The Beatles discography

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Image:Nh66833.jpg The Beatles released an impressive thirteen albums in a mere seven years. This was an astonishing achievement considering the relatively short period of time in which they were recorded.

The first four Beatles vinyl albums differ based on their location of release. Those released in the U.S. were of lower sound quality and had some of their songs omitted. Additionally, even though the first four Beatles albums were originally released as both monaural and stereo recordings in the United Kingdom, stereo phonographs were quite rare in England at the time. Naturally, then, George Martin and The Beatles only spent a lot of time on the mono mixes. Many early songs were later remastered by Capitol Records for the US as artificial stereo with bass on one side and treble on the other side, with lots of added echo, to the disgust of many fans today. The Capitol release of Rubber Soul, however, has gained a lot of fans in the years since the release of the British albums on CD. The additions of "I've Just Seen a Face" and "It's Only Love" from "Help!" and the omission of "Drive my Car," "Nowhere Man," "What Goes On," and "If I Needed Someone" gives the album a different, folky flavour.

When it came time to release The Beatles' catalogue on CD, the decision was made to use the original British versions of the albums, since those were the "way The Beatles originally intended them to be". The initial releases of the first four CDs were of the original mono mixes. In 2004, Capitol Records released the first four American albums on CD as a box set and they represent the current official stereo versions. No official stereo mix of the first four British albums had been released on compact disc, but there were plenty of "official looking" bootleg CDs in circulation that include the US stereo mixes and even bear the "Apple" logo. Martin and The Beatles started to spend more time on stereo mixes by 1965. However, many fans believe that the mono versions of Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and the so-called White Album are superior to the stereo mixes.

Many Beatles enthusiasts feel that the current EMI CD releases of the albums do not do them justice. The music was mastered to be played on vinyl, the cutting and playback of which notoriously adds warmth to the recording, and the CDs, produced during the early days of the format, do not compensate for the different medium. Given how important the sound quality of these albums was not only to The Beatles and George Martin, but also from a historical point of view, many purists still only listen to The Beatles albums on vinyl.

Contents

In the UK

This is a listing of the official studio albums released in the UK by The Beatles (not including compilations and the like).

Image:PleasePleaseMe.jpg Please Please Me Parlophone Records (March 22, 1963) - #1 - I Saw Her Standing There, Misery, Anna (Go to Him), Chains, Boys, Ask Me Why, Please Please Me, Love Me Do, P.S. I Love You, Baby It's You, Do You Want to Know a Secret, A Taste of Honey, There's a Place, Twist and Shout
Image:WiththeBeatles.jpg With The Beatles Parlophone Records (November 22, 1963) - #1 - Side one: It Won't Be Long, All I've Got to Do, All My Loving, Don't Bother Me, Little Child, Till There Was You, Please Mr. Postman - Side two: Roll Over Beethoven, Hold Me Tight, You Really Got a Hold on Me, I Wanna Be Your Man, Devil in Her Heart, Not a Second Time, Money (That's What I Want)
Image:HardDayUK.jpg A Hard Day's Night Parlophone Records (July 10, 1964) - #1 - Side one: A Hard Day's Night, I Should Have Known Better, If I Fell, I'm Happy Just to Dance With You, And I Love Her, Tell Me Why, Can't Buy Me Love - Side two: Any Time At All, I'll Cry Instead, Things We Said Today, When I Get Home, You Can't Do That, I'll Be Back
Image:Beatlesforsale.jpg Beatles for Sale Parlophone Records (December 4, 1964) - #1 - No Reply, I'm a Loser, Baby's in Black, Rock and Roll Music, I'll Follow the Sun, Mr. Moonlight, Medley: Kansas City w/ Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Eight Days a Week, Words of Love, Honey Don't, Every Little Thing, I Don't Want to Spoil the Party, What You're Doing, Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby
Image:HelpUK.jpg Help! Parlophone Records (August 6, 1965) - #1 - Help!, The Night Before, You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, I Need You, Another Girl, You're Going to Lose That Girl, Ticket To Ride, Act Naturally, It's Only Love, You Like Me Too Much, Tell Me What You See, I've Just Seen a Face, Yesterday, Dizzy Miss Lizzie
Image:RubberSoulUK.jpg Rubber Soul Parlophone Records (December 3, 1965) - #1 - Drive My Car, Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), You Won't See Me, Nowhere Man, Think For Yourself, The Word, Michelle, What Goes On, Girl, I'm Looking Through You, In My Life, Wait, If I Needed Someone, Run For Your Life
Image:Revolver.jpg Revolver Parlophone Records (August 5, 1966) - #1 - Side one: Taxman, Eleanor Rigby, I'm Only Sleeping, Love You To, Here, There and Everywhere, Yellow Submarine, She Said She Said - Side two: Good Day Sunshine, And Your Bird Can Sing, For No One, Doctor Robert, I Want to Tell You, Got to Get You Into My Life, Tomorrow Never Knows
Image:Pepper's.jpg Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Parlophone Records (June 1, 1967) - #1 - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, With a Little Help from My Friends, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Getting Better, Fixing a Hole, She's Leaving Home, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!, Within You Without You, When I'm Sixty-Four, Lovely Rita, Good Morning Good Morning, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise), A Day in the Life
The Beatles ("White Album") Apple Records (November 22, 1968) - #1 - Side one: Back in the U.S.S.R., Dear Prudence, Glass Onion, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, Wild Honey Pie, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Happiness is a Warm Gun - Side two: Martha My Dear, I'm So Tired, Blackbird, Piggies, Rocky Raccoon, Don't Pass Me By, Why Don't We Do It in the Road?, I Will, Julia - Side three: Birthday, Yer Blues, Mother Nature's Son, Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey, Sexy Sadie, Helter Skelter, Long, Long, Long - Side four: Revolution 1, Honey Pie, Savoy Truffle, Cry Baby Cry, Revolution 9, Good Night
Image:TheBeatlesYellowSubmarinealbumcover.jpg Yellow Submarine Apple Records (January 17, 1969) - #3 - Yellow Submarine, Only A Northern Song, All Together Now, Hey Bulldog, It's All Too Much, All You Need Is Love - Side two: Pepperland, Sea Of Time, Sea Of Holes, Sea Of Monsters, March Of The Meanies, Pepperland Laid Waste, Yellow Submarine In Pepperland
Image:AbbeyRoad.jpg Abbey Road Apple Records (September 26, 1969) - #1 - Side one: Come Together, Something, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Oh! Darling, Octopus's Garden, I Want You (She's So Heavy) - Side two: Here Comes the Sun, Because, You Never Give Me Your Money, Sun King, Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End, Her Majesty
Image:LetItBe.jpg Let It Be Apple Records (May 8, 1970) - #1 - Two of Us, Dig a Pony, Across the Universe, I Me Mine, Dig It, Let It Be, Maggie Mae, I've Got a Feeling, One After 909, The Long and Winding Road, For You Blue, Get Back

