Music Album Review: 'The Beatles: 1962-1966 (Red Album)'

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Album Cover Design: Tom Wilkes. Photo by: Angus McBean. (C) 1973 Apple Records

I became a Beatles' fan when I was 17 years old. That’s rather late in life, relatively speaking, in part because my taste in music tends to veer to the classical/orchestral film score end rather than rock. I was less than a year old when the Fab Four made their American TV debut in February 1964. Then I lived in South America from 1966 till 1972 in an environment where I didn’t mix with too many rock and roll fans. That’s why I wasn't really exposed to The Beatles' music until the 1980s, by which time the group had split and John Lennon had been taken away by a madman's bullet.

My fascination with the "lads from Liverpool" began in my sophomore year at South Miami High, when a fellow journalism student took the time to write down the lyrics to Paul McCartney's ode to Julian Lennon ("Hey, Jude"). In chorus class I learned the lyrics to "Eleanor Rigby" (track 12 on disc 2), even though all my attempts to sing it as a solo were defeated by my vocal range.

But my case of Beatlemania grew even more acute when I heard another journalism student's cassette version of The Beatles: 1962-1966, also known as the Red Album because the album cover was in that primary color.

 The Beatles: 1962-1966 - Paperback Writer

Apple Records first released The Beatles: 1962-1966 as a 2-LP vinyl albun in 1973, first in Great Britain, followed by official “drops” in the U.S. and other major markets, including Canada, Germany, India, Australia, and Latin America. At the same time, the album was released on audiocassette in red packaging. Since then, The Beatles: 1962-1966 never been “out of print, and has been issued several times on CD, including a 2009 reissue by Apple EMI Records.

 I Want to Hold Your Hand

Starting with the early "innocent" love ditties "Love Me Do," (track 1, CD 1) "I Want to Hold Your Hand," (track 4, CD 1) and ending with The Beatles' only kids' song "Yellow Submarine," (track 13, CD 2), the Red collection compiled 26 of the group's pre-Sgt. Pepper hits. (The Blue collection, The Beatles: 1967-1970, rounds out the rest of the Fab Four's eight-year run as one of the best rock 'n' roll groups ever.) Listening to that cassette absolutely blew me away, and my friend generously made me a copy, which I wore out within three years.

 Yesterday (Not from the Red Album, but from a live performance in Germany)

In addition to the songs mentioned previously, some of my favorite Beatles hits stand out, especially the oft-played and oft-covered "Yesterday," (track 13, CD 1) Paul's inspired ode to the sudden end of a love affair; "In My Life" (track 9, CD 2), another sentimental McCartney song, this time celebrating the love of his life; "Michelle" (track 8, CD 2), "And I Love Her" (track 9, CD 1); and John Lennon's caustic "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (track 2, CD 1).

Although this 26-song compilation is hardly the ultimate Beatles' collection, it is still a great way to either get a first taste of this groundbreaking British rock group or to have a convenient "Best of..." collection handy when you just want to hear their best-known songs without having to sift through all the albums in your extensive CD library.

Tracklist
CD 1:
1.      Love Me Do    2:18
2.      Please Please Me        1:58
3.      From Me To You        1:56
4.      She Loves You           2:19
5.      I Want To Hold Your Hand   2:23
6.      All My Loving            2:04
7.      Can't Buy Me Love     2:10
8.      A Hard Day's Night    2:29
9.      And I Love Her           2:28
10.  Eight Days A Week    2:42
11.  I Feel Fine       2:20
12.  Ticket To Ride            3:03
13.  Yesterday        2:04
CD 2:
1.      Help!   2:33
2.      You've Got To Hide Your Love Away          2:06
3.      We Can Work It Out  2:12
4.      Day Tripper     2:48
5.      Drive My Car  2:27
6.      Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)      2:02
7.      Nowhere Man 2:40
8.      Michelle          2:41
9.      In My Life      2:22
10.  Girl      2:27
11.  Paperback Writer        2:15
12.  Eleanor Rigby 2:03
13.  Yellow Submarine      2:46

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