Much like their debut, With The Beatles is a story of covers and originals, although this time seven of the eight original tunes are from the Lennon/McCartney Brill Building - on this record, we see the debut of George Harrison as a songwriter with the moody "Don't Bother Me". While Harrison will become a far more significant contributor in future Beatles releases from 1965 onwards, his first whack at it here certainly doesn't disappoint - I'd argue it's one of the most atmospheric tunes on the album, even, with its rich percussion and mysterious performance style. The rest of the originals here largely follow the same mold as what you're likely expecting, and that is the simple love song. Even by late 1963, the lads were experts at this game, and tunes like the mean rhythm playing on the single-worthy "All My Loving" or the unbeatable rock energy of "Hold Me Tight" (a holdover from their first album) have all the appeal for Beatles fans who are more than happy with that sound. Some moments also satisfy beyond these classics such as the excellent opening track "It Won't Be Long", the even better following track of "All I've Got to Do", or the unique structure of "Not a Second Time", which makes for a fitting penultimate moment. These moments are coupled with a definite finer polish that wasn't afforded to their debut, which makes the entire product feel much more like a refining of their first album. It's not all gold record-tinted glasses, though, and moments like the predictable "I Wanna Be Your Man" or the shamelessly sloppy "Little Child" probably sit as some of the duo's weakest early cuts.
The same can truly be said for the album's covers, which are much more mixed in quality than the steady energy of the renditions of Please Please Me. Even more egregious than having "Devil in Her Heart" here, though, is the fact that you can much more clearly identify the cover songs as covers in most cases, even if they do spirited versions here - the versions found on their debut fit right in with The Beatles' sound, to the point where some of their covers became definitive versions. I've known at least one person who thought "Twist and Shout" was a Beatles song. While some songs like George's lead on Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven" (there he is) or Paul's beautiful take on "Till There Was You" or even the bombastic power of "Please Mister Postman" do capture the same energy, they don't feel nearly as unique. Still, some of these covers certainly please - special shoutouts to the version of "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" here, which I'd liken to this album's darker version of "Anna", albeit Smokey Robinson was always better than Arthur Alexander. Still, a great rendition. The group's rendition of "Money" certainly isn't bad either, although it's no surprise to me that they never really did it live - it's blatantly trying to cash in on that "Twist and Shout" money (pun certainly intended), but it isn't nearly as ass-kicking.
Of course, whether or not With The Beatles is better than this album or that album didn't matter in 1963 or '64 the year after - The Beatles were now truly The Fab Four, an international phenomenon coming to a country near you. With The Beatles would carry the torch of Beatlemania into the next year, as would it's arguably better US counterparts in Meet The Beatles and Second Album. I used to be in a place where I found this to be a big improvement over their debut, and in some ways it is - now in my ripe old age of 17, I'm not so sure, but that doesn't make the album any less special or lovely to me. With The Beatles is still a great look at what exactly made The Beatles pop in these early days - grab yourself this and the "I Want to Hold Your Hand Single" that released one week later, and you've got the start of a phenomenon. More Beatles is never really that bad a thing, and when you're with The Beatles on this album, the charm speaks for itself.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to With The Beatles.
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