Past Masters Volume One

The Beatles' discography spans a period in which the Tin Pan Alley / Bobbysoxer mentality of the previous generation gave way to modern business practices, where the artist has some say in what gets done with their catalog. (You can thank the Fabs themselves for most of that change, but that's neither here nor there.) As a result, the Beatles' releases were extremely haphazard; EPs, LPs, singles, special promo releases, mono and stereo mixes of the same songs, redubbed tunes, different packaging in every country, etc. etc. Figuring it all out was a task suited to only the most die-hard collector.

When it became obvious that vinyl records were soon to go the way of the wax cylinder and the 78, Capitol decided that it would be best to finally collect all the non-album tracks in one place. Hence, Past Masters One and Two. While fans griped about the packaging, which was literally as plain as black and white, the CDs are about all one could expect from a post-Apple, pre-Apple Beatle juggernaut; it was enough for most of us to finally have these songs without having to buy ten or twelve albums. And in digital quality, yet!

So, PM 1 and 2 take their place as albums 14 and 15 in the modern age. But while it might be tempting to write them off as another collection of odds and sods, the fact is, the Beatles straddled those above-mentioned eras so completely that they have several classic singles never contained on an officially released album. These two CDs contain oddities like "Sie Liebt Dich", but they also give you "Hey Jude", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and "She Loves You" -- not only essential parts of the Beatle legacy, but parts of the summit. For the record, and as they say on TV commercials for similar products, here's what you get!

The Singles

The B-Sides

The EPs

Other

From Me To You The third UK single. A bit of a disappointment after "Please Please Me", I'd imagine, but still a fine song. You can hear the boys quickly working towards the culmination of their pop education in "She Loves You". Typically quirky Beatle arrangement has a happy pledge of faith end on a minor note (quite a jarring effect at that time).

Thank You Girl Not one of the Beatles' better efforts, this is obviously just a knockoff for the b-side of "From Me To You". John does give it his all, however. Note the re-appearance of the harmonica.

She Loves You The song that cemented worldwide Beatlemania once and for all. The apex of Beatle songwriting at that time (and maybe for all time), this song is bursting with innovation: Ringo's tribal drums, the minor-key chorus, the third-person subject (a deliberate attempt by John and Paul to shake things up). Not to mention that famous harmonized 6th at the end, kept in at the Beatles' insistance after George Martin thought it "too jazzy". A textbook example in pop songwriting. Or, how to break the rules and follow them at the same time.

I'll Get You Another relatively lame b-side, although slightly better than its reputation. More harmonica and a great bridge from John.

I Want To Hold Your Hand A high point of both Paul and John's songwriting careers. John refused to bash this song, even in his post-Beatle years; he thought the melody and sentiment fit perfectly. They do. Written as a collaborative effort by the two: Paul specifically began the song with "Oh yeah, I'll... tell you something..." and John jumped right in with that jarring E5 chord. Some debate exists as to whether or not the Fabs are saying "I get high" instead of "I can't hide"; Bob Dylan himself thought it was the former. Indeed, on his first meeting with the band, he congratulated them for singing that!

This Boy The band's most direct attempt at 50's song structure (at least until Oh! Darling). Beautiful harmonies by the front three. George said that this was actually John's most blatant attempt to write (and sing) a Smokey Robinson and the Miracles song.

Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand The German-langauge version of "I Want To Hold Your Hand", done specifically for the German audience, who had given the Fabs their first real break in Hamburg.

Sie Liebt Dich The German-language "She Loves You".

Long Tall Sally Paul's first homage to Little Richard, and a damn fine one, although there hasn't been a person of woman born who can match a LR original.

I Call Your Name One of John's trilogy of "cowbell" songs, this is better than "When I Get Home" (a lot better) but not quite up to the standards of "You Can't Do That". Lyrically the best of the lot, however.

Slow Down One of two Larry Williams covers, this demonstrated their vast knowledge of R&B (not many white American kids were into Larry, much less Liverpudlians). More static than the loose-flowing original, but that actually works to its favor in some respects. John mimicks Larry's "brrrrr!" in as charming a way as Paul does Little Richard's "whooo!"

Matchbox One of the Carl Perkins covers, sung by Ringo in his typical loveable downtrodden way. Captures the Sun sound perfectly. And Carl was present at these sessions, so the boys were nervous as hell.

I Feel Fine Another golden oldie! An early change in sound that would lead directly to the doorway of "Ticket To Ride". Much bluesier than the preceeding singles, disproving the Beatles-as-mere-pop-group myth, although there were crafty pop touches in abundance. For example, the cunning way the main riff noses its way into the solo and the outro.

She's A Woman A Paul standard that unfortunately contains his worst rhyme ever: the "present/peasent" one. Nevertheless, another fine example of how the band was getting rawer as they were becoming more popular. It's tight, almost a little TOO tight, but a great song nonetheless.

Bad Boy Another Larry Williams cover, with a great, screaming vocal by John. Something tells me this was how John saw his teenage years. A laughing rebuke to those who would say, "Now, Junior, behave yourself!"

Yes It Is Another 50's experiment, and one with similarly beautiful harmonies. This is much more polished than "This Boy", however, its got an almost unsettling aspect about it due to the song's inscrutable lyrics. What exactly happened here?