The release
With The Beatles was released as Parlophone PMC 1206 (mono) and PCS 3045 (stereo). It was also issued in 1964 on 4" 3¾ ips twin-track reel-to-reel tape, in mono only, as TA-PMC 1206.
In order to give maximum value to the fans, it was decided that neither the group's previous singles From Me To You and She Loves You, nor their forthcoming I Want To Hold Your Hand, would feature on the album. This was a highly unusual move for 1963, a time when long-playing records typically comprised a handful of hits and plenty of filler.
With advance orders of 300,000, the success of With The Beatles was guaranteed before it was even released. The group was even awarded a silver disc for sales of 250,000, four days before the official release, on 18 November 1963.
After just seven days on sale the album had sold more than half a million copies. By the middle of January 1964 this had increased to 885,000, and by the end of the year 930,000 had been sold.
With The Beatles was the first British long player ever to sell more than one million copies, a milestone that was passed in September 1965. The 1958 soundtrack to South Pacific had also sold that amount, but a British group had never managed the feat.
Despite their fans' eagerness to hear new recordings, reaction to With The Beatles was muted in some places, due to the assassination of President John F Kennedy on its release date.
Chart success
By the time it was released, Please Please Me had been atop the UK album charts for seven months. The best-selling EP of 1963 was The Beatles' Twist And Shout, and three of their singles - Please Please Me, From Me To You and She Loves You - had conquered the charts.
With The Beatles album replaced Please Please Me at the number one spot, and stayed there for 21 weeks. Combined with the success of their debut, The Beatles achieved a continuous run of 51 weeks at the top of the charts.
The album also briefly entered the UK singles chart, where it peaked at number 11. In the early 1960s the chart included all releases, regardless of format or diameter.
With The Beatles spent a total of 51 weeks in the top 20.
Related articles:
- You Really Got A Hold On Me
- Recording: You Really Got A Hold On Me, Money, Devil In Her Heart, Till There Was You
- Money (That's What I Want)
- Live: Royalty Theatre, Chester
- US LP release: Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Iconic artwork on the cover. Although possibly a poorer representation of Astrid Kirsheners work, this was the first step to rewriting the rules on pop production. George Martin calls it their first songbook. It took me longer to get to know this album than any other Beatle album. By the time of With The Beatles, the innocence of Please Please Me had given way to an expectation. This is a fine album. But to truley appreciate what was happening with the group, you really need to listen to their first three albums, in order, one after another, and then you will actually hear The Beatles sound evolve.
John also played Hammond organ on this album.
On which song(s)? Not on I Wanna Be Your Man, as you claim on that page - that was George Martin.
"With The Beatles" marks their first real lasting "moment" in my book, but that is just by the cover image. The content of this album is probably my least favorite. The highs are very high, but the lows are down there among the worse stuff they did. "It Won't Be Long" continues their trend of starting an album out 100 mph & "All My Loving" is one of their best, but it gets a bit inconsistent after that. "Little Child" & "Devil In Her Heart" just aren't a good sound. George did well on this album & "Money" is their best cover ever for my buck. It helps to know they also did "She Loves You" during this time, but all in all, I think it's a step down from Please Please Me as a total product.
Yeah, this is probably my least favourite too. I don't see it as a step down, though - more of a step sideways.
I agree with the assessment that this album is very uneven. Having grown up with the American versions, I think it's counterpart "Meet the Beatles" is an unqualified masterpiece. Practically all originals and nearly every song is strong. The overall effect of Meet the Beatles is "WOW!" the overall effect of "With the Beatles is "Hey cool, more Beatles songs!" Of course, Capitol cherry-picked the best songs available for their first Beatles release.