Banged out in a hurry for the 1964 Christmas market, Beatles for Sale sometimes sounds it, loaded with ill-conceived covers and some of John Lennon’s most self-loathing lyrics. On the other hand, the people doing the banging-out were the Beatles, whose instincts for what worked musically were so strong that they could basically do no wrong–any record that has “Baby’s in Black,” “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” and the delectable “Eight Days a Week” on it is only “minor” in the [Read More...]
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The fourth album by the Fabs is, yes, kind of subdued, but not by much. There are upbeat numbers like “Rock And Roll Music,” the US #1 single “Eight Days A Week,” Ringo’s cover of Carl Perkins’ “Honey Don’t,” and the Little Richard medley to speed things up. Gee, I’ve listed the bright spots of the album already!
However, songs like “I’m A Loser,” “Baby’s In Black,” and “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party” reflect a kind of weariness creeping in that later evolved into the introspective Rubber Soul. I mean, check out the sombre mugs on the album cover!
There aren’t that many cover songs here than there were on their first two albums, but the ones they cover are beauts. The best of these is Chuck Berry’s “Rock And Roll Music” with that immortal chorus, “give me that rock and roll music/if you wanna dance with me.”
That being said, the Beatles have expressed that melancholy in upbeat songs such as “No Reply.” That is about a girl who dates someone else and has her family covering for her. The poignancy expressed with the “I nearly died” refrain. And “I’m A Loser,” in the same uppity vein, has lyrics such as “Beneath this mask I am wearing a frown.” is it for her or for myself that I cry?”
The mid-paced “Baby’s In Black” has shades of Dylan, hard to tell since all four of them are singing in contrast to Dylan’s stark solo vocal. Love that lyric: “Baby’s in black and I’m feeling blue.”
Paul sings a nice slow ditty “I’ll Follow The Sun”, which happened to be one of his earliest compositions dating back to the late 1950’s. In contrast, he wildly covers the engaging Little Richard medley, “Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey.” Wonder how it sounds compared to the original.
Despite being Buddy Holly fans, “Words Of Love” is the only Holly song done, and it’s lovingly done on this album, with Ringo’s percussive instrument being a packing case of all things!
George’s only song here is the Carl Perkins number “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby.” Ironically, Ringo’s song here is also a Carl Perkins number. Both do their admirably best here.
For Sale is still a superior Beatles album despite the sobriety of many of the songs.
“Beatles For Sale,” the Fab Four’s fourth album, is not regarded as highly as their other works. The Beatles hammered this record out pretty fast as they recorded it between tours, and they were pressed for time in coming up with new stuff. Thus, the album is only half original material, while the other half are cover songs (8 Beatles originals and 6 covers, to be precise). But I’m not bothered by this one single bit. Yes, more original songs would’ve been appreciated, but we must remember that one of the Beatles’ early trademarks was doing excellent cover songs as well as their own stuff, and “Beatles For Sale” gives you a healthy dose of both. The end result is a wonderful Beatles album. Regarding the band’s original compositions, they’re all classics: John Lennon’s “No Reply” and “I’m A Loser,” Paul McCartney’s “I’ll Follow The Sun” (an older song that McCartney dug up from his club days with the group) and “What You’re Doing,” and the duo’s brilliant collaborations on “Baby’s In Black,” “Eight Days A Week,” “Every Little Thing,” and “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party.” The Beatles ain’t no slouches when covering other people’s songs either, and the batch of covers on “Beatles For Sale” are all tremendous fun. Lennon has a great time at the mike on Chuck Berry’s “Rock And Roll Music,” McCartney tears it up on the medley of “Kansas City” and “Hey Hey Hey,” Ringo Starr gets one of his signature vocal performances on Carl Perkins’ “Honey Don’t,” and George Harrison, also a Carl Perkins fan, does great justice to “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby.” “Mr. Moonlight” is another fine cover, as is the group’s rendition of Buddy Holly’s “Words Of Love” (with Ringo playing on a packing case!).The Beatles’ close friend Derek Taylor wrote in the album’s liner notes back in 1964: “The kids of AD 2000 will draw from the music much the same sense of well-being and warmth as we do today.” Needless to say, Taylor was 100% right. “Beatles For Sale” may be underappreciated by some, but it shouldn’t be. By dividing the album into half originals and half covers, the Fab Four give us the best of both of their musical worlds. Whether doing their own stuff OR other people’s, these guys had the magic touch. “Beatles For Sale,” filled with great Beatles music from beginning to end, is great testament to that.