Every February, I play the American versions of the Beatles albums. Why is that? George was the first Beatle to visit the United States when he visited his sister Louise before Beatlemania broke. George’s birthday is in February.
Anyway, I’m reminded again of The Beatles songs, which were not on the US Capitol albums while the group was still together. I grew up on the Capitol and later Apple albums; for the former, it was what I got with my Capitol Record Club membership in 1966 and 1967.
I’m not talking about different versions of the same song, such as the single Love Me Do or even Sie Liebt Dich, the German version of She Loves You. The latter song appeared in the Rarities versions (1978-UK, 1980-US).
Misery and There’s A Place were both on the first UK album, Please Please Me, and the US Vee-Jay album, Introducing the Beatles. I heard them in the Beatles cartoons. But they didn’t make it onto The Early Beatles, Capitol’s belated version of Introducing. They finally showed up on the US Rarities.
From Me To You – a bust of a Vee-Jay single in the US in 1963, though it got up to #41 in ’64. Its B-side, Thank You Girl, was on The Beatles’ Second Album. From Me To You is not on The Early Beatles, either. It appears on the Red album (1973), functionally a greatest hits album for 1962-1966. It is the Beatles song I have the most difficult time recalling.
Movie non-soundtrack
A Hard Day’s Night—The movie soundtrack for the first Beatles movie was on the United Artists label in the United States. Capitol could use some of the songs – they did on the Something New album – but could not label the collection a soundtrack. I Should Have Known Better and Can’t Buy Me Love finally appeared on the Beatles Again/Hey Jude album. A Hard Day’s Night is first on the Red album.
I’m Down – The B-side of the Help single appears on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Music Collection (1976), the only new song on the double LP. I knew the song existed from the live version on the TV broadcast of The Beatles at Shea Stadium. It would have fit nicely on the Yesterday and Today album.
The Inner Light, the B-side of Lady Madonna, and You Know My Name (Look Up the Number), the B-side of Let It Be appear on both Rarities versions.
All of them, save You Know My Name, could/should have been on The Beatles Again.
Ah, the Beatles CDs
Of course, everything is made right in the CD era, using the British LPs plus Past Masters 1 and 2. I remember when the CDs first came out. There was speculation that the singles would be added to the albums. But why would they do that, aside from the fact that the early CDs were less than 40 minutes long and had a capacity of more than 70 minutes?
Still, From Me To You/Thank You Girl and She Loves You/I’ll Get You would easily fit on Please Please Me. One could throw in Sie liebt dich.
I Want To Hold Your Hand/This Boy plus Komm gib mir deine Hand might have appeared on With The Beatles; the first two were on the US near-equivalent Meet The Beatles.
The EP Long Tall Sally/I Call Your Name/Slow Down/Matchbox could have augmented A Hard Day’s Night.
Add I Feel Fine/She’s A Woman to Beatles for Sale.
Yes, It Is (the B-side of Ticket To Ride) and I’m Down (the B-side of Help), along with the US-only Bad Boy (from Beatles VI), could be added to Help.
Also:
Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out to Rubber Soul
Paperback Writer/Rain to Revolver
Lady Madonna/The Inner Light to Magical Mystery Tour
Hey Jude/Revolution to the white album
Get Back/Don’t Bring Me Down and You Know My Name (B-side of Let It Be) to Let It Be
Ballad Of John and Yoko/Old Brown Shoe to Abbey Road
Or maybe those latter singles in that singles-heavy period needed their own collection.