PLEASE PLEASE ME

This album was the second from the Fab 4 released in Brazil, with the creative name of Beatles Again, in early 1964, but with a slight different track listing; nevermind, all songs were previously issued here (1962 & 1963) through those small biscuits we knew as singles.

I was a little kid then and had no interest in music, except lullabies maybe and I only visited these tracks in years later. Really amusing and enjoyable but seen from a current perspective this album is heavily dated, with songs edging silliness in terms of lyrics and tunes; in fact, this notion of being dated and even childish had been defined also in the following years, 'cause the mood around 1967, when prog-rock foundations were settled was quite diverse and those that insisted in following early Beatles stuff got themselves lost in time. But at that time, even The Beatles had changed drastically their direction.

Anyway, I can imagine the impact Please Please Me caused when released in Europe and later when its songs reached the other parts of the world - it was something very different and original, being progressive, if one uses this word in its strict aception. Certainly, it shaped many manners for the new acts and set the buttons for what was know as 'beatlemania', but their next release was more influential and adult, doubtlessly.

I believe that all tracks here are well known for the people that care a little bit about music, but in my opinion some are better than others, like the title-track, the romantic 'Anna', the short and interesting 'Misery', the rocky 'I saw her standing there' and the stormy 'Twist and shout'. I like 'There's a place' too, specially that weird time changing (prog?).

And now how to rate an album that's a landmark in the universe of the popular music? Hm, let's see, progsters that are also Beatles' fans have this album in their shelf; some other people will tell you that they don't give a damn about these guys and among so many streams of pros and cons, the only audience remaining are those coming from outer space. Supposing they are eager to know our culture (all times, ages, eras, etc) I'd say to them for leaving this material for a second or third row of purchases. Hence, being good but non-essential, the rating is 3.