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1.52pm
5 May 2014
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This album is very underrated. Its got some excellent cover rock tracks (Roll Over Beethoven , Please Mister Postman , money) and thats not counting all the original songs.
I love the groove in Hold Me Tight , and Little Child has to be one of the best early Beatle songs.
We were just trying to write songs about prostitutes and lesbians
5.04pm
30 August 2013
Offline I think both this and Please Please Me are the most underrated albums
My favourites: All I’ve Got To Do , All My Loving , Til there was you, Please Mr Postman, Roll Over Beethoven , Hold Me Tight , You Really Got A Hold On Me , Devil In Her Heart
Favourite band: The Beatles
Favourite song: Yesterday
Favourite album: Rubber Soul
Favourite member: Paul McCartney
6.16pm
2 April 2014
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Whilst I’m not a huge fan of this overall, I have warmed to the songs a little more now.
6.22pm
1 November 2013
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I wouldn’t say most underrated since that would be Beatles For Sale but I find that their earlier stuff is often times over looked.
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7.18pm
5 September 2012
Offline This is like my third favourite album after Abbey Road and the White Album . Not A Second Time is genius, so ahead for its’ time. Also, on the topic, the page for that song says George didn’t play, but I can clearly hear John’s acoustic guitar and George stabbing on the 2 and 4 with a clean electric guitar.
2.22am
19 June 2014
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Yep I want my say on this one! I thought this was like a really essential, important, big hit album because of that album cover photo (Four Seasons copied later!!) and the fact that it was a bigger release than Please Please Me . It always felt more like the first true Beatles album… and Meet The Beatles was (basically) in the US.
Not until recently did I learn of people really disliking “Hold Me Tight “. WHY, HATERS? Maybe it seems out of place to most fans. I always looked forward to it because preceding it are songs ranging from crooning and Pauly to crying and Johnny to understated and Georgey. It then comes on and it wakes and shakes you up and gets you going again! Now that I’ve had my Beatles Hiatus, when I heard it anew, I was blown away. What a rocker! I actually never really listened to it before. What I say to those of you who don’t like it so much is that I bet it seems to be a bit Pre-Beatles to you… kinda more like Silver Beetles shaking it up in Hamburg all night, right? It was written in 1961 and performed then… so, it’s not so Beatley in 1963/4. It’s raw, it’s loud, Paul is nearly screaming, it’s got a nice call-and-response and harmonies, it’s got hand-clapping, and it just rocks on and on. Even those sorta sour off-keyish moments sound really great to me. It’s like getting a “Live” song that sounds a million times better than “Live” albums ever do. Considering it was originally recorded during the Please Please Me sessions, they WERE trying to capture a live sound. Rather than about interesting lyrics, it’s about the rhythm and the drive and the, well, sexiness of it. Teenage Beatles, Hamburg clubs, pep pills and alcohol… still coming through. Maybe this song was too rowdy for the innocent new Beatles in suits in 1962.
A lot of people hate the fact that there is a serious lack of content in the lyrics, buuuuuuttttt…
How different is it from “Love Me Do “? “Michelle “? “Let It Be ” or “Hey Jude “? Each of these songs, and many others, repeat a lot and have as little content as HMT. They just have less rock and roll and more of that unique Beatles sound we expect and love.
I would love/kill (
oops did I write that out loud?) to see/hear Paul play this song at the Albany concert I am going to. Oh, I’d go mad! OMG IT’S THE BEATLES!
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C.R.A.I like grapes!
6.19am
14 December 2009
Offline I have to wonder how many real genuine HATERS this song has – as opposed to just detractors. Although I know meanmistermustard has enough hate to spread around generously…
I suppose if there’s one thing about WTB that could be considered a drawback, it’s that it apparently attempts to just repeat the PPM formula, like they made sure that every track on the debut had its equivalent on the followup, like they were ticking boxes. And on the one level, it’s an improvement: The recording quality is much better, without all that excess reverb that bothers me on the debut. (Plus healthy John’s vocals are less tortured and raw…if that’s a plus. Some of the time it is!) But on the other hand, I think the debut is ultimately much better paced and sequenced, and George didn’t really warrant three lead vocals on the followup. So I can’t decide whether it’s a step backwards from the debut, or just a sidestep sideways. Or maybe: step forward AND step back? Hmm…
Underrated?
Uh…yeah! I think you can say that. Definitely underrated!
But “THE” most underrated?? What, of ANYBODY or just (“just”) the Beatles? I don’t know, stop asking me all these questions! 
Paul: Yeah well… first of all, we’re bringing out a ‘Stamp Out Detroit’ campaign.
12.08pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline I wish HMT had some of the Hamburg pre-’63 energy the Beatles shoved into their stage performances. For me it doesn’t get to ‘lifting head in half-hearted interest before falling back to sleep after a few seconds’ never mind ‘too rowdy’.
