Credit: jpgr.co.uk – The Beatles Complete UK Discography site

So–how to follow up with your big (or in this case, somewhat modest) debut single? For George Martin, he was still adamant to have the band release “How Do You Do It”, but the Beatles stood on their principle of releasing their own songs as singles. There was a good couple of months’ worth of time between their previous session and this next one, however, and they didn’t rest on their laurels. They had an extremely busy tour schedule, not only in Liverpool but elsewhere in the country, as well as a two-week stint in Hamburg at the Star Club with Little Richard. The Beatles were no longer a bar band…they were a professional band now, playing venues and going on radio shows and keeping their name out there–thanks to manager Brian Epstein who had become their official manager just that January. They might have had only one single (technically two) out there, but they weren’t about to let these moments pass them by. They finally reconvened at Abbey Road on 26 November to record two more songs for a follow-up single.

Interestingly enough, this next single catapulted them to the number one spot on a lot of British charts, including NME’s, but–it’s not considered a true number one, because Record Retailer at that time was considered the “official” UK chart (sort of like Billboard for the US in a way), and it only hit #2 there. This would also explain why the song is not on the 1 compilation.

Side A: Please Please Me

A much more uptempo song for them, and a good thing. Sources state that the original version written by Lennon was a slow ballad not unlike Roy Orbison’s “Only the Lonely” (which he has stated was an inspiration), but after Martin’s suggestions, the pace was quickened and the mood made livelier. It’s a fun song, really–it showcases a lot of their best moves at the time. Starting off with another of John’s harmonica lines, this one is less countrified than on “Love Me Do”, and is used more as background. John and Paul deliver the main verses as a duet not unlike the Everly Brothers, John singing the main melody and Paul harmonizing up top. Then there’s a little something unexpected–a guitar and drum fill played to ‘rev’ up to the next line. Even better is that quick stop and reverse-melody guitar fill taking us into the climbing chorus. And that’s just in the first thirty seconds! And there we are, about halfway through the song: the middle eight. The Beatles were masters at the middle eight, that bridge where the melody is counterpoint to the rest of the song, where the plot of the song hangs in the balance before coming back to the familiar verse and chorus again. There’s also the different repetitions within the song–the singsong harmonica line, the wordplay of the title itself, and the the triple repeat of the final line of the chorus at the end of the song. And to top it all off–none of this is overtly noticeable. It retains its simple catchiness.

All this was of course old hat to them by then, as they’d written countless songs over the last few years, inspired by the countless bands they’d toured with and seen Hamburg and elsewhere, as well as all the American records they’d gotten their hands on. But to British ears, this was new and fresh–something so much different than the crooners and the poster boys. There were a lot of new bands out there doing this at the time (the Rolling Stones, for one), but the Beatles were one of the first to break through to major success, and this song was the first one to do it in the UK.

Side B: Ask Me Why
This one’s obviously a filler, a typical “I love you” song (they even use the phrase as the first line) inspired by the soul of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. A relatively newer track written earlier in the year and played primarily on stage, they used this as part of their June EMI audition and used up the remaining recording time to bash out a few takes of this song. They gave it a jazzy spin, hitting all kinds of minor chords and sevenths. John and George pretty much play the same thing, yet with different styles: John plays straightforward for the backbone, while George embellishes his strumming in a cabaret sort of style. The vocals are impeccable here, John taking up the lead and Paul and George providing backup. There is a bit more experimentation in the stop-start melody trick here, something they’d use a few more times in these early releases, but again, nothing that really stands out. It’s not their most exciting song to date, but as with their work ethic at the time, they put enough dedication into it to be released as a flipside.

Next up: Please Please Me, the debut album

Credit: jpgr.co.uk – The Beatles Complete UK Discography site

Single: “Love Me Do”/”P.S. I Love You”
Released: 5 October 1962

Hard to believe this song is fifty years old as of last Friday. The official debut of the Beatles–official meaning this was their first release on a major label (Parlophone) and the start of a long and interesting relationship with EMI. Recorded a month previous (September 4th, fifteen takes), this song has some interesting background: the most obvious reason for recording was for the boys to get their first single out after being signed. They’d had a tryout at Abbey Road Studios with producer George Martin a few months previous (6 June), but this September session was the real thing. This was also the first recording session with their new drummer, Ringo Starr, after booting Pete Best in mid-August. And lastly, this was also the session where Martin insisted that they record a cover. Well…the Beatles had learned their chops doing covers, but they’d written numerous songs themselves by then, and weren’t about to budge.

