Beatles for Sale
Encyclopedia
Beatles for Sale is the fourth studio album by the English rock
band The Beatles
, released in late 1964 and produced by George Martin
for Parlophone
. The album marked a minor turning point in the evolution of Lennon and McCartney as lyricists, John Lennon
particularly now showing interest in composing songs of a more autobiographical nature. "I'm a Loser
" shows Lennon for the first time seemingly coming under the influence of Bob Dylan
, whom he met for the first time in New York while on tour, on 28 August 1964.
No single was released in the United Kingdom from Beatles for Sale – the non-album tracks "I Feel Fine
" and "She's a Woman
" performed that role – however, that coupling was followed-up in the United States by "Eight Days a Week
" which became their seventh number one in March 1965.
The album hit the UK number one spot and retained that position for eleven of the 46 weeks that it spent in the Top Twenty. Beatles for Sale did not surface as a regular album in the US until 1987. In its place was Beatles '65
which featured eight songs from Beatles for Sale, plus the A and B-side of "I Feel Fine" and "I’ll Be Back" from the UK's A Hard Day’s Night album. Beatles '65 enjoyed a nine week run at the top of the US charts beginning in January 1965.
(2 June) and the first for Beatles for Sale. Prior to the new recording sessions, the band toured Australia and New Zealand (after a two-show night in Hong Kong), played concerts in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden and made several television, radio and live concert appearances in the UK. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine
of Allmusic said, "It was inevitable that the constant grind of touring, writing, promoting, and recording would grate on the Beatles," leading to the inclusion of several cover version
s after the all-original A Hard Day's Night; the band's visible weariness on the album's cover is noted by narrator Malcolm McDowell
during The Compleat Beatles
. Yet during these sessions they were still capable of recording the single "I Feel Fine
" and its B-side, "She's a Woman
" (both written by Lennon–McCartney, and not included on the album). Gram Parsons
has noted the strong country influence on "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
", and, in fact, a cover version by Rosanne Cash
would top the Billboard
Country charts in 1989. "I'm a Loser
" is also notable for being perhaps the first Beatles song to directly reflect the influence of Bob Dylan, thus nudging folk and rock a little closer together toward the folk-rock explosion of the following year.
and Beatles VI
, all reached number one on the charts in their respective countries, with Beatles for Sale taking over from A Hard Day's Night in the United Kingdom.
On 26 February 1987, Beatles for Sale was officially released on Compact Disc
(catalogue number CDP 7 46438 2), as were three other of The Beatles' albums, Please Please Me
, With the Beatles
and A Hard Day's Night. Almost 23 years after its original release, the album charted in the United Kingdom for a fortnight in 1987. Having been available only as an import in the US in the past, the album was also issued domestically in the US on LP and cassette on 21 July 1987. Even though this album was recorded on four-track tape, the CD version issued in 1987 was available only in mono.
This album has been digitally remastered using the latest technology (along with the rest of The Beatles' catalogue) and was reissued on CD in stereo for the first time on 9 September 2009.
was just past its peak; in early 1964, The Beatles had made waves with their television appearances in the United States, sparking unprecedented demand for their records. Beatles for Sale was The Beatles' fourth album in 21 months. Recording for the album began on 11 August, just one month after the release of A Hard Day's Night, following on the heels of several tours. Much of the production on the album was done on "days off" from performances in the UK, and most of the songwriting was done in the studio itself.
Most of the album's recording sessions were completed in a three-week period beginning on 29 September. The Beatles' producer George Martin recalled: "They were rather war-weary during Beatles for Sale. One must remember that they'd been battered like mad throughout '64, and much of '63. Success is a wonderful thing, but it is very, very tiring."
Beatles for Sale featured eight original Lennon and McCartney works. At this stage in their collaboration, Lennon's and McCartney's songwriting was highly collaborative; even when songs had a primary author the other would often contribute key parts, as with "No Reply" where McCartney provided a middle-eight for what was otherwise almost entirely a Lennon song.
In 1994, McCartney described the songwriting process he and Lennon went through:
, Abbey Road, London. The Beatles had to share the studio with classical musicians, as McCartney would relate in 1988: "These days you go to a recording studio and you tend to see other groups, other musicians ... you'd see classical sessions going on in 'number one.' We were always asked to turn down because a classical piano was being recorded in 'number one' and they could hear us." George Harrison recalled that the band was becoming more sophisticated about recording techniques: "Our records were progressing. We'd started out like anyone spending their first time in a studio—nervous and naive and looking for success. By this time we'd had loads of hits and were becoming more relaxed with ourselves, and more comfortable in the studio ... we were beginning to do a little overdubbing, too, probably to a four-track
."
