Review Summary: Somewhat pleasing…
By the time The Beatles had released their first single they were a road hardened rock n roll band, young in age but not in skill or drive. The few years they’d spent playing gruelling hours in Hamburg’s grotty dives for pittance forced the Liverpudlian quartet to get good at what they did, if only to satisfy the drunken German punters enough to not jump up on stage and clobber them with alcohol-driven fists. And what they did at this early stage was play 50’s inspired rock music with a relentless energy – something which their debut LP,
Please Please Me resonates to a mostly accomplished standard.
The youthful exuberance and fresh-faced, straight ahead lyrical approach is the definite appeal of
Please Please Me, as it doesn’t reach the levels of grandeur the band’s later albums achieved in terms of creativeness. Those versed only in mid-to-late sixties Beatles might be in for a minor shock when spinning the record for the first time, not because it’s terrible – far from it, in fact – but merely because it fails to reach the standard set by the group in their, arguably much stronger, senior years.
It’s not because the album features just over half a suite of original Beatle compositions, as Lennon/McCartney cuts such as ‘P.S. I Love You’ are some of the weakest, most anachronistic tunes on offer anyway. But rather because the band, despite the tight musicianship and obvious passion (willing to work relentlessly all day to churn out the entire record in less than 24 hours) hadn’t really developed as artists. The lyrics, from start to finish, are about love, love and nothing but love. The subject matter isn’t a problem in itself, but the samey, simplistic and unchallenging lyrics are, becoming less charming and more tedious as the record travels closer to its end.
But that’s only one side of the coin, as
Please Please Me contains more than a few belters, and, generally speaking, rarely disappoints despite its issues. As mentioned previously, the Beatle-penned numbers are a tad hit and miss, but when they do hit they’re a joy. ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ still grooves today, while ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘Misery’ offer uninhibited pop delights. The pair share the same love-based subject matter but offer two distinctly different views on the topic, both musically and lyrically – the former being a rambunctious, harmonica driven boomer, whilst the latter deploys a slower tempo, without losing any catchiness.
Most of the songs are charming and enjoyable; even though they sound similar, their brief, naked approach (not one song lasts for over 3 minutes) saves them from becoming a nuisance, and ensures the track list is a rapid but joyous ride. There is still a star of the show however, and it’s undoubtedly the Lennon-led cover of ‘Twist and Shout’. Famous for being recorded in one take at the end of a hard day’s playing, Lennon’s rough and ready vocals steal the show and truly make the song
his. Even with a cold, his gruff howl is brimming with a passion and vigour rarely matched by bands, past or present, and ensures the track remains a delight over 40 years on.
Please Please Me is a solid, enjoyable and charming album, but is sadly mired by its samey lyrics which fail to venture out of 2 minute love song turf. But when it works,
Please Please Me offers glistening hints at the potential these four lads held even at this early chapter in their story, with tracks such as ‘Love Me Do’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘Misery’, ‘Twist and Shout’ and the title-track all standing tall as pop gems, albeit ones that are slightly shakier and far less impactful than the band’s later work is today.
