The Early Beatles.....essential?

Introducing the Beatles is historically significant (the first Beatles album released in the United States) and the second version, with Please Please Me and Ask Me Why, is a great album, far superior to the Early Beatles. It sold very well during its brief release window. The RIAA certification omits sales of Songs, Pictures and Stories, which is the same album. It also doesn't include counterfeits, which were available in regular stores for years. I've never seen an estimate of the number sold, but based on my time spent in used record stores, I would say a lot.

 

..sorry ' bout that. And I just wanted to add that to make matters worse, Vee Jay reversed the negative for the photo on Introducing The Beatles making them look twisted as well as 15 years older.

 

I agree with version 2 of ITB being a great album and my 8 year old daughter considers it the BEST Beatles album with Abbey Road second I only have version 2 on vinyl but it is an original and not a counterfeit. I have a digital file of version 1 and the flow just isn't as good on the Love Me Do version.

 

I prefer "The Early Beatles" to the Vee-Jay LP. I had no idea that "Introducing" even existed until I saw the counterfeit copies that began appearing in the early 1970s.

 

I agree. I remember getting it for Christmas.

 

My ITB copy. Far from perfect but the vinyl is in great shape other than someone named "Campo" feeling the need to write their name on the edge of the label....as they also did on the cover.

 

Damn right!

 

The only problem with The Early Beatles is it doesn't have "There's a Place" on it. I'm hoping if I ever fall into my parallel universe, it will!

 

If they had to omit one song for another I would have loved to see There's A Place in place of A Taste Of Honey

 

Introducing, ver 1 is missing Please Please Me and Ask Me Why.

Introducing, ver 2 is missing Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You.

Early Beatles is missing Misery and There's A Place. It's also missing I Saw Her Standing There, because this already appeared on Meet The Beatles.

Early Beatles is more readily available, especially stereo and not counterfeit, so I would suggest a stereo copy to complete a Capitol set, if you already have a mono Introducing, ver 2.

Of course the UK and especially the German "Please Please Me" albums are better than any US versions, IMO, and no songs are missing.

 

That's the clincher for me. Quite possibly their best early period original. Without it and "I Saw Her Standing There" the album drags

 

Since I bought all of these as they came out (ITB vers 2 mono, EB mono, then later EB stereo) I say you need them all if you are making a "complete" set, with at least that most common ITB version. You do need The Beatles Story too. For one thing that was the first release of a snippet of the Hollywood Bowl tape. Maybe you don't need mint versions.

I have a clear memory of Vee-Jay's Songs Pictures and Stories (which I didn't have until many years later) in the same table bin as The Early Beatles mono and stereo - imagine like 150 new sealed copies of each on the table (or maybe 150 VJSPS, 250 EB mono and 50 EB stereo) - so examining them all in puzzlement, I bought The Early Beatles mono that day and I still have it.

Between those two Vee-Jay and Capitol albums, I began questioning why things sounded different on different releases.

 

Ironically, although it isn't as common as the other Capitol albums, when you do find a copy, it tends to be in very good condition - primarily because so few people actually played it!

 

That was the case with me. I purchased Introducing The Beatles (Version 2) and the Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You single when they came out. Being a usually money-challenged teenager, I saw The Early Beatles as completely unnecessary.

 

Already owning an original Version 2 Intro The Beatles I picked up a fake (brown border) Version 1 today just so I can have P.S. I Love You on LP.

 

Which is why it sold so poorly compared to other Beatle titles.

 

My copy of Introducing the Beatles opens with "Taxman". I think I have a very rare first pressing.