Recording was completed on 18 October. The band participated in several mixing and editing sessions before completing the project on 4 November; the album was rushed into production and released exactly a month later. The Beatles' road manager, Neil Aspinall
, later reflected: "No band today would come off a long US tour at the end of September, go into the studio and start a new album, still writing songs, and then go on a UK tour, finish the album in five weeks, still touring, and have the album out in time for Christmas. But that's what The Beatles did at the end of 1964. A lot of it was down to naivety, thinking that this was the way things were done. If the record company needs another album, you go and make one."
", which, "consistent in tone with 'No Reply
,' 'I'm a Loser
', and 'Baby's in Black
,'" according to Allmusic, "finds the singer showing up at a party only to find that the girl he expected to find isn't there."
Other McCartney songs on the album included "What You're Doing", which implored the singer's girl to "stop your lying". Although "Eight Days a Week" and "What You're Doing" are well regarded by many fans, they were regarded negatively by their creators; McCartney dismissed "What You're Doing" as "a bit of filler.... Maybe it's a better recording than it is a song...", while Lennon referred to "Eight Days a Week" in a 1980 interview with Playboy
magazine as "lousy". In 1972, Lennon revealed that "Eight Days a Week" had been made with the goal of being the theme song for the Help!
movie:
McCartney considered the Beatles for Sale sessions to be the beginning of a more mature phase for the band:
was quite pleased with "No Reply":
Reviewer David Rowley found its lyrics to "read like a picture story from a girl's comic," and to depict the picture "of walking down a street and seeing a girl silhouetted in a window, not answering the telephone."
")
Rowley found it to be an "obvious copy of Bob Dylan
", as where Lennon refers to the listener as a "friend", Dylan does the same on "Blowin' in the Wind
". He also said its intention was to "openly subvert the simple true love themes of their earlier work".
Unterberger argued that although the song was "sometimes described as a ballad because of its light and mild nature, it's actually taken at a pretty brisk tempo."
George Martin once said that this was his favourite song from Beatles for Sale.
as a counterpoint to pop songs which end in a fade out
.
The British progressive rock
band Yes
included an extended cover of this song on their 1969 debut album and have played their version live on many occasions.
, also considered to be the muse for future Beatles songs such as "I'm Looking Through You
" and "You Won't See Me
" from Rubber Soul
and "For No One
" from Revolver
.
The remainder of the album consisted of cover versions, several of which had been staples of The Beatles' live shows years earlier, especially in Hamburg
, Germany and at The Cavern in Liverpool
, including Chuck Berry
's "Rock and Roll Music
", Buddy Holly
's "Words of Love
", and two by Carl Perkins
, "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby
", sung by Harrison
and "Honey Don't
", sung by Ringo Starr
.
Many critics panned the cover version of "Mr. Moonlight
". Stephen Thomas Erlwine of allmusic called it Lennon's "beloved obscurity" that wound up as "arguably the worst thing the group ever recorded." Q magazine agreed, calling "Mr. Moonlight" "appalling." Rowley noted that the original by Dr Feelgood and the Interns was "hardly outstanding". A cover of Little Willie John
's "Leave My Kitten Alone
" was recorded at the same session, but rejected from inclusion on the finished album; it was widely bootlegged
before seeing official release on 1995's Anthology 1
compilation.
The recording of the medley of "Kansas City" and "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!" was memorable for McCartney, who in 1984 said that it required "a great deal of nerve to just jump up and scream like an idiot." His efforts were egged on by Lennon, who "would go, 'Come on! You can sing it better than that, man! Come on, come on! Really throw it!'" The song was inspired by Little Richard
, who combined "Kansas City" with his own composition, "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!", but Rowley found the lead vocals "strained" and considered it McCartney's "weakest Little Richard cover version" (although McCartney only recorded one other Little Richard cover, "Long Tall Sally", while with The Beatles). However, in contrast to this Ian MacDonald
, in his book Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties
, calls it "One of The Beatles best covers". The original LP sleeve listed the song as "Kansas City" (Leiber & Stoller
). After the attorneys for Venice Music complained, the record label was revised to read "Medley: (a) Kansas City (Leiber/Stoller) (P)1964 Macmelodies Ltd./KPM. (b) Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey! (Penniman) Venice Mus. Ltd. (P)1964."
and returning to the top spot for a week. The album's run in the charts was not complete either; on 7 March 1987, almost 23 years after its original release, Beatles for Sale re-entered the charts briefly for a period of two weeks shortly after the first CD release on 26 February 1987.
