Disc One: Track 1 published by MPL Communications, Ltd., Track 10 composed by Enotris Johnson, Richard Penniman, Robert Blackwell and published by Peermusic (UK) Ltd.

Tracks 12, 16 composed by Larry Williams and published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing (UK) Ltd., Track 13 composed by Carl Perkins and published by Carlin Music Corp.

Original recordings produced by George Martin.

Digital Remaster (P) 2009 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by EMI Records Ltd.

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Notes for Mono Masters album
Kevin Howlett

At the end of 1964, The Beatles appeared on the BBC radio programme Top Gear. They were heard chatting to the host Brian Matthew and performing both sides of their new single – ‘I Feel Fine’ / ‘She’s A Woman’ – and four songs from the latest album Beatles For Sale.

Brian Matthew: I’ve heard it said that a lot of these would make good singles. Do you think there’s any likelihood at all of them being released?

John: You can’t release singles off an LP after the LP’s been out.

Brian: A lot of people do.

Paul: Well, in America they do …

John: Well, they’re different over there, aren’t they?

Paul: In America they do that, but it’s a bit of a drag. Yes, a bit of a drag, that!

Clearly, it was frustrating to The Beatles that they could not control their release schedule outside the UK. However, at home, the singles policy stated by John was strictly adhered to – with only one exception when ‘Something’ / ‘Come Together’ was released a month after Abbey Road in 1969. Five of their albums include no singles at all.

When The Beatles' music was first transferred to compact disc in 1987, the opportunity was taken to standardize the catalogue globally by following the form of the British albums – except for Magical Mystery Tour. Through the addition of recent singles, that British double-EP had expanded to an LP in America and a CD version of the album entered the core catalogue. To round up the remaining 33 non-album Beatles tracks – ranging from classic A-sides to hits sung in German – two CDs were released in 1988 called Past Master Volume One and Volume Two. Although originally featuring a combination of mono and stereo versions, the remastered compilation contains only the stereo mixes, if they exist. This new Mono Masters collection is a variation on the theme of Past Masters and has been designed to complement the albums in The Beatles In Mono box set. Its track listing is missing ‘The Ballad Of John And Yoko’, ‘Old Brown Shoe’ and ‘Let It Be’ because they were never mixed in mono. However, as explained later, in order for this box set to feature every Beatles mono mix, ‘Only A Northern Song’, ‘All Together Now’, ‘Hey Bulldog’, and ‘It’s All Too Much’ from the Yellow Submarine album have been added.

The collection opens with ‘Love Me Do’ [Disc One Track 1] – the first Beatles Parlophone single released on 5^th October, 1962. Early pressings featured the version recorded on 4^th September, 1962 with Ringo playing drums. Later copies of the single used the recording made a week later with session man Andy White drumming and Ringo on tambourine. That version was also included on the album Please Please Me and eventually became an American number one. The original single rose no higher than number seventeen in the various British charts. Both sides of the first disc were original compositions – a remarkable statement of intent from a group making their first steps in the record business. In fact, their producer George Martin had urged them to record Mitch Murray’s ‘How Do You Do It?’, which he felt was a sure-fire hit. They had reluctantly agreed to try it but were able to persuade George to shelve the recording in favour of their own songs. Just one example of how The Beatles' story might have been so different with a less open-minded record producer.

George Martin's faith in The Beatles and their songwriters was soon vindicated by the release of 'Please Please Me'/'Ask Me Why' on 11^th January, 1963. The single topped all but one of the UK charts, including the BBC's list used for its Pick Of The Pops programme. For British fans, if DJ Alan Freeman announced that it was a number one, then a genuine number one it was. Both songs are on the Please Please Me album. The follow-up was released on 11^th April, 1963 but neither side was included on their first LP or its successor. Once again, John's harmonica playing was an essential part of the Beatles' sound on 'From Me To You' [D1 Track 2] and its B-side 'Thank You Girl' [D1 Track 3] – both recorded on 5^th March, 1963.

Released on 23^rd August, the fourth single left no one in any doubt that, in the UK, 1963 belonged to the ubiquitous Beatles. At the time, one of the most famous things about 'She loves You' [D1 Track 4] was how frequently they sang the word 'yeah' (29 times!). It was an uncontrived use of a colloquial word but in an England that was not quite yet 'swinging', it seemed a novelty ... daring even. Recorded on the same day - 1^st July - the equally catchy B-side 'I'll Get You' [D1 Track '5] also features regular repetitions of 'yeah'. In this year, The Beatles defined the word prolific. Between the session for 'She Loves You' and the release on 29^th November, 1963 of their next number one, the group recorded fourteen songs for their second album of the year With The Beatles. Such was their confidence that not one track was lifted from it as a single. Instead, 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' [D1 Track 6] succeeded 'She Loves You' as the number one single and remains one of the biggest sellers of all time. The session to record it was held on 17^th October, 1963 and gave The Beatles their first opportunity to take advantage of four-track tape. From the same day's recording, 'This Boy' [D1 Track 7] is a perfect example of the high quality of Beatles B-sides. Their love of American girl groups such as the Shirelles and Marvelettes with their exciting call-and-responses and harmonies had always permeated The Beatles' arrangements. The intricate and tender three-part vocal blend of John, Paul and George on 'This Boy' showed another side of their impressive harmony singing.

