The Capitol Albums Vol. 2 (Longbox)
Unless your name is Ryan Adams, you're probably not in the habit of releasing four albums infouryears, let alone the same number in one. But that's exactly what the Beatles did in 1965, thanks to Capitol Records' practice of mixing and matching tracks from their U.K. releases to create new, shorter records for the American market. Because standard-issue Beatles discs follow the British discography,The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2marks the first CD appearance ofThe Early Beatles(March),Beatles VI(June), theHelp!soundtrack (August), and the U.S. version ofRubber Soul(December), which are presented in both monoandstereo. And since the Brits'Please Please MeandBeatles for Saleare available only in mono, that means a lot of tracks are making their stereo CD debut here, including "Please Please Me," "Twist and Shout," "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey," "What You're Doing," and "Every Little Thing." This is also the first CD appearance of Ken Thorne's incidental music fromHelp!(James Bond intro, anyone?), as well as of theoriginalwide-separation stereo mixes ofHelp!andRubber Soul(not the 1987 George Martin digital remixes that appear on the British discs). All told, a full 82 of this set's 92 tracks have never before been available on CD. It's not quite the sonic revelation that wasVol. 1(that box contained 32 stereo CD debuts, this one only 14), but it's a great listen nevertheless. Also included is a colorful, 60-page booklet featuring rare photos and liner notes by Beatles historian Bruce Spizer.--Benjamin LukoffMore from the BeatlesThe Beatles (The White Album)RevolverAbbey RoadThe Capitol Albums, Vol. 1The Beatles 1Let It Be... Naked