File:Nh66833.jpg"My Bonnie" / "The Saints", by Tony Sheridan & The Beatles, the first Beatles record to be released
The Beatles released twelve original albums, twelve EPs (featuring mostly otherwise available material), one double EP, and twenty-two singles (featuring mostly otherwise unavailable material) in nine years (1962-1970) in their native United Kingdom. Their international discography is complicated, however, due to sometimes different versions of their albums released in other countries, particularly in their early years on Capitol Records in the United States. In addition, most of their releases are available in both mono and stereo mixes.
Historical background
The first seven Beatles albums appeared in very different versions in the U.S., where Capitol Records mixed UK album tracks with UK single tracks to create different albums altogether, with different titles, track listings, and often different audio mixes. The first eight of these records have been released on CD as The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 (2004) and The Capitol Albums, Volume 2 (2006). Interestingly, the Capitol release of Rubber Soul is preferred by some over its UK counterpart, due to its more folky flavour; it was this version of the album that greatly influenced the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, who "answered" it by releasing Pet Sounds in 1966. Upon the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967, the Beatles albums had the same track listing in both the U.S. and the UK (The only exception to this is Magical Mystery Tour, which was released as a double EP in the UK, and a longer LP in the U.S.).
The first ten (of twelve) Beatles albums were released in both mono and stereo mixes. However, stereo record players were rare at the time, so producer George Martin and the Beatles gave more time and attention to preparing mono mixes of their recordings, particularly for their early records. Therefore, the mono versions are considered by many to be the "official" versions, as opposed to the stereo releases. In fact, when the Beatles discography was released on CD in the 1980s, the mono mixes of the first four albums were used, rather than the stereo mixes. However, the last two albums, Abbey Road and Let It Be, were mixed and released in stereo only.
The Beatles UK discography was released on CD in the late 1980s. However, the sound of the digital transfers of the current discs, produced by George Martin in 1987 and 1988 using the best equipment available during the early days of the format, no longer meet standards achievable using current techniques in Direct Stream Digital, HDCD, and others. The sound on the remastered catalogues of Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, and the Rolling Stones, among other heavyweights from the 1960s, have been greatly enhanced utilising technological developments that have occurred since Martin's initial digital mastering, and as of 2007, similar work for the Beatles is long overdue. In addition, many Beatles enthusiasts feel that the CD releases of the albums are inferior because the recordings were originally mastered to be played on vinyl, which, when played back, arguably possess a warm sound which CDs are not able to reproduce. Many purists today still listen to Beatles albums only on vinyl.
It was reported in January and February of 2007 that the entire UK catalogue had been remastered, and would be re-released in the first half of the year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on June 1, 2007. The aforementioned album will also be released in a box set with both stereo and mono mixes, as well as possibly a 5.1 surround mix. These releases may also be offered on iTunes, marking the first time the Beatles' music will be available online.[1][2]
Studio Albums
UK Albums
This is a listing of the official studio albums released in the UK by The Beatles (not including compilations and the like).
Please Please Me (#1 for 30 weeks, plus another 20 weeks at #2; 74 weeks on chart)
"Pepperland" (Instrumental) "Sea of Time" (Instrumental) "Sea of Holes" (Instrumental) "Sea of Monsters" (Instrumental) "March of the Meanies" (Instrumental) "Pepperland Laid Waste" (Instrumental) "Yellow Submarine in Pepperland" (Instrumental)
Abbey Road (#1 for 17 weeks – debut at #1, plus 1 week at #2; 92 weeks on chart)
Label:
Apple/Parlophone PCS 7088 Albums in stereo only from this point on.
In the United States, as noted above, The Beatles albums were rearranged, retitled and remixed. Some of the U.S. releases were nearly identical to their UK counterparts, often only varying by one or two songs. Most releases contained songs that were also found on other records, which made things difficult for the American Beatles fan trying to purchase the band's entire catalogue. By 1967, all U.S. releases matched the UK releases exactly. Some of the U.S. releases included:
Track listing is identical to the UK release. It should be noted, though, that the two seconds of gibberish placed on the concentric groove of the UK release was left off the U.S. release.
The division of Capitol Records in Canada released three unique albums and nine singles in 1963 and 1964 before aligning with the American division and releasing the same albums as in the U.S. The first Canadian release was the "Love Me Do" single (72076) on 1963-02-04.
After this album, Capitol of Canada synchronised its catalogue production with the US market, beginning with United Artists' A Hard Day's Night and concluding with Apple's Hey Jude. Notably, the albums Something New and The Beatles' Story were only produced in mono when originally released. In 1967 the American back catalogue was released in Canada:
1962-1966 (the "Red Album") Apple Records #3(1973-04-19) (Re-released in Sep 1993 and hit UK number 3)
1967-1970 (the "Blue Album") Apple Records #2(1973-04-19) (Re-released in Sep 1993 and hit UK number 4)
Note: Two double compilation albums, featuring as covers an alternate shot of the photograph originally taken for Please Please Me and a 1969 re-creation (originally for Get Back, which evolved into Let It Be) based upon that photograph.