, London. McCartney recalled: "The album cover was rather nice: Robert Freeman
's photos. It was easy. We did a session lasting a couple of hours and had some reasonable pictures to use ... The photographer would always be able to say to us, 'Just show up,' because we all wore the same kind of gear all the time. Black stuff; white shirts and big black scarves."
This was the first Beatles album to feature a gatefold cover (the next would be Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
, in 1967). The photo inside the gatefold cover showed The Beatles standing in front of a montage of photos, which some have assumed was the source of inspiration for the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, though there is no evidence for this.
The sleeve notes featured an observation by Derek Taylor
on what the album would mean to people of the future:
, included eight songs from Beatles for Sale, omitting the tracks "Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!", "Eight Days a Week" (a number one hit single in the US), "What You're Doing", "Words of Love", "Every Little Thing", and "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" (flipside to "Eight Days a Week", it reached number 35 in the US and it would hit number one on the US Country chart for Rosanne Cash
when she remade it in 1989). In turn, it added the track "I'll Be Back" from the British release of A Hard Day's Night
and the single "I Feel Fine"/"She's a Woman". The six omitted tracks were finally released in America on Beatles VI
in 1965. Beatles '65 was released eleven days after Beatles for Sale (and just ten days before the Christmas
holiday) and became the fastest-selling album of the year in the United States.
The cover of the Australian release of the LP featured individual photographs of The Beatles taken at one of the group's Sydney concerts in June 1964.
However, even in a somewhat weakened state The Beatles created an album some critics, such as Allmusic, found to be a stepping stone "from Merseybeat
to the sophisticated pop/rock they developed in mid-career."
Additional musicians
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, released in late 1964 and produced by George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
for Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
. The album marked a minor turning point in the evolution of Lennon and McCartney as lyricists, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
particularly now showing interest in composing songs of a more autobiographical nature. "I'm a Loser
I'm a Loser
"I'm a Loser" is a song by The Beatles, originally released on Beatles for Sale in the United Kingdom, later released on Beatles '65 in the United States...
" shows Lennon for the first time seemingly coming under the influence of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, whom he met for the first time in New York while on tour, on 28 August 1964.
No single was released in the United Kingdom from Beatles for Sale – the non-album tracks "I Feel Fine
I Feel Fine
"I Feel Fine" is a riff-driven rock song written by John Lennon and released in 1964 by The Beatles as the A-side of their eighth British single. The song is notable for the use of feedback on a recording for the first time by any musician...
" and "She's a Woman
She's a Woman
"She's a Woman" is a song by The Beatles. It was released as the B-side to "I Feel Fine" in 1964, their last single release that year. It reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 from frequent airplay.-Composition:...
" performed that role – however, that coupling was followed-up in the United States by "Eight Days a Week
Eight Days a Week
"Eight Days a Week" is a song by The Beatles.Eight Days a Week may also refer to:*Eight Days a Week , a 1999 comedy film*Eight Days a Week , a CW sitcom that never aired...
" which became their seventh number one in March 1965.
The album hit the UK number one spot and retained that position for eleven of the 46 weeks that it spent in the Top Twenty. Beatles for Sale did not surface as a regular album in the US until 1987. In its place was Beatles '65
Beatles '65
Beatles '65 is The Beatles' fifth Capitol release, but seventh American album. It was released in mono and stereo versions. The album was also issued in Germany on the Odeon label....
which featured eight songs from Beatles for Sale, plus the A and B-side of "I Feel Fine" and "I’ll Be Back" from the UK's A Hard Day’s Night album. Beatles '65 enjoyed a nine week run at the top of the US charts beginning in January 1965.
Overview
Only six days separated the last full band session for A Hard Day's NightA Hard Day's Night (album)
A Hard Day's Night is the third studio album by The Beatles, released on 10 July 1964 as the soundtrack to their film A Hard Day's Night. The American version of the album was released two weeks earlier, on 26 June 1964 by United Artists Records, with a different track listing...