And you forgot about ‘It Won’t Be Long ‘ @Crinsk, now there is a song that gets you moving.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
12.56am
19 June 2014
Offline Oh I agree that “It Won’t Be Long ” is a shaker, but I guess I find it more crashing-loud and a bit sour. John and his tones. It’s not as sweet-toned as HMT to my ears. The lyrics in IWBL are depressing too! HMT is just fun. Ah well, it’s all our personal tastes in the end.
I like grapes!
4.17am
28 March 2014
Offline I thought I already wrote this, but here goes:
I see Please Please Me & With The Beatles as Vol. 1 & Vol. 2, like Rubber Soul & Revolver were, both followed by a masterpiece. Just amazing! 
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BEATLES Music gives me Eargasms! 
8.18pm
28 March 2014
Offline AppleScruffJunior said
Talking about the With The Beatles /Meet The Beatles album cover, here’s a cool edit I found:
Hmmmm, since I don’t know what (??) it was, I’m gonna guess it was the Canadian version that came out in 1963, shortly after “With The Beatles “. 
Same song order as With The Beatles , just typical of Capitol Canada records being like our US counterparts, and making it differently than the UK LP!
BEATLES Music gives me Eargasms!
12.07am
5 February 2014
Offline
Crinsk said
Yep I want my say on this one! I thought this was like a really essential, important, big hit album because of that album cover photo (Four Seasons copied later!!) and the fact that it was a bigger release than Please Please Me . It always felt more like the first true Beatles album… and Meet The Beatles was (basically) in the US.Not until recently did I learn of people really disliking “Hold Me Tight “. WHY, HATERS? Maybe it seems out of place to most fans. I always looked forward to it because preceding it are songs ranging from crooning and Pauly to crying and Johnny to understated and Georgey. It then comes on and it wakes and shakes you up and gets you going again! Now that I’ve had my Beatles Hiatus, when I heard it anew, I was blown away. What a rocker! I actually never really listened to it before. What I say to those of you who don’t like it so much is that I bet it seems to be a bit Pre-Beatles to you… kinda more like Silver Beetles shaking it up in Hamburg all night, right? It was written in 1961 and performed then… so, it’s not so Beatley in 1963/4. It’s raw, it’s loud, Paul is nearly screaming, it’s got a nice call-and-response and harmonies, it’s got hand-clapping, and it just rocks on and on. Even those sorta sour off-keyish moments sound really great to me. It’s like getting a “Live” song that sounds a million times better than “Live” albums ever do. Considering it was originally recorded during the Please Please Me sessions, they WERE trying to capture a live sound. Rather than about interesting lyrics, it’s about the rhythm and the drive and the, well, sexiness of it. Teenage Beatles, Hamburg clubs, pep pills and alcohol… still coming through. Maybe this song was too rowdy for the innocent new Beatles in suits in 1962.
A lot of people hate the fact that there is a serious lack of content in the lyrics, buuuuuuttttt…
How different is it from “Love Me Do “? “Michelle “? “Let It Be ” or “Hey Jude “? Each of these songs, and many others, repeat a lot and have as little content as HMT. They just have less rock and roll and more of that unique Beatles sound we expect and love.
I would love/kill (
oops did I write that out loud?) to see/hear Paul play this song at the Albany concert I am going to. Oh, I’d go mad!
^^^ THIS
I’m a huge fan of the Beatles but I’m also a die-hard hard-rock nut. I mean, I love that stuff!! Anyway, being the heathen that I am, whenever I hear older songs (such as Hold Me Tight ) the first thought that jumps in my head is “how would this go over as a modern cover?” If it sounds like an easy vamp, then the original is worth another listen. And then you can start to see the energy, the rawness… those are the things I look for. And while a lot of people seem to readily dismiss their early work as ‘boy band’ material, I see genuine intent; emulating their influences and expanding with their own ideas – moving it forward! Too easily, it gets labeled as being dated and cheeky, but this was cutting edge when it was released! For that alone, it deserves some respect. But when you find that energy… forget their looks, these kids rocked!
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vonbontee1.24pm
22 December 2013
Offline cra said
a lot of people seem to readily dismiss their early work as ‘boy band’ material, I see genuine intent; emulating their influences and expanding with their own ideas – moving it forward! Too easily, it gets labeled as being dated and cheeky, but this was cutting edge when it was released!
It’s STILL “cutting edge”, it’s heavier than anything out there today. They didn’t have the luxury of Marshall Stacks, or the expanded effects suites of today, I don’t even think that they had a distortion pedal! You can see George switching around the pickups and volume dials on his guitar back then to give his solos a boost over the rhythm section. You listen to the harmonica solo in ‘Little Child ‘ and the energy is absolutely insane, Ringo’s smashing of his cymbals combined with John literally swallowing his harmonica is about as heavy as it gets in rock’n’roll, this album sounds much like the BBC recordings where they just went for it and pushed what very little they had to its absolute limits in all departments.
