1 - Beatles (The)

Advantages: A great tour through Sixties pop
Disadvantages: Would have been nice to have lyrics

...hits. It was at No. 1 for six weeks in the UK, but seems to be much less regarded these days. A very underrated song in my book. 4) This is followed by "I Want To Hold Your Hand", another relentlessly cheerful, feelgood tune ("and when I touch you I feel happy inside"). Maybe it's not the most original piece of music ever written, but who cares? Just get out there and dance the night away! 5) Can't Buy Me Love, for anyone who's seen the film of ...
...up images of John, Paul, George and Ringo fooling around on fire escapes in the middle of a field. Many people tend to play it too fast - one interesting thing about the Beatles' songs is that their tempos are often not what you might expect from reading the lyrics. 6) As promised above, we now move on to A Hard Day's Night. This is a bit of a turning point - it has a little bit more of an edge to it than the earlier songs. It might be considered ... Read review

Advantages: Show some songwriting talent. Loads of songs.
Disadvantages: Very derivative. Influences extremely evident.

Right. This album was first released 12 months ago amid much hype and "next big thing" media writings. Although I bought it at the time of release I thought it was best to let the dust settle before offering my informed and intelligent view on this work and its' writers. A bit of background first. The Beatles are four young scallies from Liverpool. Paul MCcartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. And very talented they appear to be too, ...
...that this group have so obviously modelled themselves on Oasis it's frightening- but more of that later. The name of the album, "One", is presumably a reference to the fact that this is their first release- not exactly genius but slightly more original than, for example, a simple, eponymous "The Beatles". Will the follow-up be entitled "Two" I wonder? Or even "One 2"? (Actually "One 2 One" would have obvious sponsorship possibilities.) As for the ... Read review

Advantages: Spans all their career and has some real gems, great remastered sound
Disadvantages: No. 1 doesn't always mean great! 3 tracks are pretty bad

...just shouldn't have made No. 1. Here's an analysis of each track: 1) Love me do: A little mediocre really, but considering they were new to the recording and music industry, It's not a bad attempt. Good harmonica playing from John, yet this song did not quite convince George Martin... Sounds like a revamped "I love you" sea shanty. 6/10 2) From me to you: Much more typical of their sound. Uses their classic harmonies. "If there's anything that ...
...seems to running on only 1 or 2 harmonies. All the same, miles better than anything you get today. 7/10 9) Ticket to ride: Is it just me, or is this song great? This time, the intro blends beautifully with the rest of the song. Slightly different way of singing, and varied with great guitar riffs. There's a sort of fast bits that speed up, but still fit well into the tune. The lyrics correspond very well with the rest of the tune. By the way, ... Read review

Advantages: Almost every Beatles UK single on one disc
Disadvantages: Questionable omissions [see text]

'27 No. 1 singles on 1 CD', proclaims the sticker on the front of this record. Given that the Beatles had only (only!) 17 UK chart-toppers, unless you count the double A-side 'We Can Work It Out' and 'Day Tripper' as two and adjust the score to 18, fair enough. They had 20 in the US, the last being 'The Long and Winding Road', which never was a single on these shores. A few basic points are difficult to argue with. I can appreciate the views of ...
...our never-ending obsession with them, but they did kick the door of rock'n'roll wide open for this country, sell records on a scale never equalled before or since, and that their back catalogue has always sold well can't be put down solely to EMI's marketing skills. If their records weren't that good, they would have hardly shifted so many units. Let's get to the record in question. Accepting that all compilation CDs are exploitative to some extent, ... Read review

Advantages: The number 1's of the biggest selling band of all time, you can't ask for much more than that. Has introduced a whole new generation to the delights of the Beatles
Disadvantages: Some of the Beatles best tracks are not included. An album released purely to make money???

...cos I'm nice like that. 1 - Love me do 2 - From me to you 3 - She Loves you 4 - I Want to Hold your Hand 5 - Can't Buy me Love 6 - Hard Day's Night 7 - I Feel Fine 8 - Eight Days a Week 9 - Ticket to Ride 10 - Help! 11 - Yesterday 12 - Day Tripper 13 - We can Work it out 14 - Paperback Writer 15 - Yellow Submarine 16 - Eleanor Rigby 17 - Penny Lane 18 - All you need is Love 19 - Hello, Goodbye 20 - Lady Madonna 21 - Hey Jude ...
...voted the number 1, number 1 of all time in a pretty recent channel 4 show and although it may not be my personal choice for that honour there's no denying its quality as a piece of music. After Hey Jude I personally feel the last tracks are a bit disappointing. I know that they had to be included on the album, otherwise it wouldn't have been a collection of #1's and there would have been multiple complaints from fans of the later stuff, but for ... Read review