Magical Mystery Tour Parlophone Records (1976-11-19) [sic] (Official UK issue of the American album using the Capitol masters, except for "Penny Lane," "Baby You're a Rich Man," and "All You Need is Love," which were the German mixes released on the Hör Zu! label in 1971. It became part of the official catalogue with its release on CD with every track in true-stereo. As an American import, the album peaked at #31 in 1968. Continued sales of the album as an import led to this release.)
Note: The reason for the Past Masters compilations are so that every song The Beatles released in 1962-1970 could be on a CD. They include singles and B-sides, two songs sung in German, the contents of an EP released in 1964 that had four additional songs, the "single" versions of the songs "Get Back" and "Let It Be", and a version of "Across the Universe" that had bird-like sound effects. Past Masters was also issued as a 2-LP set on 1988-11-10.
The Beatles Box Set Apple/Parlophone Records (1988-12-05) (contains the official Apple/Parlophone Beatle catalogue on CD including the two Past Masters volumes along with a soft cover book by Mark Lewisohn describing every track in this collection which is contained in a roll top wooden box)
Live at the BBC Apple Records (1994-11-30) (Contains 69 songs The Beatles recorded for various BBC radio shows that never were recorded for Parlophone/Capitol/EMI. #1
Anthology 1 Apple Records (1995-11-21) (Containing early performances, live shows, demos, out-takes in the period 1958 to 1964 and the first "new" Beatles song since the band broke up in 1970) #2
Anthology 2 Apple Records (1996-03-18) (Containing unreleased tracks, live shows, demos, and out-takes from 1965 to 1968) #1
Anthology 3 Apple Records (1996-10-28) (Containing unreleased tracks, demos, and out-takes in the period 1968 to 1970) #4
The Beatles 1 Apple Records (2000-11-13) (A collection of The Beatles' #1 hits on the Billboard [U.S.] and Record Retailer [UK] charts, including both sides of their double-A sided singles if both hit the top slot. The collection has 27 songs in it.) #1
Let It Be… Naked Apple Records (2003-11-17) (Remastered and remixed cut from the original sessions, devoid of arrangements by "re-producer" Phil Spector. The first copies released shipped with a 21-minute Fly on the Wall bonus disc.) #7
The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 Apple/Capitol/Parlophone Records (2004-11-15) (A re-issuing of the first four Beatles albums that Capitol released in the U.S. Both versions, mono and stereo)
The Capitol Albums, Volume 2 Apple/Capitol/Parlophone Records (2006-04-11) (A re-issuing of The Beatles albums that Capitol released in the U.S. in 1965. Both versions, mono and stereo)
Love Apple Records (2006-11-20) #3 (A soundtrack to the Cirque du Soleil production Love, featuring remastered and remixed versions of the Beatles' songs by Sir George Martin and his son Giles Martin)
The Beatles Collection, Capitol Records (1979-12-01) (Unlike the British release, the American issue was a limited edition with only 3,000 copies made. The British release which was not a limited edition became a popular import for the U.S. market as a result.)
During the years that the Beatles were together and recording, album tracks were not customarily released as singles, and vice versa. Instead, EMI would release album tracks as EPs, long singles with two songs per side. With two exceptions, the EPs feature songs also available on Beatles albums, rather than original material.
Magical Mystery Tour (1967-12-08); #2 (in the UK singles chart topped by "Hello, Goodbye"). The second Beatles EP to feature otherwise unavailable material. This record consisted of the original songs recorded by the Beatles for the "Magical Mystery Tour" film.
The UK Singles Chart is compiled solely from sales figures; airplay statistics are not used. For this reason the chart positions for the UK Singles are indicated per disc, not per song. Pos column indicates the peak position in the charts.
22-disc 7" singles set, featuring the complete Beatles EMI singles catalogue, with new picture sleeves for many of the discs. The set was first issued on CD in the UK 1992-11-02, and in the U.S. 1992-11-09. The set was first packaged in Japan using a longbox housing the complete set of 3" CD singles in December 1989.
The Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. is compiled from sales and airplay statistics, so the individual songs on any given disc can be charted separately.
The Beatles also recorded annual Christmas records for their fan club members. From 1963 to 1969 these were released as 7" flexidiscs on LYN. In 1970 the 7 previous records were put onto a 12" vinyl record, From Then to You. These remain largely unavailable today, with the exception of one track, "Christmas Time Is Here Again", which was edited and released on the Free As a Bird CD single in 1994:
See The Beatles bootlegs for a run down of some of the more popular unauthorized bootleg material.
Bibliography
Castleman, Harry and Walter J. Podrazik (1975). All Together Now: the only Complete Beatles Discography 1961-1975. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-29794-6.
Wallgren, Mark (1982). The Beatles on Record. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-45682-2.
