__________________________________________________________

The Beatles

Beatles For Sale

Parlophone
0946 3 82414 2 3
__________________________________________________________

 

1. NO REPLY (Lennon-McCartney)

Double tracked John. Occasionally Paul. George joins both on chorus.

 

2. I'M A LOSER (Lennon-McCartney)

Mainly John. Short passages by John and Paul.

 

3. BABY'S IN BLACK (Lennon-McCartney)

John and Paul

 

4. ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC (Berry)

John.

 

5. I'LL FOLLOW THE SUN (Lennon-McCartney)

Paul, double tracked here and there.

 

6. MR. MOONLIGHT (Johnson)

John.

 

7. KANSAS CITY/HEY-HEY-HEY-HEY! (Leiber-Stoller)/(Penniman)

Paul

 

8. EIGHT DAYS A WEEK (Lennon-McCartney)

John and Paul. Occasionally George.

 

9. WORDS OF LOVE (Holly)

John and Paul.

 

10. HONEY DON'T (Perkins)

Ringo sings.

 

11. EVERY LITTLE THING (Lennon-McCartney)

John and Paul.

 

12. I DON'T WANT TO SPOIL THE PARTY (Lennon·McCartney)

John and Paul.

 

13. WHAT YOU'RE DOING (Lennon-McCartney)

Paul.

 

14. EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO BE MY BABY (Perkins)

George sings.

 

BEATLES FOR SALE MINI-DOCUMENTARY
(Insert into computer to view)

__________________________________________________________

Produced by GEORGE MARTIN

Original photography by ROBERT FREEMAN

__________________________________________________________

Original Liner Notes from LP

This is the fourth by the four, ‘Please Please Me’, ‘With The Beatles’, ‘Hard Day’s Night’. That’s three. Now… ‘Beatles For Sale’.

The young men themselves aren’t for sale. Money, noisy though it is, doesn’t talk that loud. But you can buy this album – you probably have, unless you’re just browsing, in which case don’t leave any dirty thumbprints on the sleeve!

It isn’t all currency or current though. There’s a priceless history between these covers. None of us is getting any younger. When, in a generation or so, a radio-active, cigar-smoking child, picnicking on Saturn, asks you what the Beatle affair was all about – ‘Did you actually know them?’ – don’t try to explain all about the long hair and the screams! Just play the child a few tracks from this album and he’ll probably understand what it was all about. The kids of AD2000 will draw from the music much the same sense of well-being and warmth as we do today.

For the magic of the Beatles is, I suspect, timeless and ageless. It has broken all frontiers and barriers. It has cut through differences of race, age and class. It is adored by the world.

This album has some lovely samples of Beatle music. It has, for instance, eight new titles wrought by the incomparable John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and, mingling with the new, there are six numbers culled from the rhythmic wealth of the past extraordinary decade; pieces like Kansas City, and Rock and Roll Music. Marvellous.

Many hours and hard day’s nights of devoted industry went into the production of this album, it isn’t a potboiling quick-sale any-old-thing-will-do-for-Christmas mixture.

At least three of the Lennon-McCartney songs were seriously considered as single releases until John popped with I Feel Fine. These three were Eight Days A Week, No Reply and I’m A Loser. Each would have topped the charts, but as it is they are an adornment to this LP, and a lesson to other artists. As on other albums, the Beatles have tossed in far more value than the market usually demands.

These are few gimmicks or recording tricks, though for effect, the Beatles and their recording manager George Martin, have slipped in some novelties. Like Paul on Hammond organ to introduce drama into Mr. Moonlight, which also, and for the first time, has George Harrison applying a thump to an elderly African drum because Ringo was busy elsewhere in the studio, playing bongos. George’s thump remains on the track. The bongos were later dropped. Ringo plays timpani in Every Little Thing, and on the Rock and Roll Music track George Martin joins John and Paul on one piano. On Words Of Love, Ringo plays a packing case.

Beyond this, it is straightforward 1964 disc-making. Quite the best of its kind in the world. There is little or nothing on the album which cannot be reproduced on stage, which is, as students and critics of pop-music know, not always the case.

Here it is then. The best album yet – quite definitely, says John, Paul, George and Ringo – full of everything which made the four the biggest attraction the world has ever known. Full of raw John and melodic Paul; a number from George, and a bonus from Ringo. For those who like to know who does precisely what, there are details alongside each title.

