Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

I have to admit I'm always going to be a bit biased when it comes to this record, as an unashamed lover of Motown and doo-wop soul records, any record that contains a respectful cover of Please Mr. Postman is going to go down extremely well with me. I'd be interested to see what someone of today's generation would think of a track like Please Mr. Postman, I completely understand the emotional resonance of the sweet little track and I more than know the feeling. So while I may wait with my phone in hand waiting for a text from a certain little lady or be dashing back and forth to my PC see if I've received her tweet, I can completely relate to the notion of waiting for a letter, Christ that must have been internal torture; but I can't help but wonder if someone aged 13-16 could really relate the sentiment, or whether they'd find the whole notion foolish and dated. I've always felt with the Beatles that there's such a charming and loving innocence to the Beatles music that makes it almost irresistible, there's such something about their sweet harmonies that represents so perfectly that moment when you drop all your preconceptions and totally fall for someone no matter how fleetingly.

So how many reviews start with an emotional discussion of a little remembered throwaway cover? Anyway let's get down to some serious business shall we? Well we'll start with the little history lesson, With The Beatles came out four months after Please, Please Me and it actually came out on the day that JFK was assinated, I guess it's poetic timing half of America probably needed cheering up, and this is still the Beatles at the height of their pure pop genius, music designed to plaster a smile across your face. The astute reader has probably realized this is a very nice way of saying that the Beatles invented that most wretched of foul phenomena: The Boy Band. This by many may be perceived as a tragedy, but it was also an important step for pathing the way for future rock stars the Beatles were proving that boy bands and pop singers could right their own songs and damn it they'd sell five times the number of the covers. With The Beatles was made up of eight Beatles originals and six covers, and really it's a shame it wasn't just four covers.

Some covers are better selected than others, following the formula of Please, Please Me they tried to reflect their early live shows including the cover placement. On this records the covers can feel a little overbearing, even if there are more originals than on Please, Please Me. Please, Mr. Postman and Money (That's What I Want) feel like well chosen classics that add a familiarity to the record, and it's a delight to hear the scouse harmonies wrapping their away around some American soul. Other covers are less well chosen Roll Over Beethoven just sounds horribly out of place, it's easy to understand that they were trying to add some pace to kick off the second half of the record but it just feels like an awkward pastiche rather than a well conceived cover. I'm sure it went down a storm live but on record it just ruins the chemistry of the record developed on side one. Similarly the Smokey Robinson cover of You've Really Got A Hold On Me is stuck in limbo, it sounds out of place, but the Beatles really do bring their own flavour to this track in a way they couldn't to Chuck Berry's work. It's a tough call, it really unsettles the second half of the album yet it's a more than a worthwhile addition to their back catalogue.

The real strenght of album comes on side one, the first seven tracks are a Divine power house of beautiful unrelenting pop music. Kick starting with the Lennon led It Won't Be Long it perfectly encapsulates the Beatles influences from the beat and doo-wop sound into a short, sharp and punchy pop number. Even writing this now I can't stop my head from shaking as McCartney yelps "yeah, yeah, yeah". It's amazing comparing With The Bealtes to a modern pop record, while Justin Timberlake and Beyonce have some brilliant tracks they are surrounded by filler and the albums have clear lulls, yet here the Beatles just fire out these brilliant two minute pop records with unnatural ease. It really is spooky, the Beatles records sound so calm, natural and charming. It sounds as though their just lying on a couch singing just for the fun of it, it's so laid back, natural and effortless. We know it wasn't, given the short recording time, it was most likely a frantic experience but every second of this album feels like a cool summer's breeze, it's fresh, it's light, it's an unashamed delight.

The frustration with With The Beatles is in contrasting side one to side two, on side one everything is perfectly positioned the way it drops from It Won't Be Long to All I've Got To Do into All My Loving before melding into Harrison's Don't Bother Me is sublime, the song placement is just perfect. This record couldn't possible be ordered any other way, it's so deft, it's perfect. This really is something missing in modern albums, songs just seem thrown out their, normally with the hits clustered toward the top end but this record has been expertly designed and crafted, it has a flow and a changing mood. It' hard to pick a stand out on the first half of the record as the Beatles were showing of an incredibly level of pop craftsmanship but it would have to be Don't Bother Me. The first Harrison penned track to make it onto a Beatles LP, and much like his later work it stands out as slightly cooler than your average. The unique candor of his voice really stands his tracks apart even at this early boy band phase. Even in a sweet pop song like Don't Bother Me his work has an edge to it, sure he's in love and wants to hold hands and what not, but he's insular, he sets himself apart and the tracks final verse has a really added punch:

"But till she's here,

It's the only track penned by a Beatle on this record that really has a sense of sorrow or Misery. It's a clear weakness when compared to Please, Please Me it has the pop punch but it lacks that emotional resonance and sense of romantic sorrow that came across so strongly on Please, Please Me. The Beatles work on the second half of the LP still feels effortless but has more workman like quality, you feel Paul McCartney could write Hold Me Tight in his sleep, it's still infectious and charming as all hell but it feels a little empty. Perhaps remarkably the biggest hit on the LP comes courtesy of the Ringo sung I Wanna Be Your man, the vocal cadance is right on the money, and it feels timeless and fresh the second it blares out of your headphones and the guitar breakdown and wails from Paul are perfect, this is early Beatles a the absolute height of their powers. It feels as though they've crammed a pop epic into just two short minutes, yet it never feels too short it's perfectly judged.

With The Beatles is a frustrating listen, not because it's bad, there's hardly a bum note across fourteen tracks the problem is simple; it wows with early promise a rip roaring opening seven tracks and then fades into a hit and miss muddle on the second half. The covers really weigh down the second half of the record in the same way the run of pure Beatles tracks enlivens the first half. Musically it's as tight as ever, the harmonies are gorgeous throughout, who would have though John Lennon's sneer would sound more thrilling than Barrett Strong's croon on Money? Or that four lads from Liverpool would be able to pull of Please, Mr. Postman? But they do, and it's really quite remarkable. The comparisons will always be drawn to the break through Please, Please Me and it's almost a little too similar; it feels like it's lost a little soul and replaced it with a double dose of pop punch, yet it doesn't quite hang together in a satisfying way. However there honestly is little to complain about, With The Beatles only fails by comparison. It's rammed full of pop gems (It Wont' Be Long, All I've Got To Do, All My Loving, Don't Bother Me & I Wanna Be Your Man). There was no way this record could fail it's simply too good, but it couldn't quite thrill us the way that Please, Please Me always would.