Please Please Me

Misery Written backstage after a concert and intended for singer Helen Shapiro, this song was neither a great pop construction nor a raveup that worked well on the stage. However, the classical piano filigrees point the way, softly, to further accomplishments.

Anna (Go To Him)A John favorite that doesn't really catch the fire of the Arthur Alexander original. Pay attention, though. That stutter-step drum part (taken from the original) would point the way to "Ticket To Ride".

ChainsA hommage to the Beatles' love of Girl Groups, this cover doesn't really compare with the Cookies' original, but the original wasn't much to look at, either, so no harm, no foul. George's first lead vocal.

Boys Ringo's first vocal appearance, and an example of the Fabs destroying the original (but in a good way). Another girl-group cover, this time of the Shirelles (and the lyrics seem kind of odd as a result), but a great raveup, nonetheless.

Ask Me Why Briefly considered as a single by George Martin, but it really isn't even strong enough to be a b-side (which is where it wound up on "Please Please Me"). A Lennon song of dubious lyrical quality. This is indicative of what the music press called "greeting-card lyrics". Not, overall, a horrible tune, by anyone else's standards.

Please Please Me The song that endeared them to their countrymen and kicked off British Beatlemania. Originally intended by John to be a Roy Orbison hommage, but the tempo was pumped up; George Martin claimed it would be a number one hit the minute the final take was over. He was right. This is as pure a distillation of sexual frustration and romantic longing as had ever been made.

Love Me Do Is as simple as "Ask Me Why", simpler, even, but much bluesier and pointed in its attack. Lennon called it "a very funky record". The harmonica was placed on here as a result of John's love for Bruce Chanel's "Hey Baby", and the harp itself had been stolen by John from a music store. Session drummer Andy White is playing, while an unhappy Ringo is reduced to tambourine. The lesser-known version on Past Masters, with Ringo drumming, is inferior, although not due to Ringo per se.

P.S. I Love You A stellar early example of Paul being melodic and rocking at once (verse vs. bridge). Probably the only cha-cha ever in the Beatles catalogue; contains incredible harmonies and ingenious vocal arrangements. The song's actually a two-year-old Hamburg souvenir. Ringo again sits out for Andy White, this time playing maracas.

Baby, It's You Yet another girl-group cover, this time of a Bacharach and David song. Inspired by the Shirelles' version.

Do You Want To Know A Secret? A lovely song written for John's first wife, Cynthia. Glows with the possibilities of new love and features one of George's finest vocal moments. Inspired by a passage in Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

A Taste Of Honey Another cover but a great example of the Beatles' nascent ability to find the heart of a song. One of the best and most tasteful versions of this evergreen standard, it proves that the lads were every bit as good at interpreting as they were at creating.

There's A Place This song gets a lot of attention as an early lyric example of John's searching, personal later songs like "In My Life" and "Julia". Certainly not in the moon-june-spoon category of romantic songs, but not the best example of this kind of thing. You'd be better off with the above mentioned songs.