My Beatles’ collection has been compiled into one very extensive MP3 Collection in Chronological Order where unreleased recordings have “disrupted” the flow of their albums as intended, and I rarely listen to any of their albums as they were released anymore, except I do pull out ‘Beatlemania – With The Beatles ‘ (Canadian version of ‘With The Beatles ‘) once in awhile still, if it wasn’t for the White Album this would be my absolute favourite Beatles’ album. It’s The Beatles at a certain peak which they would soon abandon so that they would climb another peak just beyond, it’s the culmination of everything from ‘In Spite Of All The Danger ‘ forward to its release, a compilation of The Beatles’ adolescence just as they were about to become men and Conquer The World, they’d arrived at The Toppermost of The Poppermost just as John had always promised, ‘With The Beatles ‘ was their final push to arriving, one of THE Best Albums Ever Made…:-)
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Zig, Bongo9.36pm
28 March 2014
Offline Billy Rhythm said
My Beatles’ collection has been compiled into one very extensive MP3 Collection in Chronological Order where unreleased recordings have “disrupted” the flow of their albums as intended, and I rarely listen to any of their albums as they were released anymore, except I do pull out ‘Beatlemania! With The Beatles ‘ (Canadian version of ‘With The Beatles ‘) ‘With The Beatles ‘ was one of THE Best Albums Ever Made…:-)
Funny, I’ve done the exact same thing in my iTunes with the Chronological order with unreleased songs right smack where they belong.
In my iTunes, I have the Beatles UK section, Beatles UK mono section, and a Beatles Canada section which has all the Capitol Canada & US Albums.
Yep, great Album!!! , released only in mono!
BEATLES Music gives me Eargasms!
9.40pm
Reviewers
14 April 2010
Offline Billy Rhythm said
‘With The Beatles ‘ was…one of THE Best Albums Ever Made…:-)
I completely agree. Love this album.
To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.
2.31am
22 December 2013
Offline There’s every bit as much innovation in their musicianship here as any of their later albums. Ringo & Paul forged a bond on this album that would never be equalled by a Rhythm Section anywhere, Paul was Ringo’s extra Tom & Kick while Ringo provided a 5th & 6th String to Paul’s rumbling Hofner Bass, no more different than John & Paul’s harmonies creating a third “unheard” voice. Rhythmically, ‘With The Beatles ‘ is superior to most of their other albums, and that’s high praise indeed. No one ever talks about George’s ‘Don’t Bother Me ‘, the definitive “underrated” song if there ever was one, has the rhythm track here ever been matched in its unique pathway to euphoria? I mean, this one is out there before John & George and their wives ever took tea with their Dentist a couple years later, in fact, George never really evolved from this excellent tapestry until maybe ‘Within You, Without You’ on ‘Sgt. Pepper ‘, and even then he relied heavily on traditional Indian time signatures but with ‘Don’t Bother Me ‘, The Beatles opened that doorway to Pepperland long before with George Harrison ‘s very first composition. Many people went on about how George upstaged the others on ‘Abbey Road ‘ with his two just as excellent offerings in ‘Something ‘ & ‘Here Comes The Sun ‘, but not many recognize that he’d all ready accomplished this “feat” in 1963 on ‘With The Beatles ‘. His guitar work and vocals on ‘Roll Over Beethoven ‘ back it up and if that wasn’t enough, ‘Devil In Her Heart ‘ seals it, I wasn’t nearly as surprised as most others were with ‘All Things Must Pass ‘ for George Harrison BELONGED alongside Lennon & McCartney in the songwriting credits.
As if Ringo & Paul’s rhythmic expertise wasn’t enough, leave it to John to take it one step beyond. Most fans will acknowledge ‘All My Loving ‘ as one of their very best of all-time, but it’s usually attributed to Paul’s rapidly developing pension for impeccable melody, but how about John’s outstanding triplets on the guitar?! As great as Ringo & Paul play on this one, it’s John who’s driving this one beyond the clouds and the result is one of the definitive performances by ANY band in ALL Time & Space, George had to elevate his game on this one, another great example of how they all brought out the best in each other. I’m sorry you all, but I just gotta go now and listen to this album RIGHT F*****G NOW!…:-)
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Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline In ‘George Harrison : Behind The Locked Door’ the 23rd September 1963 edition of ‘New Musical Express’ is credited as the source for information on the recording session for ‘Don’t Bother Me ‘.
Does anyone know where to find more of this, looking for the paper itself goes nowhere.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
7.31am
28 February 2020
Offline In the real world where the overwhelming voice isn’t Beatle obsessives I’d say there might be an argument for it. The people in this insulated community should know better.
What is happening? And tell me how you've been.
3.32pm
1 December 2009
Offline Dingle Lad said
In the real world where the overwhelming voice isn’t Beatle obsessives I’d say there might be an argument for it. The people in this insulated community should know better.
We contain multitudes of opinions in this forum (all of them correct!)
GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty.
9.41pm
14 June 2016
Offline The album cover is pretty iconic, however, I think it’s popularity comes more from the US album “Meet The Beatles”. The music is good, but not as good as the other 3 early albums.
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"Sometimes I wish I was just George Harrison" - John Lennon
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