(2 June) and the first for Beatles for Sale. Prior to the new recording sessions, the band toured Australia and New Zealand (after a two-show night in Hong Kong), played concerts in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden and made several television, radio and live concert appearances in the UK. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic said, "It was inevitable that the constant grind of touring, writing, promoting, and recording would grate on the Beatles," leading to the inclusion of several cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s after the all-original A Hard Day's Night; the band's visible weariness on the album's cover is noted by narrator Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
during The Compleat Beatles
The Compleat Beatles
The Compleat Beatles, released in 1982, is a two-hour documentary, chronicling the career of the "Fab Four". Though it has since been supplanted by the longer and more in-depth documentary Beatles Anthology, The Compleat Beatles was for many years largely regarded as the definitive film about the...
. Yet during these sessions they were still capable of recording the single "I Feel Fine
I Feel Fine
"I Feel Fine" is a riff-driven rock song written by John Lennon and released in 1964 by The Beatles as the A-side of their eighth British single. The song is notable for the use of feedback on a recording for the first time by any musician...
" and its B-side, "She's a Woman
She's a Woman
"She's a Woman" is a song by The Beatles. It was released as the B-side to "I Feel Fine" in 1964, their last single release that year. It reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 from frequent airplay.-Composition:...
" (both written by Lennon–McCartney, and not included on the album). Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
has noted the strong country influence on "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
"I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" is a song by The Beatles, written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on the album Beatles for Sale in the United Kingdom in 1964. In the United States, Capitol released the song on the Beatles VI album and also as the B-side...
", and, in fact, a cover version by Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of the late country music singer Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto Cash Distin....
would top the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Country charts in 1989. "I'm a Loser
I'm a Loser
"I'm a Loser" is a song by The Beatles, originally released on Beatles for Sale in the United Kingdom, later released on Beatles '65 in the United States...
" is also notable for being perhaps the first Beatles song to directly reflect the influence of Bob Dylan, thus nudging folk and rock a little closer together toward the folk-rock explosion of the following year.
Charting
Beatles for Sale and its modified US counterparts, Beatles '65Beatles '65
Beatles '65 is The Beatles' fifth Capitol release, but seventh American album. It was released in mono and stereo versions. The album was also issued in Germany on the Odeon label....
and Beatles VI
Beatles VI
Beatles VI is The Beatles' seventh Capitol Records release in the United States . It was the ninth album released into that market in less than one and a half years...
, all reached number one on the charts in their respective countries, with Beatles for Sale taking over from A Hard Day's Night in the United Kingdom.
On 26 February 1987, Beatles for Sale was officially released on Compact Disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
(catalogue number CDP 7 46438 2), as were three other of The Beatles' albums, Please Please Me
Please Please Me
Please Please Me is the debut album by the English rock band The Beatles. Parlophone rush-released the album on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom to capitalise on the success of singles "Please Please Me" and "Love Me Do" .Of the album's fourteen songs, eight were written by Lennon–McCartney...
, With the Beatles
With the Beatles
With The Beatles is the second studio album by the English rock group The Beatles. It was released on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, and was recorded four months after the band's debut Please Please Me...
and A Hard Day's Night. Almost 23 years after its original release, the album charted in the United Kingdom for a fortnight in 1987. Having been available only as an import in the US in the past, the album was also issued domestically in the US on LP and cassette on 21 July 1987. Even though this album was recorded on four-track tape, the CD version issued in 1987 was available only in mono.
This album has been digitally remastered using the latest technology (along with the rest of The Beatles' catalogue) and was reissued on CD in stereo for the first time on 9 September 2009.
Background
When Beatles for Sale was being recorded, BeatlemaniaBeatlemania
Beatlemania is a term that originated during the 1960s to describe the intense fan frenzy directed toward The Beatles during the early years of their success...
was just past its peak; in early 1964, The Beatles had made waves with their television appearances in the United States, sparking unprecedented demand for their records. Beatles for Sale was The Beatles' fourth album in 21 months. Recording for the album began on 11 August, just one month after the release of A Hard Day's Night, following on the heels of several tours. Much of the production on the album was done on "days off" from performances in the UK, and most of the songwriting was done in the studio itself.
