With The Beatles

Recorded: July 18 and 30, September 11-12 and 30, October 3, 17, and 23, 1963 (Studio 2, Abbey Road Studios, London, England)
Mixed: August 21, September 30, October 23, 29-30, 1963
Length: 32:24
Credits:
Produced by George Martin
Engineered and Mixed by Norman Smith
Liner Notes by Tony Barrow
Photography by Robert Freeman
First released: March 22, 1963
Versions:

• With The Beatles UK: Parlophone PMC 1206, March 22, 1963 (mono)

• With The Beatles UK: Parlophone PMC 3045, April 26, 1963 (stereo)
• Meet The Beatles US: Capitol T 2047, January 20, 1964 (mono)
• Meet The Beatles US: Capitol ST 2047, January 20, 1964 (stereo)
• The Beatles' Second Album US: Capitol T 2080, April 10, 1964 (mono)
• The Beatles' Second Album US: Capitol ST 2080, April 10, 1964 (mono)
• With The Beatles (CD) Parlophone CDP 7 46436 2, February 26, 1987
• With The Beatles (CD) Capitol CLJ 46436, July 21, 1987
• Meet The Beatles (CD) Capitol CDP 7243 8 66875 2 4, November 16, 2004
• The Beatles' Second Album (CD) Capitol CDP 7243 8 66877 2 2 , November 16, 2004

Highest chart position: UK: 1 (21 weeks beginning December 7, 1963)
History:

• Released a mere four months after the Beatles' debut LP, Please Please Me, With The Beatles craftily offered more of the same: both albums' makeup of originals, girl-group covers, R&B knockoffs, and midtempo ballads are offset by a gentle Broadway tune (in this case, "Till There Was You") and a rousing frat-rock closer (Barrett Strong's "Money," already a favorite of bar bands everywhere). The major difference between the two is the presence of George Harrison's first recorded composition, the well-received but rather dour "Don't Bother Me."

• Only one track on this album is considered a classic in the Beatles canon, Paul's "All My Loving" -- ironically never offered as a single in the US or UK, yet prominently featured during the band's Ed Sullivan Show debut. However, in recent years, both "It Won't Be Long" and "Not A Second Time" have gained critical acclaim, and are thought to be at least minor classics.
• For a group who created any number of iconic album covers, the front of With The Beatles (faithfully replicated on the US version, Meet The Beatles) is among the most famous. Shot on August 22, 1963, in a dark corridor of Bournemouth, England's Palace Court Hotel, it used a chiaroscuro (light and dark) effect, inspired by Astrid Kirchherr's famous Hamburg photos of the band. Freeman wanted the photo on the cover with no title or name, but EMI refused. Freeman would go on to shoot the covers of Beatles For Sale, Help!, and Rubber Soul.
• Pre-orders for this album exceeded 270,000, an unheard-of amount for the time. It became the first album by a British artist to sell a million copies in the UK.

Trivia:

• First pressings of this album misspell "You Really Got A Hold On Me" as "You Really Gotta Hold On Me." LPs with the mistake are worth approximately three times as much as the later, "correct" version.
• In the UK, With The Beatles rocketed straight to Number One -- knocking off Please Please Me, still atop the charts after 30 weeks.

Tracklisting:

Side One:

1. It Won't Be Long (2:11)
2. All I've Got To Do (2:01)
3. All My Loving (2:06)
4. Don't Bother Me (2:26)
5. Little Child (1:45)
6. Till There Was You (2:14)
7. Please Mister Postman (2:34)

Side Two:

1. Roll Over Beethoven (2:44)
2. Hold Me Tight (2:29)
3. You Really Got A Hold On Me (3:00)
4. I Wanna Be Your Man (1:56)
5. Devil In Her Heart (2:25)
6. Not A Second Time (2:05)
7. Money (That's What I Want) (2:47)