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Beatles Red and Blue Albums (1 Viewer)

G

Guido Merkins

Footballguy
For many people my age, the Beatles two compilation albums 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 released in 1973 were our gateway albums.  Known more commonly as the Red and Blue albums, these two albums were both really well done.  If you are just getting into the Beatles today, many people go to Beatles 1, which are the 28 #1 hits in the US and UK, but I always tell people to spend a bit more money and get the Red and Blue compilations as they are, IMO, the best and most complete.  The artwork is also really cool, spanning one end of the 60s to the others and showing how much the Beatles had changed in appearance.

However, even when I first started listening to them in the early 80s, I knew there were some issues with the song list.  As I got further into them, I realized several things:

1.  They tried to have no covers on the album, which I understand, but the Beatles are known for Twist and Shout as much as anything on these two double albums.  It should be on there.

2.  The Long Tall Sally EP is not represented

3.  If I Fell is also a song they are very much known for

4.  Revolver is criminally underrepresented

5.  George Harrison has no lead vocals or songs he wrote on the Red Album

6.  The White Album only has 3 songs on the collection despite being a double album

7.  Golden Slumbers/Carry that Weight/The End should be on there.

8.  The Red album is too short.  Only a little over 60 minutes despite being almost the same number of songs as the Blue album


So as an intellectual exercise, I created new Red and Blue albums.  My only rule is, I didn't remove any of the original songs.  In only one case, I put an alternative version of a song, but all the songs are the same.  Here are my additions and reasons

Red album

Twist and Shout - one of the songs the Beatles are most known for and the answer when people call them "bubble gum."  More energy on this record than anything maybe in the 1960s

Do You Want to Know A Secret? - another one they are known for and I believe was a single in the US and was like #2.  Plus George gets a vocal

I Saw Her Standing There - once again, they are known for this as much as any other song on here

This Boy - B Side to I Want To Hold Your Hand and a great harmony vocal

If I Fell - Once again, everybody knows this song.  If And I Love Her is on here, so should If I Fell

Long Tall Sally - Paul's Twist and Shout.  A must have

I'm A Loser - a 2nd song for Beatles For Sale and probably the 2nd most well known song on that album

Rain - B side to Paperback Writer

Taxman - 2nd Harrison song and his best song up until this point.  Also a blistering solo from Paul

Here, There and Everywhere - If Girl is on this album, then this one should too.  Both were just really good album cuts

Got to Get You Into My Life - i knew this was the Beatles almost before I knew who the Beatles were.  A song they are well known fo

Tomorrow Never Knows - Lennon was doing some work during Revolver and this is hard to beat.

Blue album - note....The Blue album 1st disc is pretty much perfect.  I added nothing from Strawberry Fields to Revolution.  Perfect.  Best disc in the entire collection

Dear Prudence - must follow Back in the USSR.  Sounds naked without it

Blackbird - another song for the White Album and a song they are very well known for

Julia - Once again, John was working on the White Album.  He should have a cut or two

Hey Bulldog - best song on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack and deserves a spot.  Would have never been considered in 1973, but this song has grown quite a bit in stature over the past 50 years

Golden Slumbers/Carry that Weight/The End - essential

Two of Us - John and Paul's voices united for the last time.  One of the best songs on Let It Be

Let It Be (album cut) - I prefer the album version because of the blazing Harrison guitar solo

So, what do you think??  If you have any additions or subtractions I would love to hear them

.

 
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First of all, good job fixing the 2 albums,  a much better playlist. The better the artist, the harder it is not to leave off something good, even when you have 4 sides of vinyl to work with. Plus the record companies wanted people to also buy the original albums, thus it wasn't in their best interests to do a perfect job.

 
Leroy Hoard said:
First of all, good job fixing the 2 albums,  a much better playlist. The better the artist, the harder it is not to leave off something good, even when you have 4 sides of vinyl to work with. Plus the record companies wanted people to also buy the original albums, thus it wasn't in their best interests to do a perfect job.
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Well and those albums aren't meant for people like me.  They are meant for the casual fan.  

But I'm not sure how you leave Twist and Shout off.  That at the very least should have been on the album.  They didn't write it, but they might as well have.  All other versions pale in comparison.  I Saw Her Standing There is probably in that league too.  An absolutely essential early song.

 
If you want to blame anyone, blame Allen Klein.

However it is tough to put together a "Greatest Hits" collection by the Beatles without leaving off some great songs, even when you're talking about 4 LPs.

I am not a big fan of compilation albums in general but the best one for the Beatles is the Beatles Box but of course it was 8 LPs.  The thing that was cool about it is that is has 8 LPs with their own packaging and contains some rare mixes/alternative versions of well known songs.

 
Godsbrother said:
If you want to blame anyone, blame Allen Klein.

However it is tough to put together a "Greatest Hits" collection by the Beatles without leaving off some great songs, even when you're talking about 4 LPs.

