" and it also appears on the EMI/Capitol double LP compilation "Rock 'N' Roll Music"; the Parlophone UK LP "Rarities" also features the song as does the EMI LP/CD: "Past Masters Volume 1" and Apple CDs "Mono collection" and "Past Masters" from the remasters series.

The song is performed live and available on the Lingasong double LP: "The Beatles Live at the Star Club". "Matchbox" was also performed twice for BBC radio: Once on "Pop Go The Beatles" episode 7 and the second time on "From Us to You".

Baby, Now You're Moving Way Too Fast.

The next song from the "Long Tall Sally" EP which starts off the second side is a cover version of "Slow Down" which was originally written and performed by the great Larry Williams. John Lennon must have had a lot of respect for this musician as the Beatles covered a few more tunes written by Williams on later LPs (which will be discussed in later posts) and all of them were sung by John including this one.

"Slow Down" was recorded by the Beatles on Monday June 01 1964 at EMI Studio two. The song took six takes to perfect with a very solid rythm track and a magnificant raunchy vocal by Lennon overdubbed. The piano on this tune was played by George Martin and was overdubbed by him three days later on June 04 1964 also in Studio two. Once the piano was overdubbed, the song was mixed for mono. The song was mixed for stereo on June 22 1964 at EMI studio one. "Slow Down" was also tape copied on the same day from the June 04 1964 mono mix.

Apart from the "Long Tall Sally" EP, the song was released on the US/Canada Capitol LP/CD "Something New", the 70s Capitol/EMI double LP "Rock 'N' Roll" and the EMI/Parlophone UK LP "Rarities". "Slow Down" is also available on the EMI double LP/CD "Past Masters Volume 1" as well as the Apple remasters "Mono collection" and the "Stereo Past Masters" CDs.

"Slow Down" was performed only once live on BBC radio: "Pop Go The Beatles" episode 10.

I Never Weep At Night

The second song from the "Long Tall Sally" EP is the only original Lennon/McCartney tune (the others are all covers). "I Call Your Name" was written by Lennon/McCartney and mainly by John. Mr. Lennon was absolutely prolific during this period as the first movie soundtrack and additional tracks as well as the EP were all being recorded between February to June 1964. In only four months, the Beatles had produced two songs for the German market, a full four song EP as well as the upcoming movie soundtrack LP. Most of the songs were written mainly or in large part by Lennon. More will be discussed on this subject when a review of the movie soundtrack is fully discussed in an upcoming post.

"I Call Your Name" was written in 1963 and was actually "given away" to fellow musician and singer Billy J. Kramer who released it as a single in August 1963. It was decided to give it a try as a Beatles' performance hence the inclusion of the song on the EP.

"I Call Your Name" was recorded at EMI Studio two on Sunday March 01 1964. There were seven takes of the song. Only three were complete. This song features a "reggae" or "ska" middle eight where the guitar solo takes over. The Beatles would expand on this idea in the future with tunes such as "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da". An additional Lennon vocal and a cowbell were overdubbed. Apart from that, all of the basic tracks were live off the floor as per usual during this period.

"I Call Your Name" was mixed for mono two days later on March 03 1964. It was originally slated for the soundtrack LP but was removed once the title song was written and recorded in it's place. The mono mix was completed in EMI Studio One. Another experimental mono mix was completed the next day on March 04 1964 in the morning. The song was mixed for stereo at EMI studio two on March 10 1964. Again, the song was remixed for mono three months later on June 04 1964. Finally, three days after the EP was released in the UK, the song was remixed and edited for stereo on June 22 1964 - for what purpose, I really don't know since both the "Long Tall Sally" EP and "The Beatles' Second Album" had already been released with the song available in mono and stereo on the US release. If anyone knows the purpose of this: let me know please.

Now, I want you all to go and get your rainbow label copies of the Capitol US "Beatles' Second Album". Take a look at the label on side two: the first two songs are "Long Tall Sally" and "I Call Your Name". You'll notice that these two songs do not have timings on them while all of the others do. Cool, eh? This is because the labels were printed before Capitol received the tapes for these two songs from EMI. Most early labels are missing the timings although the later label copies do have the timings.

"I Call Your Name" is available on the "Long Tall Sally" UK Parlophone EP, the US Capitol LP/CD: "The Beatles' Second Album", the Capitol of Canada 6000 series LP "Long Tall Sally", the EMI 2-LP "Rock 'N' Roll Music" and the EMI UK version of the "Rarities" LP. The song is also available on the 2-LP/ CD "Past Masters Volume 1" as well as the "Past Masters" and "Mono Masters" from the Apple mono and stereo CDs respectively.

Bald Headed Sally

The first song contained on the "Long Tall Sally" EP is the title track oddly enough entitled "Long Tall Sally". This cover version was originally performed by Little Richard and was written by Johnson, Penniman, Blackwell. A rip roaring song that features Paul screaming his lungs out, an incredible guitar solo by Harrison and exciting drums by Ringo. I have to admit that along with the cover version of "Twist and Shout" from the first LP, "Long Tall Sally" is one of the best cover versions I've ever heard. This song RAWKS. Full of excitement and it's at a great fast groove and the whole band is putting everything into it. It's always a joy to listen to this tune.

Like "Twist and Shout", "Long Tall Sally" was recorded in only one take with The Beatles and George Martin on piano. Paul was a huge Little Richard fan and the influence on the band was immense. The song was recorded on Sunday March 01 1964 at EMI Studio number two. This recording must have been familiar ground for the Beatles as it had been performed years prior to the explosion of Beatlemania namely in the clubs of Liverpool and Hamburg.

