1964’s Meet The Beatles! started it all
Seven Beatles albums, originally compiled for U.S. release between January 1964 and March 1965 by Capitol Records and United Artists, have been analog cut for 180-gram audiophile vinyl from their original mono master tapes for global release on November 22, 2024, by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe. Out of print on vinyl since 1995, these mono albums are being released in a new eight-LP box set titled The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums In Mono, available now for pre-order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here. Six of the titles are also available individually; pre-order links are below.
These 2024 editions were cut for vinyl from the original master tapes using a completely analog signal path and with constant reference to first generation pressings of the original albums. They were made using a Studer A80 master recorder with analog preview & program paths, and an Neumann VMS70 cutting lathe originally installed in Capitol Studios in 1971. This specific all-analog cutting technique allows faithful representation of the full musical range and dynamics present on the original tapes.
Mastering engineer Kevin Reeves notes, “We’re letting the tapes speak for themselves, without the limitations that we had sixty years ago. These deep bass tones that you hear now that were not present on the ’64 pressings. You can hear John’s chest when he sings. You can hear Paul’s very crystal-clear voice on some of the songs that he’s singing on. There’s this one line in one of the songs where Paul’s bass is following George’s guitar lead and all the way down to the low E and I never necessarily experienced that before. I know it’s there; it’s been there forever but I just never heard it as I heard it from listening to these tapes in their natural state.”
In a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the cutting process, Reeves says of the tapes, “these are museum pieces. These are Mona Lisa pieces of art.”
All seven albums – Meet The Beatles!, The Beatles’ Second Album, A Hard Day’s Night (Original Motion Picture Sound Track), Something New, The Beatles’ Story (2-LPs), Beatles ’65, and The Early Beatles – feature faithfully replicated artwork and new four-panel inserts with essays written by American Beatles historian and author Bruce Spizer. [His many books on The Beatles are available here.] The albums’ new vinyl lacquers were cut by Kevin Reeves at Nashville’s East Iris Studios.
Watch the official trailer
From the September 12 announcement: On February 7, 1964, scores of screaming, swooning fans gathered at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to catch a glimpse of John, Paul, George and Ringo as The Beatles took their first steps on American soil.
The Beatles at JFK Airport, February 7, 1964 (Photo © Apple Corps Ltd.; used with permission)
Two nights later, 73 million viewers in the U.S. and millions more in Canada tuned in to CBS to watch The Beatles make their American television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. In this cultural watershed moment in American history, The Beatles performed five songs on the live broadcast. “Beatlemania,” already in full, feverish bloom in The Beatles’ native U.K. and developing in the U.S., exploded with blissful fervor across America and around the world. The British Invasion had begun.
The Beatles rehearsing for their February 9, 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (Photo: © Apple Corps Ltd.; used with permission)
Shortly before The Beatles’ history-making Stateside visit, Capitol Records secured exclusive U.S. rights to release the band’s recordings in a deal with EMI. The storied, already iconic record label rush released Meet The Beatles! on January 20, 1964. The album features 12 tracks drawn largely from the band’s U.K. album With The Beatles (released November 22, 1963). Showcasing the band’s original songwriting, Capitol replaced five cover songs from the U.K. album with three originals: both sides of The Beatle’s first Capitol single (“I Want To Hold Your Hand”/“I Saw Her Standing There”) and the latest U.K. single’s B-side (“This Boy”). The album hit #1 and held the top spot for 11 weeks, launching a hit-making string of Beatles albums compiled, titled and packaged by Capitol for the American market. [It’s available separately in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.]
By early April, more than 3.6 million Meet The Beatles! albums had been sold, and on the singles front, The Beatles swept the Billboard Hot 100’s top 5 positions on April 4, a stunning chart record that still stands. On April 10, Capitol released The Beatles’ Second Album. Its 11 tracks include the five covers not included on Meet The Beatles!, three songs previously released in the U.S. by the Swan and Vee-Jay labels, plus the B-side to the band’s U.S. “Can’t Buy Me Love” single (“You Can’t Do That”), and two new songs recorded in March during sessions for the band’s soon to be released debut film, A Hard Day’s Night (“I Call Your Name” and a cover of Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally”). [It’s available separately in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.] Upon release, The Beatles’ Second Album replaced Meet The Beatles! atop Billboard’s album chart for five weeks.
