The Beatles released an impressive 13 albums in a mere seven years. This was an astonishing achievement considering the relatively small amount of time in which they made them.
The first four Beatles vinyl albums differ based on their location of release. Those released in the US were of lower sound quality and had some of their songs omitted. Additionally, even though the first four Beatles albums were originally released as both monaural and stereo recordings in the United Kingdom, stereo phonographs were quite rare in England at the time. Naturally, then, George Martin and The Beatles only spent a lot of time on the mono mixes. Many early songs were later remastered by Capitol Records for the US as artificial stereo with bass on one side and treble on the other side, with loads of added echo, much to the disgust of fans today.
When it came time to release the Beatles catalog on CD, the decision was made to use the original British versions of the albums, since those were the "way the Beatles originally intended them to be." The initial release of the first four CDs were of the original mono mixes. In 2004, Capitol Records released the first four American albums on CD and they represent the current official Stereo versions. No official stereo mix of the first four British albums had been released on compact disc, but there were plenty of "official looking" bootleg CDs floating around that include the US stereo mixes and even bear the "Apple" logo. Martin and the Beatles started to spend more time on stereo mixes by 1965.
In the UK
Originally signed to Parlophone/EMI in the UK, the Beatles' (UK) official studio albums (not including compilations and the like) were:
- Please Please Me, March 22 1963
- With the Beatles, November 22 1963
- A Hard Day's Night, July 10 1964
- Beatles for Sale, December 4 1964
- Help!, August 6 1965
- Rubber Soul, December 3 1965
- Revolver, August 5 1966
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, June 1 1967
- Magical Mystery Tour (Double EP), December 8 1967
- The Beatles ("White Album"), November 22 1968
- Yellow Submarine, January 13 1969
- Abbey Road, September 26 1969
- Let It Be, May 8 1970
Compilations and other releases in the UK
- A Collection of Beatles' Oldies ...but Goldies, 10 December 1966
- 1962-1966 (the "Red Album") and 1967-1970 (the "Blue Album"), April 19 1973 (two double compilation albums, featuring as covers the photograph originally taken for Please Please Me and a re-creation of that photograph taken in 1969, originally for Get Back, which became Let It Be)
- Rock 'n' Roll Music, June 10 1976
- The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, May 6 1977 (Live performances from 23 August 1964 and 30 August 1965 at the Hollywood Bowl)
- Love Songs, November 19 1977
- Rarities, December 2 1978 (B-sides, songs in German ("Sie Liebt Dich" and "Komm Gibt Mir Deine Hand") and others)
- The Beatles' Ballads, October 13 1980 (compilation)
- Reel Music, March 29 1982 (compilation of tracks from the Beatles' films)
- 20 Greatest Hits, October 18 1982
- Past Masters, Volume One, March 7 1988 (singles from 1962-1965 and other songs that were left off earlier albums)
- Past Masters, Volume Two, March 7 1988 (singles from 1965-1970 and other songs that were left off later albums)
- Note: The reason for the Past Masters compilations are so that every song the Beatles released in 1962-1970 could be on a CD. They include singles and B-sides, two songs sung in German, the contents of an EP released in 1964 that had four additional songs, the "single" versions of the songs "Get Back" and "Let It Be", and a version of "Across the Universe" that had bird-like sound effects.
- Live at the BBC, November 30 1994 (Contains 69 songs the Beatles recorded for various BBC radio shows that never were recorded for Capitol/EMI. This collection only emphasizes how much the Beatles as the #1 band on the globe worked like dogs in 1963 and 1964, sometimes recording 18 songs in a session for the BBC.)
- Anthology 1, November 21 1995 (Containing early performances, live shows, demos, out-takes in the period 1958 to 1964 and the first "new" Beatles song since the band broke up in 1970)
- Anthology 2, March 18 1996 (Containing unreleased tracks, live shows, demos, and out-takes from 1965 to 1968)
- Anthology 3, October 28 1996 (Containing unreleased tracks, demos, and out-takes in the period 1968 to the End)
- Yellow Submarine Songtrack, September 13 1999
- The Beatles 1, November 13 2000 (A collection of the Beatles' #1 hits on the Billboard [US] and Melody Maker [UK] charts, including both sides of their double-A sided singles if both hit the top slot. The collection has 27 songs in it.)
- Let It Be... Naked, November 17 2003 (Remastered and remixed cut from the original sessions, devoid of arrangements by original producer Phil Spector. The first copies released shipped with a 21-minute Fly on the Wall bonus disc.)
