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The Beatles released an impressive 13 albums in a mere
seven years. This was an astonishing achievement considering the quality and creativity of nearly every release.
The first four Beatles vinyl albums differ based on their location of release. Those released in the US were of lower sound
quality and had some of their songs omitted. Additionally, even though the first four Beatles albums were originally released as
both monaural and stereo recordings in the United Kingdom, stereo
phonographs were quite rare in England at the time. Naturally, then, Martin and the Beatles only spent a lot of time on the mono
mixes. Many early songs were later remastered by Capitol Records for
the US as artificial stereo with bass on one side and treble on the other side, with loads of added echo, much to the disgust of
fans today.
When it came time to release the Beatles catalog on CD, the decision was made to use the original British versions of the
albums, since those were the "way the Beatles originally intended them to be." The first four CDs are of the original mono mixes.
No official stereo mix of the first four albums has been released on compact disc, but there are plenty of "official looking"
bootleg CDs floating around that include the US stereo mixes and even bear the "Apple" logo. Martin and the Beatles started to
spend more time on stereo mixes by 1965.
In the U.K.
Originally signed to Parlophone/EMI in
the UK, the Beatles' (UK) official studio albums (not including compilations and the like) were:
- Please Please Me, 1963
- With the Beatles, 1964
- A Hard Day's Night, 1964
- Beatles For Sale, 1965
- Help!, 1965
- Rubber Soul, 1965
- Revolver, 1966
- Sgt. Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967
- Magical Mystery Tour, 1967, released in 1967 in the US, 1976 in the UK. The songs from the film
were initially released on two EP-length discs in the UK in 1967; for the US market, they were padded out to a full-length LP by
padding it with the A- and B-sides of the three 1967 singles the Beatles released.
- The Beatles (the "white album"), 1968
- Yellow Submarine, 1968
- Abbey Road, 1969
- Let It Be, recorded in 1969,
released in 1970
Compilations and other releases
- The Beatles 1962-1966 (the "Red Album") and
The Beatles 1967-1970 (the "Blue Album"),
1973 (two double compilation albums, featuring as covers the photograph originally taken
for Please Please Me and a re-creation of that photograph taken in 1969, originally for Get Back, which became
Let It Be
- Past Masters, Volume One, 1988 (singles from 1962-1965 and other songs that were left off earlier albums)
- Past Masters, Volume Two, 1988 (singles from 1965-1970 and other songs that were left off earlier albums)
- Note: The reason for the Past Masters compilations are so that every song the Beatles released in 1962-1970 could be on a CD.
They include singles and B-sides, two songs sung in German, the contents of an EP released in 1964 that had four additional
songs, the "single" versions of the songs "Get Back" and "Let It Be", and a version of "Across the Universe" that had bird-like
sound effects.
- Live at the
BBC, 1994 (Contains 36 songs the Beatles recorded for various BBC radio shows that never were recorded for Capitol/EMI. This collection only emphasizes how much the Beatles as
the #1 band on the globe worked like dogs in 1963 and 1964, sometimes recording 18 songs in a session for the BBC.)
- Anthology 1, 1995 (Containing rarities, demos, out-takes and the first "new" Beatles song since the band broke up in 1970.)
- Anthology 2, 1996 (Containing rarities, demos, and out-takes)
- Anthology 3, 1996 (Containing rarities, demos, and out-takes)
- The Beatles 1 2000 (A
collection of the Beatles' #1 hits on the Billboard [US] and Melody Maker [UK] charts, including both sides of their
double-A sided singles if both hit the top slot. The collection has 27 songs in it.)
- Let It Be... Naked, 2003 (Remastered and remixed cut from the original sessions, devoid of arrangements by original producer Phil Spector. The first copies released shipped with a 21-minute Fly on the
Wall bonus disc.)
Christmas records
The Beatles also recorded annual Christmas records for their fan club members. From 1963 to 1969 these were released as 7"
flexidiscs on LYN. In 1970 the 7 previous records were put onto a 12" vinyl record. These remain largely unavailable today, with
the exception of one track, "Christmastime Is Here Again", being released on a CD single in the 1990s:
- The Beatles Christmas Record, LYN 492, 1963
- Season's Greetings From The Beatles, LYN 757, 1964
- The Beatles 3rd Christmas Record, LYN 948, 1965
- Everywhere It's Christmas, LYN 1145, 1966
- Christmas Time Is Here Again, LYN 1360, 1967
- Beatles 1968 Christmas Record, LYN 1743/4, 1968
- Happy Christmas 1969, LYN 1970/1, 1969
- Form them to you - The Beatles Christmas Record 1970, (UK) Apple LYN 2154, (US) Apple SBC 100, 1970
In the U.S.
In the United States, as noted above, the Beatles albums were
rearranged, retitled and remixed. Some of the US releases were nearly identical to one another, often times only varying by one
or two songs. Most releases contained songs that were also found on other records, which made things difficult for the American
Beatles fan trying to purchase the band's entire catalog. Some of the US releases included:
- Introducing the Beatles, Vee-Jay Records, 1963
- Meet the Beatles, Capitol Records, 1964
- The Beatles Second Album, Capitol Records, 1964
- A Hard Days Night Soundtrack, United Artists, 1964
- Something New, Capitol Records, 1964
- Beatles vs. Four Seasons, Vee-Jay Records, 1964
- Songs Pictures and Stories, Vee-Jay Records, 1964
- Beatles 65, Capitol Records, 1964
- The Early Beatles, Capitol Records, 1965
- Beatles VI, Capitol Records, 1965
- Help! Soundtrack, Capitol Records, 1965
- Rubber Soul, Capitol Records, 1965
- Yesterday...and Today, Capitol Records, 1966
- Revolver, Capitol Records, 1966
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Capitol Records,
1967
- Magical Mystery Tour, Capitol Records, 1967
- The Beatles (the "white album"), Apple Records, 1968
- Yellow Submarine, Apple Records, 1968
- Abbey Road, Apple Records, 1969
- Hey Jude (The Beatles Again), Apple Records, 1969
- Let It Be, Apple Records, recorded in 1969, released in 1970
- Rock and Roll Music, Capitol Records, 1976
- Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, Capitol Records, 1977
- Live at the Star Club: 1962, Lingasong Records, 1977
- Love Songs, Capitol Records, 1977
- Rarities, Capitol Records, 1980
- Rock n' Roll Music Vol.1, Capitol Records, 1980
- Rock n' Roll Music Vol.2, Capitol Records, 1980
- Reel Music, Capitol Records, 1982
See Beatles Bootlegs for a run down of some of the more popular
unauthorized, illegal bootleg material.
Filmography
External links
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