Is the Beatles 1962-66 (the 'red' alb) the only record of theirs that you need?

New track lists

1962-1966
1. Love Me Do
2. Please Please Me
3. I Saw Her Standing There
4. Twist and Shout
5. From Me to You
6. She Loves You
7. I Want to Hold Your Hand
8. This Boy
9. All My Loving
10. Roll Over Beethoven
11. You Really Got a Hold on Me
12. Can't Buy Me Love
13. You Can't Do That
14. A Hard Day's Night
15. And I Love Her
16. Eight Days a Week
17. I Feel Fine
18. Ticket to Ride
19. Yesterday

1. Help!
2. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
3. We Can Work It Out
4. Day Tripper
5. Drive My Car
6. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
7. Nowhere Man
8. Michelle
9. In My Life
10. If I Needed Someone
11. Girl
12. Paperback Writer
13. Eleanor Rigby
14. Yellow Submarine
15. Taxman
16. Got to Get You into My Life
17. I'm Only Sleeping
18. Here, There and Everywhere
19. Tomorrow Never Knows

1967-1970
1. Strawberry Fields Forever
2. Penny Lane
3. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
4. With a Little Help From My Friends
5. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
6. Within You, Without You
7. A Day in the Life
8. All You Need Is Love
9. I Am the Walrus
10. Hello, Goodbye
11. The Fool on the Hill
12. Magical Mystery Tour
13. Lady Madonna
14. Hey Jude
15. Revolution

1. Back in the U.S.S.R.
2. Dear Prudence
3. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
5. Glass Onion
6. Blackbird
7. Hey Bulldog
8. Get Back
9. Don't Let Me Down
10. The Ballad of John and Yoko
11. Old Brown Shoe
12. Here Comes the Sun
13. Come Together
14. Something
15. Octopus's Garden
16. Oh! Darling
17. I Want You (She's So Heavy)
18. Let It Be
19. Across the Universe
20. I Me Mine
21. The Long and Winding Road
22. Now and Then

Some awkward choices, they clearly tried to put in more George songs but the additions weren't necessarily his best, and there are some covers don't really belong there even though they're really good. (The one Motown cover I would have added is "Money," easily the one they did that substantially improves on the original, and that's not included.) "Hey Bulldog" is a baffling addition - if you REALLY needed to added an exclusive track from the Yellow Submarine soundtrack, George's "It's All Too Much" would be the one, and strangely that's passed over for other, lesser George songs.

But the two additional songs from Please Please Me are perfect, they were always major omissions. Revolver was egregious underrepresented, so those additions are all welcome. Same with "The White Album." If they're going to add "Now and Then" as bait, might as well add "Free As a Bird" and "Real Love" - anyone who really wants any of the 'reunion' tracks should be rewarded with all three in one place.

Still no « rain »…

Gotta keep that sweetass Past Masters gravy train rollin'...

Assuming they did want to honor some of the old A/B magic by now including..."This Boy" and "You Can't Do That". (I like the latter, but still would trade it for any of the other Lennon Hard Days trax...or "Things We Said Today".)

It's funny how they can expand these like they're doing and <still> miss several radio staples and lesser chart hits & flips. "Matchbox" was a US Top 20 Hit!

Not one of my favorites, but "Birthday" is kind of a massive hit in its own way. I would've added the Abbey Road medley but obviously that would probably take away a lot of sales from the already-heavily-represented album.

It’s always a bit of a mind blower to me that You Won’t See Me is overlooked with these things.

I do recall I’m Only Sleeping coming very high in the official ILX Beatles tracks poll many years ago. Like, in the Top 5 or something.

Disagree with birdistheword about it being a quirky selection, particularly on George. Taxman and Within You Without You feel like obvious picks: I'm not the biggest fan of the former but when I think about omissions from original it's his most famous one; the latter his greatest achievement. If I Needed Someone more of an arguable pick but I love it.

If I were swapping out Roll Over Beethoven for another cover, for balance (and personal taste) I'd probably go for a non-rocker, a girl group cover like Please Mr Postman or Baby It's You. But that's a minor thing.

Hey Bulldog is a riot: I think there's a widely held feeling that it was tucked away on YS so a perfect chance to shine here. I think It's All Too Much wears its deep cut clothes well - leave it where it is.

xp "i'm only sleeping" was top 10 in the poll here yeah, so was "hey bulldog". both are great

some of these additions make perfect sense but others are pretty odd. like, where is "rain"? "getting better" and "good day sunshine" are weird omissions in terms of being ubiquitous from radio play? surely there are better harrison tracks to add than "taxman" and "within you without you", what about "i want to tell you" and "long long long"? why "glass onion" of all things, why not "helter skelter" or "julia"?

"Hey Bulldog" is a baffling addition

huh? this is one of the very best beatles songs.

Yes, it's miles better than "Oh Darling", for instance.

I'd missed that Oh! Darling was in there. Now that is a baffling inclusion.

"Hell Bulldog" has one of my favorite Beatles piano licks.

Very thought-provoking title/opening post! Would be interesting if that user could post again now to show whether their thoughts have changed :)

who is this for? can't people just make their own playlists? haven't people been doing their own CDR mixes since the 90s? couldn't the brand benefit from a bit of a breather for a while or does it require a constant stream of (mostly recycled) content to survive?

some of the selections feel more like "this is important to the narrative" or "this facet of their style needs representation" than "these are the best songs we could fit onto 4 CDs" which is fine I guess but on that note they should have one or both of "happiness" or "money" since almost everything else is just a verse/chorus or verse/bridge situation

I guess they want to be faithful to the original comps for some reason (which fall off rapidly around disc 3 or so afair) but I also would have thought helter skelter's reputation has grown well beyond those of many of the original inclusions and that song strikes me as the most glaring omission here

the one "new" song thing feels like such old school greatest hits marketing but I guess most of the people still buying this shit are the same people that trick worked on back in the day?