Compilations and other releases in the UK

Note: Two double compilation albums, featuring as covers an alternate shot of the photograph originally taken for Please Please Me and a re-creation of that photograph taken in 1969, originally for Get Back, which became Let It Be)
Note: The reason for the Past Masters compilations are so that every song The Beatles released in 1962-1970 could be on a CD. They include singles and B-sides, two songs sung in German, the contents of an EP released in 1964 that had four additional songs, the "single" versions of the songs "Get Back" and "Let It Be", and a version of "Across the Universe" that had bird-like sound effects. Past Masters was also issued as a 2-LP set on November 10 1988.
  • The Beatles Box Set Apple/Parlophone Records (December 5 1988) (contains the official Apple/Parlophone Beatle catalogue on CD including the two Past Masters volumes along with a soft cover book by Mark Lewisohn describing every track in this collection which is contained in a roll top wooden box)
  • Live at the BBC Apple Records (November 30 1994) (Contains 69 songs The Beatles recorded for various BBC radio shows that never were recorded for Parlophone/Capitol/EMI. This collection only emphasises how much The Beatles as the #1 band on the globe worked like dogs in 1963 and 1964, sometimes recording 18 songs in a session for the BBC.) #1
  • Anthology 1 Apple Records (November 21 1995) (Containing early performances, live shows, demos, out-takes in the period 1958 to 1964 and the first "new" Beatles song since the band broke up in 1970) #2
  • Anthology 2 Apple Records (March 18 1996) (Containing unreleased tracks, live shows, demos, and out-takes from 1965 to 1968) #1
  • Anthology 3 Apple Records (October 28 1996) (Containing unreleased tracks, demos, and out-takes in the period 1968 to 1970) #4
  • Yellow Submarine Songtrack Apple Records (September 13 1999) #8
  • The Beatles 1 Apple Records (November 13 2000) (A collection of The Beatles' #1 hits on the Billboard [US] and Melody Maker [UK] charts, including both sides of their double-A sided singles if both hit the top slot. The collection has 27 songs in it.) #1
  • Let It Be... Naked Apple Records (November 17 2003) (Remastered and remixed cut from the original sessions, devoid of arrangements by "re-producer" Phil Spector. The first copies released shipped with a 21-minute Fly on the Wall bonus disc.) #7
  • The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 Apple/Capitol/Parlophone Records (November 15 2004) (A re-issuing of the first four Beatles albums that Capitol released in the US. Both versions, mono and stereo)
  • The Capitol Albums, Volume 2 Apple/Capitol/Parlophone Records (April 11 2006) (A re-issuing of The Beatles albums that Capitol released in the US in 1965. Both versions, mono and stereo)

