The Beatles – ‘Please Please Me’
It was a simple goal: get an entire album recorded in a day. It wasn’t planned for artistic reasons or to capture the energy of a fresh and exciting new band. It was practical and economical – a safe option for an untested band. But what nobody in the room knew was that The Beatles were about to change the course of popular music permanently — and they would do so in just ten hours.
After years of honing their chops with gigs across Europe, The Beatles were ready to show off their evolution. Initially a gang of rock and roll-obsessed Liverpudlians, the group had slowly shifted their style to something more presentable and mainstream-friendly. The change came from two main sources. One was the refinement that manager Brian Epstein brought to the band. The other was the songwriting dominance of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Even though they were just young men in their early 20s by the time they recorded their first album (Lennon was 22; McCartney was 20), the pair had crafted the initial core of songs that would provide the foundation for the most legendary songwriting partnership of all time. But Lennon and McCartney were still green in the songwriting department, so additional songs were necessary to flesh out their live shows and, eventually, their first album.
The remaining songs came from the broad spectrum of the band’s influences: black soul music, Brill Building pop, girl groups, and even show tunes. Their selection was simple: all songs from their live sets played mostly at Liverpool’s The Cavern Club, the same venue where the album was originally supposed to be recorded. Instead, the band brought their live energy to EMI Studios in London.
The excitement is there from the very first notes. For most listeners, the first time they ever heard The Beatles was on side one, song one from Please Please Me. Paul McCartney sets the tone with an energetic count-off that still feels invigorating all of 60 years later. From there, the unstoppable energy of ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ kicks off 30 minutes of primal rock and roll that would go on to define pop music for the next six decades.
It’s remarkable how complete The Beatles package is just from ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ alone. The harmonies, the screams, the driving rhythms, and the pop appeal that made The Beatles the biggest band in the world can all be heard on their first album cut. What the band lacks in refinement, they more than makeup for in pure, uncontained enthusiasm. That being said, Please Please Me is far from a perfect album. Due to the limitations of the recording schedule, songs like ‘Misery’ and ‘Ask Me Why’ don’t quite have the same levels of fine-tuning that they require. These songs also show off another quirk that makes the album unique: Lennon’s cold that becomes increasingly worse throughout the recording. Lennon fares well on the rockers, but when he needs a softer touch, Lennon audibly has to focus on his vocals.
That being said, unless you go through the album with a fine-tooth comb, any mistakes or flubs are minimal. The goal was to preserve The Beatles’ appeal in as short a time as possible, something that wasn’t about to be stopped by Lennon’s sickness. Desperately sucking on throat lozenges to preserve his voice, Lennon continues to step up to the mic with a ragged determination. But Please Please Me doesn’t feel like a “make-or-break” record: it sounds like raw and wild fun, even in its quieter moments.
Take, for instance, George Harrison’s lead vocal on ‘Do You Want to Know a Secret’. The innocence of the 19-year-old guitarist makes for an enthralling performance. Even though he’s singing Lennon and McCartney’s words, his own distinct personality shines through clearly. Even when Harrison isn’t the star of the show, his lead guitar work and backing harmonies are so spot-on that it all seems natural. If there were any nerves to be had, Harrison clearly wasn’t showing them.
That goes double for Ringo Starr. After having solidified his role as the band’s permanent drummer during the recording of the ‘Please Please Me’ single, Starr was no longer in danger of losing his spot to a session player. Even still, Starr hits the drums as if his life depends on it, bringing a manic power and a remarkably agile swing to the band’s songs. Starr even gets one of the most electrifying vocal spots on the entire album when he giddily spits out the words to The Shirelles’ ‘Boys’.
Since their songwriting partnership was just about to take off, Please Please Me represents a slightly green glimpse into the Lennon-McCartney working relationship. Even though originals like ‘Ask Me Why’ and ‘There’s a Place’ wouldn’t be among the pair’s best-remembered material, other tracks like ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and ‘P.S. I Love You’ continue to resonate. Every time you put on Please Please Me wishing that The Beatles had more powerful songs, there’s a cheeky note or improvised bit of amusement that reminds you that these are just kids living the dream, not artists trying to make a defining statement.
George Martin also hadn’t quite found his footing with the band just yet. While later years saw him provide just the right idea, arrangement, or keyboard accompaniment to make great songs even better, Martin is a bit heavy-handed in his overdubs here. Songs like ‘Misery’ and ‘Baby It’s You’ have Martin playing his parts without the band present, and he approaches it less like a collaborator and more like a generic record producer. The relationship between Martin and The Beatles would continue to evolve rapidly, but here, it’s in its infant stages.
All that being said, there still remains something undeniable about Please Please Me. Even removed from the context of it being the debut album of the world’s most popular band, Please Please Me has a strange magnetic pull. With each subsequent song, you find yourself leaning in closer to see what this band has up their sleeve next. As they alternative between high-octane rock and roll and softer pop material, it seems like they’re going to shuffle out the door with a solid collection of tunes after ‘There’s A Place’.
And then something remarkable happens. Lightning gets captured in a bottle. For two and a half minutes, time stops. Having suffered through the entire day’s recording, Lennon gets one shot to let it all hang out by shouting his lungs out on a cover of The Top Notes’ ‘Twist and Shout’. Lennon knows that he’s got only one song left, so he decides to give it everything he has.
The results can only be described as the finest rock and roll vocal performance ever put to record. At the top of his range, Lennon shreds his vocal cords with each subsequent phrase. His bandmates clearly feel his desperation and match him with frenetic energy. Despite the wildness of the performance, Lennon’s vocals never go out of tune, McCartney and Harrison never waver in their harmonies, and Starr never rushes the song to its conclusion. Once they crash to a conclusion, McCartney can be heard cheering in victory while Lennon gurgles in weathered defeat. Simply put, ‘Twist and Shout’ is The Beatles working at the peak of their collective powers.
As the hours ticked away and the band kept playing well into the night, Martin was said to have remarked: “I don’t know how they do it. We’ve been recording all day, but the longer we go on, the better they get”. Little did Martin know that The Beatles were about to get much better, and much bigger, in a very short amount of time.
Please Please Me remains a gem not because of the quality of material or matureness of The Beatles’ sound. In fact, it remains a fantastic listen because of those faults. Without their best songs and without the experience of being “The Beatles”, Please Please Me shows off four young musicians with an unlimited supply of talent, individuality, and promise. It’s a pure adrenaline rush, as I’m sure the session that produced it was as well. Almost no other album in the history of popular music can match Please Please Me in terms of pure, spontaneous excitement. That would be The Beatles’ primary weapon as they forged ahead on a legendary career.
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