US Release date : Friday, April 10, 1964
By The Beatles • LP • Part of the collection “The Beatles • The original US LPs”
Last updated on March 13, 2016
Previous album Jan 20, 1964 • "Meet the Beatles! (Stereo)" by The Beatles released in the US
Radio show Mar 30, 1964 • From Us To You
Radio show Apr 04, 1964 • Saturday Club
Album Apr 10, 1964 • "The Beatles' Second Album (Mono)" by The Beatles released in the US
Session Apr 16, 1964 • "A Hard Day's Night" session #6
TV show Apr 18, 1964 • The Morecambe And Wise Show
Next album Jun 26, 1964 • "A Hard Day's Night (Mono)" by The Beatles released in the US
This album was recorded during the following studio sessions:
Written by Chuck Berry
2:48 • Studio version • B2 • Mono • Mono made from [B] by Capitol
Paul McCartney : Bass, Handclaps Ringo Starr : Drums, Handclaps John Lennon : Handclaps, Rhythm guitar George Harrison : Handclaps, Lead guitar, Vocals George Martin : Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 30, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 29, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
2:05 • Studio version • B1 • Mono • Mono made from [B] by Capitol
Paul McCartney : Bass, Vocals Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Harmonica, Rhythm guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Lead guitar George Martin : Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Mar 05, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Mar 13, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Written by Smokey Robinson
3:05 • Studio version • B2 • Mono • Mono made from [B] by Capitol
Paul McCartney : Bass, Harmony vocals Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Lead vocals, Rhythm guitar George Harrison : Harmony vocals, Lead guitar George Martin : Piano, Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 18, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 29, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Written by Richard Drapkin
2:29 • Studio version • B2 • Mono • Mono made from [B] by Capitol
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass Ringo Starr : Drums, Maracas John Lennon : Backing vocals, Rhythm guitar George Harrison : Lead guitar, Vocals George Martin : Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 18, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 29, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Written by Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy
2:50 • Studio version • B2 • Mono • Mono made from [B] by Capitol
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Rhythm guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Backing vocals, Lead guitar George Martin : Piano, Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 18, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Recording: Jul 30, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Sep 30, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 29, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
2:39 • Studio version • A • Mono
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass, Cowbell Ringo Starr : Conga, Drums John Lennon : Lead guitar, Vocals George Harrison : 12-string rhythm guitar, Backing vocals George Martin : Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Feb 25, 1964 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Feb 26, 1964 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Written by Richard Penniman / Little Richard, Enotris Johnson, Robert Blackwell
2:06 • Studio version • B • Mono
Paul McCartney : Bass, Vocals Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Lead guitar, Rhythm guitar George Harrison : Lead guitar, Rhythm guitar George Martin : Piano, Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Mar 01, 1964 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Mar 10, 1964 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
2:14 • Studio version • A • Mono
Paul McCartney : Bass Ringo Starr : Cowbell, Drums John Lennon : Rhythm guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Lead guitar George Martin : Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Mar 01, 1964 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Mar 04, 1964 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Written by Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland, Robert Bateman
2:37 • Studio version • B2 • Mono • Mono made from [B] by Capitol
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Rhythm guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Backing vocals, Lead guitar George Martin : Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 30, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 29, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
2:09 • Studio version • A2 • Mono • Mono made from [A] by Capitol
Paul McCartney : Bass, Handclaps, Vocals Ringo Starr : Drums, Handclaps John Lennon : Harmonica, Rhythm guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Backing vocals, Handclaps, Lead guitar George Martin : Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 01, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Jul 04, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
2:26 • Studio version • A2 • Mono • Mono made from [A] by Capitol
Paul McCartney : Bass, Vocals Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Rhythm guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Lead guitar, Vocals George Martin : Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 01, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Jul 04, 1963 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
From Wikipedia:
The Beatles’ Second Album is the Beatles’ second Capitol Records album, and their third album released in the United States including Introducing… The Beatles released three months earlier on Vee-Jay Records. The Beatles’ Second Album replaced Meet the Beatles! at number one on the album charts in the US.
