Beatles For Sale (1964)

 



Releaesd at the tail end of 1964 by an exhausted band  that had been running all year to meet contractual obligations, Beatles For Sale is often dismissed as full of filler and lacklustre compared to the great A Hard Day's Night. But for some reason it's one of my most enjoyed albums, and I'd argue one of the most forward looking albums they recorded: by falling back on their natural strengths as a country-ish rock and rockabilly band, and taking a lesson or two from their new toke buddy Bobby D. , The Beatles ended up making music that sounds a lot like what would dominate the airwaves of 1965: folk rock. 

I also think there are more high points on Beatles For Sale than on AHDN and I find the following album Help! onf o the most overrated albums they did. 

There's a sense of fun about Beatles For Sale and songs like "No Reply", "Baby's In Black" and "I Don't Want to Spoil the Pary" are all sparkling gems in their catalogue.  Sure there are a couple of naff cuts, and the album would have been improved by the addition of simultaneous singles like "I Feel Fine" and "She's A Woman", but you can literally take that sentence and apply to it to literally any Beatles album pre-1966.  Highly enjoyable. 

4/5

Back in the day, I had the Beatles 65 album which is similar, but iwth an actually better tracklist: one of those times that Capitol got it right. Later, I had the '87 CD, probably at least twice, and still later the 2009 stereo and mono albums, both of which I still have. Beatles For Sale  is actually one of The Beatles best-sounding albums in stereo, but I still tend to listen to the mono version for some reason.


Coming Up:

All This Useless Beauty - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Alpha Mike Foxtrot -- Wilco

The American Dream

American Idiot - Green Day

Amnesiac Radiohead

Another Life - Another Life

Arrival - ABBA

B

The B-52s

Bachelor No. 2 (Or, The Last Remains of the Dodo) - Aimee Mann

The Ballad of Easy Rider - The Byrds

Bambu - Dennis Wilson

Band on the Run

Bangles EP

The Basement Tapes - Bob Dylan & The Band

BARB

The BBC Sessions -- Belle & Sebastian

The Beatles [The White Album] 

Beatles For Sale 

Beauty and Sadness -- TheSmithereens

Beauty and the Beat -- The Go-Go's

Become What YOu Are - The Juliana Hatfield 3

Before & After - Tim Finn

Beggar's Banquet. The Rolling Stones

Begin Here - The Zombies

Being There - Wilco

The Bends -- Radiohead

Berlin - Lou Reed

The Best of Badfinger

The Best of Dark Horse - 1976-1989 - George Harrison

The Best of Sam Cooke

Best Shots - Pat Benatar

Betchadupa

Between The Buttons - Rolling Stones

Big Canoe - Tim Finn

the Big Express - XTC

Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi - Camera Obscura

Billy Idol

A Bit of Previous - Belle & Sebastian

The Black Album - Prince

Black Gold - Nina Simone

Black List - Alex Chilton

Black Market Clash - The Clash 

Black Sea - XTC

Black Snake Diamond Role -- Robyn Hitchcock

Black Spring - Lush

Black-Eyed Man - Cowboy Junkies

Blind Man's Zoo - 10000 Maniacs 

Blonde on Blonde - Bob Dylan

Blondie

Blood And Chocolate - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan

Blue Kentucky Girl -- Emmylou Harris

Boats Against the Current -- Eric Carmen

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan In Concert: Brandeis University 1963

Book - They Might Be Giants

Bookends -- Simon and Garfunkel

Booker T & The M.G.'s

The Bootleg Series 1-3 Bob Dylan

Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen

Born toDie - Lana Del Rey

Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen

Bossanova - The Pixies

The Both

Boy - U2

The Boy with the Arab Strap - Belle & Sebastian

Boys Don't Cry - TheCure

Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE

Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin

Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road

Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel

Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan

Brutal Youth - Elvis Costello

Bryter Layter - Nick Drake

Buena Vista Social Club

Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield Again

Buoys - Panda Bear

Byrdmaniax - The Byrds



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