 | |
List Price: $18.98 | | Label: EMI
Salesrank: 313
Released: September 9, 2009 |
| Our Price: $8.65 |
| Used Price: $10.27 |
|
| Media: Audio CD |
|
Beatles For Sale (Remastered) Track Listing:
1. No Reply
2. I'm A Loser
3. Baby's In Black
4. Rock And Roll Music
5. I'll Follow The Sun
6. Mr. Moonlight
7. Kansas City : Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!
8. Eight Days A Week
9. Words Of Love
10. Honey Don't
11. Every Little Thing
12. I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
13. What You're Doing
14. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
15. Beatles For Sale Documentary
Editorial Review:
The classic original Beatles studio albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the Beatles catalogue has seen since its original release.
Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. The newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.
Beatles Photos
The Beatles Merchandise
The Beatles Rock Band
More from The Beatles
The Beatles Mono Box Set [LIMITED EDITION] | 
The Beatles Stereo Box Set | 
The Beatles [USB] [LIMITED EDITION] |
Description of Beatles For Sale (Remastered):
Banged out in a hurry for the 1964 Christmas market, Beatles for Sale sometimes sounds it, loaded with ill-conceived covers and some of John Lennon's most self-loathing lyrics. On the other hand, the people doing the banging-out were the Beatles, whose instincts for what worked musically were so strong that they could basically do no wrong--any record that has "Baby's in Black," "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" and the delectable "Eight Days a Week" on it is only "minor" in the most relative sense. And, though their voices had been frazzled a bit by constant touring, they revved them up for some joyous shouting, and indulged their fondness for American country in subtle, playful ways. --Douglas Wolk
Beatles For Sale (Remastered) Reviews:
Great Beatles album 
2009-11-24 - Reviewing a Beatles album is no easy task. I think only diehard fans or critics would even attempt it. Everyone else is just giving their opinion. Not quite right? I suppose those who listened to popular music in the sixties would attempt it as well. Again, everyone else is just giving their opinion or betraying their taste in music. For starters, the Beatles music changed from disc to disc. They played a variety of music and were not confined to rock 'n' roll. this disc falls into their mersey-beat era but it is transitional as well and points to the future. If you are someone who does not appreciate 50's rock, or who does not appreciate early-mid sixties British pop and rock, look elsewhere I say. To each his own. If you like trippy music, try their later stuff. This record is just really solid poprock, countryrock and plain old fashioned rock 'n' roll circa 1964. Everyone else doesn't have to like it. In 1964-65, this was really good stuff. I'm saying that and I'm not old enough to remember this disc being released. But I do like a lot of sixties music and can recognize talent and creativity when I hear it. This has always been one of my favorite Beatles albums because of the variety of music. And the thing that I see most reviewers complain about, the lack of originals, is, to me, a bonus! The Beatles were, first and foremost, a performing group. The did play their instruments, and most of their early recordings were practically cut live, just the four of them playing and singing together. Pretty amazing! So this disc is a chance to hear those great cover version they used to play in the clubs with a little added production. Pretty cool. So , no. I enjoy those covers as much as the originals. As another reviewer stated so wisely, this records "faults" are it's virtues. (I'm paraphrasing) For me (and this is my opinion), this record, along with a few others, represents the Beatles very well. And, by the way, all the years I have been listening to it, I never noticed that this album sound ragged and rushed. Isn't that how they sounded night after night playing all those club dates from way back when? And people still loved to hear them.
Digipack or Eco-Wallet?
2009-11-24 - These remasters sound much better than the previous editions.
But the discs come in Eco-wallet cases, not Digipacks.
This means that you don't keep the disc in a plastic tray,
instead, you slide it into the Eco-wallet sleeve.
The difference is that in Digipacks, the surface of the disc is NOT in contact with the plastic, preventing it from scratches, while in Eco-wallets the whole surface of the disc (both sides) comes into contact with the sleeves.
Has anyone seen signs of wear beacause of this on his discs?
Pure pop for now people 
2009-11-23 - Of all the Beatles albums, this one may the most misunderstood. George's jangly Rickenbacker guitar and the moody quality of the Lennon-McCartney originals on this outing, coming at the end of their 1964 teen-pop explosion, not only looked forward to the elegant folk pop of the following year's more refined Rubber Soul, but seemed more than any other of the early recordings in the Beatles catalog to have launched the entire second wave of the British invasion and its American (and global) counterpart, from the Byrds to the Kinks to early Bee Gees and Cat Stevens. It's the most Crosby Stills and Nash of all the Beatles records, and I think I know which way the influence was flowing. To ears also attuned to the DIY ethos of punk and New Wave, to Nick Lowe and the Smiths and Galaxie 500, as well as the obscure twee and indie pop of the 1990s, the Beatles for Sale LP also slips on like a familiar sweatshirt. All in all, it's a hugely important record stylistically, easily the most enjoyable of the Fab Four's first four albums right down to the entertainingly quirky choice of cover versions, and "Eight Days a Week" is just one dandy pop song, one of the tastiest morsels in the entire Beatles candy box. Beatles for Sale is easily my favourite of the group's albums until they came to full rock-and-roll flower in 1967 and after, when finely-crafted studio albums from Sgt Pepper's to The White Album knock it out of the water. Still, if this sweetly moody little record were the only thing the Beatles had ever sold, I'd still buy it.