Most of the album's recording sessions were completed in a three-week period beginning on 29 September. The Beatles' producer George Martin recalled: "They were rather war-weary during Beatles for Sale. One must remember that they'd been battered like mad throughout '64, and much of '63. Success is a wonderful thing, but it is very, very tiring."
Song selection
Even the prolific Lennon–McCartney songwriting team could not keep up with the demand for their songs, and with a targeted deadline of Christmas to meet, the band resorted to recording several cover versions for the album. This had been their mode of operation for their first albums but had been abandoned for the all-original A Hard Day's Night. The album included six covers, the same number as their first two albums. McCartney recalled: "Recording Beatles for Sale didn't take long. Basically it was our stage show, with some new songs." Indeed, three of the cover tunes were recorded in a total of five takes in one session on 18 October.Beatles for Sale featured eight original Lennon and McCartney works. At this stage in their collaboration, Lennon's and McCartney's songwriting was highly collaborative; even when songs had a primary author the other would often contribute key parts, as with "No Reply" where McCartney provided a middle-eight for what was otherwise almost entirely a Lennon song.
In 1994, McCartney described the songwriting process he and Lennon went through:
Recording
Recording took place at EMI StudiosAbbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
, Abbey Road, London. The Beatles had to share the studio with classical musicians, as McCartney would relate in 1988: "These days you go to a recording studio and you tend to see other groups, other musicians ... you'd see classical sessions going on in 'number one.' We were always asked to turn down because a classical piano was being recorded in 'number one' and they could hear us." George Harrison recalled that the band was becoming more sophisticated about recording techniques: "Our records were progressing. We'd started out like anyone spending their first time in a studio—nervous and naive and looking for success. By this time we'd had loads of hits and were becoming more relaxed with ourselves, and more comfortable in the studio ... we were beginning to do a little overdubbing, too, probably to a four-track
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
."
Recording was completed on 18 October. The band participated in several mixing and editing sessions before completing the project on 4 November; the album was rushed into production and released exactly a month later. The Beatles' road manager, Neil Aspinall
Neil Aspinall
Neil Stanley Aspinall was a British music industry executive. A school friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he went on to head The Beatles' company Apple Corps....
, later reflected: "No band today would come off a long US tour at the end of September, go into the studio and start a new album, still writing songs, and then go on a UK tour, finish the album in five weeks, still touring, and have the album out in time for Christmas. But that's what The Beatles did at the end of 1964. A lot of it was down to naivety, thinking that this was the way things were done. If the record company needs another album, you go and make one."
Opening tracks
Unusual for pop music at the time, each one has a sad or resentful emotion attached to it. This opening sequence set the sombre overall mood of the album, revisited in another Lennon tune, "I Don't Want to Spoil the PartyI Don't Want to Spoil the Party
"I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" is a song by The Beatles, written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on the album Beatles for Sale in the United Kingdom in 1964. In the United States, Capitol released the song on the Beatles VI album and also as the B-side...
", which, "consistent in tone with 'No Reply
No Reply (song)
"No Reply" is a song by The Beatles from the British album Beatles for Sale and the American album Beatles '65. It was written mainly by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney.-Lyrics:...
,' 'I'm a Loser
I'm a Loser
"I'm a Loser" is a song by The Beatles, originally released on Beatles for Sale in the United Kingdom, later released on Beatles '65 in the United States...
', and 'Baby's in Black
Baby's in Black
"Baby's in Black" is a song by The Beatles, co-written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released in the United Kingdom on Beatles for Sale and in North America on Beatles '65.-Composition:...
,'" according to Allmusic, "finds the singer showing up at a party only to find that the girl he expected to find isn't there."
Other McCartney songs on the album included "What You're Doing", which implored the singer's girl to "stop your lying". Although "Eight Days a Week" and "What You're Doing" are well regarded by many fans, they were regarded negatively by their creators; McCartney dismissed "What You're Doing" as "a bit of filler.... Maybe it's a better recording than it is a song...", while Lennon referred to "Eight Days a Week" in a 1980 interview with Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine as "lousy". In 1972, Lennon revealed that "Eight Days a Week" had been made with the goal of being the theme song for the Help!
