A.K.A. “The complete list of CDs you have to buy to get all the material the Beatles ever released”
Having bought “Past Masters” volumes I and II today, I was reminded of the confusion regarding the official, complete Beatles discography. Between the myriad non-album singles, EPs, and differing album versions, it’s difficult to tell what exactly makes up the ‘canonical’ list of ‘official’ Beatles releases.
Here, as best I can figure from Wikipedia, it is:
- Please Please Me
The Beatles’ first album, as released in the UK. Roughly equivalent to “Introducing… The
Beatles” in the US.
- With The Beatles
The second UK release. The tracks in this album were spread over the (despite the title) second
and third US releases, “Meet The Beatles” and “The Beatles’ Second Album”, along with several
non-album singles.
- A Hard Day’s Night
The third UK release. One album side contains the film soundtrack, the other side contains
songs not featured in the film. The US release had the film soundtrack side, plus several
instrumental renditions used in the film.
- Beatles For Sale
The fourth UK release. Songs from this album could also be found on the US releases Beatles
‘65 and Beatles VI
- Help!
The fifth UK release. Like “A Hard Day’s Night,” the first side was the film soundtrack, the
second side the non-film portion. Also like “A Hard Day’s Night,” the US release featured
the film soundtrack side plus instrumental tracks heard in the film.
- Rubber Soul
The sixth UK release. Roughly equivalent to the US release, but the US release omits some
tracks, later published on the US-only “Yesterday… and Today”
- Revolver
The seventh UK release. Again, the US omits some tracks, which are also on “Yesterday…
and Today”
- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
The eighth UK release. From this album on, the US versions had the same tracklisting as the
UK versions.
- The Beatles
The ninth UK release, commonly referred to as “The White Album” for its nondescript white
cover
- Magical Mystery Tour
The US release is the ‘official’ version of this album for a change. The UK version was actually a
double EP; the US version is a full album, with the EP tracks from the UK plus several
non-album singles.
- Yellow Submarine
The soundtrack for the film, the A-side contains six Beatles recordings (two of which were
released previously), the B-side containing George Martin’s instrumental score for the film.
- Abbey Road
The eleventh UK album, and second-to-last released, though the last recorded.
- Let It Be
The twelfth and final UK album, though actually recorded during the aborted recording session
preceding Abbey Road. John Lennon gave the raw studio tapes to Phil Spector, who mixed
a full album out of it. Years later it was remixed into a new version, sans Spector
overdubs, as “Let It Be… Naked”
- Past Masters
Two volumes comprising all singles, B-sides, and other material not released on any of the
‘official’ releases listed above.
Note that this only includes the ‘original’ album and single releases during the band’s tenure, and not the Anthologies, compilations, and other material released years after the breakup.
“ Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
— Bumper sticker of the day. (I need this one.)
My dad got up early Wednesday morning and went shopping for fridges so I didn’t have to. He ordered a new one, it’s supposed to get delivered sometime tomorrow.
In the meantime the little one is working well. In fact it’s working a little too well. My milk was starting to freeze, so I turned it down a notch.
The fridge just died.
I noticed it this morning, when my milk wasn’t quite as cold as it usually was. Probably only someone as anal-retentive about their milk being ice cold as me would have noticed. But now it’s blazingly obvious. It’s already cooled off enough that everything in the freezer has defrosted.
I can hear the compressor cycling on, then cycling back off after just a few seconds, then repeating the cycle after a couple minutes. I tried turning the thermostat down to its coldest setting in the (admittedly vain) hope that the problem would go away. Naturally it didn’t. Having conferred with the landlord (a.k.a. my dad) we’ve officially declared it dead. Now I get to get up early tomorrow and go to Home Despot, buy a new one, and hope I can figure out some way to get it home.
(Getting it home isn’t the hard part. Getting it down the stairs is the hard part.)
Getting it delivered the same day is unlikely, but professional delivery would probably be the best option, as it means somebody other than me gets to haul it down the stairs.
This is why I didn’t want to be a landlord!
As a side note, I’m glad I cheerfully ignored the advice I got to get rid of my old mini-fridge. Buying that thing has turned out to be one of the smartest decisions I ever made. I had no idea at the time.