Agree it's of little interest. I think some are excited by new mixes of Rubber Soul songs but yeah, if you're not a completist it's all a bit pointless.

i could understand putting out new greatest hits comps just for the sake of it but even where they've ended up with it feels a bit odd idk

i figure full-on rubber soul super deluxe will be coming before far too long with the new mixes anyway?

ilxors in questioning who'd be interested in endlessly recycling Beatles content shocker

sure but there are causes for concern with some of the frantic ~legacy building~ going in recent years especially - paul and ringo have basically embalmed themselves already

it feels like they want to wrap the whole thing up and put it on a pedestal so that everyone worship it in the approved way - just at the point that new generations are finally starting to say interesting things about the beatles which trouble many aspects of the beatle party line. the whole thing feels a little reactionary

unnecessary snark aside i'm just saying there's always been and apparently always will be a market for repackaging Beatles content and as long as there's money to be made there'll be people doing that

if boomers have so much money to spare how come they aren't paying my rent

They're collecting it.

Actually if there's a non-weedy stereo mix of Revolution I'm very into that. As something to stream, that is.

... "Octopus's Garden"?

https://www.thebeatles.com/announcement

5: Revolution (2023 Mix)

😀

I wish these were just new compilations, rather than masquerading as Red and Blue. Those compilations are fine for what they are - a snapshot at what a Beatles best-of was expected to look like in 1973. The names and artworks needn't be revived.

Now and Then not as a CD single? Boo

It's been a long time since I heard the tape my parents used to put on at dinnertime, but I am pretty sure the blue one has the significantly better "Let it Be" guitar solo

I also think “hey bulldog” is one of the best Beatles songs.

It has always irked me that magical mystery tour/yellow submarine were not a proper album, and were there feeling like leftovers.

If you pair both, get rid of the instrumentals and add strawberry fields/penny lane you get one of the best Beatles records and imho a more complete sonic concept than Sgt Pepper’s

the single mix? that's the worse solo IMO (xpost)

Moka OTM

Oh forgot strawberry fields and penny lane are on magical mystery tour… wait were those always there or were they added in the reissues?

they've always been there on the LP

British EP is side one of the US LP (albeit sequenced differently). LP side two is the SFF/Penny Lane and All You Need Is Love/Rich Man singles + Hello Goodbye

Always thought of them as a standalone single with no proper album release. Idk why I forgot about them in there but this makes the case of MMT > Sgt stronger

Oh I love the “baby you’re a rich man” groove too, sad to see it missing but I guess it’s not one of their highlights.

they should try putting a fucking beatles for sale song on red if they’re gonna add anything. still a perfect comp whatever

yeah srsly -- "Baby's in Black" and "No Reply" should've made it.

It's been a long time since I heard the tape my parents used to put on at dinnertime, but I am pretty sure the blue one has the significantly better "Let it Be" guitar solo

― Breakfast at Tiffani Amber Thiessen's (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 26 October 2023 14:29 (forty-five minutes ago)

The blue has the leslie organ-fed solo, which is nice but watery; the LIB album has the stinging rocky solo which I think is much preferable.

Anyhoo back to “hey bulldog” I don’t see why it shouldn’t be included, the yellow submarine ost is def worth a mention in the Beatles story and that song is the def highlight in there. Lennon’s performance is great I love love that sort of blues snarl when he sings the chorus.

Despite having a lot of Beatles cds, I went a long time before I heard Hey Bulldog. Probably heard their version for the first time when the albums were reissued last. I saw Ween around 2006 and they covered it. I thought it was an awesome new Ween song.

absolutely agree that Hey Bulldog is one of the best unheralded Beatles tracks (like And Your Bird Can Sing)

they should try putting a fucking beatles for sale song on red if they’re gonna add anything. still a perfect comp whatever

― ivy., Thursday, October 26, 2023 9:09 AM (sixteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

yeah srsly -- "Baby's in Black" and "No Reply" should've made it.

― hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, October 26, 2023 9:15 AM (ten minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Adding to the absurdity is that in expanding the 62 minute original Red album to two full-length CDs, they have almost 100 minutes to play with, and they still can't fit in these 2 minute songs.

why "glass onion" of all things

probably the movie, sadly

The Walrus Was Benoit

one of the best unheralded Beatles tracks (like And Your Bird Can Sing)

who are the losers who aren't heralding And Your Bird Can Sing???

why "glass onion" of all things

probably the movie, sadly

Plus it's awesome ... and, to Left's point, it more or less sums up the Beatles' mordant self-hagiography

Despite having a lot of Beatles cds, I went a long time before I heard Hey Bulldog. Probably heard their version for the first time when the albums were reissued last. I saw Ween around 2006 and they covered it. I thought it was an awesome new Ween song.

Crucial twitter thread about the new track:

Absolutely cannot wait to hear this song which Paul McCartney said George Harrison refused to keep working on because it was "fucking rubbish".

— Marc Moss-Jones (@kip_saunders) October 26, 2023

pic.twitter.com/A8HNmW1fbe

— Marc Moss-Jones (@kip_saunders) October 26, 2023