The Beatles Albums – The Beatles 1962-1966 Red Album

The Beatles ‘Red Album’ was Released in April of 1973 – along with its complement collection, The Beatles 1967–1970 (aka The Blue Album).   

The Beatles/1962—1966 featuring the distinctive shot of the Beatles looking down over the stairwell in EMI’s London headquarters (familiar to U. K. fans as the cover image of the ’63 four-song EP The Beatles [No. 1) is by design a compilation of all the single A-sides released in the U. K. during those early years.   

Said to have been compiled and distributed partly in response to the four-album, 120-minute boxed-set bootleg Alpha Omega (sold mail-order on TV the year before) and partly to expose a new buying public to the Beatles phenomenon, the so-called “Red Album” provides glimpses of some 10 or more albums released in the U. S., U. K., and Canada—drawing heavily on the masterful, Rubber Soul.   

While this collection gives listeners a superb sampling of early Beatles genius, it should not be construed as a “best of” collection nor substitute for the succession of albums featuring these phenomenal hits (most of which hit #1 in the U. S.).  It is simply all the early Lennon/McCartney singles in one compact package.   

A collection of 26 widely-diverse tunes presented on two LPs (or discs), the “Red Album” takes listeners from “Love Me Do” to “Yellow Submarine”–revisiting all the early faves that sent the “Fab Four” to the top of the pop charts (like “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand”), made them matinee idols (with tunes from A Hard Day’s Night and Help), proved their extraordinary brilliance for timeless love songs (like “And I Love Her” and “Michelle”), and made them unrivaled Rock monsters (with groundbreaking, riff-driven songs like “Day Tripper” and “Paperback Writer”).   

More of a Beatles primer than a “selected works,” The Beatles/1962—1966 tracks the tunes that dominated the music charts for the first five years of their astonishing careers—while spotlighting the phenomenal talent that separated them from all other musical artists.   

Reaching #3 in the U. K. and the U.S. (#1 according to Cashbox)–perhaps reflective of the continuing cry for more Beatles music, perhaps an early indication of the unprecedented popularity The Beatles would continue to experience–Beatles/1962—1966 is a fine addition to any Beatles music library, or a great centerpiece from which to build.  Listeners should not, however, expect the thoughtful song-to-song cohesion common to all primary Beatle albums, as this collection is chronological, not conceptual.   

Fans should also be aware that the British and American versions of this collection contain noticeable differences—irrespective of the original releases.  The U. K. version of “I Feel Fine,” for example (disc 1, track 11), famous for its feedback intro, uses what has become known as the “whispering” stereo mix, while the U. S. version the mono mix found on Capital Record’s Beatles ’65.  Similarly, the U. S. version of “Help” (disc 2, track 1) includes the James Bondish action-music lead-in found on the American Help!soundtrack/album–while the U. K. release does not.  There are also discernible differences in tone quality between the original releases of Beatles/1962—1966 and later digitally remastered LPs and CDs of 1993 and 2010, with many old-school purists favoring the warmth of the original vinyl (finding CDs too “thin”).