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2.40pm
3 October 2012
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‘Beatles For Sale ‘ was never released in America, so consequently it was never popular here, except for buyers of imports, and until the CDs came out.
5.13pm
16 August 2012
Offline I know I’m a bit late to this topic and I haven’t read all four pages of the discussion…
My understanding was that ‘Beatles For Sale ‘ was just a quick stopgap after the endless touring and the movie. There are a bunch of covers and the overall album is sort of sloppy because the boys were so exhausted.
E is for 'Ergent'.
5.55pm
14 October 2012
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I don’t think Beatles For Sale was ever going to be a particuarlarly good album, becuase- as Satan says- they’d spent a lot of the year on tour and they were contracted to complete another album by the end of the year (“It was inevitable that the constant grind of touring, writing, promoting, and recording would grate on the Beatles,”- AllMusic) So its in no way their best work but its still a decent album. I think its has some cracking McCartney bass lines/ bass playing( particuarlarly I’m A Loser and Honey Don’t ) and you can see the development in Lennon’s lyrics. I like the covers of Rock ‘N’ Roll Music, Honey Don’t and Kansas City , and I like I’ll Follow The Sun , I’m A Loser and Baby’s In Black . The only part of the album which I think is especially poor is Mr Moonlight – John’s opening in scream is great, but Paul and George sound drunk, and it really wasn’t a good idea to let Macca loose on the Hammond Organ. 
"I don't think we were actually swimming, as it were, with shirts on, 'cos we always wear overcoats when we're swimming,"-
George Harrison, Australia, June 1964
6.05pm
19 April 2010
Offline I’ve said before and I say again, that 99.999% of musicians wish Beatles For Sale was their best album.
"She looks more like him than I do."
6.58pm
3 May 2012
Offline robert said
I’ve said before and I say again, that 99.999% of musicians wish Beatles For Sale was their best album.
That made me laugh. Very true.
Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.
(Passover - I. Curtis)
7.53pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline For what it is and the circumstances surrounding it the album deserves more credit than what it receives. Try sticking most of the bands nowadays into those conditions and they wouldnt get so far as to lift a drum stick without threatening to quit. Usually they come back from a tour, have a few months off and then spend 6 months working out the bass line for the first song with the next album scheduled for 2 years in the future possibly.
Look back at the beatles schedule in 1964 and its beyond belief their work rate. Its exhausting just typing it out. 1963 was bad enough.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
8.20pm
16 August 2012
Offline It is amazing the standards we hold for the Beatles. Look at the massive output and endless innovation of the band between 1962 and 1969, a span that nowadays would equal maybe two similar-sounding mediocre albums from any current rock act.
I think we can forgive one 3.5-star album in a group of 5-star albums. And for the fact that it was preceded by “I Feel Fine ” and “She’s A Woman ” and immediately followed up with the recording sessions for ‘Help !’.
E is for 'Ergent'.
9.14pm
14 December 2009
Offline
Paul: Yeah well… first of all, we’re bringing out a ‘Stamp Out Detroit’ campaign.
8.23pm
Reviewers
14 April 2010
Offline meanmistermustard said
Look back at the beatles schedule in 1964 and its beyond belief their work rate. Its exhausting just typing it out. 1963 was bad enough.
Somewhere in Wales, Joe is shouting, “Tell me about it!”
I really enjoy this album. I agree with John when he says that “Rock And Roll Music ” goes on for about an hour. But all in all, I feel this is a great album. “Words Of Love ” and “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby ” are two of my favorite covers.
To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.
8.53pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline The great thing about Rock And Roll Music is that throughout the song the piano another instrument until John sings “so keep rocking that piano” and its suddenly right in your face slapping you about. Plus the scorching guitar intro. I need to play that song now.
I love that song and it was great on the bbc. Sadly by the time they got around to performing it live they couldnt be bothered to cover it with any energy.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
1.52pm
14 December 2009
Offline LOVE “Rock And Roll Music “! My favourite cover of a Chuck Berry song ever, and the 2nd-best Beatles cover after “Twist & Shout”. Well-thought out placement on the album, too, putting an uptempo fast one there after leading off with three straight bummers.
Not sure what John meant by that ‘hour’ remark, other than the abundance of verses he had to sing. Many Chuck Berry classics have lotsa verses, like “Memphis” and “Too Much Monkey Business”, that’s why they had to play them so fast to get all the words in.
Paul: Yeah well… first of all, we’re bringing out a ‘Stamp Out Detroit’ campaign.
2.24pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline John loved the song so it wouldnt have been a negative comment, more as VB says that it has what seems like 70 verses.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
3.33pm
Reviewers
14 April 2010
Offline 
That’s the way I took it as well when I first heard him say that in Anthology during an interview with Brian Matthew. It is a great song, but seems to go on longer than it needs to.
On the other hand, the live performances you mentioned were cut way too short (see the Shea performance).
To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.
8.18pm
12 November 2012
Offline When Beatles For Sale was released, the Beatles were known as four young lads with endless energy. The Lennon/McCartney songs on the album did not reflect this because their touring schedule wore them out, and left little time to write songs. On previous albums they paired grat cover songs with mostly upbeat songs. Beatles For Sale was the first album which featured songs about not so happy topics (I’m A Loser , Baby’s In Black …). Despite this, I enjoy the cover versions, especially Rock And Roll Music , and Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby .
George’s guitar work is fantastic on this album!!!
"The world is a very serious and, at times, very sad place - but at other times it is all such a joke."-George Harrison
10.27pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline Zig said
That’s the way I took it as well when I first heard him say that in Anthology during an interview with Brian Matthew. It is a great song, but seems to go on longer than it needs to.
On the other hand, the live performances you mentioned were cut way too short (see the Shea performance).
Rock And Roll Music wasnt done at Shea, Twist And Shout was and that was abbreviated.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
7.06pm
26 March 2012
Offline I sometimes feel the reason Beatles For Sale is regarded as one of the Beatles’ weaker albums is that it stands out as a retrograde step. After the practically fillerless A Hard Day’s Night , which proved the boys were worth their musical salt with all original compositions, an album fleshed out with covers would seem a bit disappointing. I don’t blame the Beatles for their decision, considering the constant presence of what George Martin described as “a battering” throughout ’63 and ’64, though. And besides, most of the covers are pretty great and the original songs are among their best of the period, showing a vast step in lyrical (and melodic) maturity. It’s really their first “folk rock” record, and should be treated as the genesis of that style.
SHUT UP - Paulie's talkin'
9.56pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline I think the real problem with BFS is where it falls in the catalogue, and I don’t just mean between AHDN and Help ! Help ! is the natural follow-on to AHDN , and that’s the problem. Bar the three giants (title song, Ticket To Ride and Yesterday ), it’s full of formula songs for a soundtrack and formula songs not good enough for the soundtrack. It was a repeat of the job they’d done a year earlier, and it’s progression was slight. Many of the originals on Help ! are a step backwards compared to AHDN , let alone BFS. BFS is the bridge to RS, not Help ! For Help ! they had to fall back into a holding-pattern demanded by the film. BFS is where you see a leap forward in their songwriting (especially lyrically) that couldn’t have made up a soundtrack. Where could they have put songs like the originals on BFS in a film like Help !? The song closest lyrically, Help !, Lennon always said he imagined it slower and had to ‘pop’ it up for the film. BFS, in terms of their progress as writers, makes more sense after Help !, not before.
As for the weakest cover on BFS, surely not Mr Moonlight . Not their best cover by far, but does have elements of that Beatles twist on an original. Whereas Words Of Love , however great the performance, is the closest they ever got to a straight Xerox of the original. That has to make it their weakest cover ever, not just on BFS. Nor was Moonlight their most leftfield cover, not if you take the BBC cover of Ann Margaret’s I Just Don’t Understand.
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
8.47pm
12 January 2013
Offline I Changed up Beatles For Sale and it ended up like this
Side One
Sure to Fall
Eight Days A Week (ANthology)
I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party
Side Two
Misery (Yeah I changed up Please Please Me too and this got left over along with some others
Don’t Ever Change
The Incedibly True Story THat Never Ends. By Sam.
Best Friend: WHat are you listening to
Me: The Beatles
Best Friend: Go Figure
12.24pm
Reviewers
29 August 2013
Offline The Walrus said
I have mixed feelings about this album. I’m A Loser is early brilliance, as is Eight Days A Week which is probably my favourite pre-Rubber Soul Beatles song. I don’t mind Baby’s In Black either. The rest are lacking a little bit though. The Love version of What You’re Doing is fantastic, but the Beatles For Sale version just falls flat for me, as do other promising tracks like I’ll Follow The Sun .
I think this sums up my feelings as well. Just got to this one on my first run through all the Beatles CDs in the box I bought the other week (after selling my LPs and not replacing them for some time yadda yadda) – and it is a little flat after the previous three, though still entertaining. Things I liked:
1) The beginning of the experimentation with sounds, I had not remembered that part of it before.
2) It has a bit of a Lennon Rock ‘N’ Roll album feel to it. Some of the reviews commented on a country feel but I got more of a late ’50s, early ’60s vibe which I liked (mostly on the covers, which are a nice selection on this one, though George’s track is not one of my favourites).
==> trcanberra and hongkonglady - Together even when not (married for those not in the know!) <==
2.34pm
6 August 2013
Offline trcanberra said
The Walrus said
I have mixed feelings about this album. I’m A Loser is early brilliance, as is Eight Days A Week which is probably my favourite pre-Rubber Soul Beatles song. I don’t mind Baby’s In Black either. The rest are lacking a little bit though. The Love version of What You’re Doing is fantastic, but the Beatles For Sale version just falls flat for me, as do other promising tracks like I’ll Follow The Sun .I think this sums up my feelings as well. Just got to this one on my first run through all the Beatles CDs in the box I bought the other week (after selling my LPs and not replacing them for some time yadda yadda) – and it is a little flat after the previous three, though still entertaining. Things I liked:
1) The beginning of the experimentation with sounds, I had not remembered that part of it before.
2) It has a bit of a Lennon Rock ‘N’ Roll album feel to it. Some of the reviews commented on a country feel but I got more of a late ’50s, early ’60s vibe which I liked (mostly on the covers, which are a nice selection on this one, though George’s track is not one of my favourites).
Not one of my favorite albums from them either, but it does have their gorgeous take on “Words Of Love ,” their only Buddy Holly cover to make an album. And “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party ” is another good early indicator of Lennon’s willingness to expand his songwriting, thanks to Dylan’s influence.
"There's no such thing as bad student... only bad teacher."
