Josiah Reynolds's Album Reviews
I doubt you'll find anyone who will argue that The Beatles never went on to do better things (or hadn't already), but this is still a damn fine album in its own right, and holds up even in comparison to their excellent previous efforts, even with the reinclusion of abundant song covers despite Beatles For Sale's predecessor, A Hard Day's Night, being their first album of only originals.
The original songs found on Beatles For Sale showcase a noticeable musical progression, as A Hard Day's Night also had from it's predecessor, further delving into the realm of folk rock. These are all gold, with highlights being; 'I'm a Loser', the absurdly infectious and up-beat 'Eight Days a Week', 'Every Little Thing' and 'I Don't Want to Spoil the Party'.
Some of the covers are weaker than those found on previous albums, notably 'Honey Don't', 'Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!' and 'Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby' being low-points for the band, but they're still all highly enjoyable pieces of rock 'n' roll. These covers are ultimately what I believe leads to unfavourable comparisons with Beatles For Sale to other Beatles albums, but I still think this album's a blast, and for whatever reason, I find it flows better as an album than any of their first seven albums do.
The vocals are, as expected, amazing, with some really stunning harmonies, and George's folk inspired guitar noodling is really enjoyable and is well recorded. In other words: as typical for the band, the musicianship is brilliant and each member catches your ear.
No, Beatles For Sale isn't the best example of this band's immense songwriting prowess, but by any measure, it is still brilliant, and I can't help but give it the full 5/5 treatment. It doesn't make any profound statement, it doesn't blow the lid off of the rock genre with clever compositions or technical innovations (although it is the best sounding album pre-Rubber Soul by a long shot, for some reason) and it doesn't rival the best material of the band, but what it does do is give me immense joy every single time I listen to it, and ultimately when it comes to music, that's what matters most, and so I cannot possibly fault it for not matching the peaks of this vast medium. I simply adore this album, just as I adore all albums this band did, and so, for me, it is a nigh flawless rock 'n' roll album.
-9/10
The original songs found on Beatles For Sale showcase a noticeable musical progression, as A Hard Day's Night also had from it's predecessor, further delving into the realm of folk rock. These are all gold, with highlights being; 'I'm a Loser', the absurdly infectious and up-beat 'Eight Days a Week', 'Every Little Thing' and 'I Don't Want to Spoil the Party'.
Some of the covers are weaker than those found on previous albums, notably 'Honey Don't', 'Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!' and 'Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby' being low-points for the band, but they're still all highly enjoyable pieces of rock 'n' roll. These covers are ultimately what I believe leads to unfavourable comparisons with Beatles For Sale to other Beatles albums, but I still think this album's a blast, and for whatever reason, I find it flows better as an album than any of their first seven albums do.
The vocals are, as expected, amazing, with some really stunning harmonies, and George's folk inspired guitar noodling is really enjoyable and is well recorded. In other words: as typical for the band, the musicianship is brilliant and each member catches your ear.
No, Beatles For Sale isn't the best example of this band's immense songwriting prowess, but by any measure, it is still brilliant, and I can't help but give it the full 5/5 treatment. It doesn't make any profound statement, it doesn't blow the lid off of the rock genre with clever compositions or technical innovations (although it is the best sounding album pre-Rubber Soul by a long shot, for some reason) and it doesn't rival the best material of the band, but what it does do is give me immense joy every single time I listen to it, and ultimately when it comes to music, that's what matters most, and so I cannot possibly fault it for not matching the peaks of this vast medium. I simply adore this album, just as I adore all albums this band did, and so, for me, it is a nigh flawless rock 'n' roll album.
-9/10
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