The Beatles

1963

This is the album that broke the group in America (albeit a slightly different version). The band tears through 14 tunes in about 35 minutes.

The album was recorded very quickly, to appease their rapidly growing fan base. Raucous and infectious.

All My Loving: Early McCartney gem. No overdubs or complicated harmonies back then, just rock and roll.

Money: Classic cover version. Lennon rips out his vocal chords, and the band slashes and pounds its way through the tune. In the early days, the Beatles were almost like pop-punk.

John Lennon:
Vocal, rhythm guitar

Paul McCartney:
Vocal, bass

George Harrison:
Vocal, lead guitar

Ringo Starr:
Vocal, drums

1964

The album was huge. The band made their first movie, and became loveable mop-tops for a generation of squealing girls.

The pop of this album was slightly more sophisticated than the last album, and the band were playing fewer and fewer cover songs on record.

A Hard Day's Night: First song on the album shows the band still rousing it up, but with a little less hysteria than on the previous album. You've heard it.

Things We Said Today: McCartney tune that points toward the sophisticated pop the band would make on Rubber Soul. Early example of the difference in Lennon's and McCartney's styles.

Same as above

1964

One of the few albums by the band that doesn't exhibit identifiable musical progress from the previous album, the band relies on cover songs to complete an entire LP.

This album is probably the least known (as much as can be said of the Beatles) of any in the band's canon. Road weary.

I'm A Loser: Lennon foreshadows songs like "Nowhere Man" and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" on this tune. The band still rip-roars through songs, but the subject matter is a little more personal.

Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby: Carl Perkins cover song (one of two on the album), sung by George. Raucous, but overloaded with echo. An early production experiment?

Same as above

1965

Much of the album follows a similar formula to the previous albums, with spirited rock and roll and several cover songs, but signs of growth are evidient.

Folk music influences begin to creep into the band's sound (especially via Dylan), and the band makes use of acoustic guitars on many tracks.

Help: Famous Lennon rocker establishing his rebellious, confessional stance so prominent on the band's later recordings. Music is more complex than ever. You've heard it.

You've Got to Hide Your Love Away: Dylan-influenced Lennon tune. Acoustic guitars, passionate vocals, and the introspective subject matter reveal a different group than on With the Beatles.

Yesterday: McCartney comes into his own with this famous ballad. Strings on a Beatles record for the first time. On the album, "Dizzie Miss Lizzie" immediately follows this song, as the band hadn't completely left their old days behind.

Lennon, McCartney,
Harrison, Starr

with
George Martin:
Piano

John Scott, Kenneth Essex, Francisco Gabarro, Tony Gilbert, Sidney Sax:
Strings

1965

Strings, sitar, organ, electric piano...the bands fleshes out its sound, and is aided by the technical know-how of producer George Martin. Brian Wilson said that this is the album that inspired him to make Pet Sounds.

This was the last album the band played live. Their sound was becoming too complicated to reproduce on stage.

Girl: Lennon ballad takes advantage of newfound musical sophistication with interesting guitar interplay, complex vocal harmonies, and delicate percussion. Music is like an Italian love song as played by...well, the Beatles.

Drive My Car: Acidic (for the Beatles anyway) rocker highlighting the band's tight harmonies, and penchant for infectious riffs. Very tight production unifies entire album.

Lennon, McCartney,
Harrison, Starr

with
George Martin:
Piano, harmonium

Mal Evans:
Hammond Organ

1966

The band never played any songs off this album live. From now on, they would concentrate on making music in the studio only.

This album set the stage for Sgt. Pepper. While the band was still in the pop realm, many of the songs were obvious results of experimentation with drugs, Eastern philosophy, and avant-garde art.

Taxman: Harrison protest rocker. Tight production, playing, and immaculate harmonies make this perfect pop for mods and squares alike.

Eleanor Rigby: McCartney's bitter, lonely answer to the music he made on "Yesterday". George Martin lends his trained hand, turning simple melody and harmony into art-song.

Tomorrow Never Knows: Lennon's ultra-psychedelic anthem. Like nothing else they (or anyone else) had ever done, it's like acid-jungle techno meeting Phillip Glass on cocaine.

Lennon, McCartney,
Harrison, Starr

with
George Martin, Neil Aspinall, Anvil Bhagwat, Alan Branscombe, Alan Civil, Peter Coe, Les Conlon, Geoff Emerick, Mal Evans, Tony Gilbert, Ian Hammer, Patti Harrison, Jurgen Hess, Norman Jones, Sidney Sax, John Sharpe, Stephen Shingles, Derrick Simpson, Eddie Thornton, John Underwood

1967

The band had been experimenting in the studio on previous albums and applied everything they had learned to this record. Every second of music on the album has been sonically altered in some way.

Of course, it was very popular. Everyone from Leonard Berstein to Timothy Leary hailed it as a work of genius. It is very psychedelic (which dates it a bit), but the band's creative spirit practically jumps out of the speakers.

