What Made The Early Beatles Different: Lennon/McCartney Originals
A huge part of what really set The Beatles apart from most other groups in the early 1960s was that they were songwriters. In fact, 8 of the 14 songs on their debut 1963 album{, Please Please Me} were written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Below I’ll take a song by song look at those 8 originals.
“I Saw Her Standing There” – This was the first track on their first album. This song was written by McCartney but Lennon did help him out with the lyrics by replacing “never been a beauty queen” with “you know what I mean.” It’s “1, 2, 3, 4″ intro was referenced in 1966 with the intro of Revolver (a very different feeling although it’s the same words.)
“Misery” – This was actually the final original song recorded for the album, but it was the second one on the album’s tracklisting. It was written by Lennon/McCartney to be sang by Helen Shapiro but it was turned down so they recorded it for their debut album.
“Ask Me Why” – This Lennon original was first released as the other side to the “Please Please Me” single which was The Beatles first number one hit in the UK.
“Please Please Me” – Their debut album’s namesake is also thought to be the best song on Please Please Me by most music critics. This song is the one that really made the band big stars in England. Over a year later “I Want to Hold Your Hand” would perform the same function in the USA.
“Love Me Do” – This song is undoubtedly historically important as The Beatles first single. That said, I think that the song is among their worst originals and I think it gets more attention than it really deserves.
“P.S. I Love You” – The b-side to “Love Me Do.” I think I actually prefer it, but that’s probably mostly because I haven’t heard it as many times.
“Do You Want To Know A Secret?” – This song was written by John Lennon and George Harrison sang the lead vocals.
“There’s A Place” – I think this song stands out on the debut because of it’s introspective lyrics. It is an early hint that the Fab Four would not always write songs about how much they loved a young lady.
With the release of the new Beatles Remastered CD Box Sets all of these tracks can be heard in perfectly remastered mono and stereo versions.