- The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1, November 15 2004 (A re-issuing of the first four Beatles albums that Capitol released in the US)
Christmas records
The Beatles also recorded annual Christmas records for their fan club members. From 1963 to 1969 these were released as 7" flexidiscs on LYN. In 1970 the 7 previous records were put onto a 12" vinyl record. These remain largely unavailable today, with the exception of one track, "Christmas Time Is Here Again", which was edited and released on the Free As a Bird CD single in 1994:
- The Beatles Christmas Record, LYN 492, 1963
- Season's Greetings From The Beatles, LYN 757, 1964
- The Beatles 3rd Christmas Record, LYN 948, 1965
- Everywhere It's Christmas, LYN 1145, 1966
- Christmas Time Is Here Again, LYN 1360, 1967
- Beatles 1968 Christmas Record, LYN 1743/4, 1968
- Happy Christmas 1969, LYN 1970/1, 1969
- From them to you - The Beatles Christmas Record 1970, (UK) Apple LYN 2154, (US) Apple SBC 100, 1970
The division of Capitol Records in Canada released three albums and a number of singles in 1963 and 1964 before aligning with the American division and releasing the same albums as in the US.
In the US
In the United States, as noted above, the Beatles albums were rearranged, retitled and remixed. Some of the US releases were nearly identical to their UK counterparts, often times only varying by one or two songs. Most releases contained songs that were also found on other records, which made things difficult for the American Beatles fan trying to purchase the band's entire catalog. By 1967, all US releases matched the UK releases exactly. Some of the US releases included:
- Introducing... The Beatles, Vee-Jay, July 22 1963
- Meet the Beatles!, Capitol, January 20 1964 (1st Capitol Records release)
- The Beatles' Second Album, Capitol, April 10 1964 (2nd Capitol Records release)
- A Hard Day's Night, United Artists, June 13 1964
- Something New, Capitol, July 20 1964 (3rd Capitol Records release)
- The Beatles' Story, Capitol, November 23 1964
- Beatles '65, Capitol, December 15 1964 (4th Capitol Records release)
- The Early Beatles, Capitol, March 22 1965 (5th Capitol Records release)
- Beatles VI, Capitol, June 14 1965 (6th Capitol Records release)
- Help!, Capitol, August 13 1965
- Rubber Soul, Capitol, December 6 1965
- "Yesterday" ... and Today, Capitol, June 20 1966
- Revolver, Capitol, August 8 1966
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Capitol, June 2 1967
- Magical Mystery Tour, Capitol, November 27 1967
- The Beatles ("White Album"), Capitol, November 25 1968
- Yellow Submarine, Capitol, January 13 1969
- Abbey Road, Capitol, October 1 1969
- Hey Jude, Capitol, February 26 1970
- Let It Be, Capitol, May 18 1970
Compilations and other releases in the US
- Rock 'n' Roll Music, Capitol, June 7 1976
- The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, Capitol, May 4 1977
- Live at the Star Club: 1962, Lingasong Records, 1977
- Love Songs, Capitol, October 21 1977
- Rarities, Capitol, March 24 1980
- Rock 'N' Roll Music Vol. 1, MFP, October 27 1980
- Rock 'N' Roll Music Vol. 2, MFP, October 27 1980
- Reel Music, Capitol, March 22 1982
- 20 Greatest Hits, Capitol, October 11 1982
- Past Masters, Volume One, Capitol, March 7 1988
- Past Masters, Volume Two, Capitol, March 7 1988
- Live at the BBC, Capitol, December 6 1994
- Anthology 1, Capitol, November 21 1995
- Anthology 2, Capitol, March 19 1996
- Anthology 3, Capitol, October 29 1996
- Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Capitol, September 14 1999
- The Beatles 1, Capitol, November 14 2000
- Let It Be... Naked, Capitol, November 18 2003
- The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1, Capitol, November 16 2004
Extended plays (EP's)
UK EP's
- Twist and Shout, July 12 1963
- The Beatles' Hits, September 6 1963
- The Beatles (No. 1), November 1 1963
- All My Loving, February 7 1964
- Long Tall Sally, June 19 1964
- A Hard Day's Night (Extracts from the film), November 4 1964
- A Hard Day's Night (Extracts from the album), November 6 1964
- Beatles for Sale, April 6 1965
- Beatles for Sale (No. 2), June 4 1965
- Beatles' Million Sellers, December 6 1965
- Yesterday, March 4 1966
- Nowhere Man, July 8 1966
- Magical Mystery Tour, December 8 1967; #2
