The Beatles "1" Compilation. Why So Successful when Past Masters Wasn't?

If the unifying concept were "UK A-sides", then "Eight Days A Week" would be out.

 

Yes it has hits, but also non hits and misses quite a few other hits so less lucrative for the casual listener

 

Past Masters was more of a complimentaray release to include the songs not included with the first wave of digital releases. So you'd buy this to complete your collection, otherwise, you'd more likely just pick up the proper albums. I do recall CD releases of most of their singles releases back then. So it wan't like it was the only option to get any of the particular songs.

That being said, most would buy Past Master to be completionist. And those that bought One mostly weren't interested in having any of the albums, but did feel the necessity to own something. There are just more people in that camp.

 

But it's not so it's in.

 

Yes, and that's why "Please Please Me" and "Strawberry Fields" are out.

 

Because Past Masters is a disjointed mess of a listen for many people including me, as well as having totally nondescript art. It also was very expensive to buy those two full price discs. When 1 came out I wasn't impressed with the art, but I've come to realise it's quite striking with it's colours, rather than the crappy monochrome photocopy look of Past Masters. 1 is a one stop easily available album for people who just want a hit after hit single Beatles disc for their collection. It couldn't fail.

I do think it's a shame a double complete UK singles A and B sides CD was never released using all the correct mixes. It would have been fantastic but it's too late now. We're way past the era of physical media and well into the remix era now. In ten years time or so all the Beatles original mixes will be history, consigned to second hand records and CDs.

I haven't played the 1 remixes much, but I know I thought the Paperback Writer one was great. I haven't compared it to the 2022 remix in the Revolver set.

 

No no. It was released at peak CD sales. 80’s was definitely NOT that time.

 

I think 1 was filled to the brim in such a way that only “Her Majesty” might be the only one that fit

 

But only if it was remixed.

 

Doesn't answer the original question, but this came out when I was in middle school and was a springboard to lifelong Beatle Fandom, so I have fond memories

 

Horrible omissions though.

 

They put all the songs on the cd that could fit and then came up with the logic of using only select UK and US charts.

 

That's great to hear. I honestly thought old timers like me were the only ones interested in this album but have slowly learned that it was the springboard for many younger folks. You learn something new everyday!

 

80 minute playing time. Rats!

 

1 is for the chart position. And 1 is also for 1CD. Those cheeky Beatles...

Surprised it didn't arrive in 1997, a year after the last Anthology Album, but 1 served a great purpose for casual fans. Single disc of big Beatles hits to blast on the car stereo! Zoom through their incredible evolution without even opening your CD changer!

The Beatles "problem" when compiling singles is that every single was a hit (Top 10 or so). So a true hits compilation would be a comprehensive collection of every single, which is more than one CD.

So I guess adding the #1 requirement was an objective status filter to trim things to 1 CD (the ultimate goal) as opposed to someone's taste being the filter, which would have been subjective.

We have Red and Blue, which are the subjective compilations (some singles and some album tracks), even with John Lennon himself having input on those. Not sure about the other three.

1 then was the opposite approach, albeit flawed perhaps, but whatever. It was a more objective comp.

 

Timing is everything. The market was ready for a new Beatles comp, and it arrived in the age of streaming. For many young'ins, this was the entry point.

 

I'd also say that I really like the 1+ bluray with all the videos and hi-res tracks. A great rainy day escape.

 

Despite the obvious evidence stated in these sleeve notes we really must defer to certain of our American friends who despite ignoring The Beatles for the whole of 1963, clearly know better than us mere British fans on this subject, you know, the ones who lived through it.

 

That's for the next thread.

 

Most of the big acts tend to put out a new compilation every few years for a new generation. For me it was the flop Beatles 20 Greatest Hits compilation from 1982, when I was eight. This seemed to try and serve the same purpose as 1 in the vinyl and cassette era but it didn't take off. It also missed out Please Please Me and Strawberry Fields Forever, but it was the first time I heard all those big Beatles hits in one go.

The Beatles - 20 Greatest Hits

I had it on cassette. I can imagine the vinyl sounding weak with all that crammed on one record.

 

Past Masters wasn't a Greatest Hits compilation. It was simply all the remaining songs that didn't make it to LP.

 

Sound like a UK version of the US "Hey Jude" album story. Funny how these opportunities pop up.

 

….much better than the 2022.

 

Not number ones in the UK according to the chart that The official Charts Company use. Most charts in the UK (there wasn't a definitive one back then) put Please Please Me at No 1. Some even put Strawberry Fields at no 1 but the one BBC used for TOTP at the time put Please Release Me by Engelbert Humperdinck above it. A travesty that their greatest single was only No 2. I feel the modern position regarding Please Please Me is totally revisionist as it was regarded as a No 1 at time of issue.

 

PPM is such a big step forward from Love Me Do it's a shame and frustrating it's often overlooked. I think it's one of their best singles. A confident lively and energetic rock n' roll single, much more exciting than what else was going on in the UK then, rather than the tentative, flat and nursery rhyme like Love Me Do, especially in it's single version.