ALBUM REVIEW: The Beatles - Beatles for Sale

    Even by mid-1964, The Beatles were beginning to become exhausted with the whole... being The Beatles thing. Keep in mind, their success was so sudden and hot that it certainly came as a surprise to each of them - in just one year they went from scrappy rock and rollers with a single in the charts to a worldwide phenomenon that in many ways kept the sun ever raised over the British Empire. Even with the success, adoration, and money that came with being the Fab Four, burnout is naturally going to set in - in 1964 alone, they released four albums, an EP, three singles, and one feature-length film. Naturally, you might be a little tired afterwards, no matter how Fab you are, and The Beatles were certainly tired. If their haggard faces on the melancholic front cover isn't apparent enough, Beatles for Sale plays like an album of sheer burnout. In many ways, Beatles for Sale is the final demarcation line between old and new; their growth becomes ever more apparent on cuts throughout this album, and yet so much of the album plays like a backwards step from the all-original pop masterpiece of A Hard Day's Night, and the result remains one of the more controversial albums within Beatles discourse to this day.

    To be a little clear, the bona-fide Beatles material on this record is, for the most part, some of their strongest material up to this point, and when you couple in the "I Feel Fine" single backed with "She's a Woman", it's clear that we're entering a brilliant era of Bealtemania (fun fact: "She's a Woman" was improvised by Paul in 20 minutes in the studio). Many of the original cuts on Beatles for Sale are not only some of their most inventive yet, but also stand as strong pop compositions in their own right. Part of this new influence comes from the folk genre, due in part to The Beatles crossing paths with one Bob Dylan in August of 1964 (who may very well be due for his own catalog run in the future...). Many of the new cuts contain a strong influence from this genre, be it the undoubtedly Dylanesque cut from John in "I'm a Loser" with harmonica solo and all or the sweetness of "Every Little Thing", which I used to call a weak moment, but now I find its pop hook infectious - it may be one of their best early love songs. Outside of "Every Little Thing" and the US Number One "Eight Days a Week", the original cuts are steeped in a lot more melancholy and sadness than their previous albums, with songs like "No Reply", "What You're Doing", "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party", and the semi-on-the-nose "Baby's in Black" all focusing heavily on failed relationships and heartbreak; the latter is literally about someone's partner mourning the loss of their ex. Moments like "What You're Doing" and "I'll Follow the Sun" remain amongst the album's most powerful moments, as The Beatles have never sounded so artistically mature.

    So the original songs are great, but it's ultimately in some of these covers where you'll find a faltering album. Yet again, we're back at eight originals and six covers filling the bill, which I already think is telling of the group's burnout. Even more telling is the group's actual performances, which range from the impassioned renditions of Little Richard and Chuck Berry tunes with "Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!" and "Rock and Roll Music" respectively to the pure tedium of "Honey Don't" and "Mr. Moonlight". While the latter remains one of the most maligned songs in The Beatles' cannon, I may actually find "Honey Don't" to be a more unlikable cover - to me, this is the most lifeless cover The Beatles have ever done. Pure going through the motions on this track, with not even Ringo mustering up enough energy to sound like his heart is in it, not to mention the sleepy playing and what might be George's most standard solo he's ever ripped out - it doesn't help that the song sounds virtually identical to album closer "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", where George at least tries to sound like he cares. Keep in mind that they had ripped out a pretty good cover of "Leave My Kitten Alone" for these sessions that seemingly went unreleased for 30 years, and the fact that you haven't even noticed that I didn't mention the cover of "Words of Love" yet, and that should give you an idea of the real scope of these cuts. Even the good ones leave something to be desired - "Rock and Roll Music" may be the definitive version here, but it ain't no "Please Mister Postman". Hey, at least it isn't The Beach Boys version.

    I have a complicated history with Beatles for Sale - on one hand, I find it underrated for how great the original cuts are, as well as the hints of artistic growth that are showing their first signs of budding on this release; for that alone, it is to be commended. On the other hand, however, it's that sound of sheer burnout that can only be summarized as "we need a second album this year? Ringo! Get on the mic, we're doing 'Honey Don't'!" that makes Beatles for Sale easily amongst their most tired releases of their catalog. While this ultimately does place Beatles for Sale amongst the lower echelon of their catalog, it's for all the right reasons why it still remains a more than enjoyable enough album - you couldn't burn out better than this, after all.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Beatles for Sale.