- The Beatles, December 12 1981
US EP's
Singles
UK singles
- Love Me Do / P.S. I Love You, October 5 1962; #17
- Please Please Me / Ask Me Why, January 11 1963; #2
- From Me To You / Thank You Girl, April 11 1963; #1
- She Loves You / I'll Get You, August 23 1963; #1
- I Want To Hold Your Hand / This Boy, November 29 1963; #1
- Can't Buy Me Love / You Can't Do That, March 20 1964; #1
- Ain't She Sweet / If You Love Me, Baby (with Tony Sheridan), May 29 1964; #29
- A Hard Day's Night / Things We Said Today, July 10 1964; #1
- I Feel Fine / She's A Woman, November 27 1964; #1
- Ticket To Ride / Yes It Is, April 9 1965; #1
- Help! / I'm Down, July 23 1965; #1
- We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper, December 3 1965; #1
- Paperback Writer / Rain, June 10 1966; #1
- Eleanor Rigby / Yellow Submarine, August 5 1966; #1
- Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane, February 17 1967; #2
- All You Need Is Love / Baby You're A Rich Man, July 7 1967; #1
- Hello Goodbye / I Am The Walrus, November 24 1967; #1
- Lady Madonna / The Inner Light, March 15 1968; #1
- Hey Jude / Revolution, August 30 1968; #1
- Get Back / Don't Let Me Down, April 11 1969; #1
- The Ballad of John and Yoko / Old Brown Shoe, May 30 1969]]; #1
- Something / Come Together, October 31 1969; #4
- Let It Be / You Know My Name (Look Up The Number), March 6 1970; #2
- Back in the USSR / Twist and Shout, June 29 1976; #19
- Beatles Movie Medley (Magical Mystery Tour / All You Need is Love / You've Got to Hide Your Love Away / I Should Have Known Better / A Hard Day's Night / Ticket to Ride / Get Back / I'm Happy Just to Dance with You), May 24 1982; #10
- Love Me Do (reentry), October 1982; #4
- Baby It's You / I'll Follow the Sun / Devil in Her Heart / Boys, March 20 1995; #7
- Free as a Bird / Christmas Time (Is Here Again), December 4 1995; #2
- Real Love / Baby's in Black, March 4 1996; #4
US singles
- Please Please Me / Ask Me Why - February 25, 1963
- From Me To You / Thank You Girl - May 27, 1963
- She Loves You / I'll Get You - September 16, 1963
- I Want To Hold Your Hand / I Saw Her Standing There - December 26, 1963
- My Bonnie / The Saints - January 27, 1964
- Please Please Me / From Me To You - January 30, 1964
- All My Loving / This Boy - February 8, 1964
- Roll Over Beethoven / Please Mister Postman - February 15, 1964
- Twist And Shout / There's A Place - March 2, 1964
- Can't Buy Me Love / You Can't Do That - March 16, 1964
- Do You Want To Know A Secret / Thank You Girl - March 23, 1964
- Why / Cry For A Shadow - March 27, 1964
- Love Me Do / P.S. I Love You - April 27, 1964
- Sie Liebt Dich (German She Loves You) / I'll Get You - May 21, 1964
- Sweet Georgia Brown / Take Out Some Insurance on Me - June 1, 1964
- Ain't She Sweet / Nobody's Child - July 6, 1964
- A Hard Day's Night / I Should Have Known Better - July 13, 1964
- I'll Cry Instead / I'm Happy Just To Dance With You - July 20, 1964
- And I Love Her / If I Fell - July 20, 1964
- Matchbox / Slow Down - August 24, 1964
- I Feel Fine / She's A Woman - November 23, 1964
- Eight Days A Week / I Don't Want To Spoil The Party - February 15, 1965
- Ticket To Ride / Yes It Is - April 19, 1965
- Help! / I'm Down - July 19, 1965
- Yesterday / Act Naturally - September 13, 1965
- We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper - December 6, 1965
- Nowhere Man / What Goes On - February 21, 1966
- Paperback Writer / Rain - May 30, 1966
- Eleanor Rigby / Yellow Submarine - August 8, 1966
- Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane - February 13, 1967
- All You Need Is Love / Baby You're A Rich Man - July 17, 1967
- Hello Goodbye / I Am The Walrus - November 27, 1967
- Lady Madonna / The Inner Light - March 18, 1968
- Hey Jude / Revolution - August 26, 1968
- Get Back / Don't Let Me Down - May 5, 1969
- The Ballad Of John and Yoko / Old Brown Shoe - June 4, 1969
- Something / Come Together - October 6, 1969
- Let It Be / You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) - March 11, 1970
- The Long And Winding Road / For You Blue - May 11, 1970
See Beatles Bootlegs for a run down of some of the more popular unauthorized, illegal bootleg material.
Filmography
External links
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