Discord & Rhyme: An Album Podcast

Discord and Rhyme is a podcast where we discuss the albums we love, song by song.

127: The Beatles - Beatles For Sale (1964)

“They were rather war-weary during Beatles For Sale… Success is a wonderful thing, but it is very, very tiring.”

–George Martin


Beatles For Sale is a relatively obscure album, to the extent that any Beatles album could be called obscure. This album was recorded at a time when the Beatles were creatively exhausted and almost half of it is covers, which is why it’s often dismissed as one of their weaker efforts. But we don’t think that’s fair. It’s not world-changing, that’s true enough, but it doesn’t have to be. They were still writing interesting, exciting originals, and the covers are (mostly) very well chosen and excellently performed. Once you’ve listened closely, you’ll realize that tracks like “Rock and Roll Music,” “Eight Days a Week,” and “Every Little Thing” are absolutely essential to understanding the Beatles, and even the tracks that aren't as important are still tons of fun. 

Miscellany

  • Beatles For Sale is incredibly well sequenced. Not only do all the songs flow together very well, but “Mr. Moonlight” comes right after “I’ll Follow the Sun” and “Eight Days a Week” is track eight. Very clever. 

  • John Lennon did indeed walk onstage in Hamburg more than once with a detached toilet seat slung around his neck. 

  • George Martin wasn’t the only producer the Beatles worked with. For Let it Be, they decided to give Glyn Johns a try, but they weren’t happy with the results and handed it over to Phil Spector, who created a whole new set of problems. The whole thing was such a palaver that they went back to George Martin for Abbey Road

  • Vee-Jay wasn’t the only smaller American label to pick up the Beatles. There were a couple of other regional labels that got some singles and they were all released around the same time, and that is why the Beatles famously held the top five spots on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week in 1964. 

  • The clip that leads into the band history is “Some Other Guy,” a Lieber and Stoller song that the Beatles covered in their early days. This clip is taken from a recorded performance at the Cavern Club, and Amanda really wishes they’d put that song on Beatles For Sale in place of “Mr. Moonlight.” 

  • The compilation 1 was released in 2000 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Beatles’ breakup. It’s all their number-one hits and it is excellent. 

Other links 

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

  • Amanda Rodgers (host)

  • John McFerrin (moderator)

  • Ben Marlin

  • Dan Watkins 

Beatles for Sale tracklist 

  1. No Reply

  2. I’m a Loser

  3. Baby’s in Black

  4. Rock and Roll Music

  5. I’ll Follow the Sun

  6. Mr. Moonlight

  7. Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!

  8. Eight Days a Week

  9. Words of Love

  10. Honey Don’t

  11. Every Little Thing

  12. I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party

  13. What You’re Doing

  14. Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby 

Other clips used 

The Beatles:

  • Some Other Guy

  • Please Please Me

  • It Won't Be Long

  • I Should Have Known Better

  • A Hard Day's Night

  • No Reply, Take 1 [Anthology]

  • Leave My Kitten Alone [Anthology]

  • Eight Days a Week [Anthology]

  • You Like Me Too Much

  • I'm Looking Through You

  • And Your Bird Can Sing [Anthology]

  • A Real Treat

  • A Hard Day's Night (Live at the BBC)

  • Not a Second Time

  • Mr. Moonlight [Anthology]

Others:

  • Tony Sheridan - My Bonnie

  • Chuck Berry - Rock and Roll Music

  • Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 32: II. Arietta

  • The Beach Boys - Rock and Roll Music

  • Dr. Feelgood and the Interns - Mr. Moonlight

  • Little Richard - Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey

  • Procol Harum - Eight Days a Week

  • Buddy Holly - Words of Love

  • Carl Perkins - Honey Don't

  • Yes - Every Little Thing

  • The Bee Gees - New York Mining Disaster 1941

  • Carl Perkins - Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby

  • Vince Guaraldi & Bola Sete - I'm a Loser

Band/album personnel 

  • John Lennon – lead, harmony and backing vocals; acoustic and rhythm guitars; harmonica; tambourine, handclaps

  • Paul McCartney – lead, harmony and backing vocals; bass and acoustic guitars; piano, Hammond organ; handclaps

  • George Harrison – harmony and backing vocals; lead (6- and 12-string) and acoustic guitars; African drum, handclaps; lead vocals (14)

  • Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine, maracas, timpani, cowbell, packing case, bongos; lead vocals (10)

  • George Martin – piano, producer

Credits 

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

  • Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

  • Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

  • The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

  • Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

  • Herbie Hancock - Hornets

  • Kraftwerk - Autobahn

  • Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

  • The Beatles - What You’re Doing (this episode only) 

You can buy or stream Beatles for Sale and other albums by the Beatles at thebeatles.com, your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich Bunnell, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.

This website and all episodes' discussion/commentary © 2018—2024 Discord & Rhyme. Excerpts from recordings appearing in episodes are included for purposes of review only, and all rights to such material remain property of their copyright holders. Please note that we make a good-faith effort to ensure all information included in these episodes is accurate, but if we get something wrong, let us know at discordpod@gmail.com and we will print a correction in the show notes. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Website design by Amanda Rodgers. Thank you for visiting, and keep as cool as you can.

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