Oddly, the song was first mixed for stereo and then for mono on the same day: March 10 1964 and I'm assuming that these mixes were used for the upcoming US release of "The Beatles Second Album" on US Capitol. The mixes were done in EMI Studio number two; the same place were the performance was recorded. "Long Tall Sally" was re-mixed for mono a month later on June 04 1964. Again, a very odd thing that "Long Tall Sally" was once again mixed for stereo on June 22 1964 AFTER the release of the EP (which was mono, of course).

"Long Tall Sally" was not only available on the self-titled EP, but also on the Capitol of Canada 6000 series LP "Long Tall Sally", the US Capitol LP/CD "The Beatles Second Album", the song is on the double Capitol/EMI LP compilation "Rock 'N'Roll" and can be heard on the Parlophone/EMI UK version of the LP "Rarities". It's also on EMI/Capitol's "Past Masters Volume 1" and the Apple remasters "Mono Masters" and "Past Masters" in mono and stereo respectively.

A couple of live renditions are available as the Beatles basically performed this tune often in concert: the Lingasong double LP "The Beatles Live at The Star Club" has an early live version and a live performance of the song is also on EMI/Capitol's LP "The Beatles Live At the Hollywood Bowl".

"Long Tall Sally" was performed live on the BBC a total of seven times; Once on "Side By Side", three times on "Saturday Club", once on "Pop Go The Beatles" (episode 9), one time on "Top Gear" and the final time on "From Us to You".

Extended Play

The next "batch" of songs released by the Beatles were issued in a format that has long been deleted and was a very popular method of obtaining material from one's favourite band back in the 1960's. This format was known as the "EP" or "Extended Play". This format was basically a seven inch vinyl record with a hard cardboard picture sleeve that contains two songs on each side for most of the time. This format was popular in the 60s due to the fact that a lot of the record buying public were young teenagers and young adults who sometimes could not afford a full LP and therefore were receptive to buying the EP as an alternate. After all, buying two EPs was the equilavent of having 8 songs at your disposal which was a tad more than a whole side of an LP at a much more affordable cost. The Beatles released a total of 13 EPs. Most of the EPs contained previously released material either from the LP or from a hit single.

The next four posts will be concerned with the fifth EP that the Beatles released as this EP contained songs that were up to this point unreleased in any other form. The first EP released by the Beatles was: "Twist and Shout" which contained Twist and Shout, A Taste of Honey, Do You Want to Know A Secret and There's a place; all from the first LP. The second EP was entitled: "The Beatles' Hits" which contained From Me to You, Thank you Girl, Please Please Me and Love Me Do ; all from the singles. The third EP was entitled: "The Beatles (no.1) which contained I Saw Her Standing There, Misery, Anna (Go To Him" and Chains; all from the first LP. The fourth EP was entitled: "All My Loving" which contained the title song, Ask Me Why, Money (That's What I Want) and P.S. I Love You; a mixture of tunes from the first and second LP.

Finally, the fifth EP was unique in that all of the songs were brand new and recorded specifically for the EP. All the songs were recorded approximately at the same times as the Beatles were working on their first soundtrack/ third LP. The name of the EP was "Long Tall Sally" and it was a real rocking little record. Four great tracks with three blistering covers and one original.

The EP was released on June 19 1964 in the UK. As promised, the four songs will be discussed in the next four posts..

Mach Shau Part Two

As mentioned in the previous post, there were two songs that the Beatles had been tasked to complete with German vocals for the German market. I've discussed the first song completed - "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" - and this post will deal with the second song completed "Sie Liebt Dich".

"Sie Liebt Dich" has the same history as the previous song and was also recorded at the same session as "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand". The recording was held on Wednesday January 29 1964 at EMI Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris, France. The recording circumstances for "Sie Liebt Dich" were immensely different than "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand". In the latter recording, the backing instrumental was already supplied due to the fact that the four track recording simply took away the vocal tracks and left the two track instrument backing intact. On the other hand, "Sie Liebt Dich" is "She Loves You" sung in German. The problem was that ever since the mono master of the recording had been completed, the original twin track had been discarded. This is why "She Loves You" and "I'll Get You" (which were both recorded on July 01 1963) have never appeared in true stereo anywhere due to the fact that the original twin track tapes were never kept. Therefore, the backing rythm track had to be performed once more. If you listen to the backing track on "Sie Liebt Dich" and the backing track on "She Loves You" , there is an audible difference although not really enough to warrant any major perception by the casual fan. "Sie Liebt Dich" was mixed for mono on March 10 1964 in the control room of EMI Abbey Road Studio Two. The song was mixed for stereo two days later on March 12 1964 in the control room of EMI Abbey Road Studio Three.

"Sie Liebt Dich" appeared on a few single in the 1960's - mainly the German copy on Odeon. The picture sleeve for the German release appears above. It was also on a Capitol of Canada single and it was released in the United States on the "Swan" label.

"Sie Liebt Dich" finally appeared on the Parlophone UK LP "Rarities" and it's US Capitol counterpart of the same name. It is also available on the Apple EMI 2-LP/ CD: "Past Masters Volume 1". The remasters featured the song in stereo on "Past Masters Volume 1" as well as a mono version on the "Mono Masters".

"Sie Liebt Dich" was never performed live with the German lyrics.