Weary Beatles lack consistency but not creativity
2009-11-08 - 'Beatles For Sale' is generally regarded as one of the weaker efforts from the Fab Four. Certainly, compared to the all-original 'A Hard Day's Night', an album containing only eight originals and six covers should be seen as a let-down. It's also common knowledge that the band sound very tired and world-weary on the album, as if fame and relentless touring and exhuasted and jaded them. All of this is true. However, despite all this, 'Beatles For Sale' is still a strong album. The resigned, weary feel of the album actually suits the more introspective, Dylan-influenced songs the band have written, and the best songs here showcase a maturing of The Beatles' sound that would become more evident over coming albums.
John Lennon, especially, is beginning to develop the biting, confessional style that would characterise his later work; `No Reply' (a girl who won't answer his calls), `I'm A Loser' (losing his girl affecting his self-worth), `Baby's In Black' (love for a girl who mourns another man), and `I Don't Want To Spoil The Party' (leaving alone rather than sour the mood) are all outstanding examples of this. All four songs showcase more complex and downbeat emotions, in contrast to the boy-like enthusiasm and optimism of their early albums. McCartney's songs aren't as explicitly confessional, but there's a similar sense of insecurity and doubt in `What You're Doing', while the wistful `I'll Follow The Sun' is one of his most under-rated, emotionally affecting ballads.
Among all this introspection, the bright melodies and chiming guitars of `Eight Days A Week' is actually a bit of a surprise. It's clearly the song that most harks back to their infectious early work, although there are still signs of development such as the fade-in and stop/start bridge.
The covers, however, are what let the album down. Sure, the band's first few albums had covers, but these were often inspired, unconventional choices; girl-group, doo-wop, show tunes, and obscure B-sides. In contrast, on 'Beatles For Sale' the band run through fairly standard rock and roll covers; Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Little Richard and Carl Perkins. They're not bad choices, just unimaginative ones. And the execution of these songs is a bit flawed; George Harrison's heavily processed, echoed voice on 'Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby' makes him sound like he's singing through a tin can. And Lennon himself acknowledged his cover of 'Mister Moonlight' was an embarrassment, so perhaps we can all be honest about that one.
The sheer number of covers and their workmanlike-but-not-great execution means the album is a bit too inconsistent to rank among their best work. However, the eight original songs alone are worth buying the album for. That's the deal with `Beatles For Sale'; not perfect, and certainly not their greatest, but its best songs showcase a rapid musical and lyrical development from the band, and cancel out the occasional mis-steps and awkward moments.
Four stars.
Their best record of the early '60s -- an underrated masterpiece from the Fab Four
2009-11-02 - The Beatles' 1964 album 'Beatles for Sale' often is thrown into the dust and often overlooked. And unfairly so, in my opinion. To me, 'BFS' is a better record than both 'Please Please Me' and 'With the Beatles' (although both are great records, don't get me wrong). Released in 1964 on the Parlophone label, the record spawned a #1 hit for the group, 'Eight Days a Week,' considered a classic in their catalogue.
But, there is FAR more to this album than 'Eight Days A Week.' FAR more.
'No Reply' is a great song to listen to if you are down, and 'Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey' just gets you feeling good. These are just examples of the mood changes throughout on 'Beatles for Sale.' At some moments, it's happy and cheerful, much like the prior two records were and 'A Hard Days Night.' Other times, it's gloomy and depressed, and signals the direction (and musical maturity) the boys were heading in.
'Mr. Moonlight' is one of the more underrated songs in the Beatles' catalogue. People often call it one of the worst in their catalogue. They don't know what they're missing. This is a perfectly great song, and it shows Lennon at his gloomiest (by his songwriting).
Another example of Lennon at his gloomiest is 'I'm a Loser.' Perhaps the first genuinely sad song in the Beatles' catalogue (and certainly not the last), The Beatles prove here they weren't just another happy beat group from England.
And the cover photo is just phenomenal. It captures The Beatles at their early best; one look and one can tell it is a genuine photo. The cover is one of the many highlights on 1964's 'Beatles for Sale.'
Overall, don't pass by 'Beatles for Sale.' Sure, it's no 'Rubber Soul' or 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,' for that matter, but it's not a terrible album by any means. In fact, it's a classic Beatles album and one of the best albums of 1964 by a long shot.
I highly, highly recommend 'Beatles for Sale' to any Beatles fan, casual or die-hard. Don't pass this one by. The music here is truly exceptional. Five stars is certainly earned.
ENJOY!!!