Cover songs were actually more profitable, and more successful, back in the fifties and early sixties, it was a surefire way to get a hit, especially if you’re a band that isn’t too well known outside your hometown. And the track, “How Do You Do It”, isn’t that bad of a song, to be honest. But you can definitely tell that the boys really weren’t that into it…John’s vocal delivery is strong but uninspired, and the rest of the band don’t seem to want to put much energy into it. The track was quickly shelved, lesson learned. They focused the rest of their time and energy on the other two songs slated for that day.

Side A: Love Me Do
This track is definitely indicative of the songs John and Paul wrote from around the Quarrymen days of the late 50s to their Hamburg days (this one apparently dates back to about 1958 or 1959). It’s a playful riff on the “moon in June” rhyme scheme they knew so well–so much, they had it down to an artform. There’s nothing more obvious than the “I love you/always be true” couplet. It could be a song you’d hear anywhere on the radio at the time. But less noted is how regional the song is. It’s almost a country song, a working-class sound in a way, with its steady but unassuming beat and John’s harmonica–it’s a riff you’d hear someone play while walking the docks in Liverpool. Their hometown was considered the boonies back in the day, well north of metropolitan London, and this “Mersey Sound” (as the locals termed it) gave them a unique edge. Also different from most songs at the time is the shared vocal–after all, this wasn’t John and the Beatles or Paul and the Beatles, but The Beatles…a group, not a lead singer and his backing band. Only when the “someone to love” middle eight comes in does it waver between Paul alone and Paul and John together, as well as Paul’s solo “love me do…” when John jumps in on the harmonica again.

This first single version is nowhere near as polished as it really should have been, really. Musically, it’s as tight as they could get at the time, but considering this was their first real session for an actual release, nerves are definitely to blame for its shakiness. Martin was apparently not too impressed with Ringo’s drumming on the track and hired session musician Andy White to fill in, demoting Ringo down to tambourine. There’s also the fact that Paul’s voice is clearly not as strong in the first version–he warbles during the middle eight and his “love me do…” sounds far from perfect. The second version is much tighter both in the music and vocals, and Paul gives a much braver delivery. After the first edition of the single, this second version took its place and also made its way onto the debut album.

Side B: P.S. I Love You

Honestly, you’d think this was a track from The Music Man or one of those musicals of the time that they were so fond of covering (such as “A Taste of Honey”, which they would soon record for their first album), given the complex melody of this song, but no…it’s one of Paul’s, and one he wrote during one of their stints in Hamburg. It’s an interestingly simple melody that utilizes some pretty complex chord changes. It’s also an epistolary song, another easy and winning songwriting trick at the time. Sort of inspired by the “letter” songs about a woman waiting at home, hoping her man would return, Paul writes this as himself being the man on the road, promising he’ll be home when he can. But it’s the amazing melody he wrote that elevates it from a simple love song to a gorgeous one. There’s no slow intro here…it starts off with the letter, pen already in hand, already writing. It’s a fast love song, played uptempo with a cha-cha beat, which makes the track feel romantic and hopeful, rather than wistful. Lastly, Paul does something unconventional by singing both the call and response parts of the last round of the main verse: “As I write this letter (Oh!)/Send my love to you (You know I want you to)/Remember that I’ll always (Yeah!)/Be in love with you…” There’s so much going on in this little song that in retrospect, it’s amazing that this was the b-side to their first single. It’s a lovely track and one of my favorites of their early recordings.

All in all, it’s not a bad debut. It’s not a phenomenal single at any stretch, and perhaps it’s a bit reminiscent of every other poppy love song out there at the time, but it was unique enough for people to take notice. It only hit #17 on the British charts, but for the boys, just getting on the charts at all was enough to excite them and aim even higher.

[More on these songs when I review the Please Please Me album.]

Next up: “Please Please Me”/”Ask Me Why” single