Help! (film)
Help! is a 1965 film directed by Richard Lester, starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—and featuring Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill. Help! was the second feature film made by the Beatles and is a...
movie:
McCartney considered the Beatles for Sale sessions to be the beginning of a more mature phase for the band:
"No Reply"
According to Lennon in 1972, The Beatles' music publisher Dick JamesDick James
Dick James , born Reginald Leon Isaac Vapnick, was a music publisher and the founder of the DJM record label and recording studios, as well as The Beatles' publisher Northern Songs.-Early life:...
was quite pleased with "No Reply":
Reviewer David Rowley found its lyrics to "read like a picture story from a girl's comic," and to depict the picture "of walking down a street and seeing a girl silhouetted in a window, not answering the telephone."
"I'm a Loser"
Allmusic singled out "I'm a Loser" as "one of the very first Beatles compositions with lyrics addressing more serious points than young love." (cf. "There's a PlaceThere's a Place
"There's a Place" is a song composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and was first released as a track on The Beatles' British debut LP, Please Please Me...
")
Rowley found it to be an "obvious copy of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
", as where Lennon refers to the listener as a "friend", Dylan does the same on "Blowin' in the Wind
Blowin' in the Wind
"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963. Although it has been described as a protest song, it poses a series of questions about peace, war and freedom...
". He also said its intention was to "openly subvert the simple true love themes of their earlier work".
"Baby's in Black"
Unterberger said this song was "a love lament for a grieving girl that was perhaps more morose than any previous Beatles song". The song features a two-part harmony sung by Lennon and McCartney, similar to that of "If I Fell" on The Beatles' previous album."I'll Follow the Sun"
"I'll Follow the Sun" was a reworking of an old song; it had originally been written when McCartney was a youth, as he related in 1988:Unterberger argued that although the song was "sometimes described as a ballad because of its light and mild nature, it's actually taken at a pretty brisk tempo."
George Martin once said that this was his favourite song from Beatles for Sale.
"Eight Days a Week"
"Eight Days a Week" is noteworthy as one of the first examples of the in-studio experimentation that the band would use extensively in the future; in two recording sessions totalling nearly seven hours on 6 October devoted exclusively to this song, Lennon and McCartney tried one technique after another before settling on the eventual arrangement. Each of the first six takes of the song featured a strikingly different approach to the beginning and ending sections of the song; the eventual chiming guitar-based introduction to the song would be recorded in a different session and edited in later. The final version of the song incorporated another Beatles first and pop music rarity: the song begins with a fade inFade (audio engineering)
In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for film cinematography or theater lighting, in much the same way ....
as a counterpoint to pop songs which end in a fade out
Fade (audio engineering)
In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for film cinematography or theater lighting, in much the same way ....
.
"Every Little Thing"
The dark theme of the album was balanced by "Every Little Thing", a "celebration of what a wonderful girl the guy has", according to Unterberger, that appeared later in the album and had been written as an attempt for a single, according to McCartney:The British progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
included an extended cover of this song on their 1969 debut album and have played their version live on many occasions.
"What You're Doing"
The lyrics are generally believed to concern McCartney's relationship with Jane AsherJane Asher
Jane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
, also considered to be the muse for future Beatles songs such as "I'm Looking Through You
I'm Looking Through You
"I'm Looking Through You" is a Lennon–McCartney song, written mainly by Paul McCartney, that first appeared on The Beatles' 1965 album Rubber Soul....
" and "You Won't See Me
You Won't See Me
"You Won't See Me" is a song by The Beatles, from the album Rubber Soul. Though credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was written by Paul McCartney. This is one of the few songs where McCartney sings lower harmony while Lennon and Harrison sing higher harmony together.-History:The song is about a crisis...
" from Rubber Soul
Rubber Soul
Rubber Soul is the sixth studio album by the English rock group The Beatles, released in December 1965. Produced by George Martin, Rubber Soul had been recorded in just over four weeks to make the Christmas market...
and "For No One
For No One
"For No One" is a song written by Paul McCartney that originally appeared on The Beatles' seventh album, Revolver. A baroque pop song about the end of a relationship, it was one of McCartney's most mature and poignant works upon its release...
" from Revolver
Revolver (album)
Revolver is the seventh studio album by the English rock group The Beatles, released on 5 August 1966 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin. Many of the tracks on Revolver are marked by an electric guitar-rock sound, in contrast with their previous LP, the folk rock inspired Rubber...
.
