Classic Album Review - 01 - Meet the Beatles

"Meet the Beatles" seems an ideal choice for our first classic album review. My introduction to rock n roll could not have been better if it had been hand-picked by God. Sure, everyone knows who the Beatles are, and everyone loves Sgt. Pepper and the White Album and Revolver. I love all of those albums too. But, MTB never fails to evoke an onrush of nostalgia that makes my big toe shoot right up in my shoe. Everything about this record is so polished. From the dark Bauhaus-ian cover shot to the four young toughs pictured on the back in their matching razor-sharp suits and square-toed, black leather, mod-kicker boots. These are not sensible shoes.

Knowing all of the history that we do, when we look at them now, we know that even though the oldest was only 23 at the time, The Beatles were already seasoned veterans, with years of relentless performing under their belts - at Liverpool's Cavern, and in der Kaiserkeller of Hamburg Germany. They had taught themselves chords and vocal harmony and here was their first album, comprised of 91.6% original material -- they were already accomplished songwriters (the exception being Meredith Wilson's "'Til There was You" - a great vehicle for the smooth croonings of young McCartney)!

Mostly, though, when I listen to this record, the one word that comes to mind is - Testosterone. The vocals are powerful - occasionally breaking into full-on banshee screams. Even the slow numbers seem to have a metronomic tightness and full force vocalization. For me the standout track is I Saw Her Standing There -- it just plain ROCKS! "One Two Three FOW-ER! Play that bass line at that tempo while singing those vocals - go ahead, I dare you. And the harmonies - on this track and the hit single I Wanna Hold Your Hand - nothing in pop music had ever sounded like that. Open fourths and fifths below the main melody - Mean. Exciting. Stimulating. Scores of teenage girls were impregnated just by listening to the thing. Seriously - look it up on Wikipedia.

Also featured is the Ringo-sung, head-pummeling I Wanna Be Your Man, which the lads had earlier given to the Rolling Stones for one of their first singles. The legend is that the two groups were hanging out and the Stones began talking about how they needed a single and they really weren't songwriters yet. So John and Paul sat down on the spot and whipped this little ditty out for Mick and the boys. If you can find the Stones' version, it's worth a listen for a piece of rock n roll history.

A big tip of my hat goes to the Smithereens who put out an album a few years back, entitled "Meet the Smithereens," wherein they cover the entire MTB album track by track. Obviously, MTB had the same effect on them that it did on me, and that makes us related somehow. They do a damn fine job with it too. Some of the fast rockin' tunes lack the same punch and tightness, but overall the Smithereens do a stand-up performance here. Plus, you gotta remember, the members of the Smithereens were probably all over twice as old as the Beatles were when they made the original - so give the old geezers a break!

Kids - do yourselves a favor - if you're not intimately familiar with this album, then go buy a copy today and give it a spin. It'll only take 26 minutes of your time and you won't be sorry. Get a CD or a set of mp3's if you must, but if you can find a vinyl recording in your mom's (or your grandmom's) record collection, then that is definitely the way to go. I can't explain this, but it just isn't the same without audible pops, crackles, and hiss. For maximum pleasure, play it as loud as possible and sing along at the top of your lungs. Maybe even give a banshee scream now and then.

Meet the Beatles
Released: January 1964
Track Listing:

Side One
1. I Want to Hold Your Hand
2. I Saw Her Standing There
3. This Boy
4. It Won't Be Long
5. All I've Got to Do
6. All my Loving

Side Two
1. Don't Bother Me
2. Little Child
3. Till There was You
4. Hold me Tight
5. I Wanna Be Your Man
6. Not a Second Time

This review is dedicated to the memory of my mother who passed away a few years ago. I miss her terribly and thank her for having hung on to a few old records from her youth. Peace.

a seminal moment in the wonder years

we had a hi-fi set when i was growing up. it was one of those all in one units that they used to make - the size of a buffet table, with simulated wood-grain, and a heavy hinged top that opened to reveal a turntable and a receiver dial. i remember the tuner had a big bumpy silver knob and when you turned it a thin orange band went up and down the narrow rows of numbers - AM along one side and FM along another. It looked sort of like a thermometer where you controlled the temperature.

mostly, we listened to the radio. by "we" i mean my two older sisters who were the only people in the house truly interested in current pop music (i was just coming into my own). AM radio was king then - this would be in the years between 1971 and 1975.

i grew up along U.S. 12 in southern Michigan, and we had our choice of Jackson, Lansing, and if the weather was good, Detroit. AM radio puts out a strong clear signal and CKLW was a favorite choice from Detroit and Windsor Ontario.

a lot of my early memories are associated with music - sound always attracted me, especially the human voice. i clearly remember driving my sisters crazy one day requesting a song i wanted to hear. i was probably 6 years old and didn't know the artist or the title - i just knew it was the "water song with the crickets." I expected them to know exactly what i was talking about - they didn't. they thought i was insane. they always thought i was a weird kid, and maybe they were right.

years later, when i was able to piece this memory back together, i realized that the song had been "Uncle Albert /Admiral Halsey" by Paul McCartney. Go ahead - indulge yourself and listen to it - how long has it been? See if you can decipher the cryptic notions of a 6 year old.

Sooner or later i figured out that we had some "big" record albums stashed in a cabinet in my parent's room - the kind of records that have more than one song. i knew this because that's where i was dispatched one Christmas to get some holiday music. my mom had a collection of Christmas albums: Perry Como, Johnny Mathis, Burl Ives, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and The Royal Guardsmen who sang "Snoopy and the Red Baron" which was my favorite.

going to fetch these records a few times, i noticed that there were some other albums in there - not Christmas records - something else. these were records that my mom had had since she was a teenager. inevitably i was curious enough to want to hear them, and my mom didn't see any reason why not.

most times, the power inherent in an inanimate product and the power it can have over the imagination of a child is severely underestimated. i was about to experience an awakening i have never recovered from.

Check Out My Formative Experience

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Detroit Radio