On June 26, United Artists rush released the U.S. soundtrack album for A Hard Day’s Night, which the studio would release to theaters nationwide in August. Along with its buoyant title track, the album features “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “And I Love Her,” and five more Beatles originals, as well as four George Martin-arranged orchestral instrumentals of Beatles songs. The soundtrack topped the chart for 14 consecutive weeks, tallying a whopping 51 weeks on the chart. Capitol quickly released “A Hard Day’s Night” as a single, topping the Hot 100 and selling more than a million copies in short order. [It’s available separately in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.]
Released by Capitol on July 20, The Beatles’ Something New album includes five songs featured in the band’s A Hard Day’s Night film and six tracks new for America, including “Things We Said Today” and “Any Time At All.” Something New held at #2 on the album chart for nine weeks, just below the soundtrack. [It’s available separately in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.]
Released in U.S. theaters in August, A Hard Day’s Night was a box office smash and a critics pick, earning two Academy Award® nominations. Within days of the film’s release, The Beatles returned to North America for a monthlong mad dash of 32 concerts across the U.S. and Canada from August 19 to September 20.
Capitol’s next Beatles release was on November 23: The Beatles’ Story, described on its cover as “A Narrative and Music Biography of Beatlemania on 2 Long-Play Records.” A charming audio grab bag of band member interview clips and quips; Beatles song snips; instrumental versions of Beatles songs performed by the Hollyridge Strings; narration and Beatles storytelling by John Babcock and others; plus various other bits and bobs, the gatefold-packaged double album has a relatively short total runtime of 50 minutes across its four sides.
Capitol capped 1964 with the forward-looking Beatles ’65 album, rush released on December 15 and promising “Great New Hits by John ∗ Paul ∗ George ∗ Ringo” on its cover. The album plucks eight tracks from the U.K. #1 Beatles For Sale album (released December 4), plus three more songs new for America, including “I’ll Be Back” and both sides of the band’s latest U.K. single (“I Feel Fine”/“She’s A Woman”). Out in time for the holidays, Beatles ’65 sold nearly two million copies within its first two weeks of release and held #1 for nine of its 71 weeks on Billboard’s album chart. [It’s available separately in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.]
1964 was a banner year for The Beatles in the U.S. (and all around the world), even by the band’s own ‘toppermost of the poppermost’ standards. The Beatles racked up 17 U.S. Top 40 singles including six #1s, six Top 10 albums including four #1s, and a blockbuster film. By year’s end, Capitol had sold more than 15 million Beatles records.
Capitol released The Early Beatles on March 22, 1965. The album’s 11 tracks were first released in the U.S. by Vee-Jay Records, starting in February 1963 with the “Please Please Me”/“Ask Me Why” single, with the rest issued in January 1964 on Vee-Jay’s Introducing The Beatles album. Vee-Jay also released three songs from that album as hitmaking U.S. singles in early 1964 (“Twist And Shout,” “Do You Want To Know A Secret,” and “Love Me Do”). Capitol’s exclusive American release rights for the tracks took effect in October 1964 upon settlement with Vee-Jay, and The Early Beatles collected them for their Capitol debut. [It’s available separately in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.]
The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums In Mono is available now for pre-order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.
3 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationFor two years I have been anxiously waiting for an updated release of Rubber Soul ( like Revolver etc.). Today I see this release. If this set is this years release instead of Rubber Soul I’m really disappointed.
I think you are confusing these US reissue releases with the Giles Martin UK reissues. One is not related to the other. Giles is working in reverse order – relax, I’m sure Rubber Soul is next on his agenda.
Thank you Dashate. I sure appreciate you responding to my comment. I will continue to wait in anticipation!