Cover songs
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany and at The Cavern in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, including Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
's "Rock and Roll Music
Rock and Roll Music
"Rock and Roll Music" is a song written and recorded by rock and roll icon Chuck Berry which became a hit single in 1957 and has been covered by many artists....
", Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
's "Words of Love
Words of Love
"Words of Love" is a song written by Buddy Holly and recorded by him on April 8, 1957. Holly harmonized for himself, by tape-recording each part and combining them. The song was not a notable hit for Holly, although it is regarded as one of his important recordings, and is available in most...
", and two by Carl Perkins
Carl Perkins
Carl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...
, "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby
Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby
"Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" is a 1957 song written by Carl Perkins and originally released on the Sun Dance Album of ... Carl Perkins. A song with the same title was written in the mid-1930s by Alabama-born country songwriter Rex Griffin. Griffin recorded the song for Decca Records in 1936...
", sung by Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
and "Honey Don't
Honey Don't
"Honey Don't" is a song written by Carl Perkins, originally released on January 1, 1956 as the B-side of the "Blue Suede Shoes" single. Both songs became rockabilly classics...
", sung by Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
.
Many critics panned the cover version of "Mr. Moonlight
Mr. Moonlight (song)
"Mr. Moonlight" is a song written by Roy Lee Johnson, best known for being covered by The Beatles on the 1964 albums Beatles for Sale in the United Kingdom and Beatles '65 in the United States.-Different versions:...
". Stephen Thomas Erlwine of allmusic called it Lennon's "beloved obscurity" that wound up as "arguably the worst thing the group ever recorded." Q magazine agreed, calling "Mr. Moonlight" "appalling." Rowley noted that the original by Dr Feelgood and the Interns was "hardly outstanding". A cover of Little Willie John
Little Willie John
William Edward John was better known by his stage name Little Willie John. Many sources erroneously give his second name as Edgar...
's "Leave My Kitten Alone
Leave My Kitten Alone
"Leave My Kitten Alone" is a 1959 R&B hit, written by Little Willie John, James McDougal and Titus Turner, first recorded by Little Willie John, and covered in 1960 by Johnny Preston. The song is also the 22nd song on the second disc to The Beatles' Anthology 1...
" was recorded at the same session, but rejected from inclusion on the finished album; it was widely bootlegged
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
before seeing official release on 1995's Anthology 1
Anthology 1
Anthology 1 is a compilation album by The Beatles, released by Apple Records in November 1995. It was released as the first part of the Anthology trilogy of albums with Anthology 2 and Anthology 3, all of which tie-in with the televised special The Beatles Anthology. It contains "Free as a Bird",...
compilation.
The recording of the medley of "Kansas City" and "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!" was memorable for McCartney, who in 1984 said that it required "a great deal of nerve to just jump up and scream like an idiot." His efforts were egged on by Lennon, who "would go, 'Come on! You can sing it better than that, man! Come on, come on! Really throw it!'" The song was inspired by Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
, who combined "Kansas City" with his own composition, "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!", but Rowley found the lead vocals "strained" and considered it McCartney's "weakest Little Richard cover version" (although McCartney only recorded one other Little Richard cover, "Long Tall Sally", while with The Beatles). However, in contrast to this Ian MacDonald
Ian MacDonald
Ian MacCormick was a British music critic and author, best known for Revolution in the Head, his forensic history of The Beatles which borrowed techniques from art historians, and The New Shostakovich, a controversial study of the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich...
, in his book Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties
Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties
Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties is a 1994 book by British music critic and author Ian MacDonald detailing every record The Beatles ever produced...
, calls it "One of The Beatles best covers". The original LP sleeve listed the song as "Kansas City" (Leiber & Stoller
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...
). After the attorneys for Venice Music complained, the record label was revised to read "Medley: (a) Kansas City (Leiber/Stoller) (P)1964 Macmelodies Ltd./KPM. (b) Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey! (Penniman) Venice Mus. Ltd. (P)1964."
Release
Beatles for Sale was released in the United Kingdom on 4 December 1964. On 12 December, it began a 46-week-long run in the charts, and a week later knocked A Hard Day's Night off the top of the charts. After seven weeks, the album's time at the top seemed over, but Beatles for Sale made a comeback on 27 February 1965, by dethroning The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and returning to the top spot for a week. The album's run in the charts was not complete either; on 7 March 1987, almost 23 years after its original release, Beatles for Sale re-entered the charts briefly for a period of two weeks shortly after the first CD release on 26 February 1987.