In this era, the international music market was much less homogeneous. Hits sung in English were less likely to break into the parochial markets of non-English speaking countries. For this reason, The Beatles were asked to record German language versions of their two biggest hits - translated as 'Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand' [D1 Track 8} and 'Sie Liebt Dich' [D1 Track 9). The German version of 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' consisted of the original instrumental track taken from the four-track tape with new overdubbed vocals and handclaps. The English vocal could not be separated from the recording of 'She Loves You' so their German version is a completely new performance. During this unusual session held on 29^th January, 1964 at EMI's Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris, they also recorded their next number one single 'Can't Buy Me Love'. It became a worldwide hit – proof that foreign language versions were now irrelevant to The Beatles – and was also featured on their next album A Hard Day's Night. The title track was issued as a single on the same day as the LP in July, 1964.

However, The Beatles did record four songs in the first half of 1964 that would not surface on a UK album. The EP (Extended Play) format had proved very popular with Beatles fans, who may not have been able to afford a long player. With usually two songs on each side of a seven-inch disc running at 45rpm, an EP was a more expensive alternative to a single but much cheaper to buy than a deluxe album. It also boosted a glossy picture sleeve rather than a standard paper cover. Four Beatles EPs had been released by February, 1964, which all contained previously issued songs. When a fifth EP arrived on 19^th June, 1964, it proved to be an essential purchase because none of the tracks was released on any other British record during the sixties.

Side one of the EP Long Tall Sally featured two songs recorded on 1^st March, 1964. Little Richard's 1956 hit 'Long Tall Sally' [D1 Track 10) was captured in Just one take and the session had then progressed to the Lennon/McCartney composition 'I Call Your Name' [D1 Track 11}. The song was originally given to Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas, who placed it on the B-side of another gift from their label mates, the 1963 number one 'Bad To Me'. The other side of the EP featured two rock 'n' roll favourites from The Beatles' early repertoire. The Larry Williams composition 'Slow Down' [D1 Track 12] was found on the other side of his minor American hit 'Dizzy, Miss Lizzy' from 1958. The Beatles had learnt 'Matchbox' [D1 Track 13] from a 1957 record by Carl Perkins, who has proudly recalled watching the group revive his song in Studio Two on 1^st June, 1964.

During the sessions for their second album of that year, Beatles For Sale, the group worked on two songs that were eventually saved for a single released on 27^th November. Beatles singles always had ear-catching openings; for example, their previous hit 'A Hard Day's Night' immediately struck the listener with the chime of its unusual first chord. In that vein, 'I Feel Fine' [D1 Track 14] began with distinctive feedback and distortion before the riff kicked in – a pioneering transformation of a technical problem into something mysterious and futuristic. The song was recorded on 18^th October, ten days after the B-side 'She's A Woman' [D1 Track 15) was completed during the afternoon of 8^th October. The single topped both the UK and US charts at Christmas bringing their tally of American number ones during 1964 to six.

With one exception, the songs completed in The Beatles' sessions from the first half of 1965 were released on their fifth album Help! and as two B-sides. The track that slipped through the net in the UK was 'Bad Boy' [D1 Track 16). This Larry Williams cover version was recorded on 10^th May, 1965 and appeared on the US album Beatles VI just a few weeks later. However, British fans were unable to buy 'Bad Boy' until it was interspersed with hits on A Collection Of Beatles Oldies released in December, 1966.

Released on 9^th April, 1965, 'Ticket To Ride' was the first new single of the year and was then followed by the title song of their second movie Help!. Issued on 23^rd July, that record preceded the soundtrack album by two weeks. Both singles were world-wide number ones and had B-sides that could not have been more different. Flip over 'Ticket To Ride' and there was the sensitive ballad 'Yes It Is' [D1 Track 17] – similar to 'This Boy' because of its 12/8 time signature and three-part harmony vocal but also distinguished by on alluring new guitar sound created by a foot-controlled volume pedal. George also used the effect on 'I Need You' recorded on the same day as 'Yes It Is', 16^th February. Turn over the 'Help!' single and 'I'm Down' [D1 Track 18) explodes with Paul's Little Richard-style high-pitched vocal. After it was recorded during the afternoon of 14^th June, 1965, Paul calmed things down in the evening session when he gently sang one of the most famous and well-loved songs of the twentieth century, 'Yesterday'. Now that's versatility!