The Beatles ‘Please Please Me’ Review: A Look Back at The Fab Four’s Debut Album on the 60th Anniversary
The Beatles changed everything about pop music when they released Please Please Me on March 22, 1963. The title song was the first of several Fab Four hits that didn’t surprisingly didn’t hit No. 1, but the chart placement of one song hardly matters. Please Please Me contains a few misses, but The Beatles’ debut album was a surprisingly strong premier that set the table for what came the rest of the decade.
The Beatles’ debut album ‘Please Please Me’ contains several highlights
The Fab Four released Please Please Me on March 22, 1963, in England. Ringo Starr counts in the lead track “I Saw Her Standing There” with an enthusiastic “one, two, three, four!” making it clear The Beatles are about to display the confidence they honed playing their residencies in front of rowdy German fans in Hamburg.
And they did.
The best songs from Please Please Me — the title track, “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Misery,” and “Twist and Shout” among them — display nuggets of what made the Fab Four an international sensation. Covers comprised much of the track listing, but the originals provided many of the highlights.
“Please Please Me” showcases sugary sweet melodies, expert harmonization, George Harrison’s solid guitar work, and Ringo’s understated yet effective drumming anchors it all. Oh, and John Lennon’s solid harmonica playing sets the first melodic hook in the song. It’s a snapshot of what the following seven years had in store for Beatles fans.
Several songs feature the vocal harmonies The Beatles used throughout their career. Ringo flashes some of the fancy stickwork that helped him change drumming forever (check out his fill on “There’s a Place” or the snare rolls on “Please Please Me”). George’s solos on “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Boys” make it clear he came to The Beatles as a talented guitar player.
The running order is a secret weapon on Please Please Me. When the Fab Four slow down the pace, they respond with upbeat tunes to regain listeners’ attention.
The Fab Four had a couple of missteps on their debut
The breezy “I Saw Her Standing There” and the succinct “Misery” get us to “Anna (Go to Him).”
Ringo’s excellent high-hat work, John’s impassioned vocals, and background vocal harmonies are worth hearing, but the cover is a slow, plodding song. It’s the longest track from The Beatles’ first album. The track listing saves the day as the more melodic “Chains” swoops in and revives the album. From there, it’s a breeze to reach the raucous “Boys” and the infectious title track.
It’s easy to overlook “There’s a Place” near the end of Side 2, but it’s an urgent pop tune that picks up the pace after the languid “Honey” nearly brings the proceedings to a stop. And just like that, we’re at “Twist and Shout,” a Beatles cover song they made famous.
Still, the fact that The Beatles stumbled just a couple of times on their debut is impressive. They recorded Please Please Me in a one-day marathon recording session. They hadn’t spent that much time in the studio before.
‘Please Please Me’ is an exceptionally strong debut
Many bands get to spend as much time as they want to make their debut albums. The Beatles didn’t have that luxury.
The Fab Four had already scored a top-20 hit (“Love Me Do”) and a No. 2 (“Please Please Me”) in England before they recorded the bulk of the album in February 1963. They were under a microscope, and they delivered.
Once Please Please Me made it on the English charts in early April, it locked down the top spot for an incredible 30 weeks, per the Official Charts Company. It spent 70 weeks on the charts. Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road are the only Beatles albums with longer tenures.
Perhaps most impressively, Please Please Me was the first of eight straight Beatles studio albums to reach No. 1. Magical Mystery Tour broke the streak in 1968. For a debut to leave such an impact underscores The Beatles’ mastery of their craft and music fans’ desire for a new sound in the early 1960s.
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