The Beatles: Past Masters Volume 1
1988
Parlophone/Capital/Apple
Format I Own it on: Compact Disc
Track Listing: 1. Love Me Do 2. From Me to You 3. Thank You Girl 4. She Loves You 5. I'll Get You 6. I Want to Hold Your Hand 7. This Boy 8. Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand 9. Sie Liebt Dich 10. Long Tall Sally 11. I Call Your Name 12. Slow Down 13. Matchbox 14. I Feel Fine 15. She's a Woman 16. Bad Boy 17. Yes It Is 18. I'm Down
The Beatles: Past Masters Volume 1
Parlophone/Capital/Apple
Format I Own it on: Compact Disc
Track Listing: 1. Day Tripper 2. We Can Work It Out 3. Paperback Writer 4. Rain 5. Lady Madonna 6. The Inner Light 7. Hey Jude 8. Revolution 9. Get Back 10. Don't Let Me Down 11. The Ballad of John and Yoko 12. Old Brown Shoe 13. . Across the Universe 14. Let It Be 15. You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
This is was originally sold as two separate discs but was recently reissued as a two disc set, that looks like this...
"Past Masters" consists of all the Beatles non-album releases (singles, ep's, compilation tracks,etc.).
The first disc covers the early years, from "Please Please Me" through "Help!" This is where you find the band's early smash singles like "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" that caused girls to scream and the guys to get Beatles haircuts...
Simple pop classics! Even the Ringo vocal showcase ("Matchbox") is enjoyable! The only tracks I ever skip are the superfluous German language versions...But even those are entertaining...
As fun as disc 1 is, disc 2 is where we get into the really great shit...This covers the Beatles creative peak from "Rubber Soul" to "Let It Be," and honestly, if you're looking to get into the Beatles, this is a fine place to start...The "Rubber Soul" & "Revolver"-era singles are particularly great...Innovative songwriting and recording techniques abound, like "Day Tripper, and its immortal guitar riff, " the backwards vocals on "Rain," that waltz-time bridge on "We Can Work It Out." Innovative songwriting and recording techniques abound...
There is a bit of a jarring jump from "Rain" to the White Album, since all the 1967 singles are used on "Magical Mystery Tour," It's not a big deal, but it is noticeable..The band sounds audibly older and more cynical on "Ballad of John & Yoko" and "Don't Let Me Down," but they still retained their sense of fun (check out the wacky "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number").
And boy are some of their later singles stunners...The real heart of the record is probably the classic "Hey Jude/Revolution" single...John's raw, raucous take on "Revolution" absolutely blows away the laid-back take used on the White Album and "Hey Jude" establishes an entirely new type of song that's so widely emulated now...The earnest piano ballad with the extended almost gospel-like coda...Paul's finest moment! This is probably the reason we, as a culture, let songs like "Bip Bop" slide...
No, not that WWF...The World Wildlife Fund, who released the compilation "No One's Gonna Change Our World."
"Across the Universe" is one of John's greatest...This song is so great that it isn't even ruined by the band's decision to have some groupies provide the backing vocals! A melody so simple and affecting it's a marvel that it wasn't written before, John finds himself at the cosmic crossroads where Earthly weariness and spiritual longing meet:
"Jai Guru Deva Om,
Nothing's gonna change my world...."
So great! I'm also a pretty big fan of George's shuffling "Old Brown Shoe." Hell, every second of "Past Masters Volume 2" is incredible! I'm telling you...Just go out to your local record store this Friday Night and pick up a copy of this...It's vital, man...
...So let's check out "Piledriver" from the WWF album...(BTW, you must watch this video at all costs)
Alright...Now let's check out "Rain" by the Beatles...
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