With the Beatles, the Beatles, 1963, :33
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The second Beatles album. I’ve never actually heard this album all the way through. In fact, I think I have never so much as heard maybe six of these songs, ever. Some Beatles fan I am! In my opinion, the Beatles' godlike songwriting skills tend to overshadow their very solid interpretation ability. They should get more credit for it. Their rollicking "Please Mr. Postman" overshadows the original, and even Chuck Berry and Smokey Robinson's material, if not definitively redone, are given a bold new energy by these four daring lads from Liverpool. Some favorite tracks: "I Wanna Be Your Man," "It Won’t Be Long," "Hold Me Tight," "You Really Got a Hold On Me."