Sgt. Pepper/With A Little Help From My Friends: These two songs are joined, and establish a whimsical, Alice In Wonderland-like mood for the entire album. The band were master entertainers as well as progressive popsters.

A Day In the Life: Lennon's classic closing track. The song contains many distinct sections, and climaxes at the very end with a tense, rising crescendo from a very large orchestra. The last note of the album is a major chord played by all four band members on pianos. Powerful, uplifting, soulful---good Beatles.

Lennon, McCartney,
Harrison, Starr

with
George Martin

Mal Evans

Various strings, brass, and woodwinds

1967

The concept was manifested in a short film that detailed the band cavorting around England, and their misadventures along the way. The trouble was that, besides the staleness of the concept, not much happened.

The music, originally issued as an EP and rereleased as an LP in the 70s, is mostly psychedelic pop. The first side is the new material for the film, while the second contains recent singles and B-sides. A few classics ("Strawberry Fields", "All You Need Is Love"), but generally not of the quality of the band's previous albums.

I Am the Walrus: Lennon at the height of his psychedelic wordplay. Great production, singing, and overall strangeness. The band were masters of the studio.

Penny Lane: McCartney always seemed to be making counter-arguments to Lennon's songs. Cheerfully bright, almost like a television theme. Great production, of course, and watch out for the piccolo trumpet!

Lennon, McCartney,
Harrison, Starr

with
Various strings, brass, and singers

1968

The band had recently returned from sabbatical in India, and had accumulated a vast collection of material. They decided to put out two records to accomodate the rapidly growing tension among the group members.

Psychedelia is gone, though experimentation is not (especially on the sound collage, "Revolution #9"). There's something for everyone here, and it's not surprising that it's one of the most popular works in the group's catalog.

Dear Prudence: Gentle Lennon tune dedicated to Mia Farrow's sister (!). Great guitar, vocals, and harmonies. Sean Lennon's favorite Beatles song.

Ob-la-di Ob-la-da: Ska-influenced McCartney tune. Again, as Lennon and McCartney grew apart, so too did the sound of their tunes. Bouncy, happy pop.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps: Harrison's guitar classic, featuring lead work by Eric Clapton. Incidentally, this was the first tune the Beatles ever recorded using an 8-track machine.

Birthday: Up-tempo rocker featuring screaming vocals a la With the Beatles and other early albums (as well as background vocalist Yoko Ono). You've heard it.

Lennon, McCartney,
Harrison, Starr

with
George Martin, Eric Clapton, Nicky Hopkins, Yoko Ono, Patti Harrison, Mal Evans, Chris Thomas, Maureen Starkey

Various strings, brass, woodwinds

1970

The band decided to make an album without the usual massive overdubbing and production experimentation of the previous efforts (the ads read, "The Beatles as nature intended").

The sessions for this album are infamous for the tension within the group. Lennon and McCartney were particularly critical of each other, and Yoko Ono's presence fanned the flame. A film documentary was made of the sessions, and of the live performance the band gave atop their studio to a crowd of Londoners.

I've Got a Feeling: Soulful rocker in which McCartney and Lennon trade verses to make a song greater than the sum of its parts. The band never stopped playing well together even during their personal conflicts.

Get Back: This was intended to be the title song of the album. The band changed producers midway, and things got a little hectic. In any case, this country-rocker was hit. You've heard it.

Lennon, McCartney,
Harrison, Starr

with
Billy Preston:
Keyboards

Various strings
and brass

1969

The group's last record is a return to studio craft and polish, with a rich, slick sound. George Martin was producing again after a one-album absence.

The music ranges from country-pop ("Octopus's Garden") to pseudo heavy metal ("I Want You") to rock opera (second-side suite), and many things in-between.

Although the band were in their last stages, and were fighting to keep their record company afloat, the music on this album does not show any signs of strain or disharmony.

Here Comes the Sun: Harrison folk-pop song establishes rich, uplifting atmosphere of entire album. Great harmony vocals and guitar work. You've heard it.

Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End: Finale of the famous second-side suite. The group plays a kind of synopsis of their career on Abbey Road, cramming everything they'd been doing over the previous eight years into a single album. Very dramatic, emotional, impressive, and effective.

Lennon, McCartney,
Harrison, Starr

with
Billy Preston:
Organ

Mike Vickers:
Moog synthesizer

1990

The first volume (with the black cover) contains songs from 1962 until 1965, and the second (white cover) covers 1965 through 1970.

Basically, a greatest hits package, this set is essential to any Beatles fan. Most of their singles were not contained on their studio albums, so you can't find many of these songs elsewhere.

I Want to Hold Your Hand: Song that broke the band in America. Like many of their singles, not contained on any of their studio albums.

Hey Jude: Band's best selling single. Most of the songs on this set are classics, making this package as important to fans as any of the studio albums.

Lennon, McCartney,
Harrison, Starr