Album design
The downbeat mood of the songs on Beatles for Sale was reflected in the album cover, which shows the unsmiling, weary-looking Beatles in an autumn scene photographed at Hyde ParkHyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, London. McCartney recalled: "The album cover was rather nice: Robert Freeman
Robert Freeman (photographer)
Robert Freeman is a photographer and designer, most famous for his album cover photos for The Beatles and his design work on the end credit sequences of their first two films and the related film posters and advertising materials....
's photos. It was easy. We did a session lasting a couple of hours and had some reasonable pictures to use ... The photographer would always be able to say to us, 'Just show up,' because we all wore the same kind of gear all the time. Black stuff; white shirts and big black scarves."
This was the first Beatles album to feature a gatefold cover (the next would be Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...
, in 1967). The photo inside the gatefold cover showed The Beatles standing in front of a montage of photos, which some have assumed was the source of inspiration for the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, though there is no evidence for this.
The sleeve notes featured an observation by Derek Taylor
Derek Taylor
Derek Taylor was an English journalist, writer and publicist, best known for his work as press officer for The Beatles...
on what the album would mean to people of the future:
North American release
The concurrent Beatles release in the United States, Beatles '65Beatles '65
Beatles '65 is The Beatles' fifth Capitol release, but seventh American album. It was released in mono and stereo versions. The album was also issued in Germany on the Odeon label....
, included eight songs from Beatles for Sale, omitting the tracks "Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!", "Eight Days a Week" (a number one hit single in the US), "What You're Doing", "Words of Love", "Every Little Thing", and "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" (flipside to "Eight Days a Week", it reached number 35 in the US and it would hit number one on the US Country chart for Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of the late country music singer Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto Cash Distin....
when she remade it in 1989). In turn, it added the track "I'll Be Back" from the British release of A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (album)
A Hard Day's Night is the third studio album by The Beatles, released on 10 July 1964 as the soundtrack to their film A Hard Day's Night. The American version of the album was released two weeks earlier, on 26 June 1964 by United Artists Records, with a different track listing...
and the single "I Feel Fine"/"She's a Woman". The six omitted tracks were finally released in America on Beatles VI
Beatles VI
Beatles VI is The Beatles' seventh Capitol Records release in the United States . It was the ninth album released into that market in less than one and a half years...
in 1965. Beatles '65 was released eleven days after Beatles for Sale (and just ten days before the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
holiday) and became the fastest-selling album of the year in the United States.
Australian release
Although the LP was released with an identical track listing to the UK version, EMI Australia changed the cover art. The reason for this was due to a union rule stating that either new artwork had to be made for overseas albums or the original cover was to be photographed. John Lennon complained to EMI Australia at a meeting about the changes, but the cover remained the same until the album's release on compact disc in 1988.The cover of the Australian release of the LP featured individual photographs of The Beatles taken at one of the group's Sydney concerts in June 1964.
Reaction
The band, which in the previous year had grown weary of performing for screaming audiences, followed the contemporary standard industry practice of including covers in order to maintain an expected level of productivity which many later artists would consider excessive. Q found the album title to hold a "hint of cynicism" in depicting The Beatles as a "product" to be sold. Nevertheless, Erlewine said, "the weariness of Beatles for Sale comes as something of a shock."However, even in a somewhat weakened state The Beatles created an album some critics, such as Allmusic, found to be a stepping stone "from Merseybeat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
to the sophisticated pop/rock they developed in mid-career."
Track listing
Chart positions
| Chart | Year | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
1964 | 1 |
| 1965 | ||
Personnel
The Beatles- John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
– lead, harmony and backing vocals, rhythmRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
and acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
s, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, handclapsClappingA clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often in a constant drone to express appreciation or approval , but also in rhythm to match sounds in music and dance... - Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
– lead, harmony and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, piano, Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, handclaps - George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
– harmony and backing vocals, leadLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
and acoustic guitars, African drum, handclaps, lead vocals on "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" - Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, tambourine, timpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, cowbell, packing case, bongosBongo drumBongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
, lead vocals on "Honey Don't"
Additional musicians
- George MartinGeorge MartinSir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
– piano and producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Personnel per Mark LewisohnMark LewisohnMark Lewisohn is an English author and historian, regarded as the world's leading authority on the English rock band The Beatles.-The Beatles and related subjects:...