The Early Beatles is The Beatles’ sixth album on Capitol Records, and their eighth album for the American market, released on March 22, 1965. It reached #43 on the Billboard LP’s chart.
The Early Beatles resembles more of an early compilation because all of the tracks had previously been featured on the early 1964 Vee-Jay release Introducing… The Beatles.
Vee-Jay had gained American rights to the tracks before the group became popular in America (because Capitol, the US division of EMI which owns The Beatles’ record label Parlophone, had refused to release the group’s records), and their releases had initially failed to chart. But after the group became popular, Vee-Jay, still having the rights to the early material, was able to re-release them in America and this time the records sold in the millions. Capitol tried to stop Vee Jay from releasing the tracks, but were not successful. In October 1964, Vee-Jay’s license to distribute the Beatles recordings they possessed expired, so Capitol were finally able to get the American distribution rights for the album.
Though Vee-Jay had compiled four Beatles albums in the space of just fifteen months from these sessions (all of which charted), when released on Capitol, the album still sold, but its highest chart position was only #43, thus making it the only original Capitol or United Artists released Beatles album not to reach #1 or 2 (with the exception of the Capitol documentary album, The Beatles’ Story which peaked at #7). Capitol did little to promote the album since the label merely viewed it as a replacement for the Vee-Jay LP, rather than a “new” Beatles album.
ORIGINAL SLEEVE NOTES
Great hits by John, George, Paul and Ringo, newly released on Capitol Records
Early birds all over the United States – millions of them – got the bug for the Beatles in the first weeks of 1964. The eleven great songs in this album were among those that launched the Beatles. They appeared then on another record label. They appear now for the first time on Capitol – added, with pride and pleasure, to the fine Capitol treasury of Beatles recordings which, together, constitute an unprecedented phenomenon of entertainment history.
COVER
Photo, taken in London’s Hyde Park, which had been used on the back cover of the UK release, Beatles For Sale.
TRACKS:
Side one
“Love Me Do” (Lennon–McCartney) – 2:23
“Twist and Shout” (Phil Medley and Bert Russell) – 2:33
“Anna (Go to Him)” (Arthur Alexander) – 3:00
“Chains” (Gerry Goffin and Carole King) – 2:27
“Boys” (Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell) – 2:25
“Ask Me Why” (Lennon–McCartney) – 2:28
Side two
“Please Please Me” (Lennon–McCartney) – 2:00
“P.S. I Love You” (Lennon–McCartney) – 2:05
“Baby It’s You” (Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Williams) – 2:38
“A Taste of Honey” (Ric Marlow and Bobby Scott) – 2:04
“Do You Want to Know a Secret” (Lennon–McCartney) – 1:59
