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
“Some Other Guy” live at the Cavern Club (YouTube)
John’s Beatles reviews (johnmcferrinmusicreviews.org)
Discord & Rhyme’s merch store (TeePublic)
Discord & Rhyme Roll Call
Amanda Rodgers (host)
John McFerrin (moderator)
Ben Marlin
Dan Watkins
Beatles for Sale tracklist
No Reply
I’m a Loser
Baby’s in Black
Rock and Roll Music
I’ll Follow the Sun
Mr. Moonlight
Kansas City/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
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.