The Beatles' Second Album--A Study in Influences

Second Album by The Beatles is somewhat of a misnomer--the Capitol-EMI record conglomerate released both British and American versions of some of the earliest albums by The Beatles, simply to make more money. As a result, we have albums like Second Album, Yesterday And Today, and Hey Jude, which were released in America and which presented blends of the contemporaneous British releases, along with singles that didn't appear on the British albums. Second Album is indeed the second American release, but actually the third album released overall.

I was rummaging through my old cassette tape collection the other day and came across a long-forgotten tape of Second Album. I popped it into the tape deck in my Jeep and before you know it, I was transported back to 1964, which is the year that Second Album was released in the United States.

Early in their career as a band, The Beatles recorded a lot of cover tunes--I like to think of it as their way of paying homage to all of the great artists who worked some type of influence on them as musicians and songwriters. The first British and American albums included covers of songs by Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, and Arthur Alexander, just to name a few. As you can see, their musical tastes were impeccable, even in their earliest years.

Second Album is a good, representative collection of the material that The Beatles were doing at the beginning of their careers. George Harrison offers up an energetic, earnest version of Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven, a song he performed up into the twilight of his career, while Paul McCartney's interpretation of Little Richard's Long Tall Sally is nothing short of explosive--Paul patterned his singing style after Little Richard, and you can see the influence clearly in this song.

You Really Got A Hold On Me and Money illustrate John Lennon's infatuation with the Motown sound, and Please Mr. Postman might have more energy than any song that The Beatles ever recorded--their interpretation of this song that was originally recorded by a black female group (was it the Marvelettes?) has tons of emotion and an irresistable driving beat. I really don't know who originally did Devil In Her Heart, but George Harrison's treatment of the song is adequate, if a little vapid, with its' Latin rhythms.

Of the eleven tracks on the album, six of them are Beatle originals--clearly, You Can't Do That, a John Lennon rocker featuring some caustic lyrics and George Harrison's big twelve string guitar is the strongest track, but I Call Your Name is a solid tune too, with its' time changes and Lennon's strident, urgent vocals. She Loves You is a Beatle signature song--if you want a little taste of what Beatlemania was all about, this one gives you a nice slice of the pie. The energy is incredible, and The Beatles manage to project a little of that charisma that their earliest live performances radiated.

I'll Get You is a typical Lennon revenge song where his insecurities are showcased, and Thank You Girl allows him to show off his prowess with the harmonica. These are the two weakest tracks on the album, but that's probably because they're also the most obscure.

I highly recommend this album for any person who loves The Beatles, or for anyone who wants to see what all the excitement was about. One caveat--this one might be difficult to find, so you may have to special order it from your record club or your local music store.

Thanks for reading.