Please Please Me (1963)

I’m still surprised when I hear people refer to early Beatles music as “bubblegum,” partly because the term never came into use until about 1967, when the Ohio Express had hits with songs like “Yummy Yummy Yummy” and “Chewy Chewy,” and partly because I think even these early Beatles have it over most bubblegum (a term that has since been abused anyway practically unto meaninglessness). Sure, you can retcon early Beatles into the definition of bubblegum as “pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is marketed for children and adolescents” (Wikipedia). I still find it fascinating that most 5-year-olds respond positively to the Beatles, notably the early stuff—just as a lot of 14-year-olds seem to go by instinct for Nirvana. There’s something age-specific going on here, but Please Please Me nonetheless is an album for everyone except Beatles grinches. It’s their first album, released in the UK and subsequently mangled and/or sat on in the US. It’s a reasonably typical pop album for 1963, released first in mono and later in stereo, and with covers making up nearly half the songs. That’s actually a low ratio for pop albums in 1963, which were more often affairs of one or two hits and the rest covers. Please Please Me also has a handful of classic Beatles standards—“I Saw Her Standing There,” the title song “Please Please Me,” “Love Me Do,” and “Twist and Shout” (an Isley Brothers cover they made their own), along with two of my favorite Beatles singalongs, “P.S. I Love You” and “Do You Want to Know a Secret.” But the somewhat freakish choice of covers also has a lot to do with what makes this such an interesting album: “Chains,” a 1962 hit by the Cookies, “Anna (Go to Him),” a 1962 hit written and recorded by soul singer Arthur Alexander, “Boys,” a 1960 Shirelles B-side, and, perhaps most remarkable, “A Taste of Honey” and “Baby It’s You,” which would be hits later for Herb Alpert (1965) and Smith (1969), respectively. The Shirelles also got a hit with “Baby It’s You” in 1961. Meanwhile, “Misery” is a Lennon / McCartney original, but I happen to know the song better as covered by the Flamin’ Groovies on Shake Some Action. There’s a lot of pure pleasure in this set of 14 songs, a worthy start to an iconic career. On the question of early Beatles, I don’t think Please Please Me is nearly up to the stellar highs of A Hard Day’s Night, but I like it more than either With the Beatles or Beatles for Sale.