In 2004 The Beatles’ Second Album was issued for the first time on compact disc (catalogue number CDP 7243 8 66877 2 2), (CDP 7243 8 66878 2 1) as part of The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 boxed set and was issued in a miniature cardboard replica of the original album sleeve. In 2014, the album was released on CD again, individually and included in the Beatles boxed set The U.S. Albums.
Music
With the massive popularity of Meet the Beatles! and a desire for additional Beatles product as well as an available backlog of some 25 songs yet to be released by Capitol Records, it was decided to compile a follow-up album as soon as possible. The Beatles’ Second Album was the first album of the group’s work to be assembled by Capitol Records exclusively for the US market — Meet the Beatles! was a reconfigured, abridged version of With the Beatles. Second Album was a poutpourri collection that did not represent the Beatles’ output at the time; the end result was an assembly of material from nearly a half-dozen sessions and sources. Capitol compiled the album using additional songs from four different UK releases. Included were the five remaining tracks from With the Beatles. Also included were “Thank You Girl” (the B-side to the single “From Me to You“), the single “She Loves You“/”I’ll Get You“, “You Can’t Do That” (the B-side to the single “Can’t Buy Me Love“) from the upcoming A Hard Day’s Night UK soundtrack, and two new songs, “Long Tall Sally” and “I Call Your Name“, both released two months later in the UK on the Long Tall Sally EP. Capitol Records engineers, headed by record executive Dave Dexter, Jr., drenched the stereo versions with echo and reverb to give the songs the sound of a live performance. The effect is more noticeable on the tracks culled from With the Beatles, as those were recorded in two-track stereo. Allmusic said that “The Beatles’ Second Album stands as probably the best pure rock & roll album ever issued of the group’s music” because the album “avoid[s] any trace of the pop ballads favored by Paul McCartney that usually slowed down the group’s other early albums, and the result was the longest uninterrupted body of then-hard rock & roll and R&B in their entire output.”
The inclusion of “Thank You Girl” in stereo marked the only stereo version of the song released on any US or UK album for over 40 years, until another stereo version was released on the 2009 remastered edition of Past Masters. The Beatles’ Second Album stereo version of “Thank You Girl” was also included on The Beatles Beat, a German LP release, as well as the original 2004 CD issue of The Beatles Second Album included in The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 boxed set. Since echo was added, this version remains a rarity. The Capitol album mix is also unique in that its version contains three additional harmonica riffs — two during the bridge and one at the end. For its US-album debut, Capitol took this stereo version and transferred it into a two-to-one stereo-to-mono mixdown for the mono album release, thus creating an alternative mono mix of the song. The stereo version of “Money” also underwent the same two-to-one stereo-to-mono mixdown, thus creating another alternative mono mix.
For the mono version of “I Call Your Name“, the cowbell comes in at the very beginning of the song; the stereo version features the cowbell after the beginning of the vocal. Harrison’s opening 12-string guitar phrase is also different between the mono and stereo versions. On “Long Tall Sally“, reverb was added to the stereo version. The mono version of “You Can’t Do That” is different from the version on UK A Hard Day’s Night LP for unknown reasons. Missing from The Beatles’ Second Album, also for reasons unknown, was “From Me to You“, the single for which “Thank You Girl” was the B-side. The song was only released as a single from Vee Jay Records (re-issued by Capitol in 1965 as a “Star Line” single); it would not appear on an album in the US until the 1973 compilation 1962–1966 (also known as “The Red Album”).
In Canada, this could not be The Beatles’ second album (Beatlemania! With the Beatles and Twist and Shout had preceded it, making it their third LP), so a slightly different track listing was released to the Canadian market with similar cover art under the title The Beatles’ Long Tall Sally. This longer (12-song) Canadian album did not include “Money“, “Thank You Girl” or “She Loves You” but instead had “I Want to Hold Your Hand“, “I Saw Her Standing There“, “This Boy” and “Misery“. In 1968, The Beatles’ Second Album, The Early Beatles and Meet the Beatles! were released in Canada, though the earlier Canadian LPs remained in print (eventually with stereo mixes) until the CD era precipitated their deletion. […]
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