Christmas records

The Beatles also recorded annual Christmas records for their fan club members. From 1963 to 1969 these were released as 7" flexidiscs on LYN. In 1970 the 7 previous records were put onto a 12" vinyl record. These remain largely unavailable today, with the exception of one track, "Christmas Time Is Here Again", which was edited and released on the Free As a Bird CD single in 1994:

  • The Beatles Christmas Record, LYN 492 (1963)
  • Season's Greetings from The Beatles, LYN 757 (1964)
  • The Beatles 3rd Christmas Record, LYN 948 (1965)
  • Everywhere It's Christmas, LYN 1145 (1966)
  • Christmas Time Is Here Again, LYN 1360 (1967)
  • Beatles 1968 Christmas Record, LYN 1743/4 (1968)
  • Happy Christmas 1969, LYN 1970/1 (1969)
  • From Then to You, (UK) Apple LYN 2154 / The Beatles' Christmas Album (US) Apple SBC 100 (1970)

In Canada

The division of Capitol Records in Canada released three albums and a number of singles in 1963 and 1964 before aligning with the American division and releasing the same albums as in the US. Unlike the US, Capitol of Canada said yes to The Beatles from day one, as many British artists had obtained hit records in Canada previously, unlike in the USA. The first Canadian release was "Love Me Do" on February 4 1963.

In the US

In the United States, as noted above, The Beatles albums were rearranged, retitled and remixed. Some of the US releases were nearly identical to their UK counterparts, often only varying by one or two songs. Most releases contained songs that were also found on other records, which made things difficult for the American Beatles fan trying to purchase the band's entire catalog. By 1967, all US releases matched the UK releases exactly. Some of the US releases included:

  1. Introducing... The Beatles, Vee-Jay Records (July 22 1963) (Version 2 released February 10 1964) #2
  2. Meet the Beatles!, Capitol Records (January 20 1964) (1st Capitol Records release) #1
  3. The Beatles' Second Album, Capitol Records (April 10 1964) (2nd Capitol Records release) #1
  4. A Hard Day's Night, United Artists (June 13 1964) #1 (Reissued on the Capitol label on August 17 1981)
  5. Something New, Capitol Records (July 20 1964) (3rd Capitol Records release) #2
  6. The Beatles' Story, Capitol Records (November 23 1964) #7
  7. Beatles '65, Capitol Records (December 15 1964) (4th Capitol Records release) #1
  8. The Early Beatles, Capitol Records (March 22 1965) (5th Capitol Records release) #43
  9. Beatles VI, Capitol Records (June 14 1965) (6th Capitol Records release) #1
  10. Help!, Capitol Records (August 13 1965) #1
  11. Rubber Soul, Capitol Records (December 6 1965) #1
  12. "Yesterday" ... and Today, Capitol Records (June 20 1966) #1
  13. Revolver, Capitol Records (August 8 1966) #1
  14. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Capitol Records (June 2 1967) #1
  15. Magical Mystery Tour, Capitol Records (November 27 1967) #1
  16. The Beatles ("White Album"), Capitol Records (November 25 1968) #1
  17. Yellow Submarine, Capitol Records (January 13 1969) #2
  18. Abbey Road, Capitol Records (October 1 1969) #1
  19. Hey Jude, Capitol Records (February 26 1970) #2
  20. Let It Be, Capitol Records (May 18 1970) #1

Compilations and other releases in the US

(Past Masters as a 2-LP set was issued by Capitol Records on October 24 1988)

Extended plays (EPs)

UK EPs

Image:BeatlesLongTallSallyEP.jpg

US EPs

Singles

UK singles

US singles

Image:Beatles-singles-the-long-and-winding-road-1.jpg

Bootlegs

See Beatles Bootlegs for a run down of some of the more popular unauthorised bootleg material.

Filmography

External links

The Beatles
John Lennon | Paul McCartney | George Harrison | Ringo Starr
Pete Best | Stuart Sutcliffe
Management
Brian Epstein | Allen Klein | Apple Records
Production
George Martin | Geoff Emerick | Norman Smith | Abbey Road Studios
Official Studio Albums
Please Please Me (1963) | With the Beatles (1963) | A Hard Day's Night (1964) | Beatles for Sale (1964) | Help! (1965) | Rubber Soul (1965)
Revolver (1966) | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) | Magical Mystery Tour (1967) | The Beatles (1968) | Yellow Submarine (1969) | Abbey Road (1969) | Let It Be (1970)
Films
A Hard Day's Night (1964) | Help! (1965) | Magical Mystery Tour (1967) | Yellow Submarine (1968) | Let it Be (1970)
Related Articles
History | Discography | Bootlegs | Long-term influence | Beatlemania | Beatlesque | Fifth Beatle | Paul Is Dead | British Invasion | Yoko Ono | 1960s | Apple Corps
ja:ビートルズの作品