Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!
..... ..... .....

The Ultimate Collection Vol. 1

The Early Years, 1962, Decca Tapes Revised, Right Speed

Disc One of the "Ultimate Collection volume 1"
Yellow Dog, YDB101, 1994

1Like Dreamers Do2:38 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
2Money (That's What I Want)2:25 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
3Till There Was You3:01 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
4The Sheik Of Araby1:43 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
5To Know Her Is To Love Her2:37 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
6Take Good Care Of My Baby2:29 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
7Memphis, Tennessee2:22 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
8Sure To Fall (In Love With You)2:04 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
9Hello Little Girl1:41 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
10Three Cool Cats2:26 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
11Crying, Waiting, Hoping2:04 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
12Love of The Loved1:53 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
13September in the Rain1:57 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
14Besame Mucho2:41 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
15Searchin'3:05 Monday January 1, 1962, Decca Studios, London
16I Saw Her Standing There3:11 Rehearsal Early 1962 at the Cavern, Mathew Street, Liverpool
17The One After 9093:13 Rehearsal Early 1962 at the Cavern, Mathew Street, Liverpool
18The One After 9093:!8 Rehearsal Early 1962 at the Cavern, Mathew Street, Liverpool
19Catswalk1:24 Rehearsal Early 1962 at the Cavern, Mathew Street, Liverpool
20Catswalk1:24 Rehearsal Early 1962 at the Cavern, Mathew Street, Liverpool
21Some Other Guy2:12 Declicked Acetate (bonus track)

Liner Notes from Booklet

Tracks 1 to 15: The Beatles' audition for Decca Records. Taped on New Year's Day 1962 at Decca Studios: 165 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, London.
These numbers were previously available on Yellow Dog's 'The Silver Beatles Original Decca Tapes' (YD 011), but they are presented here completely revised and speed-corrected for the first time. You'll clearly notice each of the songs sounding much brighter and shiny, plus the fact that they go on for a few extra seconds. All of these tapes were carefully de-noised and de-clicked, producing the best possible sound quality ever available.
Supervised by A&R assistant Mike Smith, the four Liverpudlians John, Paul, George and Pete Best) played that early Monday morning fifteen songs carefully selected by Brian Epstein, three of which were Lennon-McCartney originals: Hello Little Girl, Like Dreamers Do and Love Of The Loved. Being shakingly nervous with so much at stake, this Decca audition ccrtainly won't have been their most spontaneous session of all time. Mike Smith, however, who'd already heard them perform at the Cavern Club one month earlicr, seemed clearly impressed with the group's musical and creative achievements. And so The Beatles' horizon looked brighter than ever before, each of them, on the way home, believing they had a good chance of soon signing their first major recording contract. Impressed or not, we all know the sad ending of this story: Dick Rowe (Decca's head of Artists & Repertoire) favoured contracting this other group, Brian Poole And The Tremeloes instead, most probably having sleepless nights over missed millions ever since. At the time, he said: "The Beatles won't go Mr. Epstein- guitar groups are on the way out. You have a good record-business in Liverpool, why not stick to that?"

Tracks 16 to 20: The Beatles rehearsing at the legendary Cavern Club, down Liverpool's Matthew Street. Originally dated as having been recorded sometime in October 1962, this tape definitely dates from one sunny spring afternoon in March 1962.
These five tracks were also all previously released, and are also featured on Yellow Dog's own The Silver Beatles Original Decca Tapes' (YD 011). De-noised and de- clicked, they now present a far better sound quality.
I Saw Her Standing There is a slower and heavier version of this well-known song, with John playing his harmonica during the intro and accompanying Paul's vocals on the middle verses. Both of them can be heard laughing over mistakes in the lyrics and in-between solos clearly still to be worked at. The two versions of The One After 909 are both very early, slow versions, though quite like the ones later recorded for EMI on Tuesday March 5, 1963. John occasionally fluffs the lyrics. Catswalk is a Lennon- McCartney original, a 1:24 instrumental give-away, released in 1967 by the Chris Barber band and re-titled Cat Call. This Cavern session uncovers two very early versions of a song which is rumoured to be studio-taped by the boys themselves on the occasion of their first-ever recording session for EMI on Wednesday June 6, 1962. That's just three months following this rehearsal.

Track 21: An attractive and unique bonus to this boxed set edition is an original acetate recording of The Beatles performillg one of their best-ever Rock 'n' Roll covers: Some Other Guy, penned by the legendary trio Leiber, Stoller and Barret. This acetate, presented here de-clicked and de-noised, was sold at auction in December 1982. A unique and previously unheard glimpse of our boys live on stage at The Cavern Club, filmed by Granada Television on Wednesday August 22, 1962. As always, their performance is introduced by Cavern DeeJay Bob Wooler. This two- sided acetate was one of how many (?) pressed by manager Brian Epstein, celebrating the televised success of his soon to be "Fab Four", and sold at his own NEMS record shops to Cavern-dwellers and Beatles followers. The recorded version of Some Other Glly is slightly different from anything we've heard before. Rising from the private circles now, this is your chance to hear what our boys really sounded like on stage, back then.

Rick's Beatleg Page