The Beatles

Please Please Me:
This has the most noticeable difference of any of the remasters. Tracks like “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Please Please Me” are given justice. Every “ooohhh” and “ahhh” gleams with polish. Call it bubblegum pop if you will, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t fantastic bubblegum pop. A

With the Beatles:
One of the Beatles weaker albums, but the remaster vastly improves it. The six covers on the album are not worth the effort for the most part, though “Roll Over Beethoven” has its moments. Has the first Harrison composition, and while one of the stronger tracks on the album, it’s not in the same league as his later work. The quality is great, but rather subpar original material by their standards (save for the first 3 tracks, all of which continue where Please Please Me left off, and the gem I Wanna Be Your Man). B-

A Hard Day’s Night:
The first album of all original material, Lennon (who primarily wrote the lyrics) shows progress in leaps and bounds as a songwriter. The album of course starts with the chord heard ‘round the world. There isn’t a mediocre song in the bunch. However, the lack of a Harrison penned tune, as well as the minimal input of McCartney, make the album the least varied of all their records. The album has a few downright classics, and also showed the signs of a band that was starting to experiment in the studio. A-

Beatles for Sale:
Often ignored by critics, casual fans, and even big Beatles fans alike, this album doesn’t deserve it. It marked a turning point in the band’s style. While silly love songs still remain, the Lennon compositions continued to shy away from the stigma generally associated with pop music that pop had to be happy. “I’m a Loser” is the standout track of the album, with “Eight Days a Week” being a classic in its own right. The six covers here aren’t as bad as those found on With the Beatles, but they aren’t spectacular, and keep the album from being a masterpiece. B+

Help!:
The album starts off with a bang (and then some), and carries that momentum to the very end (capped off by one of the Beatles best covers, “Dizzy Miss Lizzy”). The title track, “Ticket to Ride”, and “Yesterday” serve as the best songs of the lot. This was the calm before the storm though, so to speak. While a great album, the next few show the band’s clout in the studio. A-

Rubber Soul:
What is there to say about this album? The Beatles first true studio masterpiece. The album contains the first use of sitar in a rock band, played by Harrison, who already started his journey towards spiritual enlightenment. It shows too, since his first truly great moment as a songwriter occurs on the track "Think For Yourself", one of his best compositions. The other members don’t do too badly either, with the beep beeps of “Drive My Car”, and of course “In My Life”, a stupendously amazing song in general. A+

Revolver:
Continuing where Rubber Soul left off, this album pushes boundaries not touched upon before. From the raga rock of the Harrison composition “Love You To” (not the first rock song to experiment with raga, as the Kinks had done this earlier), to the depressing “Eleanor Rigby” (a milestone in music, as it became a number one hit), and the otherworldly production techniques of “Tomorrow Never Knows”. The changes are most noticeable on the more upbeat songs on the album, and “Yellow Submarine” is one of the better remasters done. Another landmark album. A+

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band:
While I may have a soft spot for the album (first non-compilation album I truly loved), the importance and influence of the record can’t be denied. Not a “good” tune in the bunch, as I would consider all of them “great” or better. Along with Pink Floyd’s Piper at the Gates of Dawn, it defined British psychedelia. If you haven’t listened to this album at least once before you’ve died, then you haven’t truly lived. While it may no longer be my favorite album, or even my favorite Beatles album, it’s nearly flawless. A+

Magical Mystery Tour:
The album opens with two good, but not great songs. Then it travels uphill like you wouldn’t believe. The instrumental “Flying” seems to have been noticed by other artists, as The Residents covered it, even if it was only because it is the only song credited to all four Beatles. “Blue Jay Way” is a very good Harrison tune, not his best work, but rock solid. “Your Mother Should Know” is a good mid-tempo, soft rock type of a song, but it leads into one of the Beatles more experimental works ("I Am the Walrus"), and one of their best remembered (despite only being released as a b-side and peaking at 56 in the US). The last five songs of the album are notable, since 3 of them topped the singles chart in the US, and all 5 were top 40 hits. "Hello Goodbye" and "Penny Lane" are two of McCartney’s finest pop songs. “Baby You’re a Rich Man” and “All You Need is Love” are perfect experimental pop pieces, but the best song on the album, and perhaps by the Beatles, is the 8th track of the album, “Strawberry Fields Forever”. The song is perhaps the best psychedelic song of the 60’s, and maybe one of the best songs of all-time. But what do I know. A-

The Beatles (The White Album):
I’ll keep this one short, as it’s a rather long album (30 songs clocking in at over 93 minutes). Contains some of the bands strongest material (the glowing “Back in the USSR”, the utterly beautiful Harrison masterpiece “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, the slow, painful, emotional “Yer Blues”, the screeching guitars of “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide…”, the raw energy of “Helter Skelter”, and the sound collage that is the avant-garde “Revolution 9”). One or two weak tracks on each disc, but 26 out of 30 ain’t bad. A

Yellow Submarine:
If you could call this a studio album (I wouldn’t), it would be the worst the Beatles released. “Hey Bulldog” is a rather strong tune piled in with two recycled from previous albums and two of George's more average compositions. “All Together Now” shows promise, but the boys don’t really take the song anywhere, and the build-up at the end does nothing for me. In fact, I’d like those 2 minutes and 10 seconds back. Further proof that even the Beatles can botch good material. That’s followed by 6 tracks of George Martin orchestral music, which aren’t a)Beatles songs, or b)particularly good. Consider this that one night stand you had with a transvestite at your bachelor party, before a couple of years of fantastic marriage. Too bad you’re going to get divorced. C-

Abbey Road:
The Beatles final truly great album, this should’ve been their grand finale. But that would have been too perfect, wouldn’t it? The non-medley tracks range from great to fantastic, but never dipping below the line (even Her Majesty is different enough that it isn’t a dud). The standout non-medley track to me is I Want You (She’s So Heavy), for it’s ominous nature, sheer emotion, and its bold ending. The album also includes a Ringo composition (“Octopus’s Garden”), which proves that he wasn’t untalented in the slightest. One thing to note, is that he also played what he needed to, not what he wanted to. As for the Medley itself, let’s just say that it’s pretty damn close to musical perfection, and “The End” is a fitting finale. I’ve grown to appreciate this album a lot more in the last six months. Finally starting to see it clearly now. A+

Let It Be:
I might be a little biased, as I find Spector to be a complete hack who was a one-trick pony. This album by no means is bad. Every tune is good to great, but it could have been so much more. Standout tracks include the title song, Get Back, and Across the Universe (though I believe better versions of all can be found elsewhere). Good album, but it was a lousy way to go out for a band like the Beatles. B

Past Masters:
The best place to start if you are new to the band, as it features absolute classics (“I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “I Feel Fine”, “Day Tripper”, “Revolution”, “Rain”, “Hey Jude”), songs found better here than on their albums (“Across the Universe”, “Let It Be”, “Get Back”), and gems (“Don’t Let Me Down”, “The Inner Light”, “Old Brown Shoe”, “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)”). It’s hard to fault an album with that many great songs. In fact, it’s downright impossible. A+