With The Beatles
Review: Revisiting The Beatles’ Early Classic
When we talk about the greatest Beatles albums, it’s usually the same handful of records that dominate the conversation. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Revolver and Abbey Road regularly battle it out near the top of the rankings, and understandably so. But there’s a lot more to The Beatles than their later studio masterpieces. Across a remarkably short recording career, the four Liverpudlians released 12 UK studio albums while constantly changing styles, experimenting with new sounds and seemingly refusing to stand still.
As a result, some of their earliest records can get pushed to one side. That’s why we’re heading back to November 1963 and revisiting With The Beatles, an early powerhouse from a band that was already developing at a ridiculous pace. It might not have the studio experimentation of what was to come, but this is an album that gives us a fascinating snapshot of The Beatles figuring out just how good they could become.
The Sound
Released on 22nd November 1963, With The Beatles was the band’s second album, arriving just months after their explosive debut, Please Please Me. That turnaround alone is worth considering. Today, a band might disappear for three years between records. The Beatles released their first two albums in the same calendar year, all while Beatlemania was beginning to take hold.
With The Beatles captures the group at an interesting point in their story. They were moving from local Merseybeat heroes into a genuine pop phenomenon, but they still had one foot firmly planted in the clubs where they had developed their sound. Much like Please Please Me, the album combines original material with songs taken from the group’s live repertoire. There are eight original compositions alongside six covers, drawing heavily on American rock ’n’ roll, soul and R&B.
Despite the two albums being recorded only months apart, something has already changed. The Beatles sound more confident. The songwriting is stronger, the arrangements are sharper and John Lennon and Paul McCartney are rapidly figuring out what works. George Harrison also gets his first officially released Beatles composition with Don’t Bother Me. The lyrics are still largely concerned with love, relationships and heartbreak, but musically the band is already starting to stretch itself.
The Hits
The album wastes absolutely no time, with John Lennon’s It Won’t Be Long
kicking things off with an explosion of energy. Those infectious yeah, yeah
responses and the sheer urgency of the performance sum up exactly what made early Beatles records so exciting. All I’ve Got to Do
immediately pulls things back and delivers one of Lennon’s best vocal performances on the album. There’s a warmth and vulnerability in his voice that hints at the more introspective songwriter who would emerge over the next few years.
Then comes All My Loving
, one of Paul McCartney’s finest early compositions. Its relentless triplet rhythm guitar gives the song a momentum that makes it feel considerably more sophisticated than a straightforward early-’60s pop tune. It’s short, catchy and brilliantly constructed — a masterclass in getting everything you need into a pop song without wasting a second.
George Harrison also steps forward with Don’t Bother Me
, his first original composition to appear on a Beatles album. Harrison himself was never particularly enthusiastic about the song, but it remains an important moment. More importantly, its darker and slightly cynical attitude introduces another perspective into a Beatles catalogue still dominated by Lennon and McCartney.
Not a Second Time
is another glimpse of where the band could eventually go. Its chord movement and melancholy atmosphere push beyond some of the more straightforward material surrounding it. These aren’t yet the studio experimenters who would make Revolver just a few years later, but you can hear the foundations being laid.
The Covers
Then there are the covers, and they’re just as important to the identity of With The Beatles. These songs provide a snapshot of what the band was listening to, playing and absorbing before becoming the group that everyone else would start copying.
Till There Was You
, originally from the Broadway musical The Music Man, is perhaps the biggest stylistic curveball on the album. The arrangement itself is relatively simple, but George Harrison’s guitar work is beautifully controlled. His solo is melodic, restrained and surprisingly sophisticated, showing a side of Harrison that can sometimes be forgotten when discussing the raw energy of early Beatles records.
The Beatles attack Please Mister Postman
with considerably more force, with Lennon pushing his voice hard enough to give the Motown song a personality of its own. Their version of Chuck Berry’s Roll Over Beethoven
puts Harrison in the spotlight and sounds exactly like the sort of rock ’n’ roll number that had been part of the band's DNA long before Beatlemania arrived.
You Really Got a Hold on Me
is another standout. Lennon and Harrison share the lead vocals in a tight, slightly raspy duet that perfectly suits the song, capturing the emotional pull of American R&B without making it sound like a sterile imitation. Those vocal harmonies appear again on Devil in Her Heart
, originally recorded by the Donays. It’s another reminder of just how deep The Beatles’ knowledge of American music went. They weren’t simply covering the biggest hits of the day; they were digging into records many British listeners would never have encountered otherwise.
And then there’s Money (That’s What I Want)
. The album closer sees Lennon practically shredding his vocal cords as the band turns up the aggression. His performance drips with greed and attitude, bringing the record to a suitably chaotic conclusion. Subtle it isn’t, but brilliant fun it absolutely is.
Killer or Filler?
Not everything on With The Beatles reaches those heights. Little Child
feels fairly disposable compared with the album’s stronger Lennon-McCartney compositions, while Hold Me Tight
, an early McCartney number, sounds like a songwriter still working out exactly what he wants to do. Neither is terrible, but on an album containing tracks such as All My Loving
and All I’ve Got to Do
, the difference in quality is noticeable.
Then there’s Ringo. Continuing what would become something of a Beatles tradition, Ringo Starr gets his moment behind the microphone with I Wanna Be Your Man
. It’s hardly Lennon and McCartney at their songwriting peak, but it suits Ringo perfectly: uncomplicated, energetic and built for a live performance. Interestingly, Lennon and McCartney also gave the song to The Rolling Stones, whose version became an early UK hit for the group. Even one of the lesser Lennon-McCartney compositions was capable of making an impact outside The Beatles.
Final Verdict
With The Beatles isn’t Revolver. It isn’t Abbey Road. And it certainly isn’t the fully formed studio experimentation of Sgt. Pepper. But that’s precisely why it’s such an interesting album. This is The Beatles in motion, only months removed from Please Please Me and already sounding more assured, more sophisticated and more willing to move beyond the formula that had brought them their initial success.
Yes, the subject matter remains dominated by falling in love, wanting someone, losing someone and desperately trying to get them back. The major lyrical leaps are still to come. Musically, though, things are moving quickly. Lennon is particularly impressive throughout. Whether he’s delivering the vulnerability of All I’ve Got to Do
, attacking Please Mister Postman
or tearing into Money
, his voice gives the album much of its character. McCartney is becoming an increasingly polished pop songwriter, Harrison has taken his first step as a composer, and the entire band sounds tighter and more confident than it did on the debut.
There are weaker moments, and the reliance on covers means With The Beatles
can’t quite match the distinctive identity of the albums that would follow. But context matters. This was only their second album, and even more remarkably, it arrived in the exact same year as their first. The Beatles weren't simply riding the success of Please Please Me
. They were already looking for ways to develop their songwriting, arrangements and sound.
The huge creative leaps of the next few years didn’t suddenly appear from nowhere. You can hear the process beginning on records like this. With The Beatles
may forever live in the shadow of Revolver, Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road, but give it another spin and there’s a hungry young band in there, absorbing everything around them and learning frighteningly quickly how to turn those influences into something of their own.
