Album Description
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PAST MASTERS VOLUME ONE is a compilation of singles, B-sides and other tracks that did not appear on the Beatles' original British albums. The Beatles as a general rule did not include their singles on their albums in the UK.
PAST MASTERS VOLUME ONE is available with PAST MASTERS VOLUME TWO on one cassette on Parlophone (91135).
The Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr.
Producer: George Martin.
Compilation producer: Mark Lewisohn.
Recorded between September 4, 1962 and June 14, 1965. Includes liner notes by Mark Lewisohn.
When Capitol decided to release the original British editions of the Beatles' albums instead of the bastardized American versions, they were left with a bit of a quandary. Since the Beatles had an enormous number of non-LP singles, some of their greatest hits -- from "I Want to Hold Your Hand" through "Hey Jude" -- would not be included on disc if Capitol simply served up straight reissues. They had two options: they could add the singles as bonus tracks to the appropriate CDs, or they could release a compilation of all the non-LP tracks. It should come as no surprise that they chose the latter. In fact, they took it one further, issuing two separate compilations of non-LP tracks, which is fairly appropriate since the Beatles released far more singles and EPs in the first two years of their recording career than they did in the last five. Past Masters, Vol. 1 covers those first two years and, to be fair, there are some cuts that are unnecessary for anyone outside of the hardcore -- only a handful of people will be able to spot the difference in the alternate "Love Me Do," while German versions of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" aren't even good for a chuckle. Still, the sheer number of astounding singles makes this essential, even with its faults. These 17 songs capture the exuberance of Beatlemania while confirming their talents as popcraftsmen ("This Boy," "Yes It Is") and proving that they could rock really, really hard ("I Feel Fine," "She's a Woman," the peerless "I'm Down"). Apart from the cuts that are merely rarities, this is a near-perfect compilation that captures the energy and spirit of the Beatles' early years. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Along with its sister volume, PAST MASTERS VOL. 1 gathers singles, oddities and B-sides together and saves the dedicated Beatlemaniac considerable time and money hunting down this uncommon material. Like the "Red Album," VOLUME ONE covers the first half of the Beatles career from 1962 to 1965. Such was the enormous success of the Fab Four's breakout singles "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" that their vocals were recut for German versions ("Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" and "Sie Liebt Dich" respectively), which were originally slated for the West German market (and are included on this collection) before being released in the States.
Always mindful of their influences, the Beatles in their early phase were also notable for their choice of cover songs. Carl Perkins, Larry Williams and Little Richard were all paid tribute to eventually. While Ringo Starr sang "Matchbox" and John Lennon handled "Slow Down" and "Bad Boy," Paul McCartney channeled Richard Penniman. His take on "Long Tall Sally" induces goosebumps and the influence clearly carried over to "I'm Down."