I am not a big fan of compilation albums in general but the best one for the Beatles is the Beatles Box but of course it was 8 LPs.  The thing that was cool about it is that is has 8 LPs with their own packaging and contains some rare mixes/alternative versions of well known songs.
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Yeah.....you can do it in 8 records for sure.  I've heard of that Box.  Never saw one....

 
Guido Merkins said:
Yeah.....you can do it in 8 records for sure.  I've heard of that Box.  Never saw one....
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I have a Japanese pressing of it I got in the 80s.   Sounds awesome and really cool packaging.  You can view the individual LP covers in ebay listings if you want to see them

 
Leroy Hoard said:
First of all, good job fixing the 2 albums,  a much better playlist. The better the artist, the harder it is not to leave off something good, even when you have 4 sides of vinyl to work with. Plus the record companies wanted people to also buy the original albums, thus it wasn't in their best interests to do a perfect job.
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Even in the early 80's, I don't remember shows like Breakfast With the Beatles.  Many of the B-sides and deeper cuts didn't get the airplay or the love they did in the last 25 years.  

 
The red and blue albums clearly have their flaws, but I found them to be a great introduction to the Beatles when I was first getting into them. They helped me dive much deeper into their material. I imagine others share a similar sentiment.

 
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zamboni said:
The red and blue albums clearly have their flaws, but I found them to be a great introduction to the Beatles when I was first getting into them. They helped me dive much deeper into their material. I imagine others share a similar sentiment.
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No doubt.  I wore those two cassettes out.  I went through the original, but I backed it up to another cassette before it got too bad and kept that going.  Probably went through 3 sets of them.

 
Guido Merkins said:
In my mind, I thought of them more on CD.  If it was on vinyl, you'd probably have to add a 3rd disk to the Blue for it to be comfortable.
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Didn't the liner notes or record sleeves have the lyrics too? 

 
simsarge said:
Didn't the liner notes or record sleeves have the lyrics too? 
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Yes, the record sleeves have the lyrics on them. I still have my red and blue Beatles' albums, but one of the red sleeves is missing. 

 
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simey said:
Yes, the record sleeves have the lyrics on them. I still have my red and blue Beatles' albums, but one of the red sleeves is missing. 
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I thought so. My musical oral comprehension is terrible. Always has been. I kinda remembered this was the first time I was able to really follow along and understand the jist of their songs. 

 
krista4 said:
Yeah, I don’t acknowledge the existence of these albums.  Cool exercise by Guido, though.   :)  
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I have them on vinyl and I listen to them sometimes.  I'll admit I have a soft spot for them because these two were my introduction to the band along with my Mom and "The Compleat Beatles."  But yeah, not as often as I listen to Rubber Soul or Revolver or any of their other albums.......

After doing this exercise, I did put these two playlists on my phone, however.  My wife and kids are a bit more casual Beatles fans than I am, or as casual as somebody can be who lives with me, and they like the playlists because they have "all stuff they know" which is good.  At 75 songs total, it's not an insignificant portion of their catalogue and it digs a little deep.  Probably deep enough for most casual to intermediate type fans.

BTW, I forgot to add one to Blue....Helter Skelter.....Most people now know that one and it's the Beatles trying out a little proto metal which is important......

 
I have a set of the original black vinyl I've played a couple times and these LPs bought in the early 80s that are still unopened

 
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Guido Merkins said:
2.  The Long Tall Sally EP is not represented
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So, I grew up in a large family and was blessed with a wide variety of music to wade through. There were original Beatles albums, Revolver, MMT, Rubber Soul especially, but there were also compilations. Primarily the Red & Blue, but also Rock ‘n Roll Music. - I liked RNRM because it offered something I really craved, those early rockabilly & roots blues-rock which absolutely drove me crazy. For that reason RNRM always won out for me. Yes MMT, RS, others drove my development but this connection to the early stuff in a strange way led to a good deal of my late teens and my 20s-30s in NO & Austin bars and clubs listening to live music and just having a damned good time. My thanks will always go to the boys for this.

 
interesting to contrast these two platters to Hot Rocks, which was definitely a more popular gateway drug, as far as comps go. 

... and i think it's as simple as putting it down to the title - Hot Rocks vs "Red" and "Blue"?

it's no contest. 

to the newbs/casual fans back in the early '70s, that bit of marketing made a huge difference  :shrug:

Hot Rocks was also released during the Stones most fertile era ... whereas the Red & Blue were 3 yrs after the Fabs breakup. 

 
otb_lifer said:
interesting to contrast these two platters to Hot Rocks, which was definitely a more popular gateway drug, as far as comps go. 

... and i think it's as simple as putting it down to the title - Hot Rocks vs "Red" and "Blue"?

it's no contest. 

to the newbs/casual fans back in the early '70s, that bit of marketing made a huge difference  :shrug:

Hot Rocks was also released during the Stones most fertile era ... whereas the Red & Blue were 3 yrs after the Fabs breakup. 
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I think you hit the nail on the head here. 

 
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