The Beatles, With The Beatles (1963)

To start with I was really only interested in The Beatles from 1965 onwards – the last few albums particularly, post-Sgt Peppers. But I was raised on the band, as much of a cheap and easy cliché as that may be – my folks were big fans, my dad had played in a band that even wore Beatle suits and Beatle boots and had the mop-top hair-dos and all. So as he replaced his record collection with CDs – and picked up “the bread-bin” with all the Beatles albums for some reason this disc really appealed. That opener, It Won’t Be Long, was a revelation. And there was George’s first song and some great covers. But the hits continued on this second album, All My Loving for example. I made a dubbed-tape copy of this, the album fitting on each side of the tape. Round and round it would go. I would then get my own copy of “the bread-bin” box-set. Funnily enough, I’m now doing the opposite of my dad, I’m replacing/upgrading my CDs for the LPs; we’re like ships in the night – going past each other but in different (opposite) directions. I started out with the same idea when buying Beatles vinyl – just a few; just Rubber Soul and Revolver and The White Album and Abbey Road I thought. But then Sgt Peppers and Let It Be followed, and a few compilations too. Now With The Beatles. I’m really happy to have this record. It just might be my favourite (still) from “the early Beatles”. Nearly 50 years old. Crazy.

Sample Track: All I’ve Got To Do

The Vinyl Countdown is a document of every LP I listen to, brand new discoveries and old-old favourites; extremely pre-loved, previously abandoned or with the shrink-wrap having just been removed it’s all here at The Vinyl Countdown