Derek Taylor
__________________________________________________________
 

Beatles For Sale

Historical Notes

 

The Beatles' fourth album was released on 4th December, 1964 – just in time for Christmas. The fourteen songs were recorded on seven days scattered between August and October. It had been only 21 weeks since A Hard Day's Night and during this time The Beatles were immersed in a crammed schedule. They performed regularly on radio and TV, played several English concerts in the summer, visited Sweden for a second time, toured the US and Canada for 26 concert dates and appeared in 27 venues around the UK during the autumn. With scarcely a moment to spare it was hardly surprising that, after a previous album containing solely Lennon/McCartney songs, this LP reverted to the 1963 formula of eight originals and six cover versions.

 

For the first time, the record was contained in a deluxe gatefold sleeve. When opened, it revealed the group standing in front of a photo montage of movie stars. The prophetic sleeve notes were written by Derek Taylor, who had worked with The Beatles for a short time in 1964 and also helped their manager Brian Epstein write his book A Cellarful

Of Noise. Following several years in the States, Derek returned to the fold in 1968 as the head of the Apple press office.

 

Beatles For Sale reached the top of the UK album chart and was there for eleven of its 46 weeks in the Top Twenty. There was no album with this title in the USA but Beatles '65 is its American equivalent. Released on 15th December, 1964, it included eight songs from Beatles For Sale, 'I'll Be Back' from the British version of A Hard Day's Night and both sides of the single at the top of the US and UK Christmas charts - 'I Feel Fine'/,She's A Woman'. It started its nine week run at number one in January 1965 and stayed in the chart for 71 weeks. The remaining six songs from Beatles For Sale eventually appeared in America on Beatles VI released in June, 1965. This album stayed at number one for six of its 41 weeks in the US chart.

 

With Beatles For Sale still ruling the album chart, the group kept up their incessant pace and began recording songs for their next album and second movie - Help! ...

___________________________________________________

With The Beatles 

Recording Notes

Produced by George Martin

Principal Engineer: Norman Smith

 

Beatles For Sale was their second album to be recorded on four-track tape machines. While making A Hard Day's Night the group had been able to expand their arrangements through an overdubbing process that was much more convenient than the twin-track recording used on their first two albums in 1963. The Beatles For Sale sessions saw the group and George Martin take a new approach to time spent in the studio. Sessions were often used to rehearse and rearrange songs by recording a take, listening back and then making alterations until they were all satisfied.

 

A good example of this new attitude is revealed by the tapes for 'Eight Days A Week', which evolved through two sessions on 6th October, 1964. During the afternoon, the group experimented with different ideas until they were finally happy with the arrangement on take six. The first part of the evening was spent perfecting the instrumental backing and vocals recorded on tracks one and two until they decided take thirteen was the best. Using this take as the master, overdubs of handclaps, timpani and guitar were made on track three and the remaining track was used for double-tracked vocals. The closing guitar coda was added on another day and the distinctive fade-in was created when the song was mixed.

 

The penultimate session for the album on 18th October, 1964 was more hectic. On a 'day-off' from their British tour, the Beatles recorded seven complete songs between 2.30 and 11.30pm. Five of them were familiar rock 'n' roll stage favourites including a remake of 'Mr. Moonlight', which they had first recorded but rejected two months earlier. As The Beatles became more assured in the studio, re-recordings – or 'remakes' as they were called – became much more frequent. The other two recordings on this productive day were both originals: the early song 'I'll Follow The Sun' and the recently written 'I Feel Fine', which became their eighth Parlophone single.

 

Although recording on four-track could have taken more time when mixing to stereo, mono was still the dominant format and took priority. So it was that during a three-hour session, George Martin and engineer Norman Smith, spent two and a half hours mixing five songs into mono and just half an hour mixing four of them to stereo.

 

This remastered album has been created from the original stereo analogue master tapes.

 

Remastered by Guy Massey and Steve Rooke

Project Co-ordinator: Allan Rouse

Thanks to Simon Gibson

 

Historical Notes: Kevin Howlett and Mike Heatley

Recording Notes: Allan Rouse and Kevin Howlett

Project management for EMI Reccords Ltd: Wendy Day and Guy Hayden

 

All songs published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC except tracks 4, Jewel Music Publishing Co. Ltd., 6, BMG Music Publishing Ltd., 7, Peter Maurice Music Co. Ltd., EMI Music Ltd. Sony/ATV Music Publishing (UK) Ltd, 9, Peermusic (UK) ltd., 10 & 14, Knox Music Ltd

 

Digital Remaster® 2009 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by EMl Records Ltd. ©2009 EMI Records Ltd. This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.

Artwork © 2009 Apple Corps Ltd. All photographs © Apple Corps Ltd., except where otherwise stated.

 

Original photography: Robert Freeman

 

Album Redesign: Drew Lorimer

Photo Retouching: Gavin O'Neill

Photo editing and research: Aaron Bremner and Dorcas Lynn
__________________________________________________________

Back to The Beatles' main page
Back to Top
__________________________________________________________