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Tracklisting & More Information
This legendary first Beatles album was released on Friday 22nd March 1963 on the Parlophone label. It topped the charts on 11th May 1963 where it stayed for 30 weeks until it was knocked off the number one spot by 'With The Beatles'. Much of the album was recorded in just one day, under the guidance of George Martin. Unusually the mono edition was issued six weeks before the stereo copies. At the time of release of the album the design of the Parlophone label was in a transition period. The label was being changed from a black and gold design to a black and yellow design. Very few mono copies of Please Please Me were issued with the black and gold labels and have become highly sought after by collectors and when found they are usually in average condition at best due to the amount of parties they were taken to.
The Beatles FIRST official L.P. release. For the ONLY time, the mono version was issued 6 weeks BEFORE the stereo version.
This album contained the "A" and "B" sides of their first two singles, plus ten new songs ALL recorded in one incredible session at Abbey Road. The session cost just £400 and lasted 16 hours.
The album took exactly 6 months to pass the sales figure of 250,000, and went on to sell over half-a-million in the U.K. with world sales of almost two million.
It still holds the record for the longest continuous stay at number 1.
The cover photo was taken at EMI's Manchester Sq. headquarters by Angus McBean, and the sleeve notes are by Tony Barrow.
Whilst trying to think of catchy names for their first album release, George Martin offered the title, "Off The Beatle Track", but this was bypassed. Mr. Martin clearly liked the name, and used it himself in 1964.
MONO/STEREO DIFFERENCES
"Please Please Me" The stereo version has John making a mistake in the words of the final verse, which causes him to chuckle in the final chorus ... these are NOT heard in the mono version
CONDITION
Labels - The labels are in fantastic condition. There is no excessive spindle wear nor any damage, flaking or writing on either side of the labels - the gold print is striking and clearly legible. This is the first pressing with this label design, which credits "Dick James Mus. Co" for Please Please Me, I Saw Her Standing There, Misery, Do You Want To Know A Secret & There's A Place. The second pressing credits Northern Songs for I Saw Her Standing There, Do You Want To Know A Secret, There's A Place & Misery, but retains the "Dick James Mus. Co" credit for Please Please Me.
The vinyl is in wonderful condition. Visually there are several marks apparent on both sides, but all are obviously surface & mostly cosmetic, with the deep grooves and superior quality of 1960's vinyl negating their effect. When played [Wow - These first pressings are the real deal - before mass production got involved!] there is just a little light crackling evident at times but no pops, clicks, skips or jumps. This has been incredibly well looked after and plays a good EX quality.
The Matrix Numbers are XEX 421 - 1N on side one & XEX 422 - 1N on side two.
The EmiTex Inner is still present & free from any marks or splits.
The front of the Ernest J Day laminated flipback picture sleeve is in better than average EX- condition with rich, vibrant colours and no fading. It features a large MONO logo on the far right hand side of the sleeve. There are some areas of laminate creasing, but nothing too obtrusive. The four corners & edges show just a little scuffing. The rear of the sleeve benefits from having secure flipbacks with no evidence of repair, no writing and only minimal discolouration to confirm its age. The 'Printed and Made by Ernest J. Day' text is clearly visible. There is an area of paper loss where the final rounded ends of the flipback would have been, measuring about 1cm to the bottom flip & 1½cm to the top flip. This is the only real defect on an otherwise near perfect sleeve!
All in all, a superb EX copy & an investment grade item in this condition - Fantastic!
Tracklisting :-
1. I Saw Her Standing There
2. Misery
3. Anna (Go To Him)
4. Chains
5. Boys
6. Ask Me Why
7. Please Please Me
8. Love Me Do
9. P.S. I Love You
10. Baby It's You
11. Do You Want To Know A Secret
12. A Taste Of Honey
13. There's A Place
14. Twist And Shout
LP RECORD
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