The Beatles – Please Please Me review

Final review, number 15 for a month of reviews (every two days, or almost!). New surprise coming for August…!

For my last review, a band I just heard of, The Beatles. This is their debut album from what I understand.

This album starts off with a bang, “I Saw Her Standing There” gets right to it after a count-in. This little ditty will have the folks not only rocking out, but dancing equally as hard.

What is quite good about the album, even if it is almost half covers of others tunes, is that every band member is equally important. Paul McCartney and John Lennon sing most of the songs, individually or together, but even every band member gets their chance, as George Harrison sings lead vocals on “Chains”, and “Do You Want to Know a Secret”, and Ringo Starr sings on “Boys”. The latter even has a brief guitar solo in there! Very nice to hear! Along with this, vocal harmonies could not be better, and arrangements are superb!

Much of the album lyrically deals with love, and “Ask Me Why” is no exception, it is a swell tune!

Another positive point about the album is that the instrumentation is all done by the band members, save for piano and drums on a couple of their own tracks.

Genre wise, it is mostly rock and roll, however “P.S. I Love You” has a bit of a cha-cha-cha feel thanks to the drumming of session drummer Andy White (and Ringo playing maracas), and “A Taste of Honey” has quite a rhythm and blues feel to it. The latter also included some double tracked vocals. Also, an interesting note, as per Alan W. Pollack, despite being in the key of F# minor, it ends with a major chord.

A very promising debut, I have a feeling these lads have a future in music.

Source used:
Notes on “A Taste Of Honey”